Sooner weekend!

We decided last week, on the spur of the moment, to go to the Big XII baseball championship in OKC! We have always wanted to go, but have never been able to, due to one extenuating circumstance or another. This year, our family and a couple of other families that are our baseball friends, decided to go, but plans fell through for both of them and it ended up being just us. We had a ball! (Even though the Sooners ended up losing to the Longhorns---daaang it)So, I took the kids out of school on Friday around noon, after I got off work and we headed out. The plan was, we would go to the hotel and check in and then head out for this barbeque joint that Lon saw on "Diners, Drive-ins & Dives" (Lon's favorite show on the Food Network!!) called Leo's. They smoke their own ribs, plus all the other meat they serve, and Lon, being a newbie smoker himself, wanted to try them. On TV they looked soooo good. Plus, they showed their signature dessert...a Strawberry Banana Cake that looked to die for. So, things were going along as planned. We arrived in OKC around 6ish (after fighting the wind the whole way there, we had to fill up in Weatherford....an hr from OKC, normally you can make it in one tank!! And of course, Weatherford had the highest gas prices of the whole trip, but we weren't in a position to go looking for cheaper deals, our range was down to 2 miles!! YIKES!) Anyway, got checked in (after fighting, this time, with the extremely rude front desk lady who tried to give us a regular room with only one bed, not the suite with 2 beds that I had reserved. What good does it do to make a reservation, if they are just going to give you whatever room they feel like giving when you get there?? Reminds me of a Seinfeld episode...)Anyway...., with our Yahoo directions in hand, we took off for Leo's with visions of those ribs in our heads. When we got there, there was a big "CLOSED" sign in the window, saying they had a roof cave-in and were closed for repairs. I'm tellin' ya, this place was a true dive. But, the sign gave directions to their new location, which happened to be about 5-6 blocks from our hotel! So, we turned around and started making our way to the "new" location but we were going to be cutting it close, because, they close @ 8:00pm and by this time it was around 7:30. We finally got there and this place is just as big a dive as the first one, kind of scary looking, tucked under the railroad tracks. When we went in, the waitress told us that they were out of ribs, all they had left was smoked baloney......was she kidding? Their ribs were the whole reason we came looking for this place. So we left, thinking we would try again tomorrow. But, to say Lon was disappointed would be the understatement of the century. This trip was not turning out the way we planned at ALL! So...what now? Plan B, we were going to eat at Crabtown on Saturday, so we decided to go there tonight and eat at Leo's on Saturday. The kids and I LOVE seafood, but Lon?? Well, not so much. He hates the smell more than anything. But, he will eat shrimp, though not his favorite. So, we walked in and the seafood smell hit you in the face. :-) Keep in mind, he was already pouting about not getting any ribs and now the seafood smell...needless to say, his mood did not improve. But, he & I ordered the Shrimp Boil, where they just dump the the whole thing on your table, shrimp, new potatoes, corn, sausage & onions. It was delicious!!! He even had to admit that it was really good. Then we went back to the hotel for the kids to swim for a while. The day ended on a good note.



Next day, Saturday, the Sooners were playing the Longhorns @ 9am. This was the main game Lon wanted to see, because, even though the Sooners are ranked next to last in the Big 12, they had won both of their games earlier in the week, even beating the 1 seed, Texas A&M. So, whoever won the game between the Sooners & the Longhorns would be in the Chamionship game. The game was really fun. The Sooners got down by about 6 or 7 runs, but in the 7th inning came back to tie and go ahead. The crowd was really into it, yelling 'Boomer Sooner!' and 'Texas sucks!', it was so much fun and exciting to watch. But, the dern Sooners ended up getting beat by one run. Oh well, it was still a good game. After that, Gracen & I had had enough baseball, so we left and took a ride on the canal boat.....did you know that OKC has a little river downtown and you can take canal boat rides?? Anyway, that was a blast. Then we hit the mall and shopped for the afternoon. But Gracen is not the best shopper, unless of course, you are shopping for her. Which we were, for the most part, but she wanted it to be ALL her. :-) Around 4:30 or so, we went back to the Stadium to pick up Lon & Barrett and go to Leo's. (We didn't want to take a chance of them running out of ribs again!) Well, Leo's did not disappoint! The ribs and brisket were mouthwatering, they bring them to your table right out of the smoker, smokin' hot! After we were done eating, and waiting on dessert, the owner, Charles (Leo's son) came out and talked to us. He was the one we saw on "Diners, Drive-ins & Dives". We told him we had come all the way from Amarillo to taste his ribs after seeing them on the show. He was so nice and could not have been more appreciative. We told him about coming the night before and them being out of ribs and how we were so sad. He told us that the show had caused his business to skyrocket like he never dreamed and that he runs out of food almost everyday now. I am glad his business is being blessed, he was such a kind and sincere man. Anyway, after he heard that we came in from Amarillo, he said 'I tell you what I'm gonna do....I'm gonna decorate that cake right in front of you, just like I did on the show. It don't get no better that that!' He was absolutely right! He brought that cake out, straight from the oven, piping hot. He put glaze and fresh bananas between the layers and on top put bananas and fresh strawberries and drizzled glaze over the whole thing. Since Gracen was snapping pictures, (I'll try to figure out how to post some) he told her she got the first slice. You should've seen her eyes! I think it was the most delicious thing I have ever eaten. Needless to say, we were happy we came in on Saturday instead of Friday. It was the most fun experience and if you ever are in OKC, you have GOT to try Leo's ribs and his strawberry/banana cake. But, don't wait until almost closing time because they probably won't have any left!! I'm sorry this post is soooo long, Gracen told me that my posts are way too long and that no one will read them. Oh well, I don't think too many people read them anyway.

