Day 7

Day 7 was a very calm day. We stayed in the room all day, just watching Lifetime movies and recooperating from the week. We ate breakfast and lunch at our regular spots and ate our last Jamaican dinner at San Gennaro's, the first place we had dinner here in Jamaica. Then, we stayed up late to play Bingo Bonanza with all the old people at the resort! Neither of us won, but we had a lot of fun anyway. This has been a very fun week, but we are both ready to come home now. I've been dreaming about work for the past four nights. That's sad, isn't it? I told Brad the second day that we were here that I missed work. He just looked at me like I was nuts! And we both can't WAIT to see Bella! We miss her so much! We will be traveling all day tomorrow. We will leave the resort at around 9:00am and will get back to Tuscaloosa at about 9:00pm. I'll post some wedding pictures as soon as I can!

Day 6

And we are EXHAUSTED!!!!!! We started the day off eating breakfast at our normal spot, then we headed out to Dolphin Cove to swim with the dolphins! Before we got to the dolphins, we got to play with some parrots and an iguana, too. Once we were in the water with the dolphins, we got to pet them on their backs and stomachs, they danced for us, they sang for us, and they did all sorts of tricks. Then, we got to hold on to their dorsal fins and they pulled us around in a circle. THEN, we laid flat on our stomachs and the dolphins came up behind us, picked us up out of the water by our feet and swam for a good 30 feet with us on their noses! It was a really cool experience. After that, the dolphins gave us kisses and left. While we were at the Dolphin Cove, we also got to swim with the sting rays! We had a lot of fun there. After we left the cove we came back to the resort and got all fancied up to try and eat at the fancy restaurant, Valentino's, again. We made it in this time! I think Valentino's is my favorite restaurant here. Once we got back to the room, we both just about passed out we were so tired!! Tomorrow, we plan on relaxing at the resort all day....and pack to come home!! Here are a few pictures from dinner....once again, all of our pictures from Dolphin Cove are on our water camera, so you'll have to wait for those. And just a little FYI, one picture from Dolphin Cove is $16.00. And to get a video of your dolphin tricks, it's $120.00. Needless to say, we didn't get either. OH, and I forget to tell you all of the new joy I have found in sleeping with Brad every night. The other night I woke up to a big THUD across my face and a big pain in my nose. I immediately grabbed my nose and it was BLEEDING!! Brad woke up and said, "Oh, did I hit you? I was spinning the WHEEL!" He was dreaming of being on Wheel of Fortune and when he went to spin the wheel, he really spun it and his fist landed on my FACE!! Thanks loving husband...

Before dinner

At Valentino's

Day 5

Day 5 was a fun day. We started the day off eating breakfast at the Manor Restaurant again and then we went down by the pool. We thought there was going to be a couple's treasure hunt in the pool, but there was a volleyball game instead. And of course, Brad wanted to play. So we did and we were separated into teams opposing each other. I didn't know at the time, but I really SUCK at volleyball and my team lost. It was still a lot of fun, though. After that, we had lunch at the Barefoot Bistro and then headed to Dunn's River Falls. We had SO MUCH FUN there! We even had a video made of our group climbing the falls! And we took a picture at the exact waterfall that Mom and Doug had a picture taken on their honeymoon! After we climbed the falls, we got back on the boat and headed to a snorkelling reef! We snorkelled for about an hour and got some pretty pictures of the fish. After that, we came back to the resort and got ready for dinner. There are only two restaurants here that you have to dress up for for dinner and we were going to one. When we got there at 8:00pm (one hour before they closed) we were turned away because they were no longer taking reservations! We waited too late! So we were all dressed up for nothing....so we went to a restaurant named Reef Terrace (where there was a 45 minute wait) instead. So we waited, then ate, then headed back to the room. We didn't get to bed until 10:30pm!!! I don't have any pictures from the falls because they are on my water camera, but I do have pictures from dinner!



Waiting at the restaurant


My sexy husband!!


Me!


We are going to Dolphin Cove today to swim with the dolphins!

Day 4

What a day, what a day. Today was the best day we've had and the worst day we've had! We started the day off with a wonderful breakfast at the Manor Restaurant. Then we layed out at the pool until lunch. We had a quick lunch at the Marketplace and got ready for our next tour...Tubing down the White River! If you ever come to Jamaica, please do yourself a favor and go tubing. It was the most relaxing, beautiful experience. But before you get to the White River, you have to take about a 45 minute ride through the jungle. Now that may sound like a fun, scenic ride, but the roads are horrible and filled with holes (not to mention the Jamaican driving!!) So we are about half way through the ride to the river when I tell Brad that I didn't think my stomach could take much more of it.....and at that exact moment, the driver says, "Ok, that was the best part of the road. Now it's going to be a little bumpy!" Haha. Not so funny. We finally made it to the river after about 20 more minutes. The water was crystal clear and beautiful! We were tubing down the crystal clear water with the jungle and wildlife around us and it was the most relaxing experience of our lives!! Until after two-thirds of the way through.....That's when it started raining. Not Alabama rain, JAMAICA rain! It's the rainy season here and literally when it rains, it POURS! It rained on us the rest of the way down the river and it rained HARD and COLD. It rained so hard, we couldn't even see!!! And when the rain let up a little, the guides told us that we were going to go through the 'flipping rapid.' So we all held on tight and went through it. Well because it was raining so hard, I had to close my eyes going down the rapid. While going down the rapid, I am trying my hardest not to flip over and then I feel a sharp pain across my right foot. I finally made it through the rapid and look down and my foot has a big bloody gash on it! And OH MY GOODNESS did it sting!! We finally made it to the end of our 'relaxing' ride and ran to the bus to get our towels. We headed back to the hotel all soaking wet. When we get back to the hotel, we get ready to go out to eat. For supper, we ate at a Western restaurant named Arizona's, where we dined on fajitas and nachos! YUM! We actually made it to 8:40pm tonight! Ha!

