An Alphabetical Stroll Through Bali and Australia/+ a Bit of Philippines- F is for: Feeling Cute, Might Go to a Wedding! / G is for: Grand Gala!

[Paulaparm]

What a beautiful day! I love your dress. You looked marvelous!

 

[Steppesister]

I gotta get moving but your post popped up just as I’d corrected all the predicted text mistakes on mine . Stupid phone ( nothing to do with me-honest)

LOL!!! Yeah, I get that.... dumb phones!

I couldn’t resist reading your post. All I can say is Wow! What a beautiful bride ( and groom). Looks like such a love-filled, happy day. The wedding set up is simply gorgeous and while you may have felt a wee bit awkward in the family group shots I think you look beautiful and I can clearly sense the love you share with your daughter.

It was a happy day, for as beautiful as it was, it was honestly pretty low key too. There was still time to lounge by the pool, enjoy the yummy foods/meals, and everyone was just walking around the resort meeting each other and relaxing.

Will chat more later but just wanted to say how beautiful it all sounds and looks.
Cheerio for now

Thanks so much! And yes, I sure hope so! Always makes a TR more fun to see some traffic and pursue friendships.

 

[Steppesister]

Holy cow! What a wonderful wedding! The venue looks beautiful and the scenery - oh my. Such an elegant affair. You really cleaned up nice - very pretty. Your room at the resort vs the Airbnb was like stepping into another world. Thanks for sharing the story and photos!

It was so over-the-top. I think what she got for what she paid (and I don't know really what that is) was a really nice wedding... far more than she could have gotten here for sure. A wedding on a beach sure was dreamy!!

Yeah, oy! What a difference a day makes....

 

[Steppesister]

What a beautiful wedding! It looks like a wonderful day and evening!
The pictures are amazing!

Thanks, Caroline! It was truly a beautiful event and I was so happy I could go and enjoy the day with them and meet her new family. I'm still waiting for her to send any of the official shots.

 

[Steppesister]

What a beautiful day! I love your dress. You looked marvelous!

Aww, thanks! I loved that dress too. I don't think I got a photo of it but the back is a full lace up adding such a fun style to it.

 

[juniorbugman]

Hi there, Judy! Thanks for checking in! How are you?

It was really a very lovely place and they made it so gorgeous for the beach ceremony!

I just love reading your reports and I will wait for updates when you can provide them.
I have no trips planned except to a concert in Niagara Falls, Ontario (just down the road sort of) and then I guess time at the cottage. After 42 years of working for the same company (that I also worked for) my sister is retiring this year so we will of course spend time at the cottage. We may also plan a small trip to Port Huron Michigan for some cross border shopping.

Now back to the wedding.
Love this photo of you. Is it in front of some type of infinity pool?

So was your other daughter in the wedding party? I can't remember.
There certainly was a lot of food both for the pre-meal and the actual meal.
Your daughter looks lovely and I am glad it was the best day for her.
Can't wait to read more of your trip.

 

[Steppesister]

I miss the days when I’d time to be on the Dis more. I’m not sure why that is as I’m definitely doing less “paid work” nowadays. I do look after my grandson after school and my youngest is still at school so between pick ups there’s less Dis time for sure. We definitely had some craic with eachother in the past so fingers crossed I can pop on more often and we can enjoy some banter again. I had a wee nosey at your tour of Italy and love how many places you discovered off the beaten track. I’ve only been once, to Tuscany, and loved it there. We stayed just outside Vinci. Beautiful place. We did visit Parc di Pinocchio with our two eldest ( 8 and almost 1 at the time). Happy memories

I do too. Life is just WAY too busy right now to be here much at all. BUT school will be over soon and maybe things will fall into more predictable a pattern for me and I can start reading other folks' TRs again too.

You actually went to the Pinocchio PARK!?! NICE! I don't know a single other person who's even heard of it! Neat!

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

You actually went to the Pinocchio PARK!?! NICE! I don't know a single other person who's even heard of it! Neat!

