Just Between Friends Consignment Sale in Lawton

For those who are interested, there is a "Just Between Friends" Consignment Sale in Lawton from Sept. 19-21st. This is a great way to both buy and sell baby/kids clothes, toys, dvd's, baby furniture, etc. If you consign items, you get to shop a day early. Anyone can consign items- you set the price and receive 65% of the sales (70% if you volunteer at least three hours.) Even if you don't consign items and just go to shop, you will still be surprised what nice, quality things you can buy at a fraction of the cost. For more info, click here.

Too see the YouTube video of "Why We Love JBF", click here. (I'd recommend this video to anyone who hasn't been to a consignment fair of this type before.)

What are you doing this weekend?

We get a three day weekend...wahoo! What is your family doing this weekend?

Here are some possibilites if you don't have plans:

A race at the Altus Speedway.

Base Theatre (The Dark Knight, Mama Mia, Space Chimps) click here for showtimes.

Heritage Park Theatres- click here for showtimes.

Frontier City in OKC- Military Monday=.50 admission for up to four people for each military I.D.

A Drive out to the Wichita Wildlife Refuge and Meers Restaurant.

Have a great and safe weekend! I'll be posting a lot on here next week, so keep checking back!

September Playgroup Schedule

Here is the September Playgroup Schedule. We'd love to have anyone who is here long or shorterm to feel free to join us. Thanks to Emily for scheduling these outings for us!

Friday, September 5: Altus Gymnastics Academy 9:00-10:30
AGA is located on Thomas Avenue. Leaving the base through the main gate, follow Falcon Road to Thomas Avenue. It is a left immediately before “Tiny Tots” (a small second hand children’s store). Cost is $3/one child and $5/more than one child.

Friday, September 12: Base Toddler Pool 10:00-12:00
Come swim, stay cool and enjoy the pool before they start getting ready to close it!!! Parents you can pack a little lunch for the kiddies and bring any toys you want. Please note that we are only allowed to enjoy the toddler pool (as the main pool is for adult swim only).

Friday, September 19: Altus Gymnastics Academy 9:00-10:30
AGA is located on Thomas Avenue. Leaving the base through the main gate, follow Falcon Road to Thomas Avenue. It is a left immediately before “Tiny Tots” (a small second hand children’s store). Cost is $3/one child and $5/more than one child.

Friday, September 26: Excellence Park Picnic 10:00-12:00 Lets get out to the park for a picnic before Fall gets into full swing and it cools down! We will play; fly kites; and grill. Emily will have hot dogs, chips, fruit, and dessert for the kids. Please provide a drink for your child (children) and if your child doesn’t eat hot dogs, please feel free to bring a lunch. For this Emily will need an idea of how many to serve; so if you plan to be there, please drop her an email (or you can contact me and I will let her know). To get to the park, drive into housing on Fir (or other street); cross over little ditch; turn left on West River Road and follow all the way down to the park.

Hope to see you and your kiddos soon!

Welcome Neighbor Package

If you have moved to Altus within the past six months, you are eligible to receive a "Welcome Neighbor Package." Please call Barbara York at 580-477-1438. She will bring you a free gift package filled with good info on the community as well as coupons for discounts and free stuff from local businesses. One of my favorite freebies was the fudge from Confectionately Yours. :)

Call Barbara today and get yours!

Wildlife Refuge and Meers Store and Restaurant

In case you haven't see enough wildlife lately with the base cattle drive, rodeo, and parade, you can always take the 45 minute drive to the Wichita Mountains and Wildlife Refuge, located close to Lawton. Measuring about 59,020 acres, the Refuge hosts a great diversity of species: 806 plant species, 240 kinds of bird, more than 50 mammals, 36 fish, and 64 reptiles and amphibians.

And even better (in my humble opinion) is the award winning Meers restaurant. They are famous for their one pound burgers (pictured below) and delicious peach cobbler, although they have a wide variety of food options on their menu. And the restaurant is very reasonably priced. (Always a plus, in my book.)

A word of caution, they ONLY TAKE CASH, so be prepared. I'd hate to have a reader on dish duty. :) Also, there is almost always a long wait out the door, so I'd bring a snack for little people who get cranky when hungry (or for big people, like myself!) They are closed on Tuesdays.

Again, if you don't have plans for the Labor Day weekend, it might be fun to get some good food.

For more info on the Wildlife Refuge and Meers Restaurant, click here.

Thanks Jen for the burger picture!

Jackson County Fair

Mark your calendars for the Jackson County Fair being held in Altus from September 3rd-6th. It is said that there will be games, exhibits, animals, prizes, food, and fun.

