Ready or Not!

We hope that everyone is doing well! It has been quite a while since our last update, a reality we will justify by playing the "we're planning a wedding" card. Life has certainly been busy over the past few months! Alex just finished up the first half of his program at TTC and is on vacation until August 11th. The weeks leading up to finals were very hectic and he averaged about 2-4 hours of sleep per night if he was lucky. We are so thrilled that our countdown to when we get to come home for a visit has officially turned from months to weeks. Before we know it, those weeks will turn into mere days and we will be on our way back home!
Our dog, Sam is going under the knife on Wednesday to be neutered. He will be spending most of the month of July at the house of one of my students and because they have other dogs, we thought it was a good time to get it taken care of. Sam also has his first birthday a few weeks ago and has finally begun to show signs that he is calming down. We still baby him to an embarrassing extent and are going to miss him terribly while we are home.
We have spent this summer going to a number of weddings, spending time with new friends and becoming more and more acquainted with Oklahoma. Alex renewed his CFI in Oklahoma City last week and has been instructing more and more. As for me, I have been spending most of my time organizing things and finishing up the plethora of projects I've begun.
We look forward to seeing many of you in a few weeks! Only 21 more days until the wedding! :)

Taking "Fall" to the extreme...

So, you know those leaves in our last post? Well, here are the trees to which those leaves were
once attached....

2:00 am... the power goes out... which means the heat... which means the fridge...
2:30 am... the BOOMING sounds of snapping tree limbs and the CRASHING sounds of them slamming into our house.
2:30-the present... the trees continue to fall. We fled the house at around 11:00 am (which means we actually left at around 2:00 because it took the 3 hours to cut through the branches to get to the car) and went to the Gentry's. Apparently EVERYONE else had the same idea because when we arrived, there were already about 20 other people there. Due to the underground power lines of their gated community, they still had electricity.
Alex and I kicked back, relaxed and prepared to return to our home within a few hours. Ignorantly, we called the electric company to check on the status of our electricity only to find out that they could come, "A week from tomorrow at the earliest". Needless to say we were a bit disheartened. But here we are and here we shall stay until the storm passes and the power lines are mended. By the light of a half dozen candles and one particularly large mag-lite, we packed our bags and said goodbye to our house indefinitely.
Other than the fact that walking to our front door requires a great deal of planning and skill, and that our yard looks like Narnia meets Jumanji, we are very thankful that there isn't a great deal of visible damage. All we can do is take this moment and chalk it up to a friendly welcome from the state of Oklahoma.

Leaves and More Leaves

It has been a few weeks since our last update. So before winter is officially arrives, we thought it would be a great idea to share some pictures of how our fall season has been unfolding. With extremely mild weather so far (sorry for all of you enduring Northeast temperatures) As you can see in the first picture, Aime and I had the chance to go sailing with our friends Mike and Emily on Lake Oolagah, in Northern Oklahoma. The other pictures are of Aime, Sammy and I goofing off in our front yard.

If you're backwards in TULSA, you're A SLUT....

Two weekends ago, Erin Pope came to Tulsa, Oklahoma for a visit. Erin is Alex's sister, one of my bridesmaids, my birthday twin and sharer of an odd affinity for things that are small. We all had a great time exploring Tulsa, watching the red sox, eating out, seeing "the center of the universe", touring the Polo Grill, chilling out and discovering that Tulsa spelled backwards is "A Slut". Sammy once again laid the charm on thick with his "Auntie Erin", basically refusing to sit on or near anyone else.
Day one, Alex proudly showed his sister his work, his school, the airport he flies out of and the stadium where Colorado Rockie affiliate team, The Drillers, play. The weather was ideal for a patio dining experience at the Wild Fork restaurant in Utica Square followed by a relaxing night in, with a win by the Boston Red Sox.