We did indeed!
If I get a chance I’ll see if I can find some photos and share them with you. It was in 1998 so photos are old school when you snapped away and hoped that you got something decent when you got the roll of film developed but I seem to remember a few of them turning out ok. We were holidaying with my brother-in-law and his family. Their kids were 11 & 14 and begging to go as they’d driven past it the week before we joined them. The cousins are all close and they wanted to go together. It was a lovely wee park but I don’t remember there being much of a nod to Pinocchio except for the name. I also don’t remember stalls selling the puppets but that could be because I’d two kids, limited funds and likely directed them away from such tempting toys or they may simply not have been there . My memory is not what it used to be unfortunately .
We were there in August and a lot of smaller villages closed up shop for Italian summer holiday at that time. We didn’t know this until we got there. I loved our time there and will get back to explore more one day. Vinci was such a lovely friendly place with just a couple of eateries, a small museum to it’s namesake, a cafe with a seat swing that my two loved while their dad and I enjoyed an early morning cappuccino and not much more. I’d love to be back there now. We also took the train to Florence for the day. Such a beautiful city. It was baking hot that August and we dipped my son (11 months old) in the fountain to cool him down much to the amusement of the guard who kindly pretended not to notice. Air-conditioning was not a thing in Italy in 1998 but after quite the search we found a gelato place that had a big notice on the door advertising they had it so 8, slightly overcooked, red in the face, Irish folk heaved a huge sigh of relief and ate gelato to their heart’s content in this heavenly little place until we no longer felt like we were about to expire
The older kids were astounded when they were allowed a second cone and my baby boy had his face practically covered in the stuff but he was grinning from ear to ear. Priceless!
I’ve had quite the stroll down memory lane this morning and it’s all thanks to you
Hope you’re having a lovely Saturday.

 

[pkondz]

you may be wondering if we did sleep. I’m sad to say, no. No, we did not.

I suspected as much.

I think the AC just wasn’t cutting it, the time difference was taking a victory lap, the excitement of travel and the wedding was too much, added to it being in an unfamiliar place, and jet lag just couldn’t compete.

Yeah... that'd do it alright.

the ubiquitous roosters letting us know that it doesn’t matter how crappy you have slept, you WILL wake up.

I'm laughing, but I suspect you might have been wanting to wring a few necks!

I didn’t even bother to change out of my pj’s and took a walk around the little sub-division hoping to find whatever bird was making that racket. The German vacationer across the street probably thought I was nuts,

Not something I'd have the nerve to do!

but I thought he was nuttier when he came out of the eating pavilion in his underwear smoking a cigarette.

I guess anything goes early in the morning while on vacation.

Apparently so!
When in Rome... shuck the togas, apparently!

I did encounter some rather scary dogs advancing at me while barking so made a hasty u-turn and went the other way.

Whoops! Yeah... "Enjoy your vacation... have some rabies, free of charge!"

She hadn’t slept well either but complied when I asked her to get up at 9:00 and started getting ready.

Impressed.

I took her over to the little fruits I’d found and asked her if she ate them. “Oh no, I don’t think you can!” I showed her the information that I’d found, and she shrugged her shoulders, picked one, and tried it. I think she might have thrown up in her mouth a little and spit it out.

Anyway, Catherine and I are FB friends now;

After you made her vomit in her mouth.... Also impressive.

collecting friends from all over the world is a wonderful thing indeed!

Or making them puke. Either or. Everyone needs a hobby.

At this point, they told us it’d take 15 minutes, and I instantly felt horrible that the driver would have to wait. Ugh. He was so polite and understanding though and told us, “no problem at all”.

Oh dear. But nice of him to take it in stride.

at that point she decided to just get some gigs with an online e-SIM vendor. There are hundreds of these companies, but she went with Nomad which is very reputable. Generally, the process is super easy, you just purchase how much data you want and activate it in minutes. It’s also super cheap and enough for the uses you’d need like navigating with Google Maps, some social media posting and scrolling, and sending emails.

Interesting. I've heard of e-sim but don't know anyone who's used it.

My first picture was taken at 10:29 and I can remember that this cocktail was MUCH better than the gross marg from the day before.

It's after 5pm back in the US, right?

One of Leander’s uncles and I struck up a conversation and he was having a freshly squeezed pineapple juice with a shot of vodka. YES, PLEASE!

That does sound good. I'd try that in a heartbeat.

