Missy is weird!!
As I continue to sift through pictures and fill in the details from our wedding and the related events I thought I might entertain you with a video of our odd cat. Missy has a thing for the small, sparkly balls that you buy at the pet store. She goes crazy for them, then sits on them as if to forget that she has them, only to go crazy once again upon the discovery of the ball sitting beneath her. She is quite crazy but certainly keeps us entertained at home, as she is quite a snuggler. Nothing like having some weird animals to complete the family.!!Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Saturday, April 25th - Set-up & Janelle's Birthday!!
The big day finally arrived. First things first though....not only was this the day we were 
getting married but also the birthday of my gorgeous bride Janelle. That is right, the big 3-0!!!! She was so gracious in allowing us to have the wedding on her special day, also makes it easier for me to remember the 
anniversary date!! We showed up to the boathouse bright and early to be met there by the members of the intimate wedding party including my brother John, sister Michelle, and sister-in-lay (Janelle's cousin) Amy. The parental sets also showed up to help and our great audio/visual crew for the event in the form of Justin Paulson and John Paulson. Nothing like having some extended family to give jobs to!! We ran through the details of the ceremony, practicing the timing with the music, 
walking pace, changes based on our outside/inside location, and general spacing for the event. As we finished up the details many of the same folks from the previous night 
arrived to help set up the basics for the event prior to the caterers arrival along with celebrating the birthday girl on her day. Amy's mom Kris provided great doughnuts and coffee from our favorite B-ham bakery, Lafeen's Donuts. Yummy!! After I crammed way too many into my mouth and got on a nice sugar high I got to sing along with the crew in the annual b-day song as she blew out the candles on her pastry. Following the sublime melody I got to sit next to Janelle and watch as she opened the several gifts that friends and family had brought. A nice haul with some 
cute shirts/wraps for our intended tropical honeymoon, a nice pitcher to go with our newer dish set and even a pair of "Just Married" t-shirt to wear on the aforementioned trip. What a fun way to start our big day with all of the friendly faces 
and nice gifts. After we left Janelle's parents graciously stayed at the Boathouse to keep the doors unlocked and to meet the caterers when they arrived. The ladies went off to get their hair done for the big event and the guys hit a local brewery to catch the start of the NFL draft where our local team was picking high in the 4th overall position!! We arrived just in time with friends to see the big moment, have some great food, and share a few beers and laughs before heading back to the hotel the get dressed and have the first round of pictures. Just you wait!!
getting married but also the birthday of my gorgeous bride Janelle. That is right, the big 3-0!!!! She was so gracious in allowing us to have the wedding on her special day, also makes it easier for me to remember the 
anniversary date!! We showed up to the boathouse bright and early to be met there by the members of the intimate wedding party including my brother John, sister Michelle, and sister-in-lay (Janelle's cousin) Amy. The parental sets also showed up to help and our great audio/visual crew for the event in the form of Justin Paulson and John Paulson. Nothing like having some extended family to give jobs to!! We ran through the details of the ceremony, practicing the timing with the music, 
walking pace, changes based on our outside/inside location, and general spacing for the event. As we finished up the details many of the same folks from the previous night 
arrived to help set up the basics for the event prior to the caterers arrival along with celebrating the birthday girl on her day. Amy's mom Kris provided great doughnuts and coffee from our favorite B-ham bakery, Lafeen's Donuts. Yummy!! After I crammed way too many into my mouth and got on a nice sugar high I got to sing along with the crew in the annual b-day song as she blew out the candles on her pastry. Following the sublime melody I got to sit next to Janelle and watch as she opened the several gifts that friends and family had brought. A nice haul with some 
cute shirts/wraps for our intended tropical honeymoon, a nice pitcher to go with our newer dish set and even a pair of "Just Married" t-shirt to wear on the aforementioned trip. What a fun way to start our big day with all of the friendly faces 
and nice gifts. After we left Janelle's parents graciously stayed at the Boathouse to keep the doors unlocked and to meet the caterers when they arrived. The ladies went off to get their hair done for the big event and the guys hit a local brewery to catch the start of the NFL draft where our local team was picking high in the 4th overall position!! We arrived just in time with friends to see the big moment, have some great food, and share a few beers and laughs before heading back to the hotel the get dressed and have the first round of pictures. Just you wait!!Friday, May 08, 2009
Friday - April 24th Rehearsal Dinner
After getting to Bellingham, WA after work, late on the 23rd 
