Valentine's Times 2012

I've never really disliked Valentine's Day, even when I was single and ever so lonely (Single's Awareness Day... my loathing knows little bounds), but it's infinitely more fun when you actually have a valentine to share it with (and no, I don't mean Valentine, I mean valentine).  So this year we had a very nice one, and it was spread out over a couple of weeks.

First, on Valentine's Day proper, instead of braving the hours-long waits of every single public dining venue in existence, we went to Amber's house for sushi night and fun times with all (or most of) the local married siblings and their spouses.

 

 

We laughed and talked and played and ate sushi and stir-fry and sticky rice and various incredible desserts and went around the table taking turns telling all the concerts we've been to in our lives and trying to avoid repeats.  Dad and Mom win for the most obscure bands, but Cami and Jake probably win for having seen the most contemporary (read: relevant) ones.  (I also forgot to mention one that I am pretty sure no one would have been able to repeat...  I'm not ashamed.)  We didn't take a lot of pictures, but there are a few, including this one of my delightful loverface:

 

And by way of surpreezes, I gave The Wife this:

On DVD and CD.  Some of it is ridiculous, but it's probably the best principal cast ever there has been thus far.  Ramin and Sierra FTW.

And then my clever wife gave me this!  (Not the computer itself, that's from work.)

It has made my work computer far cooler than it could ever have hoped to be on its own, and far more awesome than a Mac has any right to be.  I work at the Dharma Apple Station! XD

Then things were kind of put on hold for a week or two while we waited for the crowds to die down in the local eateries and such, and until it was a good weekend when we could really celebrate in style.  Last year we spent a really nice long weekend at The Homestead, and hoped to do so again this year, so we were a little bummed to discover they're closed for renovations until April.  So,  we looked around the Midway/Park City area online to see if there might be another fun place we could spend a couple of nights, and decided to try Zermatt, which is apparently the Homestead's sister resort, and located directly across the street.  In some ways it wasn't quite as fun as last year's trip (more like a hotel, less like a private cottage, no fireplace, no included breakfast), but in other ways we liked it better (no ants, better amenities, interesting German theming, great indoor/outdoor pools/hot tubs, fun exercise room with saunas and steam rooms, etc.).

 

 

What.

We really liked the art chosen for the decor.  Poor awkward suitor.

It was definitely fun to try a new place.  We had dinner at a really great local Mexican place we ate at last year, which is basically the only restaurant in town (which means it was incredibly crowded, especially with this being ski season), and which features an awesome salsa bar; we slept in and went shopping at our convenience; we spent the evenings watching a bunch of Oscar-nominated movies from Redbox, ranging in quality and enjoyability (Least to most: The Tree of Life, Moneyball, The Help); and we ordered a delicious pizza, Greek salad and German chocolate cake (of course) from food service.  It would have been nice to have an extra night like we did last year, but we were definitely glad to take advantage of our time there and were glad it turned out to be a nice place, contrary to some of the reviews we had read online.  It was great for a weekend getaway, even if we weren't there to ski and just wanted a nice place to stay and relax for a few days.

Of course we love to take pictures of ourselves.

No peeking.

Then we had a jumping photo shoot.

She's getting better and better.

I get by.

Then we took some more pictures of ourselves.  And of course we always take pictures in mirrors.

Smoldering!

Then Julie decided to embark on a photo shoot all her own.

True art.

2-for-1

So fierce!

Angles.

:D

Just getting a li'l drink.

Be our guest!

A statue of a bear playing an accordion?  But of course!

 

So there you have it!  It was Valentine's weekend a couple weeks later, which seems like the way to go.  Who wants to spend Valentine's Day sitting in a crowded lobby waiting to be sat by a rushed and frantic serving staff?  Maybe some people, but not this guy!  Happy Valentine's Day, everyone, and especially you, Wife whom I love.