Saturday, September 27, 2008

Last Weekend

Last weekend was a special weekend. A bunch of family and friends got together to take Shelsea out for her birthday. It was a fun time. I was even able to score the company car for a DD ride there and back. That may not seem like a big deal I guess, but the restaurant is about 40 mins away in Phoenix. (VIP - that's how we roll) The white Lincoln Towncar went all the way to south Gilbert first to pick up the birthday girl, stopped by our place and we headed off to Bacchanal's Greek restaurant. We've been going there for Shels' birthday for a number of years now. We have tried a couple new places along the way, but eventually we come back to Bacchanal's. Its always fun and this year did not disappoint. I can't say I've ever had the food there actually. We've always just gotten lots of appetizers and that always seems like enough. They've added a couple cool things to freshen up the entertainment. For one, the belly dancer that was there, the owner's wife, finally retired. Whew! - This is good news as she was getting slightly..um.. well... it's a good thing. Trust me. They also added a trio of girls who do the traditional greek dance. And of course, the owner always leads us all in the plate breaking and line dance around the restaurant and out to the parking lot. It's always fun there.






Happy Birthday to Shelsea, one of my favorite people! We hope the night was special for you! Her and her husband Mike are great friends, we love them dearly! :o) More photos from that night.






Another interesting side note about Bacchanal's is that it was the location and occasion of a first date for us. 5 years ago, I took Craig as my date to Shel's birthday event. He sat close to the dance floor which made him an obvious target for the belly dancer. She drug him out to the floor where apparently he performed a very unique interpretive dance. For me. However, I was in the restroom and didn't get to see it. I'm told its for the best, if I had seen it, we might not have had a second date! He won't do it again for me, he says he's retired and sits at the opposite end of the dance floor!



post signature

Monday, September 22, 2008

Charlotte, NC

As you know, last weekend we hopped on a plane and headed East to North Carolina to visit Susan & Geoff Brown, per previous random Memphis post. Perhaps the best summary of our trip is actually on the Gibson's blog - Great job Laura! - but we also wanted to post some of our favorite photos from the weekend. We had lovely weather for the entire time, so I think the Riebe weather curse could be lifting. Maybe this comes with the May addition of a new, sunnier Riebe :o)


Anyway, we had a great time, thanks so much to our hosts who thought of everything. The first day we toured several wineries in the area. We tasted such a lovely Riesling at the second winery; I loved it so much we had some shipped back to Arizona. It has arrived, but UPS has custody of it now, since you need a signature to have it delivered. Wine gets better when it sits in a 200deg warehouse somewhere doesn't it, I think I heard that somewhere.


Day 2 was fun on the Brown's boat! Craig and I really missed just being out on a boat these last couple of years, so it was great to get out on a lake again and their boat is fabulous. To the right is Matt Gibson doing his 'shark'. Just as the sun was setting, we pulled into the dock to find all of Susan's friends there waiting to celebrate her 30th birthday. Geoff did an amazing job planning this special event for her, and she was totally surprised!

One of the many cool things about our trip was the Bears-Panthers game we went to on Sunday. Thanks (again) to Geoff, we had amazing seats! I've never been to a professional football game before, it was so cool to actually be there for it. Very different than watching it on TV, that's for sure - the game seems to go by so quickly when you're there? On TV, and when Craig's watching the games all day long, they seem to never end?


Thanks again to Susan & Geoff for having us at their lovely home. We had a wonderful time, and their puppy, Jasper is adorable! It was also so great to see the Gibsons, and the Hunts too. Good spending time with everyone... when Craig and I finally buy a home, you are all welcome for a visit. Maybe sometime in the winter months! You can see all of our photos from the weekend here.

post signature

Monday, September 15, 2008

New Arrival





This post is a bit overdue! Back In August, Craig's cousins, Aaron and Dena Fellows welcomed their baby girl Zoe Jean. They were kind enough to send some photos and, of course, she's just gorgeous. She seems to have features from Mommy and Daddy. Mom and Baby are doing well, so Congratulations to the Fellows family, we are very happy Zoe is here!






Thursday, September 11, 2008

Memphis or Bust!

Didn't someone famous say that? Was it Elvis?
Craig and I are sitting in the Memphis airport waiting for our connection to North Carolina, where we will visit with several friends he went to college with. Should be fun as long as the weather holds. Craig/Matt H./Matt G./Geoff B. are known for bringing the rain though.


Several observations we are making as we sit at the bar. I've seen about 5 people with rolled up sleeping bags. What is this for? Do they hop in the bag whilst on the plane? Craig said maybe they are taking a flight to go camping. Wha? Camping, with no other gear, just the bag? I think not. It's weird.



Additionally, while Vic was heading to the restroom, I observed 2 45 year old men arguing about where one can find the best BBQ, KC or Memphis. Further, the guy behind me was putting 2k on the Tarheels in tonights football game. Matt Hunt summed it up best when he said, "Detroit is dead so I vote Memphis as the nations shadiest town."


NOTE: Clearly there were several contributors to this post. I said Riebe had the rain curse and he added the rest of his crew.

post signature

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Our Brittany





I have been dreading this post, seems like it isn't going to be any easier to write anytime soon. So, I'm sure I will drippy, teary cry my way through it. I feel like I should write something about our beloved cocker spaniel Brittany. Last weekend, we took her to the vet after her appetite had gradually waned to nothing in about 5 days. The Vet was not overly concerned with her status, just treated her for a stomach ailment and sent us on our way with two kinds of medicine. But in the days that followed, she got so sick, so quickly. At 5:30am on Monday, as I slept with her on the floor, I could feel that she'd given up. After walking around deleriously from what we now know was a crazy high fever, she eventually came over to me and collapsed. I scooped her up and Craig and I rushed her to the animal hospital while she was gasping for air. We knew she had tumors and possibly any one of many issues related to age. It was very clear that we only had one option and soon the gasping stopped and wrapped up in her creamy colored soft banket, my pretty little girl was asleep.
That moment happened so fast, with minutes to say goodbye.



B-Dizzle was a gift to me on my 19th birthday and she was just that, a precious gift. We'd been through so much together. A first wedding, two pregnacies, two babies, a divorce, broken hearts, job lay-off, new job and finally a happy marriage. She was very used to my tears in her fur, that's for sure. Craig thinks Brittany was able to let go because she knew I would finally be ok now. Maybe that's true.




Brittany was the most beautiful, loyal dog ever. She always seemed to know when I was sick and would stay with me. I feel like I lost a best friend. As much as I knew she wouldn't be around forever, I still wasn't prepared for this overwhelmingly sad feeling. I love her so much. We'll love you forever Brittany.

post signature