During the first week of August, Justin had a work trip planned to Washington, D.C. We thought that would be a great opportunity to go spend the week with my parents in Oklahoma before I start my new job & Austin starts Kindergarten.
We drove up on a Monday & got there in time to help out with cooking before dinner that night...
Kaylee & Austin both find it a necessity to take their cowboy boots to Pock's house because it's inevitable that they're helping check cows, feed cows, etc. on any given day.
Here's Kaylee rocking her pink boots with her pink dress...
And climbing up Uncle Brian's legs after dinner...
And any visit to Nanna's house calls for TEA PARTIES! This is something Mom started with Kaylee a year or so ago, and now we must have tea parties every day we're at Nanna's house. (Usually when the guys are out doing boy stuff like shooting guns, fishing or checking cows...)
Tuesday, we just relaxed around the house. Austin LOVES his Uncle Brian's childhood collection of Lego's, so he was quick to get busy making new creations.
We were lucky to get to see Aunt Rachel & Uncle Brian every day we were there...
the kids LOVE them both so much!
And we quickly learned that the combination of Austin with Uncle Brian makes for some awesome Lego creations... like this airplane they whipped up before dinner Tuesday night!
And another must-do at Nanna's is to play Memory with her.
(Kaylee is a mastermind at games like this, so she usually ends up winning...)
Our visit also included daily visits up to Mama Bea's house (my grandma). She always gave them some type of sweets -- ice cream cones, candy bars, cookies, etc. Hey - what's a great-grandma supposed to do anyway? (They quickly learned to ask to go see Mama Bea VERY regularly! ha)
Wednesday afternoon when Uncle Brian got home from work, I caught him & Kaylee looking through an album of her baby pictures -- I thought this was the sweetest thing.
... all-the-while, Aunt Rachel was battling Austin in Super Mario III.
Austin has been BEGGING for a Nintendo system for a few months, and lucky enough, Brian still had our original Nintendo system from when we were growing up. He sent it home with us & Austin gets so excited when it's time to play each day!
On Thursday, we drove to Arkansas & had lunch in Alma (the town I graduated high school from) with some family friends. This is Lana with her new granddaughter, Tinley. She is the sweetest little thing you've ever seen...
And, of course, Aunt Rachel with Kaylee
Here's new Mom, Lakin. She's such a sweetheart & I'm so glad she married my childhood friend, Levi.
Here's all of us minus my Mom.
Goosey (the man standing beside me) roped with Dad 25+ years ago. So, on weekend nights, me, my brother, Levi (in the cap, seated) & one other boy (Wade Watkins) would get to play together while our Dads roped in eachother's roping arenas. We talked so much about what great memories we all have from those days -- we all could even vividly remember when my Dad got his thumb cut off from getting a rope looped around his thumb during roping one night. I have such great memories (though that experience isn't a "great" one), and so many of them involve this wonderful family. Levi honestly is like another brother to me & Goosey and Lana are like an extended set of parents....
After lunch, we headed to Rudy to see my Aunt Leon. She was my babysitter growing up & is now 97 years old (turning 98 in November). She is an amazing Christian woman & I have been so lucky to have her in my life since birth. We always make it a point to stop by & see her while we're up that way.
And, of course, I took lots of pictures...
She gave Kaylee this baby doll, which is one that I played with as a little girl at Aunt Leon's house. She would let me take the baby home to wash her hair & let her sleep with me, then I'd always get to play with her again at her house. It's so cute to see how much Kaylee loves that baby, just like I did as a kid.
Aunt Leon has always had birds for as long as I can remember. Kaylee loves looking at them & I snapped this sweet picture of her exploring them while we were all in the living room chatting.
Aunt Leon's great-niece, Liz, has recently moved in with her. She is so sweet & does so much for Aunt Leon; we're so thankful for her.
Thursday night, we headed back to Mama Bea's house to have an improptu birthday celebration for her. (She had a birthday on my graduation day, so we didn't get to be there for her "real" birthday party.)
This is Kaylee's "big eyes" face. It cracked us up so much -- my Dad & brother just couldn't get enough of it...
Here's the kids helping Mama Bea open her cards & gifts.
After cookie cake & a celebration, we headed back to Mom & Dad's. While I was busy packing, Brian & Rachel kept the kids occupied by playing more Super Mario III... you can tell it must have been an intense game.
On Friday, we caravanned toward Lubbock, Texas.
My graduation was the next day. I drove my car & my parents followed all the way there -- the kids swapping off from one vehicle to the other at every gas or food stop we made. Justin was flying in from DC that night...
....graduation stories & pics to come....
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