Saturday in The Quah

Has anyone else noticed what a beautiful Autumn we've had? For us, this is one of the prettiest Autumn seasons I remember in probably the last 10 years. The trees are just so colorful and vibrant! 

I've been wanting to take a fall foliage drive for a few years, but it hasn't really been ideal since we've had infants or young toddlers. This year, however, I felt like the kids were at a good age to do it, and with the foliage being extra beautiful I was determined to make it happen! 

A couple Saturdays ago, we woke up to a beautiful sunrise. This is certainly not uncommon for us, but it truly never gets old. 

We had planned to attend a birthday party for our friend, Sadie, at a local skating place that morning, but our entire afternoon and evening were free. I talked to Chris, and we agreed that it was the perfect time to take a drive and see the leaves.

But first, PARTY! Brooke and Brecklyn loved that the party was at Wheels and Thrills. They traded their arcade tickets for a Best Friends necklace 💓.

One fun thing about this place is that they have "toddler time". That means only kids six and younger are permitted on the skating floor, and they offer all kinds of cars and ride-ons for the kids to enjoy. Since most of the party guests were younger kids, the party was during toddler time.

Brooke

Brenson playing frisbee with one of the employees

The girls loved having Daddy there to push them!

Brecklyn, Brooke

Brenson and Sadie have always been special little friends. When I asked Sadie to take a photo with Brenson, this is what I got. Love these two!

Happy 5th birthday, Sadie!

Brianna was really disappointed that she couldn't skate during the party, so we stayed for about 30 minutes after it was over so she she could have a little time on skates. She was so sweet in the van after we left when she said, "Thank you so much for staying and letting me skate for a little bit. I really appreciate that." She's such a big girl these days!

After the party, we grabbed some food to eat in the car and headed toward Tahlequah. This is the home of Northeastern State University, where Chris and I both earned our college degrees from. We lived in Tahlequah for the first couple years of our marriage (and for a couple years before we got married), and had been wanting to take the kids there to show them campus. We knew the foliage would be gorgeous on campus (it always is!) and on the drive there, too. 

Brenson, Brianna, Brecklyn, and Brooke on the NSU campus

The Honors Program was a big part of my life as an undergraduate student. I participated in the program, serving as the student representative on the Honor's Council for two years, but I also worked as a student worker for the director for three years. 

The kids thought it was fun to see my name on the plaque, although my graduation year is incorrect!

We showed them all around the library (where the Honors suite is located and where Chris did a lot of cable work). My undergraduate degree is in Elementary Education, so I wanted to show Brianna this special room in the library where I spent a lot of time. 

Then, we walked over to Haskell Hall where TRIO is located. This was my other college job . . . I worked here for Student Support Services for 5 years (even after I began my graduate work)!

Our next stop was the Education building, where I had many of my upper level classes. The kids really wanted to walk in the buildings and see classrooms and such, but they were all locked up.

This tree in front of the Education Building was gorgeous!

The whole campus was filled with bright, beautiful trees!

Of course, we had to get a photo in front of the iconic Seminary Hall.

The yellow was much brighter than it looks in this photo.

Another photo in front of Seminary (I was trying to get the clock tower).

As we were taking the photo above, a campus police officer stopped and asked us if he could take a photo for us. We thought that was so nice, and his photo actually shows the clock tower!

We continued our tour through campus, taking the kids through the University Center and over to the Business and Technology building where Chris spent a lot of his time.

The trees 😍

I have a photo of Chris and I sitting on the edge of this fountain the day after our wedding. 

Our last stop on campus were the dorms where I lived for two years and Chris lived for one year. All the feels being back there!

After trucking all around campus, the kids were tuckered out! They were great sports about it (and I think genuinely interested in some of it), and Brianna even said, "I want to be a student here when I get older!" It felt a little surreal being back on campus with all my kids in tow, but I love that we did it. As we were leaving town, we drove through old town Tahlequah because I remembered how beautiful it always was in the fall. 

I made the kids get out for one last pic because the trees were so amazing!

The kids all fell asleep on the way home, but that gave Chris and I an opportunity to share stories and memories and really relive our past, haha. It's amazing how familiar and "the same" something can feel, yet simultaneously foreign and drastically different. We hope that every few years we'll be able to visit campus and enjoy some of our cherished memories.