Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain And the wavin' wheat can sure smell sweet When the wind comes right behind the rain.

**Wrote this post this summer and just saw I've never posted it...silly!**

Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain

And the wavin' wheat can sure smell sweet

When the wind comes right behind the rain.

Thane and Sage pushing a younger cousin on the tire swing

Jeff's family moved from California to Oklahoma not long after we were married.  Over the years they've moved a bit, but always loved Oklahoma.  Several years ago work took them back to Oklahoma, and they purchased about 30 acres with barns, a creek, and lots of wide open space.  Over time a few of his siblings have settled there as well, raising their families and living life.

This summer we were looking at pictures one of our sister in laws posted on Facebook, and we realized how long it's been since we made the trek back East.  Years in fact.  And it just hit us, this could be it.  Kiefer is a Senior, he may choose to head out to college soon after graduation.  We may not get the chance to take the whole family again.  We have nieces and nephews growing up without knowing us, our children have cousins they've never met.  We made a few calculations and decided to hit the road.  

It was a long drive, to maximize  the time we would be able to spend with family we decided to make the 19 hour trip straight-ugh! It was long and tiring, but worth it to be able to spend more time actually hanging out with family.

Oklahoma summers are not my favorite, in fact I detest them (we lived there several times over the years).  The humidity just sucks the life out of me, ick!  But we didn't have much choice, it was now or never.

Typically it rains 6 days a week in the late afternoon or evening, and then the storm rolls through and leaves the air steamy and thick.  This year Oklahoma is in the midst of the worst drought since the Dust Bowl, so it was brown and dry.  

 

Somehow though we brought the rains with us, and it rained EVERY day we were out there. What are the chances?  So we missed out on riding horses, which the kids were bummed about, but we managed to fit in some other fun activities during the dry times.

Swinging on the big tree that was struck by lightening earlier this year-forcing my in laws into the 21st century of electronics! Yea for new TVs, computers, and telephones!  Golf practice and driving contest with uncles and cousins.  Soccer games and football games, and helping Papa work with the horses and move fences and mow the pasture and lawns.