Tulsa time

Ok so we left for a little quick trip to Tulsa this morning.  I was up before dawn to make sure as much stuff as I could possibly take care of was done.  Quincy has to work, so she stayed home, and as a result has a full plate of animal care - so watering gardens and making sure the towels were clean for her to shower seemed like a small thing I could do to make her life easier.  I truly appreciate her taking things on so we could go. 

The plan. ~ drive to Independence, Kansas and tour the little house on the prairie homestead, have lunch, and then drive on to the aquarium in Tulsa.  (Jenks actually).

What actually happened- Hope and Jim got engrossed in a nice conversation, enjoying having a little uninterrupted time.  Hope thinking it is a straight shot down 75 highway, we don’t need Siri to tell us where we are going until we get closer.  We somehow went from 12 miles to Independence, to eating lunch at Parsons.  How?  Good question.  We lost an hour, didn’t get to see the Ingalls homestead, but nobody was hurt, and we got to see Cherryvale, Coffeyville, Talala, oogalah, Nowata and a bunch of other towns we’ve never heard of before. No harm, no foul I guess. 

We did make it to the aquarium. And I am blogging from my phone, which has become increasingly difficult for some reason. So these photos are out of order, actually are a giant mess, but I imagine if you’re actually reading this, you are probably intelligent enough to sort it out.   Fish photos- aquarium. Playground photos- Gatherong place.  

The Tulsa aquarium (which is actually called the aquarium of Oklahoma) is actually quite impressive. I could have spent 2 days there I think.  The girls all loved it and Jim and I absolutely love aquariums.  I tease him about us having nothing in common a lot, but this is a thing that we agree wholeheartedly on. Never skip a day at an aquarium if you have a chance to go!  It is weird to think an aquarium in the middle of landlocked Oklahoma would be any good, but it really is!  Amazing displays, tons of educational opportunities for kids, tons of things to touch and see and learn.  I loved every single minute!  We got to feed stingrays, touch jellyfish, and starfish, and see a giant octopus and the best of all- seahorses!  Absolute heaven!  Wrenley loves it too!  She kept yelling pretty!  Pretty!  It was awesome to watch all the girls having a fun time.  

Did I mention we got to pet jellyfish?  Coolest thing ever! 

Preston is here for an internship.  He was excited to have us come see him, but we couldn’t do it on a weekend since his weekends and ours have been crazy all summer.  We had to come during the week, which meant we had to meet up with him when he got off work. He wanted to take us to his favorite bbq place!  It was pretty good food, and the place was pretty cool decor wise.  

Mallory is liking all the hydrangea and Crepe Myrtle here. 

Not sure if this is “I have gas” or “I can make it about 450 more miles”

We have missed Presto this summer.  We were all happy to see him.  He’s doing great!  He has been asked back for next summer, they are impressed with his work ethic and I’d imagine this is a good foot in a door towards a job after graduation if he wants it.  He has been working on a water treatment plant.

We went to an amazing park called the Gathering Place.  It’s an amazing part of downtown Tulsa.  It has free kayaking, a bunch of walking paths along and around the river, a bunch of picnic and lounging areas and the coolest playground I think I have ever seen!  If you’re in this area, it is truly worth a stop.  

There is a castle and watch tower. It is all done in rope climbing.  Evelyn was terrified, but fought her fear and ended up having the most amazing time running around on the rope bridges and slides!  So awesome. Preston and Saige climbed around with her. There were tons of adults using the equipment as well as kids. 

The stuff is all so amazing. The photos just don’t do the coolness justice.  

And I’m noticing some of these photos are duplicated.  I can’t explain what’s happening with my blog tonight.  I am actually just too tired to figure it out.  Enjoy the pictures twice I guess!  

One other thing. I appreciate Quincy and mentioned that earlier. But I also appreciate Andrew for letting us steal his family for a couple of days.  I am sure it’s not very fun to stay home and work while the rest of your house is off doing fun stuff.  Quincy and Andrew - thanks for being the brave faces behind this little excursion. 

And to Jim, who allows me to plan out insane nerdy outings, never complains when I apparently get us lost and cost us an extra hour on the road, makes sure that we take a moment to feed the stingrays even though Hope balked at the price ($5 for 3 shrimp!). And smiles endlessly at having us all gathered at his table….You are the best part of our marriage. I am so thankful.