Semi-annual update. Blogging is hard.

I have to stop doing this to myself.  Also, I should stop giving my friend Katie a hard time about not updating her blog. And hi Heather! I'm sure you are reading this soon!  My faithful blog followers.

My last update was early September.  Which means we have celebrated 4 of 5 family birthdays since I last posted.  So, birthday celebrations included a pool party for lovely lucy, a camping party for precious peter, and a neighborhood celebration for adorable addy.  Sandwiched in between their big days were trips to Disney World (a hit for Lucy, who wore her Mickey Mouse t-shirt and pointed at it all during the parade held just for her birthday), & Legoland for Peter man.  Also a huge hit...farther from O-town than we planned for, but a super fun experience.  If you can go, go!

P and L are halfway through their school years, they both have amazing sets of teachers who we love dearly.  I love how my kids are loved at their school & admired and encouraged for the little unique people that they are.  Peter started soccer with his school friends, he is much more interested in practice than he is in playing the games...his favorite thing to do is sit on the bench and play in the dirt with his friend Annie.  He loves practice though!  Lucy was the team mascot...and cried when she wasn't allowed to play.  This same scenario has popped up now that P has started tee ball.  Lucy cries and cries and says "only boys can play", to which I say "no way lucy loo!  girls are awesome too and you can play...you just have to be 4!!"  I also want to tell her, get used to it my friend.  The boys are not going to want you to play!  But she's fierce and she'll hold her own the day after her 4th birthday :)

We celebrated the great Aunt T's wedding to Spencer.  We all had a blast together with the whole family, it was an impossible task without the help of the other great aunt Theresa & Matt who came to help us with the kiddos for the weekend!  Cousin Casey to the rescue who braided Lucy's hair (I still need to learn that skill), and we were thankful for a super relaxed bride who didn't seem to notice or care that none of our kids left the ceremony when they were supposed to.

ok.  It's photo dump time.  As usual, this is the best you'll get from me!

September: Lucy loo's birthday

- 20 photos!  I don't know how to pare down.  Is that right? Pare?  I used to be smart. (Also, yea, i just googled it.)

October

Aunt T got married! 

i had a lot of fun at the after party.  a lot.

cutest halloween crew there ever was!

November: Peter man's birthday

also included, Fun Fair, setting up for Christmas

December: Addy girl

January

celebrating Uncle Mack & Alex's engagement!

February

March

I had to document this find...for FREE!  What a steal. I'm thankful for my re-entry on facebook for this gem.  Brendan calls it the chariot...and it's totally the way we ride now.  Happy March my friends!

Oh, another note.  I'm into doterra essential oils these days.  I thought they might be hokey at first, but our family of 5 have made it through the winter with barely a sniffle!  No more nebulizers or antibiotics for us! ( I mean, we'll take them if we need them, but we haven't needed them!) I'm a believer!  www.mydoterra.com/essentiallylea.  So empowering, I'm telling you!

Capitol Hill to Foggy Bottom

After a year working on the Senate's greatest staff for U.S. Senator Bill Nelson of Florida, I am leaving (hopefully temporarily) in order to serve in a veterans fellowship at the U.S State Department as a Foreign Service Officer. Glory and I had had some great times in the Senate, and I hope to be back on this great team after the year is up!

A true blue dog

Sniffing out bad policy

Last Chance's Stella Maris "Mariner's Glory"

The bourbon assisted, live-auction winning, name angst-ed, long awaited addition to the RBDIII traveling roadshow is here! I picked up new puppy GLORY from her litter family in snowy Last Chance, ID and brought her to sunny Florida to meet her new family. She traveled by air from ID to FL, then by car from FL to DC. What a champ!

First night together

Chilling under the seat on her first plane ride

Meeting her cousins

Surviving I-95

Queen of her new castle

Wedding Bells

We did it!

I mean we in the whole sense of the word. Spencer and I are the ones that got married, but the whole clan made the Wedding Week really the best week ever. I have to admit, for the two weeks prior to the wedding I was an anxious mess. It was probably a lot longer than just two weeks but I want to think that I was a fairly relaxed bride.


A short paragraph about the months leading up to the wedding:

I had the best summer, traveling back and forth to New York City, a full 10 days in Pensacola, a weekend trip to Washington DC to visit with friends, another weekend trip to Colorado to see Grace Potters and some friends from New Orleans, and finally a weekend at New Smyrna Beach with my closest buds celebrating my last days of being a bachelorette. When I wasn't traveling, I got to spend so many hours with my favorite little people of all time, adorable A, lovely L, and precious P. At this point, it should be clear that my mom is the most amazing person of all time since while I was celebrating and having an excellent summer, she was holding down the fort and planning what would turn out to be the best weekend ever.

 In between all the traveling, mom, LDL, and I did all the fun things that brides get to do. We picked out my wedding gown (my most favorite dress ever; and a major surprise), tried on bridesmaids dresses, celebrated with champagne, tasted incredible foods with the caterers and at the bakery, created a signature cocktail, and stamped T&S on many, many things. Wedding planning was a delight, mainly because my People are delightful.

