November 2, 2009

Anniversary Adventure.

Chris and I were planning on going out for our Anniversary last night, and we'd talked about maybe dinner at the Irish Pub by our house and then possibly a movie? You know... something nice and relaxing and traditional as far as dates go?

sidenote: this is what i wore. I LOVE this vintage dress.


But then, at the last minute, we got a text from Joel saying that the band Owl City was playing an unadvertised show at the OU campus in Norman for FREE, and that the doors were opening in about an hour.

Chris' mom came to watch the kids as planned, we grabbed a granola bar from the cupboard for dinner, and then we raced down to Norman (about 30 minutes away) so that we could get in to the show in time.

We stood in a huge line, piled in to a stinky gymnasium with approximately 6 trillion college students and their 6 trillion iphones, and then we sat. For a looooooooong time.





There was something SO SO eerie and disturbing and downright creepy about seeing all those young faces illuminated by the glow of their mini facebook and twitter pages. I felt like I wanted to run away and live in the wilderness for the rest of my days.

The opening band finally came on and they were... not my favorite.

(hey look! i pulled an accidental Newsom in this shot! yesssss!)


Moving on.

After they played their set, we waited some more. The guy setting up the Owl City gear was moving at the pace of about 1 foot per year, and my legs were going numb from being crammed into the 5 inches of space I was allotted on my gymnasium torture device bench.

Then Owl City came on, and all of my cares and troubles disappeared.

They were SO good.

We had to leave after a few songs so that we could get back to the house and sleeping children at a decent hour, but we left feeling totally inspired and pumped.

We stopped in to a place called 'Fat Sandwich' before we hopped in the car, because it was the only place open and we were FAMISHED.

Joel ate a Chicken Donut. As kind of a joke. But the joke was on him. Because HE ATE A DONUT WITH CHICKEN AND CHEESE INSIDE OF IT.



hahahahhaha.

Chris and I ate a sandwich roll with chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, gyro meat, and french fries inside of it.



(The joke was also on us.)

UGH. SO gross.

It was an anniversary that I will not forget. Because it was full of adventure and fun and laughter and good music.

Dinner and a movie would not have provided such an evening, I am pretty sure.

Do any of us REALLY enjoy dinner/movie cookie-cutter evenings out like that? I mean, I know we all SAY that we do because we're supposed to say that we do, but does anyone else feel like they are kindof... boring? And wastes of money?

The only time I really enjoy dates like that is when we end up having really really good conversations while we're out. But, when you think of it, fancy restaurants and movie theatres aren't exactly good places to have those great, heartfelt conversations. It's like you have to have those conversations in spite of those places.

I'm thinking I want to have more picnic dates. Or dates where you drive all over town trying to find hot tubs to sneak in to. Or dates where you put a big bottle of wine on your kitchen table and a stack of index cards with really good and important questions on them and you don't get up until both are finished.

Maybe we will make this 'Anniversary Adventure' idea a tradition from now on.

Because, you only live once! Might as well do something that makes you feel like you're actually alive, right?

Right.

10 comments:

mrs boo radley said...

So funnay, Emery!

I was at a gathering this weekend and I don't think I saw anyone's faces because they were all hidden by the iPhones.

When's the bus leaving for the wilderness?

IndianaJones said...

I'm so with you on the iphone epidemic. When we went to the Sunny Day show earlier this year I kept thinking...are these kids even listening?...they were so busy facebooking and twittering every second of the show! Made me feel old, and yes like I wanted to run for the woods ;)

I'm also with you on the dating action...adventure wins out for me.
Also, have you been listening to Over the Rhine? The wine bottle on the table reminded me of the lyrics from a particular favorite of mine.
and finally....you're cute.

K.I. said...

I like dinner dates, particularly if they're at a nice restaurant, but only because those are the places that are usually the quietest. And I get to dress up! But movies, not so much. BORING! I think my dream date would be a nice dinner and a walk.
Congrats on your anniversary! Here's to many, many more! Blessings to you and your precious little family, Emery.

Zimms Zoo said...

I agree on the dinner/movie thing. I do enjoy it with a group of girls that are seeing a chick flick but otherwise not so much. It feels so overdone. We send the kids to other houses and stay here a lot and cook our own meal (where no one is begging for a bite) and just enjoy being with each other in the quiet.

It sounds like you had a fun night.

Joel Limpic said...

let the warning trumpet resound throughout the land: the chicken donut was a BAD idea.

stina said...

the over the rhine wine thing is something they did when their marriage was falling apart. their heartwarming story is in the jacket of drunkard's prayer. it's a great idea, i agree!
movie dates are fun when you get in for free or go early enough in the day to still do something active after.
chicken and cheese are good on chips! i'd probably like them in a donut though.

and, dear emery and all her readers! you must check out glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com
even if you're not a gluten free eater, the recipes are SO GOOD!!
i was looking for something good to have as breakfast for lunch with my boyfriend, came across this: http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2008/10/pumpkin-waffles.html and thought of you, emery.
you should also try her african bean and sweet potato soup.

I am Bethany. said...

1) the best date I've been on was a bubble-gum-blowing-competition on a playground at sunset.
2) the second best date I've been on was taking a homemade hot lunch to my boyfriend when he was too swamped to leave work to go out.
3) the worst date i've been on was in a nice restaurant when the boy wouldn't answer the questions on my index cards. haha!

Amanda said...

Ideal date would be a great dinner and a walk around London. This weekend we drove about three hours from my mom's house back to ours and talked the whole way, amped off of energy drinks and Halloween. I considered it a date.

KillerB said...

What an awesome anniversary date, Emery! I betcha you'll remember that night more vividly than if you had stuck to your original plans (not that I don't enjoy a good dinner/movie night from time to time). Very fun-- I love reading about the adventures you have with your kiddos, I'm happy to see the attention you and your husband reserve for one another as well! Thanks for sharing!

Charlotte said...

I enjoy Owl City as well! How fun that you got to see them. :)

Adventure dates are the BEST. I love going out to eat, but the traditional dinner and a movie? You hit the nail on the head: boring. Last night, hubs and I had a date to Buffalo Wild Wings to play trivia and it was a blast!