Oklahoma City

This weekend the boys got to babysit while Jessica & I met up in Oklahoma City for the weekend.

I am not the photographer, so this is what I remembered to take on my phone...

Check her blog for real photos.

We ventured downtown to "Bricktown" to a restaurant called Crabtown,

where we shared King Crablegs and other bayou cuisine. 

When we went back to our hotel that night, I had to laugh as I overheard Jessica talking to her daughter, McKenna on the phone.  Their conversation went something like this:

"So what did you DO today mommy?" asked McKenna (really excited to hear about our FUN day).

"Well, we went shopping and talked."

"What else?!?"

"We ate really good food."

"What ELSE, mommy?!"

"Ummm... we got our toenails painted..."

"Yeah, what ELSE?"

(This was really about the extent of what we did on Saturday.)

While enjoying a peaceful/leisurely lunch, walking around, and sipping tea/coffee during a pediure may sound pretty lame to a 3½-year-old, we (or at least I) had a blast!

On Sunday morning we dove back to the downtown area during daylight to see the

Oklahoma City National Memorial.

In the two above pictures, you can see 168 chairs arranged in 9 rows, representing the 9 floors of the Federal Building that collapsed during the 1995 terrorist bombing.  Each chair symbolizes a life lost, with smaller chairs representing the 19 children killed. 

Although the memorial was a somber & emotional place to visit, I am glad we went.

Ski Santa Fe

Ben & I haven't been skiing together in over three years, so we were elated to have a weekend to get away.  Thanks to Shanny & David, we were able to sneak off to Santa Fe.  Alone! 

Marking the first time we've EVER left Kaden for two whole nights.

As we went to reserve our skis last weekend, the guy talked us into trying Santa Fe opposed to Taos or Angelfire saying that they had gotten a lot of snow this season.  Neither of us had ever been to that mountain so we decided to give it a try.  Why not?  Santa Fe is a little closer than the other two (just under 4 hours) in addition to incredible dining & shopping.

Not trying to toot my own horn, BUT I was so proud of myself!  I was able to keep up with Ben and we were able to spend the entire afternoon together on our blue trails (only wiping out twice), with my skis together, making real turns- not snowplowing down the hill as I had been accustomed to doing before.

This is a HUGE improvement from the first couple of times I went with Ben to Angelfire,

where I spent most of the day going at a snail's pace, falling down and feeling guilty for having people wait around for me at the bottom before retreating to safe & easy green trails by myself.

We decided that Ski Santa Fe is now one of our favorites in New Mexico. 

It wasn't too crowded, there were many runs to choose from, it appeared quite family friendly- meaning there was a great little ski-school area for Kaden to explore in a couple years AND there are so many other things to do around the town.  Heck, before this trip Santa Fe never even crossed our minds as a place to go skiing. 

a couple more B&W pictures snapped on Hipstamatic from my phone

There wasn't any leisurely walking around the square or browsing/shopping this time 

(Ben does not enjoy that sort of thing) since the focus on the trip was to ski (and eat). 

Luckily, I was able to stock up on a few items from Trader Joe's before leaving town. 

I'm already scheming on when I can go back.  Santa Fe would be a FANTASTIC girls' trip!

hint-hint

Napping on the BIG Bed

During these extreme cold & snowy days, we haven't been able to do anything outside. 

Therefore, Kaden and I have been looking forward to taking an afternoon nap the BIG bed.  Kaden usually flips through one of his cardboard books, while I try to read a few pages in mine.  Suddenly little fingers get tangled in my hair and one of us drifts off to sleep first. 

THIS is a true luxury of getting to stay at home with Kaden.  I longed for these days when I was teaching school!



Breakfast with Daddy

Snowday!

We were all home together this morning for breakfast- due to the drifting snow & arctic temperatures, Ben didn't have to drive to school & I didn't have to teach at the Townclub.

Kaden has discovered orange juice. I'm not sure if it is the actual orange juice itself, or the fact that it is in an actual glass. For the past couple of mornings, I've poured an inch or so into a little glass for him to drink from. You should see the satisfaction he gets from drinking from a real cup!

Like father, like son



Taken out our front window; it really DOES snow in the Texas!

Ch-ch-ch-CHIA!

Remember those silly commercials from the 80’s showing the clay ram that grew… well… Chia seeds?

(Random side note: did you know that Chia seeds are insanely good for you,

full of Omega 3’s, protein and fiber?!)

Fast forward about 20 years, I received my very own, do-it-yourself Chia herb garden during the Cook family gift exhange this Christmas. Same idea, but much more practical. It’s also supposed to be idiot-proof, which is terrific! At the beginning of the week, I sprinkled the packages of cilantro, basil, and dill seeds onto the three Chia sponges and… BAM! They’re off!

Trying to add a little spring to this cold/dreary February.