OKC Road Trip

We took a 12+ hour roadtrip to OKC and back to visit the temple open house. Al joined up with us in Dallas, so it was good times:

Hanging out at Grandma and Grandpa's apartment in Dallas

Lunch at McDonald's

"Scenic Overlook" in Oaklahoma

Dinner at Cafe 7 in OKC

OKC Temple Open House

Free downtown parking on Saturdays... woot woot!

The wall in the background says: "We come here to visit those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever. May all who leave here know the impact of violence. May this memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope and serenity."

This "survivor tree" survived the blast that killed 168 people (including 19 children) on April 19, 1995. Al and I decided that we were students at Madison Elementary at the time of the bombing.

Outdoor symbolic memorial. Read more about some of the symbolism here: https://oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org/visit/outdoor-symbolic-memorial/.

Survivor tree in the background.

Will Rogers Park and Botanical Gardens

There were quite a few animals, like turtles, geese, koi...

Cool cypress knees

For lunch we went to Nic's Grill. Al was a sport and waited in line for an hour in the heat. Their burgers have been recognized by Jimmy Kimmel, Jay Leno, and Diners, Dives, and Drive-Ins. Supposedly one of the best burgers in the country.

Wheeler Park

This park was super cool... In addition to the ferris wheel and cool photo op, there were lots of games to play and a long line of hammocks.

Al took the girls on the ferris wheel. #BestAuntEver

Great view!

The ferris wheel reminded us of our trip to Orlando a couple years ago (below).

We swung by London and Rome on our way home.

J/k. This is World Casino on the Oklahoma / Texas border. I decided that Oklahoma should be known for its three Cs: cannabis, casinos, and clay. (All three things could be seen all over the place, everywhere we went.)

Meanwhile, Grandma and Grandpa were spoiling Owen back in Dallas. ;)

Dinner with Grandma and Grandpa at Chuck E. Cheese.

Dallas Temple

Sunday dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's apartment

This was just a sampling of the fun. We took too many pictures to post here. Glad we could go!

OKC Temple Open House

These are photos of the OKC Temple, published by the Church:

Heidi says this was her favorite room; she liked the murals on the wall.

I remember attending the San Diego Temple open house when I was about the girls' age, and the thing I remember most was the bride's room. I remember thinking that I wanted to get married in the temple. That is what motivated me to want to take the girls. I want them to set the goal of temple marriage now, while they're young.

The celestial room was Lizzie's favorite.

Academic Night

Lizzie presented her G/T project at the school's annual Pflex Showcase:

Afterward there were a lot of other fun activities:

Crawling!