The literal meaning of Yakisoba is "fried buckwheat" but more on that later:)
This last week my cousin Kasey came to visit our family. I am so thankful and blessed each and every time she comes all the way from Almost Mexico to be with us. She helps out with the boys, she plays, she talks, she does chores...she pretty much just does whatever I ask of her. She is a huge help when she visits and it doesn't hurt that the boys absolutely ADORE her and never want her to leave.
On this visit she had a few places that were a "must" to do. One of them was Braum's (sound familiar Andrea)? I think I drove her and the kids there 3-4 times during the week. Thankfully, Braum's doesn't tempt me so I had no issues with doing this. Another visit was to Bueno and yet another trip was Dink's. Dink's is a well known BBQ joint in the city of Bartlesville (about an hour north of Tulsa). We made the drive, invited all the family (my grandpa lives there) and headed up for a night of messy sauce, crispy onion straws, fried okra, and ribs. I may have just begun drooling again as I typed that...
So, back to the Yakisoba. Yakisoba in Japanese cultural is called "fried buckwheat". Here in the good ole' US of A, it's called noodles. On this visit, Kasey came with her Costco card. We just had a new Costco open up in Tulsa but I haven't been able to go since I don't have a membership. Problem solved! We loaded up and braved one of the most traffic filled streets in T town and headed to Costco. I really don't have anything bad to say about it, I just didn't see many differences from Sam's (where I am already a member). Owen...Owen LOVED Costco and literally ate every single sample (some 2 times) and climbed into freezer cases to buy the products. Yakisoba is one he grabbed. This massive box only lasted 2 1/2 days in this house. I can't keep these boys fed!
Problem...I still don't have a Costco card to replace said noodles. Problem solved...Sam's sells them. Bazinga!
Love you Kasey and thanks for the visit:)
Summer time has officially begun around here (3 weeks ago actually) and I am in full single mom mode. Some days are doable, some are tough, and some I just want to throw in the towel and go to bed at 6 (that was yesterday). Steven works ungodly hours this time of year and most days we don't see him at all unless you count 15 min here and there. Throw in the fact that we are building 2 houses at the exact same time and that my phone never stops ringing and dinging for work and you can see why I need a breather now and then.
We started off the summer with new do's. Summer hair do's are a must for me and the boys. They like their hair short because it requires less time to fix (they are boys ya know). We go to the pool a lot in the summer, even if it's just for an hour, and they love that their hair is now cut where the style takes just a few seconds to get ready:)
Another stop on our summer bucket list pretty much every year, is the berry farm. I love doing this! Note...if you are making plans to go to the berry farm, I HIGHLY recommend getting there as early as possible (they open at 7am). Just trust me...if you are there at 9 or later, you will DIE from heat. We arrived at 9:30 and I had sweat running into places that sweat should never be. But, our loot was so good and delicious it was worth every ounce of sweat. Blackberry cobblers and blueberry pancakes have both been consumed from this one trip and I STILL have a gallon sized bag of blackberries in the freezer.
To follow up berry picking, we have made several trips to local snow cone places to get filled up on more berry flavors. Our favorite choices so far this summer: silver fox, red velvet cake, cotton candy, spongebob (lime and banana), and peach cobbler. Of course, Rainbow, is always a staple with kids and I just don't get it. In a matter of minutes it melts to look like a black snow cone and I just think it tastes terrible. They don't seem to have a problem with it. HAPPY SUMMER!
Italy. Awe, Italy. I've wanted to go there for years. I dream about it, think about it, pray about it, and visualize what it will look and feel like once I step off that plane and onto Italian soil. Until then...I will go to Buca di Beppo.
Buca di Beppo translates into "Joe's Basement". If you've ever eaten at one before you will realize the basement feel as soon as you enter into a Buca. It kind of feels like a cave with low ceilings, no windows, with wall to wall pictures and frames that line the walls. It can be a bit claustrophobic, but the food MORE than makes up for it.
We have never eaten at the kitchen table before. I've always wanted to because I thought it looked fun. It was fun, but it was also loud, crowded, and HOT. Did I mention hot? Yep, you are literally inside the kitchen and while it is cool to see the action first hand, I found myself willingly walking the maze of the restaurant to take kids to the bathroom simply to feel the sweet breeze of the air conditioner.
The rest of our weekend was filled with the normal things most people do when they visit KC. We went to the Legends and shopped and ate and ate and ate. We visited Nebraska Furniture Mart. Envision if Mathis Brothers, Best Buy, Hahn, Garden Ridge, Amini's, and Lowe's had a baby. That would be Nebraska Furniture Mart. A store on steroids and not able to be fully shopped unless you had an entire day to spend inside.
