Oklaoma Christmas 2015

As soon as school was out on Friday for Christmas break, the girls and I loaded up and headed north! Even though we had just been to El Reno at Thanksgiving, we weren't passing up another opportunity to hit the road one more time before our schedule gets hectic again in January.

The trip up was easy, as usual. I love that my girls love a good road trip! And I especially love that they love to load up and go to Mimi's! It makes my heart happy.
We pulled in about 5:30 and were all too happy to get out and stretch our legs- and get a Mimi hug! Those can pretty much make any day better. The girls didn't waste any time getting out their paper and markers that we left there last time (because I was tired of hauling the same tub of crayons and markers back to Oklahoma every time we went!). And Mimi and I set up shop on the couch for a visit. I think she pretty much knows when I have something on my mind, and I hadn't been there 30 minutes before she had me in deep conversation. And by the time I had been there an hour... she had me feeling so much better. I am blessed to have her in my corner to support me when I am upset and to tell me when I need to wake up and see reality and give something some serious thought. That 30 minute conversation gave me a whole new outlook on a lot of things. Everybody needs a Mimi in their corner.
We decided to cook some pizzas and Aunt Susan, Nolan and Taron came over for dinner. And cards. Duh.
Lots of laughter ensued. Because there is never a dull moment with this group!
Saturday morning we got up and had breakfast and.... coffee! Pretty sure the highlight of the trip for Brenna Grace, other than a trip to SIDS, is her morning cappuccino! She knows that she gets one every morning at Mimi's house.

Macie curled up in Mimi's chair with her Ipad.

And Mimi and I sat around and enjoyed our coffee in our pajamas until.... well- there's really no need to tell anyone what time we decided to get out of our pajamas! Because....Mimi's house! And I will agree with Brenna- morning coffee time is my favorite time. But for different reasons. It's not really about the coffee.
We did however get dressed in time for lunch! Taron came over and joined us for a trip to Sids. Since Mimi introduced Brenna to Sids' milkshakes last time, she is now hooked! So this time she and Taron shared one.

And she ate two double meat hotdogs! That girl can put away the food when it comes to SIDS!
When we got home, it was time for cake class! Daddy told me a while back that he wanted me to learn to make Mimi's gumdrop cake. It's his favorite cake, and she's the only one that has ever made one. So it was time for me to learn. I will say that it is a true labor of love. That cake is a pain in the rear to make! And then after you get the pan perfectly lined with wax paper, and all of the gumdrops cut up and everything mixed together and in the pan, it has to bake for TWO hours!!! And did I mention that I don't even LIKE gumdrop cake?? I think it's quite possibly one of the worst cakes ever.... this side of fruit cake. BUT- it's my Daddy's favorite cake.... So I am now schooled!!
And I loved how worn the recipe is...

Mimi said she got the recipe from someone in Alaska. So she's been making it for a long time.
While the cake was cooking, we put Macie Claire down for a nap, and Taron, Mimi, Brenna and I curled up to watch Christmas With the Kranks.
I love how these two love to cuddle!

And when the cake was done, I sent this picture to Dad..

After cake class, we started on dinner. Aunt Susan, Roby and Kyson came over to eat and the kids LOVED getting to play with Kyson! But did I get any pictures that night! Mom fail!
We did have a great night though! The kids played, Roby hung out and visited, and Aunt Susan, Mimi, Taron and I played some serious cards! Taron and I both agreed before the weekend that we needed at least 5 games of canasta because we didn't get our fill during Thanksgiving. Just too much going on. But I think it's safe to say that we DID get our fill this weekend! Aunt Susan and I did some serious WINNING on Saturday night! How do you know when Aunt Susan and I are winning? Mimi turns the score sheet upside down! And how do you know when Aunt Susan and I are KICKING rear?? Mimi SITS ON THE SCORE SHEET! Yep. That happened.
Sunday morning we all got up and got dressed for church. We picked up Taron and pulled up to church about 5 minutes late. But did we quietly sneak in and sit in the back? Not a chance. We paraded our whole crew straight down the middle isle to the 3rd row! Next time I will be sure to tell Aunt Susan to save us seats at the BACK of the church instead of the front! Because getting somewhere on time- for us- just isn't gonna happen! :) Everyone was all dressed up and the girls were dressed in their Christmas best.... but did I get a picture? Nope. I was obviously too busy just living in the moment this weekend to take pictures. (at least that's the story I am sticking to!)
After we ate lunch, Brenna went off to play and I put Macie down for a nap. The 4 of us were just sitting around the table chatting and Taron casually (or not so casually- whatever) mentioned that we should bake a cherry pie. And Mimi said "We can do that." Seriously?! Who has stuff to make cherry pie just sitting around their house? Our Mimi does- that's who! So, just like that, we got up and started making cherry pieS! Yep- 2! Because after Mimi started making the filling she said "well- I guess we will make two since I mixed up a double batch out of habbit!" ha! So just like that- just because- we made two cherry pies!

Because our Mimi loves us! And because our Mimi is the best! AND because--- CHERRY PIE!!!!
And Taron and I decided that the best part of cherry pie (ok- the BEST part was yet to come... but so far the best part) was licking the spoon....and the pan!

