seven years in the making

sean's grandmother, grammie
got sean and his brother a little sailboat
a sunfish
at a yardsale
when they were in middle school
ever since i've known him
it's sat out back of the camp
in the elements
upside down
and every year he has promised me he would take me sailing in it
and every year it would remain right where it was
until a couple of years ago when we built the barn
and he finally had a place to work on it
and restore it back to working condition
even then the end of the season would come and still nothing
until this year.....

sailing the bay - day 2

day 2 we woke up to a brisk morning

and were greeted to coffee and tea on deck

while still in the marina

once we got out of the marina
it was time to raise the sails

and enjoy the day

sailing around penobscot bay

we enjoyed seeing other sailboats

and lighthouses - typical maine scenery

after a tiring day of sailing
it was time to lower the sails for the night

and head out to our private island

for a true lobster feed

complete with all the fixings

corn, potatoes, red hot dogs, cheese and wine
the evening ended with enjoying the beautiful sunset

and a trip in the row boat back to the ship

sailing the bay - day 1

my christmas present from sean last year
was a sailing trip
upon the schooner mary day
it was so much fun
and so relaxing
we started out from camden
a small town along the coast of maine

some friends helped us carry all our luggage

and case of wine
down to the boat

and then we headed out to grab a little dinner
before saying good-bye

and spending the first night
on the ship, in the harbor
getting to know or shipmates

happy 5 years to us!

we made it!
FIVE whole years!

and to celebrate
we had a wine dinner

on our dock with some of our friends
four courses

four different wines

or beer...for those that can't handle their wine

day 139

day 27

details of a wedding

over the labor day weekend we headed to kansas city to attend a friend's wedding
it was an elope of sorts, although we all saw it coming!

we all met up at the bowling alley
then took the cutest trolley to the ceremony location

after the ceremony we waited for them to send a new trolley

as the original one had a little brake issue

the trolley took us back to the bowling alley

where we bowled a few frames

and had glorious cupcakes

it was the perfect place for their wedding
and i wish them a lifetime of love and happiness together!

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all the pics except of the cupcakes are of all the cute little details at the ceremony location
the lemonade was to die for (lavender mint, if i remember right)!

b&w class - messages

i've really struggled with these prompts lately
they're all about messages
if you're any kind of friend you just understand...
i'm not observant
and i'm just not deep
and we hardly leave camp
so to find messages out in the world to me
was virtually impossible
so don't expect anything deep or profound, but here goes...

well said

no words necessary

handwritten

two years!

we've officially made it to two years of wedded bliss!
and yes, i'm still calling it wedded bliss
because it truly is!

i think when you wait as long as i did to find "the one", he really is
it has its advantages and disadvantages though
advantage - you've gotten your independence out of your system and know what you want
disadvantage - you've been single so long you're pretty set in your own ways

with each passing day i learn to love him more than the day before
as i try to accept the independent ways he's set for himself
and he tries to accept mine

i wouldn't change my life with sean and duke for anything
i think we have a pretty amazing family and life together

as for our plans to celebrate?
i'm laying in a hotel bed enjoying the beautiful flowers my honey had waiting for me when i checked in
(even though i changed hotels at the last minute and completely freaked him out)

it helps some but, truth be told, i'd rather be spending it with my family, cuddling on the couch

this man...

has been gone for far too long...

Remember the London trip?  Well, we went because Sean had been there for work since November (love me a vacation with a free place to stay).

I can't say it's been easy...or enjoyable...being home alone while he's off touring Europe working hard.
In fact it's been the hardest thing I've had to do in quite some time.

I didn't realize how much I had come to love having him around 24/7.
I knew we were meant to be together considering we could work together all day and still want to be around each other after work.
So, when he's all of a sudden not around, I freak out!

6 hours doesn't sound like much - but it is when you're trying to find time to talk during the day.

But he's back now and I'm ecstatic!!!

I love that he loves my baby as his own.
I love that he supports me no matter how many hobbies I try.

I love that he loves to travel as much as I do.
I love that he's such a softy - even if he doesn't want people to know.
I love his free spirit and fun nature.

