Preview for Old Man's Cave

One of the things I have been looking forward to the most was taking Dorothy and her family to visit Old Man's Cave in the Hocking Hills area. Figuring we could drive 2 cars and I could drive back early instead of going on a lengthy hike, we decided to make the trip down this past Wednesday despite the fact I was still sick. I just downed some ibuprofen and prayed for stamina. It was worth it.

Maddox is such a poser. He's so adorable, and he knows it!

I loved looking up at the bridges from down in the gorge.

Lots of fun overhanging rocks!

K-Lynn and Gwennie taking a quick rest on a boulder with a view.

Unfortunately, this is really just a preview of The Old Man's Cave for me. I never saw the actual "Old Man's Cave" (assuming there is one) and never actually got to hike the trails, but my mom and I did take a small introductory tour to whet my appetite for our next visit.

It can't come soon enough!

Our Palo Duro Adventure

Since we only have about 2 weeks left in Oklahoma before our move to Ohio, I decided to take the boys,  Olivia, and the dogs on an overnight trip to Amarillo and the Palo Duro Canyon.  Not only is this likely our last chance to see the "Little Grand Canyon", but it would also give me a chance to see how our dog, Trixie, travels before setting out on a 13+ hour trip to Ohio. So yesterday afternoon we drove to a hotel in Amarillo and stayed in a hotel overnight. (For those wondering why Kelsey didn't come with us, she is currently in Utah with friends and enjoying a visit with her fabulous Uncle Danny, Aunt Jessica, and cousin Jackson.)

***As a side note, I learned that Maddox is too light of a sleeper to share a hotel room with dogs that may need to make a potty run at 4 a.m. When he wakes up at 4, there's no going back to sleep. And I seriously need to bring some melatonin for Connor when we are on the road if I want him to fall asleep before 10 p.m. But on the bright side, Trixie doesn't get car sick! This bodes well for our drive to Ohio.***

Before I get to the pictures from the hiking trip in the Canyon, I'm going to fast-forward a bit to two incidents that happened on the way home - both worth remembering.

Incident 1: Comedian Cop

     After leaving the park, we headed back to Amarillo to gas up the van and get some lunch before making the 4-hour trip back to Edmond. Since the canyon is SE of Amarillo, that meant backtracking a little out of our way. (For those who need a geography lesson, Amarillo is in the Texas panhandle, due west of the OKC area.) I happened to be in a construction zone on the highway heading west and not paying attention to my speed, so a policeman pulled me over. He asked us where we were headed, and I told him we were going back to Oklahoma after seeing the canyon. 

     He must have wondered about my answer, because he asked me again, "So, where are you headed now?" 

     "Back to Oklahoma," I replied. 

     "You do know Oklahoma is in the other direction, don't you?" 

     Yes. Yes, Mr. Police Officer. I do know. But thanks for letting me off with a warning instead of a speeding ticket!!

Incident 2: Dead Battery

     A little over an hour from home, my battery light in the van came on. I watched it and worried, but didn't really know what it meant so I kept driving, hoping and praying we'd make it home without incident and I could get my car to our mechanic. Within about 20 minutes, all my gauges had stopped working, and I knew we were in trouble. I called our mechanic and he told me to find a local auto shop and get someone to charge our battery so we could get home and he could take a look at it. Fortunately, we were almost to a town that had what we needed. I called the closest mechanic and he told me I could stop by and he'd help me out. As I pulled off the interstate into town, I hit a red light and the van died completely. A couple of really nice guys (did I ever tell you how nice the people are in Oklahoma??) came to my rescue and pushed me through the intersection into a parking lot. A lot that just happened  to be almost directly behind the mechanic I was aiming for. And as an added blessing, a city park was directly across the street! Olivia took the boys and Trixie over to stretch their legs and play, and I got help from the mechanic. A mere 45 minutes and $10 later, we were on the road home and made it safely. So although it wasn't the way I wanted to end my "last" Oklahoma adventure, I was grateful it worked out the way it did!

So, this trip to Palo Duro Canyon Park this morning...

I wonder if this sign was trying to tell us something?? Falling hikers maybe??

The first thing we did after getting into the park was stop near the visitor's center to get our bearings. The kids quickly learned that this plant was painfully sharp. The green blades are pretty stiff and the tips? Those are thorns. Long, sharp thorns. Apparently we aren't fast learners, though, because I'm pretty sure that each of us got pricked at least once before we left.