My injury!

Where's my Momma when I need her?!?!?

Eating at Arizona's

Brad eating a nacho

A Jamaican sunset!!

Dunn's River Falls tomorrow!!

Day Two and Three

Day Two consisted of us lounging around and doing absolutely NOTHING but relaxing. We got a special room service honeymoon breakfast of fresh fruit, pancakes, omelettes and more! After breakfast, we went down to check out the pools and got some sun. One of the pools had a slide and we had a lot of fun on that! We then had lunch and swam again. For dinner, we ate at an Asian restaurant named Orchids. It was FABulous! We went to bed at around 8:00pm (surprise, surprise!) This morning, we had our honeymoon breakfast again and then we headed off to our first tour. We went rafting down the Martha Brae River! It was a lot of fun.....besides the fact that it RAINED on us the ENTIRE TIME!!!! We were soaking wet by the end of the trip and we realized that we never ate lunch!! When we got back to the resort, we were so exhausted, but starving, so we decided to get ready and go out to eat. We had dinner at a seafood restaurant named Bayside. Brad and I both had the blackened snapper and it was delicious! Off to bed now! It's 7:50pm!!! Only 10 minutes before bedtime!!

Rafting down the Martha Brae

Our captain, Maurice

Maurice took this one!

After it rained on us for an hour!!

Eating at Orchid's

More tomorrow!

We did it!

We got married!! We both had SOOO much fun at our wedding and reception, and we want to thank each and every one of you that came. And I especially want to thank all my bridesmaids for putting up with me all day and following all my orders!! Ya'll were troopers! And another special thank you to whoever is responsible for putting all of those crickets in the car...and the shaving cream.....and plastic wrap.....and condoms.....and KY Jelly.....just remember, we know who you are and cannot wait until YOUR wedding day!!

After we left the reception, Brad drove us to Atlanta. We woke up the next morning thinking we were perfectly on time and ready to go. We got to the airport and realized that our cell phones did not change time zones AND the hotel clock had Tuscaloosa time!!! We arrived at the airport ONE HOUR before our plane left!!!! By the grace of GOD, someone from the airport just walked up to us and asked if we were in a hurry. He took us out of the 100-people-deep line and checked us in. He then told us that our gate was the LAST gate in the airport (meaning the furthest away) and then he told us to RUN!!! So off we ran toward security. When we got to security, we encountered another 100-people-deep line. Again, by the grace of God, an airport security officer came up to us and showed us another line that had just opened and was completely CLEAR of people! We brushed through security and ran toward the tram, where we jumped in right before the doors closed. We went through international check-in, security and made it all the way to the end of the airport in about 20 minutes. I told Brad that the good Lord reallllly wanted us to go to Jamaica!

We got to Jamaica safely and rode on a bus for about two hours to the resort. We walked around and checked out the HUGE resort for a while and then had dinner at a nice Italian restaurant named San Gennaro. Today, we have gone to the different pools and lounged around. We had lunch at a quick grill where I had Jamaican Jerk Chicken for the first time. My mouth is STILL on fire!! We then came back to the room for a much needed afternoon nap and we are now about to head down to the pool again! We scheduled our Dunn's River Falls tour for Thursday and I am SO excited!

Married hands on the airplane!!!


















Getting ready to fly


















Our room


















At San Gennaro

Super Busy and Super Excited!!!!!

THREE DAYS!!!!!! That's the day after the day after tomorrow!!!!!!! Tonight, I HAVE to finish putting together all of the programs. I only have about 100 more to do. Those that know me know that I have a touch of OCD and am very organized, but for some reason I have put off those stupid programs until the last minute. But the good news is that after I get the rest of them done, I am DONE with everything! If I can only make it to Thursday night, I'll be home-free! My grandparents are coming into town late tonight so Thursday night, we are having a Margarita Wedding Kick-Off Celebration!!! I am so excited! Then Friday, I get to spend the day with my Momma, relaxing, getting our nails and hair done and of course, EATING! Then we will rehearse the ceremony and have a fun time at Jester's with everyone! And I get to spend my last night as a single woman with my Mom, watching Lifetime movies and eating pizza at 3:00am (yeah right, I know!) I probably won't post again until after Brad and I get back from Jamaica so I will see you all (hopefully!) Saturday!!!!!!

