all from the comfort of your car...or taxi...

I've had my eye on it for several months now.  Whenever I pass it on the way home from somewhere, I crane my neck to see how it is.  Its progress is important to me. I want to know how it is doing.  

It's the new, first-in-our-city, drive through restaurant.  A KFC, just down the street from my house, has set the bar for automotive convenience.  I am morbidly curious to find out how it will do.

We stopped by there the other day - actually planned it into our weekly meal schedule - to satisfy my curiosity.

There are big signs everywhere, with bold arrows, showing drivers where you need to pull in.  Oh, and also big curbs and speed bumps and prickly things that persuade you not to veer off the path.  Since this is the first drive-through people will have used, my opinion is that you can't have too many arrows.  

For example, this person does not know that you aren't really supposed to WALK through the drive through lane.  This is potentially dangerous.  
And another example is this nice old grandmother.  She doesn't yet know that this lane is actually reserved for cars.  I wondered if she really tried to order food; if she did, did they inform her that drive thru's are not generally walk-ups?  She could just go in and order in the nice warm restaurant.  
It's brand new.  And really pretty.  And uncommonly upscale for a KFC.
This is not your podunk USA KFC.  This is a high class dining experience.
If I had hours to spend, I'd camp outside the drive through lane...just to watch and see what happens.  But for now, it's just nice to know that if I needed to swing by and get dinner, I can do it from the comfort of my own taxi....I think.  

a new set of wheels

After coming back from America, we had to look for a new preschool for Emma to go to.  There were a variety of factors, but the main one was that since I wouldn't be teaching anymore, Emma's tuition wouldn't be free, and the preschool at the time was fairly expensive.  

So we started looking around, and we found one that we were pretty pleased with.  (Note: every place has its own little quirks and things where you'll just have to choose your battles!)  More on the preschool in another post perhaps, but the point is...the new preschool was a bit farther from our house than the previous one.  That little fact is important because it vaulted Josh's bike from just an ordinary bike to a child-transporter-bike.  

Josh will primarily be taking Emma to preschool on the mornings where she goes, so he went and bought the little child's seat that goes on to the back of an adult's bike.  You cannot imagine the happiness my children had upon hearing that they would get to ride on daddy's bike!  

The night josh bought it, we took it out for a test spin after dinner.  Even though no Asianese children wear helmets on bikes, our children will be wearing helmets on this bike.  If you see how traffic is here, you would understand.  =)

These pictures aren't great because I'm not a good night photographer...and plus, it wasn't that late! It was only a little before 6:00pm, but it has been getting dark SO early here recently  

Anyway, Emma got to try it out first, since she'll be using it the most (at least for now):

...but of course, Samantha got her turn too!
They both got to take the bike for a spin, and both were very pleased at the experience.  Emma now has been riding it for several weeks and loves it! It's one of her most favorite parts about going to preschool!

bubbles!

I'm really trying to deprive my children of special childhood memories, but the honest truth is that last week my children had their first bubble bath.  The reason they've not done it before is that Samantha's skin has always been very sensitive and irritable, so bubble bath has been out of the question.  She still has eczema and sensitive skin issues, but mostly we're able to keep them under control.  The other night as the girls got ready for bathtime, I thought...why not?  And I even pampered them with Papaya bubble bath from the Body Shop!

Anyway, they're hooked on bubble baths.  It's the most requested bathtime accessory, even ahead of the Crayola bathtub markers I recently bought in America.  I agree - what's not to love about a tub full of bubbles?!

Friday Night Lights

Oklahoma is football country.  I'm sure other parts of the country are too, but in Oklahoma it's particularly strong.  We do have a certain college football team that annually sends the state into an uproar, so maybe that is the reason, but that's how things go in Okie-land.  Josh's hometown is no exception, and maybe has a stronger football heritage than most small towns.  When Josh was in high school, he played football with a certain OU Sooner who went on to win the Heisman trophy, so there's some serious hometown pride when it comes to football.

Nick, the oldest of Josh's adopted brothers, is in 7th grade and this year was eligible to play football for the 7th grade team.  They don't actually play on Friday nights, like the title of my post indicated, but that's besides the point.  

One Thursday evening - the last football game of their season - we all loaded up into the car to make the one-mile drive down to the town's football field to watch Nick's game.  Let's just say, Fall + Football = a really good time.  Even if it is 7th grade football.  

Nick is #40 - you can't see him in this picture, but he's in there! =)
These two girls took in all the action - everything was interesting to them.  

