Tulsa Travel Tales: Part 3

The rehearsal went well, kids were prepped, and Scott was finally feeling better. Bring on the sleep! And then the omelet bar, one last chance to swim and lunch at my other Tulsa fav...Braums!

Burgers and ice cream!

It was fully wedding mode after this. We went back to the hotel to get the kids some quiet time and so Scott could iron slacks. My mom took me, my dress, Sophia's dress and the boys shirts, to the church for hair and makeup.

The bride, my lovely Jaime sister, was there getting hair and makeup as her bridesmaids came in and out for hair. She was stunning, but fighting the sick stomach that had been semi circulating through her dad, brother-in-law and the best man. She was pale and weak, but managed to not get sick. However, the rest of her makeup was applied on the floor! 

Next it was time for this mom's squad to show up...queue the mayhem! And the extreme cuteness! Sophia was a doll baby a blue 'loofa' dress, and my little men were dashing in the navy blue vests. 

Here comes the bride. Jaime, I know I've already told you, but you were beautiful. You were radiating a joy from the inside that I've never seen in you before. My prayer for you, Jason and your family, is that you will remember how God brought you to this point...how His timing was perfect. I pray when you hit a rough patch...because you will....that you will look to the One who brought you together and trust Him to bring you through it. It's not always easy, but it's worth it. I love you little sister!

The service was beautiful and the reception tons of fun! I did a short toast too, but the hubs was captivated by my stage presence (seriously?!) and failed to take a picture. I read from Song of Solomon...The Bride's Dream...if you want to look it up. Quite lovely. 

Finally, back to the hotel for sleep, and one more run to the omelet bar before the long haul home. Time to see how 639 miles feels in the new ride! But first, a little elevator drama. We headed down the three flights in the elevator for breakfast, the hotel now packed with what seemed like millions of kids in town for a soccer tournament, with about ten of them piled in with our crew. The doors opened on the first floor to a crowd of people waiting to trade places with us, so instead of being as careful as we always are about ensuring all of children are off with us, we made it out with one, assuming the other three were right behind us. Until I heard my five year old, Elijah, yell, "NO Sophia!" We turned in time to see the elevator doors close with our two youngest children still inside. Elijah was crying so loud I could hear him as the elevator went up a floor. These were the glassed in kind, open to the common area, so I ran through the indoor landscaping and jumped between lovely folks eating their breakfast yelling, "Elijah, Elijah!" I just wanted him to see that I knew he was on there. He finally looked back and calmed just slightly as the elevator stopped at the second floor. I yelled at Scott and he started to hit the stairs, but then the doors closed and went up again. Eli's tears started again. When it stopped again on the third floor I saw him move forward to get off, but then saw our oldest, Timothy, who I didn't even realize was still on the elevator, pick Sophia up and bring both her and Elijah back to the glass of the elevator and hit the button to come back down. He never let go of his sister and managed to keep Eli calm. My heart could have just exploded. I'm not sure anything parentally has made me more proud. The doors opened on the first floor and he stepped of with them, set Sophia down and said, "there you go", as Elijah burst into the saddest sobs, borne of fear and relief. Talk about #makingmemommy . After a quick huddle, we made our way to breakfast then back upstairs to pack and hit the road. 

Sophia fell asleep before we got out of town! The trip was long...almost twelve hours...but we made it and got the kids to bed just before midnight. What a trip. What a special time in our lives and the life of my sister, brother-in-law, and nieces and nephew. "More cousins?!" This is what my kids have to say about it all. "Now we have more cousins!" 

The Yelle's

This concludes the Tulsa Travel Tales! I hope you've enjoyed being along for the ride!

~Jules