Monday, July 26, 2021

Oklahoma visit

The day after school got out, we headed to OK to visit Alex's parents.  Nathan and I hadn't seen them since summer 2018.  Alex and the rest of the kids flew to see them in summer 2019, so it had been 2 and 3 years since we'd visited.  We had fun hanging out, playing Wii, Pac-Man, games, shooting guns, mowing, watching movies, playing Legos, and swimming in the creek.  Kai seemed happy to see Doggie again, and it might be the last time, since Doggie isn't doing very well.  I spent some time scanning old photos while I was there.    





We took a quick day trip to Stillwater to visit OSU.  We visited a few colleges on this trip, so that Nathan could see them (he's a SENIOR this year, so time to start thinking about college!).  We ate at Eskimo Joe's and Hideaway Pizza.  We also made a stop at Braum's for ice cream and visited our friend Betsy.  It was fun to see the campus, although it was a pretty hot day.  We even dropped in on one of Alex's friends on campus.  

We also visited the University of Kansas in Lawrence and Kansas State in Manhattan.  Nathan wanted a picture by Allen Field House at KU.  We ate lunch in Manhattan and stopped by the Dairy Bar for ice cream at KState.  (Owen and Weston didn't come with us that day; they stayed with Aunt Jane.  We visited her a few days.)  I think out of those 3 universities, Nathan is leaning towards KSU (not based on the campus, but on their programs and his interests).    

One of the places we visited with Jane was a little town in Missouri called Weston.  We have some ancestors that used to live there.  It was a cute little town.  We stopped to buy some gifts at a little country store.  We had a nice time visiting Jane - she always spoils us.      

We had the rare occasion of celebrating Fay's birthday with her.  I made french toast for breakfast, Alex helped me make Chinese food for dinner (sweet & sour chicken and Mongolian beef), and Jane sent the birthday cake with us.  Fay got a dinosaur Lego set for her birthday.  We also gave John a Lego set for Father's Day, so the kids had fun helping them put those sets together (although they didn't have time to finish John's set).      



For Father's Day, I made omelettes and bacon for breakfast, lasagna for dinner, and M&M cookies for dessert.  We also surprised Alex with a Lego set, although we left it at home.  I made a card for him, with a picture on the front of him backpacking with the kids.  Inside was a picture of the kids holding his new Lego set.  The card said, "What's almost as good as a backpacking trip with your kids?.... Your kids holding your new Lego set!"  It took him a minute to realize what was going on.  





We stayed in Cedar City, UT for a night on the way home.  We visited the grounds of the Cedar City Temple.  We're not able to attend temples outside of our area yet, so we didn't go inside, but it was fun to wander around the grounds.  That was Kai's first visit to a temple (at least the parking lot by it - we didn't take her on the grounds).  


Alex headed on to Nevada the next morning, where he spent the next 3 weeks for work.  The kids and I drove the last day home, but it wasn't too long of a day and Nathan and I took turns driving.  We made it...another cross country trip!  I never like the long drive, but I love seeing family.  

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