Current River

We had a very relaxing weekendat the Tulsa reunion. We really enjoyed visiting with everyone. It was fun to see all the cousins and for them to play together. We finished our Tulsa tour with the Oklahoma Aquairum. That was cool. We saw manta rays being fed, a huge shark tank that you walked under, and an octopus.


On our way back to Jeff City we stopped and visited George Washington Carver’s National park. It was where he was born and spent his childhood. What an amazing and inspiring museum. He did so much more for science than just invent over 300 uses for peanuts (peanut butter being one of them). His desire to explore and learn each and every day is truly inspiring. We all walked away seeing the world and each opportunity as a chance to learn and discover.


We are now at the Current River. We spent a few hours on the river today and will be going to an area Conservation Center tomorrow to do some fishing and other activities. Tonight we had a fish fry with our family that lives in the area. Fish fry, family, stories, singing, and beer…it is the way of the hills. It was great. We even had a wild hair and decided to make our own butter for our fresh picked corn at dinner. A table set with fresh veggies from the garden, foods caught with pride, and canned goodies made with love is a summer feast I remember fondly and crave often.

Side note

I forgot to mention that I was able to post some of the pics I had on my camera finally. LONG story. Check the post titled, We are back in the US. I added pics of the boys being chased by a trex and of Mt. Rushmore.
Thanks

OKC

We felt lost not driving for such a long time so we hit the road again on Monday. Off to OKC this time. Tuesday was the OKC Zoo with Uncle Andy, Aunt Elizabeth and cousin Noah. We went right away in the morning so to catch the animals at their more active time and to beat the heat. Lucky on both counts. Cousin Noah is a HOOT! He just turned 2 in April and he and Ellis are the same height! They were sooo cute together. Noah is such a happy guy. We had a great time together.

See the lion behind the kids on the hill? He was awesome!

After the zoo we went across the road to the science museum. It has undergone a complete renovation from when I lived here. We spent about 4 hours there and still did not get to explore all the areas. I had to drag Brad and the boys away from this space exhibit on Newtons laws. They were totally intrigued. Ask Brad about it sometime. I am pretty sure he is going to try to recreate it when we get back. It was that cool. The pictures are of Avery, Isaak and Brad in the tornado tube. The number on the screen inside is the speed of the wind that is in the tube at that time. It was pretty cool. The other is of the boys doing an experiment with energy vs. gravity. It think there was some magnetism thrown in also.

Today (Wednesday) we took the kids to White Water. Cousin Diana and her son Alexander met us there. Alexander is 7 months old and is the happiest baby! What a cutie. Ok, so White Water was pretty neat when I was in middle school. I was expecting to be there for a couple of hours before everyone was tired of the wave pool and the lazy river. I didn't expect what we saw when we arrived. It was a water extravaganza!!! We splurged and rented a cabana for the day so the little ones could nap in peace and so we had shade available all day. It was TOTALLY worth it!!! We stayed for 7 hours. Sun burn you ask...no, I did not. Neither did Celie, Ellis, Isaak or Avery. Of course we applied alot and often. Brad looks like a lobster. Isaak and Avery only have a bit on their cheeks. Now, why does Brad look like a lobster and we don't. Because Brad made fun of my 85+ SPF I bought. He requested that I get him a low SPF like 30 or something so he can still "tan". Well my friend, how is that tan working out for you now? (Insert sinister laugh)

All in all, we are exhausted!!! Tomorrow is a laid back day here at Bev and Daves. We might go on a snake hunt. Apparently Brad found one in the driveway a bit ago. We will recoup for the upcoming family reunion this weekend in Tulsa. Till then....

Aunti Em, Aunti Em

Yes, we relived the epic saga from the Wizard of Oz last night. Ok, so it was not quite as exciting as Dorthy's experience, and we didn't meet any little people or talking lions. But never the less, it was quite exciting.

We took mom and the boys to vacation bible school and then headed to Old Navy for a quick stop. When we got home and were ready to watch WipeOut, the area weather guys were stating that they have been cleared for the next hour or so to cover and report the increasing storms and wall clouds in the area. Great. Just what we need. Wall clouds. So Brad, Dad and I watched for a while. The wall clouds were not really around us, but they looked to be headed our way. Judging from the map, we had two choices. One was to go get everyone from church now before the storm got to JC, or wait until the storm passed to go get them. The storm was moving slowly, so it could be hours before it would be safe to venture out.

Then the tornado sirens started to go off. Great. Just what we needed.

We decided to go get the VBS'ers and bring them home. Brad volunteered.

Brad delivered the boys back safely before the actual storm hit. Mom stayed at the church with the rest of the group. The church was a safe place, but we were unsure how the boys would handle it all. Good thing Brad went. Avery was pretty upset and it took a while to get him calmed down back at the house. As the news reports went on, they commented (and I stress commented like it was no big deal) that a funnel cloud was spotted in JC on Missouri Blvd, but had not touched down. Ok, so Missouri Blvd is about 1/2 mile from the house! We all calmly went to the basement with our emergency bag and my Dad went to the front porch. Typical.
Then night wore on, the storm blew threw, it rained like crazy, and someone from church brought Mom home. WipeOut came on after the weather guys were tired of reporting and we all slept soundly.

Not quite the Wizard of Oz, but exciting enough for us!

Hannibal

We spent all of Friday in Hannibal. What a great lesson in history, fiction, and earth science.

We started our day by climbing the 244 steps to the Widow Douglas (reference to story) Lighthouse that overlooks the town and the Mississippi River. Luckily, there was a nice cool breeze.

Then we went downtown and saw Mark Twain's boyhood home and several structures about Tom Sawyer and other characters from the books.

We ate lunch at an old bordello and the boys were grossed out by the old fashioned underwear on the walls. HA!

We decided we were up for a nice cruise down the Mississippi on an old steam boat. It was fantastic. Isaak was a bit apprehensive at first, but soon fell right into his comfort zone. Celie and Ellis napped for most of it. Even Brad fell asleep for a while. It was great fun and very interesting.

Next we went to the Paddlewheel Candy Store. You would have thought the boys were in heaven. Lets just say that sometimes more choices is not always the best as it took a LONG time for them to choose what candy they would like to take home with them. But still, a fun experience.

We journeyed to the Mark Twain Caves next. Granny, Celie and I did not go. I am fairly claustrophobic and have experienced a cave as a young child (I swear I am traumatized, ha). We figured Celie wouldn't get anything out of it, so we shopped instead. The boys had a grand time! They saw Jesse James hideout as well as his signature on the cave wall. They saw bats and many cool rock formations. After they emerged from the cave we went rock collecting. Kind of like gold panning really. But the boys each found many cool gemstones to keep.

We wrapped up our day by visiting Lovers Leap and treating ourselves to Sonic for the drive home. It was alot of fun! The boys are ready to finish reading the book so they can remember all the things they saw!

Ahhh, to be free again

Yes, we made it to Jefferson City. Our last day on the road was uneventful. The same cycle of excitedness, tiredness, crabbiness, excitedness continued. We are all grateful to be free of the small space. We swam all afternoon on Tuesday. Yesterday it was a whopping 62 degrees as a cool rainy front moved through. I will not be able to post pics for awhile as I have lost all brain cells in my head. Since unpacking all luggage, I have found that I must have left our cord that connects the camera to the computer back in Alaska. And, I left our camera battery in its charger at our hotel in Sioux City, Iowa. I am working on getting that back however, that is another story. So eventually, I will have pics.
Tomorrow we are going to Hannibal and I am sure my dad will take lots of pics. Those I can post.
Until tomorrow....