Hannah, on the right end is a helicopter mechanic

Huh! I bet she's in demand.

It was so filling and a family of 4 could easily have shared it- all for $6.00.

Wow! Not bad!

I know it doesn't look very appetizing, but this is a dish that is kinda like the Ugly Duckling of foods. It truly was very flavorful and I'd order it again given the chance.

No offense, but... it really doesn't look appetizing. But I'd still definitely try it.

Was I eating 2 hours later? Yep!

This was the only time we had separate rooms for the remainder of the trip. Heck, it was one of a very few times we had our own BEDS!

But the room does look really nice.

Meanwhile, the beach was being transformed by a plethora of workers into a gorgeous, and frankly impressive, wedding space. They’d started around 9:00, I was told, and were still putting the finishing touches on the set up at 3:30 as photos were in progress.

Whoa!

It was an absolutely buzzing hive of activity with dresses being steamed, people changing, sitting in studio chairs under studio lights, others eating as they could. This was really quite the production!

That must've been quite the sight. Did you feel like you were getting ready for a movie?

I love her expression. Excited and nervous all at once.

Anara on the other hand looks cool as a cucumber.
Or jetlagged and exhausted to the point of being too tired to worry about it.

Hair is beautiful!

Was Anara not in the bridal party? Yes or no, you all look lovely.

Beautiful shot of you.

The best part? All I had to do was show up!

 

[pkondz]

Not to spoil.... but this was just the beginning...

It's a fun word that I use whenever I possibly can!

I think it's my favorite from the ones I got of them.

Not surprised.

It's a life-saver!!! We used it a lot this trip and I used it in Africa (Sierra Leone) and in Europe too.

Huh. If/when I travel, I might have to look into it.

More on this later, but I was actually super duper impressed with how mature and self-confident she's become.

But sorry, NOTHING beats a fresh, housemade marg in Tucson!

Okay. I'll keep it in mind if I find myself back in that area again.

And $$$$$$$

That was kinda what I was alluding to.

5- Andrew, Rebekah, Michaela, Zachary, and Anara.

Ah! I remember Zach. Thought he was the youngest, I think?

I wonder if it's EVER snowed in the Philippines.

Now that is a very good question!

Sometimes you just gotta have something right now. And that's what there is.

I've done that. Once in Germany. There just wasn't anything else open.

 

[pkondz]

There were far more fresh flowers that I’d have ever expected, tons of tropical touches like bamboo baskets for light fixtures over the reception area, palm fans, a dance floor, a jumbotron TV, seagrasses for the aisles and chair backings, and a TON of freshly cut tropical green plants.

Wow! Sounds amazing!

But I don’t think the photographers knew or understood that while, yes, my ex and I were her parents, they kept putting us in the same photos and then having her stepmom trade me out. It was just weird.

Yeah... just a little awkward.

Your ex does look a little awkward there. I presume that's him beside you?

Like this shot.

(Dreamy, no?)

They chose to have a Catholic-infused/influenced ceremony with a priest, but was not a traditional Mass per se either.

Interesting. And why not!

and signing the document (which was fake because they were already legally married in Oregon a month prior).

That's odd that they'd do that, then?

(Those FLOWERS!)

Soooo many!

I was happy that she did choose to have her dad and I both walk her down the aisle. I felt honored and touched.

What a wonderful, thoughtful idea.

Mikki, I think was totally overwhelmed at the moment and cried all the way down the aisle.

Awwww...

But she was an incredibly beautiful bride.

I agree!

(Taken before the ceremony)

Interesting that her hair is down there, then up for the actual wedding.

(Don't let the smile fool you, she's crying.)

Awwww!

the one thing that stood out more than anything else were their personally written vows. Both did a phenomenal job at keeping it authentic and you could really tell there was genuine love between them.

Very nice.

Anara and I headed up that way and found a VERY nice spread of goodies

Tons of food! I was not expecting to see all that!

A really nice shot of you!

Love the lights.

(The table centerpieces)

I like those. Classy.

There was assigned seating and I was sat a table with people I’d never met and had no idea who even were.

That's odd... but... then again, you probably didn't know many people other than the bride, Anara and your ex. And I'm betting that Anara was sat with a younger crowd and you're probably not to upset with not having to sit with your ex?

my mind was really not on the conversation to be honest. It was dreading the toast/speech I had to give.

