AP: Happy Easter

In all my 18 years of life we have always had a pretty normal Easter, normally comprised of a church service, Easter egg hunts, and hanging out with my family. This year we did something way out of the ordinary.........we went to Oklahoma! =) We had a great time and had so many memories! Since my dad had the weekend off from work at IHOP and Mallory and I had off from dance due to Easter weekend, we decided to get away. This was our first vacation since before we started the moving process in August of 2008. It was much needed! I'll give you a short synopsis and some pictures to go with it:

So with nowhere specific planned in mind, we set out from Grandview. The reason we decided to head towards Oklahoma was because it was the only place that was un-rainy this weekend and had pretty weather. When we started our trip we asked God to give us adventures along the way since we had no idea where we were going. Headed down I-71 we came across Lamar, MO, and decided to stop at the local McDonald's for a $1 drink and bathroom stop. Little did we know, but we had stumbled upon the birthplace of Harry S. Truman. Inside the McDonald's there were all sorts of historical pictures lining the walls with little captions underneath. I'm sure the local people thought we were crazy the way we were treating McDonald's as a museum. So we went out and followed the signs to his house. Pretty cool huh?

The sign labeling the house......

Harry S. Truman's birth home.........

Later down the road in Diamond, MO, we found a national park/museum for George Washington Carver. Again the reason we stopped was for a bathroom break.......too much liquid from McDonald's. =). The museum was really neat and we had it all to ourselves until the end when another family came in. It was cool to review on some stuff Mallory and I had previously studied.

A bed he slept in while going to school in Iowa.

What was super cool was afterward! We decided to defy the instruction's Mandy had given us (our GPS system) and went the other way. Little did we know we passed by tons of fields with livestock. (I think I must have seen over 1 million different cows on this trip!!!!) We passed one field that had a horse and its baby colt. The colt was super wobbly and was so cute to watch! We figured it couldn't have been more than 24 hours old.

Mallory and I in front of a blooming pear tree......

My mom makes a great nature photographer!

Our next stop brought us to the good ole south.......Arkansas. We stumbled upon Bentonville, AR, and stopped at the town square. Every first Friday of the month they have lots of little street venders come out and sell stuff. They also had an amazing reggae band. We all felt like we were on a cruise.....with the wind blowing and the awesome music.We went into some of the little shops and looked around........we have good ideas for Christmas/Birthday presents! Also in this little town of Arkansas, lived a man named Sam Walton. He is the owner/founder of the store we so famously know as Walmart. It used to be called Walton's. They have a museum set up where you can see how Walmart emerged, pictures, Sam Walton's truck......it was pretty neat.

Us in front of the Walmart museum in the first Walmart store.

We passed by several of the Walmart distributing plants. They are huge!!!! They seem to go on forever!!!! Then we hopped in the car and headed to Tulsa, OK, where we planned on spending the night. Since we figured it would be pretty hard to find food that was Daniel fast friendly, we decided to break the fast on this trip. Our first meal...........Golden Corral. =). We all came to the table with a plateful of meat and sweets. It was really funny. We also got to see what people from that part of OK look like.......hmmmmm.........that's all I have to say! =)

We spent the night in a Super 8 motel. From the outside it didn't look to bad.......but it was pretty scary on the inside. Our room even had a missing smoke detector with the wires hanging through the roof. We also had a continental breakfast. Moma and Daddy's bed squeaked loudly every time they moved even the slightest bit. It was so funny!!!!

On Saturday we headed off and realized we were really close to Oral Roberts University. So we stopped to look around. We got to go into the cafeteria and also met a security officer who was super nice.

The Basketball building on the ORU campus.

The Admissions building.....I thought it was so pretty!

I really liked the space looking building!

Us in the entrance to ORU where they have lots of nation's flags and the praying hands.

The praying hands.......

Mallory and I in front of the ORU entrance sign.

Then we went on and went to the middle of nowhere.......and I truly mean nowhere. We found a little town that had a population of less than 500 people.........Redbird, OK. It was so funny!!!

This was the post office in Redbird.......

Then we traveled on and came upon Porter, OK. It was a slightly larger town. We stopped to go in an antique store because Moma felt the urge. =) On our way to Wagoner, OK, we passed by this sod plantation. It was enormous! The road goes through the middle of the fields which are as far as you can see in any direction. We must have spent 15 or so minutes driving........fast about 70mph!!!!! When we got to Wagoner we found a National park named Sequoyah State Parkwhere we decided to camp. The park is divided up into many different sections which they have named Indian names. We stayed in the Creek Indian part. The other names were Cherokee, Sequoyah, Choctaw, It was pretty neat. We set up our tents (which was a huge hassle due to the wind!) and then went back to Wagoner to go to the Walmart. We got the goods in order to make smores and also ordered pizza from Mazzio's. When we got back to the camp we ate dinner and then had smores over our fire. It was so much fun bonding with each other. We also had a photo shoot. =)

Mallory and I inside our set up tent.

Our tents......Mallory and mine is on the left.

Isn't he so handsome?

I really liked this picture.

Looking over the lake and just pondering.........

A moment in the daily life of 'Ashton"

Not to be outdone, Mallory too had her moment......

I really liked this picture......

This one too!

The Price girls!

Smores!!!!!!

Daddy and me!

These were some geese near our tent. They stayed there the whole time so we think they might have had some eggs nearby.

