some pics

Courtesy of Studio This Is and Kasey Marcum.

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Honeymoon pics

Some of our faves…

Click here for (LOTS) more: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cotepka/sets/72157607961147357/

wow.

Okay, gotta have a wedding post.  We just got back from our two weeks away for the wedding and honeymoon. WOW wow wow. Both were such incredible, surreal, joyful experiences.

The wedding weekend couldn’t have been more perfect for us. Everything we wanted and more. Words don’t describe, but we felt so lucky. So blessed. Wait til you see pics of Noelle.  Heart-stoppingly knockout crazy beautiful. And all the locations for everything were just amazing. St. Clement’s is a gorgeous church in Lincoln Park, Chicago, and you just can’t avoid staring at the ceiling the entire time. The hotel was also awesome. The Palmer House Hilton downtown, which was super close to the reception, another venue we loved–at the School of the Art Institute Ballroom. Then there was the food–wow.  Fortunately we enjoyed the food tasting months ago, because Noelle and I didn’t have much time for eating. We did our best to go around and see everyone, and we didn’t even get to all the guests. We were really bummed about that. Once the fabulous band started, we couldn’t stay off the dance floor!

Getting out of DC was the hardest part. Noelle drove all the way from DC to Chicago and picked up her mom halfway in Cleveland. We packed the car full of clothes for the next two weeks, not to mention all the wedding accoutrements (dress, favors, programs, etc). We really put our heart and soul into this event, and i think it showed. Noey of course was the planner extraordinaire, but I had my fair share of duties. My proudest was creating the slide show that we showed at the reception. I’ll try to figure a way to post it on here, as well as the pics of course. Another big feat of mine was making 240 bottles of limoncello for the favors using the recipe from the Nistas in Italy. With Noey’s help, of course.

Santorini was absolute paradise. The sunsets are legendary. The Greeks were so welcoming, and the pace of life so slow. All the stresses of wedding planning and anxiety were completely washed away, and we could spend all week reminiscing about the wedding weekend. We spent most days relaxing on our private balcony overlooking the Mediterranean and walking around the town, Ia. We spent the rest of our time eating. Greek salads are awesome–no lettuce, just tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, onions, green peppers, topped with oregano. Also loved the tzatziki–the yogurt/cucumber/dill salad. Had yogurt with honey every day for breakfast. And the baklava–one of my favorites. We had a bit of seafood too, of course. The octopus there is pretty damn good. Fortunately, the walking on Santorini was pretty demanding and provided quite the workout to burn off all the eating we did. Had a few excursions as well. We had a super romantic sunset at Sigalas winery where we had the place to ourselves and tasted about 6 wines. Then we walked up the road to a really fun tavern where the owner walks around playing some of his own Greek-style tunes and singing with his guitar and bouzouki, the little Greek mini-guitar. He passes these guest books around where everyone who comes in can write a note and he pastes a photo of each next to it. He took ours and put us in his special honeymoon book. His phrase is ‘Next Time Come Back With Your Children”, and he wrote that on a CD of his music he gave to us.  And on our last day, we had a boat excursion to the volcano of Santorini. Santorini is very unique geologically and set where the Eurasian and African tectonic plates of the Earth overlap. These have caused volcanoes and earthquakes over centuries, which have broken up the original circular island into 4 major parts. We visited the central volcano island and hiked up to the active crater, then swam in the nearby hot springs. Met some great people along the way. It was a perfect way to finish off the trip.

We got stuck in Athens on the way home and the airline put us up at a hotel for the night. So we headed downtown and went straight to the Acropolis before sunset. I had been once in high school, but it was fun to go again with Noelle and discover neighborhoods I barely remember. We didn’t complain, and it ended up being like an unexpected surprise.

So now we’re back and basking in the post-wedding/honeymoon fever, yet sad it’s all over. Took the day off to get settled in and catch up on everything. We promise to get all the pics up soon!

Thanks to all of you for your well wishes–we love you back!

Good things

Well today’s my 31st bday–and there’s a lot to celebrate and be thankful for. It’s a beautiful day here in DC. Thursday we got our 4 month gift of good news at NIH. The all-clear on the scans, of course. And one week from today is the wedding. Seems like yesterday I was posting about the Dominican Republic trip and the proposal. But no, that was 18 months ago. WHOA.

