Mindless Juices

Today is our anniversary. At least, for a little while longer. Thanks to Curtis and Rae, we enjoyed a GREAT steak dinner at Firebird's Grill, our favorite steak place. I got the meatloaf because it came with the sides I was craving. I figured, if some chef thought these sides went great with the meatloaf, then the meatloaf must go great with the sides. So, you could say I ordered the Spiced Pecan String Beans and Golden Mashed Potatoes with a side of meatloaf. Well, and it's not just meatloaf... It's Buffalo Meatloaf. Anyway, we also decided to spend our anniversary in Lynchburg, city of our engagement and wedding. We decided this only a couple of days ago. But, our friends still said, "No problem, come visit!" So, we took a pretty leisurely drive up and arrived at Nick and Kelli's. The ladies left for a baby shower for Kelli. Nick and I were hoping to be joined by other men who were not attending the shower, but they all had other stuff to do. So, Nick and I played a massive game of Mario Party 4. The maximum game length of 50 turns. We got turn 41 when the ladies returned and we had to leave for a cook out @ Tim and Annie's parents' farm. We paused it to finish later. Annie's dad and Tim (and I'm sure other people) converted the barn and area around it into a perfect outdoor wedding/reception area... complete with serving line, electric lighting and fans and an man-made lake & beach, though the beach washed away in the recent rains because they never finished landscaping the area above it. The mud washed down over the sand and washed it into the lake. Anyway, we ate lots and spent time with good friends and their family. It was pretty cool to be welcomed to this "event" considering we sort of crashed it as somewhat spontaneous guests of Nick & Kelli. The farm was beautiful, the company was great and the food was pretty much neverending. Then, we returned to Nick & Kelli's for some board games. After everyone left, Nick and I finished our massive game of Mario Party 4 with a lot of stars which, I hope, helped unlock more of the game for him. All in all, it was a pretty good, very fun, and relatively cheap anniversary... all because we've got some of the best friends in the world. Thanks to everyone who spent time with us or helped us spend time together this weekend.