Destination...Oklahoma
..with a few stops along the way!
Last October, we journeyed to Oklahoma to visit my dad and stepmom and some friends in OKC. Along the way, we stopped at a few cemetaries with ancestors of the Pride and Acuff clans. It was interesting to see how much of our histories are close (at least geographically) and a lot of fun finding "hidden" cemetaries in western Illinois! Zeb got some good info and the kids got a chance to play in leaf piles and see the graves of family they'll never know by more than just stories...
Once in the Tulsa area, we spent 3 fantastic days with my dad (aka Papa) and stepmom (aka Grandma Ginny). We went to the Jenks Aquarium, got great barbecue, played with trains and went exploring through the Tahlequah/Cherokee region of Oklahoma. Wow! It's been a long time since I've been in that neck of the woods, but what fun memories came flooding back of canoeing down the Illinois River with friends and camping with my mom!
Zeb loved that the signs were all in English and Cherokee! Had to get a picture, of course!
Your eyes don't deceive you...Indeed Zeb, Oklahoma exists!
Papa gave Isaac the "red and silver" train and they had to build it, of course. Isaac, Papa, Zeb, and even Grandma Ginny had fun playing with this one! It will be even more fun when he gets old enough to not need the wheels "fixed" every few minutes!
She had just mastered getting to a sitting position from laying down!
Papa has 2 dogs, this one is Sophie. She is awesome with the kids!
Who can resist that face!!
The Jenks Aquarium has an awesome "turtle pond". They give you chunks of fish and a flexible pole with a clothespin on the end. You clip a piece of fish onto the clothespin and dangle it over the turtles. They go crazy trying to get to the food. I'd never seen turtle feeding like this, but it was awesome! 
This ray was literally leaping out of the water to be petted! Isaac laughed hilariously with these guys for a long time!
The sharks are swimming overhead!
Grandma Ginny!
We took the roundabout way to the City and stopped in Stillwater to visit Tanya and Tracy...I finally got to meet two of Tanya's beautiful kiddos...Can you guess which two have the same name in this pic??
We went to the zoo with some old friends..This is Joseph and Isaac in front of a HUGE jaguar head...I love the new boardwalk at the zoo!
...and of course, we spent a few days with the McGees...A trip to Oklahoma is never complete without spending precious time with the family! We had so much fun that this picture and the next one are the only ones we took while we were there! And these were on our way out the door to come back North!
Just the girls!
