The Lau Family

New Niece - Ashton Bailey!

2009-01-02T16:57:00.003-06:00

The day after Halloween, our new niece Ashton Bailey arrived!

Happy Halloween 2008

2009-01-02T16:51:00.003-06:00

Happy 25th Bday Hank!

2008-08-13T16:06:00.005-05:00

We celebrated Hank's birthday on July 18th! We had a cookout at our house with friends and family. A big THANKS to Tiffany who helped in putting the party together!! :-)

Cory and Lana were not able to make it (as they were on their Honeymoon), but they did make a "Lexus" cake just for him when they got back!

New Floors!

2008-08-13T15:51:00.005-05:00

So, we decided to take the plunge and remodel our house a little. We put in new hardwood floors and tile. You would think this would be a simple task, but of course.. its not when it has to do with us! A 4 day job literally took 3 weeks. I'm not joking! Everything you could think that could go wrong, went wrong. Everything from the delivery truck breaking down in New Mexico to having the wrong kind of glue were just a few of the things we had to deal with. Needless to say, it is finally done and we are glad that we did it!

Living Room Before:

Living Room After:

Kitchen/Dining/Entry Before:

Kitchen/Dining/Entry After:

Cory & Lana's Wedding!

2008-08-13T15:30:00.008-05:00

Our good friend, Cory Ingram, met the girl of his dreams, Lana Brown. Lana is from Kansas City and decided to move to Stroud, Oklahoma. Welcome to Stroud Lana! She is such a nice person to be around and we are so happy that Cory has found someone that is as much fun as he is! :-)

They had their wedding in July at the First Baptist Church. Hank was asked to be a Groomsman. The reception was held at the Route 66 Interpretive Center.

The colors were sage green and bright pink. The Wedding was absolutely beautiful! Congratulations Cory & Lana!

Danny & Jennifer Wed!

2008-08-13T15:20:00.005-05:00

We've been so busy this summer that it has been a while since I posted. So.. here is a recap of everything thats happened!

Danny Wright and Jennifer Edwards had a beautiful wedding in June. The wedding was held at the First Christian Church in Stroud. Hank was asked to be an Usher and Crystal, Kristi and I assisted with the Wedding Cakes.

Congratulations Danny & Jenn! Your wedding was amazing!

Tulsa Heart Walk

2008-04-12T17:45:00.001-05:00

Hank and I are participating in the Tulsa Heart Walk on April 12th with his company Wallace Engineering.

For more information please go to: www.tulsaheartwalk.org

Start! Living Healthy

Still Here!

2008-04-12T17:43:00.001-05:00

Sorry everyone! We have been so busy lately we haven't blogged!
Hank is now working in both Oklahoma City and Tulsa. On the days he works in OKC, I am able to work from home. On the days he goes into Tulsa, we both are able to carpool... which helps on gas even though its still crazy expensive!
Things have been pretty busy around here lately! We have 2 Weddings coming up this summer, Wedding Showers to plan, a new niece or nephew due in October, possible movings/new homes for a few within the family and visits from long distance relatives. So many fun activities.. we’re excited!
The weather is starting to warm up, although it always seems 10 degrees colder on the weekends! Hopefully the warm weather will arrive and try to stick around for a while!
Thats pretty much all thats going on for now. More updates to come...

Happy New Year!

2008-01-11T13:45:00.001-06:00

We celebrated this New Year's all day! We went to an 25 Year Anniversary Party and then Crystal's Annual New Year's Party. While there, Danny and Jennifer officially announced their Engagement!!

Mike and Julie making a toast at their Anniversary Party.

Jennifer and Danny...

The RING!!

Everyone at Midnight!!

Merry Christmas (Lau Side)

2008-01-11T13:28:00.000-06:00

Every year we have Christmas with the Lau side on Christmas Day. We spent the mid-day with Hank's Grandparents and then Christmas night at his Mom and Dad's. It was a full day of fun, laughter and FOOD!

Merry Christmas! (Gode Side)

2008-01-05T20:30:00.001-06:00

Ricky, Anna, Hannah, Andrew and Elizabeth's Mom and Dad celebrated Christmas at our house on Christmas Eve this year. As usual, we all had a great time. Hannah played "Santa" this year and was a big help! We also enjoyed watching the classic Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer and Frosty movies!!

Cory's Birthday!

2008-01-05T18:53:00.000-06:00

We went to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra for Cory's birthday this year. The concert was AMAZING! We definitly want to see it again next year. We also enjoyed a bday dinner at the yummy Johnny Corinos.

Cory and his Mom

The lights were so bright sometimes, you literally needed to where sunglasses!

Here's a video of one of our fav songs from them that I found on YouTube. (Its longer than the 10 second video I was able to take)

Is that Hank in a Truck??

2007-09-24T08:41:00.000-05:00

Ok, so here's the scoop....both our 2003 Toyota Camry and 2002 Mitsubishi Galant hit over 110,000 miles on them and counting, and recently began experiencing minor problems on both. We decided it might be wise to strategically plan our auto purchases by replacing only one at time, not two. So, we recently went auto shopping for a new or slightly used vehicle and found interest in the following:

Toyota 4-Runner (Athletic and Reliable)
Honda CR-V (Reliable, 30 mpg, you do the math, but Chic-ish, no offense)
Lexus RX330 (Reliable and Professional)
Infiniti FX35 (Sport and Luxury)
Chevy Tahoe (Just all around good choice)

We originally thought an SUV might be the best choice, given the cargo room, seating options, and ground clearance. After driving the 4-Runner, Honda CR-V, and Lexus RX, we made our way to Bob Moore Infiniti to check out the FX35. We had already decided that whatever we find, we will take a few days before buying to research and discuss all options. Then, as we were leaving the dealership, we rolled through the Cadillac lot next door just for fun (I love cars, can you tell?), then, it happened. Our next vehicle found us. I slammed on the Galant brakes, and it was so over at that point.

There sat a 2007 Ford F-150 FX2 Sport (Black with Black & Red interior) with only 4,800 miles, meaning, somebody else took the new car hit. I've never been so captivated by a truck as this one. Sure, I've admired the Harley F-150s, the Southern Comfort Chevys, occasional Escalade and Lincoln Mark LT, but you just "know" when it's the one.

