Evan and I are both avid foodies. We love trying new foods, restaurants, recipes. When we visit places on vacations or move to new cities, trying out fabulous local restaurants (aka: not chains) is top on our list of things to do. So, when we moved to DeKalb in 2005, we started asking around for great places to eat.
We found a great Thai restaurant within walking distance to our apartment that we decided to make a top eating priority. The inside was super nice and the smells? Oh...the smells were heavenly.
So, one day we walked with our then 2.5 year old Elisabeth to said Thai restaurant.
We ordered our food from a college girl who was not thrilled to see we had a child with us. Here's the thing: If you are a childless person in your early 20s, please don't be rude to the people in their mid-20s with their small kids. Just because we have kids does not mean our taste buds have all turned on the bland switch. It does not mean we don't like frequenting nice restaurants. It also doesn't mean we're going to let our young child run amok in your restaurant. Be kind. Don't look at our kid like she's a parasite. And pray that your birth control is 100% effective because apparently you are not quite ready to be birthing a child yet.
As we waited for our food, the restaurant's owner came out to see us and introduce herself. She was a very small, middle aged Thai woman and she bee-lined it to Elisabeth. She told us how beautiful our daughter was and how much she loved Elisabeth's hair. She then said, "Can I take her in the back? Yes? Good."
And that's when she took Elisabeth's hand and walked her back to the kitchen (which shows you how much Ebeth has always loved people, because Julia would NEVER go anywhere or even talk to a brand new person like that). Evan and I smiled at each other and kind of chuckled at how much the owner liked Elisabeth. After about 5 minutes, we realized that maybe one of us should have, you know, supervised our child while she explored a kitchen in a restaurant we'd never frequented in a town we'd just moved to a few weeks earlier.
After 10 minutes we wondered if they planned on keeping her.
After maybe 15 minutes or so, the owner came back with Elisabeth. The owner told us how much the kitchen staff loved her and then she wandered off. We looked at Elisabeth and noticed that her hair was much frizzier than when she'd left us. "Did you get to see the kitchen where they make our food?"
"Yeah."
"What'd you do back there?"
"Nothing. But, they kept petting me."
After a bit more prying, turns out that the kitchen staff super liked her curls and were petting her much like you would a golden retriever. When we came back to the restaurant a few months later, Elisabeth asked if we thought they'd pet her again and if she'd get to see the kitchen. She told us that she liked seeing where the food was made.
Definitely a first time trip to that restaurant that made an impression.
A certain 2.5 year old was her usually bubbly self.
Evan found the exact chalice he wanted to use during communion.
My best friends were lined up looking beautiful in periwinkle blue.
My dad walked me down the aisle and he didn't do one ornery thing along the way.
The flower girls tried their very best to entertain themselves.
Our friends and family watched as Evan and I said vows that couples before us had been saying for centuries.
I danced with my husband to Frank Sinatra's "Easy to Love".
Matt danced with his soon-to-be wife Kyle.
Evan's best friends stopped talking and laughing long enough for a great picture of the 4 of them.
Elisabeth looked beautiful in her dress.
I married Evan, who I'd been dating for over 6 years.
It was a beautiful day.
