Spring Break in OKC

For the second half of Spring Break we took a road trip to Oklahoma City. We just stayed the one night before heading down to Dallas to celebrate the kids' birthdays with grandparents. It was very much a that's good/that's bad trip, and in the end I still don't know if we came out on top, or wish we'd never gone. 

Highs: we found a fun urban garden downtown, near the basketball arena, our first night there. It had paths and fountains and a children's play area. We also were able to visit the Science Museum on our ASTC pass, which is hands down one of the coolest ones we've ever been too. The kids had been looking forward to a return trip ever since we first went back in 2019.

Lows: Davey was sick on our drive out. He threw up once in the car into a bag and once in a dumpster as we drove through Shamrock, TX, a funny little town I'll probably never have reason to visit again. He spent our first day in a stupor. During the night Davey bounced back, but Griffin went down. He never threw up, but was the most feverish, miserable little guy our the whole next day at the museum. The traffic from OKC to Dallas was also awful once we wrapped up our little trip. We ended up detouring several times for construction or other random backups. Finally, our AirBnB host also left us bad reviews. First for not locking up properly, even though there were no instructions on how to set the alarm. There was a full instruction sheet for getting in, but nothing for leaving. Second, for bringing an extra guest. They were upset we had 6 instead of the listed 5. But I never reported Griffin because the terms only asked for guests over the age of 2 and he was still 1 and slept in a pack n play, which we brought from home. Third, for leaving dirty coffee cups, which is ridiculous because we of course didn't make coffee. We didn't use any dishes as our dinner was from KFC and our breakfast was donuts. Oh well. Can you tell I was bitter about it?

Happy faces at our Air BnB before we had negative feelings towards the host

Exploring the Myriad Botanical Gardens, pretty even in winter

Poor sick Davey just took it all in from a bench

Griffin went down and ended up spending the night on the couch with me

Ready for a fun day at the Science Museum!

We rode these Segways during our last trip and were so glad to see the course was still there! 

Miserable Griffin, and Davey got to keep the balloon from the science demonstration

Water and erosion

Climbing wall at the fitness exhibit

The shooting gallery

And this had to be documented because it was Griffin's first ever time INSIDE a Chick fil A! They had been closed for covid his entire life. We ate here for lunch and, even though feeling lowsy, he loved it!

Spring Break Shenanigans

We stayed home for Spring Break this year (too much work to travel with a baby + covid restrictions), but that doesn't mean we didn't have fun! Dave also had the week off work, and just him being home is exciting for the kids. When he is around there is more game playing, lego building, and book reading. Then add in two birthday celebrations along with a few other fun activities, and it made for a busy week! 

Sophie went to art camp at a local studio on Monday and Thursday. It was only $25 for a full day (what a steal!) and she had the greatest time creating to her heart's content.

On Tuesday we saw the new Disney movie Raya and the Last Dragon. Friends joined us at the theater and the kids all really liked it. Towards the end of the movie, when everything was coming to a climax, Davey was up on the edge of his seat bouncing and shouting at all the people to hurry and run. 

On Wednesday we had another thunder/snow storm. When I saw it in the forecast I didn't think it would actually do much, but sure enough we woke up to lots of snow in the yard. Since it was Davey's birthday we let him choose what to build and he wanted a snowman pirate, arrrgh!

Amarillo has received 33 inches of snow this year, which is well above our average. Every time I think it's safe to put the snow clothes away for the season another storm rolls on through. 

On Sophie's birthday we had a morning of fun at Cinergy! Dave played a couple games of laser tag with the two big kids and together they beat a team of teenagers, not once but twice!

We also scored $65 in free game cards to play at the arcade as part of a Spring Break promotion so the kids got to play (almost) all the games they wanted.

 

On Saturday we went swimming and Sophie got to test out the new snorkel set she received for her birthday. It took her a minute to get a feel for it, but by the end she was swimming all over the pool without coming up for a breath.

And it wasn't all fun and games. We tackled a few home projects too, includeing trimming our trees back from the street because the city is supposed to repave our court sometime this spring.

While Dave was trimming the kids had fun digging dinosaurs our of these excavating eggs that Davey got for his birthday. If you look close at the pictures, you'll notice that they are covered head to toe in chalky dust. We had to strip everyone down and carry them straight to the shower after this activity.

Spring Break 2019 - Oklahoma Zoo

On our second day in Oklahoma we took the kids to the zoo. Our visit was two days before Davey turned 3 so we didn't have to pay admission for him (so sad those days are ending - these trips are going to start getting more expensive the older our family gets). The zoo was nice, big, and most of the animals were out and active, trying to soak up the sun. We were able to see everything on our hit list, except giraffes, which made for happy kids. It was a fun day!

I packed hats and gloves for the kids in case it was chilly, but it turned out to be even colder than expected. Luckily it was nothing a few layers couldn't fix, and we were able to keep everyone warm by putting pajamas either over or under their clothes for a little extra warmth.  

The herpetarium was the first stop for my reptile lover!

We showed the kids a map and asked them which animal they wanted to see the most. Sophie chose the reptiles, and Davey picked a white crane (???) We are still not sure why he chose a crane, but we made sure to track one down and take a photo. 

We stopped for a snack break by some sort of weasel creature that was fun to watch. 

Making friends with an orangutan 

Getting a break from the stroller with mom

Charlie loved these otters

And of course the kids loved the animal statues, maybe as much as the real animals. We had to stop and take a picture on every single one. This is just a few of the many that we took. 

Tired zoo crew at the end of the day. They were troopers and did awesome during our four hour adventure.

We had promised the kids a ride on the carousel at the end of the day, only to find it was closed. So instead we each gave them a few dollars to pick out a souvenir from the gift shop. Davey picked a crocodile that he named "Herbie" and Sophie chose a flip sequin snake. 

Oklahoma Zoo Video Clips

Spring Break 2019 - Oklahoma Science Museum

We had only two days in OKC, and our first activity was the Science Museum. I had heard really great things about it from friends and we were able to visit for free with our museum pass! The place was huge and did not disappoint! There were so many different hands-on activities to try for both kids and adults. We were there for almost 5 hours, but could have easily spent two days there playing. The only let down from the whole day was the planetarium show, which we ended up leaving part way through. We will have to come back again for another visit!

They had a Segway course you could try for free! Sophie, Davey, and I each took a turn and it was really fun. I would like to try a Segway tour sometime. 

Shadow wall, and our only family photo from the day

There was a glow, mirror maze that was actually pretty tricky. Davey kept running into walls trying to figure out where to walk. 

Chomp, chomp!

Making a tall tower with daddy's help

Piloting a mars robot

Sophie and I doing some climbing

Bed of nails!!

Tightrope conga line

Video clips from our visit