SUVs are nice, but for our current needs and future needs, we concluded that this will serve as a Sports Vehicle (5.4 Liter V8 yeah!) / People Hauler / Unlimited Utility Vehicle all in one great package. We couldn't be happier and have been told once you own a truck, you'll always own a truck. Liz and I were also growing tired of borrowing somebody else's truck when we need one, or passing up great bargains on large items (i.e. Furniture, Landscaping, etc.) simply because we can't haul it home and/or the store won't deliver long distances. And, since SUVs have limited cargo capabilities, it further confirmed our decision against one.

As for our commuter vehicle, we plan to replace our Toyota Camry in (3) years, hoping to hit at least 1/4 million + miles, and continue replacing commuters every few years afterward, never needing an SUV. A hybrid would make sense for commuting, but I want to wait and see how they hold up in terms of repairs and maintenance over time. Liz and I are partial to the Toyota/Lexus line, and we've been eying the Lexus IS250 very heavily as our next commuter. It has everything we want, and achieves 32mpg on the highway, which trumps our Camry. Sure, as a car nut, I would love a BMW or Audi for performance and sports reasons, but they haven't always scored well in terms of reliability and wear.

If any of you out there are considering a reliable commuter, I highly recommend anything from these brands: Toyota/Lexus, Honda/Acura, Nissan/Infiniti, and Mazda. They are all great and Consumer Reports will vouch for their track records (most models). Though Mitsubishi hasn't always had a great reputation, I will say that it was by far an excellent college/work car and never once needed repairs all the way to 110,000 miles, just regular maintenance.

NEVER NEVER NEVER neglect your vehicles for maintenance. Any car will become your worst nightmare if you do. At least change your oil if you find you don't have time for anything else. It's key in keeping your vehicles long-term. I'm not trying to nag, just advising. And people, please, clean them up, that can also play part in a car's life believe it or not. I love cars, and I absolutely hate when I see cars being abused. There should be a law against it!! - Hank

September Texas Visit!

2007-09-12T10:31:00.000-05:00

We traveled to Texas a few weeks ago to visit Ricky, Anna, Hannah and Andrew. Hannah was quite the little hostess. She also showed us exactly what she wanted for her Birthday Party. She is definitely a good party planner! We dined at Salt Grass Steakhouse and Chili's. Ricky and Anna made yummy waffles with their state of the art waffle maker! I will definitely be looking out for any sales on that gadget! We finished our trip with a little shopping at the mall and a scrapbook store. While the girls (and Andrew too) shopped, Ricky and Hank went to look at cars. Hank always seems to get "car fever" when we go to Texas. I guess it is because of all the cars he sees on the drive down. We've been wanting to get something else to replace the Mitsubishi to spread out the car payments, so this was a good opportunity to look around. We will have another post for this topic!

Thanks Ricky and Anna for another fun filled weekend!!

Andrew helping Uncle Hank pick out the perfect automobile online:

I think Uncle Hank and Andrew will get along very well!

Hannah showing Aunt Lizzy and Andrew her party plans:

Anna was fixing Hannah's hair while Hannah fixed Andrew's hair.

Happy 25th Birthday Elizabeth!

2007-09-12T10:17:00.000-05:00

Elizabeth celebrated her 25th Birthday on Sept. 7th. I decorated the dining room for a small party with the Lau side of the family. It consisted of pink streamers with black and white balloons. We had Pizza, Red Velvet Cake and of course ice cream!

Elizabeth's parents made homemade lasagna and brownies for her birthday at our Wednesday night dinner as well!

Gulf Shores 2007

2007-08-13T09:30:00.000-05:00

After Andrew's Baptism, Hank and I were on our way to Gulf Shore's Alabama. We invited Hank's Mom and Dad along since we had learned that his Dad had never seen the ocean. Our friend, Jessica, and her family were also going to Gulf Shore's as well. They rented a cabin down the beach from ours. They were planning on driving straight through (14-16 hours). We decided we should break up the drive. So, we drove for 7 hours and stayed the night in Shreveport, Louisiana. The next day (Sunday) we drove through Baton Rouge, then to Alabama to catch a Ferry Boat to take us to our Beach House.

That night, we went to the Grocery Store and found that everyone else was going to the same store as well. As a result, there were no eggs, milk or bread. All the "staple" foods were gone. So, we had to make do with what we could find.

On the first full day, Hank was stung by a jellyfish. He quickly recovered and was able to go back out into the ocean that evening. We also learned that only "tourists" go out to the beach between 11:00am - 4:00pm in the summer. This is the hottest time during the day. So, we would go into Gulf Shores for shopping during that time. Hank and I would wake up early to enjoy a stroll along the beach and then meet up with friends that evening for another fun time at the beach.

We also were able to take part in crab fishing. Jessica's Dad set out many nets to catch the crabs at the pier. We also saw a shark jump from the ocean, dolphins swimming, crabs, sand fleas, periwinkles, JELLYFISH, hermit (crabs) and sting rays. Yes, we saw many sting rays. They would swim close enough to the shore line that we could see their tail splash the water. Needless to say we all got out of the ocean during that time.

The mosquitos are much more aggressive in Gulf Shores. They aren't the lazy mosquitos we have here in Oklahoma where they fly around you to find the perfect spot to bite. In Gulf Shores, they don't waste any time and dive right in. They could even sting you through your clothes. The OFF spray didn't seem to help either. You were guaranteed to be bit anytime you went downstairs to your car.

All in all, we had a great time with friends and family. It was worth the drive to experience the "beach life."

Here are a few pics. Click on the link to see more...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/the_lau_family

Baby Andrew's Baptism

2007-08-13T09:06:00.001-05:00

Ricky, Anna, Andrew and Hannah came to Oklahoma for Baby Andrew's Baptism. The event was officiated by Anna's Uncle Phil. He is a deacon within the Catholic Church. A BBQ lunch was also provided at the church. Baby Andrew's Baptism was so special. We were so glad that we were able to attend!

Happy 24th Birthday Hank!

2007-08-13T09:01:00.000-05:00

Hank celebrated his 24th birthday on July 18th. We had a little party at his parents house with cake & ice cream.

