So Much to Catch Up On...

goodness, i have left out so much from the end of summer and this fall. i'll try and be fast...

aren't they cute?

dinner at tokyo garden for juni's birthday dinner.

juni's cloud themed birthday party

breakfast and chicken judging at the fair. popi hated the mirrors.

when we go to the fair, we spend ALL day there.

sky ride, caramel apples, and the largest horse hoofs i have ever seen in my life, the picture doesn't even show the mamothicity of it. i just made that word up.

california dreaming. popi meets her cousin Zinny! we love her bunches and bunches!

good times with friends and family. oh yeah, and that trip to steve jobs' house.

and what would a trip to cali be without our trip to mecca, the Google campus. we had breakfast, never had breakfast there before, but of course it was fantastic!

this is just scratching the surface...

Thankful Days

i am so thankful for family, my husband, my children, my mom, my dad, brothers peter and james(miss you!), my aunts, uncles, cousins, my blood. without family i would be lost.

i was suppose to post this yesterday but i got caught up in bee drama:)

Fashion's Night Out

i love fashion. we all know that, right? happy happy fashion's night out all around the world last thursday night. i love a runway show, even a bad one, the girls loved it too, look at the pictures they took. we had live music, snacks, shopping, a little champagne(only me), fun, and fashion!

my sweet sweet little birds.

Florence, SC

Florence, South Carolina

my aunt sandie and uncle jose with my 2 bee-ootiful cousins flew in from spain to come visit their nan in florence. so, of course, we had to go visit them on the trip. i love my aunt sandie so much. i only met her when i was 24 or so, when i myself went to spain and forced my presence upon her. she is my mom's half sister, but to me they look a lot a like. i love listening to my aunt sandie talk, talk about my grandpa, moving around, there are so many stories, and of course i love listening to her speak spanish! it is so pretty. my uncle jose and cousins samantha and carla are great too, the girls have always been the pied pipers with my kids, and uncle jose is an accomplished(to me!) athlete. it was a short but wonderful visit, i can't wait for my turn to visit them:)

South of the Border, SC

out in the middle of nowhere south carolina, right when you hop over the north carolina border there is a land of kitschy called south of the border. original, huh? for some reason this land sells mexican and myrtle beach trinkets and odditys. the best part of south of the border is the billion and one concrete statues you can play on. we didn't even scratch the surface of them with our pictures. juniper thought this stop was great and that we were going to take a photo on every single thing. that i told her, would take days and patience i just didn't have. i wish i could find all the photos from past sotb experiences....you could see little sachee(that would be me) grow!

Rowland, NC

rowland, nc

that's the family "plantation" farm house up in the left hand corner before the wrap around porch was built. my great grandfather is in that photo somewhere as a child, those are the edens, my family. it is the house where great grandmother gave birth, where my mom spent many days running around working and playing. they grew cotton, tabacco, and now corn. distant relatives still own it. so, that's juni by some tabacco, and bee by an outhouse at the family church.

centenary church has an outhouse:) it also houses the edens' family graveyard. my grandmother is buried here, my great grandparents, my great-great grandparents. there is popi's namesake, alexander!

i have always loved this church. it was where i always wanted to get married there, that never happened. the interior is a beautiful dark stained wood panels everywhere, ceiling, walls. it is gorgeous. there popi is sitting in the edens' section of the church. that last picture is beila with aunt bj and uncle clarence. they hold the keys to the church, it's on the national historical registry, sweet!

Laurinburg, NC

laurinburg, north carolina

laurinburg, this is where my aunt bj and uncle clarence live. my uncle is my deceased grandmother's younger brother. he always has a contagious smile on his face that makes me feel warm. they also have some of the best blueberry bushes on the planet! every time we visit we pick blueberries, and it couldn't have been timed more perfectly, we ran out of blueberries for popi about then.

my north carolina family just happens to be huge duke university fans. there is duke stuff everywhere you walk, or walk on. go blue devils! my mom was born at duke university hospital, and i sport a large blue devil on my Christmas tree ever year that belonged to my memaw.

my aunt bj is a wonderful cook, one of my favorite things about traveling in the carolinas is eating the down home food. my favorite restaurant is in rowland near laurinburg, it is called pinks, but they were not open:( popi had her first corn cob. all my kids think that gumming on corn cobs is the best think in the world, you dare not take it away.

we spent the night there with them and went to rowland the next day.

Raleigh, NC

Raleigh

looking back now, i see i have practically no pictures of raleigh and my aunt kakie and uncle fred. i was so excited to go see them and spend time with them. my aunt kakie is my deceased grandmother's sister, i love listening and looking at her because she reminds me of my memaw. she had a trunk full of old dolls she graciously gave the girls. juni and bee got small baby dolls with a wardrobe of clothes and popi got the life size baby. it was so much fun to watch her play with the popi sized baby! we had such a great visit with them, i wish we could have spent more time there.
p.s. you might know i am a huge david sedaris fan. i love having a small north carolina connection with him. so while driving in my mom's home state, mr sedaris' adopted state, i saw his brother's hardwood floor business van, sedaris hardwood floors. why this excited me to no end, i am still not sure why....

Asheville, NC 2

my parent's favorite place to eat in asheville is early girl eatery. now it is my favorite. my kids have been sporting early girl tshirts for years now, so it is nice to have finally eaten there. it the kind of restaurant i would like to have one day, local ingredients, and simple, good food.

i was excited to see that they had local mead on the menu. i have been hearing some about this resurgence of mead and was eager to try some. i got my chance! i liked it, i like honey, i like wine...what was not to like? for dinner i had grilled pimento cheese with tomatoes and spinach, with a side of pickled cucumbers, heaven. we ate breakfast there too, it was that good!

