Fire Up Da Smoker- It's Supah Good

We had so much fun visiting Uncle Ryan and Aunt Mary in Tulsa!

After enjoying a calm Fourth of July, Alexander and I caught a plane for a long weekend with Ryan and Mary.

We stayed busy, busy, busy, starting with exploring the biggest trampoline and indoor playground I have ever been to- Urban Air

With rain coming down, it was a perfect way to burn energy after our day of travel!

After intense playtime, we headed to a fun market where we all got to order food from different places and then eat and play together

Potatoes had no hesitation in warming up to his Uncle and Aunt, wanting to hold each of their hands as we walked around Tulsa

On our second day, we spent all morning at The Gathering Place

This park is virtually indescribable.  The plan was to create a park that felt like a paid attraction yet offered for free.  The plan was successful.

We spent just over three hours climbing, exploring, splashing, even enjoying a free sack lunch for Potatoes, and barely scratched the surface of the park.

As usual, Potatoes found a way to charm the ladies....this little girl wasn't quite strong enough to work the pump, so Alexander stepped in with the assist.

Mary's mom, Linda, also fell victim to his charm

Alexander loves deeply and his love for Uncle Ryan and Aunt Mary is no exception.  I cherished the time we all got to spend together and look forward to many more visits!

Exhausted and yet the smile after the Gathering Place was simply infectious

That evening, we prepared to 'Fire Up da Smoker!'

We went all out with two full chickens and an enormous rack of ribs.

Potatoes loved helping Uncle Ryan with 'da chicken rub'

The next morning, Ryan was up at 6am getting things going.  We got up at 6 our time....2 hours later.... and enjoyed learning about the process and watching the different components come together.

Saucy!

We had quite a crowd come over and bring all sorts of delicious food for the smokin' good food, including Mary's mom, two sisters, and some friends.  I didn't capture any pictures because I was just too busy enjoying good food and good company, but everything could be described best in Alexander's catch phrase of the weekend, 

"It's supah good!"

He literally said this about everything he enjoyed throughout the weekend.  I hadn't heard him use this before the trip, and haven't heard it since we left.  It was genuinely the phrase for this weekend!

After we all snagged a nap, we headed to Linda's neighborhood pool

Alexander played with Ryan and Mary the WHOLE time....only faltering when Aunt Mary, former swim team competitor, beat him in a race.  We are trying to learn to be a gracious loser, and she even warned him it was coming, but his three year old side came out for a few fitful seconds.

We loved the fact that Mary's family was such a big part of our weekend!

It was a fun filled afternoon!

On Monday, Mary had to head into work, so Ryan, Alexander, and I headed to a neighborhood park for a quick energy burn before he took us to the airport.

We may have a future smoker on our hands....meat smoker, that is!

Back in Las Vegas, so fresh and so clean!

Excalibur- Tournament of the Kings

After winning a bidding war that had this hormonal mama-to-be stressed to tears, we went out to celebrate at Excalibur with their Tournament of the Kings show.

Daniel packed this classic cowboy shirt from Gammie for just such an occasion.  Still too big, but so cute the high queen of the court told Daniel and Bryan how she spotted him in the crowd, and tried to make conversation with Potatoes after the show, but he was too shy to talk to the beautiful maiden.

There was a lot of action, dancing, and cheering throughout the show and was really just a great time.

While we wait on the final word on the appraisal and cross our fingers that the road to closing is a smooth one, it is such a relief to be able to picture ourselves in a new home!

Settling In

We are having fun hanging out in Vegas!

There is so much to do here between events like food truck evenings and library storytime, plus there are just so many parks!  Alexander has really enjoyed just being outside and taking advantage of the dry heat over the humidity.

The leash laws are not the same as in FWB, where voice control is considered being on leash.  Zoey is struggling a bit to adjust to more leash time, but we have found times and places where she can still enjoy a bit of freedom.

We spend quite a bit of time on Bryan's front stoop reading and playing in our activity books.

I have really enjoyed my days with this guy, however we are looking into schools now, as he does so well in the more structured setting.  I took him to storytime, and he was so attentive and had so much fun, it just felt like he will benefit from at least a couple days a week at school.

We have had a blast playing with Kasch, who Alexander last saw when they were both about two months old.  We are not looking forward to when Brittany and Dustin actually receive orders to move.  For now we are soaking up as much time with them as we can!

Brittany invited us to this amazing park and the boys spent all morning exploring

Zoey was not impressed when I asked her to pretend to be a baby dinosaur

We may not have a pool at the moment, but we are finding ways to cool off

Hero fighting and figuring out our new lives in Las Vegas!