Oklahoma - Trip days 2 and 3

I love warm weather!!!  As I packed the RV last week I asked Travis to please turn on the RV heater so the place warm enough to stand on the carpet without shoes.  (You can't wear snow and mud-filled shoes in the RV.)  Some of the days were so cold and the wind was so swift I couldn't even bear bringing the loads of belongings from the dining room through the garage and out to the RV parked in the driveway just 45 feet away.  I mean...-9...and that wasn't with windchill.  I still had to change some light bulbs on the front porch.  Every time I thought of it, I shivered.  I procrastinated until the very last moment hoping the weather would change.  It did.  The temperatures hit positive numbers Wednesday...5.  (That's f-i-v-e.)  Not much of a windchill either.  A great day to pack and change light bulbs.

DAY 2
Fast forward to Oklahoma (the first stop on our trip).  We crashed the Christmas party at Uncle Gail's house Sunday.  Much of the Boots family (Trav's mom's family) was there including Gail's daughters, Ti and Jackie, and their families.  Their kids are all about the same ages as our kids.  It was GORGEOUS outside!!!  In the 50's!  I stood in the backyard facing the sun, soaking up the Vitamin D.  All nine kids ran around playing football and tag.  They climbed trees, had a tug-of-war, and jumped rope.  Taite and cousin Landrey took Uncle Gail on a nature walk and Taite taught them about petrified wood.  With the snow and rain they've had in Claremore, Oklahoma, the ground was covertly muddy.  Of course Taite and Lincoln were a mess and didn't even notice - they had mud from head to toe!  The girls, on the other hand, noticed and did their best to enjoy the outside without becoming a disaster.  Parker hurried desperately toward me to show me her now-muddy sparkly silver shoes.  No tears, but she was concerned.  We'll work on getting them clean.

Our day was wonderful.  I'd like to say that the weather was the best part about it - because that was a big deal.  But the bigger deal was spending time with such a fabulous family.  Grandma Boots (or Nanny Boots as the rest of this southern family affectionately calls her) is now 90.  Here is a photo of her with 9 of her 17 great grandchildren.  The Boots' family is wonderful and we thoroughly enjoyed our time with them.

DAY 3
Monday's weather was even better...60's!  I sound like a true Minnesotan, I'm still talking about weather.  But it was really nice outside.  So nice that we decided to wash the RV!  And boy did it need it!  The Flyer needed a washing before we left but, as you can imagine, it was just too cold.  Today we were outside in t-shirts, scrubbing away.  We played cribbage and colored pictures outside, too.  We had a hard time bringing ourselves inside.

Inside or outside, Lincoln and Parker entertained us Monday.  They've always been the best of friends/worst of enemies.  Monday they were the best of friends.  They did everything together.  Lincoln would decide to do something and Parker would 'decide' to do the same thing.  Then Lincoln would ask Parker if she wanted to play something else and then she would choose the next activity.  They made up songs.  They played with the farm toys in the garage.  They both helped wash the tires on the Flyer.  They colored together and played UNO.  They even spent time seeing how goofy they could be.  Everything.  I can only hope the rest of the trip is like this!  It's heart-warming to see siblings enjoy each other's company like this.

Parker looked at me and said, "Mommy!  Look at my microphones!"  I corrected her only after she showed everyone in the family her microphones.  ;-)