Some of the first people on our docket were my twin sister and her family in Oklahoma. We normally see them just once a year, at Christmas when we all make it home to Michigan. So we planned a trip to the Sooner State last weekend just for fun. My parents joined the rendezvous and we had a great time!
Even though we arrived a little haggard - (How many times can a kid turn the overhead lights on/off and open/close the window shade and jump across the aisle and throw books on the floor? About a thousand times during a 2-hour flight, if you're Kai the Destroyer...) - we made it in one piece, and as soon as we got to the hotel, he started walking! We've been waiting 17 months for this kid to decide to walk, and he suddenly picked himself off the floor and walked across the room at a hotel in Oklahoma! He's really taken off since then and it's amazing!
After delighting in our son walking, we went straight to my sister's house to play. They live in the country where it's beautiful and quiet and spacious, and the kids had a heyday inside and out. There's a marvelous play structure in their backyard and the boys loved climbing and swinging. Caleb loved running through the backyard and Kai loved petting the dogs. It was a beautiful spring evening and we felt far from the 30 degree weather we left in Minnesota!
Next up in our weekend of fun: the zoo! Caleb is obsessed with animals. I mean, obsessed. He talks about them, he reads about them, he pretends to be them, and he tells you everything he knows about them. He watches Wild Kratts on a daily basis and can tell you that spider monkeys don't have thumbs and that sperm whales can dive deeper than any other creature in the sea. He knows about obscure animals like skinks and tapirs and narwhals and basilisk lizards and emerald tree boas. Every night when we pray, he says thank you for a variety of animals: "Thank You for orangutans. Thank you for colobus monkeys. Thank you for iguana!" All that to say, Caleb was rather excited to be at the zoo. (And he's been asking to go back to the "different zoo" ever since we got home.) Kai had a pretty good time too. He's loving animals more and more, and is no doubt being influenced by his brother :)
It was sunny and 75 over the weekend. It was absolutely perfect for grilling and playing outside. We soon realized that Oklahoma has some of the best beef we've ever tasted, which makes sense. It's sorta like Wisconsin having some of the best ice cream around. We had delicious burgers amidst a smorgasbord of other things, and the kids played and played till we made them leave for bedtime.
And of course we went swimming in the hotel pool. Caleb loved it and kept saying he wanted to swim all by himself. Kai was more timid than I expected but he was content to be held and eventually started enjoying himself.
Lastly, we visited the horse clinic where my brother-in-law works. He's an equine surgeon. That's right - his job is very cool and we love to brag about him :) Eli was particularly interested in the operation of the place, and the boys were particularly interested in the baby horses. It's foaling season and there were some adorable horses around, including this 3-day old foal that my sister helped the boys to pet. Caleb loved the place and even asked if the horses come on helicopters! (We told him we were visiting a horse hospital where the horses come to feel better, and he associates helicopters with hospitals because we see them fly over our house in Duluth all the time and watch them land at the hospital where they bring sick people "to feel better.")
We had a lovely time in Oklahoma and wish we could make it back again soon. But our busy year continues and there are other places demanding our attention: Florida, Michigan, Indiana, Utah, Georgia... So we'll have to save our next trip to Oklahoma till we're home from Africa for a visit. Whenever we get there again, we know it will be a good time!
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