You may recall that heading into our Wedding Day, we started a blog to keep all our friends and family up-to-speed on the "goings-on" leading up to July 21, 2007. That really was the happiest day of my life, and we've had a lot of good ones in our first year of marriage.
So, having just celebrated our 1st Anniversary, I'm going to use this space to catch-up on a few highlights of the past year, before I begin our regular "blogging."
I'll reserve my one comment related to our wedding day to praise my beautiful wife and our amazing wedding photographer, Jeff Kolodny. This past March, Jeff attended the Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) print competition and convention in Las Vegas. Three of his images were selected as winners among thousands of entries in the wedding photography category, and this photo of Amanda was one of them. Pretty cool. Of course, she likes to point out to me that the photo is of the "Beauty" and doesn't include "the Beast." (My words, not hers.)
For those of you who aren't aware, we traveled to Grand Cayman Island for our honeymoon. Everything about our trip was wonderful. Snorkeling, snuba, horseback riding, the food, the service, kayaking, the weather, the beaches, the golf and the Turtle Farm. I do hope we'll go back someday. In the meantime, I highly recommend it to anyone who's considering a trip to the Carribean. Give us a call, and we'll hook you up with our travel agent.
A few months later, Amanda & I made a surprise visit to my friend, Darrell. His wife, Artisena, and Amanda put the visit together as a surprise for him, as I had, yet, to visit his family in Virginia in all the year's we've known one another. The trip was a whirlwind, terrific time. Arti, the creative genius that she is, asked that we leave someting behind. So, while Darrell and Arti put together a big breakfast, we put the paint and brushes she gave us to use, and added a sea turtle to the "virtual aquarium" that adorns the walls in their kids' bathroom. Such a great way to mark the lasting memories left behind after friends and family visit.
Fast forward to this past June when I paid another surprise visit on a friend. My buddy Russell and I, at the invitation of our friend's wife, drove north to Edgewater, Florida to drop in for his 50th Birthday. The idea was to spend the day "catching" rather than fishing, and that's exactly how it went. Shoup was "high hook" with this redfish that exceeded the maximum catch limit - and it was the first one he's ever caught! I say, you couldn't have written a better script for the day.
Well, I could have gone on-and-on catching up on the past year. We've had many blessings thanks to friends and family. However, the idea here is to move forward with new postings. So thanks for checking us out. I'll get working on the next entry: "Our Trip to Costa Rica."
