September Summaries & Tellings of Tulsa

September 5th

 Shopping with Nana was a real treat! She bought Piper and I each a new dress!

 And took us out for lunch at Cheesecake Factory. We splurged & had the white chocolate raspberry truffle cheesecake. Um, YUM!

September 6th

James road-tripped to his next rotation and stopped in St. Louis at this Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives place called HWY 61 Roadhouse & Kitchen

September 13th

After 70 days apart, James and I were reunited! Although James was in Joplin, Missouri for rotations, he drove 2 hours to Tulsa to meet me at the Tulsa airport that night. Hugging him was the best thing in the world; I did not want to let go. Our reunion was super sweet. We spent the night in Tulsa so we could go exploring the next morning. 

September 14th

In preparation for this trip we had made reservations to have Sunday brunch at...

This experience was magical.

We dressed fancy for this expensive & very necessary occasion. We died over the gourmet waffle bar & the omelet bar. We gasped at the ice sculpture & the shrimp, smoked salmon, fresh fruit, salads, pastas, desserts, and fresh fruit galore!

We looked out the window and decided to walk around as we saw the most gorgeous garden...

That was an understatement.

Acres & acres of beauty.

Oh did I mention that the restaurant was added on to the 100-year-old-mansion-turned-art museum? This humongous house belonged to Mr. Phillips who was in the oil business, as in, Phillips 66 gas stations. Yeah, that's the one. His home was a dream to walk through and exploring the gardens was oh so romantic. I was so in love just being there with my sweet hubby and soaking in the perfect Sunday sun. We had to leave soon for church so we hurriedly looked at the different pieces of art displayed in the mansion/art museum. I didn't want to leave!

 This is my beloved Calvin Klein dress that Nana bought me. 

I felt like a million bucks in it, so thanks Nana!

"Temple of Love"

One of the many rooms in the mansion.

 James wanted this cow painting

 Pretty stained glass & lots of religious artwork, so it felt more Sunday appropriate than you'd think!

 I swore that my Nana & Gramps had this same painting in their house...

I checked. It's not the same, but it's very similar!

 Reminded me of the sacred grove.

 Thought of Dad painting something similar for Mom

 Thought of Dad because he loves ocean scenes

 In touch with my New England roots

 Thought of James' future study in our dream home.

We went to church in Tulsa attending the New Haven ward. I was so happy to attend church I wanted to take a picture but the sun wouldn't let us!

 James drove me to the hospital where he did his Tulsa rotation back in May. 

 After all the food we ate at brunch I still craved Braum's ice cream because there's one on every corner in Oklahoma. (Nans & Gramps, this was a double brownie chocolate fudge sundae with cookie dough ice cream! James got a Reeses & cookie dough shake.)

 We explored the neighborhoods of Tulsa, Broken Arrow, Bixby, and Owasso.

It wasn't until we were exiting these neighborhoods to drive to Dallas that we found a house similar to our dream home. White picket fence, decent size house, a little red barn, (all it was missing was a natural pool area to swim in). 

 Oh and they had horses in the front yard.

The 4 hour drive to Dallas wasn't too bad, especially since I was riding with my sweetheart the whole way.

September 15th

I cherished every moment I had with James even though I started the fall semester and I had plenty of homework to do and a job to get to so I could make some money after our mini  weekend vacation together!

September 16th

We went to Sweet Frog frozen yogurt, the best fro-yo around!

James left for Joplin that same day because he was scheduled to work the next day :( Another 23 days until I see him next.

September 17th

Preston, my brother-in-law, entered the Missionary Training Center as Elder Chapman! So proud.

September 21st

Happy Peace Day! We decided to surprise Piper by making her favorite cake with a peace symbol sprinkled in cocoa powder because we call her our "peace." Pi, piece of Pi, Peace, she has the best nicknames! She didn't realize until I took this photo that she had the peace symbol on her shirt too!

September 22nd

Happy First Day of Autumn!

We find any reason to celebrate haha. Mom, Pi, & I went fall shopping at Watters Creek. Several boutiques later, we settled on purchases from Altar'd State and Charming Charlie! The autumn squash soup and lunch at Panera Bread completed this Girl's Fall Shopping Extravaganza!

 Piper's shoes she got from Charming Charlie. 

I want them for myself. Good thing we are the same shoe size...

September 24th

I went to the temple with my Dad. Such peace was felt there, I'm so glad we went!

September 27th

Enjoyed the General Women's Meeting with my mom and sister and loved the inspiration I received while watching it!

That concludes this post on our September summaries and tellings of Tulsa!

