Nothing big, nothing fancy. But altogether wonderful.

This weekend was great. In light of last year's Valentine's event, and our current financial status, I knew it would be a fairly low-key celebration. But I knew we'd have a blast, and it would be utterly relaxing.

Friday night we watched X Men 2. We're going through film and TV series again, and it's super fun. Saturday was a very slow and lovely day. We slept in, made brunch, watched X Men 3, and took a nap. At which point we had 15 minutes to get ready to "go out" for the evening. I managed, somehow, to not look like I'd just awakened from a nap and off we went. Olive Garden was our destination of choice and after an hour plus wait, we got our table. Our server, Seth, was awesome; super friendly and very real, none of this fake I-Want-A-Good-Tip stuff.

Example:
Kyle said, "Tonight must be really good for you..." [meaning for tips]
Seth said, "Yeah, it's not bad, but I'd much rather be sleeping right now."
We agreed with him, and could not fault his honesty.

The food was delicious: Chicken and Gnocchi in Veronese sauce for Kyle and Four-Cheese Mezzaluna with Sausage for me. I didn't think I liked sausage, but Kyle convinced me I did. Plus, I knew if I didn't like it, we'd switch dishes and it'd be fine. We ended up loving both, and thus going halvsies. A true marriage, right? Sharing everything?

Afterward, we headed to a tiny venue for the Griffin House concert. I'd been looking forward to it for nearly a month since Liz mentioned he'd be in town. Upon arriving, we discovered five of my Bible study friends and a few other friends from school. It was hilarious and awesome. Well-timed, since the week prior the Bible Study girls had begun to doubt if I'd really gotten married. None of them had met Kyle. Now I have proof he's real--and for those who weren't present at the concert, the ones there can attest to his existence.

Sunday brought a whole different kind of fun. We woke up early to drive home for a true Gottschalk party, with Leslie and Calli recently arrived from the West. Brian, Raendra, and Clayton were around as well as Emily and Evan. And although mom was not well enough to join us for church, lunch, or an afternoon of games, we did manage to have dinner and a game or two with her later. So much food. Wow. It was like Thanksgiving and Christmas all over again. Before getting home, we even squeezed in some time to be with Kyle's parents and discuss Lost. Which was awesome.

Thus, our first official Valentine's day was full of things we love: great food, music, friends, and family. Nothing could have been better!

Christmas Bash

First, we hit up the Wilson Bash on Christmas Eve, amidst flooding water that turned to ice before we left the party. Christmas Day held more fun with the Wilsons, and then two pretty relaxing days by ourselves. Sunday brought the Gottschalk Family Christmas (much like the Griswold Family Christmas, I think). And when the Gottschalks plan a party, you know it's gonna be a real doosey. Evan brought over a duffel full of board and card games and some new ones for his Wii. Rock Band was a hit with the guys of the house and here are a few pics to prove it.

The following configuration is what Em & I deemed the greatest Rock Band: Kyle on vocals, Ev on guitar, and Franz on the drums. However, everybody tried out each instrument and had a fabulous time. Maddie could not stop staring at everyone while they performed. Eventually, she began singing along with the likes of Bon Jovi's "Living on a Prayer". It was awesome.



I do have (ahem) some video of great performances, should anyone be interested in short clips of the greatest band.
:o)

True to form, the nieces were also extremely entertaining. Precious and Precocious, both.

Maddie created innumerable works of art, some of which she cut out with precision using big people scissors. It was astounding and incredible. She's very much into creating cartoonish animals with large faces/noses, like the Littlest Pet Shop crew.

She also drew a detailed picture of disco dance party of my friends and I, only I wasn't dancing "because she didn't much feel like it" (according to the artist). This treasure is going up in my office as soon as I get back! The disco theme came from the ElfYourself videos floating around the Internet.

Little Katie is always entertaining with her antics. Very upset by a blister on her heal, it didn't really stop her from body slamming Evan or climbing around on furniture, telling the story of her new book Pinkalicious! or other crazy goings on. She's very cuddly at times, and still manages to be the most ornery little tyke I know.

It was a Polly Pocket Christmas for the girls, each receiving three different sets, and they had a BLAST setting it all up last night.

I was sad to leave last night, not really knowing when I'll see the Littles and Emily & Franz again. I usually take a trip out in the spring or summer, but am not sure it's possible this year. However, this Christmas was so special with both families able to celebrate with everyone. I feel like that situation may become increasingly rare as the years go by, so I'm thankful for what we got this First Christmas as marrieds. It was so much fun and yet relaxing at the same time.

Holiday travel update

I know it's been over a week since I last posted. Too true. My only excuse is that I was road-tripping to North Carolina again, this time with Leslie.

We stayed with the Edwards' near Charlotte and thoroughly enjoyed the southern cookin', warm weather, and general hilarity of being with that family.

The trip takes 10 hours each way. It's much easier with a driving partner, and yet...by the end of yesterday's driving, Leslie and I were ready to be done with each other. We still have two days where we are each other's only conversation partner, and we're making it. Today passed by quickly with sleeping in, vacuum sealing my windows with two-sided tape, plastic, and a hair dryer, taking a 5-mile walk, and doing four loads of laundry. She's going out tonight to a friend's and I'm staying in to soak up the "me" time and get some music swapping done from her laptop to my computer. I love sharing music.

I'm tired, though, and ready to see other people. I have a date planned with Leslie D., one with Amanda, and hopefully I'll see a few other old school people while in Roch. We're excited for Evan's birthday gaming fun on New Year's Eve, too.