I love that he's also focused and gets stuff done.
I love our life together and so glad we're physically back together!!!

shopping with sean???

There are definitely some drawbacks to this snowbird thing.  You have two houses - and therefore two closets - to contend with.  We're trying to keep a set of clothes in Maine and a set in Texas.  Sometimes we forget what's at the other house.  Fall and spring really are transition seasons so you need some summer clothes in Texas and some winter clothes in Maine still.

I've been trying to get Sean to expand his wardrobe so I don't have to pack and move all his clothes each time we make the move.  It backfired a little bit this time - for Sean, not me.  Sean finally joined me in Texas this past weekend.  He stayed behind a couple of extra weeks as he had some things to wrap up.  He tried hard to not pack up his whole closet this time around.

Yesterday afternoon, he realized he had no shorts, t-shirts or casual shoes in Texas.  It's still pretty warm down here and he pretty much lives in those so he suggested we go shopping last night after work (which NEVER happens).  First stop was DSW for some shoes (my fav!!).  After picking out 2 pairs of shoes (with a lot of input by me), he suggested we look for some shoes for me.

WHAT???  SERIOUSLY???

He always complains I have too many shoes.  I guess he was feeling guilty that he was getting some and I wasn't.  I didn't find any I couldn't live without so we headed to the next store on the lookout for shorts.  It's really hard to find shorts at the end of October.  I thought there would be tons on the sale racks but the stores where we went had pretty much already sent their inventory away for the season.

We actually did find some though.  Yet again, Sean suggested I look for some clothes for me (I'm a little light on warmer weather clothes here too).  He'd probably hate me for saying this but he was even a trooper and watched my fashion show and provided input on what I should get.  It was definitely a very fun evening with my honey!

What has your honey done for you lately that you were surprised by but oh so enjoyed?

faith

It's official - we have now been married for exactly one year.  It was the most amazing wedding if I do say so myself.  Everything was perfect!  The entire thing was a culmination of faith though.  Faith is acceptance of what we cannot see but feel deep within our hearts.  In this day and age, people have so much trouble with faith.  If they can't see it, it just can't be true.  It usually has a religious context and how people that believe in God have to do so by faith - we cannot and have not seen him so we only know he exists by faith.  I have this kind of faith; I know he exists deep down within my heart.

I think it's having this faith that allowed me to be so calm on my wedding day - I had faith...

faith that I would find that someone special some day

faith that he would also find me

faith that two children under 5 and a dog could make it down the aisle

faith that it wouldn't rain (as for why I didn't need a back-up plan)

faith that the clouds would roll in at the right time for perfect picture lighting

faith that everything would go exactly like I wanted

faith everyone would get there and home safely

faith that at least one of our Grandparents would be there to see it

faith everyone would fall in love with Maine and want to come back and visit us over and over

faith that my life will end up even better than I could ever imagine

Some of my favorite/most memorable parts of the day:

• having breakfast dropped on the floor during breakfast with my attendants
• candlepin bowling with all my girls the morning of the wedding
• turning the corner coming down the "aisle" to Stairway to Heaven (orchestral version) to see all my friends and family staring back
• the look on Sean's face
• having Sean's grandmother there
• the sand ceremony
• bagpipes by the neighbor
• first trip around the lake as husband and wife upon the "Ship O'Fools"
• ride to the reception
• showing Maine what the Cotton Eyed Joe is
• proving to Sean that people really do dance at weddings in Maine
• extending the reception each time they told us it was time to go
• being able to have all our closest friends and family there to enjoy the day with us
• taxi ride home after walking through the sparkler path

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Now for what you've all been waiting for...

the winner is...

That does sound funny, but mean at the same time.  Fourteen people in a wedding party - WOW!

Please send me an email so we can coordinate when you would like to receive them.  They're live so you're going to want to receive them the day you're going to cook them.

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pictures by numerous wedding guests and Duke

Thanks to everyone that tried for the lobster giveaway.  We really enjoyed hearing about your favorite memories from weddings past and I've really enjoyed reliving the memories from my wedding with you.