Activities include a petting zoo, beautiful baby contest, tractor pull, talent shows, numerous judging events, weiner dog races, turtle races, fire safety house, and many other events.

If you have a talent to share and/or would like to enter your prize winning recipe, photographs, quilts, antiques, etc. please call the Expo Center for more information. 580-482-0823.

More info to come soon.

Rodeo Schedule

A reminder that the Rodeo kicks off on Thursday, August 21st.

Here is a schedule of events:

Thursday-

10:00 a.m. - Cattle drive through Altus Air Force Base. Starts at front gate.

6:00 p.m. Military Night - Free BBQ with Ticket Purchanse

7:30 p.m. Military Tug of War

8:00 p.m. Rodeo Starts

Friday-

Family Night and "Tough Enough to Wear Pink" (Be sure to wear pink!!)

6:00 p.m. Giddy Up Gala at the Expo Center

7:30 p.m. Elementary School Tug of War

8:00 Rodeo Begins

Saturday- Grand Finale

1:00 p.m. Rodeo Parade-begins at the Reservoir goes up Falcon to Main, South to Broadway, and East on Broadway to the Rodeo Grounds.

8:00 p.m. Rodeo Begins

After the Rodeo there is a Rodeo Dance. Must purchase an arm band for $5.00 to remain for the dance. Families welcome.

Enjoy!!

image from cowboyway.com

Kindermusik Classes Starting Soon

Kindermusik classes are now enrolling and are set to start the week of September 1st. They provide classes for infants and children ages newborn to seven. Although I personally have never tried a Kindermusik class, I have heard and read great things about them. For more information, click here, enter your zipcode and the Altus schedule of classes and contact info will come up.

More About "Access Altus"

Thank you so much for visiting "Access Altus". I am so happy to be of service to all who read here!

I have a lot of ideas for this site that should become reality in the next few weeks including weekly Restaurant Reviews, Deals of the Week, Weekend Calendar of Events, Ask the Readers, etc. However, this site will not be possible without help from it's readers.

So...if you know of an event or have an idea for a family outing, or any ideas whatsoever, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE let me know and I will post it on here for everyone. Also, if you have a general question for the readers, (i.e. "Does anyone have a recommendation for a chiropractor?" etc.) send it to me and I'll try to post it. We have a few Altus natives reading too, and I'm sure they will be a huge help in answering some questions for us newer people.

And another way to help is... if you find this site useful, please let others know about it. The more readers we have, the more information we will have access to.

Thanks again for reading and supporting this blog!!

Great Military Discount at Frontier City

There are only TWO MORE MONDAYS to enjoy the Military Discount at Frontier City in Oklahoma City. Frontier City has "Military Mondays" through Sept. 1 where it allows up to four admissions per military ID for only FIFTY CENTS per person!! Yes, you read that right, $ .50 per person! If you don't have Labor Day plans yet, this would be a fun way to spend that Monday as a family. There are plenty of rides for all ages. For info click here or here.

Free Fireman Fun! THIS WEEKEND!

If you've been out on Main St., you've probably noticed that there are a lot of firetrucks setting up in front of Goody's. This weekend STARTING TONIGHT (August 15) there is a Dr. Pepper's Regional Firefighter Challenge going on. It's free and starts tonight from 7-10 and Saturday at 10:00 a.m. There will be some kids activities too. So, if it's not raining all weekend like it's forecasted to, you may want to check this out. Click here for more information.

(Thanks to Amy for the tip!)

Mother's Day Out Programs Starting

Mother's Day Out Programs are kicking off this month at both the First Baptist Church and the First United Methodist Church. Though there may be a waiting list, this is a great way for younger children to have fun and at the same time give parents a chance to run some errands, go on a lunch date, clean house, or WHATEVER without little tiny hands "helping". Here are the phone numbers.

First Baptist Church 580-482-1777

First United Methodist Church 580-482-0795.

Great Stampede Rodeo coming to Altus

The Annual Great Plains Stampede Rodeo will be in Altus from August 21-23rd. This event kicks off Thursday, August 21st with a cattle drive through the Base (historic Chisholm Trail roots) at 10:00 a.m. You will not want to miss this!

Thursday night is Military night and includes a free cookout with ticket purchase.

Friday night's theme is "Tough enough to wear pink!"

On Saturday, there will be a parade at 1:00 p.m. at the Reservoir (August 23rd).

Tickets are $8.oo in advance, $10.00 at the gate and can be purchased at the Information, Tickets, and Travel (ITT) office on base. Location of the rodeo is on South Veterans (behind the Burger King/Convenient Store at Broadway and Veterans).