I asked the boys to take a picture by the sign, and they started goofing off. In order to get them to be serious, I said, "Be respectful, boys, you're by the flag!" That's when Connor struck this pose. Little turkey. I couldn't argue, though... a salute is respectful!

Olivia found great satisfaction in  sitting on this wall next to a drop-off. I don't know why it makes my stomach do flip-slops to see it, but it does. Every time. And now that she knows it, Olivia takes every opportunity she can to make me suffer!

Although the most popular trail at the park is the Lighthouse trail, we opted for an easier one since we had the dogs and a long drive home.

Trixie seems to like hiking, but I'm not sure we like taking her. We can't get her to drink water out of anything except her usual bowl, so it was hard to watch her panting and thirsty. Annabelle didn't mind the hike at all. Although it was probably because she spent the time in the backpack pet carrier that I was wearing. Yes, I have become one of "those" pet owners. It's a little humiliating, to tell the truth!

At one point the boys wanted to go climb up on this ledge for a picture. Maddox tried to climb up first, but he couldn't make it alone so he asked for a boost. Connor tried to give him one by letting Maddox climb on his back. It didn't work, but it was funny to watch!

Fortunately, Olivia came to their rescue and got them up there.

And now a few more pictures of our scenery and the boys...

When did Connor become such a ham? Usually it's Kelsey and Maddox making crazy faces at the camera!

Overall, it was one of the longest 28 hours of my life.

But we're still glad we went.

Mostly, though, we're glad to be home.

And especially glad that the boys (and dogs) are asleep in their own beds...

Tiger Safari Awesomeness

I belong to a local homeschool group.  They ask each parent to help out with something, and since I'm the over-achiever that I am, I can't seem to just do something small.  This year I volunteered to plan a monthly field trip for families with elementary-aged kids.  Remember that post on the Edmond Safety Village last month?  That was the first one I scheduled.  Our second one was even cooler.  I may not be able to top this...

We went to the Tiger Safari in Tuttle, Oklahoma.  This place was amazing!  I love zoos and I love animals, and that made this all the better.  We got a group discount, but even without it the admission would have been well worth it.  It's not as large as the zoo, but where else can you sit on a tortoise?

One of the first things we did was go to the tortoise enclosure (I can't remember what species, but they are the third largest in the world) and the owner selected 4 of the moms to come sit on the animals.  I was more than a little nervous, but the tortoise didn't mind a bit... I think.  His head was pulled inside his shell so I couldn't see his expression very well. 

After the moms took a turn, the kids all got a chance, too.  Kelsey was excited.

Maddox was apprehensive.

And Connor wouldn't do it all.

They also had some babies inside, and he brought one out for us to see just how tiny they are when they are born.

This might be a good time to mention my "mom fail" of the day. I forgot to bring coats for the boys.  Unfortunately, I think we had hit the high for the day around 7am and just got cooler as the day went on.  I'm pretty sure it was around 50-55 degrees the whole time we were there.  Fortunately, another mom took pity on Connor (who was trembling like a leaf!) and snagged an extra jacket from their van for him.  Maddox wasn't fazed at all.

Rather than bore you with the endless pictures of the cool animals we saw, I'm going to just mention a couple that were especially noteworthy.  

Firstly, there were these very loud birds.  Our tour-guide said that if the kids jumped up and down and screamed then the bird would dance for us.  And dance he did.

All the noise was a little scary for the younger kids, though. (Not a great picture, but you get the idea!)

We also saw several tigers, and the adults got to feed one of the white tigers.

There were several exhibits with ring-tailed lemurs, and one with white and black lemurs.  They were all very active, but the black and white lemurs were the most entertaining for the kiddos.  One got really "up close and personal."

All in all it was a great day, and I'd love to go back sometime.  If you live in Oklahoma, you should definitely make the trip.  It's worth it!

The Cure for Monday Blues

Normally I love Mondays.  Really, I do.  A week full of endless possibilities...

This morning was an exception - in a big way.

First I woke up exhausted thanks to Maddox who got up a couple times last night.  Not to mention the fact that I didn't get any laundry done last week, so I was faced with this:

 (It should be noted that I had already washed 2 loads by this point.)

