Joy

This is it...the last of the Bahamas beach pictures, I promise!

After the wedding, we took some couples shots on the beach. We are so rarely in pictures together--it is really nice to have pictures to remind us of the great time we had away from the craziness of our everyday lives!

I love the way these turned out.

This is my favorite one! (He still makes me laugh after 21 years!)

Joy is not in things; it is in us.

Richard Wagner

I Am All About The Destination Wedding

After spending four days in the Bahamas, I would have no problem with one of my children getting married in some place tropical. The beach and ocean provided a spectacular backdrop for the wedding. The resort set up chairs right on the sand.

This was one of the flower arrangements that lined the aisle.

Here we are waiting for the bride and groom.

These are the groom's parents, Jack and Rose. I loved them. They were so happy for their son and so excited to welcome their new daughter-in-law.

The flower girls walking down the aisle. The one in front alternated between smiling and looking absolutely terrified.

The bride was walked down the aisle by her older brother.

Exchanging the vows. The bride is Catholic and the groom is Jewish. The ceremony included traditions from both faiths.

The lighting of the unity candle was a riot...the mothers spent a great deal of time lighting the individual candles only for the wind to blow them out immediately! They finally gave up.

Presenting Mr. and Mrs. Ty Laurie.

Congratulations Ty and Alana. Thanks for including us in your special day!

Junkanoo

Junkanoo music is the local music of the Bahamas. Junkanoo music is a rich, expressive style of percussive music with heavy African influences. Traditional Bahamian weddings often include a Junkanoo rush-out, which is a parade of musicians dressed in masks and armed with cowbells, whistles, and drums.

This group of musicians was our "surprise" entertainment at the rehearsal dinner.

After they marched around the pool most of the guests joined in the dance. The headresses were passed from guest to guest.

These are our friends, Connie and Dan, from Chicago.

Tony in his headdress!

The bride and groom led the festivities...

Abaco

An island of

pastel houses and palm trees

beautiful blue water unlike any water I have ever seen

white sand beaches

rustic island bars

gorgeous sunsets

bonfires on the beach

fresh grouper wraps

and total relaxation

You Know You're On A Small Plane When...

You look out the window and you can see the reflection of the entire front of the plane in front of the propeller.

All it takes to hold the engine together is a thin piece of wire.

There is no door to the cockpit and the flight attendant is also the pilot!

This is the airport where you land.

This was the plane that we were on...I am not a big fan of flying as it is, but this plane about put me over the edge!

My discomfort was so worth it!

Things You Only See in Texas

A BBQ restaurant where you order and pick up your food before you go sit down at a table. You can grab a beer to go with your brisket right out of the cooler by the cash register. (If you are ever in Austin, check out Iron Works Barbecue.)

A golf cart with horns.

The Texas Capitol. It is the largest in gross square footage of all state capitols and is second in total size only to the National Capitol in Washington, D.C. The 1888 Texas Capitol surpasses the National Capitol in height, rising almost 15 feet above its Washington counterpart.

Table side guacamole at the Iron Cactus made with avocado, jalapenos, cilantro, onion, tomato, salt and pepper, lime juice and the secret ingredient...juice from half of an orange. The guacamole was so good that I ate it 3 times while I was in Austin!

Stacked pork enchiladas...A New Mexico style favorite...Pork carnitas stacked on red corn tortillas and layered with green chiles, rajas, and Monterrey jack cheese. Topped with a homemade verde sauce and a fried egg. I did not order this, but Tony said it was very good!

Entire stores devoted to boots. These were just the ones they had in size 9.5!

Me in a skirt and a pair of cowboy boots with my friend, Kimberly, and my new friend, Julie.

College Visit #2: Wake Forest

Wake Forest has a beautiful campus. We took an official tour (it turned out that another girl from Tristan's class was on the tour with us) and spent some time walking around the campus.

The buildings were really nice...well except for the dorms...the dorm rooms were really tiny.

The dining hall was unbelievable. The food looked amazing for dining hall food. These kids have no idea what we ate when we were in college!

They have great sports teams at Wake and a real sense of school spirit--after every win, the students tp the trees in the main quad! (Hhhmm....maybe that's why tuition is so expensive...they have to buy a lot of toilet paper!)

Tristan was excited to find out that they have a Subway on campus that stays open until 3 a.m.!

Bog Garden

One really neat thing about Greensboro is that in every neighborhood there is a greenway, a park or some sort of garden. After a day of shopping, we went to the Bog Garden to feed the ducks.

We saw some ducks.

But mostly, we saw geese. Lots of them. Tons of them. We fed them most of our food.

That is until we saw this sign. Oops.

A pound of poop a day...wow, who knew?

Happy St. Paddy's Day

Every year when we are on spring break, we celebrate St. Patrick's Day at a local pub wherever we are staying. This year, we went to Dugan's Pub in Pinehurst, NC.
Allie and Tyler were the only ones not wearing green. Total party poopers.

Tony is the only one who actually enjoys corned beef and cabbage.

Hanging out with my little leprechauns! I had just come from a massage at the Pinehurst Spa, so I was feeling quite rested.

Posing with a statue in Pinehurst Village. You have to love Ammy's shoes--she's the only child I know who wears basketball shoes with a skirt.

Hope you all had a great St. Paddy's Day too.