PawPaw Al comes to almost all the games, I think.  Even all the ones that dont' have family members playing.  Maybe in a small town, everyone is family.  
Cheerleaders captured Emma's attention for most of the night:
And she LOVED it when they threw plastic footballs into the crowd!  She caught one too!  (but then Dallas, being ever so considerate, realized that Samantha didn't have one, so he went up to the cheerleaders and asked for another one!)We had a great time going to Nick's football game, and it was even better because they won!  I totally remember junior high days and all the drama that goes along with football games and passing notes and guys that you have crushes on and being somewhere without your parents...nostalgia, that's for sure.  

The next day, Dallas had asked his teacher if Josh could come to his class at talk about life in Asia.  In fact, our whole family went and had a great time.  The girls got to see an American school (quite different from those in our part of the world!) and they thought it was really interesting that all the students were so curious about our life.  They asked thoughtful and intelligent questions, and were truly interested in our life.  

My linguist husband also taught them some Asianese and gave out local money as prizes for the best speakers...!

it all comes down to family

So our month in America was busy mostly because both of our families and all of our accumulated friends live in the Oklahoma City area...but that's not such a bad thing, because then we get to see everyone!  We loved all the time we were able to spend with our families.

After that OU/Kansas game (pictures still to come), we spent the next Sunday visiting some of Josh's family; more specifically, Josh's cousin Joe, who lives in Houston but was up for an OSU game that weekend.  Joe is just a bit younger than josh, and since they were both from the same hometown, they both had the same teachers in school, same wrestling coaches, yadee yadee yadee...so there's lots of shared history and love between them. The only sad part is that he was offered a job in Houston several years ago - and we were offered a job across the ocean - so we don't see him nearly enough.  He also married a fab girl, Jessica, who is a great match for him and way fun to be around.  We only had just a few hours with them, but it was so encouraging to see them with such a heart for the Lord and His work, and walking the path of embracing whatever His will might mean for them.  We love you guys! 

Samantha made fast friends with Jessica, and wanted Jessica to hold her more than she wanted ME to hold her (which is very unusual!)
The uber-friendly dog Skip, mentioned in a previous post.  He let my children do anything with him; I couldn't believe it!  Emma tickled his tummy, chased him, he chased her, she took toys out his mouth...the list could go on forever! I'm not a dog person, and I'm usually freaked out about my kids playing with dogs - I mean, do dogs have to listen when their mommies tell them not to bite?  Yeah, that's what I thought - but I would take a dog like Skip.  He rocks.  
Camera timer, I love you.  Thank you for those moments when no one is around to take our picture.  Oh yeah, Joe is the one with the long hair.  :)Later on, we went back to PawPaw Al and Grandma Wanda's house (josh's grandparents) because there was big news to be shared with us.  But before the big news came out, Emma was delighted to see the "kitchen toys" that grandma wanda brought out from...um....decades ago.  They were seriously old-timey, but Emma just thought they were cool.  Maybe "vintage" is a better word....
And the yellow chair was an immediate love of Samantha's.  How funny that this chair, which has survived so many of their grandchildren, would be yellow - the favorite color of one of their great-grandchildren! 


PawPaw Al is loud and boisterous - to the extent that I was surprised the girls warmed so quickly to him - but boy, he loved on those girls.  I feel like they are so lucky to still have so much family around!Everyone smiling? Even samantha? It MUST be a miracle!

Ok...now for the big news!  It's been much broadcasted that PawPaw Al has a horse named Emma...but just during the time we were in Oklahoma, he got a new horse!  Do you have any idea what her name is??  MANTHA!!

She was so excited to have a horse named after her! I think somehow she subconsciously felt the significance of passing your name on to a horse, I'm not sure...but anyway, she was excited.  She immediately started showing concern and love for her horse, making sure that she got as much hay and water and food pellets as the others, wanting to pet her and take her out of her stall for a walk.  It was the happiest moment of her day.  

So here's the picture of mantha, riding on Mantha.   

Thanks PawPaw Al for making my girls feel so special!!

road trip - YEAH!!

Almost everyone in Oklahoma knows that when there's nothing do to, you drive to Texas. From Norman, a drive to Dallas can be made in under three hours (well, at least depending on who's driving and where exactly you're headed!)  During our time at josh's parents house, the boys had a three-day Fall Break...so the planner extraordinare Gigi planned a great trip to a place we'd never heard of - Great Wolf Lodge.

Great Wolf Lodge is an indoor waterpark and resort all in one.  It has restaurants, an arcade, a kids spa, and several other activities in addition to all the waterpark business.  The waterpark itself had some seriously scary tube rides, a specialized kids play area, a lazy river, and a wave pool.  Plus, it was a nice toasty 84 degrees, so it didn't matter that it was a little chilly outside.  