Everyone was cranky, and I made the mistake of giving Maddox yogurt for breakfast.  Why is that a mistake, you ask?  Because he's rather lactose intolerant - can't handle dairy in large quantities.  Which probably explains why he threw up a little while playing with the Legos.  In the Lego bin, no less.  Which led to this:

Meanwhile, Connor was spending time with the new lady-friend in his life - his speech therapist, Ms. Diana.

We love her.  Maddox especially likes to get into her toys.

By the time 9am rolled around, I knew it was going to be one of those mornings.

So I did what any self-respecting mom would do: I took the kids to the free day at the dinosaur museum, and I took backup in the form of my friend, Lori.

And after letting the kids get crushed by the mastadon, I felt a little bit better.

 

The lighting is pretty dim in the dinosaur museum except where the natural light comes on, so my pictures are always lousy in there.  However, we did go up to the landing before we left, and I got some adorable pictures of my Kelsey-Bug.  I love that girl - she's so full of life.

And this is my favorite picture of the visit: Lori with Maddox.  He loves her, and vice versa.  And that's one less kid I need to chase on my own.

After the museum, it was time for the picnic lunch and playground.  

What is it with boys and trucks?  

Today's Final Installment - A Zoo Trip

This wasn't your normal, run-of-the-mill zoo trip.  It started off in the van.  Or rather, WAITING in the van.  (Notice the great smile from Eva, and the glares from Connor and Kelsey.)  On the way out the door, I got the genius idea that I should actually lock it for once.  The only problem is that my wallet and keys weren't in the diaper bag, but in my purse.  Which I left inside.

Lucky for us, Ben drove home and saved the day by unlocking the door for us.  And I grabbed some spare house keys for the diaper bag.

Once we got to the zoo (and got Eva a sweatshirt because it was FREEZING), we immediately went to go feed the giraffes.  It was... okay.  They won't actually let you touch the giraffes, and for your whopping $3 you get a measly THREE leaves of romaine lettuce.  Which you can only tear in half - no smaller.  The you hold it up while the giraffes shoots out his amazingly long tongue and grabs it from the hand of your terrified child.  I longingly thought of our trip to the zoo in SC where it was $2 for a big handful for chopped up lettuce and you were on a platform the same height as the giraffes' heads so they were sticking their heads through to grab the food and we were able to pet them a little.

After the giraffes, though, it got very exciting.  Connor and Eva decided to run away from us.  And by the time we realized they weren't coming back they had quite the head start.  Finally we blocked them in, and threatened to leave the zoo if it happened again.  They were angels for the rest of the day.  Sort of.  After that, I guess it was a typical zoo trip - but they are all amazing if you stop and think about it.

I'm not sure who was in the strangest mood here.  The rhino...

...the awkward-smile-girl...

...or the dirty-look-queen.  

(Isn't she so  much prettier when she smiles?)

The tiger was pretty cool, though.  When he noticed I was taking pictures, he came closer to the fence so I could get a better shot.  So considerate.  It was amazing to be so close.

And speaking of tigers... there were some cubs, too.  Can you see the two behind momma tiger?

On the way out of Cat Forest, we had to stop for the kids to do a little exploring.

And a little statue-climbing, of course.  What would be a trip to the zoo without it?

This picture is my favorite.

And this is when I realized I had forgotten to brush Connor's hair.  At least he got breakfast, right?

 And a couple more shots of my adorable little men.

Oh!  I just remembered - there was something different about this trip!  I had no idea we had a herpetarium  (i.e. "snake house") at our zoo!  All these years, and I never wondered what was in that building...

This one is a "baby" kimono dragon.

Worth seeing, right?  Eventually he'll be this big, but I doubt Kelsey would get this close then.

Finally, we headed over to the playground before we left.  Terri went with the older kids to the "big" playground, while I stayed with the boys at the younger one.  It was just the right size for Maddox.  He had a blast like never before.

The weather was sunny, but still chilly enough to make his nose run and turn his cheeks pink.

Just call me Superman!

Someone doesn't like getting his picture taken anymore.

When Maddox is focusing really hard, he sticks his tongue out.  It's so funny!  He finally figured out how to use a slide on his own.

And... here's a video of the whole process of him going around, and around, and around... Pay close attention to his face when gets back around to the top.  You'll see his tongue sticking out and then a priceless expression on his face when he actually starts to slide down.

What did I ever do without that little stinker?