Gratitude Countdown: Day 12

Today I am grateful for those who serve others. I joined the MBASA service committee and one of my duties is arranging help for new moms. (And since this is BYU, we have a lot of new moms.) One spouse had her third baby this past week and I set out to arrange some meals and playdates for her other children. I was overwhelmed by the response of people willing and eager to help. It certainly made my job easier but it reminded me that there are many kind and giving people out there. We have all been touched by the service and kindness of others and it's also good to remember that "when we are in the service of our fellow beings, we are only in the service of our God."

Gratitude Countdown: Day 11

Today I am grateful for the ability to create. I don't just mean babies, though I think I did a really good job with that the one time I tried it. I still sometimes look at Zara and marvel that I grew her myself. Totally from scratch! How did I do that?!?

I've come to see that women have the innate ability to create. It's something that I've come to love about myself as well. I didn't set out to be "crafty" or "domestic" or "housewifey" or any of those terms; in fact, I resisted them for a long time. But as I've embraced those attributes within myself, I've found great joy in creating things for myself, my family, and friends. I love to bake and cook and am grateful that I enjoy those pursuits since I know so many women who absolutely dread the kitchen. I love to sew and fill my house with the work of my own hands. I've undertaken a new sewing endeavor (which I'll share with you soon) and I'm surprised by own enjoyment at being hard at work at a sewing machine. I also (gasp) started making my own Christmas cards this year. It started out as a Relief Society project but I discovered that I really enjoy the artistry of paper crafts (I know, I know). It's a delight to create this things and I am grateful that I have the ability to do so.

Gratitude Countdown: Day 10

I am grateful for the Gift of the Heart Exchange (GOTHE), a free exchange of clothes and toys that the BYU MBASA (the MBA spouses group) and the Law Partners put on several times a semester. Kid-to-Kid, a used clothing company here in Utah, donates a lot of clothes to this event and there are piles and piles of clothes and toys and baby items available to take for free. It's open to all student families and is really helpful for those of us who have a limited budget and income. They just held one this morning and I was able to find all the clothes and shoes that Zara will need for the upcoming months. It's a wonderful blessing for us poor grad student spouses.

Gratitude Countdown: Day 9

I am grateful for our sweet little home. Being the history nerd that I am, I get a huge kick out of the fact that it was built in 1899. Of course, a home that old comes with a lot of quirks and problems. Still, I try to think of it as just having a lot of personality. I love to think about all the people who have lived in this house in the past 112 years, imagine what they did, what they thought, and the children they raised here. It's a great little house in a good location in Provo. I can walk to several stores, the library and many different parks. I'm glad to call it home for the next year and a half (at least).

Gratitude Countdown: Day 8

Sometimes you don't appreciate something until it's gone. So today I'm grateful for [functioning] indoor plumbing. Our kitchen sink has been backed up for the last two days (and our landlords won't return our calls) so I've taken to washing our dishes in the bathtub. I really don't know how people used to deal with no plumbing. Seriously.

Graditude Countdown: Day 7

Today I am grateful for baby faces....in all their many forms.










Man, I love that kid.

Gratitude Countdown: Day 6

Today I am grateful for our magnificent black beauty, Suyom the kitty cat, or as Zara calls her, "Dat!"

We've had Suyom for almost three years now and I love that crazy beast a little bit more every day. She's a beautiful creature, quite the world traveler, and a good friend. But she's a cat, so she she only wants affection on her terms. I'm okay with that because most nights, she still comes and cuddles with me while we sleep.

I worried how Suyom would treat a baby in the house (would she be mean? would she hiss? scratch and bite?) but she has been surprisingly patient and gentle with Zara, even when Zara grabs her fur or pets her a little too vigorously. Zara adores the cat and Suyom tolerates her. I couldn't ask for more.

Life just isn't complete without a cat. I'm glad Suyom is ours. I think she's quite pleased with her us being her humans.

Gratitude Countdown: Day 5

I'm a little late in posting this one...had a bit of a hard time finding something to write about, I suppose. Korea is an incredibly beautiful country. I miss Korea quite a bit, especially when my friends post pictures of their adventures there.