Of course, as we all loaded up on Thursday, we didn't know very much about the Great Wolf Lodge, but we were all excited to take a road trip together.  Emma, Samantha, Gigi and I rode down in one car, and all the boys, Josh and his dad rode in the Tahoe (which emma named "The Big Black Taxi").  Thanks to a portable DVD player and an assortment of snacks (I love America!!!), our car was pretty peaceful and there was a surprising amount of adult converstation, under the circumstances that there were two preschoolers in the car!

I tend to have a spotty history when it comes to remembering everything for big trips.  In fact, I've come to expect that I will usually forget something fairly important every time we go somewhere (not a good quality considering how much we travel!).  I won't go into gory details of things I've forgotten in the past, but this time...let's just say, I forgot....my camera!  HOW CAN YOU FORGET YOUR CAMERA ON A BIG TRIP!?!?  I can still picture it sitting on the chair in the garage....

Anyway, fortunately, I remembered my video camera which also has the capability to take still pictures...not particularly GOOD still pictures...but pictures nonetheless.  So after the horrible discovery that I forgot the camera,  I pulled out the substitute and snapped these pics at the Texas Visitors Center that served as a much-needed bathroom stop for prego mama.  

Emma, Dallas, Samantha, Nick, and Jason:

Then add in Josh and his parents:Ok, so we finally arrive at the Great Wolf Lodge after a satisfying lunch at Chick-fil-A. Yo, I was impressed at the place.  It was really super nice, the water park was a great size, and the accomodation was first-rate.  They had lots of special activities - like 8:00pm bedtime story hour - for the kids.  There was tons of stuff to do.  

Emma and Samantha mostly stayed in the toddlers pool, which was abundantly supplied with fun things.  They most loved these pipsqueak-sized jet skis that shoot out water...probably because Dallas was such a great sport and kept walking in front of the water, pretending to be shot down.  Over and over and over...to the incessant delight of my kids!

We personally kept encouraging them to  go down these waterslides...and they did, but not with tons of enthusiasm.  They spent a lot of time at the top of the waterslides!
I'm sorry I have so few pictures, because we had such a great time there.  It was great fun for our kids, who don't often get the chance to do cool waterpark stuff like that.

The Lodge was also conveniently located two minutes from Grapevine Mills Mall, a huge outlet mall in Texas.   One evening during our trip, we ate dinner at Rainforest Cafe, and then Debbie and I ditched all the kids with josh and his dad and we did some serious damage at the mall.  I think we barely made it out of there before we closed the place.   



After a fun weekend at the waterpark, Josh and I drove back by ourselves (leaving his parents with all five kids - that sounds like a great three-hour drive, don't you think?!) so we could go to the OU/Kansas game on Saturday.  --More pictures from that to come --

lazy days

You know, it's funny being on vacation in Oklahoma...because we're on vacation, but most of our family and friends still have their lives and routines and such.  That alone contributes to the feeling that we're not really "home" because we're not going to work or in a scheduled routine.  Anyway, we had a few days while we were back that were just "hang out" type days.  One one of those such days, my hubby took a drive around his hometown and the surrounding countryside.  It's amazing how a flat plain can look beautiful when it's your home!

He also went to visit his Uncle Phillip, whose house is stocked with all sorts of interesting things.  He's got pinball machines, deer that he's hunted and mounted on his walls, and an especially friendly dog named skip.  
After a cloudy, lazy day, Gigi came home from work and played with the girls (who enjoyed the "girly" toys I mentioned earlier.  Gigi was more than happy to oblige in a few role plays involving the My Little Ponies in the picture!
And samantha was oh-so interested in Jason, who was coloring at the table, and was convinced she needed to join him!  The girls got along so well with the boys and also enjoyed all the toys that they had!
Even though our "routine" isn't in America, it still makes it fun to visit - even if we have lazy days with nothing to do! =)

a day away

I interrupt your regularly scheduled America-posts to update you on a few things.

Last Thursday (just a few days ago), I took a trip...all by myself...to the capital for a quick doctors visit and some routine tests.  The emphasis on the above sentence is that I went ALL BY MYSELF.  No kids, no husband, just me.  It's amazingly easy to travel by yourself!

The day went a little something like this:

- Leave my house by 6:15am  to catch the three hour train.  While on the train, I had those three hours to do whatever I want.  I had lovely time to read, pray, listen to music, and meditate.  Completely uninterrupted - and it was wonderful.  I savored those moments of quiet.  

