Maui Wedding

Just got home late last week and boy, what a wonderful trip it was.... Troy and I went for his brother's Wedding, and it really was a great time! We left from Atlanta and flew into Maui a few days before Thanksgiving, and did a lot of fun and exciting things, such as leaping  off of cliffs, snorkling, swimming with sea-turtles, hiking and jumping into clear water lagoons from rope swings!  Great fun! I got a sea-side massage and saw a sting ray.... and a big school of those silver fish from "Finding Nemo," you know, the ones that made shapes for Dori to guess??  Anyway, that was very cool.... We enjoyed our Turkey Day dinner at a Luau in Wailea, and the wedding reception at the Four Seasons.... yeah, they really pulled together an awesome bash, let me tell you. But the best part was that it cost us $20 to get there! Sky-Miles covered the whole trip, can you believe it?
Anyway, I know, I seriously need to shut up, so I'll close now.... just wanted to share what I've been up to.... now back to trying to find a job here in Tiny Town, Alabama.

Our Wedding and Honeymoon! So AWESOME!

 I am officially Mrs. Smith!!!! (How cool is that?!?!!!)

The whole weekend was awesome.... Friday, Bekah got in to the airport and Daddy and I picked her up, and we passed the time together smoking our traditional reunion cigars and giggling all day! It was the best!  Then that night, we went to meet up with Cris and Jules who drove in that day on a loooong trip from here in Va, and I am indebted to them for it, 'cause I know it was a long day, but they took a nap and then we went to the hotel, and there I was presented with a big ass blinking ring and a hot pink sash that said "Bachelorette" that I was instructed to wear for the night! We went out and then my cousin, Niki (Maid of Honor) met us there in town and we had a fabulous night, eating great food, drinking and laughing....it was a perfect party! We then went to the grocery store, stocked up on wine and snacks and went back to the hotel room, played cards (Apples to Apples, so fun!), and all of us piled into the two beds and fell asleep.
Saturday we got our nails done (took a very long time since this is a small town and there were only a few people who could do them at a time). and so we drank champagne and had snacks and hung out 'till the Rehearsal Dinner! Rennie arrived, and we all headed over to the restaurant, where we met up with Rebecca and Ian, and all of our friends and family! We had the whole place to ourselves, had delicious food and wine and great conversation, and it was a blast!
The Wedding Day.... June 24th.  .... it could not have been a more beautiful day!  We got our hair did, and headed over to the church to get dressed.  And just as I put on my Wedding dress, not 5 minutes later we all look down as I am getting ready to walk out into the lobby, and there on the floor is the whole bottom of my dress, ripping off onto the ground, hanging by threads. You could have heard a pin drop in that room, as all eyes turned to me to see what I was going to.... would she cry? would she faint? would she freak out and beat somebody over the head with her bouquet?  Nah, we just tore the rest of it off, brushed some clear nail polish to keep it from fraying, and after I had one unsavory moment that passed, I composed myself and we were off!
They rang the bells for us, which everybody else heard but me, for some reason!  :)   Then, I took my Daddy's arm and we walked up to the french doors. We looked at each other and smiled, and headed down the isle. It was AWESOME!!!!!!!  Troy looked incredible in his dress blues, and his dad, brother, my brother and Troy's best friend were all there smiling!
After the ceremony, and the lighting of the unity candle, we stood at the alter, and Troy's friends from the Honor Guard at Arlington, I know them lovingly as Chubbs and Perry, walked down the isle to us, and crossed their swords, instructed us to kiss in order to pass, and then Perry swatted me on the ass with his sword, welcoming me to the Army!
 We rode in a Cadilac Convertable to the Reception, doing 80 the whole way, all thewhile our driver blasted the horn for all it was worth,and everyone in town waved!  We got to the reception, and though a lot of it is a blur, I remember vividly my first dance with my Dad to "What a Wonderful World," and with Troy to Dierks Bentley's "Good Things Happen," (w/ Alison Krauss) and with my brother to "Gettin' Jiggy with It," and "Baby Got Back," (Troy's ringtone for whenever I call him!)  We ate great food and  drank wine and champagne, and danced our fool heads off! We sang,"Pour Some Sugar On Me," and did some swing dancing, and my neice Samantha stole the show with her own gettin' jiggy all over the dance floor, the whole night!  :)   Little mini-me, I tell ya!
Ah, the Honeymoon!  Our Honeymoon was absolutely perfect! I can't tell you how much fun we had, It was awesome! We spent most of our time on the beach laying out and swimming. We went snorkeling and saw all sorts of neat fish and fan plants and urchins….Troy saw a barracuda! We went shopping and visiting in Christianstead and went to a Wedding on our beach! A sweet couple from Texas, who are our age, renewed their vows after 10 years of marriage! It was so beautiful! We went to a HUGE "Pirate's Buffet" at our resort on our last night, and we ate like kings and queens, and watched stilt-dancers perform 18 feet in the air and drank Banana Coladas and Lime in the Coconuts and drank 'em both up, and we each ate about 10 Alaskan King Crabs each, easy!!  And smoked cigars and drank at night on the beach under the stars, and we night-swam in the ocean, and lounged in the pool one night with 3 other couples, and it was perfect. Just perfect.
....and there you have it.

Well, I had my first boxing class yesterday at 6 AM, and can I just say that it was probably one of the hardest things I have ever done. Seriously, I will spare you the details, but basically my body was pretty pissed at me for pushing myself so hard, and it let me know on no uncertain terms that it was not appreciated! At all. I could hardly stand afterwards, and was embarrased of the fact that even though I've exercised, more so lately for my wedding, I felt like I wanted to curl up in a ball and cry afterwards, it was so tough! But today I feel fantastic, and so glad that I am finally getting the chance to learn something I have wanted to for a long time. It is not going to be easy, that's for sure, but I am excited to get going with this! I don't have any interest in contending, certainly won't be anywhere near ready to do that for probably a very long time, but that isn't really the point of it for me. It is so much fun, and it is one more thing I get to knock off my list of things I want to do before I check out.