But as Zara and I were out for a walk today on this gorgeous fall day, I looked up and saw the Wasatch mountains and thought, "Utah is a beautiful place too." And I'm so happy that I get to live in beautiful places and be constantly reminded of the beauty of this Earth and to be grateful for all that is around me.

Gratitude Countdown: Day 4

Today, I am grateful for Phineas and Ferb. Now, that probably sounds like a really strange thing to be grateful for but I totally am. See, David grew up on cartoons but I didn't. I don't really like watching cartoons. I find a lot of them really tedious to sit through. But we all love Phineas and Ferb. I love the humor, the catchy songs (we sing them all the time around our house), and the message of the show. Zara loves to watch Phineas and Ferb too. In fact, I've tried showing her other "kid shows" but she doesn't seem to care much for them. (DJ Lance Rock on Yo Gabba Gabba totally scares her....I don't know why.) But whenever I put on Phineas and Ferb, Zara just sits there, totally transfixed. Plus, she loves to dance to all of the songs. It's ridiculously cute.



This is my favorite Phineas and Ferb episode, "Rollercoaster, The Musical!" We seriously watch it at least once a day....sometimes more. If you've never seen Phineas and Ferb, I totally recommend it.

Roadtrip: Route 66 in Oklahoma

There was no way we could "rediscover" America without spending a little time on Route 66. It was the one thing that David insisted we see on our journey back to California. Reading up on Route 66, we discovered that the best preserved portions of the road can be found in Oklahoma. So, from Independence, Missouri, we drove straight down through Kansas to Miami, Oklahoma, in the state's northeastern corner, to begin getting our kicks on Route 66.

Our journey on Route 66 took us to many very interesting sites and to many sadly forgotten, deserted towns. We took our time and stopped whenever something interested us. We didn't worry about getting anywhere fast. That's how you have to experience Route 66. It's a pure piece of Americana and was actually one of both of our favorite experiences on our roadtrip.

Now a piece of advice if you want to drive Route 66 yourself: you need a guide book. It takes work to drive Route 66 because it's not always clearly marked and parts of it have been paved over or crumbled into disrepair. Oklahoma does the best job, I think, of maintaining their portion of Route 66. (I also think there's a lot more to see in Oklahoma, since once you get into Texas and New Mexico, Route 66 is pretty deserted, and always has been.) But in Oklahoma, there's a new town to see every few miles and lots of kitschy, random sites to behold. We had done some research online before setting out, but luckily, we were able to pick up a free guide at one of our first stops. It made our journey so much easier and I really don't think we would have gotten as much out of our trip without it.

Alright, now onto the wonders of Route 66. Hold onto your socks, people, this one's got a lot of photographs. I'm going to break it down by town.

Baxter Springs, Kansas - Before dropping down into Oklahoma, the first city we hit on Route 66 was Baxter Springs, Kansas, population 4,238. (Remind anyone else of Radiator Springs? There were a lot of references to Cars along our drive.)

Quapaw - The first town we drove through in Oklahoma, just after getting onto Route 66, was Quapaw, named after the Quapaw Indians, which means "downstream people." Quapaw is part of the Tri-State Mining Area which mines mostly lead and zinc. The town is full of colorful murals painted on the side of buildings, starting to fade. It may be morbid, but I was really looking forward to seeing all these derelict and deserted buildings along our way. They're just full of an eerie kind of nostalgia.





Miami - Pronounced My-Am-uh. We stopped here for the night. We wanted to stay at some old run-down Route 66 motel, but we couldn't find any suitable options so we ended up staying at the Hampton Inn again. Miami was the first chartered town in Indian Territory. Their pride and joy is the Coleman Theater, a 1929 Spanish Mission-style building. Miami also has the last in-tact section of the original 9-foot-wide Route 66 or "Ribbon Road" that was built in the 1920s.

Afton - Afton was founded in 1886 and took its name from the daughter of a Scottish railroad surveyor who named her after the Afton River in Scotland. (It also happens to be my grandmother's middle name.) One of the coolest stops on our whole trip was a visit to a good "old-fashioned tourist trap" (that's what their sign said) called Afton Station and Route 66 Packards, which was full of vintage cars and Route 66 memorabilia. We also passed the now defunct Rest Haven Motel which had one of the coolest old signs we saw. (I took a lot of pictures of old signs.)




