Welcome to Bricktown

Last weekend, Randy attended his yearly coaches’ clinic in OKC and invited me and the boys to tag along. A night in a hotel and a day out in the big town sounded like fun to the three of us, so we packed a quick bag, threw in our swimming suits (just in case) and headed east in hopes of beating the Friday afternoon traffic.

With the help of Aunt Edna (the GPS), we were proud and amazed that we only had to make one illegal u-turn to arrive at our hotel safely, and just before dark. To Randy’s excitement, our hotel had a free shuttle to and from Bricktown 24 hours a day. He was officially finished with big city driving.

The boys were eager to see Bricktown, even though they had no idea what that meant or where it was. They’ve both been there before, but it’s been a while, making it seem new and exciting all over again. So, at suppertime we hopped on the shuttle and in about five minutes we were standing outside of Mickey Mantle’s Steakhouse, listening to the boys go nuts about the big buildings, the bridges, and most of all, the canal.

It was as if they had never seen water before, and it was all we could do to get them to contain their excitement and remind Brisco especially, to maintain control over the volume of his voice. Everything was “Awesome!” Only it came out, “AWESOME!!!” And everyone within a two-block radius was wondering what they had missed.

We decided for supper we would introduce the boys to Chelino’s. Not only were we guaranteed to get our fill on their delicious food, but we were also entertained by the Mariachis and the goofy guy who made animals and objects out of balloons. I’m not sure which was better: watching Brisco get down to his favorite “Mexican song” or seeing Cooper wear a rocket made out of balloons on his head.

There wasn’t a better place in the world to be with our bellies full on a 55 degree evening in late January than Bricktown. We had plenty of walking room, and beautiful weather to do it in, and everything our kids laid their eyes on was a thrill. Made me kind of glad we saved our money on those Thunder tickets we contemplated buying.

We admired the ducks…well, “taunted” may actually be a better word. We walked the canal, and instinctively, the boys were drawn to the only grassy hill in downtown OKC. We watched as they ran up and down that hill--green, balloon airplane chasing partially-popped orange and blue rocket. Big city or not, they were still just a couple of country kids playing games and running wild.

Before calling it a day, we threw pennies into the fountain, ate 15 dollars worth of ice cream, and wondered why in the world there were still Christmas lights strung all over the trees. We agreed that there were probably no fish in the canal, but Cooper still wished he had brought his fishing pole just to make sure. And as we walked up the brick-paved street to meet our free, 24-hour shuttle, we agreed that the only thing that would have made the night more perfect was if the lights had been on at the ballpark.

The evening in Bricktown was the perfect start to our fun-filled weekend. Who knew bumpy roads and twisted balloons could be so much fun? And it was just the beginning. Tomorrow? Look out, science geeks and physics gurus. The Smith boys are headed your way.

And that’s All in a day’s work!

Quotable Quotes

Cooper: Mom, When are you gonna take a shower? You haven’t had a shower in like eight weeks!
Me: Uh, yeah, Cooper, actually I usually take my shower at night when you are in bed.
Cooper: Oh. Thank Goodness!

Brisco: (From the bathroom, yelling at the top of his lungs) I AM DONE! (My signal to go in and help him because he is, well, done.)
Me: Ok, I’m right here.
Brisco: It’s good that I ate those donuts for breakfast. Look! My poop is floating!
Me: So, donuts make your poop float?
Brisco: Yep.
Me: And…that is good?
Brisco: Yep.

Brisco: Look! I’m an old man with a broke leg. “Oh man, I broke my leg!”

Brisco: Cooper, remember how Brady (our cousin) is scared of pump jacks?
Cooper: Huh?
Brisco: At night on the trampoline at Granma’s.
Cooper: (Looking totally bewildered)
Brisco: No, wait. Jumping Jacks…No, Bo Jacks. That’s it.
Cooper: What are Bo Jacks?
Brisco: I don’t know. They only come out at night and they have horns or something like deer. Granddaddy said, “Look out for Bo Jacks.”
Cooper: Hmm.
Brisco: They sleep in the day and come out at night. I kinda think Granddaddy’s just kidding about them.

Me: (Tripping on yet another Star Wars toy as I walk into the living room) Why is this thing in the middle of the floor?!
Brisco: Sit down before you fall down!
Me: (Hands on hips, shooting daggers in his direction)
Brisco: Ha! Ha! Mom! That’s what they say on Indiana Jones. “Sit down before you fall down!”

Brisco: (While watching an infomercial on TV) I’d take that Chef Basket, would you?
Me: Yeah, I’d take it.
Brisco: Yeah. I’d take two. But I wouldn’t take that sharp knife.
Me: Yeah, that’s probably smart.

Grandmother: (Laying out school clothes for the following day, including clean underwear)
Cooper: I don’t change my underwear every day.
Grandmother: Oh?
Cooper: No. Just every three days. Maybe every five days. Momma lets me.
Me: (From three states away) What? Good grief. Do NOT tell anyone he said that!

And that’s All in a day’s work!