Vacation 2014 Part 3: The Zoo

We went to the Tulsa Zoo! And I got to play with my nifty new zoom lens!

They loved the carousel. They would have ridden it fifteen times if we'd let them.

Note to self: this lens captures all the glow of a sweaty hot day in a way that might not be completely attractive for portraits.

Rori rode a giraffe.

I was actually really far away from this bear.

The kids were asking if they could go over the fence and pet the bears. I told them NO.

I was really far away from this flamingo too.

Sea lion!

Playground!

Pretend choo choo train!

DINOSAURS! COMING TO GET YOU!

I feel that the juxtaposition of rhinoceros and Coca-Cola machine is really some sort of postmodern critique of life, or maybe of the spectatorship of nature.

This is an albino alligator? crocodile? I never can remember the difference and it really doesn't matter, since they would both be equally unpleasant to meet in a swamp.

And this is a desert cat which, if it were found in a living room, would be completely indistinguishable from a regular cat.

I don't know what kind of bird this is.

Or this one.

Or these.

But they're really pretty.

Heidi and the bear had fun making the same face.

And Ion wanted to be friends.

I was far away from this butterfly.

And I was really far away from these chimps. Don't worry, I'll stop telling you how amazing my new lens is soon.

Heidi is a lot smaller than a chimpanzee.

Elephant!

Is YOUR zoo cool enough to have Ganesha in it? I DIDN'T THINK SO.

Don't worry, he got away.

There's a statue of an owl if you look where the statue of the man is pointing.

Heidi wanted to climb to the top of the big rock.

We had adventures in the rainforest.

Photo credit: Ryan

And we played in the petting zoo.

Ion wants to be in FFA.

Feeding animals is the BEST.

There is a baby monkey in this picture!

And we saw Hedwig.

I officially wish we lived close enough to the Tulsa Zoo to become members and go every weekend. Ah, well, I guess we'll keep crossing our fingers for a farm and let the kids grow up with livestock that way.

Vacation 2014 Part 2: At the Park

We vacationed at Sequoyah State Park, an amazing state park 30 minutes away from Tahlequah. It's close enough to be convenient (read: we didn't freak out about whether we'd forgotten anything), but far enough away that with a room at the resort we felt like we were away from it all.

We went on the Watermelon Hay Ride, in which we got all itchy from hay while we trundled behind a tractor, and then ate Farmer's Market watermelon until we were all ready to burst.

We went on hikes. Lots and lots of hikes.

And more hikes. And in between hiking we did nature prints on tshirts. 

We went on tram rides around the park. The kids thought we were on a choo choo train.  

Or, as Ion says, a too too wain.

And as Heidi says, chugga chugga choo choo comin' fwoo.

We flew airplanes.

And we played in the dirt.

And we went on more, more hikes. And picked up rocks. And did some more hiking. 

And we rode horses and swam and played on the splash pad and ate ice cream and made necklaces and did so many things that I was frankly too tired to take pictures of. And we slept soundly every night. Except the first night. 20 limbs in 2 double beds is quite crowded, but I'm pretty sure we could have all been on the floor and still slept soundly. Having fun all day with toddlers is a way more effective sleep medicine than Ambien, let me tell you.

Tomorrow: we went to the zoo a few times too.

Vacation 2014 Part 1: Fourth of July

I'm belatedly blogging our vacation at Sequoyah State Park, since I finally got around to culling and editing all my photos. The first activity of vacation, after dumping our bags in the room, was to go out to MeMe and Pop Pop's for the Fourth of July.

The Fourth of July fun started with discovering that 3 little cousin girls had shown up in the same dresses!

All girls need a Barbie Jeep, of course.

Cousin fun in the ball pit turtle

BB guns (far away from the little kids, and always with proper gun safety practices. His dad's a vet, guys, don't freak out. The only things in danger were the squirrels.)

Pa Pa, Me Me, and Nanny chatting on the porch with baby Jax, while the kids have fun.

If either of these babies' parents were in the picture, there would be four generations here.

MeMe, Pops, and their grandkids

Great-grandparents, grandparents, and a whole crowd of grandkids!

Then it was time for fireworks...

...mostly little smoke bombs and sparklers since it was still daylight...

And then it was time to head back to Sequoyah for a hay ride and a very disturbed night of sharing 2 lumpy double beds between 2 adults and 3 toddlers. Stay tuned tomorrow!

The Castle in Muskogee: Renaissance Faire 2014

I love the Ren Faire so much. I wish real life were like a Ren Faire all the time.

and that this was how we solved all our disputes, complete with fake death and magical monarch-ordained resurrection at the end.

I think my favorite part is how people dress up and create this fantasy world that we all kind of wish were true but don't want to admit it in the drab light of day, only behind the Castle walls nobody is in the least bit embarrassed about it. 

Yes, ladies, I'm talking about you.

And you, too, dearest friend from earliest childhood memories. Except I've known you too long to think you wouldn't wear those in public if you felt like it, so maybe you're a bad example.

Also, the Doctor.

This little girl, on the other hand, has not yet learned to be embarrassed about being a princess, thank goodness.

My oldest friend from before either of us could toddle or pee in the toilet came to join in the festivities, and I introduced her to the magical Castle of Muskogee. I hadn't seen her in years. Probably 10 of them. And the last time I saw her we were chased by evil geese, which is another story altogether.

I didn't get a picture of the two of us together because I fail as a friend, but Heidi was quite taken with her and gave me lots of photo-ops. In fact, Heidi is looking over my shoulder right now and saying, "That's Dylan!"

Heidi got to go on the Queen's Quest and find the ribbons that were hidden all over the Castle this year. Last year she wouldn't curtsy, and that is the requirement to go on the quest, so this year we practiced our curtsy so that she would be a pro at it. She got to meet the Queen and was made a lady, and we were given a royal command to call her Lady Heidi for the rest of the day.

There were many adventures all day, and if the repeated chorus of "Princess Castle, please!" ever since is anything to judge by, I'm not the only one who wishes real life were more like this.

Dylan, I'm going to conscript you as my child photography assistant to make funny faces behind my back all the time.

This dear childhood friend of mine hadn't been in my house 30 minutes before she taught my kids to touch their noses and say "phbbbbbbbbbbt!" which hasn't stopped being hilarious to them since.

My babies want a hobbit house, oh, so much. 

In short, in the stories about people being whisked away to Fairyland, if it is anything like a Ren Faire, I can see why those people stay there.

Beautiful

Heidi ran up to me, face full of joy and sparkly colorful raccoon eyes. "Momma, look! Momma, look!"

I looked. I breathed in, halfway. I stopped. I swallowed. I breathed in the rest of the way. I closed my eyes. I forced a smile onto my face. I said, "Did you make yourself beautiful?"

"Yes, I did! I'm so beautiful!"

"You are such a beautiful little girl. Now let's go clean up the mess you made."

But upon inspecting the bathroom, all I could find was a single eyeliner on the sink. "Heidi, where is the rest of my makeup bag?"

"In the closet!"

And I'll be darned if it wasn't. There may have been powder and eye shadow all over the bathroom, but by golly, that makeup bag was put back away.