Feelin' hot hot hot

Literally...it is HOT outside...I just finished vacuuming the pool and figured I might as well come in, cool off and add pictures to the blog....haha. (and listen to music while I'm at it!)
Today I have some more shots from the reception. Mostly my family...because honestly, years from now I need to be able to identify the people in the photos. Haha if they're my friends and relatives even if I forget who they are...someone else in the group can remind me!

view from the barn back to the tent

Jon, Liz, Wim, Anna and Meredith

 While the wedding party was off getting photos taken...the guests gathered at the tent for beer, wine, soda, water and appetizers. We all enjoyed chatting with one another while we waited.

Liz, Jon, Martha and Brenna...they look color coordinated for the photo...totally unintentional

 As I mentioned, the group arrived on the tractor...even the bride jumped off and from the looks of things...the group was ready for some fun! (I'm going to have to get copies of the pictures David took...he (a.)has a better camera (b)got closer in to get shots and he's an artist...mine aren't bad...but on a different level.

John schmoozing with Kerry (sp?) Martha and Tony's friend from (Australia-originally, then Hawaii...currently in Arizona)

                                     Then after dinner and a little down time...the dancing started!

 Ian stayed mostly on the sidelines...making the rounds talking to everyone and just enjoying the day!

cousins-only 6 months apart

flowers from Friday dinner....then Saturday party

                                            Tony with the snazzy boots...John and Andy

Shane and Megan

Anna and Erik giving the dancers a thumbs up!  I had so much fun danicing with Ellen, Erik and Anna...especially to "Hey Ya!" I came home and downloaded to my I-pod for future dance parties. I will always picture Anna B singing and dancing to it when I hear it.

When the whole group was dancing and singing along to "Take me Home Country Road"or whatever the real title is Ian saw an opportunity to jump out on to the dance floor when everyone would SEE him dancing. (so noone could later say...you never danced!) He told us the next day that he waited until it was half over...jumped in...danced till the end and went back to the sidelines. Smart guy!

There was one table near the door that became a collection point for shoes...mostly rented shoes that the groomsmen had been wearing...and one pair of snazzy BOOTS!. Apparently Tony's really comfortable  boots weren't so comfortable after a while. At one point he said in passing "God, these boots are KILLING me!" hahahahahahahahah I'm cracking up just writing this.  He managed to get them off...and as far as I know Martha never said "I told you!"  Later on when it was time to leave it took about 3 people to get them back on...hahahahhahaha and he gingerly walked back to the car.  Ahh the price we pay for fashion!  :)

Last Saturday

 Last Saturday the festivities started at 6pm at the Grace Lutheran Church. Tara's uncle played the piano during the ceremony, that was performed by her grandfather. It's always nice to have family and friends involved. The day had started out gray and rainy...but we lucked out...the skies cleared and the afternoon was very pleasant. Cooler, sunny and no rain in sight!

 Martha looked lovely in her beautiful dress!( Liz didn't look too bad herself...haha)

Meredith and I smiling in the sun...haha

the bridesmaids wore boots...so did some of the guests...Brenna had some, David and Bridget got some and Tony had a nice new pair of boots...at the beginning of the evening he was heard saying "These boots are great! They are so comfortable" Martha suggested he might want to bring a back up pair of shoes...just in case...but he declined...more on that later...haha

Anne, Martha and Elizabeth

driving out to the site of the reception...lots of corn fields...miles and miles of green!

 They had tables under the tent and dancing in the barn. Luckily we didn't have to worry about any rain...the tent would have kept us dry...but walking back and forth would have been messy...( part of the reason for the boots!) The bridesmaids wore green. They had a variety of styles...all in the same shade of green. A couple had pink sashes. The maid of honor wore pink.The groomsmen had green vests...best man had pink.

                                             This barn dates back to the Revolutionary War

view out the back window...lots and lots of corn!

ready for dancing to start!

 The setting was country...but there were touches of Hawaii and the beach too. The ring bearer wore a Hawaiin shirt and flip flops. And as you can see...the cake had a beachy theme as well.

they do a lot of surfing and paddle-boarding back in Kure Beach.

                          After (lots) of pictures...the bridal party arrived on this tractor.

 which we naturally had to hop on to take our own pictures...haha Brenna, Martha, Megan and I took turns.

lots of bridesmaids

and the happy bride and groom

                    proud parents-Martha and Tony...I guess Tony was showing off the cool new boots...haha

                                  Jon, Liz, Wim, Anna, Tony, Meredith and Shane ready for a good time

 The DJ was great...played a good variety of music and kept us all dancing. The Burtons were first up on the floor...but it didn't take too long to get others out there too.I didn't have boots...but earlier in the day we went to the local T.J.Maxx to see if I could find some cheap shoes for dancing...just in case it was muddy out there...didn't want to ruin my good sandals. As it turned out I would have been fine...but the sandals I found ended up being inexpensive and SUPER comfortable while I danced all night.... and I've been wearing them ever since!