Of course we did the Plaza as well. The Plaza is so beautiful with all the horse drawn carriages, hanging HUGE flower baskets, many many fountains, and coffee shops on every corner. The Plaza is hands down my favorite KC tradition that we make time for each visit.
I hope everyone had a happy and healthy holiday weekend!
We did it! We finally did it and the summer is now upon us. I am so excited, I can barely contain my joy. Now, if only the weather would begin to cooperate. I am currently sitting in jeans and a fleece jacket while my feet freeze in flip flops because it's SUMMER and I refuse to wear any other type of footwear.
We finally came to a close for all the last few weeks of school activities. We did the parties, the teas, the awards ceremonies, the movie days, the field days, the trip to Dry Gulch, the division breakfast celebration, and the Kindergarten graduation (that one pulled on my heart strings). My sister sat right beside me and laughed as I gently wept into a Kleenex. Okay, I wasn't weeping but I wasn't dry eyed either:)
Will never got a Kindergarten graduation because BA doesn't offer one. He did get a little Pre-K send off but nothing like the pomp and circumstance that Lincoln puts on to send off their new 1st graders. It was special and something I will remember forever. It will rank right up there with his real graduation from High School in not too many years.
Our days will now be filled with the wonderful freedom of summer. We will now be able to go visit our new home under construction every day. We will now be able to stay up later, sleep in later (hopefully Owen gets that memo), and take little trips and do fun things on a whim instead of planning it around if it's a "school day" or not. This girl loves summer almost as much as her children. I know this for a fact! The hotter the better and the more crammed with things the even MORE better!
Here's to a wonderful summer for you and your family as well!
If you've been reading my blog for any amount of time, or have known me throughout my life, you know that I am a SUMMER gal. I love everything about summer: freedom, late nights, crickets chirping, fireflies lighting up the night sky, weekend trips, no bedtimes, pools, beaches, SUN, watermelon. My list could extend for paragraphs!
When Steven told me he needed to go to Phoenix for a training/learning course on pools and equipment, my first thought was not about the course. It was the sun:) Phoenix? Okay, let me organize childcare and see if I can make that happen! Childcare isn't quite as easy as you might think when I needed someone at my house by 4:30am on a Friday. Thankfully, I had my mom and a sitter step up to the plate and help me out and off I went on Friday (Steven was gone 2 days longer than me but I couldn't pull that off with the kids).
Tanya and I arrived on Friday and it was 105 that day. Everyone else was sweaty, uncomfortable, and not really enjoying the "Africa heat" as Olen called it. Tanya liked it too but I don't know if anyone was soaking it up like me. I just turned my face to the sun and inhaled:) I was in a desert heaven.
Our trip consisted of work things (for sure) but even those were fun because I was able to learn more things about pools and design and install that I never knew before. More than that, I took some great pictures of some spectacular pools that I would love for Chris and Steven to design and build in our new backyard that will actually be large enough to house a pool. Come one, come all next summer to our pool!!
Our trip was great and I enjoyed spending a quick 48 hours kid free with my hubby, cousin, and friends who are like family.
Kasey made the 2 hour drive up from Tucson and spent most all day with us on Saturday. I always love to see her and spend time together with my cousin whom I don't get to see nearly as often anymore thanks to her moving to desert land. She was a trooper and arose at 4am yesterday to take Tanya and I back to the airport. That's love, right?!
Let me just tell you that two different 4am wake up calls in 48 hours, with super full days and really late nights do not mix well AT ALLLLL for this old woman. I am still not caught up on sleep and feel like I'm dragging but wouldn't change it for the world. Thankful!
The day had finally come! Owen had been awaiting Thursday for over a week now. He was counting the days. He was so extremely excited to have Mother's Day Tea with me at his school. He's NOT very good with keeping secrets (he's terrible at it actually) so he was dyyiinnnggg to tell someone about it. I noticed the other night at Will's baseball game that he was blabbing away to his Nini (my mom). He was telling her every single detail about Mother's Day Tea. I guess he told her step by step what was going to occur from the time he pulled my chair out for me to sit in, from the food, songs, and picture opportunities. He was stoked!
The room was set up so cute with fun little backdrops and props for the kids to use while taking photos. Of course, Owen and I snapped some pictures but he also wanted some with his two best buddies, Jack and Kirsten. Owen wanted to take a picture more so for the hats, flowers, glasses, and mustaches that were part of the props.