Mother's Day 2008

Mother's Day 2008 was the best one yet!! (I say that every year, and every year it's true) I am blessed to not only still have my mom around, but also she & my dad live right here in Ama. So..."I got that goin for me" :-) After church, we went to Cattle Call (mainly because they could accomodate our large party with no waiting) with Cristi & Shan and their 3 kids and Mother & Daddy. Cristi & I got Mother the "Thornbirds" on dvd. That is her absolute favorite show EVER. She has always loved Richard Chamberlain. Lon & the kids got me (after a little hinting) a Pandora's Box bracelet. I love it!! The first charm is a little Bible with a gold cross on it. Did I mention i LOVE it??!!!! Lon was also pumped because he said that was presents for the next 10 years! I think it will be an expensive habit though, since the charms run from $35 to over $300 for the gold. My sister, Cristi was not impressed. She's not a bracelet person. I am soooo a bracelet person. I wear one every day just about, except to work, kind of hard to wear gloves and wash your hands 50x a day with a bracelet on. A few years ago, possibly for my 40th birthday? can't remember, my sis-in-law, Luain, gave me a Brighton bracelet with crosses all the way around. It is still one of my favorite things to wear, I love it. And then there's my James Avery charm bracelet...love that one too. Anyway...(I didn't intend for this to be a post about bracelets) Mother's Day was wonderful. Lon, Barrett & Gracen always spoil me and make the day special. Lon won't let the kids fight, so for one day at least, there is peace. Or at least they do it while I am taking my nap so I don't hear it. So nice. And, as always, we end the day with a trip to the cemetery to visit Grandma (and Grandpa and Aunt Jean). Gracen & I went to the dollar store to get some flowers for the graves. Gracen kept picking out the tacky fake looking ones and I was trying to steer her toward the more natural, real looking ones. But then I realized that Grandma would be thrilled with the ones Gracen had picked out, so I let her choose whatever ones she wanted to give Grandma and they were perfect. I'm sure Grandma thought so too. We still miss her so much. So, even though bittersweet, it was still a perfect Mother's Day. I am very blessed to be "Momma" to the best 2 kids anyone could have.

Annual Session, the Riverwalk & Margaritas!

Last week, my bosses took our entire office to San Antonio for the Texas Dental Association's Annual Session. One of my bosses, Ty Pendergrass, was Annual Sessions Council Chair for this year, which means he spearheaded the whole thing. Kind of a big deal since it was attended by about 30,000 Tx dentists and their staff. He has been working on it for about 4 yrs now. On his nametag, there was a yellow ribbon that said "Big Cheese"!! We teased my other boss that that must make him the "little cheese"....he wasn't amused. Anyway....it was so nice to... a)get a free trip to San Antonio, b)knock out all my CE reqs for this year and next year, c) have some "girl time" with my co-workers, d) have the absolute BEST margarita I have EVER had, it was a mango-swirl w/ fresh mango puree----heavenly!, e) absolutely BEST of all, was getting to see my old boss, Dr Jim Hollifield. A few years ago, he retired and moved to California, where his wife is a Methodist minister. It was so much fun to see him and reminisce about the "old days", he is a precious man whom I love dearly. I didn't realize how much I missed him until I saw him and busted down bawling like a big baby!
It has been years since I have been to San Antonio and I forgot how beautiful it is in May, not too hot yet. And the Riverwalk is a really cool place and did I mention where I got the most delicious margarita EVER!!! It was such a fun trip, I wish my family had been there. Gracen was so mad when she heard I was going, she wanted to go so bad. This year, in Tx history, they studied the Alamo and actually watched the "Alamo" movie and she is doing a report on Davy Crockett. When I told her i was going to SA, she said "Well, I'm going too!" and i told her that she couldnt because I would be in meetings all day and where would she go. To which she replied "I'll just hang out at the Alamo!" Ummmm, probably not. But, I think this has caused us to change our summer vacation plans from Galveston to San Antonio. Gracen says that absolutely everyone has been to Sea World except her. Well, we certainly can't let that embarrassment go on any longer!! What kind of parents would we be??