Happy 4th of July!

2007-07-11T18:37:00.000-05:00

Ricky, Anna, Hannah and Drew visited us this week during 4th of July. We had a great time visiting with them! Hannah is quite the Big Sister and loves to help take care of her baby brother! We even saw a few smiles from Drew!

Vacation to Branson!

2007-07-11T18:11:00.000-05:00

Hank and I took a mini-vacation to Branson. We absolutely LOVE the Tanger Outlet mall there! It had many more stores that we like vs. the one we had in Stroud. We found tons of great deals! A few places we ate were: Ruby Tuesdays and Dick Clark's American Bandstand Restaurant. Of course we also had some Ice Cream from Andy's Frozen Custard. We visited the Titanic Museum, Table Rock Lake and the Inspiration Tower. It was very nice to get away for a few days.

Andy's Frozen Custard.

Dick Clark's American Bandstand

View of Branson's Table Rock Lake

View of Branson from the Inspiration Tower

The Titanic Museum

Inspiration Tower

Lola and Grandpa's Trip to Texas

2007-04-30T17:22:00.000-05:00

Lola and Grandpa were able to go visit Hannah and baby Andrew this past weekend.

Three Generations

Big Sister!

Andrew Dawson Gode is here!

2007-04-29T08:12:00.000-05:00

Our new Nephew is finally here! We weren't able to go to Texas this weekend to see him since we had to work, but we hope to visit next month in May when everything settles down. So for now, here are a few borrowed pics from the family's website. I will post some pics that Elizabeth's Mom and Dad took this weekend when they visited soon.

Happy Easter 2007

2007-04-29T08:02:00.000-05:00

Here are Ian, Isaiah, and Dylan "flying high" off the back porch at Hank's Grandmas!

Ian wanted to make sure that he didn't find the dinasaur eggs that he brought with candy inside. He wanted the "real eggs" that you could smash!

Alyssa was so cute when she found her eggs!

Hank and Elizabeth before Church.

Merry Christmas Chili!

2006-12-30T14:47:00.000-06:00

Chili received a new bed and toys! He loves to unwrap presents!

Gode Christmas

2006-12-30T14:24:00.000-06:00

This year we had Christmas with Elizabeth family on Christmas night at our house. This year's most popular toy was Dora the Explorer! Hannah loves Dora!

Next year we will have a new nephew! Check out Elizabeth's brother's blog www.cakevideo.com/blog. He posted a great video of their announcement! Merry Christmas!

Lau and Wright Christmas

2006-12-30T13:49:00.000-06:00

This year we had Christmas at Hank's Mom and Dad's in the morning and then with his Grandparents during lunch. We at enjoyed visiting with his family! We played Dirty Santa and ate lots of good food!

Stroud Christmas Parade!

2006-12-09T17:10:00.000-06:00

I haven't went to Stroud's Christmas parade in several years. I still remember my Mom taking me when I was younger to see Santa and receive candy. I even remember actually being in the Christmas Parade when I was in pre-school! We sat on hay in a trailor which was being pulled by someone's truck. Ahh.. good times.

Well, this year, we had a reason to make the trip downtown to watch the parade. My Mom and her co-workers were participating! In addition, we also saw the Grinch and our friend John joining in the line of the parade.

Las Vegas!

2006-12-03T20:29:00.000-06:00

We are finally home! This past week we went to Las Vegas for the Autodesk University 2006 Conference for Hank's work. We stayed at the Venetian Hotel & Casino . It was around the middle of the Strip. Hank flew out on Monday and I flew out on Tuesday. Unfortunately, mine wasn't a direct flights and had to change planes in Phoenix. The first flight was OK, but the pilot was in a hurry and had a rough landing. Everyone was pulled forward and had to push on the seat in front of them. When I got to Phoenix, my plane was CANCELLED, which was suppose to take me to Vegas. So, I had to take a later one. We did however make the best of it and found a Cinnabon Bakery and bought a cinnamn roll (I am now addicted, but there aren't any in Tulsa!).

Once we got to Vegas, the Shuttle Bus Driver was a crazy driver! He hopped curbs and was in and out of traffic. We finally arrived at the Venetian around 10pm. All week we took the Deuce Double Decker bus to get around while Hank was in class. The recording that it plays everytime someone gets off the bus still plays in my head, "Have fun, get out of the sun, ride the Deuce $2.00 one way, $5.00 all day." I did lots of sight seeing and took many pictures for my scrapbook. We even went to the Tao Nightclub where a few famous people have been spotted.

The weather was of course colder than usual! It stayed around the 40s everyday we were there. Everyone back home called us and informed us of the BLIZZARD that was going on in Stroud and to be prepare for delays coming home. Boy, were they right! Our flight home was delayed 2 hours on Friday. Once we did get into Tulsa, it was so bad that we weren't able to get our car at Hank's co-worker's house, so we had to stay in Tulsa Friday night. Hank's sister and brother-in-law picked us up Saturday morning. When we got home we had about 2 feet of snow to shovel through to get in our driveway! All, we can say now is that we are GLAD to finally be back home!

Check out all the snow! I took this off our back porch (it was the only surface that didn't have ice/snow for me to walk on!

Vacation to Florida!

2006-11-24T17:53:00.000-06:00

Suitcase, check! DVD player, check! IPOD, check! Carry-ons, check! Diaper bag..............diaper bag??

Welcome to the story of our first airplane ride and trip to the great and beautiful city of Orlando, FL. As we arrived in Orlando, FL on Sunday night, the fun all began by around 10:35 Eastern time. We gathered our luggage and board the shuttle to good ole Thrifty. Anna and Ricky decided that a midsize sedan for 5 days was going to be a bit small so we ended up with a Chrysler Town and Country minivan fully equipped with power slider doors both driver and passenger side, power lift gate in back, and flip-down DVD player in the rear area. Let me tell you, that is a great investment in rentals for youngsters, Hannah in particular. She's 2 and loves Higglytown Heroes, "that's a handy-dandy idea there Twinkle, Oh Pickles"!!