Here's one last & very favorite picture for you of my romantic weekend

with the love of my life!

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New Jersey, Preston's Farewell in Utah, & Philly

James has been rotating in Vineland, New Jersey for the past couple weeks. While there he drove to Philly to meet up with our good friend Jake at a baseball game. The Phillies played the Cardinals at Citizen's Bank Park on August 23. 

The ER in Vineland.

James said it was way fun catching up with Jake!

James said the church he went to in Philly is in Preston's (his brother) mission!

On a completely random note, James and I have been trying new Lay's potato chips! My absolute favorite are the bacon mac-n-cheese flavor. He likes the jalapeno cheddar. What's your pick? 

Oh and this boy is so regal.

This past weekend I went up to Utah for Preston's mission farewell. He gave an amazing talk and I'm so proud of him! He will be a wonderful missionary. He leaves on September 17 and will be serving in Philadelphia and other areas. So James has explored quite a bit of his mission before Preston has even left! I loved every minute spending time with my in-laws. We all wished James could have come as well, but unfortunately there are no vacations from medical school. I arrived in Utah on Thursday, went shopping with my mother-in-law, ate some yummy food and watched The Lego Movie with Marissa.

 Friday morning Peter and I went out for breakfast with Preston at Kneaders. Their french toast is heavenly.

 Later that day Preston had an In-N-Out craving, so we went there...then the three of us also went to the BYU Creamery specifically for my grilled ham & cheese sandwich and a brownie. Good times. We also watched the movie The Saratov Approach about the two missionaries who were kidnapped. I actually really enjoyed the movie even though it is based on a true story. I'm so glad they were ok in the end!

 Saturday we spent the day cooking and baking up a storm! This picture was taken around 8am that morning...my MIL baked a whole Texas sheet cake by 6am and about 100 cookies too. Then she started making spice bars, and I set to work making salsa.

 I loved making salsa in this practically new Cuisinart my MIL bought at a yard sale for $5!

 Oh and Peter was an amazing chef chopper. Loved that he was there!

 This is Preston on top of the roof killing a hornet's nest!

 That night we were exhausted from cooking and baking so much in preparation for Sunday so I went out for dinner with Peter, Preston, and Marissa to Mama Chu's authentic Mexican restaurant. My burrito hit the spot. 

After a wonderful farewell talk given by Preston on Sunday morning, we feasted on the food prepared the day before. The weather was beautiful and perfect and the food so tasty. We had 3 tables filled with pulled-pork in a huge crock pot, buns galore, 5 different kinds of chips, potato salad, pasta salad, caesar salad, baked beans, red & green grapes, watermelon, cantaloupe, raspberries (all from the garden), salsa & tortilla chips, jicama, cucumbers, tomatoes, cookies, Texas sheet cake, and spice bars. I probably left some food out but that's all I can remember. We all fell in love with the kitty that Grandpa Keel brought with him. We think it's a girl kitty?

 The kitty loved Peter.

 Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur...

 Happy kitty

 Sleepy kitty

 Purr Purr Purr! (haha James knows this song from the show The Big Bang Theory!)

 It's kind of hard to see but Preston the missionary-to-be is holding the kitt-y! Yes I am a rhymer.

 So.Precious.

 So.Tiny.

 James' brothers Steven, Preston, Jason, and Natalie (Jason's fiancee) and me

 My mother-in-law Brenda with Jason. Cute mother-son candid photo.

 Here are the kids with Mom & Dad Chapman minus James, Spencer (he took off early) and Danielle who is on a mission in D.C. Me, Natalie, Jason, Steven, Preston, Dad, Mike & Holly, Marissa, and Mom.

 Here is the group photo we took at the very end but several guests already left. Love the kiddos in front!

Marissa sure looks cute holding that cutie kitty.

Monday I left for home and enjoyed Labor Day with my family. We had a cookout with Nana & Grandpa and I ate more chips :)

Today James visited some cool spots in Philly.

He saw the Liberty Bell and visited Independence Hall.

 Where the Greats wrote signed the Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, and the Articles of Confederation.

 One of the original copies of the Declaration.

 Fancy writing space.

 So historical looking.

 I love this shot from far away.

 While I was counting coin to customers at work, James sent me this picture as he visited the United States Mint where they make coin!

 Here is a shot of the bridge crossing the Delaware River. This was the view he had from PPL Park.

 He enjoyed a soccer game at PPL Park where Philadelphia Union played Toronto FC.

I miss my man, but I will see him in 10 days when I visit him in Tulsa!

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