Why?

But the real star of the show was the whole roast pig!

mmmmm... looks delicious!

Did I mention they’d also, in addition to the small army of photographers, videographers, servers, coordinators (probably 50 or more people all told),

So... many... people!

I’d written out a nice little “I love you and wish you the best” spiel and it seemed to be well received. I was unbelievably relieved when my turn was over!!!

I don't see why you were so nervous. Sounds like it was a very nice speech.

but do remember the cake cutting was shortly after dinner.

mmmm... cake.

They cut it for a few photo opps, but now, looking back, I don’t even know if they served it or not to guests? Maybe I just missed out on that entirely!

What? No cake?
I'd be outta there. Where's my piece of cake!!

The dancing began with the Father-Daughter dance which they both thought was super cheesy by the looks on their faces.

Really? I would have been very moved to do that.

After that, they did a Money Dance. I’m sure they loved that!!!

I used the opportunity to give Michaela a hug and tell her I loved her one more time.

Awww...

a personalized photo of the guest taken that day. Mine turned out crappy and I think I may have even tossed it.

Whoops... and yet...

I could tell already that the photographers had done a jaw-dropping job for her. Truly, it was some of the best wedding photography I’ve ever seen.

...and yet... you'd think the photo of you would've been better. Ah well. Glad to hear the rest of the shots were really good.

Yes, you read that right! The reception ended with fireworks!

She teared up and said that the wedding was far, far more than she expected it would be or that she’d envisioned or planned even. I think even they were surprised at how incredibly grand it really was.

I'm glad she was so pleased with it all.

Rumor has it that the bridal party stayed up until 2:00 in the pool doing shots and other dumb stuff that “kids” in their 20’s do.

This does not surprise me!

 

[luvpoohandcompany]

You actually went to the Pinocchio PARK!?!

I found some photos. Blacked out my husband as he’s shy
I’d totally forgotten about the Pinocchio sculpture!
I seem to remember a maze made from hedgerows too.

 

[Steppesister]

I just love reading your reports and I will wait for updates when you can provide them.
I have no trips planned except to a concert in Niagara Falls, Ontario (just down the road sort of) and then I guess time at the cottage. After 42 years of working for the same company (that I also worked for) my sister is retiring this year so we will of course spend time at the cottage. We may also plan a small trip to Port Huron Michigan for some cross border shopping.

Slowly but surely (after this time off barrage) I'll get 'er done. LOTS coming up, including some beautiful photography from Bali!

I loved visiting Niagara Falls. I've been there a few times over the years and love it there.

I'd love to see pix of your cottage! Where is it? And.... I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad the border is open again for our Canadian friends!!!

Love this photo of you. Is it in front of some type of infinity pool?

Yes the resort had the most gorgeous infinity pool ever!!! It was so fun to be in it and feel like the water went on forever.

So was your other daughter in the wedding party? I can't remember.

Yes, my youngest girl, Anara has the travel bug like me and wants to explore the world. She saved enough to go not just to the wedding but join me for 2 1/2 week in Australia afterwards. She's a GREAT travel partner! The oldest one is busy with kiddos (2) and had to go back to work to cover some unexpected expenses. My two boys couldn't make it over either. Just too far and too much $$$$.

There certainly was a lot of food both for the pre-meal and the actual meal.

It just kept coming and coming.... OY! I sadly, gained a fair bit of weight on this trip!

Your daughter looks lovely and I am glad it was the best day for her.

She was certainly a beautiful bride. And she couldn't have chosen a better place given that her new family was already mostly all there.

Can't wait to read more of your trip.

Maybe one more update before I start back to "work".