The next day, we were on a mission... Before Erin's arrival, I had asked some of the gals that I worked with for some ideas of good places to bring an out-of-towner. They suggested that we bring her to "The Center of the Universe". Feeling like we were all starring on some 'B' rated Sci-Fi film, we set out in search of this hidden "gem" of Tulsa. Once we arrived in the heart of Tulsa's downtown, our previous feelings were magnified by the deserted, desolate appearance of the city. We were there for over an hour and saw a grand total of six people.... including ourselves. One of these six people was a gender-ambiguous individual whom we asked for directions. With a mystical look in his eye and a foreboding tone in his voice, he proclaimed, "Find the metal cloud on a stick". With our newfound knowledge, we searched for just that. After circling the spot about 10 times, we all agreed to get out of the car and journey on foot. We chanced upon a local man, standing near the road, smoking a cigarette. Still unable to find our destination, we asked him for assistance. We described to him what we were looking for and relayed the advice of our trans-gendered friend. Wisely, he spoke up with, "You mean that big, ol', metal thing over there?", in his best deep Oklahoman accent.
As we rounded the corner and our destination was at lastt in sight, I broke into an absolute fit of laughter. Tears, hyperventilation... the whole thing. Hours of searching had lead us to this vastly disappointing anti-climax; literally an old, rusted, cloud-shaped piece of metal on a tall, awkward post. Once I had calmed down and wiped away the residual tears, we entered the coveted "Center of the Universe". As you can see in the pictures, it doesn't look like, and isn't much. The point of the whole place is to stand in the middle of the brick circle and speak in a normal tone. Whatever you say will echo back at you, but no one else can hear the echo. It was pretty cool, and we each took turns standing in the middle and talking to ourselves. After a few minutes and some memory-making photo ops, we all discussed how "weird" it was and headed to lunch.
Erin insisted that we get some pictures by the "NRA Gun Collector's Show" sign. We all had a nice meal at Jamil's, enjoyed some over-sized frozen margaritas, then went home to sit in the same spots as the previous night to watch the Sox win again.
We had a great time, and it was wonderful to see her :) If anyone else is planning a visit, we promise to do more research on these "must see" places before we bring you there. Jeff, Kellie and baby Gentry are all planning to come to Tulsa next week, a very different occasion because we will be asking them for the grand tour...

Wicked Shot Husses

Translation: "Horses who are significantly shorter than the average"

A visit from my mother will inevitably bring the need for translation. Between her quirky Boston accent and the Gentrys' "Okie" lingo, I had my work cut out for me as the interpreting go-between. The true story here, of course, is not accent-originated miscommunication, but the short but sweet visit from my mother this past weekend. She arrived late Friday evening and left mid-morning Monday.
Friday evening consisted of a big welcome hug, a 45 minute detour, courtesy of Alex "knowing the way home", and a tour of our house. That evening I could see all the tell-tale signs of a disapproving mother. Once again, my role as translator was exercised as my mother went through the house, looking; judging. She said, "Oh, are the curtains new?"... she meant, "Those curtains are offensive". She said, "The blue wall is fine for you guys"... she meant, "Thank God I only have to stare at it for 2 more days". And so the evening progressed in this way.
Saturday morning, my mother had a whole new perspective on the house. Upon entering the kitchen where I was brewing up some coffee, my mother declares, "Wow, the house looks so different in the daylight!" .... she meant "Phew, the house isn't quite the hideous shack I took it for 12 hours ago!" :)
After getting that out of her system, my mum was all compliments. We had a wonderful morning sitting outside, followed by a nice lunch at Alex's and my regular spot, The Stone Horse Cafe. Later we met Jim and Juli Gentry at Jamil's for dinner, then returned to the house for a nice post-birthday dessert.
The next morning, we cooked breakfast at home and spent lots of time relaxing before setting out for some good 'ole Tulsa-tourism. The way we saw it was, what is a trip to Tulsa without seeing the praying hands, the 76 foot "golden driller", or the Bank of Oklahoma building?

