Monday, May 30, 2011

Bricktown

May got busy fast!  I didn't realize that it had been almost a month since I had written anything.  Hopefully the summer will be better.

For Memorial Day weekend, we went to the City for a mini-vacation.  We really needed to get away for a few days to relax a little bit! 


Friday evening we hit Bricktown to watch a movie (Kung Fu Panda 2, which was really cute), eat at Abuelo's, and ride the water taxi's.  Ron Norick was really a visionary when he pushed for the passage of MAPS.  Downtown OKC is really a neat place to be.  While there Reese entertained Mayor Mick Cornett with his questions and observations.  While we were taking our water taxi ride, the guide said if stacked up, the bricks that made the Bricktown Ballpark would go 23 miles in the sky.  Reese asked, "Is that flat or end-to-end?"  The guide looked at him and said, "In 10 years, I've never had anyone ask that question!"  Leave it to Reese!

Saturday we visited the zoo.  They had finished the elephant exhibit and had the new baby elephant, Malee, on display.  She was so cute!  I enjoyed watching her awkwardly walk around and run after her mom.  She never ventured too far away.  This was also the first time we went through the Oklahoma Trails exhibit.  Very cool.  A highlight for the kids was riding the Swan paddleboats.  Kinley told me this was the best part of the day, which was awesome, and that her life had been pretty wonderful so far! 

After the zoo, we visited the mall, ate some more, and let the kids swim at the hotel.  Sunday brought another visit to the mall to return some things and then we met my mom in Weatherford so the kids could go visit them.  Steven and I drove back to the City for a mom and dad night out in Bricktown.  We ate at Jazmo's Bourbon Street Cafe (very good) and people watched on the canal.

Today we headed back home.  Going through Piedmont, we passed through tornado damage.  We also passed through the damage on I-40 when going to Weatherford.  It was amazing to see what damage those storms did and the wide swath they cut.  It's really hard to imagine a tornado that is a quarter to half a mile wide. 

This trip was a lot of fun and a great way to kick off the summer!





Friday, May 6, 2011

Book review: The Help

I ordered this book from Amazon a couple of weeks ago after reading all the great reviews about it.  It's set in 1960's Mississippi and tells the story of 3 women, two black maids and a young white woman, and how their lives intertwined.  The book alternated between all three points of view.

Although I thought at times this book suffered a little bit from "Dances with Wolves" syndrome, it redeemed itself at the end.  There are good and bad people on both sides.  It also shows you how times have changed and what once was considered acceptable speech/behavior in terms of race relations has definitely changed. 

This is a super read and I raced through the book.  At the same time, I hated for it to end.  I so identified with the characters that I wanted to see what happened to them next.  It's a definite thumbs up!