Last Day

Yesterday was our last day in Oklahoma.  We went out proud to be Okies!

Dad drove us to the Tulsa airport.  On the way there, I told him how hard it was to leave Grandpa and Grandma.  Time is just so precious now that Grandma got so sick.  There comes a time when you finally realize that your grandparents aren't immortal and its scary.  They have much more time left on Earth, but it is still scary all the same.  

After we went through security and waved one last time to Dad, we were distracted with finding our gate.  But once we had time to sit down, I noticed Levi was trying his hardest not to cry.  He didn't want to tell me until we got on the plane but I couldn't stand it so I kinda kept asking him if it was this or that.  Finally, he said through tears, "I just am afraid that I won't see Poppy again."

Talk about breaking your heart!  I felt so guilty as I realized he probably had such a hard time of it because he had heard me talk about being scared of not seeing my grandparents again to my father.  So he probably pictured the same thing in his mind of the man he was sitting right next to, in the truck, that was taking us to an airport that would take us so many miles away.

I assured him that Poppy was still VERY young and that he had nothing to worry about...so here are a few more pictures of our trip to remind Levi that his family may be far away but these memories will last a lifetime.

Here is one of the many visits to the Grand Lake Villa to see Grandma and Grandpa.

Shaylee and Levi writing a note to Poppy (Beck) to leave on his truck so he would see it in the morning before he left for work.

Levi and Layne loving each other.  Levi LOVES little kids and even though, most of the time, Layne wouldn't come to me, she had no problem at all being all around and over Levi.  Mom and Dad told me that as they were taking Allie back from Nanny/Poppy night to April's house (where we were staying the whole time while in Oklahoma), Dad asked Levi if he wanted to stay with him as he went garage sale hunting.  Levi said he would stay with me at Auntie's house when Logan started crying.  He didn't want Levi to go.  Levi immediately said he would go to the garage sales.  He just wants to make his little cousins happy :)

Day 5 in Okieville

Today was our last full day in Oklahoma.

 (Top:  Steven, Spencer, Dad, Mom, Amanda, and April

Bottom:  Logan, Brent, Leonard, Elton, Levi holding Layne, Allie, Shaylee, and Marissa)

And fun it was!  We went to Little Blue in Disney.  This is probably the activity that I wanted to do the most while out here because this is where my sanity was kept in check during the last summer we lived in Oklahoma.  It was so incredibly hot that summer and the only real relief we had was in little Blue.  The water is so cold and clear.  Just love this place!

(Jasia, Amanda kissing Alisa, Amy, Katie, and April)

We also had some old time friends come by from church.  Just as the Roberts came to be with us, it started raining.  And it rained hard!  So I didn't get a picture of them but I sure did have a great time relaxing with my family and friends.  I think my biggest joy was listening to Levi as he got into the water and went out farther and farther.  He was seriously so excited to be there in that cold, familiar water.

(Levi, Grandpa, and Grandma)

After going to Little Blue, Levi and I made our last round to see Grandma and Grandpa in Grove.  Levi still wears his OU hoodie that he got YEARS ago from Grandma and Grandpa.  As you can imagine, it is falling apart.  So while I stayed with Grandma, Grandpa took Levi to Wal-Mart to buy him some new OU stuff.  He just loves his Oklahoma stuff!

It turned out to be a lot harder to say goodbye to Grandpa and Grandma than I expected.  That fear of not seeing someone again really hurts.  In that moment of hugging them, I wanted to remember everything.  Even how they felt when I hugged them.  I guess getting older just makes you more aware of how precious time is; especially when it is spent with those you love.

Later tonight we had Family Home Evening with all the family that could make it.  Even the Whitney family came, which was real special since Levi always referred to the Moore's cousins as our cousins...even if the Whitney's were related through marriage.  Love that because he doesn't get the whole aspect to family unity, when it comes to the genealogical part of it.  He just knows they are around us enough that they have to be family.  And he's right, in my opinion.

Leonard

Mom and Dad have a new child.

He is hairy, likes to lick strangers, and has the highest form off hyperactivity that anyone has ever seen.

But they love him anyway :)

And just like any milestone, today was special because he went for his first swim!

Day 4 in Oklahoma

Today I was greeted by Spring, just outside of the church, with the yummiest of yummies.  Her famous truffles!

Spring knows how much I love her homemade truffles.  She made these for me right before we moved from Oklahoma to Utah so it was so sweet of her to do it again while I was visiting.  Spring is always thinking of others like this, so it didn't surprise me that she would do this for me but it still was such a wonderful treat.  They are seriously good!

