We just returned from a six day trip....to Dallas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. All total, we drove 1700 miles. This was Reese on the first day of driving. The girls did unbelievably well....especially today on the 9.5 hour drive home. Thank goodness for DVD players, Nancy Drew books, and stickers.....and a few too many snacks. 
Our first stop was in Dallas. We stayed with my brother and his family. I have no pictures of that, but we had a great time with them. We stopped off at the American Girl store. I didn't let the girls bring their dolls this year, so they wanted to have their pictures taken w/ some of the dolls in the store. This was Cody's first experience at the store...he saw how quickly things add up when everything is multiplied by THREE.
Marin and Lanie - the girl of the year for 2010.
Outside the store.
We drove on to Tulsa to see Cody's parents. They took us to the circus. It was fun - the seats were very good and the girls loved all the animals. This is my token picture of it, because the other ones are really too dark.
After 2 nights in Oklahoma, we drove on to Kansas. We talk about Lawrence a lot with the girls, and Marin has some memories of us living there, but we wanted to take them back and let them see where we lived, where Bennett was born, and see the KU campus. Just past the Kansas/Oklahoma border in this little town called Caney, Kansas we saw a sign for a Safari Zoo. I wanted to ignore it, but Cody insisted it would be great and that the girls would love it. He was right. Turns out this place has been featured on Animal Planet and the Today show - they have three bengal tigers that were abandoned by their mom right after they were born, so this couple's dog basically mothered the three tigers for quite some time. The place was amazing, but a bit unnerving for me....these animals were literally 2-3 feet away from my children. I was constantly looking around trying to find an escape route if needed.....Cody thinks I am crazy. Things started off mildly...the girls got to touch a baby alligator and feed babboons.
It is a guided tour thru their facility and it was just us and two other ladies in our group. We were the only ones there. So, Tom, the owner, kept up with us and fed the animals as we went along so that we could see how amazing and big (and scary) they were.
Two of the three triplet bengal tigers. Of course, bengal tigers are Reese's most favorite animal. She had already decided that she wanted a Bengal Tiger themed birthday party...this trip just sealed the deal.
Those tigers were really eyeing her....
The grizzly bear. They showed the girls how to do a little trick and the bear would mimic them. Again, much too close for my liking....
Tom (who was every bit of 6 feet tall) stood up on a little stool and then held his arm up - this shows how incredibly huge these animals are when they stretch up. I was seriously praying over these cages at this point.
After making it out alive, we went on to Lawrence. We had such a great time there. Lawrence was one of our most favorite places to live. We see now how God placed us there at absolutely the most perfect time.....I certainly wouldn't want to be raising children in that town, but when they were babies it was great. I loved being able to go back and see things again. I was such an emotional wreck when we left, it was good to go back and have some closure in a way. This was at Chipotle downtown.
KU and the Jayhawks.
We went back the next day to buy some KU shirts. Cody and Marin were grumpy and mad that we were buying anything there....Cody promised everyone a trip to Lubbock later this summer :-)
This is what happens when you are in the car for too long.
It is a guided tour thru their facility and it was just us and two other ladies in our group. We were the only ones there. So, Tom, the owner, kept up with us and fed the animals as we went along so that we could see how amazing and big (and scary) they were.
Two of the three triplet bengal tigers. Of course, bengal tigers are Reese's most favorite animal. She had already decided that she wanted a Bengal Tiger themed birthday party...this trip just sealed the deal.
Those tigers were really eyeing her....
The grizzly bear. They showed the girls how to do a little trick and the bear would mimic them. Again, much too close for my liking....
Tom (who was every bit of 6 feet tall) stood up on a little stool and then held his arm up - this shows how incredibly huge these animals are when they stretch up. I was seriously praying over these cages at this point.
After making it out alive, we went on to Lawrence. We had such a great time there. Lawrence was one of our most favorite places to live. We see now how God placed us there at absolutely the most perfect time.....I certainly wouldn't want to be raising children in that town, but when they were babies it was great. I loved being able to go back and see things again. I was such an emotional wreck when we left, it was good to go back and have some closure in a way. This was at Chipotle downtown.
KU and the Jayhawks.
We went back the next day to buy some KU shirts. Cody and Marin were grumpy and mad that we were buying anything there....Cody promised everyone a trip to Lubbock later this summer :-)
This is what happens when you are in the car for too long. Now, after all those miles, and after eating out 14 times in 7 days, we are home. The girls were so glad it be home - it was cute to listen to them. Eating at home sounds really good at this point. Now, to all that laundry.....
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