Oklahoma is OK!

After the mess of travel that was Thanksgiving, you can be sure the last thing I wanted to do was hop on another plane just 4 days after returning home. However, we hadn't seen Mike and Marie since before Truitt was born. Mike is one of Ray's closest friends (he was the Best Man in our wedding) and Marie, clearly, is his wife. They are expecting their 1st baby this Spring and this was the best, if not the only, time we were going to get to visit for quite a while.

It ended up being a great trip- super easy flights, Truitt was fine with the plane and staying in a new house. Part of this was their dog, Lucy. There was a definite mutual admiration society there. We had a lot of fun and are really so happy we made the trek.

Mike and Marie were great hosts and we got to see a lot in the short time we were there. One of the things Turtle enjoyed the most was going out to the wildlife preserve. He adores animals and is fascinated by any new ones he discovers. At the preserve, he got to experience a prairie dog town and see a herd of wild buffalo. Both were fun and amazing!

PRARIE DOG TOWN:

Aren't they so cute and funny? We brought them some contraband- left over blur corn pancakes from breakfast (which Mike made and were wonderful). They were hysterical, scrambling to get their share. Their little chirping voices only added to their whole cartoon-like existence! You may also notice the red splotch on Truitt's mouth. Climbing on the fence he managed to give himself a bloody lip. As you can see, he was none the worse for wear...

BUFFALO HERDS:

It was really amazing to see these huge animals just hanging out. Needless to say, we did not exit our vehicle.

Another great attraction for Truitt was the Visitor Center. They had so many hands-on exhibits and if Tru likes anything, it's being hands-on. He looooved the exhibit that had different animal calls, although Mike and Ray possibly had more fun with the moose call... Right when you walk in the door, there is a stuffed buffalo. We actually went to the visitor center before we drove out around the reserve, so Tru's first buffalo experience was up close. He couldn't stop pointing and saying "big, big that" which is what he says whenever he sees something big and doesn't know the name of it. Ha! He is a funny little man.

Again, we are so glad we went through with it. It was a crazy travel schedule for sure (Ray left for Colorado the day after we got back and was gone all week for work) but sometimes you just have to make time to see people you miss and care about. We are so lucky we found the time to do just that. We can't wait for Mike and Marie to welcome their little boy. They are going to be amazing parents. We can tell for sure by the patience with which they dealt with this monster/toddler!!