The following morning, my mum and I went to the school where I work and supervised "before school club" together. After that, I drove my mother to the airport and had a cup of coffee before she took off for home.
The most interesting part of this visit by far was the fact that my mom, proud dog-hater, LOVED Sam. When he was being reprimanded by Al and I, he would run over to "nanna" for comfort, shooting us the "what are you gonna do about it" look. "Pathetic" was a word that frequently came to my mind this weekend.
As I walked back to my car and drove away from Tulsa International Airport, I realized fully for the first time what it feels like to live so far from home. So much time and money went into a brief visit that, had we lived close by, would have been nothing more than a casual weekend together. Through all of the joking around and teasing one another, we definitely appreciated our time more than ever :)
This coming weekend, we expect a visit from the beautiful Erin Pope, an idea that absolutely lights up Alex's eyes when mentioned. Keep the visitors coming!

The best birthdays of all are those that haven't arrived yet.

Yesterday was Alex's birthday, which was celebrated by a pumpkin cupcake in his lunch box, a sweet note and the latest night at work he has seen yet. For Alex, this was perfectly fine because he spent the majority of the time during the days surrounding his birthday pretending that it was not here. Any time I would casually mention that, "It's your birthday in 2 days"... Alex would retort with a disgruntled, "Baaaaabe!", as if I had reminded him of something intensely disappointing.
Alex has had this ongoing delusion that he is in his "mid-twenties", an exaggeration I bought back when he was still 27. In my opinion, early twenties are classified by the years from 20-23; Mid-twenties, the years between 24-26; Late twenties 27-29. Despite the fact that I had once been generous in modifying my age bracket to accommodate his own personal "mid-twenties" bracket, there is no escaping the reality that 29 can be nothing other than LATE twenties. In fact, I hear that in some cultures, the word ,"twenty- nine" is non-existent when it pertains to age. Instead, they just refer to your age that entire year as "almost thirty".
To help ease the blow of entering into a state of caducity, I supplied our boy with the appropriate mid-life crisis-esque gift... a very large TV.
Below you can see Alex and our old TV, looking hopeless and distraught. Next, you will find that the presence of his new gift has brightened his outlook. I hope you will enjoy these pictures as much as he is enjoying his TV.... I am guessing you won't.

Jericho

We were truly hoping to be able to write some wild account of our rustic adventure at the Tulsa State Fair this weekend, but truthfully it was just... well... boring. Despite our disappointment at the fair, we still do have some interesting pictures and a few noteworthy tales for a later date. As for now, more exciting news is at hand! Now, we know that the goings on of our home is by no means a comparison to the ancient ruins of a fallen city, but today, we willingly and enthusiastically allowed Jim "the tool man" Gentry to cut a large, square hole in our wall.
At our very first ingression, before we even decided on buying that particular house, I knew that there was something missing in the living room. Upon entering the kitchen, I realized that the missing element was continuity. As you walk through the sunny front yard and into the house, you are greeted by a large, dark, claustrophobic room. Luckily, this did not deter us from seeing the rest of the house, which turned out to be very open and window laden. It was immediately clear to me that something would have to be done to link this dank and caliginous room to the rest of the house. The solution was simple... make a hole between the living room and the adjacent room, the kitchen!
THAT is precisely what we did. Jim Gentry entered the home on a mission. With nothing but a hammer, a ruler, a t-square and a sawzall, he managed to get the job done in just over 30 minutes.
I find that when I post pictures and attempt to add captions, often times the pictures and descriptions don't match. I urge you to use both your intellect and your imagination alike in the event that some of these pictures and captions go a bit awry during the publishing process...

(Below The Living Room wall, pre-demolition) (Jim preparing to slice in through the kitchen)

(Above: Jim measures and Juli supports the sheet rock being cut from the other side)


(Below: The unveiling! still in one piece, Jim carries away a 5'x3' chunk of our livingroom wall)

The pass-through has made an enormous difference already! The flow of air and light from one room to the other feels refreshing and the fact that we don't have to yell to one another from the next room is an added perk. Of course, this is only the beginning and for now, we are left with an unfinished, unsightly hole in the wall. Before we can finish this project, we now have to decide if we are going to make the "window" into a bar with stools to sit at, additional counter space, or simply leave it as an opening to connect the two rooms. Until then, we will enjoy our wonderful, ugly, light-giving monstrosity :)