Road Trippin' in the Midwest

My mom has been hunkering down in her house due to COVID-19 and she decided it was time to venture out as safely as she could.  The kids have Fall Break here in Enid, OK, so we decided to take a road trip to Lincoln, Nebraska where we would meet her at the Amtrak station.  I love the app Roadtrippers and it helped me plan places to stop from Enid to Lincoln.  Here is what we discovered:

The Keeper of the Plains in Wichita, Kansas. This is a where the Little Arkansas and Arkansas rivers meet and adjacent to the Mid-American All-Indian Center.

Lindsborg, a Swedish settlement town in Kansas. All over town there are beautiful hand painted Dala horses

Hemslojd means handicraft and this where all sorts of Swedish crafts are made and sold

Handicrafter hard at work

Largest covered porch swing in the world in Hebron, Nebraska

Lee's Legendary Marbles in York, Nebraska.  Who knew this was needed?  But look at all those marbles!

 After picking up my mom (yay, Grandma time!), the next leg of our Roadtrippin' was from Lincoln, NE to Joplin, MO.

Sunken Garden in Lincoln, Nebraska

Look who we found!  So fun to have Grandma with us.

Missouri River Basin Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in Nebraska City, Nebraska

Glore Psychiatric Museum in St. Joseph, MO. This seemed like a fitting place to come in October. The Museum is on the list of 100 Strangest places to see in the US. 

All of these items were swallowed by one women who had Pica.  Look at the shock on Bear's face!

An examination chair.  To me it was more like a torture devise.  Good thing we have advanced since this was used.

We stayed the night in Joplin, MO, right on the border of Oklahoma.  The next leg of our trip took us on Route 66 from Joplin to Tulsa, OK.  I use the Travel OK app to plan my Route 66 stops and learn about their historical background.  We love to stop at sites that give us a taste of an older, quieter time, and see how the US was shaped into Americana.

Route 66 Mural in Joplin, MO

Standing on three states- Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri

KuKu Burger- once a chain, now this this the only restaurant standing from the 1960's.  Yummy burgers!

Darryl Starbird's National Rod and Custom Car Hall of Fame.  This museum was packed with over 50 custom automobiles.  We each picked our favorite- Pants cannot go wrong with Purple!

Totem Pole Park.  Lots of oddities to see along the route.  This is the largest Concrete totem pole in the world.  Because, why not?

JM Davis Arms and Historical Museum.  This is the largest privately owned arms museum and the picture above is a recreation of JM Davis's famous hotel.  He had guns hung on every wall you could see and guns in every drawer.

JM Davis even asked to be laid to rest with his guns.  His tomb is displayed in the museum.

Claremore, OK is the home of the famous Will Rogers.  We were intrigued by his life and legacy in comedy, film, and politics.

Will Rogers is also interred in his museum.  "Oklahoma's favorite son."

The Blue Whale of Catoosa.  Again, why not?  This huge whale sits on a small pond and was once used as a water attraction with slides and diving pads.

Golden Driller in Tulsa, OK.  One of the tallest freestanding statues in the world, it weighs 43,500 lbs.  It was erected in 1953 for the International Petroleum Exposition.

We stayed the night in Tulsa so that we could see some sights in town and then we made our way down Route 66 toward Enid, OK.

Buck Atom's Curios in Tulsa, OK

Bear was really exited to see the Curtis brother's home in Tulsa, OK from the movie, The Outsiders.  The Outsiders book was written about Tulsa by a native Tulsan.  Bear's plan for Halloween is to be a Greaser from the book.  

We tried to eat at as many famous Route 66 restaurants as we could.  We found great burgers, home cooking, cozy atmosphere, and authentic local flavors.  The restaurant pictured here is Ollie's Station Restaurant and the owner of the restaurant inspired the character of "The Sheriff" in the movie Cars.

The Gathering Place in Tulsa was a highlight of the day.  It is a huge riverfront park spanning 66.5 acres.  There were themed playgrounds, green space, animal wetlands, restaurants, ponds.  

Bristol Historical Train Station Depot

Davenport Mural.  We enjoy the murals that can be found on brick walls all throughout Route 66.  They can be a great glimpse back into history of a different time.

Oklahoma State Park Adventure

Since we arrived in Oklahoma, we have enjoyed visiting state parks with the State Park Passports.  We collect stickers at each park and can earn medallions and tokens.

http://discoveroklahomatv.com/stories/2018/state-parks-passport-program

We made a plan to visit six state parks in three days.  It was hot but we think that kept us mostly solitary which is good in this COVID world.  We just made sure we made it to water once a day!

Hiking at Sequoya State Park

Hiking at Lake Eufaula

Robber's Cave State Park

Beautiful views at Robber's Cave

Bear, Pants, and I tried our skills at repelling at Robber's Cave State Park

The lake at Robber's Cave State Park was warm like bath water.  This is different than the high Uinta lakes I am used to!

Tenkiller Lake State Park

Splash Pad at Greenleaf Lake State Park

There is a fish on that hook!  Keystone State Park

Cultural Night- Kenya

Cultural Night: KENYA

Date: 6/7/2020

We chose the country of Kenya so that we could learn a little more about where Josh will be spending six months on deployment.

Food: Kuku Paka https://www.whats4eats.com/poultry/kuku-paka-recipe, corn or maize, peas, bananas, Maandazi (sweet donut) https://www.discoverwalks.com/blog/nairobi/top-10-kenyan-desserts/

Music: Traditional African Music Compilation African Tribal Music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W05LPtVm5hY

Flag and Geography: Coloring page https://www.crayola.com/free-coloring-pages/print/kenya-coloring-page/ Kenya is right on the equator on the Eastern Coast of Africa.