We’re doing pretty well. Things were crazy stressful in the last couple weeks before we got some major things checked off. Noelle’s driving the dress and all the stuff we need all the way to Chicago on Tuesday, but stopping to pick her mom up halfway in Cleveland. I’m flying out Wed night. So we only have a couple days to tie everything together. We’ve had some amazing vendors helping us out in Chitown and here in DC. I think Noey will miss working with them. The only difficult ones have been at the church, ironically. They’res seriously downright mean. So anal and strict about everything, at least we know it will be beautiful. Hope theyre not reading this blog, cuz they think Noelle lives in Chicago. Whoops. Yeah, we lied to the church.

So we went to our friend Beth’s 30th birthday and wig-themed party last weekend. I was a rocker and Noey was a blonde beauty. Hilarious.

Oh, and Rudy has a site of his own now here.

RUDY!

LOOK how much Rudy’s grown in 2 weeks.  Thats his dad Matty there with him in the pic, one of my new faves. God, I don’t know if I can wait another 3 to  meet the guy. Aggh. Seattle has never felt farther from DC! See more pics of him here.

At least we’ll all get to meet him in 3 weeks in Chicago. Yep, the big day is in 3 weeks from today. WHAT? Seems like I  was just posting that one pic from the Dominican of us getting engaged. Speaking of the engagement, I finally decided to post some of our professional pics. Click on the photos in the margin. Yes, a tad avant-garde.       Had to share though.

Uncle Cris

The day has come! I’m a #$%@ uncle!!!

Rudy Ryegrass Otepka

7 lbs 12 oz

Swedish Medical Center – Seattle

August 20, 2008

10:18am PT

WOO HOO!! Mom and Dad (Sara and Matt) are doing well. Not many pics or details just yet, except to say that he’s so @*#&ing cute. Rudy  was my grandfather’s name, and Ryegrass, I hear, is the name of their favorite vacation spot near Jackson Hole, Wyoming. More to come…

Bachy Nostalgia

Guess who had the world’s greatest bachelor party?? And guess who’s waxing nostalgic right now in the middle of tedious wedding details?

During the weekend of May 30-31st, the boys hit Chicago for an epic weekend to start the summer off right. Every time I think about it I still get sad it’s all over. My big bro Matt did a superb job organizing; from getting everyone there, to the kickASS flat we stayed in, to the main event–a Wrigleyville rooftop during the Cubs-Rockies game. And Mark Maze hooked us up with a seriously PIMP private ‘wine room’ at Devon Seafood Grill for dinner the night before. Buddies from aside the Otepka bros and N’s bros in Chitown, are my buddies from DC, NY, Omaha. Check out the rest of the pics here.

Wrigley Field and Wrigleyville in general has got to be one of the greatest, happiest places on Earth. I did not want to leave the rooftop. We just went back last weekend to take care of a couple things, and it just amazed me walking around on a Sunday night how vibrant the scene was. It doesn’t even matter how good or bad the Cubs are doing. The crowds are just fantastic. …AND it just so happens they are still Number 1 in the National League right now, and on an 8-game winning streak. N’s bro Nick lives across the street from the stadium. Seriously–you walk out the door and there it is. See–check out the view from his door.

And here’s a view from the street of the rooftop we were at (with the statue of Mr. Harry Caray giving us the salute)

Hey Dell–if youre reading this, Good luck buddy!

I’m always surprised when DC friends tell me they read the blog. I was sure the only readers were family, Omahans, or general out of town friends I don’t see often. Our good pal Shaun mentioned it the other night–the same night we had a little going-away dinner for him. So since I know you read this, I’ll embarrass you and send you off with a little e-roast, Shaun.

Yep, our Shaun is leaving us to sweat the rest of the summer in the District for a drier heat out West. He’s a DC-area native and has worked here on Capitol Hill ever since returning from college at Vanderbilt. But now that he’s left his mark on US legislation, it’s time for him to start a new chapter. “Dell” is off to Boulder for biz school at U. of Colorado. Sean’s been hanging out with us for years, a DC staple. How I’ll miss those Halloween and ugly sweater Christmas parties at Duddington Place. He and his roomies succeeded at packing us all into their kitchen, dining room, and back patio, while we’d all succeed at trashing the house and annoying the neighbors. It’s amazing they even let him leave without a list of complaints. Fortunately, he’s one of the nicest guys I know. Certainly the highlight of our Sean time was the Ecuador trip in February, though. But I digress. Shaun – good luck these next two years. Boulder’s a great town and you’ll love living there. I know you won’t waste anytime getting to the slopes this winter. We’ll see you when you move back…