 

[Steppesister]

We did indeed!
If I get a chance I’ll see if I can find some photos and share them with you. It was in 1998 so photos are old school when you snapped away and hoped that you got something decent when you got the roll of film developed but I seem to remember a few of them turning out ok. We were holidaying with my brother-in-law and his family. Their kids were 11 & 14 and begging to go as they’d driven past it the week before we joined them. The cousins are all close and they wanted to go together. It was a lovely wee park but I don’t remember there being much of a nod to Pinocchio except for the name. I also don’t remember stalls selling the puppets but that could be because I’d two kids, limited funds and likely directed them away from such tempting toys or they may simply not have been there . My memory is not what it used to be unfortunately .
We were there in August and a lot of smaller villages closed up shop for Italian summer holiday at that time. We didn’t know this until we got there. I loved our time there and will get back to explore more one day. Vinci was such a lovely friendly place with just a couple of eateries, a small museum to it’s namesake, a cafe with a seat swing that my two loved while their dad and I enjoyed an early morning cappuccino and not much more. I’d love to be back there now. We also took the train to Florence for the day. Such a beautiful city. It was baking hot that August and we dipped my son (11 months old) in the fountain to cool him down much to the amusement of the guard who kindly pretended not to notice. Air-conditioning was not a thing in Italy in 1998 but after quite the search we found a gelato place that had a big notice on the door advertising they had it so 8, slightly overcooked, red in the face, Irish folk heaved a huge sigh of relief and ate gelato to their heart’s content in this heavenly little place until we no longer felt like we were about to expire
The older kids were astounded when they were allowed a second cone and my baby boy had his face practically covered in the stuff but he was grinning from ear to ear. Priceless!
I’ve had quite the stroll down memory lane this morning and it’s all thanks to you
Hope you’re having a lovely Saturday.

 

[Steppesister]

We did indeed!
If I get a chance I’ll see if I can find some photos and share them with you. It was in 1998 so photos are old school when you snapped away and hoped that you got something decent when you got the roll of film developed but I seem to remember a few of them turning out ok. We were holidaying with my brother-in-law and his family. Their kids were 11 & 14 and begging to go as they’d driven past it the week before we joined them. The cousins are all close and they wanted to go together. It was a lovely wee park but I don’t remember there being much of a nod to Pinocchio except for the name. I also don’t remember stalls selling the puppets but that could be because I’d two kids, limited funds and likely directed them away from such tempting toys or they may simply not have been there . My memory is not what it used to be unfortunately .
We were there in August and a lot of smaller villages closed up shop for Italian summer holiday at that time. We didn’t know this until we got there. I loved our time there and will get back to explore more one day. Vinci was such a lovely friendly place with just a couple of eateries, a small museum to it’s namesake, a cafe with a seat swing that my two loved while their dad and I enjoyed an early morning cappuccino and not much more. I’d love to be back there now. We also took the train to Florence for the day. Such a beautiful city. It was baking hot that August and we dipped my son (11 months old) in the fountain to cool him down much to the amusement of the guard who kindly pretended not to notice. Air-conditioning was not a thing in Italy in 1998 but after quite the search we found a gelato place that had a big notice on the door advertising they had it so 8, slightly overcooked, red in the face, Irish folk heaved a huge sigh of relief and ate gelato to their heart’s content in this heavenly little place until we no longer felt like we were about to expire
The older kids were astounded when they were allowed a second cone and my baby boy had his face practically covered in the stuff but he was grinning from ear to ear. Priceless!
I’ve had quite the stroll down memory lane this morning and it’s all thanks to you
Hope you’re having a lovely Saturday.

What a fun recap of what sounds like an amazing visit to Tuscany. I would LOVE to go again someday for sure! It's so peaceful and beautiful! That must have been quite something to stay in a very small village and enjoy is quaintness. Nope, in fact, nowadays the AC is actually regulated and legally can't be turned on until a certain date- same with heat. Glad you found ways to cool off!

Today was so busy! I had a bunch of errands to run, tried to apply to a scholarship with no luck yet (rounding up the required documents is a special level of Hell), and cooked up a super yummy keto dinner. I finally found a nice noodle option.

 

[Steppesister]

I'm laughing, but I suspect you might have been wanting to wring a few necks!

I was! I'd forgotten that visiting a more rural location includes early morning wake up calls.

Not something I'd have the nerve to do!

Yeah, half naked was... odd. He was making business calls which added another layer of weird.

Apparently so!
When in Rome... shuck the togas, apparently!

Oh sure, why not!

Whoops! Yeah... "Enjoy your vacation... have some rabies, free of charge!"

Speaking of which...

