2010 In Review, Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of the Johnny & Stephanie 2010 Recap! The last six months of the year were way less exciting than the first six (and also contain far less pictures). Here's what we've been doing:

July
Johnny had a birthday (he's rapidly approaching old age) and started the (never-ending) process of moving to the house. The pool was still looked like this:

Alas, it couldn't last.

August
My friend Greer moved to Oklahoma for graduate school; this means I have someone other than Johnny to hang out with. (This is significant!)

October
While there were no exotic travels in October, there were plenty of local activities to keep us busy. We hit the Tulsa State Fair, a pre-season NBA game, and Oktoberfest. And don't forget my birthday! (I am way less ancient than Johnny.)

Building at the fairgrounds.

This is what $10 tickets gets you.

Mmm, Warsteiner.

November

I met Johnny's father's side of the family over Thanksgiving weekend in Fort Worth, Texas. Despite reminding me, Johnny forgot his Six Flags season pass, so no post-turkey rides on the Batman coaster for us. :( Highlights from weekend include Johnny's young cousin Landon asking me if I was now his [Landon's] cousin and Johnny's grandmother asking me if my parents' divorce "messed [me] up for life". 

December

December was somewhat uninspired; we traveled to Fort Worth again for a Christmas celebration with Johnny's mother's family who were all very nice and didn't ask me weird questions about my parents' divorce. (Although his grandfather did make very potent mimosas.) We saw Tron: Legacy, which was awful, and had a long chat with Johnny's cousin Jill about Ke$ha. (I blame the mimosas!) Other December highlights: I got a new job, I finally replaced The Blazer with a Subaru Forester, and my mom gave us a cat clock that meows on the hour. 

What a year 2010 was! I'm looking forward to 2011- we have some major ideas we're kicking around! What do you all have planned?

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2010 In Review, Part 1

As 2011 approaches, I've been reflecting on all that's happened in 2010. It's been an interesting and busy year for us- here's what we were up to in the first six months of the year.

January

Memphis skyline

Late in the month, we traveled to Memphis, Tennessee to see the Grizzlies play the Oklahoma City Thunder. It was a exciting game that resulted in the Grizzlies winning with a buzzer shot. 

FedEx Forum, home of the Memphis Grizzlies

We stayed at the gorgeous Peabody hotel, where a front desk clerk desperately tried to sell us on a larger room. We caught the ducks marching to the fountain in the mornings and had a lovely brunch before we left. 

The lobby fountain at the Peabody

Our nights were spent trekking around Beale Street in pursuit of a fried chicken restaurant, which we eventually found but didn't dine at. Instead, we ate barbecue at Rendezvous (best dry ribs ever) and Interstate BBQ (enormous portions) and had too many hurricanes at Rum Boogie. 

Food, drinks, and blues.

March

I returned to Tennessee to attend a Muse concert with my BFF Amy. There was a lot of debauchery, but the real highlight was when I tried to jump a security gate to get to the floor seats! Johnny remembers this trip because I drunk dialed him after the show. 

Amy (left) and I enjoying some drinks in downtown Nashville.

April

For lack of anything better to do, Johnny and I spent Easter weekend in Topeka, Kansas, visiting the state capitol, Brown vs. Board Historic Site, and pizza restaurants. We stayed at the very nice Capitol Plaza Hotel. 

View of the Capitol Building from our hotel room.

Half the building was under construction.

We also rode the kiddie train at a local park, which was both awkward and fun. Plus, we found this cool rhino there, and Johnny was able to continue his tradition of posing with weird statues wherever we go.

That's what Johnny really looks like.

May

May found us camping at El Dorado State Park in El Dorado, Kansas. The weather was beautiful, our campsite on the lake was serene, and the hot dogs we roasted on the campfire were great. The only problem was a really sketchy SUV that pulled into the campsite across from us, parked there for half an hour, then left. The gusts of wind that swept through the park all night didn't help either; I was pretty sure sketchy SUV was full of serial killers and the noisy wind made me think they were ripping at our tent. 

Johnny sets up the tent.

Memorial Day Weekend found us in Texas, visiting Johnny's parents and riding everything possible at Six Flags Over Texas. We got season passes, which sadly, didn't get used again. (Tears)

Get there early enough and there are no lines!

June

Johnny met the entirety of my extended family at my cousin's wedding in New York this month. Aunts, uncles, cousins, third cousins, family friends- everyone was in attendance. There was an open bar at both the rehearsal dinner and the reception; I went a bit overboard on the gin & tonics, but luckily, Johnny kept me in line. 

Lesson learned: Stephanie doesn't need an open bar.

We stayed at the super-chic Hotel Indigo near the Albany airport and when we weren't doing wedding stuff, we had a grand time eating our way through the city. 

Neat hotel lobby.

Orchard Tavern- it's been in business longer than OK has been a state.

Emack & Bolio's Ice Cream

What did you guys do during the first half of the year?

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