But the two weeks prior to the wedding. . . yeah. Wow. I was a ball of stress thinking about getting married, moving, trying to find work in New York etc etc. Stress at the house was high too; AC broke about a week before the big event. NBD. The reception is at our house and the weather forecast called for torrential rain. So our "rain plan" was to house wedding guests in the house. You need air conditioning in Florida for that.

Anyway, I just wanted to give a picture of what was happening prior to the festivities and I haven't even touch 1/4 of things/events etc. In strokes of obvious Divine Intervention, every thing fell into perfect place. The rain stopped and the sun shined; temperatures were cooler so that it felt like Fall in Florida; vendors hired turned into advice givers and stress relievers; friends and family showed up in droves to support and celebrate Spencer and me.

We kicked off the weekend with a New York Big Apple party on Thursday for the neighborhood friends and families. I couldn't have asked for a better kick-off. I felt so comfortable and loved and relaxed. The host house was welcoming and beautiful. Lifelong friends are such an amazing blessing.

Friday started out with a banging brunch at Country Side Circle. My entire wedding party, my aunts, and dear friends showed up to shower me with love at a brunch with an "Always Be Adventuring" theme. Executed excellently -- even though some of the childhood photos of S and me were a little embarrassing (but hilarious and awesome). LTD wrote the most incredible poem in a way that only she can do -- love articulated through the alphabet. Brunch was filled with hilarious stories; we laughed until our sides hurt thanks to the storytelling skills of my bridesmaids. So quickly brunch was over and I found myself getting ready for Rehearsal at the church and a celebratory dinner thrown by S's parents. Initially I was apprehensive about people giving toasts or other speeches. But then things got started and I loved every bit of it. My siblings are thoughtful, funny, and skilled orators. My friends seem to remember everything told stories with such joy. The setting was beautiful in a back yard facing Lake Killarney. And before I knew it, the night was over.

Wedding Day Saturday was just perfect. I couldn't have asked for anything more. My parents house looked like a scene from a movie. The bridal party and I got ready at the house while watching SEC football (thank goodness the Gators managed a win against UT just before we boarded the bus). Things went swimmingly the whole day -- even if they didn't, I didn't notice! Pictures prior to the wedding were fun -- lovely L ran up to me in her fancy dress with her fancy hair and asked if I was getting married. Then she spent the rest of the day talking about her wedding. She definitely thought that this was her party. LDL and LTD helped me get dressed, RBD2 picked up where they left off and kept me company -- relaxed, laughing, and excited -- until we walked down the aisle together. From then on out the evening was magical. I may have botched a few of my lines and gone in for a kiss a bit too soon but it was those things that made it a fun event. The joy was contagious -- surely the presence of the Lord is in this place. 

The party following the ceremony was the most fun party I've ever attended. The first dance that S and I had practiced suited our style (and he showed off much better moves that I did). The food was delicious and the drinks were flowing. It was one of those nights that I never wanted to end -- except that I was also so tired! Looking at the pictures has been so much fun -- I love seeing that everyone else had as much fun as I did. Literally, the best day of my life. I'll never be able to thank people that participated enough - most especially my parents and siblings for being their true, rock-star selves.

PICTURES:
http://blog.mikebuoy.com/2014/10/orlando-wedding-photographer-taylor-spencers-orlando-wedding-and-reception.html

Beautiful Bali

In June, SBE and I traveled all the way across the world to the Indonesian island of Bali. We took a poll and realized that while other people had traveled more hours due to plane delays and such, Orlando, Fl is just about as far as you can get. But there are no complaints here. S and I knew the trip was completely worth it when we were greeted exuberantly by his friend Masha, the bride were were celebrating. Then we woke up and had breakfast overlooking the ocean with palm trees swaying in the wind. Beautiful Bali is right.

View from Breakfast

Jet lag set in pretty quickly, so S and I spent the first day hanging out at the hotel, swimming in the worlds largest pool (I think literally). It had a main pool just outside of the lobby, but also had pedestrian bridges over the water, which winded into a few canal-like waterways. We had a great time just slowly swimming along the edges, imagining the type of guest that chose the pool front room. Later we discovered it was mostly families with kids. Makes sense, right? The kiddos could so swimming whatever hour they wanted and the grown-ups could sip the appropriate beverage while still keeping an eye out without leaving their porch!

View from our room

 Once it was type to go exploring, S and I hooked with the other members of the wedding party for some poolside hangouts and rides on the jet ski. S had big plans of trying to get me back from throwing him off the jet ski almost a year ago when we were in Pensacola. Sadly (for him) the water was just a bit too crowded to really lose the governor on the machine. Still, it was a great time and really helped us get to know the others in the wedding celebration. I had never met them before and S only knew a few from New York. After the jet ski experience and asking the locals about the "Fly Fishing" we headed out for wedding prep a la Rehearsal Dinner. (The Fly Fish, by the way, it not at all what you might think. Its not fishing at all. It is a giant inflatable that is pulled behind a speed boat. The driver of the fish guides the inflatable in a manner that allows it to catch wind and fly into the air. It looks terrifying.)