The Mystic Dunes Resort & Golf Course

After an eventful Sunday night/Monday morning, really eventful.....see www.cakevideo.com/blog for more details, we got some shut-eye and planned our next day. We basically took it easy Monday and vegged all day. That evening, we attended what we like to call the Arabian version of Dixie Stampede. We watched a very entertaining show called Arabian Nights and dined in an arena atmosphere. The show was sort of an Aladdin/Nutcracker/Christmas special. It was quite interesting and fun. To end the night, Ricky, Hank, and I departed to the World's largest McDonald's. It's whack!! They serve gourmet meals there, from Ravioli to Shrimp Pasta. I'll have the "regular" Cheeseburger please. If I want pasta, I'll go to the Wild Fork, or Olive Garden. Sadly, it wasn't the cleanest facility, and the Bubblegum ice cream isn't that great. Worth seeing though, just to say you've been there.

On Tuesday, we ventured off to Universal Studios and I must say, the parking there is very structured and planned. We appreciated that for a stress free start. Once in the park, all kinds of memories from TV came back that were once forgotten, The Lucy Show, Back to the Future, Jaws, and all kinds of other great TV legends that now seem lost amongst all the newest reality shows and what I call 1/2 star movies. They just don't seem as good as the old ones. Needless to say, Hank was gearing up for the Back to the Future ride, one of his favorite classics. The ride was fun, an actual simulated Delorean. The actual Delorean used in the movie sits roped off outside the exhibit. So much to see, yet so little time. So, we decided to retire from the park for the day and try again Wednesday.

On Wednesday, we headed back to Universal to fulfill our mission. Hank had to ride Earthquake, some fascination he had as a kid, still does kinda. Don't expect a great "thrill", but the ride was very entertaining and educational. Then, he and Ricky rode Jaws and MIB, while Anna and I walked around with Hannah. Anna and Hannah even did the "Conga" with Lucy and Ricky Ricardo! Fun day, still too much to see, but maybe we'll "fly" back to Orlando one day.

Thursday, time for the beach!! We set out for Cocoa Beach, FL, a beach almost due East of Orlando about 50 miles away. We drive more miles one way to work, so not a bad drive for us. Though we didn't get to spend but around 1 hour there, it was all worth it for our trip! Neither Hank or I have seen the ocean before, and this was our moment. It was so beautiful and the waves sound amazing. You really can't imagine it, and as cliche as it sounds, "a picture is worth 1000 words." It's surreal, and we definitely want to plan a vacation to the beach in the future. If you haven't seen the ocean, go! You must go and see one of God's many beautiful creations!

We were sad to go, but there is no place like home, and we'll always remember our first plane ride and ocean experience all in one trip! Now, to Vegas we go!!!!!!

First Plane Ride...

2006-11-24T17:32:00.000-06:00

Ok, everyone who knows me knows that I had a great fear of airplanes. I don't really know why. I've never flown before and my office building is right by the airport. So, I watch airplanes take-off and land every day. I'm guessing the fear came about after watching some Lifetime movie a long time ago where an airplane tore apart and had to land with a huge section that was blown off. It was pretty graphic and I won't go into details, as it might bring my fear back.

Anywho, I faced my fear and took my first plane ride to Orlando, Florida! I have to admit, I was pretty nervous at first, but my niece kept me busy while we entertained her in the terminal before we boarded the plane.

Once we boarded, the plane taxi'd to the runway. It gained speed and off we go into the night sky! It was amazing! I had such a great time that when we flew home, I asked to be in the window seat so I could take pictures! I appreciate everyone who wanted me to call them after we landed to see how my first flight experience went. Thanks for the support! LOL I'm now ready to fly anywhere! haha...

Check out a few pics:

Jessica's New Car!

2006-10-23T16:38:00.000-05:00

One of my best friends, Jessica, called last week saying that she was at the car dealership and about to sign papers on her new car! She bought a 2002 White Toyota Camry! It looks almost exactly like ours! We were so excited for her! She visited last weekend so of course we had to take pics by our cars!

Happy Birthday John & Butch!

2006-10-23T16:27:00.000-05:00

We celebrated John (Hank's Dad) and Butch's birthday last weekend. Crystal made a yummy Enchiladas and Mexican Casserole. She also made Strawberry Pop Cake for dessert! John really like the scrapbook explosion that I made when we were visiting Ricky, Anna, and Hannah in Texas. Thanks Anna for the Scrapbook lesson! It was a hit!

Annual Garage Sale!

2006-10-23T16:16:00.000-05:00

It seems like at least once a year we go through our closets and attic to find things for the annual garage sale! This year, we cleared out alot of clothes (mostly donated first) and sold alot of odds and ends that we didn't need anymore! Its always fun getting together and watching those early bird risers come and fight for who gets the big ticket items first! You would be surprised what some people buy and ask for at these things! We sold our bikes (we needed new ones), tv, computer desk and several other things. Hank is quite the salesmen and was able to talk up any item someone asked about! Ian even helped with the customers as well, informing them of what was for sale and what was NOT for sale (perhaps something he hadn't played with for a while ended up in the Garage Sale and he found it!) We had a great time!

The Wonderful Invention of IPOD!

2006-10-23T15:49:00.000-05:00

OK, let me make myself clear. I promised myself that I would not breakdown and join the bandwagon to buy the ever popular Apple IPOD. At least not until I can get one for 30 dollars at the Mall. What can I say, I'm a bargain shopper and refuse to pay full price! I've received quite a few good deals thinking this way.

Well, I broke my promise and bought a Video IPOD. The reason is, we are flying to Orlando and Las Vegas next month. Both in the span of two weeks - thats alot of flying. So, to keep myself occupied while in flight, I bought an IPOD! For those of you who know me, I've never flown before and need all the help I can get!

Now that we have the IPOD, we can't live without it! Our friend Cory bought me an IPOD Car FM Transmitter/Charger thing so the commute to work is filled with GREAT music w/o commercials! Even listening to it at work helps the day seem less stressful! We now can say that the IPOD was a great investment and is highly recommended for those of you who commute to work and are able to listen while at work. The Video is pretty cool too!

Vacation to Lake Texoma!