You could have put that pan back in the cabinet when we were done it was so clean. Mimi didn't think that was a good idea though.
While our pieS baked, cards ensued! Sunday was not nearly as nice to Aunt Susan and I as Saturday was. It just wasn't our day. The score sheet never got turned upside down, and Mimi never sat on it. However- I DID hear Aunt Susan say "Mom- sit on it" once! We also started a new phrase of saying "you so pretty" to someone we were being mean to at the card table. It was funny each time it was said. But when Mimi turned to ME and said it once.... I almost wet my pants! You just had to be there. That woman gets awfully quiet when she is loosing.... but she gets a little "lippy" when she is winning!
As soon as the pies came out of the oven, Taron and I were ready to dive in. But Mimi wouldn't let us. We kept hearing phrases like "it has to set up" and "it's too hot"... yeah yeah yeah. So we (not so patiently) waited. Until we couldn't wait any longer! And what happened next..... will go down in history as one of the best memories ever!
There had been mention about eating it straight out of the pie pan. Mimi just laughed it off when it was said. But the next thing I knew- Taron had a fork and was headed for the pie! And I certainly wasn't going to be left out of this! So I grabbed one too!! And we DID it. We ate pie straight out of the pie pan in Mimi's kitchen!!

Not gonna lie... the first bite was so hot I burned my mouth! But it was SOOO worth it! At first, I don't think Mimi knew what to think about the current situation going down.

But don't let her fool you- she was laughing...hard! And when we told her she should come over and pretend to be getting on to us for a photo op.... she was all over it! She couldn't quit laughing long enough to even look mad! And Aunt Susan couldn't quit laughing enough to hold the camera still enough to not make the pictures blurry!

She's so mean and you can tell we are scared of her...NOT!

After I posted this picture on facebook, Dad said "you G-Kids get away with things we kids couldn't even think about doing." Yep! Mimi loves us! Sorry about everyone else's bad luck!
And just to make it the perfect event..... we scooped ice cream directly into the holes we created in the pie and continued eating!

It's good to be a grandkid.
After we got our fill of pie (and boy did we get our FILL), we finished our card game. Macie wanted to play cards too, so Mimi handed her a deck. She matched them all up and put them in order, and I would shuffle them and she's do it all over again!
Daddy was texting me saying that NOBODY could get away with what Taron and I just did. So I sent him this..

And said "She loves me!" His reply? "Yeah Yeah. Suck up!" But I'm sure Taron would agree with me when I say- We have no need to suck up. She just loves us more! hahahaha!!!
Something was mentioned about dinner later on, and I said "we just had pie and ice cream... let's have popcorn for dinner!" And Mimi agreed that that was a great idea! And Brenna and Macie were in heaven! Pie and Popcorn. In that order. It was a good day.

You can see Lilly sitting at Mimi's feet waiting for her to "drop" a piece on the floor!
Taron and Nolan had to leave to go have Christmas with the Abners, and Aunt Susan had to go home and finish decorating her tree (because it WAS December 20th after all...), so the girls and Mimi and I settled in to watch Home Alone 2. It's one of Brenna's favorites, and Mimi had never seen it. WIN WIN!
Macie was done after about 20 minutes and ended up in the bedroom playing on the ipad. And I remembered that I hadn't done Mimi's ironing yet! And I couldn't leave without getting it caught up. So I set up the ironing board in the hallway and started ironing while we watched the movie. I was on my last piece when I asked Mimi if the sweat shirt in the closet was in there to be ironed. To which she looked up and suddenly realized I had been standing there an hour ironing! I said "you aren't very observant!" LOL!
But-seriously- did you catch that last part? The part about the SWEAT SHIRT? Yes, the sweat shirt was in the closet to be ironed. Only my Mimi. But no worries. I ironed it! I started to ask her if she had some sheets or towels that she wanted ironed... but I didn't. I always thought my Mama was the queen of ironing EVERYTHING. Nope. My Mimi now holds that title! Gotta love her!
Monday morning, the girls and I got up early and got dressed and packed up and ready to head home. But we couldn't leave without breakfast!

Yep! I ate cherry pie- out of the PAN! In my defense, I did tell Mimi I would get a plate this time. And she said "you don't have to do that. Just eat it out of the pan." SEE??!! I told you she loves me! It wasn't quite the same without Taron eating out of the other side though. But I do think we put a hurtin on a cherry pie...

I did try to even up the edges and make it LOOK like slices were cut from it. And I left Mimi with specific instructions to eat the remainder of the pie straight out of the pie pan! She told me she would. Not sure I believed her though.
The girls and I said our "see ya laters" and headed south. It was, yet again, a great trip. I pray that Brenna and Macie always remember the special times we have and look back on them with fond memories. We hadn't gotten out of El Reno yet before Macie said "when can we go back to Mimi's house?" My heart melted.
And I can't finish this post without sharing a conversation I had with Mimi 2 days ago. I called to check on her since she had been without power for several days due to an ice storm. And during the conversation, pie was mentioned. She was quick to tell me "I hope you girls know that eating it straight out of the pie pan was a one time thing." I said "Now Mimi! We wouldn't do it when everyone is there. Because we wouldn't want to rub it in that we are your favorites. But when it is just me and Taron... all bets are off!"