As of two weeks ago, I am a married woman with all the rights and privileges thereof, and I've had my first kiss. :) My anniversary is July 14, and I'm so very, very glad it's all over. (Or, is it just beginning?)
Michael and I went up into the Shenandoah valley for part of our honeymoon. We did not, however, eat honey on the moon. Our first two days were spent at a bed and breakfast near Monticello (gorgeous area!) and on Monday we went to King's Dominion. I owed Michael a roller-coaster ride. We picked King's Dominion specifically because it also had a water park area where I could play around. :) I don't do drops well, which is why roller-coasters don't go well with me, and Michael doesn't do swirling things well, which is why some of my favorite rides make him queasy. Oh well.
I rode a roller-coaster, one of the kiddie ones that I was okay with. It was definitely a large roller-coaster for me, seeing as it's only the second one I've been on ever! It was not as bad as I thought it was going to be, but Michael's attempts to get me to go on an even bigger roller-coaster were to no avail. Just looking at drops made my stomach queasy. :)
Then we went from King's Dominion to our second stay-place, a little chalet, near a smaller town called Elkton (we never saw any elk!) in the Shenandoah national forest. We got to meet our neighbors the very first night because we were locked out of the chalet and they helped us figure out where the key was. They were very nice and congratulatory. Who doesn't love helping newly-weds out when they don't have cell phone reception, or internet, and can't find the key! They even offered us beer, or some alcoholic beverage without carding us!
The rest of the week we spent doing some hiking, sleeping, movie watching, and wine tasting. We also fought gnats and saw a bear (little one!) and had two deer (mommy and weeks old faun) walk across our hiking path, about 10 feet away from us or less! We had fun and tired ourselves out.
Then on Friday we loaded up the car and drove 5 hours to near Michael's home town for a wedding that he was going to be part of that night and the next day. It was neat to go to a wedding so soon after ours just to have the reminder of what had taken place a week earlier.
Saturday night we drove home for 3 hours. We were tired, but it was nice to come back to a home waiting for just us. We had a ton of gifts to work through, and there was a massive lightning storm outside that had downed a tree limb the size of smaller trees next door, but we were home at our small apartment and we had very little food for next morning's breakfast. But we had pancakes, so it was all good. Our second Sunday back as a married couple was spent with our church family and it was very nice.
Needless to say, I've spent the past week cleaning out the apartment, unwrapping gifts, throwing away trash, and making home home. My mom and sisters came over and washed a bunch of brand new gifts. (I found out that when you get new everything you have to wash ALL of it.) I've cooked many much meals that have been fun, and different. Michael has been my faithful provider and gone to work every single day! :) It's nice to finally be settling into the rhythm of a new life.
And today, I've spent the day in bed battling a fever of, at the highest 102.2, and feeling generally miserable. Michael, in his amazing way, made breakfast, lunch, and is now making dinner. He rocks! I'm sitting comfortably at our tiny table and watching him putter around the kitchen, frying up hamburgers at almost 9 o'clock on a Saturday night. Married life rocks. Someone once described it as a sleepover with your best friend. It's better than that. Much, much better. :)
God is oh, so very good.