Mom and I just stayed for sacrament meeting this morning before we left to spend a couple of hours with Grandma and Grandpa.  It is always fun to come back home to my church family as they are so genuinely happy to see me.  As much as I wanted to stay and soak in their happiness, I wanted to get to the Grand Lake Villa to spend as much time there as possible before April had to pick me up after church was out.  Grandpa was teasing me like he always does and Grandma was positive about her improvements.

Levi and I spent most of the day at Nanny and Poppy's house.  We had Dad's spaghetti (Levi and I only eat spaghetti Poppy's way) and ate way too much junk food.  I fell asleep on Dad's lap, which was incredibly relaxing as he played with my hair.  He is so service oriented like that and I just love him for it.  When I woke up Mom, Dad, and I watched the Big Bang Theory while Levi played the Wii.  It went by too fast because before we knew it, it was time for dinner so we headed off to April's for dinner.

Pounce ended up coming over while Levi, Uncle Elton, and the older kids played Monopoly.  We try to stay away from electronics in our home on Sunday's, so it was nice to have Levi occupied with that while April, Pounce and I jabbered :)  I know I wasn't being the best example to Levi as I did those other things at Nanny and Poppy's house (though I want to make it clear that I don't feel there is anything wrong with other families spending their Sundays in different ways.  You should always do what is best for YOUR family, not what is best for others) but I just really wanted to laugh with my Mom and Dad.  And laugh we did!

Anyways, back to Pounce.  That too was so nice.  Talking with her and April, we went into a lot of different discussions that involved our life experiences.  Each of us have experienced heart aches.  But these heart aches shaped us into the people we are today.  Good or bad, we are a product of those heart aches and how each of us reacted to it.  Certain life experiences can break people but it can also make others more sympathetic to those around them because they know so much heart ache.  I just pray that I am the latter.  

Day 3 in Okieland

Today started off with sleeping in and April waking up with a headache this time!  Too much fun...that is all I have to say!

(Back: April, Grandpa, Dad holding Spencer and Layne, Steven, Amanda and Mom

Front:  Shaylee, Allie, Logan, Levi, and Elton)

At noon, Logan had a birthday party at the O'Dair's apartment in Grove.  It felt weird without Grandma, to be honest, but I couldn't focus on it for too long as I watched Logan get so excited about each part of his party.  After that April, her kiddos, and Levi then went to Grand Lake Villa to see Grandma before meeting some friends at Braums.

(Corrie, Alisa, and Joshua)

Out of all my friends that I have got to visit so far, Corrie Drake has been the one who I haven't seen in the longest.  When she walked in, I seriously was so excited because I didn't think she was going to be able to make it.  As usual, she still had that sweet smile and laugh that I love so much about her.  And I loved seeing her cute little family.

(Alisa, Laura, April, and Val)

Corrie couldn't stay long, but Laura Snow and Valerie Wiley met Amanda, April, and I at Braums to enjoy some ice cream.  This is the second time that I have got to see Laura since we graduated high school.  I love seeing all my friends but there is something so special about seeing someone you haven't seen in so long...especially if that someone is one of your oldest and dearest friends.  She just makes me happy.  Can you tell from this picture?!  Later, Laura drove us to Disney (for memory sake) and we laughed so hard that I KNEW I would pay for it later in headaches but it was so worth it to me.  All my life, it seems I have picked friends that are funny, witty, and very outgoing.  That just isn't me.  It took people like Laura and Valerie to bring me out of my shell.  To make me not so serious.  By the time I was in high school, my friends had taught me not to be so hard on myself.  I will always love them for that.



(top:  Laura, Pounce, Marlana, Robyn, and Shaunda

bottom:  April and Alisa)

Later I was able to meet at El Vallarta with some of my other high school friends.  We often meet here when I come in town and I look forward to it EVERYTIME I come to Oklahoma.  They always make me feel young as we reminisce on old times and the stupid stuff we did and said.  They were joking how, other than Laura and I, they never could get out of Jay.  Laughing that they were stuck there forever.  But in all seriousness, they may never have left, but there is something special about a small town in the Bible Belt.  There are people that surround you that would do anything for you, if you were in need.  And though some of us haven't seen each other in years, when we get together it seems as if no time has been lost.  I truly love all these girls.

(Shaylee, Elton, Allie, and Levi)

When we came home tonight, April helped the kids set up a "tent" in the living room.  As I am typing I am listening to her under the tent singing with them, "I Love To See The Temple."  I just love my family's desire to be together.  To make that effort to make memories.  I have felt so very blessed through this trip.  Tomorrow I get to see my old church family, visit Grandma, and spend the rest of the day with Mom and Dad.  I am soooooo looking forward to just laughing with Dad.  He loves the same stupid humor that I do in TV and I can't wait just to be lazy with him on the couch and laugh, laugh, laugh :)



Day 2 of Okie Vacation

So, yesterday was much more relaxed than Thursday.  On Thursday I was so happy to see all my family but with us getting in late and getting lost, each visit was way too short.  Yesterday was all about visiting family and friends with no hurries.  

