Every other year we spend Thanksgiving in Oklahoma with Steve's side of the family, the Oakie Lees. Unlce Johnny is Steve's oldest brother and he has a bad ear so he has to turn the TV volume up really high. When people call the house and Aunt Garlena answers she yells, "Mute it, Johnny!!!" (imagine it said with an accent). People don't realized she is referring to the television volume and think that this is the way she speaks to her husband. So now her kids all make fun and it has spread into thier circle of friends as just a saying and Matt and I loved it and can't wait to use it out here for no reason other than to just say it (with an accent, of course).
We love visiting them. They are so much fun. I really can't describe them but they all have an incredible sense of humor and very dynamic personalities. Steven Ross is so silly. He is such a comedian. And when he and Matt get together... oh my gosh. Where do I even begin? Somehow they just play off each other very well. Shelly is also hilarious. She is a hip, stay-at-home mom with a small side cleaning business and is super busy between baking and picking up the kids and keeping up with all the high school drama that goes along with a teenage daughter. Jeff, her husband works a lot and we can't really tell the difference between his excited face and his serious face. hahaha. But he is so totally cool and also very funny. He has more of a dry sense of humor and oftentimes I can't tell if he is joking or not.
Lisa cracks me up too. She is a beaver to a "T". And it's funny to watch her. We all went over for chili one night and after we were all done eating she washed those dishes quicker than anyone I had ever seen. So fast, the water just couldn't run fast enough. And just as her mom was telling me about how she broke every single appliance she ever had, she broke the coffee pot. I'm telling you, there was never a dull moment.
Liegh, her husband is not serious but just compared to everyone else is more mellow. Both he and Lisa are teachers and he happens to be a photography teacher so we talked about that at bit. And I noticed his great pictures throughout the house. Everywhere I go, I always notice pictures.
And of course there is Heather, Steven Ross' wife. I just love Heather. Ever since we met, we just hit it off. Maybe it was because we were both married to the King of Queens. I keep up with her blog and so whenever I see her it doesn't feel like it's been that long. Oh yes, and let's not forget what happend last time after leaving Oklahoma... both Heather and I got pregnant. Our due dates were 2 days apart.
So we started planning for this trip back in February or March and as soon as tickets were made available (6 months prior) to the date of departure we were the first to book our flights. Not only did we get to see Olivia again, but we got to meet Audrey, who is Evan's age.
We stayed with Jeff and Shelly and thier two kids Macy and Garett. Oh yes, and thier dog, Gabe and somewhat adopted son, Pete. We stayed up late every single night talking mostly about disgusting things, which I will not retell and just being completely silly. We were bummed that Steven Ross and Heather couldn't stay with us like they did last time but we didn't all fit anymore. It worked out... no fire hazards (this is the first time I had heard and seen a blue flamer) and hopefully nothing funny in the water.
This is a long blog and I haven't even talked about what we actually did while we were there.
We went out to Johnny and Garlenas ranch out in Norman and we rode the horses. We also went out to the lake in thier new motorhome. At the lake we all took turns riding thier new motorcycle and the guys also played catch with the football.
We also went to visit the Oklahoma City bombing site and museum. It happend in 1995 and I was still in high school at the time and didn't realized how bad it really was. 169 people were killed including children who were at the building's daycare. It was so depressing. I had a knot in my throat the entire time and by the time I got to the people's memorial, I couldn't walk through it. After we left we were all in a pretty somber mood.
One of the days we rode the RV out to Sterling, OK where Steve (Matt's dad) had spent a part of his childhood. It was out of a movie, or more like out of a country song. A small country town in the middle of nowhere with a red dirt road. Pastures and bails of hay, grazing cows for miles on end, a tree swing and a pond, a small corner store, one church and steeple and a sign that read, "Welcome to Sterling".
On our way back we stopped at Jake's BBQ and then went to see the most amazing lights. I know you can't picture them and I'm getting tired of writing but when they said we were going to see the lights I really didn't have this in mind. Before heading home we stopped for ice cream at Braums.
For Thanksgiving we were back at the Ranch and we just hung out. Talked and laughed and ate too much, of course. I ate too much the entire week. I will tell you about the deserts alone: Pumpkin cheesecake, Lemon Cheesecake, Butterfinger cheesecake, Rum cake, Pecan & Sweet Potato Pie, Plain Pecan Pie and Pumpkin Pie. Oh yes, and frozen chocolate custard one night after eating at Cracker Barrel and a double scoop of ice cream at Braums on another night. One night I got really sick and had a bad stomach ache. So much for organic.
Check out the slideshow:
Then into the kitchen cabinets
