Where the wind comes sweeping down the plains....

We are back from a short trip to Dondi's Grandma's in Oklahoma. It was a whirlwind trip that Jordan enjoyed, except for the 11-hour roundtrip drive in the car seat.

We left early Friday morning and headed north. Our first stop was at the Cracker Barrel in Denton. After a mid-morning breakfast, we made a stop at the Denton Bridal Co. Dondi bought her wedding dress there and now she is helping plan a trip for our friend (and soon-to-be bride) Kim to do some wedding dress shopping there this fall.

We decided we should be able to truck it most of the way to Grandma's with no more stops. Boy, were we wrong. North of Ardmore, Jordan got fussy, so we pulled over so Dondi could sit in the back with him. Then, it was a stop a few miles later for a diaper explosion. We got into Guthrie, Okla., pretty uneventfully after that and checked into our hotel. We then headed east toward Perkins and Grandma's farmhouse.

Bobbi, Charlie, Cindy and Skylar were all there, along with Grandma. Skylar is one day older than Jordan, so it was good to let the two of them play for a while. Bobbi fixed a delicious dinner for all of us. Friday night, we headed back to the hotel to rest, but Jordan wasn't interested in sleeping. So, we loaded him up to drive around until he fell asleep. In case you're wondering, the Dakotas are quite beautiful this time of year.

Saturday morning we got up and swam at the hotel, which Jordan enjoyed immensely. Then it was back out to the farm for a huge lunch. Huge, by which I mean a lot of food, and huge, by which I mean, a lot of people. I lost count somewhere around 40 people. I think Jordan enjoyed the attention, even if it meant sharing the stage with Eliza, Skylar, Drew, Tatum and Tony.

Saturday afternoon we headed back to DFW, again delusional that we'd have an easy drive. Dinner was at McDonald's in Moore, then a stop in Purcell to change a diaper, followed by Jordan screaming from Pauls Valley to the Red River (not kidding about that). We made another stop in Gainesville, and then made it the rest of the way home. Jordan either went to sleep somewhere near Valley View, Texas, or I went deaf there. Not sure which. :-)

It was great to see everyone in Oklahoma. They're thinking of making the last weekend in July an annual event, since it seems to work with a majority of schedules. We're planning a trip back north sometime later this year.

Are there pictures, you ask? Of course. We'll post those in the coming days.

July 4th

Jordan's first Independence Day started early as we headed out to the largest 4th of July parade in Texas. We had a great time watching the bands, the firetrucks and police cars rolling through.

We did miss the Arlington High School band, but the Martin High School band was OK. Not as good, but just OK. :-)

Here are some shots from the parade, from our perch at the corner of West and Abram streets.

Jordan watching as the parade starts (perched on Grandpa).


The Arlington Police Department Color Guard, escorted by motorcycle officers.

Elvis isn't dead. He and some look-a-likes ride motorcycles in parades now.

Dad takes a picture of Mom taking a picture of Jordan.

We left the parade midway through to return home, clean up and head over to Mimi's apartment complex for lunch and a patriotic celebration. The country duo they brought in did a fantastic job, and the food (St. Louis ribs, cole slaw, corn on the cob, beans, rolls and cherry cobbler) was fantastic. Jordan had a blast. Some pictures from today:

The view from above the dining room at Fox Run.

Jordan uses his spoon as a drumstick to keep rhythmn to the music.

Since Jordan is a bit sensitive to noise, we're going to pass on the fireworks this year and try those another time. Today also ends Dad's vacation, so he'll be back at work bright and early (6:45) tomorrow morning. Time to get back to "normal."