This is some concerning news: https://www.kvoa.com/news/arizona/w...cle_f4cb24e6-f9e5-11ee-bc16-87f3a5b4c16a.html

I live in Ground Zero.

Or making them puke. Either or. Everyone needs a hobby.

You've been warned.

Oh dear. But nice of him to take it in stride.

Everyone was so polite and kind there.

Interesting. I've heard of e-sim but don't know anyone who's used it.

It's really going to replace physical SIMs I think moving forward.

It's after 5pm back in the US, right?

15 hours... so opposite, plus 3! No wonder I was so messed up!

That does sound good. I'd try that in a heartbeat.

Sooooo refreshing!

That must've been quite the sight. Did you feel like you were getting ready for a movie?

I kinda did.

I love her expression. Excited and nervous all at once.

Yeah, she keeps it cool on the inside, but she didn't fool me. She was pretty ramped up. Mommy could tell.

Anara on the other hand looks cool as a cucumber.
Or jetlagged and exhausted to the point of being too tired to worry about it.

Yeah, she was cool as a cucumber. Honestly, it was such a low-key atmosphere. There was really no rushing anywhere or high stress anything.

Was Anara not in the bridal party? Yes or no, you all look lovely.

Yes, she was. I was very glad to have had one of them in it. Rebekah wasn't asked which made me a bit sad. I don't know the dynamic there and chose to stay out of it.

 

[Steppesister]

Ah! I remember Zach. Thought he was the youngest, I think?

Nope, he's #4 and lives near me in Kentucky (when I'm actually there). Anara is the youngest.

I've done that. Once in Germany. There just wasn't anything else open.

Heh, we did it when lots of other stuff was open, but it was too $$ we needed a fast, familiar fix, or was just convenient.

Yeah... just a little awkward.

Just a little.

Your ex does look a little awkward there. I presume that's him beside you?

Yep.

That's odd that they'd do that, then?

Apparently, there was some legal reasons they did it in the US. I think I'd heard that the legality of it didn't stand in the US for some reason having it done abroad. So, they did that there first. Also, they had a small reception of sorts in Oregon for family that couldn't travel like aunts, uncles, etc... I wasn't there nor invited so... can't tell you much about it.

Interesting that her hair is down there, then up for the actual wedding.

She had 2 photo shoots of her and her bridesmaids. She wanted some in her "getting ready" outfit and more casual in addition to her in her gown.

Tons of food! I was not expecting to see all that!

It was kinda extravagant in that department. I ate like a little oinker.

A really nice shot of you!

Thanks!

Love the lights.

I started seeing them a lot in both the Philippines and even moreso in Bali. They're really pretty!

I like those. Classy.

Simple, yet elegant.

That's odd... but... then again, you probably didn't know many people other than the bride, Anara and your ex. And I'm betting that Anara was sat with a younger crowd and you're probably not to upset with not having to sit with your ex?

Yes, Anara was mixed in with some others in the bridal party and I have no idea who Mike and Kim were sitting with. I was relieved when I looked at the seating chart posted at the entrance and found I wasn't with them. I"m sure it'd been fine, but...

Why?

Just was super nervous. I was afraid I'd get emotional and cry or just completely flub up.

So... many... people!

I was honestly SHOCKED at how many people came! I had NO idea. Mike at one point, commented to me in the small bit of awkward small talk we had that he was also shocked at the level of extravagance put into the event and the amount of people. He was concerned that the in-laws had shelled out a ton of money and was worried that we might have been seen as cheap for not having helped. I actually kinda had the same thought (although I didn't care nor was worried since I wasn't asked or really included in the planning). Anyway, I told him that I was sure that Mik and Leander actually paid for everything themselves aside from a bit of the transportation logistics and some incidentals (like the McDonalds stop on the way down there. ) But culturally, events like this are a BIG DEAL. It's a chance to show off some and show relatives that "you've made it" and are generous, etc...

What? No cake?
I'd be outta there. Where's my piece of cake!!

I was so full I probably would have passed. And sadly, my wedding cake experience for the most part... it's just not good.

Really? I would have been very moved to do that.

He's just a VERY awkward dancer. Very stiff and robotic and kinda goofy looking. Sorry, can't lie.