Janelle and I had a chance to get a little extra sleep, have some breakfast and then get rolling on the day. As the ladies went off for a trial hair appointment followed by nails at a local salon the boys hung out at the rental home my parents had in Bellingham for the weekend. Napping with the nieces and just taking it easy was just what the doctor ordered on this afternoon. After reconnecting we have some time to just relax before heading out to freshen up and get ready for the first major event of the wedding weekend, the rehearsal dinner. We decided on a local place we had actually not gone to before, the Chuckanut Brewery and Kitchen. A little bit of a stretch as we really did not even know what the food would be like but it cer
tainly made for a unique location and some regional flair. We got there to a nice ovation from the ~30 friends and family awaiting us in in our covered space outside the brewery. My folks had added some nice decorations to the tables with pictures of Janelle and I along with some cool potted flowers that are going to have a home in my home flower beds in the next few weeks. Everyone had a tix for one for the beers made right on site and we all ordered from a menu we decided on from their base fare. Everything tasted great and the pizza I chose was good as was the tuna from what Janelle told me. ;-) 
To help out with everyone getting to know one another we had made up a stylized "flow chart" so people could see how everyone was related. The fun pics at least made for some fun conversation. Thanks to my sister Michelle for helping put the piece together for the evening, people really seemed to enjoy it. I h
ad also put together a small trivia contest with questions about Janelle and I. It was fun to emcee the short game around the festivities with the winners getting some bride and groom-shaped rubber ducks!! We also received a really nice toast from my sister-in-lay Amy (Janelle's cousin) and my brother John. Very heartfelt and fun, thanks a ton guys. My sister also read a simple blessing from my mother, much as at my brother's wedding she needed someone else to read to avoid the tears, very sweet from the mam-bear!! It was great to get a chance to see so many of my childhood friends and family in the form of the whole Allen and Madden families who had been so close to us growing up in Flagstaff, AZ as a boy. As per usual when this group rallies together there was lots of laughs, just a few pics (shocker!!) and stories to be had by all. 
According to our best recollection it had been 10-12 years since all of the 3 families had been together in their entirety. What fun!! We even had a few rounds of the local train running right by our location, the track was within 20 feet of one end of the covered area we were in. What a shocker and quite loud. However it was a 
great treat for the kiddies there and they all eagerly anticipated the follow-up train after the first had passed. After a few more beers, hugs, and a little dessert (I had the nice chocolate mousse) the crowd drifted off to get some sleep for the big day to follow. We also we able to transfer into our nice room at the Chrysalis Inn and Spa. What a gorgeous view and location to get ready for the big day. More pics of this locale to come!! Thanks everyone for making the rehearsal dinner such a success and for the Weaver units (Strode and Judy) for hosting the first night of fun.
Janelle and I had a chance to get a little extra sleep, have some breakfast and then get rolling on the day. As the ladies went off for a trial hair appointment followed by nails at a local salon the boys hung out at the rental home my parents had in Bellingham for the weekend. Napping with the nieces and just taking it easy was just what the doctor ordered on this afternoon. After reconnecting we have some time to just relax before heading out to freshen up and get ready for the first major event of the wedding weekend, the rehearsal dinner. We decided on a local place we had actually not gone to before, the Chuckanut Brewery and Kitchen. A little bit of a stretch as we really did not even know what the food would be like but it cer
tainly made for a unique location and some regional flair. We got there to a nice ovation from the ~30 friends and family awaiting us in in our covered space outside the brewery. My folks had added some nice decorations to the tables with pictures of Janelle and I along with some cool potted flowers that are going to have a home in my home flower beds in the next few weeks. Everyone had a tix for one for the beers made right on site and we all ordered from a menu we decided on from their base fare. Everything tasted great and the pizza I chose was good as was the tuna from what Janelle told me. ;-) 
To help out with everyone getting to know one another we had made up a stylized "flow chart" so people could see how everyone was related. The fun pics at least made for some fun conversation. Thanks to my sister Michelle for helping put the piece together for the evening, people really seemed to enjoy it. I h
ad also put together a small trivia contest with questions about Janelle and I. It was fun to emcee the short game around the festivities with the winners getting some bride and groom-shaped rubber ducks!! We also received a really nice toast from my sister-in-lay Amy (Janelle's cousin) and my brother John. Very heartfelt and fun, thanks a ton guys. My sister also read a simple blessing from my mother, much as at my brother's wedding she needed someone else to read to avoid the tears, very sweet from the mam-bear!! It was great to get a chance to see so many of my childhood friends and family in the form of the whole Allen and Madden families who had been so close to us growing up in Flagstaff, AZ as a boy. As per usual when this group rallies together there was lots of laughs, just a few pics (shocker!!) and stories to be had by all. 
