Homecoming: back to OKC

Last week Molly and I made a trip back home to Oklahoma City. We had so much fun and I thoroughly enjoyed having extra hands to help with Molly. It made Working at Home so much easier! I was also able to squeeze in a couple nights out thanks to my parents who babysat. Always nice to have free babysitters.

When I wasn't working we were busy with activities. We celebrated my brothers birthday, we met up with old high school friends who have had babies for a play date, we went to brunch, we hit up the bookstore, we checked out the new local library and we visited family. A fantastic trip.



Doing a little reading with GG at the new library



Upside down reading at Barnes and Noble



Nomnom on some letters



Checking out the backyard



Lunchtime with GG



Exploring the new environment




And of course we had to enjoy a few drinks during our downtime. Sitting and chatting in the front yard.





Its always nice to go home for a few days. Extra help with the baby, prepared meals, laundry service...it doesn't get much better. But back to reality.

Chili Dogs & Politics

Sounds delicious and interesting right?!

One of our stops on our Washington D.C. trip was Ben's Chili Bowl. A famous establishment in DC since 1958 and a favorite among several of our presidents including Obama. We first came across this little gem while watching Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network. Food lovers that we are, we immediately added this to our list of "must visits" while in D.C.

It did not disappoint.





The place was first made famous by Bill Cosby, who was said to be the only customer who ate for free (they since added the Obama family to the list). The Half Smoke is their signature item, 1/4lb. half pork and beef smoked sausage on a warm steamed bun and topped with mustard, onions and spicy homemade chili sauce. Chase went for this and loved it. I opted for a good ol' fashion chili and cheese hot dog. Yum!



While we didn't spot President Obama (it would have been crazy in there!) we did see some very official government people with ear pieces kicking people out of booths to make room for some dignitary. It was pretty cool.

So chili dogs and politics...a must stop if you are in D.C.

BabyMoons

As of today, exactly today, Molly is two months away from coming into this world and joining our family (based on her due date).  While we are absolutely ecstatic about meeting our little bean in person we also realize how dramatically our lives are going to change. So, we took the advice of many and went on a couple babymoons over the past month.

babymoon noun a special holiday taken by parents-to-be before their first baby is born


Our first trip was to Washington D.C. to visit my cousin who recently moved there and take in the history of our great nation. Chase had been a couple times (in middle school and high school) but I had never been before.


We squeezed our trip in right after the earthquake and weathered out a tropical storm while we were there. Very exciting. We spent most of our days seeing the sites/monuments/museums and eating delicious food.




















Our second trip was a weekend baseball trip to St. Louis. We are huge Atlanta Braves fans going back to my Dad's childhood and they were playing the St. Louis Cardinals. My Dad called us up a few weeks back and said we are going to St. Louis to see the Braves play...And so we did!


The Braves played three games and we went to all of them. Unfortunately they got swept (they lost them all for you non-sport ppl) but we still had a blast!  Again there was lots of sites to take in and good food to be had. We even found a famous BBQ joint called Pappy's to indulge in. It was delicious.













We are so happy and fortunate we were able to take these trips, spend some time together and hang out with family before our world is turned upside down (in a good way of course).


Now its time to focus on Baby Molly's upcoming arrival. The final countdown is on!

Oregon, oh Oregon

This past week I headed out to Oregon on a business trip.  A client located in Corvallis, Oregon was the purpose of the trip.

I absolutely fell in love, love with Oregon.  It was well worth my fear of flying to see this beautiful place.



We were in the small town of Corvallis for a couple days, then we headed through Eugene (home of Oregon University Ducks, ugh...Boomer Sooner!), and from Eugene we traveled through the mountains along the curviest of roads to make our way to the coast.  Georgeous scenery, one of the most amazing car rides I have ever been on.  Once we hit the coast, we took the coastal highway North and then headed into Portland.



Along the way we made a few stops to gaze out at the Pacific and watch the massive waves crash into the coast line, stops to eat some delicious fresh seafood, and one special stop to see some Sea Lions up close.




Everything in Oregon is so alive and green, a welcome change of pace compared to the dead and brown of Texas and Oklahoma.

I can't wait to head back to Oregon and spend some more time falling in love.