Spring weather follows snow, couples and singles celebrate
February 16, 2011
Sun and Spring weather hit Shawnee just in time for Valentine’s Day, melting all the snow...and several students’ hearts.
The highways were clear as many OBU couples drove to Oklahoma City for a broader and better selection of date locations.
“Elliott and I got all dressed up and went to eat in OKC at a place called Upper Crust,” said junior Brittnie Loggins.
“They have the best pizza ever! It was truly like pizza I had in Italy [last summer.]”
Loggins and December graduate Elliot Freeman have been dating for over a year; this was their second time celebrating Valentine’s Day together.
“Then we went to Harkins and watched three movies back to back,” Loggins said.“We saw ‘The Eagle,’ ‘No Strings Attached’ and ‘True Grit.’
“We took several pictures and just had a great time together.”
Juniors Amy Courtney and Josh Campbell also spent their second Valentine’s Day as a couple, as well as their two-year anniversary.
“Our two-year anniversary is on Valentine’s Day , so we celebrated both of them on Saturday,” Courtney said.
“We went to Zio’s downtown (which was one of the things we did on the date he asked me to be his girlfriend), then we went to a place called Coco Flow, which is a coffee and dessert place in downtown OKC.
“We also went to see ‘Gnomeo and Juliet,’ which was super cute by the way!”
Courtney and Campbell went out to dinner on Monday as well.
Amity Walker and Jake Hooten began their holiday festivities early in the morning.
“For Valentine’s Day Jake walked me to my 8 o’clock class, which was sweet since he doesn’t have class until 11,” Walker said.
Walker also received tulips and chocolate from Hooten.
“After my class, he picked me up and took me to breakfast at Boomerang. “We ate at Phoenix for dinner, where we ran into my family and my cousin, but we didn’t eat with them,” Walker said.
“We exchanged presents and on the way back from dinner he serenaded me with ‘Forget you,’ and we danced a little.
“Overall, a great Valentine’s Day (since this is our second one together, but last year he was out of town),” she said.
Walker appreciates the time she and Hooten were able to spend together.
After two Valentine’s Days, she still enjoys their relationship.
“He’s basically the bomb.com--you can double click that!”
Senior John Mark Buchanan and fiance Anna Skaggs had a little trouble carrying out their original plans.
“Well, Anna and I were going to double-date with the Jordans--cook dinner with them and then watch ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ in the city, but we got our dates wrong and messed the whole thing up,” Buchanan said.
However, the engaged couple did not allow their mistake to ruin the holiday.
They threw together last-minute plans, and ended up having a good time.
“So instead, we invited a few other friends (single or with a boyfriend at a different school), and made dinner and dessert together.
“It was still very enjoyable and we will probably try and catch the play next weekend,” Buchanan said.
Although junior Marissa Boswell is dating a student from another university, she was able to spend a little time relaxing with her boyfriend this weekend, and has more plans to do so next weekend.
“So I went to my hometown this past weekend to see my grandparents and came back Sunday,” Boswell said.“Nathan met me at my apartment with a giant heart shaped box of CHOCOLATES!
“We went to Chili’s and came back to work on our drawings and watch some television,” she said.
She is excited for their upcoming date to end Valentine’s Day week.
“We plan to hang out this coming weekend, because he is a student at OU. “Everything is a surprise, but he told me to dress up! I can’t wait!”
Freshmen Avery Ketchum and Ethan Stevens journeyed to the city, like many of the upperclassmen.
“My boyfriend took me to Johnny Carino’s and Cuppies and Joe,” Ketchum said.“I got him a panda bear from Build-A-Bear, and made him these brownies that I’m pretty sure will change his life,” she said.
The pair became close friends upon meeting at OBU early in the fall.
The couples on campus were not the only students taking advantage of the holiday.
Junior Cody Yount joined a group of singles for the first annual “Singles Mingle” in a West. U. apartment Monday night.
“I spent Valentine’s Day with a large group of other single guys and gals,” Yount said.
The event was hosted by roommates Jobeth Hamon, Emily Yates, Kandi Friesen, and Sydney Staggs.
However, the idea is rumored to have been the brainchild of junior Dalton Funkhouser.
“We played games like Catchphrase, had good conversation, and enjoyed being single rather than sulking about it,” Yount said.
The “Mingle” was open to any and all single students on OBU’s campus.
The group plans on hosting another “Singles Mingles” next year and turning the event into a tradition.
They consider the event a success.