2006-09-16T11:46:00.000-05:00

We ususally take a min-vacation with Hank's family every year. This year we went to their family's lake house at Lake Texoma for the weekend. It was so nice to get away for a few days and relax! We went on the wave runner, went out on the boat and did a little fishing! Hank was the only one who caught a fish. It was a nice sized striper! We had a great time and are looking forward to going back again soon!

Happy 24th Birthday Elizabeth!

2006-09-16T11:16:00.000-05:00

Birthdays are usually a week long celebration around here. Elizabeth's birthday was on September 7. On the Saturday before her birthday, we started the celebration by going to her favorite restaurant, Olive Garden. After eating, her friends took her shopping and then went for ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery! We then visited Jessica who unfortunately had to work that night at Steak & Shake.

On Labor Day, her friends made breakfast and that evening Hank made dinner! After dinner, they surprised her with a decorated cookie with candles!

On Tuesday, Hank's family celebrated her birthday at his parents house. Our nephew, Ian helped his Aunt Lizzy blow out the candles!

On Thursday, Sept 7, Elizabeth's family took her out to eat to celebrate!

Texas Visit

2006-09-01T09:19:00.000-05:00

We visited Ricky, Anna, and Hannah this past weekend in Texas. We always have a great time hanging out with them! Hannah was especially excited to show off all her new dance moves and singing(Video coming soon)! She also played dress up and showed off her pretty hat and pink flip flops!

When we visit Texas, we never leave hungry. On Saturday, Ricky made yummy pancakes for breakfast and ribs for supper! We also ate at a new restaurant called Jobo's Hamburgers for lunch. On Sunday, we were able to join in on the ever popular IHOP Breakfast with the Gode Family!

Anna gave Elizabeth a few scrapbook lessons and taught her how to make a Scrapbook Explosion! Elizabeth was hooked on Anna's Sizzix Side Kick Machine and Letters, so Hank was nice enough to get Elizabeth a Sizzix Side Kick and a set of Alphabet Sizzlits that were Letters, Numbers and Punctuation for an early birthday present. Anna also took Elizabeth on a few shopping sprees to Hobby Lobby, Joann's, and Target!

Thanks Ricky, Anna, and Hannah for a great time!

Hannah says Lola's Name!

2006-08-31T22:22:00.000-05:00

This weekend we visited Ricky, Anna, and Hannah in Texas. I will post pictures soon. I figured out how to do videos on my new camera. We took this short clip of Hannah saying "Lola," which is Grandma in Filipino. She is so sweet!

"I'm So Cool!"

2006-08-19T14:09:00.000-05:00

Our Nephew, Ian, showed us his new Batman glasses. Too cute!

Happy 27th Crystal!

2006-08-19T14:02:00.000-05:00

We celebrated Crystal's birthday on August15. There were two yummy cakes - Red Velvet Cake and Homemade White! Hank's Dad grilled hamburgers and hotdogs too!

Happy 3rd Birthday Chili!

2006-08-07T16:24:00.000-05:00

Ok.. I know what you all are thinking.. "Happy Birthday to your Dog?" I have to admit, I wasn't exactly a dog lover until I actually had one of my own! Now, our Chihuahua is like one of the family! He is literally our kid in training! With that said, our dog celebrated his 3rd Birthday (21st in Dog Years) on July 25th.

No.. he didn't eat off the table, but he does like to take your seat before you get to sit down!

Chili opening his presents! We wrapped it in a newspaper flyer since he loves to chew up newspaper!

You Don't See This Everday...

2006-08-07T15:24:00.000-05:00

A few Saturdays ago, Hank and I took a break from doing yard work to get some lunch. We drove around for a little while until we could decide what to eat. Stroud doesn't exactly have many options, so we drove by the usual Highway 99 and Mainstreet choices. When we passed the Rock Cafe we saw these colorful automobiles. To me, I couldn't tell what kind of cars they were. To Hank "The Car Expert", these were a rare find to see around here!
Check out the Ferrari!

Happy 23rd Birthday Hank!

2006-07-19T14:13:00.000-05:00

We celebrated Hank's birthday this week/weekend. First Elizabeth's Mom and Dad took him out to eat for Chinese! One of his favorite foods! Then we celebrated with friends on Saturday by going to see Glenn Beck in Tulsa. We took Hank to Ted's Cafe Escondido, which is a very good Mexican Restaurant that just opened in Broken Arrow. Cory informed the Waiter that it was Hank's birthday and he got the whole staff as well as the Customers in the restaurant to sing Happy Birthday to him! They even gave him a sombrero to wear while they sang!

On Sunday, we had another birthday party for Hank at his Grandma's house. She is quite the cook and made a yummy "Fruit Punch" pie! On Tuesday we had his official birthday party at Hank's Mom and Dad's house. They had a cookout along with cake and ice cream! Party Party Party!

Happy 4th of July!

2006-07-07T09:55:00.000-05:00

This year we had a big cookout at our house for the 4th of July. Ricky, Anna and Hannah came up from Texas to visit. We grilled hamburgers and hotdogs with all the fixings! That night, we enjoyed watching the fireworks!

Happy 23rd Birthday Tiffany!

2006-07-03T08:56:00.000-05:00

We celebrated Tiffany's birthday in Tulsa this weekend. We watched the new Superman movie at the IMAX in 3D and the Broadway show "The Lion King." Hope you had a great birthday Tiffany!

Summer Time!

2006-06-26T08:32:00.000-05:00

It's finally summer! When we think of summer we think of cookouts, swimming, and vacation! This summer, Ian has learned how to jump into the pool and swim a little with his life jacket on. He has become quite the little fish or in his words a "shark!"

Happy 3rd Birthday Ian!

2006-06-25T23:02:00.000-05:00

Our nephew, Ian's, had his 3rd birthday this Saturday. The theme was "Thomas the Train" He was so cute. When everyone sang Happy Birthday, he hid under the table. Check out the pictures!

Darlene's Birthday!

2006-06-24T10:46:00.000-05:00

Hank's Mom, Darlene, celebrated her birthday on June 23. We gave her a birthday party at Hank's Grandma's house.

Hank's First Cookout!

