We have three kids and they are three "very active", a.k.a. wild, young kiddos so road trips are slim to none lately because, let's all face it, they are full of stress, crying, hollering and bickering at this stage.  BUT, this mama needed to get out of HTX stat and it was high time to visit some of our best friends whom moved to OKC a year and half ago.  I had gone to visit on my own and Mr. GQ had gone on his own (his company has an office in OKC) but we had never jumped in the car and taken the kids any further than Baton Rouge, (for a college football game of course).  We decided this Thanksgiving break was the time.  Mr. GQ needed to make it to the OKC office for some meetings, the kids were out of school for a week, and as I mentioned previously, I needed a change of scenery.  After loading three suit cases, an over night bag, two back packs, one pack n play, stroller, emergency medicine bag, DSLR camera and a partridge in a pear tree into the Caddy we were headed North!

We knew an 8.5 hour trip was not going to end well so we chose to break the trip in half and the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, TX was the quintessential stop this time of year.  As a born and raised Texas girl myself I can vouch that everything truly is bigger in Texas and this resort does NOT disappoint.  We have stayed at the Gaylord in Nashville a couple of times and so we had high expectations for the Texas sequel.  It.  Was.  Fantastic.  Every winter the resort transforms to a winter wonderland with a long list of super kid-friendly activities that run from early morning until 10 p.m.!  Since the resort is encased in a giant glass atrium it will never rain on the festivities and the temperature is always constantly perfect.  We opted to NOT purchase tickets to the enormous ICE exhibit, (life-size ice carvings that you walk through and tour, it takes about 20 min and this year it is the original Frosty The Snowman theme) because they did not offer any covering for a baby.  We would have to bundle him up ourselves and I don't have enough layers for six degrees.  Instead we chose to let the kids snow tube!  They loved it!  Actually, we all did.  {Mr. GQ and I took turns riding with Cowboy.}  Roughly $20 buys each kid 12 runs and that took an hour.  Then we walked through the resort and had fun admiring all of their gorgeous Christmas decorations, not to mention, the year round themed decor of each atrium.  We sipped cocktails next to the grand piano and the Silvery Bar while the kids enjoyed lemonade not the rocks and watched the model train run round and round the atrium.  Our room was very affordable at $179 on a Friday night.  That gave us a King size bed with a view of the front drive (which was a actually perfect for the kids because they loved the Christmas lights on all the trees out front).  We had a pack n play (in the closet, don't judge) and a blow up queen size mattress for the two biggins.  We stayed at the resort again on our way home and requested two queen beds which was a much better choice for our party of five, but Angel Baby still fit in the closet and he slept like a dream.  We ate at the Riverwalk Cantina on our trip home (b/c we stayed one night on our trip home as well) and the food was mediocre.  The salsa was good.  That's about it.  Stay away from the margaritas, unless you like overly sweet drinks and then you might like them!  After dinner we took the kids to the Cocoa Bean Coffee and Sweet shop and they each chose a special dessert for the night followed by family movie night in our room.  Our inside tip: DON'T rent Boxtrolls.  Not a fan.  The kids were entertained, but I was annoyed by the political undertones and Mr. GQ fell asleep.

We awakened Saturday morning and were checked-out in time for brunch.  I had done some research and found what I suspected to be a very good French bakery in downtown Grapevine called Main Street Bistro and Bakery.  I was right on the money and everyone else in town knew it too…the place was packed!  We ordered at the counter and then wandered around the dining room hunting for a table.  We found one to seat five that needed to be cleared so the kids and I stood next to it until our server came with our Cafe Americanos and cleared the table for us.  I ordered the traditional eggs benedict, Cowgirl ordered Strawberry Romanoff Crepes, Cowboy got eggs, bacon and fruit, Angel Baby had a muffin and fruit tray and Mr. GQ ordered Le Perisian (scrambled eggs, apple wood bacon, with our award winning croissant, jam, butter, breakfast potatoes).  The food was delicious.  The coffee was splendid.  The cafe was crowded and not the most kid friendly place to eat but we all survived.  I'd love to go back to downtown Grapevine just to shop and eat sometime with Mr. GQ because it looked like a main street straight out of a romantic comedy.  Envision Hope Floats meets Sweet Home Alabama.  

The drive from Dallas to OKC was easy, except I took my supplements wrong that morning and I was nauseas the entire drive, but the scenery was very pretty, especially in Oklahoma.  Our friends live in a suburb of OKC and their house was perfect to host us for a couple of nights.  The kids had a blast destroying, I mean playing, in their two toy rooms and conquering the outdoor playground.  The last time we all hung out we had three kids between the four of us.  This time we had SIX!  HA!  

The first night in town my girlfriend had planned a dinner out for she and I at a local OKC hotspot called RePUBlic Gastropub.  The scene was definitely very modern and hip, a large pub/restaurant enclosed in glass walls with an obscene amount of flat screen televisions to keep you up to date on all your favorite sports.  {We were watching the OSU Cowboys play Baylor in Waco.}  As an appetizer we ordered their Homemade Pub Pretzel which is served with serrano honey mustard and beer cheese fondue.  For our main course we ordered two items and split them; which was perfect for the two of us.  We ordered the Rotisserie Chicken Salad~ mixed field greens, dried cranberries, candied walnuts, goat cheese and herb vinaigrette and the Knife & Fork BLT (probably the best BLT I've ever eaten),~ hand-cut bacon, fried green tomatoes, avocado relish, white cheddar, arugula and herb vinaigrette served open faced on toasted sourdough.  I stuck with water because of my day long tummy ache, but my GF enjoyed a yummy cocktail called the Raspberry Gimlet .  After dinner we decided to have dessert at a popular new cupacakery called Cuppies and Joe.  Now, let me just begin with the host.  He was so warm and welcoming that he alone made the visit worth it for me.  Seriously, I could have sat and chatted with him all night but not over coffee.  {I need to preface this part with how badly I wanted to write a stellar review for this cupcakery.  I wanted so badly to fall in love with it because from the outside looking in it was the perfect after dinner destination.}  Sadly, the cupcakes and coffee left much to be desired, as well as the group of three local girls sitting near us.  {They snooped our conversation the entire time and never stopped rolling their eyes at us.  I'm surprised they didn't yell blasphemy when we started talking about the Obama administration.}  I had the red velvet cupcake, which they call Sassafras, although I don't believe it contained any Sassafras root and the Bangarang b/c it just sounded fun. {Instant memories of watching HOOK as a child} Both cakes were good but the icing was lacking, especially on the red velvet…the butter was too strong for me and I'd have preferred a cream cheese frosting.  The coffee is roasted locally in Tulsa, but that night my Cafe Americano was very bitter with a startling finish.  On a positive note the atmosphere of the quaint little house which houses Cuppies and Joe was very inviting and I felt like I was visiting my great aunt's house.

The rest of our visit was spent lounging in pajama pants and workout pants while keeping track of six little angels and watching marathons of Mickey Mouse and Hallmark Movies.  It was perfect.  I loved every second.   The husbands had a guys night to a Thunder game and Fuzzy Tacos, but I wasn't there so I can't blog about it; perhaps I should ask Mr. GQ to be a guest blogger!  {I'm sure he'd love that.  Sarcasm fully intended.}