And yes, even though you’ll be a Buffalo, we Nebraskans won’t hold that against you.
(Yep, now that we’re starting this upcoming season with fresh coach, we Husker fans have another excuse to be optimistic.)

deliver me from DC moving and parking violations

Picked N up from work downtown earlier today and got pulled over for driving in a bus lane–guess DC is cracking down. I honestly didn’t notice I was in it. Then Noelle didn’t have her seatbelt on, he said that would be $75 for and then $75 to me, the driver, then 2 points off my record. Then he asks for my license and reg. Naturally, my proof of insurance in the glove box is expired! Anyway, turned out he only charged the $50 for the bus lane and nothing for the belt. He wrote me tickets for expired insurance but said I could mail it in with the renewed policy to get it waived. Sure, fine. The hilarious thing is that when we got out of our meeting with the calligrapher on the other side of town, I had ANOTHER ticket for $30 and a big fat orange “TOW” sticker on my back window. Guess the parking sign on one side said permit only and the sign we looked at on the other said 2 hrs. We just laughed hysterically and wondered how great it would have been if our car was booted our towed. Lucky we only got out with $80 today. Oh, and I got a $30 parking ticket last Friday downtown for an expired meter by 5 mins. DC is notorious for parking tickets–this picture is for real–you really have to pay attention to the signage. Course this time it was all my fault for being late getting back to the car.

Still haven’t heard the kicker. When we got home from the appointment, we discovered severe water damage on the bedroom ceiling. One spot was bubbling and leaking on the Afghan rug. Didn’t even phase us.

Just wait til the kids enter our lives…

Goodbye Uncle Jimmy

Hi all–wow its been a while. May was the month of funerals. Tragically, Noelle’s Uncle Jimmy Chiappone passed away suddenly at the age of 56. He was at home and most likely had a heart attack. Jim was the only one of N’s mom’s 6 siblings I had never met, unfortunately.

Jim was a high school teacher in West Milton, Ohio, near Dayton. He had two sons in their 20s, Nick and Sam. I finally met them at the funeral. Great great guys. And Jimmy’s wife Linda was so welcoming. We were all in such shock and she opened her home to all of us. As sad as it all was, it was really nice to see the Chiappones and all be together. We drove 8 hrs from DC and met Mary, N’s bros, and all the others in the C clan. I think the hardest part was seeing the 3 remaining brothers weeping together that last morning before they said goodbye. Having such a strong brotherly bond in my life, it really hit home.

It made me think of my Uncle David, who also passed away young a few years ago, and how funerals really bring closure for the mourning. I was at a different place in my life and remember I couldn’t find a way to fly to David’s funeral financially. And ever since then, I’ve felt as if I never got to properly say goodbye. I guess it’s different for everybody, but I’ll always regret that.

A week before Jimmy died, my grandma Betty’s sister Mary Lou passed away. I blogged about her back in 2006 right when I was diagnosed. Much less tragic, Mary Lou had a long life but was suffering in the end. She was the only relative that lived out here, so once I moved here, I was fortunate to get to know her. I’d say we saw eachother about once a year on average. Speaking of sibling bonds, ML, Betty, and the other sister Nancy had an impressive one. The youngest is 85, and up until recently, they would get together on an annual basis. They grew up with a widowed mom who was a force to be reckoned with, but who brought them together. And again, great to see all the family despite the reason. My mom even made the trip in place of Grandma Betty. I got to meet some family I’d never met before. Beautiful day celebrating Paddy (ML).

So N and I have had our share of funerals lately. Now we’re both pretty crushed by the passing of Tim Russert, as is most of the country. Tim’s Meet the Press was a weekly routine here–always on Tivo. He was by far my favorite journalist–super down to earth and honestly like the guy next door. I watched his son Luke speak on TV this morning and I suprisingly got emotional. Just hearing how proud he was of his dad got to me. When Luke was in highschool he secretly read his dad’s unfinished book about Tim’s father and about Luke–and Luke decided he wanted his dad/grandpa by his side always. So he tattooed their intials on his arm!