2006-06-24T10:34:00.000-05:00

Hank's Dad bought himself a brand new fancy grill for Father's Day. So, he decided to give his old grill to Hank. The Lau side is very passionate about grilling! We are so excited to finally have a grill at our house. For his first cookout, I even made a patriotic cake for Memorial Day! Now, my next plan is to turn our back yard into an Oasis - HGTV style! We'll have to save up some money for a fence and patio furniture along with a few landscaping projects, but at least we are taking the first few steps!

Guys and Cars

2006-05-25T09:43:00.000-05:00

Guys LOVE cars. Need I say more?

Tulsa Getaway!

2006-05-25T09:26:00.000-05:00

After a stressful week, we decided to have a mini-vacation. We spent the weekend in Tulsa. We stayed at the DoubleTree Hotel downtown. While in Tulsa, we walked through Mayfest and listened to a few musicians. We also toured Tulsa's Concept Home - which was amazing! We ate at a few restaurants we hadn't eaten at before and visited a few car dealerships for future reference. Most of all, the weekend was full of laughs and relaxation!

Cooking with Hannah 101

2006-05-15T12:51:00.000-05:00

Hannah helped as well as showed Elizabeth how to bake brownies on Saturday for the cookout. Hannah is a Pro in the Kitchen. See for yourself!

Mother's Day

2006-05-15T12:41:00.000-05:00

We enjoyed spending time with family and especially our Mother's this weekend. Our Mothers are the GREATEST! We Love You!
Happy Mother's Day!!

Tulsa Pics!

2006-05-06T00:33:00.000-05:00

Ok.. so I decided to take my camera to Tulsa today since I was going to the office. I wanted to see how it would do with day/night pics of downtown. Downtown Tulsa looks so pretty at night. I always wanted to take pictures but didn't have a camera. So, this was a good excuse to try! We were in the car when these were taken so hopefully they turned out ok.

Here are the pictures during the day:

Here are the one's that were taken at night:

A New Camera!!

2006-05-04T20:25:00.000-05:00

Ok.. I finally bought a CAMERA! Yeah! It is a Canon PowerShot SD550 with 7.1 megapixels. I just got it out of the box and tried to take a few pictures outside before it got dark. I'll post some more after I figure out how to use it!

Trip to the Tulsa Zoo!

2006-04-28T16:38:00.000-05:00

Our family from Maryland flew in to visit over the Easter Weekend. We decided to participate in a few activities while they were in Oklahoma. We went to the Tulsa Zoo, Aquarium and ate out at many different restaurants. We all had a wonderful time!

Hunting Eggs!

2006-04-28T16:22:00.000-05:00

We had an Easter Egg hunt at the Davis's house (My Sister-In-Law, Anna's parents). They have quite a bit of land, so they decided to have the big hunt at their.

Cousin Deborah Ann, Elizabeth, Benita(Elizabeth's Mom), Anna

Cordell found an egg!

Melodie found many eggs!

Hank decided to try out the Davis's Zip Line!!

Happy Easter!

2006-04-20T17:20:00.000-05:00

Here are few pictures from the Lau side on Easter. Will post more of the Gode side soon!

Going to the Zoo!

2006-04-12T22:41:00.000-05:00

Ian and Isaiah enjoyed a trip to the Tulsa Zoo!

Getting Ready for Easter!

2006-04-11T09:33:00.000-05:00

Here is one of Hannah's Easter pics:

Here are few great video clips of Hannah getting ready for Easter!

http://www.cakevideo.com/blog/videos/springtraining.wmv

http://www.cakevideo.com/blog/videos/easter1.wmv

Babysitting!

2006-03-20T20:49:00.000-06:00

My Mom, Hank and I watched Hannah for a few hours while Ricky took Anna out for her birthday. After the initial shock of Hannah noticing that her Mommy and Daddy had left, she started settling in.

Cheese!

2006-02-08T17:24:00.000-06:00

I have realized that once a baby learns to walk, it is hard to get them to sit still for a picture. Crystal and I were able to get Ian to say "Cheese" for the camera. Once he realized how fun it was, we kept him going to try to get as many pictures as we could with everyone!

Here we go...

Hank's Grandpa's Birthday!

2006-02-08T17:20:00.000-06:00

We celebrated Hank's Grandpa's Birthday recently. It's always fun to get together and share some laughs! It was also a beautiful day that day!

Extreme Home Makeover!

2006-02-08T17:04:00.000-06:00

Every Sunday night Hank and I spend the evening watching Extreme Makeover Home Edition at his parents house. When we heard that the Extreme Makeover team was coming to Oklahoma to build a house -- we were very interested!! The show went to Dewey, Oklahoma. Some of our friends were even able to help out by painting etc. One even had a glimpse of Tye! Well, on the day of the revealing Hank and I decided that we wanted to go in person to watch. Hank loves to design houses and really wanted to see it. It was a cold and rainy day (go figure-it hasn't rained in months and it decided to rain that day, but we were very thankful for the rain). Before we were ready to leave our house around 9am for the 2 hour trip to Dewey, one of our friends called and told us not to go. He had helped that morning by directing traffic and he said that people were starting to arriving at 4am! To top that, they were only going to let around 1500 people into the area to watch it. So, we would have drove all the way up there to only be turned away! Here is the link to the house they built in Dewey. http://www.extremesimmons.com/index.htm

The day wasn't a total loss. I wanted Hank to see a house - even it if wasn't the Extreme Makeover Home Edition one. So, I called my friend Nancy who had been building a house for 3 years or so now. Nancy and her husband have been building this house by themselves outside of Skiatook, Oklahoma. It is a very beautiful home. They are currently working on the spiral staircase! We were able to visit with them, tour what they have done so far on the house and eat at the Mexican Restaurant, Senor Salsa.

Here is a picture of their own Extreme Home Makeover!

Christmas with the Gode's

2005-12-29T09:07:00.000-06:00

The Gode side celebrated Christmas at our house this year. It was a loads of fun! Hannah walked everywhere! She even helped open presents!

Here is Hank with his new Lexus Flag to hang in the garage!

Hannah opening a present.

Hannah is walking!

Hannah making sure that Dad's beard is "real"

Hannah was excited about all her new toys!

Hannah's Christmas Picture.

