The horses are bigger. . . .

. . . here in Oklahoma. At least the Clydesdales at the Express Ranch are! This is a corporately owned ranch that has a Clydesdale team that they GENEROUSLY allow the public to visit. We went a couple of weeks ago (I know. . . I am behind on my blogging. . . AGAIN!) and had a great time! Vaughn has been talking about it ever since and we are planning a return visit so Daddy can go with us and see these gentle giants as well.

Here Vaughn is showing us all how excited he is (and all he has seen so far is the statue out front by the gate!)

The look on his face says it all: "I thought you said the horses were going to be BIG. . ."
THIS is more like it!

One of the horses (I can't remember his name) on his way back to his stall after a bath. The girl who bathed him (not pictured) had to stand on a scaffolding to reach his back!

I managed to capture V's face in this picture just after "Dylan" (one of my faves from the trip) let him touch his nose. Literally, the HEADS on these animals are bigger than some of the kids that were with us! And their hooves. . . are as big as my son's HEAD!

Not only does the ranch house the Clydesdale team, they also have this donkey, several miniature horses, a zebra, and several other animals the kids can see and pet.

V was VERY intrigued by this little guy. It took a few minutes. . .

. . . but he finally worked up the courage. . .

. . .to get close enough to pet him!

The Oklahoma City Zoo

We have been trying to get to the zoo since we moved, back in October, and two weekends ago we FINALLY made it. We had heard great things about the zoo from "the locals" and were thoroughly impressed. There were LOTS of great animals to see, several trains to ride, playgrounds to explore . . . and as you can see from the pictures below. . . there were bronze animals to befriend! These were one of the most popular attractions for our little animal lover!

What a cool turtle. . . .there was one inside that was almost this big!

Hi Harvey. . . I found your ear!

I see you watching me out of the corner of your eye, but I'm gonna love on you anyway!

Seriously, I like you but you need to lose the scowl!

Maybe if I scratch right here it'll help!

My first Icee. . .I'm not a big fan. . . Daddy ate most of it.

I loved the train ride and I think Mommy and Daddy were ready to sit down. . . They'd been passing me back and forth most of the day since I wasn't too keen on riding in the stroller.

Looks like we are leaving. . . for now. . . I am SOOOO coming back here!

Wouldn't he look GREAT in a green jacket?!

Ok, so I SHOULD have posted this LAST week, since the final round of the Masters was on Sunday, but I am just now getting around to it. Newsflash. . . Vaughn has discovered (and fallen in love) with the sport of golf. (Case in Point: Tonight, as we were reading in his picture bible about Moses, he saw an illustration where Moses was holding his "staff" above the Red Sea, and he looked at me and said, "Is it a golf club, Mama?") And being as he is SOOOO left handed. . . Phil Mickelson better watch out! Here are some pictures from our most recent visit to Grinny and Hitee's house. (By the way, Mom and Dad, he thinks the golf course belongs to you!)

Look at this GREAT golf club! Gotta make sure it's clean before I hit the ball. . .

The beginnings of a beautiful backswing . . .(even though I'm not sure where the club is in this shot!)
Hitee, this one's for you!

Our Boy in the Bluebonnets

Last week, Jason was out of town all week, so V and I headed South to . . . "God's Country", Grinny and Hitee's House, the great state of TEXAS. . . .in the spring! I was excited about going because I would be able to get some pictures of V in the bluebonnets this year. The flowers started cropping up almost as soon as we crossed the Red River. . . and let me just say I haven't seen a bluebonnet ONE in Oklahoma this spring! What a shame! Below are some of my favorite pictures. Enjoy!

It Snowed!. . .Sort of. . .

As you may recall, a couple of weekends ago, the state of Oklahoma was supposed to get, somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 feet of snow (I know, I am embellishing again, but it makes the story better!). Many parts of the state did get a significant amount of precip, but here in the big city, we got cheated! While it WAS cold and wet, we did NOT get the kind of accumulation that was promised by all those weathermen who ALWAYS know what they are talking about. Anyway, because of the temperature and the sogginess Vaughn was not able to spend his usual 12-14 hours a day outside, so we had to be creative with our play inside. So. . . . we built a tent! Using a card table and a sheet, we assembled the greatest play structure known to man (that is STILL in our living room!!) Vaughn has used this tent over the last two weeks as many things. . . a place to read, a place to snack, a place to watch the Backyardigans, but I think his favorite thing to do in it is HIDE! He employs this tactic for many reasons. . . meal time, bath time, teeth brushing time, nap time, time to go run errands, and of course just for fun, to see how long it will take us to come looking for him. I do think he would be a bit more successful at staying hidden if he would only learn to be QUIET while hiding. This is a skill he has yet to master! However, if the last two weeks are any indication, the tent isn't going away any time soon and he will have plenty of opportunities to perfect his new found pastime!

Look at my COOL new tent! Mommy made it for me!

Right now I have so many toys inside I am having trouble fitting in it myself!

Think I'll get just a few more toys to take inside with me.

Maybe you could come and play in my new tent with me?

Like I mentioned above, although we didn't get as much snow as was predicted, we did see a few flakes fall over the course of a couple of days. We had talked to V about the snow and all he said for two days was "Vaughn make a snowball?". So, before we ran some errands, Jason took him outside to do just that. Below you will see that his face tells the story better than I could. It was NOT the story I anticipated with all of the build up.

Ok V, here you go! Your very first snowball!

This is it? Seriously, this is what I have been waiting for?

Hmm. . .think I'd rather play INSIDE with my tent!

Flowers. . . Just what the Dr. ordered!

I am so far behind. . . I have forgotten where I need to start! However, I think this is where we left off! Like I mentioned in the previous post, the Green household has been sick for a while. Don't worry, we are all recovered and back to our old selves, thanks in no small part to these cheerful arrangements sent to us by my mom and dad as we struggled to remain among the living (ok, so maybe I am exaggerating just a little bit, but we REALLY didn't feel good and these flowers REALLY brightened our day!) So. . . Thanks, Grinny and Hitee. . . We love you!

Mmmmmm. . . .smells so good!

"Bee-EAU-ti-ful Flowers"