Will The Real Birthday Please Step Forward?

It was a boot scootin' birthday. Lola semi-cooperated with a third birthday photo shoot. During our painful photo opp, she got a phone call from Nana, Poppy, Dana, Dustin & Jaxson. After they finished their round of Happy Birthday, she cried, "Sing it again!" and they obliged.

When asked what she wanted to eat for her birthday lunch, she said, "Pasta!" Like father, like daughter. We went to Spaghetti Warehouse and they arranged for all around us to sing to her. She slid down in her seat and stayed there for about five minutes. We asked her what was wrong, knowing full well she was embarrassed and she told Randy, "I'm shy, Daddy."

After lunch, we went to the Oklahoma City Museum of Art to see the Roman Art Exhibit from the Louvre. It was the last day of the exhibit and since I'm not sure I'll ever make it to Paris, I insisted that we see it. It was extremely fascinating. I mentioned to Randy that I wondered if Paul, the disciples, or even Jesus had looked upon some of the pieces. There were public mosaics and statues that definitely were throughout the Roman empire during that time.

We rushed home from the museum to put chili on for our Sunday night gathering. Our friends brought Lola gifts and lots of love. This little girl has really been celebrated!

To POPS and Beyond

On Saturday we had the most amazing time with MiMi & ProPro! It was the day before Lola's actual birthday and we were in celebratory mode. We met in Arcadia at POPS which is an ultra cool gas station/diner/convenience store which specializes in pop. They have over 500 varieties. As you can tell from the photos above, there's some cool design involved and I think it is a unique experience that you should definitely make happen. I couldn't believe how busy the joint was. We waited outside in the hot sun for about a half hour only to get a seat on the patio. There was a huge yard where Lola played and got considerably muddy. For some reason they didn't have the umbrellas out and we baked while we ate our food but it still tasted great. Lola actually wanted and ate her first cheeseburger. For some reason, this kid has rejected all kinds of sandwiches. Very rarely, you can get her to eat a bit of a grilled cheese. But since POPS, I think we've entered a new era. I had a cheeseburger for lunch a couple of days ago and she grabbed it out of my hand for a couple of bites. Anyhow, back to Saturday's story...

After POPS we headed down the road to the Parkhurst Pumpkin Patch. We waited in line and lamented how this would be the last time Lola would get in somewhere free for being 2 or under. But we quickly turned to excitement again as we headed towards all the animals with our bag of feed. Lola swayed from timid with the animals to aggressively demanding to ride the pony. It amazes me how she can be scared of the mechanical car outside of Walmart but not at all frightened by the pony. However, I was horse crazy as a young girl, so I'm relieved to know there's some of me in her after all. She and ProPro animatedly ran us through the corn maze and she picked up all the hidden pumpkins with arrows and threw them. We tried to stop her and return what we could be she was a girl on a mission. No one will probably find their way through there again! Right at the end she led us out the side instead of finishing because she heard the tractor. She was not about to miss another turn on the hayride. She also had fun in the tire swing and the hammocks, climbing on hay bales, and picking out pumpkins. Lola & I were oblivious (or pretended to be) to the other's mourning for OU's loss to Texas. Eventually, we convinced Lola it was time to leave, load up our pumpkins and part ways with MiMi & ProPro.

As we were pulling out on Route 66, we decided to see if one of our old haunts and favorite BBQ places had ever reopened. Praise the Lord, it had. It was yummy food, but ended up a strange experience since I ran into someone I had went to high school with and not seen in 15+ years - a crazy suprise and a long way from Warner.

We hustled back to The Village and threw a spread together for noshing with the Nemcoks and Eric while we cheered the Oklahoma State Cowboys to victory over Missouri. GO POKES!!! By the time we hit the hay, metaphorically speaking, we had no trouble falling asleep.