Christmas with the Lau's

2005-12-27T11:02:00.000-06:00

This year we had three Christmas Celebrations in two days! One with the Gode's (Elizabeth's Family), one with the Lau Grandparents, and one with the Hank's Mom and Dad. Here are some pictures of the Lau Side Christmas!

Everyone in front of the tree at Hank's parent's house.

Hank & Elizabeth

Hank opening a gift from Old Navy!

Elizabeth opening her new Coach purse from Hank!

Ian opening one of many of his Thomas the Train toys!

Ian opening a Thomas the Train set!

Hank, Ian and Elizabeth by the tree.

Hanging out in Texas!

2005-11-21T22:21:00.000-06:00

During our visit to Texas. We visited the SouthFork Ranch, went shopping at various malls, craft shows, IKEA, and ate out at few great restaurants!

Here is Elizabeth and Hannah at the Saltgrass Steak House:

Here is Hannah and Ricky at The Cheesecake Factory Restaurant.
It was very good! Highly recommended!

Here is Anna and Hannah at IKEA. There were so many things for the home in this store! We bought new bedding for the master bedroom at an excellent price! As you can see, Hannah loved this place!

Dallas!

2005-11-21T21:54:00.000-06:00

Hank and I went to Texas this weekend. Ricky and Anna were thinking of places to go that neither of us have been to. Anna suggested that we head out to SouthFork Ranch and check out the actual house that was used for the show Dallas. It was awesome! Do you have the theme music in your head yet? If not, ask Anna and she will sing/hum it for you! :-)

They only filmed the outside parts of the show at the house, and I guess the inside shots were done at a studio in California. But still, it was awesome to know that we were actually there! We had a great time! Thanks Ricky, Anna, and Hannah for taking us!

This is the entry gate that was used in the show. I think they said they would put dirt on the driveway so when they drove down it during the show dust would fly up from the cars.

Here is the SouthFork Ranch Emblem:

Here is Hank by the actual 1978 Lincoln Continental Jock Ewing used in the series:

Here is Hank and I in front of the Ewing Mansion that was filmed on the show.

Here is Ricky and Anna (Elizabeth's Brother and Sister-in-Law) on the balcony:

Here we are inside the family room:

And of course the gun the shot JR!

Our Home

2005-11-18T02:29:00.000-06:00

You've seen the inside... now here is the outside! Here are a few pictures of the outside of our house. We will be doing a few landscaping projects soon and put up Christmas Lights!! So there will be more pictures later!

After Pictures...

2005-11-17T23:38:00.000-06:00

Ok, I tried to get the color to show better in these pictures, but the lighting would not cooperate. At least you will be able to see the new arrangement of the furniture:

Here is a picture of our kitchen. We repainted it and finally bought curtains for the window.

Here is the dining room. I took this at night, so it doesn't look too good. We did get an updated light fixture and added curtains to the windows. The walls have been repainted as well.

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas....

2005-11-17T21:44:00.000-06:00

Yes, I know what your thinking, "You already put your Christmas tree up!?" We bought a new 9 ft. pre-lit tree last year after Christmas and wanted to make sure the lights worked. Chili even helped us decorate!

"Can I help?"

"Come on.. can I please put my toy on the tree? Ok, I'll just leave it under the tree."

Painting....AGAIN!

2005-11-11T20:45:00.000-06:00

OK... I know what you all are thinking. I said I wouldn't paint our house again...well at least for a while. Here's the story...We decided to get our tree down from the attic that we bought last year after Christmas. It is a 9 foot pre-lit tree. We wanted to make sure it worked and would fit somewhere in our house. We were unable to put it in the same place that we always put our Christmas Tree every year, so we decided to move the living room furniture around.

My first paint job in the living was pretty good. Except behind the Entertainment Center. I was tired of painting once I got to that point, so I just swiped a few swipes where I could reach behind it and left it like that. I figured since it was so heavy, we wouldn't move it. Well, we moved it and I needed to repaint. The leftover paint that we had didn't match at all! So, I decided to just repaint the whole living room, dining room, and finish the hallway. Yes, you are probably thinking I am crazy! I decided to go to a good paint store this time to get good "quality" paint.

So....I went to Sherwin Williams. I bought "Latte", which is a darker beige than the light yellowish beige it was before. Once I was at Sherwin Williams, I decided to repaint the dining room too (Why not? I'm already painting every other room!). Let's just say RED is hard to paint the first time, and the existing red had streaks. So, I bought "Lady Bug" red to go over it. It matched pretty well. I stayed up until about 3am last Friday and got it all done! Now.. I will say I will not paint for a LONG time! I don't have any after pictures yet, but here are some before. I will try to get the after ones up soon.

Here is the Dining Room. Can you see how the color isn't very even. Looks much better now. Will post new picture soon.

Here is part of the Dining Room, Entry and Hallway. The Hallway has never been painted. It was still the offwhite paint from the builder. The Entry was a yellowish beige.

Here is the Entertainment Center that I didn't do a good job painting behind. It has now moved to another wall and room is repainted. Will post new pic soon.

Here is the other side of the Living Room. This show's the yellowish beige better.

Happy Halloween!

2005-11-11T11:09:00.000-06:00

This year, we had a Halloween Party at our house. We handed out candy and saw everything Ghosts to Power Rangers. This year our nephew, Ian, was "Batman" and our niece Hannah, was "Raggedy Ann". Very Cute!

Celebrity Sightings!

2005-10-25T14:50:00.000-05:00

I was sitting at McAlister's Deli in Owasso, Oklahoma for lunch with my coworkers. When all of a sudden two familiar faces walk by our table and towards the door. I look up, and sure enough it looked like Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks! I start to tap (literally slap) Nancy's arm who is sitting next to me to see if it really was them. My coworkers turn around and were like, "Yeah, thats Garth Brooks." I didn't want to seem like a stalker, so I didn't chase them down the parking lot on their way out, but I thought it was so awesome that I saw them! I wish I was able to get an autograph and picture! I'll be sure to keep my eye out the next time I am in the Owasso area! Wow.. that's my excitement for the day!

Butch Turned 28!

2005-10-25T00:41:00.000-05:00

Butch's birthday was Oct. 21. They had a party at Crystal's house last weekend.

Cake anyone??