According to our best recollection it had been 10-12 years since all of the 3 families had been together in their entirety. What fun!! We even had a few rounds of the local train running right by our location, the track was within 20 feet of one end of the covered area we were in. What a shocker and quite loud. However it was a 
great treat for the kiddies there and they all eagerly anticipated the follow-up train after the first had passed. After a few more beers, hugs, and a little dessert (I had the nice chocolate mousse) the crowd drifted off to get some sleep for the big day to follow. We also we able to transfer into our nice room at the Chrysalis Inn and Spa. What a gorgeous view and location to get ready for the big day. More pics of this locale to come!! Thanks everyone for making the rehearsal dinner such a success and for the Weaver units (Strode and Judy) for hosting the first night of fun.Wednesday, May 06, 2009
So much to catch up on!!
Where to even start?!? The last few weeks have been exciting, tiring, eventful, memorable, and countless other things all rolled into one big blur it seems. Here is a basic synopsis of the events and I plan to fill in with blogs about all the major happenings as I sort out the pictures and finally unpack from all the traveling!! On Thursday, April 23rd Janelle and I headed up to Bellingham,WA for the start of our wedding festivities. After some nails and hair items for the ladies Friday night was capped off with a 
great rehearsal dinner at the Chuckanut Brewery and Kitchen. The next morning we celebrated Janelle's 30th B-day with some great doughnuts, set up and rehearsed for the ceremony, and enjoyed the great company of family and friends. After some football draft for the boys and primping for the ladies it was pictures at our gorgeous hotel and at the site itself. A great ceremony and reception followed as our intimate affair took place in a gorgeous setting as the sky cleared and allowed for our outdoor ceremony and some amazing sunset shots later in the day. The next morning we had a nice final brunch to open a few more gifts, say goodbye to many of the out of town guests and head back home for to get ready for the next adventure. The next day came all too soon as we headed out at the crack of dawn to get our flight from Seattle to sunny Puerto Rico for 8 days of sun, sand, nature, and fun. After a long travel sequence home we arrived to find one needy cat and the house still standing!! All good things. I will do my best to fill in the story as we go. It was amazing to see all of the family and friends for the special events and had a hard time thinking it could have gone any better all things considered. Once again Janelle's birthday magic gave us a perfect day for our special event. More to come, I promise!!
great rehearsal dinner at the Chuckanut Brewery and Kitchen. The next morning we celebrated Janelle's 30th B-day with some great doughnuts, set up and rehearsed for the ceremony, and enjoyed the great company of family and friends. After some football draft for the boys and primping for the ladies it was pictures at our gorgeous hotel and at the site itself. A great ceremony and reception followed as our intimate affair took place in a gorgeous setting as the sky cleared and allowed for our outdoor ceremony and some amazing sunset shots later in the day. The next morning we had a nice final brunch to open a few more gifts, say goodbye to many of the out of town guests and head back home for to get ready for the next adventure. The next day came all too soon as we headed out at the crack of dawn to get our flight from Seattle to sunny Puerto Rico for 8 days of sun, sand, nature, and fun. After a long travel sequence home we arrived to find one needy cat and the house still standing!! All good things. I will do my best to fill in the story as we go. It was amazing to see all of the family and friends for the special events and had a hard time thinking it could have gone any better all things considered. Once again Janelle's birthday magic gave us a perfect day for our special event. More to come, I promise!!
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