I spent a quiet hour in the lobby of our hotel uploading some photos and getting caught up on email. Shagged Emily out of the room in time to get some breakfast before it closed and noticed, as we were packing up, that another one of those amazing Oklahoma storms was about to move in.
Ran to our car in the rain and got on the road heading toward Tulsa. Unfortunately for Em, the rain prevented any CB radio chat so we listened to “On the Road Again” “Eastbound and Down” and “I Love a Rainy Night” again on our road trip CD. It just isn’t a road trip without playing “On the Road Again” every time you get in the car and singing at the top of your lungs.
Some of my favorite memories of this trip so far – signing with Em 
The fields in Oklahoma are gorgeous – green, lush, rolling. Lots of tractors and silos and cows.
The toll road between Oklahoma City and Tulsa is spectacular and one of the prettiest highways I’ve ever seen – felt like we were driving in Disneyland. Hardly anyone on the road, beautiful smooth rolling highways, and horizons as far as you can see.
Jacob, Grace, Gillian and Em - Ready to Launch!
Hopped out at the Arkansas border for a quick photo then on to Fayetteville, where we spent about an hour being lost once we got into town. Lots and lots of little back farm roads and eventually found Melissa’s almost by accident.
Betsy, Santiago, and Renee joined us and the kids swam in the pool, rip sticked in the driveway, fed the horses, chased lightning bugs, caught a frog, played with the dogs, and were eventually found out in the field in a circle at night (telling ghost stories?) requiring a quick check for deer ticks and off to bed – Em is joining the girls in their room upstairs.
For me, seeing Em with her cousins is one of the joys of this adventure. Life boils down to doing interesting things and spending time with the people you love and this trip has included both.
As we stood by the pool at one moment, looking out at the kids who had run off to a neighbor’s treehouse in the next field, I said, “they’re making memories” and I know those will be some of the best ones from Em’s childhood.
Melissa and Betsy
Mine are filled with fun and crazy times with my first and second cousins and now I stood with two of them – one from each side of the family – and relished watching our kids do the same.
Even though we never really lived near my extended family (except for that magical time in Hawaii) it was the moments that Mom and Dad deliberately created by planning and spending time together that created the bonds I feel with them today.
My cousins and I are friends, not just because we’re related, but because our parents made the effort (holiday after holiday after holiday…) to ensure we would be and I am eternally grateful for that most precious gift of a big, wide, wonderful family.
Drifting off to sleep in my cousin’s house in Arkansas on some random day in June embodies that like nothing else. – Ann
Melissa and Ann - Morning Coffee in the Outdoor Room
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