Easter Weekend!

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For the first time in 9(ish) months, Christine and I did the unTHINKable: visit Cincinnati!!!

Easter weekend turned out to be a pretty perfect weekend for us to come home and hang out with the fams before the wedding. And of course to hang this pretty cool event on Saturday: our wedding shower. We were blessed enough to have wonderful family to plan an event of this magnitude for us, and we were even more blessed to have people actually show up to the thing! And how many grooms can say they were cool enough to go to the wedding shower? Not many, dawg. I guess that means I’m in a class all by myself. Since Christine and I did so many different things before the main event, I’ll just talk briefly about that and put some good ol’ pictures up for those of you were weren’t there, those of you who were there and want to reminisce, or those of you who were there and want to forget.

Food seemed to be a main attraction: mini cheese coneys, mini Larosa’s pizza, and Montgomery Inn ribs. Nothing better than some good old Cincinnati style food. I couldn’t pry my friends Justin, Tyler, and Nate away from the food all night, so I think it’s safe to say those three didn’t go home hungry. For those of you who made/brought/prepared this food: Thanks! It was delicious, and perfect for the occasion.

Now to the ‘awkward part.’ Christine and I had answered questions about each other separately before the shower, and my Aunt Sue compiled them into a question session. For any questions I got wrong that Christine answered, I had to put a grape in my mouth, and for any Christine got wrong, she had to put a piece of gum in her mouth. Let’s just say that both of us had quite the mouthful after the question session was over!

To all who came/sent their regards: thanks so much! Christine and I really appreciate everything you all have done for us throughout our relationship, and we’re finally getting close to the Wedding day!! We both were excited to see everyone and can’t wait till May to see everyone again!

Mayhaus Invasion!

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Since almost everyone else made a trip up to New York since we’ve moved here, it was about time for some Mayhausian influence to arrive in the City that never sleeps.   As the seasons changed from winter to spring, New York City was greeted by three smiling Mayhaus women: Emily, Christina, and Stephanie (see picture below).

Unfortunately, the weather didn’t really cooperate with us the first night or the last day they were visiting us.  Naturally, the first stop I made the girls take was the trek through the bustling streets of Times Square to Christine and my favorite pizza place: John’s Pizzeria.  Those of you who’ve been following this blog might remember seeing and hearing the glorious sights and sounds of “John’s Pizzeria,” as this is a definite stop on any NYC visit.  After eating more than our fill of delicious greasy pizza, we met up with Christine, when we began to walk around in the rain, with the brilliant idea of trying to find desert to eat.  Whosever idea that was, I’m really not sure, but a soaked hour later, we finally got some ice cream in the West Village.  Worth it?  Maybe.  Did it taste good?  Most Definitely.

Since some of us have to drive on the economy and had to work on the next day (a Friday), we went home and just hit the hay.  I can’t really comment on what occurred next, except that, even after extensive directions were given out, somehow the girls managed to get lost within the 3 blocks it takes to get to the bus to New York.  Amazing, I know, especially if you know Emily and Stephanie.  Friday night Christine and I hosted our second Fish Fry at our Church, which turned into another successful event.  The girls got to meet our cool and hip friends, and see how utterly cool and popular Christine and I have become while living in New York.  That night we met up with Jeremy to hit up some even cooler places and showed them a great time at Blockheads and Vinyl.  Vinyl even had bathrooms that were dedicated to a famous musician, being Cher, Elvis, and Nelly.  Why they picked these three characters as people to style bathrooms around, I’ll never know, but it was kind of funny to see a bathroom decked out in all that is Nelly.

Saturday was the typical “Do Work” day.  This was the sight-seeing day that all people can only dream about until they spend time with Christine and I.  I feel like I’ve written about all of these things before: the World Trade Center site, St. Paul’s Chapel, Battery Park, the Brooklyn bridge, New York Town Hall, the Financial District…..the list goes on an on.  One highlight of this trip was the trip to Battery Park, where the girls all bought purses from the people stationed on the street.  The girls used words like “a rush,” or “a high” when describing how it felt to negotiate for these purses from these guys, but my experience was more like “boring” and “dumb.”  But hey, women be shopping, so there’s nothing you can do about it.  I think all the girls ended up with more stuff than what they came with.  We hit up China Town (after I got a little turned around), and ate a lovely dinner in Little Italy.  We went to the same restaurant that we went with Charlie, and had another wonderful experience. 

    

After dinner (and after taking a break from all the walking), we went to a comedy show at Upright Citizens Brigade.  These shows are sketch comedy, much liked to the hit ABC comedy Who’s Line is it Anyway? with that silly clown Drew Carey and everyone’s favorite funny man, Wayne Brady.  UCB is most definitely better than Who’s Line, and I feel like the girls had a great time.  We hooked up with our friends Ben, Jenny, and Jeremy for the show.  We pretty much passed out after that, asleep by the time our heads hit the pillow. 

A lot was done that weekend, many sights were seen, and much fun (I hope) was had.   Christine and I are lucky enough to live in a place where everyone finds an excuse to visit, so we feel like we’re close to everyone still.