OU vs. OSU

2005-10-25T00:34:00.000-05:00

Here is Crystal and Elizabeth showing their team spirit!

A Day at Grandma's!

2005-10-16T21:17:00.000-05:00

Ian Paine(our nephew) and Isaiah Wright (Billy & Kristi's Son and our Cousin) had a wonderful time at Grandma's today. Billy and Isaiah visited for the weekend from Arkansas. Ian and Isaiah caught up on old times, climed trees, and played Batman, Spiderman, Power Rangers, and Thomas the Train! Isaiah also showed us his cart wheels and flips! It was nice to see you guys again!

Fall is Here!

2005-10-14T02:30:00.000-05:00

Well, Summer is over and Fall is here. We have to say that Spring and Fall are our favorite seasons! They aren't too hot or cold. It's just perfect! Halloween is almost here and soon it will be Thanksgiving!

Here is our Chihuahua, "Chili" during his Fall pictures. He is ready for that cooler weather so he can roll around in the leaves!!

Hannah's 1st Birthday Party

2005-10-04T21:26:00.000-05:00

Hannah Grace had her first birthday party at our house this year. Elizabeth's mom bought her a pink Care Bear that was bigger than Hannah! Hannah ate cake, played with her guests and watched Baby Einstein!! She is growing up so fast! Happy Birthday Hannah Grace!

Stroud's Homecoming!

2005-10-04T20:56:00.000-05:00

Friday, September 30th, was Stroud's Homecoming. Tiffany and I went "tried" to go to the football game, but due to extreme lightning everyone rushed to the Stroud's Auditorium to finish the Homecoming coronation. Since it kept pouring down rain, we decided to leave. Once Hank came home from work (he had to work late) we decided to go back to the game before the half-time show started. Unfortunately, Stroud lost to Beggs.

On a good note, we were able to see a few friends that were down briefly for the weekend!

Cory Ingram, Jessica Trudell, Elizabeth Lau, and
Barbie Smalley in front of Barbie's New 2005 Jeep
Wrangler! It was nice!

Hank, Elizabeth, Jessica, and Cory in front of Cory's
new 2005 Mustang!

Interior Decorating 101...

2005-09-27T11:13:00.000-05:00

Ok, after about 3 tries I finally found a paint color that I liked for my office! First, it was the original color that the builder chose. An off-white color. I decided to paint it bright yellow. After about 3 weeks I said to myself, "What was I thinking!?" You had to basically wear sunglasses when you walked in the room and you never want to turn the ceiling light on because after a while the walls would begin to glow!

So, I decided to repaint the office again. This time a brown color called "chocolate coco" . My brother gave me the name and color of a paint that I could buy at Home Depot. I called Hank and told him to pick it up after work and I would paint the next day. Well, once we opened the cans, we noticed it was very dark. Darker than we thought. It resembled hershey's chocolate. I figured maybe after the paint dried, it would get lighter. Needless to say it didn't. I finished the room and waited a few days to get a few other opinions from visitors. They all said, "It's a very pretty color, but the room is too small." So... I decided to paint again....

Hank and I went to Home Depot a few days later and we played with the computer that lets you paint rooms. After debating on many paint swatches, we decided on "Toffee Crunch." It is much lighter than "Chocolate Coco" yet still beige/brown.

Sorry.. due to the quick time frames between painting, I didn't get any pictures of the Chocolate Coco or the Yellow, but I can give you the original and finished room pictures. I also decided to paint our Master Bathroom the same color.

Here is the Bathroom:

Look Who Turned 2!

2005-09-20T20:44:00.000-05:00

Our Nephew, Ian Taylor Paine, turned 2 years old on June 27, 2005. He is such a sweetie! Ian is always on the go exploring new things. He had a Blue's Clue's Themed Birthday Party!

The Many Expressions of Hannah Grace

2005-09-20T19:39:00.000-05:00

These are some of our favorite series of pictures of our Niece, Hannah Grace Gode. She was in the process of receiving her first TOOTH! Luckily her Mommy (Anna) was able to find some teething Gel that helped soothe her pain. As you can see by her expressions, she wasn't quite sure what to think at first, but as soon as the medicine kicked in she was great! Hannah is so precious. She can always put a smile on your face!

Our Chihuahua "Chili Releno Lau"

2005-09-19T12:23:00.000-05:00

As most of you know we have a Chihuahua named "Chili." He's is very hyper yet very sweet. He is also very spoiled! We adopted him about 2 years ago from Luv-A-Pet in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. He keeps us busy, but we love him!

Elizabeth's 23rd Birthday!

2005-09-18T09:36:00.000-05:00

Elizabeth turned 23 on Sept. 7th. We celebrated ALL month by spending time with family and friends! One night we had a party at the Lau's house. Another night, we ate dinner with her parents at Mazzios. Yesterday, Sept. 17th, we went to the Oklahoma State Fair with Tiffany Morris, Cory Ingram, John Sowers, Jessica Trudell and Nick McKenzie. After the fair we went to Zios to eat. (Elizabeth's favorite food is Italian) Her birthday was finished off with numerous lunches at her office in Tulsa. Everyone had a great time!

Hank turned 22!

2005-09-18T09:27:00.000-05:00

Hank's birthday was July 18. Hank loves cars, so we celebrated his 22nd birthday with a Lexus themed party. I bought him a book about the story of Lexus. We all had a great time!

Vacation to Quartz Mountain

2005-09-18T09:16:00.000-05:00

It is hard for Hank to schedule vacation since he has to earn it monthly. So, once he finally saved up enough vacation time, we decided to plan a trip! Since our Wedding Anniversary (Aug. 30)and my birthday (Sept. 7) are close together we decided to celebrate both by going on vacation in between those days. We went to the Quartz Mountain Resort, which is by Altus, Oklahoma. It was very pretty down there and you wouldn't even think that their are mountains in Oklahoma! Check out a few picures that we took! The view was amazing!

Joined The Blogger Club!

2005-09-18T09:13:00.000-05:00

Well, after seeing our friends and family keep contact with everyone through blogs, Hank and I decided to give it a try. I decided to use something simple like the www.blogger.com site to start one up since we are so busy and would not have time to setup one from scratch. We hope to keep the site as current as possible!