Weather and Landscape: The temperature is pretty constant with the rainy seasons in April and November.

Animals: Kenya houses all the animals that I would love to see in the wild; elephant, zebra, giraffe, cheetah, jaguar, gizelle, and water buffalo. 

Language: Swahili. Duolingo lesson https://www.duolingo.com/course/sw/en/Learn-Swahili
Or we could just sing the first part of the Lion King!

Architecture:

I love the roof on this Kenyan Temple

Traditional housing

Folk Tale/Fairy Tale: "Why Zebras Have Striped Skins" http://www.johntyman.com/africa/folk/#8

Famous People: President Barak Obama makes an appearance in many of the famous people searches we make.  This time it is true! Kenya is also famous for Olymic long distance and track and field runners. 

Art:

I love the vibrant colors and patterns

This bead work is fabulous in Kenya!

Traditional Clothing: 

Again the vibrant colors!! And bead work!!!

How COVID-19 is helping us emotionally prepare for deployment

I am not very good with change or disruption.  You think I would be better as we are a military family, but I like consistency and order in my life.  There is nothing like this COVID-19 situation to disrupt the order in all our lives.  On top of the drastic changes being made by social isolation and stay at home orders, we are also preparing for Josh's first deployment.  This brings tons of unknowns and the COVID-19 situation has compounded the uncertainty.  As I have been dealing with frustrations, anger, sadness, and fear about our future, I sometimes stop to look around me and take stock of my present.  I have found some surprising blessings which have eased by emotions about the upcoming deployment.

Bub tried on Josh's body armor

1. We have built strong ties to our home and being "ok" hanging out with just each other.  Military families are often separated from extended family and now all of us in 'stay at home states' are dealing with this separation.  Social distancing has taught my kids to be ok with each other and to rediscover the joys of home life (ie. toys that have been hidden in closets since we moved to OK!).  Thank goodness for FaceTime and Zoom to help us stay connected to extended family and friends that we love.  For this I am grateful.  During deployment, we will need to pull together as a smaller family unit and be "ok" with each other.

This new trampoline is the best thing we ever purchased

2. Josh and I have been enjoying more time together as most of our children's lessons are cancelled.  Before COVID-19, we ran our children to three-four lessons a day Mon-Fri.  This meant that we had to divide and conquer and rarely ate dinner all at the same time.  We only have two lessons left; music lessons conducted through Zoom, and horseback riding lessons outside.  So we eat dinner together every night and Josh and I see each other all night when we returns home from work.  I am banking up all this time before the deployment.

Lots of movie nights and cuddles with dad and Mochi

3. I have been very concerned about how I will juggle my yoga classes and private sessions when the kids are out of school in the summer.  I teach at least 15 hours a week and travel between two different gyms.  This usually happens when the kids are in school and they do not realize how long I am gone during the day.  At the end of March, Enid Public School District cancelled school for the remainder of the year and instituted an online learning program.  We set up an hour by hour schedule rotating between learning time, enrichment activities, outside time, chores, etc.  This eased my mind immensely because I am able to plan my few yoga sessions I have left when the kids are doing an activity that does not require my help.  The kids have thrived on this schedule.  They fight less and they never complain when we change the activity because they know the time frames.  They also feel some ownership over the schedule as we planned the hours together.  Now I feel confident that I can adapt our schedule for our summer days when we only have one parent at home (and hopefully the world will be back to normal by then!)

Home made fabric and elastic masks

4. Being military kids, my kids are used to disruption and COVID-19 is no exception.  We have had many disappointments and losses due to the closing of school and Bear's dance studio.  We have all grieved for the loss of opportunities that we were looking forward to.  We all take our moments to express our sadness, anger, or frustration, and then we move on.  This builds resilience and adaptability.  We will need these qualities as we enter into the deployment.

Since Spring Break which turned into nine week break, we have completed eight puzzles

5. COVID-19 has caused us to think of our home as a sanctuary, our sacred place.  We work here, play here, and worship here together.  Our home is also keeping us safe from the sickness outside our doors.  We all need a safe place to land while the world is so uncertain.  My sanctuary helps me not to fear. "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1:6-7)

Cultural Night: Democratic Republic of the Congo

Cultural Night: Democratic Republic of the Congo

Date: 3/8/2020

Guests: Egginton Family

Food: Congo Chicken Stew https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/friend/2019/10/food-and-fun?lang=eng, Congo Fruit Salad https://recipes.fandom.com/wiki/Congo_Fruit_Salad, Congo Bars https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/9941/congo-bars-i/

Music: African Congo Drum Music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMz6e-mRUVY

Flag and Geography: http://www.crayola.co.uk/free-coloring-pages/print/democratic-republic-of-congo-coloring-page/ The flag was a bit of mystery.  According to our Google search, there are many different flags that represent the Congo.  We were wondering if they were representatives of states or some equivalent.

Weather and Landscape: Most of the Congo is covered by rain forest and it takes up a large area of central Africa.

Animals: The animals that live in the Congo are the okapi, elephants, gorillas, hippos, rhinos.

Language: French is the official language but there are 242 other languages spoken.  We like to practice our pronunciation on this site: https://www.loecsen.com/en/learn-french

Architecture: I wish this picture was in color.  I would love to see the markings on the building front.  This is a home of the Mangbetu people.

Facts about the Congo: Friend October 2019 article on the Congo https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/friend/2019/10/hello-from-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo?lang=eng

Art: The Congo is known for wooden statues, woven baskets, and masks.

Traditional Clothing: I love all the colors in the every day dress.