Oklahoma

Our drive into Oklahoma was pretty boring.  A whole lot of nothing.  But we were very happy to be on the road and not in a hospital room.  E Step was happy as a clam, and excited to be out of that awful crib!  

State 15

Our trip into Oklahoma was to visit some of our old neighbors in Okinawa.  J and A were both air force officers, and they were very close in age to us.  We had always hit it off great, and have really missed them since we last saw them a year and a half ago.  Stoping in Oklahoma City was a must when we made our cross country plans.  Luckily, it happened to fall right into place.  Unfortunately, after E Step's accident our tip was cut short.  But we were grateful for any time with them.  

We got there mid afternoon, and dogs began playing immediately.  They have a very rambunctious dog named Baron.  He and Neko ran around, got wet, and had a grand old time together.  Gosh I love labs.  Neko was showing his age compared to their puppy.  Neko is usually the dog with the most energy, but he was proven to be an old man for the first time with this visit.  After running around for a half hour, he was tired of playing.  Baron could play all day long.  I am glad we are past that stage with Neko!  

The boys played with their adorable baby A.  She is so sweet, such an easy baby!  Z Step is asking for a baby sister now, and E Step surprised me with how well he reacted with her.  

E Step and Baby A

The boys playing around.  Neko was getting pretty tired of playing, and decided to sit in the mud and cool off

That evening, we had some amazing grilled pizzas.  They are wonderful cooks, and are always making something unique.  Three different pizzas were made.  They all were amazing.  We ate our pizzas, and hung around in their newly landscaped back yard.  They had beautiful boulders put in, some were even from Montana.  We had a bon fire for old time's sake, and then went inside to play Cards Against Humanity, our favorite adult game.  

Outside for a bon fire.  Z Step was being silly with the guys

In the morning, we had a quick breakfast before heading to a really neat coffee shop and the farmer's market.  The farmer's market was a great stop for us, our food had all gone bad in St. Louis because we didn't have a fridge in our room.  We needed some fresh food.  We picked up some snacks for the road the next day.  The people in Oklahoma were very nice, though many of them didn't know how to drive for the life of them.  

After the farmer's market, we all went to the pool for some fun.  The boys love swimming, and Z Step has been doing well lately.  We are hoping to get rid of the wingies soon.  We all had some fun cooling off and playing.  

A, J, and Baby A.  She was cracking up with her daddy in the pool.  

Our Family

We spent the rest of the day prepping for a little party A had planned as a going away for J.  He will be at training for 6 months, so she wanted to have a little get together for him.  She always throws the nicest get togethers.  She had some yummy food planned, as always.  And I was able to help her out with getting it all together.  It was a great evening, and we even got to go in the back yard and catch some fireflies.  We got 5, but I think they all ended up dying.  

As a coincidence, A was driving J's car to Vegas for when he is there for training.  So she was going to join us for the next part of our journey to New Mexico.  It is where she was planning on stopping to break her trip up anyway, and that is where we were headed next.  We were glad to have another person along the way, and she was happy to have someone to join her for part of her trip.  So we went to bed, ready to get up early and drive the next day.