-Arrived in the city around 10:30 and hopped in a cab to go the hospital.  I was planning on getting a few blood tests and a complete ultrasound done.  I met with doctor (who grew up in Tulsa), got my tests done, had the ultrasound, and was done by about 1.  The ultrasound was great because this was my first chance to actually see the baby!  The previous ultrasounds we had done in our city were done Asia-style...which means that the screen is located in a place that makes it impossible for the mother to see anything.  

But since this was at an international hospital, it was set up the way it is in America - where you lay down on the table and stare at a big TV screen and watch the whole thing.  I was so pleased and moved with being able to see her.  I watched her hands open shut, move around, and kick.  It was so special to me, and brought home the reality that I knew was true but just hadn't seen yet.  This ultrasound was not inconclusive , and we truly will be bringing a baby sister to emma and samantha.  

After the hospital, I headed to TGI Fridays for lunch where I dined on a big plate of ribs and read Pride and Prejudice.  (there's an interesting combination, huh?!)  I had a leisurely lunch, took my time, and ended up spending several hours and more than a few free refills there. The  crisp, cool air was just chilly enough to turn my cheeks red but not actually make me cold, so I decided to walk down to the import store.  I loaded up on canned goods that are usually hard to bring home via airplane because of their weight and then walked to Starbucks.  

Mango-passion fruit frappuchino, chocolate chip muffin, and more pride and prejucide.  Several chapters later, I picked up a sandwich to-go at Subway and headed to the train station to wait on my three hour train home.  

I thought the trip would be exhausting, with over six hours being on a train...but it was actually just the opposite. I felt like I really got away, and had great times of reflection and prayer.  I came home feeling refreshed and thankful that I had some time alone.  I didn't even think I particularly needed the time alone, but once I had it, I realized how good it was for me.  

So there you have it - I had to write all about it because it was such a great day for me.  

More from America coming soon...

making the move

So, we're at the halfway point, all sunburnt from our trip to Texas, and just after we got home, Josh's sister generously and unexpectedly threw us a baby shower!  It was such a blessing, and I was touched by her thoughtfulness and  organization to get it all done.  My husband had wisely asked people to give books, not clothes (being that we're having girl #3, we have plenty of clothes!) so we ended the day with a stash of children's books!  Wow!!! Thanks so much to kristen and to everyone else for coming and giving such sweet gifts.  Because it was a surprise shower, I didn't happen to have my camera with me, so I have no pictures yet from the fun afternoon.  But eventually I'll post some and you can see what a beautiful chocolate cake I had that day! 

But anyway, enough about presents, though I could talk about them forever possibly.  We moved out to josh's parents house and spent a bit of time getting settled.  I must say, I'm not much of a country girl - I grew up in the city - but Josh is a country boy through and through...like, waving to other drivers you pass on the road, enjoying wide open spaces, fishing, hunting and things that make you really dirty...you know, that kind of thing.  

In fact, though, I really like where josh's family lives.  It's beautiful country, just close enough to the city to make it workable, and they live in a great spot.  They've got a huge yard, lots of space, and it's so dark at night, you can see possibly every star that was ever created.  It's beautiful and gorgeous, and I was just as excited as josh to spend our two weeks out with his family.  

We started off our time right, by heading to a different park that was on our list but hadn't been to yet.  This park is really close to the University of Oklahoma, and also boasts lots of nice open spaces.  

Josh's mom - hereafter referred to as Gigi - and mantha, laughing about some little secret...

Fun swings...everyone loves swings.  Print these out and stick 'em on your walls, jayne! =)First ever introduction to the tire-swing!  they thought it was VERY cool that they could swing together.  And go round and round.  And still go higher.  The tire swing was a hit.  
Grandparents are much more willing to push than momma...
Ok, Gigi totally wins the award for going down the tube slide.  I'm not even at 30 yet (so I still feel young) and there was no way I was getting in there.  I would be afraid I'd get stuck or something.  But she was willing, and therefore made fast friends with Samantha!


Josh and the girls with his parents, pappy and gigi.  (on one of the few cloudy-not-so-great weather days).

See, I told you...go down the tube slide with mantha and you have a friend for life.  Plus, I love pictures of holding hands.  

The day we went to the park also happened to be Gigi's birthday...but for some reason, we were given the choice of where to eat! Where's the birthday justice in that?!  Anyway, the group reached a consensus to go to Olive Garden and we had a lovely lunch. Italian is great when you make it at home, but somehow eating it at a good restaurant makes it superb.  Long live the OG!

