Somos Novios

This past weekend was quite a trip! I think Kevin and I have finally wrapped up our "on the road tour 2011" (at least for the next two months while he is in tax season!)  Sorry for being so absent the past two weeks (Caroline Inge-my personal apologies to you! I was reminded by Caroline that I was being a bad blogger via her facebook post!) We have just been living life at warp speed!

Last Friday we traveled to the Atlanta airport to pick up my sister and then drive home to Gainesville, Florida.  We arrived around 10:30pm to a lovely Valentine's day dinner buffet prepared by my parents.  Highlights included chocolate dipped strawberries and a latin favorite, Picadillo.  Unforutnately, we had to delay our visit to Miami as my grandfather was in the hospital and had to have an operation on Saturday at 8am.  We decided to stay close to Gainesville over the weekend visiting Papa in the hospital each day and to leave for the concert on Monday morning.  We had a really nice visit in Gainesville.  On Saturday night Kevin and I located Father of the Bride at Best Buy and we all watched the DVD (15th Anniversary Special Edition) together.  Even though we have all seen the movie before, it was a real treat to watch it since we are actually going through the process now!

Sunday was also a special day as my mother, sister and I got to play with my Mom's wedding dress! It was the first time it had been opened since her wedding day.  It was the most fun we have had yet during the engagment period! I loved looking at the dress and imagining what her wedding day was like!

Monday morning I worked from 7-9am and then we were off to Fort Lauderdale for the Bocelli concert (Sunrise to be exact).  The concert was at 7:30pm so we were on a schedule to get down there.  We had a lovely Valentine's day dinner at a Brazilian steakhouse.  None of us had ever been to one before and were very intrigued by the process of bringing meat around on skewers.  It was very entertaining.  We rode together in my mother's car as the concert had a complimentary Lexus parking lot.  We were so impressed when we drove up to the concert and got front row parking! 

Valentine's Day Dinner at Brazaviva Steakhouse!



Andrea Bocelli was magnificent! He literally took my breath away! It was a chance of a lifetime to be able to see him live on Valentine's Day!

 We had great seats and could see the entire orchestra.  My best friend Amrita attended his concert in Boston back in the fall and filled me in on all the highlights.  She was right when she said how amazed I would be! He sang all my favorites, Somos Novios, The Prayer, Granada, Time to Say Goodbye etc.

It was definitely an experience I will never forget! Thank you to my sister for such an incredible Christmas present!

Our family outside the Bank Atlantic Center, Sunrise FL

Tuesday morning bright and early, we jumped back in the car and drove home to Gainesville, grabbed a quick bite of lunch and stopped by the hospital to tell Papa goodbye.  Then it was back on the road again for five more hours.  Kevin and I got back to Atlanta last night after a long but fun filled weekend! 

The wedding plans are coming along.  My mother visited the first weekend in Feburary and we finalized a few things.  I can confirm that the wedding will be held here in Atlanta at our church and reception will follow!  I will wait to share the reception location until it's contracted!  I will post my mother's visit re-cap later this week- just wanted to share the Bocelli highlights first from Valentine's Day!  Thank you to all who sent such sweet thoughts about my grandfather and our travels.