Asheville, NC

Biltmore Estate

this was my second trip to the biltmore. i was here with my mom a long long time ago...
the girls and i were here all day. the tour of the house was fun and long, and i was surprised the girls enjoyed themselves as much as i did. we also went to the barn/farm area. we fed animals, played on farm equipment, played old outdoor games, and walked a lot.

we also went to the winery where we had a "wine tasting." okay, it was grape juice. for lunch we ate at the old stables turned buffet. it was really beautiful, up in the rolling hills of the estate, open windows, good food, good company. we had a blast!

Memphis, Tennessee

first stop: memphis

we stayed at an elvis themed hotel:) super fun and the girls loved swimming in the guitar shaped pool. after singing along with paul simon all morning my mom, the girls and i went to graceland early so the line was not too long. we each got head phones for the guided tour and we all loved every second of it.

it was so cute, juni wrote "we miss you elvis, love juniper".

Where in the World is the Pokey Little Puppy

asheville, north carolina

well, we are in florence, South Carolina! we just had a great visit with mi tio y tia, aunt sandie and uncle jose, their 2 kids, cousin samantha and carla, and my grandpa's wife, nan sara. my aunt and uncle live in beautiful spain, so it is always a treat to get to visit with them. we have been having a whirlwind tour with my mom and dad, a total blast! we've been to memphis, nashville, asheville, raleigh, laurinburg, rowland, south of the border, now here in florence! and we ain't done yet, folks!
i do wish my Greek were here with us, i miss him so much, so do the girls. but we get to face time on the ipad so we can see him and love him and give kisses through the interwebs. thank you steve jobs. (you won't hear me say that often;)
ya'll have a good night now, ya hear?

ahhh, the open road

well, i'm in memphis. my mom, my dad, the girls and i got here just in time for dinner at rendezvous. after ribs and greek salad that were oh so yummy, we went to the hotel to swim in the guitar shaped pool! tomorrow graceland:)

Prep

getting ready for east coast road trip 2011. while doing this i am getting ready for beila's fifth birthday party on sunday. she turned five yesterday:) i have to make a death star pinata while stocking the rv, good times. wish me luck with my time management skills!

Slow Down Cowgirls!

i told you we were some busy gals. our days and evenings have been filled with many things. here's a quick run down.

we go to sporting events....tulsa drillers baseball, green country roller girls roller derby....

we go and play with uncle peter and uncle james, take care of our chickens and bees, plan family reunions(happened this last weekend.)....

play adventures at bass pro shops...

pick blueberries, spill blueberries, eat blueberries....

cook fun food like green eggs and ham, spend time with cousins, and make sure we are in the water as much as possible.

we don't sit down much. our car has a broken part so we were slowed down for a little till we borrowed a car from pa-pa and bubbe. then that car broke, everything is fixed now! now that our family reunion is done we are getting ready for our 2nd great american road trip. our first one we took our airstream rv to the west coast...didn't make it, but we had fun...that is a story for a later time;) this road trip we head east! memphis, nashville, asheville, raleigh, laurinburg, wilmington, roland, florence....here we come! so much to do so little time!

Last Week...

since the kids got out we have been one busy little fam.

winky-dog riding on my shoulders, it's how he rolls.
the new chicks, savoir faire and speck-tacle.
juni and her horse for her lesson.
juni riding, she was so good. her teacher says she has a natural ability.

we went to stillwater last week too. we played at theta pond.
went to the library. ate at eskimo joe's. went thrifting. we also went to my old
places, like my house i lived in when i was 8.

my elementary school for 3rd and 4th.
my trailer park.
then we went home on old highway51. we got to see the oldest known homestead in payne county, and next door got a tour of the amazing jim thorpe's home.

saturday we went to the dog show at the fairgrounds. the kids loved it.
for lunch the girls and i made a yummy salad from arugula(rocket), kale, beet greens, parsley, and onion tops from the gardens.

later we went to a birthday party at this land. they had yummy watermelon water, a genuine tee pee, and plenty to play on for the kids!
we have started this summer out with quite a bang. lots done and lots more ground to cover. cannot wait!

Saturday

i couldn't have planned this day any better.
my little fairy skipping around picking beans to put in her watering can while wearing heels.

taking a boring chore like folding laundry and making it beautiful.

my entomologist digging for bugs.

tight rope walking with the neighbors.

we had a wonderful saturday. breakfast with family, a beautiful day, folding laundry on the porch, watching the kids play, hamburgers and shakes for lunch, family visits, feeding bees, dinner with neighbors, and tight rope walking. who could ask for anything more? oh yeah, i got a new bed. rock on.

4am...Wedding Time!

i would never rise at 4am for any other wedding, including my own. the royals have been a part of my life since i was little. charles and diana were wed when i was three and then william was born when i was four. my memaw always got people magazine and then passed it on to my mom, so we always knew the up and up about the royals. i feel like they were a part of my life even though i live in the US. i even have a charles and di plate:) i can't wait for my william and kate plate!
well, the girls and i spent the night at my parents so we could watch the festivities with my mom. we drank pg tips tea with sugar and almond milk, crumpets and lemon curd, bangers, treacle, and digestive biscuits. odd assortment, i know. it was as british as i was getting at 4am. all the sugar gave me a tummy ache later.

that's harry and wills riding to the church! they looked so handsome, but of course the bride was FAB! loved the grace kelly inspired dress.

our tea party on the fly.

4am hair.

i hope juni can remember watching this with us when she is older.

oh! i borrowed princess bea's fascinator for a bit, too much?