Tulsa, baby!

Darin and I had an excellent vacation! And we got to spend it with my dear friend, Katie. We decided to road trip it, old school, by driving down to the lovely southern state of Oklahoma. We wanted a chance to hang out - just the two of us - for a few days. There's no other way to do it than be cooped up in a car together for 20 plus hours round trip, right? Believe it or not, we hardly argued at all.

We left on a Wednesday morning and drove the 6 hours to Kansas City. We stopped near Grimes, IA for a pit stop and some Iowan "sloppy joes" known as "maid rites."


Upon our arrival in Lenexa (suburb of Kansas City), we checked into our awesome Motel 6 room, threw our luggage in, and bounded off to Chik-Fil-A... Darin had been craving a little chicken and sweet tea (we'll address his obsession later). Afterwards, we walked around the mall, and found a theater that was showing Star Trek. Thanks Tim for giving us directions after we drove aimlessly for an hour looking for it. After a good night's rest, we had breakfast at Chik-Fil-A again and headed south for our destination.

We arrived in Tulsa mid-day. Katie left work early and met us at her apartment. I wish I would have taken a photo of her all dressed up in her work attire - so professional. ;) We had dinner at a cute cafe not too far from her place (Forgive me if I give too much detail or mix things up). After dinner, we walked across the Arkansas River. Katie's apartment is across the street from some cool trails and a foot bridge over the river. I'm kicking myself for not bringing my camera along to take some photos. The lovely Ben met up with us later that evening. Friday we went out to breakfast. It was already warm out, so, we ate outside! Then we spent the day walking around downtown and seeing the cute shops. I got my QT fix too. Nothing better than a Coke with cherry syrup. I got to see Katie's sister, Annie, and her cute baby, Arabella. Such fun! For dinner, we met up with Ben and his friend. We ate at a hoppin' place called McNellie's. My grilled cheese sandwich was almost as good as the buttery ones Katie made me in college.

I'm sure I looked like a tourist making a scene with this photo.

Saturday morning we made breakfast at Katie's. Ben got to try Aggkaka for the first time. I think he liked it :) After our tummies were full, we headed off in Ben's vehicle to the local thrift stores. Darin scored a true souvenir from Tulsa - one of those wolf printed t-shirts with the word "OKLAHOMA" on the sleeve. I picked up a couple pairs of clip on earrings that will make pretty rings for Heads Twogether. After a quick stop at a little fast food stand for a specialty root beer, Ben took us to a surprise stop -- the Casino he works for. We spent both of our $1 bills in less than 10 minutes (that's all we stayed). Now Katie and I can say we've been to a Casino, I guess! For lunch, we met a few of Ben's & Katie's friends at an authentic Mexican restaraunt. I can't remember the name of it. And then stopped by a cute little shop where local artists can sell their artwork. There was a rad mural outside of it.


After posing for the camera, we headed back to Katie's place. Darin and Ben spent some "quality" time together while I "helped" Katie with some paintings she was working on. Unfortunately by 7pm, we had to say our goodbyes and hit the road. I miss you Katie!

We made it back to Lenexa by midnight and checked into our motel room. Slept like a baby. Hit the road early, ate at Waffle House and cruised on through the morning and afternoon.

Darin with his totally awesome breakfast.

Six hours later, a finished knit scarf, and a book 3/4 of the way read, we arrived home, safe and sound. The end :)

Why can't all movies have happy endings?

Another movie to add to the "most depressing" list is Tristan & Isolde. You'll end up with some major cryballs by the end of the movie. Just like Romeo & Juliet, or many of Nicholas Sparks' novels ... The Notebook, Nights in Rodanthe...they all end the same way. Depressing.

Food + Crafts = AWESOME

I'm super excited about the upcoming Fundraiser event that Dena and I are helping with. On Sunday, May 17th, there will be a Spaghetti Dinner and Bake/Craft Sale to help send our dear friend, Brittany, to Ukraine.

WHAT'S THIS ABOUT?
Brittany is an affiliate missionary appointed with SEND International to serve in the Red Window, an under-churched region in Ukraine. In January 2007 she spent time in Odessa, Ukraine with SEND International, where she saw God work through her in many ways and sensed God leading her back to that part of the World. In August, she will depart for her 4 year commitment.

WHAT WILL SHE BE DOING?
After one year of language study in Odessa, Red Window missionaries will form teams with Ukrainians to work together in encouraging the churches that already exist, evangelize, and plant new churches. Also during the assignment, Brittany will be working on a Master's Degree from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary.

HOW CAN I HELP?
If this is something you want to help support, you can do so in a few different ways.

Spaghetti Dinner/Craft/Bake Sale
Sunday, May 17th 4:30-6:30
Free will donation for meal
Yummy food and Live music
Lots of fun arts and crafts and baked goods for sale, all proceeds go to Brittany

Edina Covenant Church
4201 West 50th Street
Edina, MN


$5 iPod Shuffle drawing (ask me for more details)
You can enter to win an iPod shuffle by donating $5

Become a Prayer or Financial Partner
See me for details or email Brittany directly bmwiitala@gmail.com

Hope to see you all on the 17th!

Food Scale

I would really like a food scale that I can measure snacks out in ounces. This one is only $11, but, there are definitely more expensive ones that look cooler. My friend, the nutritionist, sent me a list of 100 calorie snack ideas that I want to start using. It'll be a lot cheaper than purchasing the prepackaged snacks.