June 26-28: Seminole, Oklahoma

We started our day with some coffee from the attached coffee shop.  So nice!  Good coffee and the woman ran around the counter just to open the door for me because my hands were full.  We are not in Los Angeles.  Is this a theme?

We hopped in the car and within an hour we made it to Amarillo!  We could not believe how short our drive was going to be and it made the 16 hour day before so worth it.  Along the way, we stopped at a quaint little gas station in Allenreed, Texas.  They had fun Texas things like hot sauce and jams.  We looked around a bit and went on our way.  Usually we stop at the Big Texan Steakhouse in Amarillo right off I-40 for a steak and potato lunch (real cheap and real good quality!)  They also have a doggie corral that Leon could chill in.  It was much too early for lunch so we kept on.

We got to Oklahoma in record time.  We had heard that El Reno, Oklahoma was famous for their onion burgers.  Sid's in El Reno was featured on the show Man vs. Food and is supposed to be the best.  We took Route 66 all the way through El Reno until we got to Sid's.  It is famous for a reason.  We each got an onion cheeseburger and split an order of fries.  They have an outdoor, covered picnic area where we could eat and let Leon stretch out a bit.  It was a great break before our final hour and a half of driving.  

We pulled into Phelps Farm in Seminole, Oklahoma around 5.  Within minutes we were surrounded by family. PaPa Shark, Judy, Brad, Lauren, Ben, Des, and Veevs gave us all the love we could handle. Great to be back on the farm! 

Once we got settled, we got a tour of Brad and Lauren's house. (Formerly grandma's house.)  They have gutted the whole thing. You can hardly recognize the place.  Also, Lane and Lauren have always wanted an orchard in between the two farm houses. Well, now they have one. Brand and Lauren have planted 22 trees.  We have Apple, Peach, Cherry, and Plum. Cant wait to see all the trees full grown.

We were pretty tired from all the driving, so we decided to call it an early night.  We ordered pizza and turned in early. 

Jess woke up early the next morning and took Leon for a walk around the Farm. He loves it.  That became their morning tradition.  After Jess made breakfast Candy came by to say hello.  We did not get to see Brooks because he was home sick.  He turns 1 on the 4th of July, but he was too sick for us to give him his gift in person. We spent the next few days playing with the boys and holding Veevs.  Ben and Des love to play basketball, tag, race. and tackle.  Amazingly Des likes to be OU when we play basketball.  On Wednesday night we stopped by Tyler and Lindsay Morgan's place.  We sat outside and had a few beers. We also got a tour of the new home they are building.

On Thursday night we had the Barnums over for a BBQ.  Kendra and her husband Brian and Daughter Lola all came over for some beer butt chicken.  Kendra and Brian got married last February, and we had not got a chance to meet Lola until now.  I think Ben and Des were the most exited to meet her.  I think they were obsessed.  The chicken turned out great, (sometimes Jess has a little trouble with the beer butt chicken) and it was good to see friends we had not seen in a while.

It's easy to lose track of time on the farm.  We spent over 3 days there and it went by in an instant.  There is something about the Phelps Farm that is so relaxing.  Lane grew up there, we got married there, we plan to grow old there. We love the Farm.