Sunday, October 25, 2009

omaha retreat at the branyans

joel and i just returned this evening from a lovely long weekend in omaha nebraska with josh and julie branyan. we slept in, ate out, played video games, kareoked in their living room, were introduced to 'the big bang theory' series, (if you've ever seen this sitcom you'll know why joel loves it so much!) and watched eme and murray fight over bones and whine at each other. it was just what joel and i needed to recharge us this fall and hopefully the branyans enjoyed it as much as us!

here are some highlights i kept track of all weekend to blog about:
1. we had a 10 hour drive each way - so joel and i listened to mary higgins clark's 'on the street where you live' murder mystery. it was 9 hours of fun! this was the first time either of us had listened to a book on tape (since we were five and listened to mr. mcgregor's garden...) and really enjoyed the suspense and talking over 'who dunnit' together - i would recommend this book for a long carride or just an enjoyable weekend read
2. we went out to eat lunch at a local mexican restaurant. as the waitress was taking our order she looked directly at me and said 'you look exactly like my doctor.' amid all the thoughts and responses running through my head i said 'oh, thank you!' - what i wanted to say was 'i'm not even old enough to be a doctor' or 'how have you been feeling?' - i think i made the right choice (any suggestions on what i should have said?)
3. we went to the omaha henry doory zoo. SO fun. it did rain most of the time, but luckily - all their exhibits are in and outdoors! joel and i looove going to zoo's - its prob in our top 3 favorite excursions and try to go to 1 or 2 a year. interesting about this zoo was the acquarium that surrounded you as you walked through it, the monkey with one arm - so amazing to see how he's adapated to his handicapped life!, and the infant gorilla that sustained such as injury that he was removed from his mothers care to be carefully tended by 'surrogate' moms (humans) that wear gorilla vests so the baby can hang on and recuperate - a great afternoon!
4. last night we went out to UpStream - a local grill and brewery. it was de-li-cious. i had crab and spinach stuffed shrimp - need i say more? joel had one of the sweetest and spiciest ribeye's ever - also delcious. plus - our company was great. we all chatted about football (mostly one-sided by joel) as my husband was trying to avoid hearing any updates since he wanted to watch the notre dame game live when we got home tonight, and about what its like to be aunts and uncles.
5. after our scrumptious dinner we somehow managed to force down some maggie moo's ice cream. i've never heard of this before - its comparable to cold stone but not as disgustingly sweet and filling. joel and i shared some choc ice cream with peanut butter, peanut butter cups, and reese's pieces mix-ins. again, very yum.

thanks josh and julie for hosting us and letting us push your couch's together every night to make a funny bed :)
we can't wait to see you this holiday season when you come back our way!

2 comments:

  1. Pretty sure you definitely should have said "how have you been feeling?" Love it.

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  2. 'Twas a wonderful time. The steady rain for 8 of the 10 hours on the way there was the biggest negative. And the dog was so good for being such a long trip, we had no idea how she would react.

    Did you ever ask that waitress how she is doing? If you did, we should send her a bill for the medical consulation session.

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