To Get Things Started...

Let's start off with a huge post to update people on whats been going on the last month since the wedding. Nothing can be said without first reviewing the wedding.

THE WEDDING:
The wedding was a big blur in our minds really, we remember the vows and some of the interesting "problems" that came up along the way, but we are really relying on our pictures to tell us the story of the day. All I (Jenn) remember is that I thought I would have more time to get ready and wouldnt be so rushed, boy was I wrong! Tommy and I had a very long day and I think that I can speak for both of us when I say, I am glad its all over with. Anyone involved in the planning knows it was a challenge, I cant count the number of times things got changed or went wrong. In the end, "all that matters" is that we are married...
Anyone that is getting married in the next couple of years: Don't hesistate to contact us if you need help on wedding ideas or need information on what vendors to use and which to stay away from!

THE HONEYMOON:
After the stressful couple of days before the wedding, we were really looking forward to the cruise. Unfortunately we didnt get much sleep Saturday night after we got the reception hall and the bed and breakfast cleaned up, but we did make it safely to the airport. Despite our best efforts, we still almost missed our cruise - our flight sat on the runway for over an hour for the 15 minute flight from Flint to Detroit. We made the connection in Detroit with little time to spare, but we arrived safely in Miami with plenty of time to get on board. The lines to get on the ship were pretty long, but they moved well. It was a bit of work because we decided to handle most of our baggage ourselves, and 3 suitcases and lots of stairs/escalators is NOT fun! Once on board we found our room, dropped off suitcases and decided to explore the ship. I was very surprised by the size of the ship, but even more overwhelmed by the amount of people. Tommy says that it was NOTHING like this when he went with his family, so he was surprised as well.
Monday: Nassau Bahamas - We had arranged to do a dolphin encounter first thing in the morning, so we headed off to Blue Lagoon Island. I have loved dolphins my whole life, so this was an amazing experience for me. I would do it all over again, but maybe the swim program this time! After that we quickly walked through the straw market and stopped at Senor Frogs. On the way back to the ship we RAN to find the rum cakes I just HAD to have! :D There was a huge line to get back on the ship as this was our short day (7am - 2pm) and of course it decided to pour down rain!
Tuesday: Day at Sea - I dont remember specifically what we did this day, probably just wandered around the ship exploring. I think we went to a couple talks on shopping at the next two ports. We also had our first of two formal evenings at dinner - the food was stupendous!
Wednesday: St. Thomas - The first thing we did after docking in St. Thomas was browse a couple shops looking at alexandrite and tanzanite (both of which I love) and then we headed over to the Sky Ride. If I could take back one thing we spent money on it would be the sky ride, if I remember right it was over $40 for it, and all you did was ride up and ride down. It was way too hot to spend much time up there. However, at least we did get a couple of good pictures from the top! During our time at St. Thomas, we landed into a jewelry store and Tommy bought me the most beautiful necklace - its a "cultured" alexandrite pendant from the chameleon collection the main stone is 1.6 carats and there are three small diamonds accenting it! I also got an ammolite pendant from Ammolite by the Sea. In addition, Tommy bought some liquor to bring back, it was our bargain, I got jewelry, he got liquor! :) On the walk back to the ship we happened across a Wendys, and at that point we were SO thirsty we just had to stop, and of course its cool to say you sat staring at the ocean from the patio at Wendys, one of the best views I've ever had at a restaurant! LOL Somehow I managed to forget my shoes for formal night, and like a beacon in the night on the way back we found a payless!!!! I have never been so happy to see a shoe store, I was able to find shoes to fit my huge feet! That evening Tommy and I went to see a hypnotist after dinner, his name was Asad Mecci. While I am not sure I "believe" it, the people were quite amusing and it was a ton of laughs!
Thursday: St. Maarten - St. Maarten was beautiful! Tommy and I took the first water taxi over to the main shopping district and walked along the beautiful beach taking photos. We didnt do much shopping there, but we did end up with ANOTHER bottle of liquor! Mid-morning we headed back to the ship and sat by the pool until it was time to get to our snorkeling adventure, and what an adventure it was! Anyone who knows me, knows I am TERRIFIED of "fishy water" but I wanted to strech myself and make myself do things I wouldnt normally do. As we are getting ready, I start to have a panic attack and I was sure there was no way I could get into that water. Somehow, Tommy convinced me (maybe because I didnt want to look like a fool for wasting the money?!?!) to get into the water. I tried my hardest to snorkel like the rest of the group, but I just couldnt do it, as I would put my head in the water, I would see fish and other stuff and my depth perception must have been really off, because it looked like it was RIGHT THERE and I started freaking out... However, I DID stay in the water the whole time, and I DID try... so its a BIG step for me, maybe in 10 years I might actually be able to do it! Even though Tommy and I lathered ourselves with sunblock we both managed to get an ugly sun burn.
Friday: Day at Sea - Due to the prior mentioned sunburn we spent most of the day trying to heal. It was insane how quickly my sunburn progressed from painful to itchy to totally impossible to bear. After two trips to the "infermary" we found something that gave me at least a bit of relief and we got dressed for our second formal dinner on the cruise - I refused to miss it, no matter how much pain I was in! After dinner, Tommy and I went to another show on board the ship called "Far From Over" about the 80s.
Saturday and Sunday: Day at Sea/Debarkation - Another lazy day, not much to say here. I couldnt do much and spoiled all the fun, yay sunburn. Debarkation took place early Sunday morning and we spent a total of 8 hours on Sunday waiting at different airports to get home. I have never been so glad to see Flint, Michigan!

We had a great time on the cruise, of course it would have been nice to have less crowd, shorter lines, and no sunburn... but all in all, it was a great time.

THE PUPPPY:
The day after getting back from the cruise Tommy went to work and Jenn headed to Illinois to pick up their new puppy. It was an 7 hour trip each way but the puppy traveled well and has been doing well ever sense. Phoenix weighed 6.6 pounds when we brought him home and is now up to almost 9.5 pounds (hes growing like a weed)! He is already mostly potty trained (5 days accident free - woohoo!) and has slept through the night since the first night we had him! He is of course teething and has some puppy habits that we are working really hard to break, but hes a very sweet puppy and is a great addition to our family.

PICTURES:
There are links to pictures from the wedding, the cruise, our townhome, and our puppy! Feel free to browse at your leisure and let us know what you think.


LIFE AFTER THE MADNESS:
Tommy and I are just settling into life as a married couple. Tommy is loving his job and I am spending my days working on training pup so that I can find a job very shortly. We are still struggling to get everything "set up and organized" in the townhome, but its starting to feel alot like home and we can take some time to relax and enjoy our hard work! We finally got our checking account set up and spent 4 hours at the DMV to get our Indiana drivers licenses!

We hope that everyone is doing well and look forward to hearing from you in the future!