The week after school was out we went on our family vacation. Originally, we booked a trip to Great Wolf Lodge but after more discussion we changed our plans to Oklahoma City. James and I have traveled alone there for quick getaways but the kids had never been and it is half the distance!
We left out on a Tuesday morning and our first stop was the outlet mall!! Christopher made the comment the day before we left that he would really like "some of those glasses with slits in them" and guess what he found at the outlet mall? Those exact glasses and we bought some for James Henry as well.
The kids loved the Disney Store. Christopher even spent some of his own money to buy Makayla something there.
After the outlet mall we checked into our hotel.
David was a big help with the luggage!
For dinner that night we took the kids to Dave & Buster's. They had never been to one before and we had a blast.
This dinner was David's first experience with condiments, in this case it was Ranch dressing and his life will never be the same.
The kids had so much fun. Since it was a week night we pretty much had the place to ourselves.
After dinner we swam at the hotel until bedtime.
We ate breakfast at the hotel both mornings. The first morning we went to the zoo. They give a great Veteran's discount.
We have never experienced an aviary like the one in OKC and we have been to zoos all over this country. It was so cool for all of us.
They also had a neat area with stingrays and while it didn't compare to swimming with them in Mexico, it was still great.
The sea lions were next and James Henry loved them so much he bought a stuffed one before we left that area. Her name is Piper!
I love this picture of David waving to his new underwater friends.
We all rode the carousel.
James Henry had us stop at every single one of these statues and take a picture of him.
This gorilla was the coolest and kindly posed for our pictures.
At one point, Makayla talked her dad into a piggy back ride.
The bears were cool too!
It was a really nice zoo. The enclosures were extremely large and there were alot of different animals.
The kids took these pictures in one of those photo booths during a diaper change pit stop.
I am so thankful for overpriced zoo photographers... this is the only family photo from our trip and it was worth every penny!
By the time we left the zoo everyone was overly hungry and tired of walking. Earlier that morning we saw a sign for Mama E's restaurant which has been featured on Food Network's Diners, Drive-In's & Dives and also Restaurant Impossible. It was only a mile from the zoo so we decided it was worth checking out.
Mama E's did not disappoint!! It was so so delicious!
James, Christopher and James Henry all had chicken & waffles. Makayla had dirty rice and David and I had chicken and dumplings with black eyed peas. James and I drank the best sweet tea while the kids all had kool-aid! It was a cool place to stop on our vacation.
After lunch we went to the Science Museum. Since we are members of the one here in Amarillo, we had free admission.
This place was so amazing!! I wish we had known how great it was and planned for more time there. We got there about 2 hours before they closed but we could have spent the entire day there.
The "choo-choos" were a big hit with David.
Upstairs, they had the perfect exhibit for our little gymnast.
Look at the indoor treehouse. It really was a fun place and it entertained all of us!
That night we swam at the hotel again and everyone slept really well that night.
Thursday morning after breakfast we packed up and headed towards home but stopped in Clinton, OK about an hour from Oklahoma City. Clinton has an indoor water park called the Water Zoo.
We spent the last day of our trip at the water park. It was nice not to have to worry about the heat or sunburns.
This is the day ketchup entered David's life!
Everyone had a great time at the water zoo.
After we were back home, we asked the kids how they felt about our vacation and changing from Great Wolf Lodge to OKC and they all agreed it was way better, that we were able to do so much more stuff.
James and I think it was the perfect family vacation for us and we are so glad that we went and made the memories that we did.
