A Laid Back Kind of Happy Anniversary Weekend!

Last Saturday morning's dawn was glorious as we began our trip to Oklahoma and then on to Branson. 

First stop was to visit my sister Roberta and her family.

Roberta, her daughter, Robyn and I enjoyed a lovely walk around their neighborhood on Saturday afternoon before going to church and then coming back home for a fabulous pot roast dinner. Robyn brought over a beautiful birthday cake for DH's birthday and so Saturday was a most pleasant day. Saturday night sleeping was wonderful. My sister and her husband graciously gave up their bedroom with king size bed for our comfort! How nice is that?

Sunday was our 29th wedding anniversary and we all went out for breakfast at First Watch. It's hard to believe that 29 years have passed. You know that over all the years of our lives there are bumps along the way, but I have to say that even with the bumps, it's all been good. I recently read a quote I hadn't heard before:

"The bumps are what you can climb on.” 

― Warren W. Wiersbe, 

Next stop as we left my sister's house was to see my brother Phil and sil, Susan. I had to take pics of the guest room at their house because she had fixed everything up so sweetly for her guests. 

Coffee first thing in the morning? Wow!

That's what I like!

Chocolate? Score 2

A basket full of goodies. She went above and beyond

what a bed and breakfast usually provides.

A cozy room.

Both their sons played football and

Susan has preserved well those memories.

We did an afternoon tour of five or six of some older, very beautiful homes in Tulsa. I didn't take pictures of the homes, but here is an unusual pic of a wall hanging in one of the homes. 

Very interesting, huh?

Looking through beautiful homes is one of my favorite things to do and the homes we saw didn't disappoint. One of the homes had tables set out on the front lawn and offering Bluebell ice cream (at quite a profit, I would say), and also had a platter of warm chocolate chip cookies in the kitchen.  I had noticed DH took one, but what I didn't realize was he stuck it in his front pocket for later. A person ought to know that you can't hide a cookie like that in your pocket without the butter and chocolate soaking through to tell on you. Sure enough while we were eating later, I noticed those strange spots on his pocket. Bad boy! 

After the tour, we had a late lunch/early dinner at a place called Wild Fork in Utica Square and then returned to Phil and Susan's for more Happy Birthday cake and ice cream!!  She made a flourless chocolate cake, ummmmmm good!

Susan got her ukulele out and serenaded us for a while.

We sang along with her and I'm of the opinion that

we need to sing more often. It was fun.

Trudy loved their back yard and hanging out with their dog, Howie.

So to end off a beautiful day, we had to watch Poldark on Masterpiece Theater. I love that show! Monday morning saw my brother off to work and Susan baked a special cinnamon bread for us, along with bacon and eggs for DH and a yogurt parfait for me! A great way to start a Monday!

After much discussion about it, we decided to put off Branson for a few months and return home on Monday. The weekend was very satisfying and laid back and it was good to be with my family. I get lonesome for them. When we arrived home, there were a couple of packages on our front porch, one of which was birthday presents for DH from daughter Sara and the boys! A new phone cover for Papa! Now he doesn't have to carry around that sissy pink phone anymore and he should always be able to spot the red phone. He's quite proud of it and looking forward to using the gift card at Saltgrass Steak House.