Vinita - Vinita is the oldest incorporated town along Oklahoma Route 66, established in 1871. It was also the first town with electricity. It was originally named Downingville, but its name was changed to Vinita in honor of Vinnie Ream, the sculptress of the life-sized Lincoln statue at the U.S. Capitol Building.


We passed a lot of countryside along our trek, as well, and a lot of hay. David and I called this rolled up hay "kimbap hay" because it looks like slices of kimbap (Korean sushi, basically). We just a real kick out of it and had to take a photo.

Chelsea - Chelsea was founded in 1870 and was supposedly named after a homesick railroad worker's hometown. It was also the site of Oklahoma's first oil well. It's main attraction is a mail-order home from the Sears and Roebuck catalog which cost $1,600 when it was ordered in 1913. The more interesting sites are located just before reaching the town proper. One of my favorite sights was the Pryor Creek Bridge, built in 1926, which was part of the original alignment of Route 66. It was bypassed in 1932 when a new addition to the road was built. We drove the original Route and passed by this fantastically rusted old garage.







1913 Sears and Roebuck mail-order house. (I mean, we totally had to drive past the home, right?)



Foyil - The tiny town of Foyil is home to the world's largest totem pole at 90 feet tall. I mean, when you taunt me with words like that, I have to see it. I mean, it's the world's largest totem pole! It was a bit out of our way, since we had to turn off Route 66 to get there, but totally worth it.

Claremore - Claremore is one of the bigger towns along Route 66 and home to several museums, including the Will Rogers Memorial Museums. I know you will all be shocked to discover that we didn't actually visit any of Claremore's museums because we wanted to continue on our way. Plus, it was lunchtime, and we were hungry, so we stopped at a BBQ place on our way out of town. We also stopped the The Nut House, an authentic log cabin on Route 66 just outside of Claremore that offers souvenirs, homemade fudge, and jams.


Catoosa - Perhaps one of the strangest and most beloved roadside attractions in all of Oklahoma's Route 66 is the blue whale of Catoosa. It's simply fabulous. This is what Route 66 is all about.

Tulsa - We next drove through Tulsa, the second largest city in Oklahoma. It was difficult here to stay on Route 66 because it's been paved over and reconfigured so many times. We didn't, unfortunately, have time to stop in Tulsa, but it looked like a very cool town full of some gorgeous Art Deco buildings and museums. Maybe another time....

Depew - After driving through Sapulpa and Bristow, we took a short detour off the current Route 66 to visit Depew, a nearly completely abandoned town situated on an older alignment of Route 66. There were a few buildings still being used, but for the most part, the town was just full of run-down and boarded-up buildings. It was the closest we got to seeing a Route 66 ghost town.




Stroud - Stroud sits midway between Tulsa and Oklahoma City. We stopped at the historic Rock Cafe, built in 1939 and currently owned by Dawn Welch, who served as the inspiration for the character Sally in Cars.





Oklahoma City - It was already late in the afternoon when we stopped for some apple pie in Stroud, so we were only able to make it to Yukon, a suburb of OKC and hometown of Garth Brooks before stopping for the night. We only managed to travel about 200 miles that first day on Route 66.

Clinton - The next day we had to cover more ground, so we hopped on the Interstate (gasp!) to travel the rest of the way out of Oklahoma. Most of I-40 by-passes and, in some places, covers Route 66, so I didn't feel like a total sell-out for taking the faster route. We did, for all intents and purposes, follow the rest of Route 66 all the way home. Our last main stop on Route 66 in Oklahoma was a visit to the Oklahoma Route 66 Museum in Clinton. It gives a great history of the building of Route 66, the changes the road undertook throughout the years, and the culture of car travel in America. Plus, it was full of great memorabilia and paraphernalia of the time period.



Route 66 was a great experience. I can't wait to travel it again someday. There's truly some amazing things to be seen along the way.