Griffin's Graduation

Today my nephew, Griffin, graduated preschool! The school played the "graduation song" and each little kid came walking slowly down the aisle to their seat. Poor Griff cried the whole way down! I guess he was scared of all the people watching him! They all sang several songs and were SO cute! The whole program was choreographed and it was funny to see the kids try their best to remember what they were supposed to do next. After they sang, the kids lined up to receive their diplomas. They were all so proud! Then we took pictures and everyone stayed and ate pizza with the graduates! I can't believe Griffin will start kindergarten in August! I remember when April called us at 3:00am to tell us that her water broke and that Griffin would be born that day! Who knew that five years later, she would have two more beautiful babies!

Here are some pictures from the ceremony:

Griffin was being shy at first


Griffin receiving his diploma


They had a cake with all the kid's faces on it. Here Griffin is posing with his face!


April and Reece


Me getting some sugar from Reece


Peyton and Reece


Reece enjoying lunch



Hope you enjoy! 9 days until the Big Day!

More Stress...

Well today has moved my stress level up from a 5 to about an 8. First of all, the Sheraton (where we will have the reception) called to tell us that they LOST my check. They don't know if it's just lost or if someone has it. So now, only God knows who has my check and my bank account number! So I had to do a stop payment on the check and now I have to get them a new check. The lady that is in charge of my reception said that they would pay any fees I incurred in doing the stop payment, but in my opinion, they should give me some sort of discount on the whole thing. I mean, losing someone's check is a huge deal! You don't do that!

And after all of that happened, I got an email from a friend saying that I didn't thank three people that helped throw my second shower and I needed to thank them. I had no idea that these three people had anything to do with the shower. They didn't come to the shower, didn't send a gift, didn't say anything to me about the shower when they saw me at church....nothing. So please tell me how in the world I was supposed to know that they had anything to do with it?!?

And I am so sick of people getting their feelings hurt with the decisions I make regarding MY wedding AND all of the opinions that AREN'T asked for. I've had people mad at me for not moving the time of the rehearsal so they can be there, bridesmaids not show up for showers NOR call to tell me they weren't coming, budget issues, family drama, the list goes ON and ON and ON. I cannot WAIT to go to Jamaica and get away from Tuscaloosa for a week.

Sorry for the rant. I feel much better now. 10 more days and I'm a Mrs!

The final stretch...

Only 12 days left before I'm MARRIED! The wedding is NEXT WEEK! It's amazing how fast 14 months can fly by! Brad and I worked in the yard mostly all weekend long, just trying to get everything looking pretty! This week the challenge is to clean my car, inside and out! Otherwise, we won't be able to fit any luggage into the car for the honeymoon. Brad and I can't wait to get away from all the stress of this wedding. Don't get me wrong, it's been a wonderful experience, but I couldn't do it again. Too many people have too many opinions about everything. And when you try to not upset this person, another person gets upset and it never ends! Now that Brad is finished with school, we are getting our suitcases packed and ready to go!

I found a picture of our first prom together. It's pretty funny.



It's hard to believe that it's been six years and here we are about to get married! When did we grow up into adults? I always tell Brad that we are the same person, only different genders because we act so much alike and have the same sense of humor. Sometimes when we are around a group of family or friends and Brad tells a joke, I'm the only one laughing and snorting so loud that it hurts my nose! Most of the time, we don't even have to speak and we know what the other is saying. Like when we are sitting in church, I lean next to him and he automatically puts his arm around me because he knows that I'm cold. Or when I hand him the remote at night, he knows that I'm going to sleep and to turn the volume down on the tv. I honestly couldn't have found a better man to marry. To put up with my spoiled habits and hard-headed behavior, I'm lucky he still hangs around me!

We are looking forward to seeing everyone at the wedding, especially all of you out of towners! See you in 12 days!

The ride to work....

My spoiled child gets to go to her grandmother's house everyday while I'm at work. Bella loves her MiMi! She gets to play with her sister, Sophie, all day, take naps and play outside. Here are some pictures from our ride into town this morning:

Bella loves her Mommy!


She likes to drive!


My little polar bear cub!


Isn't she precious!



We found out yesterday that Brad's internship at the VA will not be paid. So he will have to work at Subway all summer, too. It's not what we hoped for, but I'm sure everything will eventually work out. In the mean time, Brad has two finals down and two more to go and then he is finished with school!

We hope everyone is having a great week! 18 days!

19 Days!

That's 2 1/2 weeks people!

Brad has finals all this week and then he is DONE with school! YAY! Now I might actually get to see him! He also is going to the VA today to get his fingerprints on file! Hopefully they will open up a position for him after his internship. That would be such a great job with GREAT benefits! Cross your fingers!

Nothing too exciting going on with me. Just working and waiting on May 24th.

There is about to be one less family member at our house. Poor George is driving everybody crazy. I love the cat, but seriously, how many times do I have to throw him off the kitchen counter tops before he realizes I don't want him to get on them anymore?!?!? He almost destroyed Brad's Wii this past weekend, too. (Which was entirely Brad's fault, but he wanted to blame the cat...) So if any of you readers want a year old male cat, neutered and declawed in the front, let me know! He can be yours!