                                                              More pictures tomorrow!

Fair Warning...

If you read my blog...you know me well enough to know that from time to time I just like to rant....well...here's fair warning...today is one of those days.( Hey...if I can get it off my chest on the blog...maybe I won't be walking around bitching about it to everyone.) See I'm really doing everyone else a favor by complaining here. haha
First...I recently went to have some testing done. One test was covered and the other was actually a long shot, but the doctor decided she'd order it and see if the insurance would cover it. If not...they'd contact me and let me decide if I wanted to go ahead with it and pay for it myself. The test in question was to determine if I had a genetic mutation that might make me more susceptible to colorectal cancer; which might be good to know since we lost Jen to that cancer 6 years ago. well...no surprise to me...it was not covered and I decided it was not worth $4000.00 to me to know if I had the mutation. I go for screenings (colonoscopy) as recommended and so far results have been negative.
So what's my rant...it's not too bad...but I think the notice from my insurance company declining the request with this disclaimer.."Please be advised that this determination does not mean that the Member should not obtain the services proposed, nor does it mean that the Member does not require medical care. Any and all decisions that require or pertain to independent professional medical judgement or training, or the need for medical care, must be made solely by the member and the member's treating physician(s).....blah, blah, blah

Basically...we aren't paying for it...but you might benefit from it...so you're own your own! It doesn't really bother me that much...because I figured they'd turn me down...but I still find the whole process interesting.

Okay now here comes the real rant......if you know me you know I tend to complain about a certain co-worker...who I will not name...but you know who I'm talking about. This particular person is one of those people you just can't figure out. She is very good at some aspects of her job...but she is also one of those people who acts like she is  strictly acting according to the rules...and I'm sorry...but I'm not buying it. There's too many little things that she does that just don't add up... and are all the more annoying since she acts like we all need to be sure we are following the rules...or else. Honestly I think the stress of the job is getting to her...because lately she's doing more and more things that I think are not completely above board. That said...my rant has nothing to do with rules of the job...it's a more personal thing.
For several years now I have been recycling the bags that the newspapers come in. In the past...my friend in Tech Processing who got the newspapers in the morning would set the bags aside for me. (I use them for the dog(s).) She would collect them and put them in a drawer back in her work area. Note...this was a drawer otherwise unused...Not in any one's way. When she retired...the job of checking in the newspapers was taken over by the Reference ladies. No problem...they were happy to put the bags in a drawer back in their office for me. Because...how could anyone object to the fact that we were recycling the bags...not just adding them to the trash. well...apparently someone had a problem. I don't know for certain...but since no one else seems to know why the bags have suddenly disappeared...I assume it is the person I think it is. (does that sentence even make sense???) She gets to work first...and has suddenly decided she needs to remove the papers from the bags and then bring them to the reference desk. She doesn't PROCESS them...she just helps out by removing them from their bags..because you know that saves so much time.
So suddenly there are no bags around for me to take and reuse...and because it annoys me...I've looked around in the various trash cans...because I am not above retrieving them from the trash can...(clean in the morning...I don't dig through the trash...haha I'm not that bad! haha).
OKAY...I know this is kind of stupid...but that is what annoys me more than anything...why is something as trivial as this even an issue. I think sometimes I am being too critical of her...but then something like this comes up and I feel like I am validated. I do complain (try not to all the time)...and maybe this will make you understand why she drives me crazy!...haha
Okay...I'm done...I will try not to keep talking about this....from now on it's just more family and wedding fun! haha

***I just did a spell check and had to chuckle when the recommended spelling correction for colorectal...was kaleidoscope!!!! Okay...the test isn't bad...worst part is the prep...but I can assure you it's not as fun as a kaleidoscope!  hahahahah

Dinner on Friday night in Ohio

 Last weekend we were in Ohio for my nephew's wedding. We stayed in Heath, Ohio.

 Remember these baskets? I have a couple. I knew we were going to the Longaberger Golf Club for the Saturday night dinner....and it was one and the same. Passed the big "basket" building on the way to the dinner.

Aunt Anne, David, Anna B and Sammi (I don't think we scared her off! hope not!) the view from the dining room.

The cousins...Megan, Ryan, Shane, David, Brenna, Meredith, (Sammi) Anna

Ryan, Ian, Tony, (little) Tony, Nic

Megan, Shane, Ellen and Anna...leading the pack

Tony and Rob...deep in conversation

The sisters- (mother of the groom) Martha, Anne, Ellen, Elizabeth

Ellen, Ian, Rob, Jon

Uncle David with the nephews

people think Megan and Martha look alike

Shane, Brenna, David and Meredith-one of each :)

As my mother would say"They have nice teeth" haha

David, Jon, Erik

We had a great dinner with all the family, Tara and her family and the members of the wedding party.
(oops...no pictures of everyone else....) After the dinner we headed back to the hotel and hung out down by the pool. Lots of laughs, some crazy activities...but mostly just fun visiting with everyone.