A Bunch Of 'Stuff' Happened...

Grandma was here, Bub & Jodi had their wedding, we rebuilt the front planter, we celebrated Katrina's birthday and Grandma gave us another dent on the Camaro... Yep, lots to talk about...

May 30th, 2010.

So here is Jim & Jodi (Jim is the older brother of Brad, Katrina's fiancee) at their wedding, which turned out very nice. It was a semi-formal affair with some really neat 'twists'. Remember, 'Click-On-A-Pic' to see a larger version of it!

Here they are, lighting the Unity Candle (with a very intense Ring Bearer in the foreground).

"You may kiss the bride"...

Congratulations to Jodi & Jim as they forge a new life together as husband & wife.

Aaah, the reception dinner's first dance, as the newlywed couple takes a spin on the dance floor.

Here's a pic of Brad's mom & dad. Awww, isn't that sweet?

Then Jim grabbed his mom and took a few turns around the dance floor with her...

Next, the wedding party lined up for a group photo.

And after some more dancing and dinner, the wedding cake cutting ceremony was performed, although, it looks like Jodi is showing Jim her excellent 'Knife-As-A-Weapon" control...

Ok, things are back to normal now, as they make the first cut into the cake while holding hands.

Uhm... That moment of calm serenity didn't last long. Well guys, here's cake in your face!

Here's a picture of the ice sculpture. Nice!

This was a neat twist. This table was set up so you could create a bag of your favorite sugary goodies to snack on while the reception continued on.

And of course, it was time for more dancing.

At some point, Jim decided that if somebody was going to dance with his wife, well that means they get to dance with Jim too! Don't they make a cute couple?

The settings were really nice with subtle pastels in use throughout and it was refreshing to see the gentlemen in something other than a tuxedo.

Even the table settings were nicely balanced and complemented the room.

How did we know about the candy table? Well, this is printed on the bags you could place your horde of goodies in. A very nice touch...

May 31st, 2010.

May 30th was Katrina's actual birth date, but since Jim & Jodi's wedding were on that day, we moved it over to May 31st, which is Memorial day. Here is a picture of the giant cupcake birthday cake we made up (hmmmm, where have we seen one like this before?). Katrina decided to put 19 candles on it and it was lit up pretty well.

Alright, already! Make a wish and blow out the candles before the smoke alarm goes off..

Katrina's friend Melissa was at the party and so was Melissa's family. Oh, and is that Nanna Anderson too?

Hi, Tammy & Phil!

So, she blew out the candles, just before the air conditioner kicked in to make up for the heat generated by those candles...

After spending some time at home, we went bowling!

Apparently, Brad is doing well... Or at least, he's feeling well...

Me, in my Mighty Mouse T-shirt...

Tammy & Phil, just 'chillin'.

Phil did real well tonight...

As a matter of fact, both Phil's did real well. As you can see, they each had the highest score for their respective team. Way to go, guys!

Just a bird we got a neat picture of on the way home from work. Any idea what kind of bird this is?

The 'Memorial Garden'. Katrina, Nanna Anderson and I worked on replanting this garden and we used wildflower seeds that I got from my mother's storage unit in Arizona in the bottom layer. It didn't take long for the seeds to sprout. I can't wait to see what colors the flowers will be.

A back view of the new plants in the planter.

This picture was taken only 4 days after the seeds were planted. Grow little guys, grow!

I couldn't help but notice this dragonfly kept stopping at this one spot on one of the rose plants, so I got a couple of pictures of him when he stood still for a moment.

A head-on shot of 'Nature's Helicopter'...

And our Don Juan rosebush finally bloomed. I've been waiting for another one of these velvety roses to make a come-back.

One night, when we stopped by to visit with Dave Brun, he happened to have this Ferrari pedal car come in from UPS, so I helped him put it together. I have to admit, it's been a couple of years since I last worked on a (real) Ferrari...

Ah, Pee-Wee Herman sits in the place of honor...

These are Luann's new Klompen-Shloffen. They are soft slippers made in the shape of Dutch wooden shoes.

When I was cruising the Internet, I saw a picture of these and just had to get a pair for Luann. These come in all sorts of sizes and colors. We chose the 'Delft Blue and White' color.

06/06/10

We made a trip down to Miami with Luann's friend Jennifer, to help her choose an apartment to move into (she got a new job with the DOT, but the position was only available in Miami). On the way back across The Alligator Alley highway, we came across an overturned van, and you know we just had to take some pictures to show you...

The tow truck is hooked up to the undercarriage and is trying to pull it back onto its wheels. The white police car is from the Miccosukee Indian reservation.

You can see the chain hooked into the van and leading over to the tow truck. It won't be long now before it's back on its wheels.

Here is a picture of the setting sun as we made the turn northward on I-75.

And we passed yet another vehicle accident, where the vehicle left the roadway and went down the embankment. All in a days work for the police and fire rescue...

And as for the dent in the Camaro, Luann's mom opened up the passsenger door by kicking it from the inside to get out, but unfortunately the door hit one of the posts of our carport and dinged it. I heard the boom from the hit while I was sitting in the living room in the house and when I came out and walked up to check the damage, Luann pointed out what her mom had done and her mom said; "That's why I wouldn't drive Gene's new car (my father-in-law) until he got the first dent. He was just so sensitive about it" And then she simply walked away from us, heading for the front door of the house.

Yeah, I guess I missed the 'I'm Sorry I dented your door' in there somewhere.

So, I'm going have to set up another appointment with Our 'Dent Doctor' for yet another $50-ish repair. If this keeps up, we're gonna be putting his son through college...