They all sang a cute little song, served us our food, and got dressed up in their "Sunday Best" for the tea. They all stood up and introduced their moms to the class and told them why their mom was special. Owen said, "This is my mom, Jackie. She is special because she's so pretty." Yep, I teared up. We all did for every mom. It was very special and something I will always remember.
On this day, I also received Owen's graduation gown (the longest in the whole class) so this day was touching all my hidden Momma places that just make you want to sit down and have a good bawl fest.
They just grow up soooo quickly. It's tough on these Momma hearts but so worth it. I enjoyed Thursday very much and it's something I will always remember.
Last weekend we made the drive to OKC for a chance to have some date nights and shopping days. I know our house is not near completion but this girl is a planner and I've known the style and design of our personal house for years now. Once I heard about a few certain stores that OKC has and Tulsa doesn't, I knew a weekend trip was in order.
We lined out child care with the great Nana, my mother in law, Denise. The boys love when she watches them and enjoy all the extra play time they get with their cousin Nathan. It's really a win-win for them and for us:)
We didn't even arrive in OKC until 6:30pm on Friday because the majority of the day we actually spent in Tulsa picking things like windows, carpet, tile, grout, backsplash, shower tile and design, etc. We spent 3 hours just at one store!
My hubby was quite the trooper, never complained, and drove me around to a million and one stores that I wanted to go through. We even went back to one store twice in one day because we both loved it. Shout out to Urban Farmhouse Designs in downtown OKC. If you've never been, I urge you to visit. There aren't many words to describe this place other than awesome, fabulous, tremendous, amazingly cool, and many others I can think of.
We ate our dinners at 2 places that I had never been. We went to Mickey Mantle's the first night and KD's the second night. Both totally different atmospheres but both totally cool. We enjoyed our time together so much.
While we were gone, these guys had a scheduled Field Day at school. They are growing so fast and they can't wait for SUMMER, which for them starts in 9 1/2 days. Yes, they are counting down!
Time sure does fly, doesn't it? You blink your eyes and months, even years, have gone by. I remember when I was a child and hearing my parents (or really any adult) saying this and I just shook my head because I had no concept what it really meant. Time DID NOT fly by. Science and History class drugggggg on and time was NOT quick.
Fast forward many years (I won't say how many because that ages me) and I fully live and know how time really does go by too quickly.
Today would have been my grandma's 81st birthday. Just last year we celebrated 80 years of her life knowing that it would more than likely be her last birthday with us on this earth. We were correct and now she celebrates with Jesus on streets of gold this day.
Time doesn't slow down. We shouldn't either. We should live every day as it's our last day on this earth. We need to cherish the moments and ponder how quickly life and the people in it change and grow.
I was doing just that when looking at our Easter pictures this year. Then, I looked at our Easter pictures just a scant 5 years prior. 5 years! That's nothing in the scheme of life and man oh man, how times have changed. I'm fairly certain in 5 more years my boys will be taller than me and I will be the shortest one in this family.
Please remember to give your love ones some kisses and hugs today and hold onto them tight. They are worth it.
On a completely random note...I really want this mixer for our new house. Anyone want to buy it for me? Steven says it's not, "In our construction budget." Psst...what does he know?!
This last week my cousin Kasey came to visit our family. I am so thankful and blessed each and every time she comes all the way from Almost Mexico to be with us. She helps out with the boys, she plays, she talks, she does chores...she pretty much just does whatever I ask of her. She is a huge help when she visits and it doesn't hurt that the boys absolutely ADORE her and never want her to leave.
On this visit she had a few places that were a "must" to do. One of them was Braum's (sound familiar Andrea)? I think I drove her and the kids there 3-4 times during the week. Thankfully, Braum's doesn't tempt me so I had no issues with doing this. Another visit was to Bueno and yet another trip was Dink's. Dink's is a well known BBQ joint in the city of Bartlesville (about an hour north of Tulsa). We made the drive, invited all the family (my grandpa lives there) and headed up for a night of messy sauce, crispy onion straws, fried okra, and ribs. I may have just begun drooling again as I typed that...
So, back to the Yakisoba. Yakisoba in Japanese cultural is called "fried buckwheat". Here in the good ole' US of A, it's called noodles. On this visit, Kasey came with her Costco card. We just had a new Costco open up in Tulsa but I haven't been able to go since I don't have a membership. Problem solved! We loaded up and braved one of the most traffic filled streets in T town and headed to Costco. I really don't have anything bad to say about it, I just didn't see many differences from Sam's (where I am already a member). Owen...Owen LOVED Costco and literally ate every single sample (some 2 times) and climbed into freezer cases to buy the products. Yakisoba is one he grabbed. This massive box only lasted 2 1/2 days in this house. I can't keep these boys fed!