Later on that night at their house, Emma and Samantha hung out with Jason, Dallas and Nick (three boys that josh's parents have adopted).  As can probably be expected with josh's grandfather, Jason LOVES anything that has anything to do with horses.  Most of his toys are horse-related, and he was more than happy to share his love of the equines with my kids.  

The lesson of this particular night was how to use this rope to lasso the kid-sized horse.  First, Jason gave a demonstration...

...and then Emma tried her luck.  There was lots of effort there, but she decided after her tries at the lasso that she'd rather figure out how to feed the horse his pretend carrot.  The girls really enjoyed having a house-full of people to play with, and there was never a dull moment!

the halfway point: Boomer!

It's two weeks into our trip. The halfway point. Only two weeks left. Sniff, sniff.

To help me get over this sadness, we had planned in an outing to the OU/Texas game, most certainly the biggest event every year in OU football. This year also promised to be excellent, since it was #1 Oklahoma playing #5 Texas. Plus, the game is held on neutral ground - not in Norman, not in Austin, but in Dallas...at the annual Texas State Fair. For foodies like me, that couldn't be any better news.

But, let's not get ahead of ourselves now. Before the game on saturday, we had to fill up a whole Friday. We left the girls in the capable hands of Mimi and G, and convinced our good friends Paul and Alicia to come with us to Texas.

Stopping just a bit before Dallas was the plan...heading to the Allen Premium Outlet Mall, where I would do most of the damage in my "buying for the next two years" binge for family clothes. I had never been there before, but I knew I had a lot of shopping to do and this outlet had lots of the kinds of clothes that we really liked, cheaper than getting it at the mall.

So off we went, and boy, did I do some damage! I found some great bargains and even though I was worn out that evening, I made a serious dent in our future clothing needs! I will totally go back there again to shop if I have the chance! Paul, Alicia, and Josh were great sports to go along with me and I thank them all very much!

We had dinner that night at Pappasitos, the favorite restaurant of my tex-mex loving friends Brad and Amy. The queso was excellent, and the taste of the beef fajitas was also excellent. The restaurat also seemed to be a gathering point for OU fans before the game, and several groups of drunk students taunted the lone table of Texas fans. It certainly helped us get in the mood for the game! It was great to try a new mexican restaurant, but hard to forget how much we love Ted's!

We had a little bit of drama with our hotel that evening, but after priceline.com jumped in and saved the day, we ended up staying at the downtown Westin that was perfectly acceptable, with all their plush accomodations and absolutely perfect bed. It was amazingly even on a quiet floor, so we didn't hear any of the late night pep rallies that usually seem to happen when college students are left to their own sinful ways on the weekends! =)

When morning dawned, we headed out to the Fairgrounds, and though we might have been late with any other driver, Chauffer Josh buzzed through miles of traffic just in time to make it to our needed exit and we made it to the game just a few minutes late. We underestimated traffic, to say the least.

You'll be happy to know we weren't crushed in our spirit with the results of the game. We honestly were happy to be there, and enjoy the atmosphere, cheer for our team, and have a weekend away. We wish the outcome would have been different, but when you only get to go to two OU games every few years, you take what you can get! The atmosphere at live games truly is electrifying and contagious, even if you do pay $3 for a bottle of water!

The OU/Texas game really is the biggest game of the year for OU fans. Because it's held in neutral ground, each team gets 50% of the seating. That translates into, literally, half of the stadium is orange, half is red. This picture might have been too resized for you to see it, but this is the dividing line on the seating; to the right is OU red (crimson, if you want to be exact), and to the left, Texas orange. This was the real sky. The real sky. Not a background on your desktop, or a photoshop of a picture. It is so beautiful, it looks fake. And here are four real people who went to the game. Four people who have been friends for a very very long time! thanks for coming with us, paul and alicia! To help us drown our sorrows, we just headed out to get some fair food after the game. Josh and I tried to split everything we got so we'd have room to eat more variety of stuff. We had Philly Cheesesteaks, Corny cheese (cheese on a stick), funnel cakes, turkey legs, and my personal favorite this year - fried ice cream. I didn't like it at first, but the taste of it grew on me, and I grew increasingly irritated that I had to share it with josh. Next time, we'll buy two for sure!

Traffic was a nightmare coming back, but thanks to paul and his gps, we took some backroads and avoided nearly all of it. We came home to two girls totally wrapped up in watching Charlotte's Web. I think they were happy to see us...but we were sure happy to see them. We thoroughly enjoyed our weekend away - since it's such a rare treat - but we were also glad to be back with them. Thanks to mimi and G who took such great care of them while we were gone! :)