...and yet... you'd think the photo of you would've been better. Ah well. Glad to hear the rest of the shots were really good.

I just remembered, we were all told it'd be perfectly fine to change into more comfortable clothes and shoes for the reception, so I had!!! I put on a nice skort I'd bought and new shirt a friend bought me recently. But I think someone was just running around taking very quick snaps of every guest and didn't bother to really try hard at taking a nice shot.

 

[Steppesister]

I found some photos. Blacked out my husband as he’s shy
I’d totally forgotten about the Pinocchio sculpture!
I seem to remember a maze made from hedgerows too.

OH my word!!! How fun and yes, retro! We saw a TON of Pinocchio statues in the little town and a giant 20 foot one on the road leading out of the village.

Hedge mazes are fun. but always remind me of The Shining! LOL!!

 

[pkondz]

Yeah, half naked was... odd. He was making business calls which added another layer of weird.

Heh. More weird if they were video calls.

Speaking of which...

This is some concerning news: https://www.kvoa.com/news/arizona/w...cle_f4cb24e6-f9e5-11ee-bc16-87f3a5b4c16a.html

I live in Ground Zero.

It's really going to replace physical SIMs I think moving forward.

I think you're right.

15 hours... so opposite, plus 3! No wonder I was so messed up!

That calls for a drink!

I kinda did.

Yeah, she keeps it cool on the inside, but she didn't fool me. She was pretty ramped up. Mommy could tell.

Yeah, she was cool as a cucumber. Honestly, it was such a low-key atmosphere. There was really no rushing anywhere or high stress anything.

That's good. And impressive, actually. It could've easily have been a madhouse.

Yes, she was. I was very glad to have had one of them in it. Rebekah wasn't asked which made me a bit sad. I don't know the dynamic there and chose to stay out of it.

Maybe she couldn't go, so she wasn't asked?

Apparently, there was some legal reasons they did it in the US. I think I'd heard that the legality of it didn't stand in the US for some reason having it done abroad. So, they did that there first. Also, they had a small reception of sorts in Oregon for family that couldn't travel like aunts, uncles, etc... I wasn't there nor invited so... can't tell you much about it.

But you were invited instead to the big bash. I know which one I'd pick.

It was kinda extravagant in that department. I ate like a little oinker.

You're lucky they didn't eat you at the reception, then!

I have no idea who Mike and Kim were sitting with. I was relieved when I looked at the seating chart posted at the entrance and found I wasn't with them. I"m sure it'd been fine, but...

but...

Just was super nervous. I was afraid I'd get emotional and cry or just completely flub up.

Ohhh... I understand.

I was honestly SHOCKED at how many people came! I had NO idea. Mike at one point, commented to me in the small bit of awkward small talk we had that he was also shocked at the level of extravagance put into the event and the amount of people. He was concerned that the in-laws had shelled out a ton of money and was worried that we might have been seen as cheap for not having helped. I actually kinda had the same thought (although I didn't care nor was worried since I wasn't asked or really included in the planning). Anyway, I told him that I was sure that Mik and Leander actually paid for everything themselves aside from a bit of the transportation logistics and some incidentals (like the McDonalds stop on the way down there. ) But culturally, events like this are a BIG DEAL. It's a chance to show off some and show relatives that "you've made it" and are generous, etc...

The money would've concerned me too. I always want to pay my share.

I was so full I probably would have passed.

Well, there's that, too.

And sadly, my wedding cake experience for the most part... it's just not good.

This is often true. Form over function.

He's just a VERY awkward dancer. Very stiff and robotic and kinda goofy looking. Sorry, can't lie.

You're describing... me.

I just remembered, we were all told it'd be perfectly fine to change into more comfortable clothes and shoes for the reception, so I had!!! I put on a nice skort I'd bought and new shirt a friend bought me recently. But I think someone was just running around taking very quick snaps of every guest and didn't bother to really try hard at taking a nice shot.

Ah!

 

[missjackiemcg]

(Dreamy, no?)

Looks like a scene from a movie!! Everything looked just incredible, and I am blown away by all of the flowers. Just wow!!

I remember when you posted this one on FB. You look like a celebrity!! Even if it isn't a perfect crisp image, it's definitely beautiful!