This was the view from our campsite across the lake. It was so beautiful!

Mallory and I slept in our own tent and Moma and Daddy slept in their own tent. Due to the fact that their tent blocked some of our wind, our tent didn't shake too badly but they said their's was violently shaking! =) Ours just mostly sounded like it was raining. The next morning, because it was Easter, we had our own church service. It was really cool. I had brought my ipod speakers and Mallory choose the worship music, Misty Edwards. =) Moma had brought along some notes from a pastor at IHOP so daddy read those and I read out of my Bible some too. It was a really neat service. Afterward, we broke down the tent and packed everything up. We took a shower in the little bathrooms and tried to dry our towels.

Eating breakfast trying to stay warm from the wind......

Seeking shelter from the wind beside the car.....

Three peas in a pod!

Getting ready for Easter morning service!

Moma and me!

Daddy reading the sermon and me searching through my Bible.

Listening to the sermon.

Still searching.....

I like this picture! The pondering on her face is priceless!

Trying to dry our towels.........Pretty strong wind huh?

I am She!!!!!!!! (inside family joke) =)

A bush nearby that Moma thought would make good Easter pictures.

We look so cute!

Solos!!!!!

Mallory is so beautiful!!!!

Us by our new "Indian Tribe" sign

Pictures by flowers......if you can't tell, flowers are my mom's favorite!

Next we were headed a little north. Exiting the park there was a little hotel we passed that said it had 'refrigerated air'. I thought that was pretty funny. We also saw a huge snake on the side of the road which we turned around to get a better look at. Pressing our heads up to the window we passed by this old lady on her front porch and waved at her. She probably thought we were nuts even though she waved back. =) Driving down the road munching on our Easter candy, Moma spotted a phenomenon.......her name spelled correctly! Of course we had to stop and take pictures of this sign. Just think, she had a road in OK named after her and didn't even know it! =)

This is what her road looks like.

We traveled north to Tahlequah. This is the place where the Cherokee Nation has its Supreme Court and national headquarters. It was closed due to it being Easter but it was still pretty neat to see since we have Cherokee heritage.

The Cherokee Nation flag.......

Then we found the Illinois River where we got out and walked.

Climbing down to the river......

Next to the river were these beautiful plains! It was really neat.

The wind rushing through the grass was incredible!

We decided to walk through the fields.

Enjoying the sunshine and exercise!

A pretty tree in the field we were walking in.

Then while we were passing through Tahlequah, Moma needed to use the internet to do something for IHOP so we took a break in the Comfort Inn & Suites parking lot. After that we headed back through the middle of nowhere. It was incredible. You just wouldn't believe how many 'middle of nowhere's there are in OK and KS. It is crazy! We went through Locust Grove, OK, and Salina, OK. We passed Lake Hudson which was really pretty and passed the home of Will Rogers. Apparently he's a famous actor. Then we went on through Claremore, OK. We got to see Oologah Lake and the dam that they have built. It was pretty impressive.

Oologah Dam in the background.......

The sunset as we were driving........

Isn't it pretty?

Traveling on we went to Independence, KS. This is the location of the Little House on the Prairie. It was really cool to see Sunny Side school and all the pictures of actual people who lived out there. The sun was setting so we took pictures and Mallory and I just couldn't resist poising for dance pictures. What better place than in the middle of nowhere with the wind rustling the grass and land for as far as you can see in any direction? It was incredible! I would move out into the middle of nowhere in a heartbeat! God's creation is so beautiful!

Laying in the middle of the road just because we can.......

The prairie!!!!!!!!!!!!

The inside of the Sunny Side school.....

Daddy tried to ring the bell......it didn't work so well. =)

The post office..........

The cabin the Ingalls lived in.

Same cabin.......different view. =)

Inside the cabin........

Mallory in the outhouse........

A little donkey next to the Ingall farm........

The sun setting over the prairie.....It almost looks like a painting!

These are just so beautiful!

Us running in the fields.........

The colors in this picture are amazing!

We are in the middle of nowhere!!!!!

The fields are so beautiful and huge!!!!!!!!!

More fields.......

I love prairie fields because the wind blows through the grasses and the sound is incredible!

The sunset over the prairie......

Nobody for as far as you can see......

In any direction.......=)

Running through the fields.......

That is how far away they were........and I was already halfway toward them.

The sunset........It almost reminded me of an African sunset..........

Another picture...........I really like this one!

Standing in the middle of nowhere..........

Me in the middle of nowhere.........

More sunset.............

I love the smokey clouds!

The sun peeping out the bottom of the clouds.......

African sunset in Kansas.........

The grasses of Kansas..........

More sunset..............

Mallory doing an attitude............

Not to be outdone, I too did one. =)

The sun was so red!

Mallory is such an elegant dancer!

This was a really cool jump!

Me doing a split type jump......

I loved the color of the clouds!

Then because we were in the middle of nowhere we decided to wait and see how dark it would actually get. It did get pretty dark, but we thought it would have been a lot darker. Our journey came to a close as we ate dinner from our cooler of packed foods and trip through Ottowa, KS. We arrived back in Grandview around 1am.

All in all we had a fabulous weekend!!!! We are grateful that God continued to supply us with many surprises and adventures along the way!!!! It was so much fun to get to explore yet another part of God's vast creation!