At the Rehearsal Dinner

 The Rehearsal Dinner was beautiful and very traditional to Bali. We had some incredible bar-b-Que (though obviously very different from what we were used to) and listened to Balinese music played by a live band. The band was later upstaged by the groom's parents, who sang and danced to the whole wedding party at the end of the night.


M&D were an excellent host couple. While any of us would have traveled to Bali as an exotic vacation, they went the extra mile to ensure their guests were well entertained throughout the week. Part of this meant treating the wedding party to a full day tour of the island. Some parts were a little frustrating because we were stuck in a van with some ridiculous traffic for so long. But again, you're in Bali. There is no complaining. After spending the morning watching a traditional Balinese dance (complete with gods, monkeys, and tigers) we traveled up the road, through some rice paddies and winded up at a beautiful lunch place over looking Mount Batur. S and I had previously though about riding our bikes up and down this road and were thankful to experience it in a bus prior to making that decision! It is very steep, windy, and very, very narrow. How beautiful is this place? And lunch was a buffet with some pretty delicious items and a round of Bitang for everyone.

Overlooking Mount Batur

The Monkey Jungle. Aka: Jumanji

Then. . . . then we went to the Monkey Jungle where monkeys roam free. Play the video above to see the scene as S and I are about to walk up the stairs. We got separated from the rest of the group because we went the wrong way initially so we were trying to meet back up. In order to meet our friends, we had to walk up this set of stairs while the monkeys cascaded down. I tried to pretend like I wasn't nervous but I stood as still as possible while muttering to myself "don't make eye contact. . .don't make eye contact. . . don't make eye contact"! Anyway, the point of this Bali tour was to show just how diverse this island is. We had been staying down in Denpasar and traveled through Ubud (monkeys) on the tour.

 The second half of the week, we headed to a different side of the island: Seminyak. We walked a long way on the beach after checking in to our new hotel and receiving our leis  and complimentary Bali Beverage. It is such a beautiful and calming place. So many different cultures and languages too. 

Enjoying a long walk on the beach

Post-Wedding Surf Celebration

Post Snorkeling tour of Turtle Island

Even after the most beautiful wedding I have ever seen (I mean, M&D danced across steppping stones of an infinity pool just outside of the chapel that overlooks the cliff side ocean and fireworks shot off as they were announced as Mr. and Mrs. H) our friends hosted a post-wedding party that included surfing, food & drinks, and lawn games! My favorite things! Except that I am terrible at surfing. At first I thought that I was going to be a natural. I jumped on my board, paddled out to the first break, waited a few minutes, turned around and paddled so hard with the wave I thought  was flying. I went so fast and so far into shore that I temporarily forgot that I was going to have to paddle back through those waves if I had any hop of catching another. Turns out that I am a one wave wonder. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted. I felt like I earned the extra beers, hours of ping pong and darts, and an extra handful of french fries. Damn Right. 

Honu: Spirit Animal

Nope, still not that comfortable with lizards

S and I had a couple of days after the wedding celebrations and event to explore the island on our own. We decided on a snorkeling trip with a visit to a place called "Turtle Island". We were thinking iit was like a turtle sanctuary. Boardwalks through the marshes, turtles in a semi-natural habitat, an occasional information stand designed to increase knowledge of the turtle power. Nope. Not the case. We arrive and are immediately escorted to get our picture taken next to the token giant letherhead turtles (which would cost money to keep), then a tour of little boxes with turtles swimming around in groups based on size. Then there were caged birds, bats, and . . . . lizards. It was an interesting experience. We had a great time laughing through the awkward moments that required us to say "no, thank you" 100 times until we finally said "we are not interested in buying trinkets from your shop" which felt really rude but it was the only way to get the message across! It was such an awesome experience. 

S and I spent the last night in Bali with our new friends watching the sunset at a place called Potato Head  (with about half of the people staying in a 10 mile radius; it was packed). I know I have titled this post "beautiful Bali" so I should find a new word to describe it. . . . breath-taking? Delicious? Wait. Those aren't the same? They should be. We finished the night at Naughty Nerrie's for Ribs and Martini's. I know, bizarre pairing. Butt it was incredible! Ribs so tender the meat falls off the bone. Martinis so well poured the server asks you to take a sip so that they can refill the glass before they leave the table. AM-AZE-ING. This trip was such a wonderful pre-wedding honeymoon. And yes, I forgot to mention that everyone asked us if it was our honeymoon and/or called me by S's last night. Not yet, ladies and gentlemen, not yet. 

Sunset at Potato Head

Waiting for our airport shuttle

So long, Bali!