chrisncrystal.com » life

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas

Crystal — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 03:28:36 +0000

Other than a fellow student getting me in only for Candlelight one year — oh, and getting paid $50 to stand around wearing summer clothes in the freezing cold while pulling a second consecutive all-nighter — I hadn’t been to Disney since I was about 11. Then, after trying all year to use the tickets my good friend and roommate gave us the previous Christmas, Chris and I went twice in one weekend.

Normally, a theme park twice in one weekend would make us feel like very worn out cattle, but we took it easy both times and just saw what we wanted to. And some of my favorite things were the simplest: the tea cups, Tom Sawyer’s Island bridges, hot cocoa and cookies, riverboat, time with Chris, monorail, Christmas lights, ferry, fake snow, story telling, stars, and snuggling rides — hey, I’ve got time to make up for here!

We were sad to hear Nikki wasn’t up to going to Mickey’s Christmas party, but we really enjoyed our first Christmas celebration of the year. (And of married life, come to think!) My favorite shot of the night:

The camera battery about died within half an hour, and, instead of capturing the magic, I managed to capture a completely different side of Disney. I can just imagine some kind of pre-teen horror flick starring Hannah Montana. Which gives me TGIF flashbacks, actually…

Then I let Chris have the camera.

See? That, my normal camera face, is why it’s so amazing that the Roots’ pictures of us turned out so well!

And this, well, this is me very very very very excited that we got to ride something we missed the first time around! And Chris knowing before I did that I was going to want to keep the Astro Orbiter as high as possible the whoooooole time — I LOVE heights!

Thank you Maggie, Nikki, and Chrissy! :)

First Thanksgiving

Crystal — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 01:28:01 +0000

My family spent a few Thanksgivings serving food, since extended family was far, and that’s still Thanksgiving to me. I loved having enough mental quiet to contemplate thankfulness, and what better way to thank than to worship? It may also have had something to do with my dislike of Thanksgiving food… :) OK, and of long drives and chaos in general…

Serving at a shelter or having over people who need somewhere to celebrate is how Chris and I would like to spend our “ideal Thanksgiving,” but each year is its own. Tradition = things you happen to repeat and enjoy = good; tradition = things you must repeat = stressful. This time, we spent the day at a state park with Chris’ extended family, and Astara had her first experiences with soccer and salt water.

I’m pretty sure Chris taught her this one in our dating days:

Astara being all cute and innocent. Yeah, keep that stick in mind come Christmas…

Pup vs. Pro

This guy was impressed by her machismo and deemed her his new girl:

And a warm fuzzy to close on:

Danielle and Mom B

Wedding pictures

Crystal — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 03:23:02 +0000

Yes, we have them. No, they’re not up yet.

With six guys in and out of our apartment just before the wedding celebration, taking the only space not claimed by boxes, the space that belonged to a few out-of-town guests, we, um, didn’t get the slideshows quite as “neat” as we wanted. We’ll post ‘em as soon as we get to that point on the to-do list. : )

In the meantime, here are some engagement pics and wedding photos.

So why were there six guys in our apartment? Well it all started on our honeymoon, when Chris mentioned a wet spot on the ceiling…

if it looks like a wet spot…

One day later: One person, one ladder. Climbs ladder, pokes at ceiling. “Yep, that’s a water leak alright. I’ll be back sometime tomorrow.” Looks at Astara, who’s sitting in her crate. “Does she bite?”

Day 3: Two people, one ladder. Debate whether it’s the sprinkler system or regular plumbing. Promise not to get the piano dirty. Make two holes in the ceiling. Realize don’t have flashlight. Crystal gives them a flashlight. Call in third maintenance man. “I think we’re going to have to call a plumber.”

Day 5: Three maintenance men, three plumbers, two ladders, two flashlights, two holes in the ceiling, one tarp. Cut extra hole in the ceiling. (The dust didn’t quite cover the kitchen, living room, and piano.) Smile at tenant and four out-of-town guests standing in the 3′ x 3′ foyer. Use smelly pipe sealant. Promise to patch and paint the holes.

Today: Three ceiling patches, still a little residual dust, and no complaints about the lack of paint because it means no maintenance men! : )

Note: We like the maintenance men fine; we just don’t like the showing up whenever part! ; )

our take on the Mouse