One More Step

So last weekend was spent with Teri and her family at her brother's hacienda by Detroit. There are a lot of things that happened that I wish I could remember to write about, but here are the highlights. On the drive up on Saturday, Teri's parents hopped into her grandparents car so her dad could drive, which left me driving the CR-V with Teri. She reminded me that she likes how I think out loud about what's going on when I'm driving. I would expect that to be something that would irritate other people to no end, but she thinks it's cute. How awesome is she? (In case you're simple, the answer to that question is "very awesome".) It was also nice to just have some alone time with her, the type of thing that would be in short supply until last night.

When we arrived and Teri's grandma was talking to Callie (Teri's niece), she said that "Aunt TT (Teri) and Uncle Matt are here". Then Teri's mom let an "Uncle Matt" slip too. I liked the sound of it both times. Very much. After we had lunch, we headed out for our afternoon excursion, which Teri was keeping a surprise for me. (Remember, she's very awesome.) We went to the Henry Ford museum, which also doubles as a "history of transportation and Americana in the late 19th and 20th centuries". There is also a fun outdoor part that has a bunch of buildings and homes and a glass-blowing shop from the late 1800s. We all had fun riding the carousel, and Callie's dog was a very trusty steed indeed. I should mention that Tim (Teri's brother) hooked us up with the Tim Price All-Access Pass that his work provided. Fun day + free = more fun day. The only downside was that we got stuck in the rain whilst outside. I can say that, while pina coladas are tasty, getting caught in the rain isn't all it's cracked up to be.

On the way back from our wonderful afternoon outing, we saw a guy driving his car while wearing a Spider-man mask. It wasn't one of those crappy plastic masks that you wear for Halloween as a kid and keep sticking your tongue in the mouth slit either. It was the whole shebang that you pull over your head to completely hide your secret identity. I'm curious as to the ne'erdowellery that lad was subverting in his green Saturn sedan. The world may never know. Then we stopped so Charlie (Teri's dad) could refuel our horseless carriage, and I headed inside to score some chocolate deliciousness for Teri, as she is a chocolate addict and needed a fix after having gone through the chocolate exhibit at the museum. It was at the point where I was paying for the M&Ms that I realized I had left my ATM card in the machine on Friday (Idiot!!). (I called later and got everything straightened out and my new card is on its way, but I digress.)

When we got back to the hacienda, the power had been knocked out from the earlier storm-passing-through-ness that had occurred. Tim grilled up some delicious BBQ chicken and we had yet another tasty meal. Then we took a walk and Callie's brain moved faster than her legs a couple times and she fell. When she was asked if anything was broken she said "yes"; when she was asked what was broken she responded with "me". Adorable.

The rest of the evening is a bit of a blur now because I was tired, but the electricity did come back on before it got dark and birthday presents were opened. One of the highlights to the whole trip was getting to say goodnight to Teri but not having to say goodbye for the first time. I could get very used to that. It was actually a bit difficult to fall asleep Saturday night because I knew that I'd get to see Teri first thing in the morning when I got up and I was super excited about that. After the dog's barking roused me from my slumber, I did get to see Teri. Then I got to kiss her. That was one of the best kisses ever, even if I wasn't really awake yet. It was the kind of kiss I'll probably never forget.




We had pancakes for breakfast, and Callie needed hers cut up. I asked if she wanted me to cut it for her and she said "You're a big, strong guy, so you can cut it up for me.". Adorable again. We then headed out for church where I was hug-raped by the greeter and some other woman in a secondary greeting capacity. It was all good though because God dropped some knowledge on me that I needed to hear and we got some coffee. For lunch we had delicious brats with sauerkraut (good call Lisa [Teri's sister-in-law if you don't know]!). Then Teri, Callie and I decorated the birthday cake with "leprechaun poo" and sprinkles. It was a delicious cake. Aftter having eaten too much, it was time to relax and almost take a nap. Then Teri and I took a walk by ourselves. Very good alone time.

Teri got to have a ride on Tim's motorcycle (his first ever passenger), and I got the nickname Little Matt. Apparently Lisa has a brother who is also named Matt and he's 7 ft tall. I've never been Little Matt before. I'm still adjusting to it. Baby Ben also stood on his own for the first time. Goodbyes were said and we set out for C-bus.

Teri's parents dropped her and I off at my house, and I took her home. We fed and walked Sparky and ended the night with a conversation, the contents of which will not be posted online. I'm still smiling thinking about it though. A lot. It makes me even more excited for the future.

Yeah, this turned into a bigmegahugelong post, but it was an awesomesweetfantasticfun weekend, so what do you expect? Thank you for inviting me Teri, and thank you for winking at me.