boys/girls day!

friday was a big day for us - i was getting my trial run hair & makeup done at the spa then going to a party for the girls and hubby was going out with the boys on a deep sea fishing trip!

here's a couple pics of my hair & makeup:

front

side

back

the second i got back to the party house, i was stuffed into the rv (where my MOH & husband were staying) and instructed to keep my eyes averted from the house. my MOH came out to get me a little while later & led me into the house where a LUAU was set up!! i was immediately dressed with a grass skirt, coconuts, & bride-to-be crown :)

i had a chance to visit with lots of new family members and ate tons of yummy food! it was SO much fun. my new sis-in-law and MOH did SO much to prepare for this party and really made it so very special. i can't thank them enough for everything they did, along with all of the help that i know the rest of the family put into this day & the entire wedding.

hubby & the boys had a great time fishing - they limited out on fish and met up with us afterwards at the house. i really enjoyed that we all spent time together visiting and goofing off, that it wasn't a strict no boys allowed type thing.

here's me and my new nieces :) aren't they adorable?

me & the most awesome MOH EVER!

new sis-in-law, mom-in-law, me & new grandma :)

i retired fairly early that night, trying to kill off the last of my cold, while the boys went to "the man tent" - yes, an actual tent set up outside - for a poker tournament. such great memories!

wedding week, part 3

on wednesday, my MOH jamie flew into town in the afternoon. we immediately took her to my sister in law's house. jamie was in her swimsuit & by the pool with a margarita in hand in record time! later that day, we ran some errands. i went to my first whole foods store - and wow. we seriously need one of those stores up here. i loaded up on some additional supplements to help kill off the ever threatening cold in my sinuses. after that, we headed to the huge mohegan sun casino to pick up some pizza. while we waited, jamie & i played some slots and she won!! pretty cool way to start her vacation. late that night, hubby & i picked up my mom from the airport.

thursday, things started picking up speed...nick's brother & his family came into town, along with my dad & jamie's husband cole. we finished making the wedding favors - aqua m&ms & five jordan almonds in little tins with red ribbon. my mom suggested the use of the five jordan almonds because it is an italian tradition (and my hubby's family is SO italian): " Five almonds signify five wishes for the bride and groom: health, wealth, happiness, fertility, and longevity." (quote from here) my mom put my father in law to work:

look at that concentration!

such precision!! :)

more to come!

wedding week, part 2

on monday, we picked up our rental car:


all i have to say is...sweet.

and we went down to the norwich town hall and picked up the marriage license. the weather was nice and then....


THUNDERSTORMS & MASSIVE DOWNPOUR!!! it was actually pretty cool. the rain came down in buckets and the air was pleasantly warm - an occurrence that we NEVER get here in alaska. lighting bolts flashed and the thunder rumbled along. i was thankful for the break in sunshine - the hot weather was really hard on this alaskan girl :)

since we were already in norwich, we decided to swing by the spa at norwich inn, where we were getting married at the end of the week, since we hadn't seen it in person yet. the many pictures that we saw simply didn't do this place justice - it was absolutely gorgeous. considering the storm was still in full effect, we held off on running around the grounds since we really didn't want to get hit by lightning.

my little sickness was gaining steam....

on tuesday, we met with our dj, geoff, of local motion entertainment. it was SUCH a pleasure to finally meet him in person - he's someone we would have loved to hang out with & get to know. he was definitely on the same wavelength as us.

we relaxed for the rest of tuesday, while my cold invaded my sinuses...ugh.

wedding week, part 1

so we flew into connecticut sunday morning, and my throat hurt. OH NO!! the one thing i didn't count on was getting sick. so i started a strict regiment of lots of water, emergen-c supplements, airborne, and vitamins. the weather was gorgeous and we laid out by the pool and caught up with family. since i burn easily in the sun, i had spf 70 sunscreen on - you have no idea how much crap i got for that! LOL! i didn't think someone made an spf that high. our first day pretty much looked like this:


my hubby's sister & brother in law have the most amazing yard - it's huge! we originally wanted to have the wedding there, but decided against it - otherwise, people would be too stressed out to enjoy the wedding day! anyhow, they also have a pool, as you can see. that super duper white back in the middle of the pool belongs to my hubby.

in addition to relaxing by the pool, we also started eating. a lot. i could name off 10 different types of barbecued meat that we ate in one week. it was crazy. or, baaaaa baaaaa coooooooo, as my father in law would say. here he is:


he doesn't normally make a pirate face. speaking of pirates, why are pirates angry? because they ARRRRRRRRRRRR!!! what types of movies do pirates see? rated RRRRRRRRRR!! what do pirates eat? hamburgAARRRRRRR!!!! what kind of coffee do pirates drink? DECAAAAFFFF....uhh wait, that's not right. my hubby's brother in law will have to explain that one.

day one in connecticut - a success!!