Summer Travels, Part 2

Oh, Oklahoma.  It already seems like July was years ago.  We had a wonderful two weeks spending time with family and friends.  Our only complaint was the heat: 100 plus degree temps every single day, often closer to 110 degrees.  But it gave us a good excuse to enjoy some of the things about Oklahoma that we miss the most - like Braums ice cream, sno cones, and il Dolce gelato.  And somehow we ended up eating Mexican at Ted's a lot too, haha.  We split our time between Norman, where Billy and I went to college and lived for the first 4 years of our marriage, and Marlow, where we grew up and where a lot of our family still lives.

Unfortunately, I was too lazy to pull out my real camera, so all my photos are from my iPhone and are poor quality, so I apologize.

In Norman, we took Maryn to "our" pond - a special place where Billy and I used to spend lots of quality time together.  We also got to spend time with several sweet friends - all of whom have new babies! 

At "the pond"

With "Uncle" Tristan and baby Aftyn

Maryn and Jordan

Katherine and I - preggo buddies!

My mom, who is going to PA school in Oklahoma City, lives in Norman, so we spent a lot of time at her place.  We got to spend time with my brother and sister there too, since they live nearby.

Because Maryn's birthday was during the trip, she had multiple birthday parties, cakes, and presents.  It almost got to the point where she expected the birthday song, sweet treats, and gifts every new place we went.  It was fun for the grandparents. 

I love my momma!

Maryn and "Nona"

Maryn developed a new obsession with baby dolls on the trip.  My mom (Maryn calls her Nona) got her a doll for her birthday, and Billy's grandparents had a couple of dolls at their house.  She played with them non-stop.

Feeding the baby

Me with my sister Hannah

Maryn and Aunt Hannah

My dad lives in Duncan, just a few minutes away from Marlow, and we got to spend time at his new house there.  My grandparents - Gramps and Grammy, and Grandad and Mamaw, also came down to my dad's from Tulsa to see us, which was great!

My dad ("Grandad"), Heidi ("Gran"), and Maryn

Maryn and Uncle Scott

All of Billy's family lives in Marlow.  Maryn had lots of fun running around and receiving lots of attention, and we were pampered with rest and lots of good food - in the air conditioning, of course!

Lounging on the porch with Papaw 

The usual "5 generation" pic with Grandma Deane,
Mamaw,  Nana, Billy and Maryn

Maryn with Mamaw and Papaw

We had so much fun and can't wait until we can return to Oklahoma!  Next time, we'll be traveling with two kids - yikes! Until then, we hope as much of Oklahoma as possible will come see us! :)

BFFs

Maryn has a new BFF.  Her name is Elliott, and she is just 3 weeks younger than Maryn.  She and her parents, Kevin and Erica, just moved here for Kevin to get his PhD at Notre Dame.  We knew them in Oklahoma, and boy, are we excited that they are here!!!  We have lots in common - 1 year old girls, husbands in grad school, and Erica is also a PA.  How crazy is that?  It has been so nice to have them here.  We are already planning OU football watch parties!!  They are also going to church with us, so we have had the pleasure of spending lots of time with them and are looking forward to much more!

So anyway, Maryn and Elliott are destined to be best friends forever.  It's funny because developmentally they have a lot in common.  Both crawled about the same time, both took their first steps within a week of each other.  But in personality they are very opposite.  Maryn is very outspoken, and in-your-face friendly.  Elliott is very sweet, introverted, and contemplative.  And I think this means they will complement each other well!  We have had lots of fun watching them hang out together.

Swinging at the park!

I think they look guilty...double trouble :)

They think it's funny to drink their sippy cups together...and sometimes swap.

Pajama girls

At the zoo!!!

Oklahoma!

So this is really late...I haven't been a very good blogger lately.  But we went to Oklahoma in mid-May for a week and we had a great time!  We went to see Hannah graduate from high school (which I already blogged about) and then we got to spend lots of time with family.  It really was such a nice visit.  We didn't have anything big planned or have to be a thousand places at once, so it was low stress.  Maryn was a wonderful traveler.  We're pretty structured at home, so I'm always surprised by how flexible and adaptable she is in new situations.  And apparently she is quite the social butterfly, which is sometimes awkward for introverts like Billy and me.  But it's so cute to see her interact with people.  Of course, she had a blast seeing her grandparents, and was the center of attention.

We also got to go up to Norman and attend Trinity on Sunday morning.  We had lunch with a huge crew of friends afterward.  It was so nice to see everyone, but I wish we would have had time to visit more.  Later in the week, a few friends drove down from Norman to have dinner with us, which was really sweet of them.

We already miss you, Oklahoma!!!