I woke up after 8:00 a.m. feeling a huge headache but so very refreshed.  It was raining outside and April was outside already with most of the kids on the porch.  Even if it didn't produce my Oklahoma thunderstorm/lightning type of rain that I love so much, it still was very relaxing.  

(Robin, Alisa, and Spring) 

Later, Robin Gault and Spring Houck met me at La Casita De Martin in Grove to have lunch.  It was so nice!  Anna Gibson was suppose to meet us but she ended up having a house closing, so I missed out on that but we still had a great time just talking and laughing.  Laughing with them really made me miss Oklahoma humor, that is for sure!  After that, I spent a couple of hours with Grandma and Grandpa at The Villa.  Honestly, I loved everything about today but this was my favorite.  I have said for a while that while I was in Oklahoma that my main priority was Grandma and as much as I loved seeing her yesterday, it was real hard to really be with her with so many people there at the same time.  But yesterday, for the most part, it was just me and her while Grandpa went home to take a shower and take care of a few things.  I loved just talking with her.  It felt like before I moved from Oklahoma.  I have always had a special relationship with my Grandmother and so I would come by with the boys before Nanny and Poppy night so we could visit and they could be with their great grandparents.  Being with her today, and then later when Grandpa came back, I realized just how much I missed it.   

(Jolayne, April, Alisa, and Becky)

 Levi was having a Nanny/Poppy night so April and I left for Vinita to meet the Bass family at Pizza Hut.  It was a surprise party for Becky who recently turned 30.  Becky (Bass) Emro lives in Idaho, so it was such a fun coincidence that she happened to be visiting Oklahoma during the same time I was.  There were many more people at her party than this picture shows but these are the girls I grew up and documenting it made me feel a little young again, I have to admit :)

And I wanted to end with the funniest picture of the night, Rose and I!

I know what I am about to write is really inappropriate but in my defense, I was really young when I did this....oh, what am I kidding.  I still think it is dang funny!

When I was growing up, Rose was my "best adult friend" as I used to say.  I loved her very much, as did she me.  She was so good to me and in turn, was also very good to my friends.  One of my friends, Val, she especially liked.  One day, Val and I came to Vinita to have dinner with Rose.  We met at this very Pizza Hut.  Valerie and I LOVED to embarrass Rose.  So we started to act like we were lesbians.  We embarrassed her so badly, as she lived in this town and we didn't.  For quite some time after that we teased her about "Lesbian Hut."  So here I am tonight with Rose at Pizza Hut and we just start cracking up as we remember how immature I was.  But Rose, being the fun friend that she has always been, still did a photo prop for me to remember the old times.  What a good sport! 

Just another wonderful day in Okieland.

Vacationing With Levi

Very early this morning, we headed to San Francisco to the airport so Levi and I could head off for a 5 day visit to Oklahoma.  I couldn't sleep last night so I had been up since sometime after 1:00 a.m.  I had been waiting for this for some time now.  I, of course, want to see all my family and friends but after Grandma got so sick, all I can think about is getting out to see her.  Levi has been waiting for his "vacation" for what has seemed like forever to him.  I woke him up at 4:00 a.m. and he said, "FINALLY!  My vacation can start!"  He didn't even seem groggy!  Just goes to show that when you are excited, well, you are excited!

So now I am sitting at April and Elton's computer and sooooooo very tired so this post is going to be quick.  Me Need Sleep!

April picked Levi and I up at the airport with her kiddos and after a delayed flight, getting majorly lost on the way home, and getting pulled over by a cop...

(Poppy holding Layne, Shaylee, Nanny with Allie in front, Elton, Alisa, and Levi)

...we finally made it to Nanny and Poppy's house!

(Back: Amanda, Levi, Shaylee, Alisa, April
Front:  Allie, Elton, Me-Maw, Logan, and Spencer)

Then it was to The Villa to see Grandma and Grandpa.  I never saw her in the hospital, so I can only go off what everyone else has said but I know this has not been an easy ride for her.  She was so very sick.  We were all so scared and to walk in and see her like this was such a blessing.  Levi and I are so blessed to be able to fly out and be with her while she is recovering.

(Alisa, April, Terice, and Amanda....with Terice's husband, Glenn, hiding in the back!)

Terice came by while we were at The Villa so I thought it was time for me and my sisters to take a "selfie" with our old Young Women's leader :)

After there we went to a grocery store and finally had dinner.  I think it was around 9:00 p.m. at this point.  But I couldn't get in bed just yet.  I had to see my Uncle Chuck!

(Levi, Chuck, and Shaylee)

So now it is 15 minutes until midnight and I am out!