Holiday Making

Last night Kyle and I had a meeting of the minds; our topic?  Where to go and what to see with our 3 months left in Europe.  3 months~that's no time at all!  On the other hand, we still have a quarter of our French life to live out.  Well, let me tell you~this blog was originally intended to share many a travel story.  To some degree I think we have achieved it (See:  Saarbrucken, Christmas in Strasbourg*Colmar*Heidelberg, Eurotrip with Chandler, Trier with JT, Luxembourg, Back to Strasbourg, and most recently to Hackenberg and Saint Avold).  It seems most of the folks we know around these parts travel more frequently to more exotic locations.  How is it possible?  With my job and Kyle's school work, we always had homework to do.  Plus, being a part-time teacher doesn't bring home the big bucks.  Is there some travel option out there less expensive than Ryan Air and Easy Jet or do all our friends have secret rich uncles.

Well, with all these curiosities aside, we have made a list of places we'd like to see before all is said and done.  We have been saving for a European honeymoon, and it's going to be a blow out.  Thankfully when we got married, my parents let us stay in their Florida home for a week of fun in the sun and seafood consumption to our hearts' content.  They even stocked the fridge before we arrived.  That meant that all the money set aside for our newlywed getaway could be stashed for an opportune time while in France.

An excellent location for our first honeymoon.

So far here is the game plan~
* In two weeks I'll meet Audrey and her mom Sheri in Frankfurt to jet off to London for a few days.  No Kyle included in this globetrotting... it's a ladies trip.
*Lyon, France to revisit my former home in Place Bellecour as well as our good friend Jonathan!

 28 Place Bellecour~home in 2004

View from above~out one of my windows

My neighborhood

 Jonathan! He's the nice fella sporting the brown t-shirt.

*Reims, France to take in a city with huge history (Roman city, location for French kings' coronations, palaces, forts, location where Germans surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, etc).  It's also in the champagne region~Imma be poppin' that bubbly...
*Moselle Moto-tour~Kyle and I are going to rent a scooter for a day to visit castles in the region (Chateau de Malbrouck and Chateau des Ducs de Lorraine)
*Nancy, France~I've never been and it's so close to not go.  It's another big town in the Lorraine region.
*Paris with the Hamiltons~Kyle's family was delayed in coming to France in the spring due to all the unsightly ash clogging international air travel.  Hopefully Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull (how can that even be a word?) will have calmed down by the fall.  Of course we'll take in the Champs Elysees, Eiffel Tower, etc.  Hopefully we can visit some sites off the beaten path...
*Normandy with the Hamiltons~It's been a lifelong dream to go here ever since I saw/read Stand By Me/The Body in which Teddy Duchamp defends his father's honor to a junk yard owner by proclaiming he stormed the beach at Normandy.  I'm excited about learning more of the history as we did in Hackenberg a couple of weeks ago.

La Piece de Resistance~Our Euro Lune de Miel goes a little something like this~
*Kyle and I will fly to Rome where I will live out my own Roman Holiday (minus the whole princess having a magical day with a journalist, a barber, and a scooter....).  I've got to start making the list of all the things we want to see...
*Next we puddle hop to Sardinia (thanks to hours of enjoying Molto Mario on Hulu) and continue our Italian adventure.
*A ferry ride later and we'll be in Corsica thus returning to France.  There we'll tour the island by car hitting the beaches and mountains and bed and breakfasts.
*Back to Sardinia for one night before we return to Metz, complete the moving out process, and return to the glorious motherland.  Talk about a dream come true.

There you have it.  We've got 92 days to do it.  Can it be done?  Only time will tell....

Summer Fling

We had an action packed few days on the calendar this week.  Thursday night we always have Bible study at the Pounds family's house.  We had a special summer style potluck this week to send off two of our friends here~Sarah and Cole.  They are both fellow teachers (Sarah at U of Metz & Cole at 2 elementary schools), and we've gotten to know them better in this small group this year.  It's always sad to see friends off, and I'm dreading our departure a bit more now than I ever have.  Thankfully it's still a few months off.  We had a lovely time, and thankfully I have a picture to share (all credit goes to Maria who brought a camera~I'm such a dope for forgetting!)

From left to right~Jing Fei, Cole, Sarah, Rocky, Maria, Kyle, me, Steve, and Viky.  We are a happy bunch.

Friday I had the whole day off.  I had initially been invited to attend a field trip with my Marly school students.  I was subsequently uninvited because the bus schedule wouldn't accommodate the early morning departure and the late evening return.  Blasted buses are ruining my life... more on that later.  It turned out to be alright.  Though I would have loved the quality time with the little ones, they were headed to Hackenburg and mines which are no longer worked.  Though the war landmarks are cool, the industrial sites are less appealing to me.  Poor kiddies~should have taken them to the zoo or something.

Friday was not a total loss (or so I thought).  I spent the afternoon outside reading the rest of Narnia by the lake.  It's warm enough to start to worry about sunburns.  In the evening, my other school was hosting a fete de l'ecole (sort of like our spring flings back home).  I was pumped about seeing all the kids at school yet completely unencumbered of there studies.  Kyle and I headed towards the event a little late.  While strolling to our bus stop, we saw our ride zoom by us.  In an impulsive moment, I thought we could jog to the next bus stop.  So we sprinted towards our new spot only to be deterred by serious construction~mounds of dirt and caterpillar machines at rest and large tubes that would soon be interred.  We didn't make it.  Our detour  had only made us sweaty and more discouraged at our spring fling prospects.  It was at this moment~the moment that I was filled with frustration that I hadn't planned ahead better~yes, this moment when a bird blessed me with a gift from above.  I was taken by surprise because this bird must have consumed a cherry (they're everywhere here right now).  I believe I had been struck by the pit of a cherry among other materials.  It was an unnecessary blow.  I had been defeated by the bus, the construction, and an unseen bird.  Kyle and I returned to our dorm.  I cleaned up and we settled in to catch up on So You Think You Can Dance.

Saturday was a much more successful day.  Kyle and I spent the better part of the day reading and listening to music.  We had a lovely picnic with Lauren and Michael.  They have the cutest little grill which was perfect for 4 beef patties and a sausage for all of us to split.  Kyle and I made a potato salad for the first time~we employed the use of dill!  It was a hit.  Our friend Sarah (a PhD gal at GTL) joined us, and we spent a lovely couple of hours by the lake enjoying good food and good company.  I shouldn't forget the delicious apricot pie which Lauren made from scratch.  It attracted plenty of ants, but we were able to fend them off until the tasty tart was fully consumed.

We had the best Sunday ever~ Church was delightful.  The hymns were mostly easy to sing along to (except this one which was in half time and half notes got the beat... it was tough for our congregation to master in just 3 verses).  Jack preached on how Jesus turned over the Talion law (an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, etc) by telling us turn the other cheek instead of condemning those who sin against us.  Many of our friends were there to greet at the end of the service.  Rocky and Maria invited us to have lunch with them in their classy little apartment.  We had a delicious salad, risotto, and duck wings.  They were sweet enough to invite us on an excursion during the afternoon to a wonderful place called THERMAPOLIS!

 It looks like a simple aquatic center on the outside...

 

...but on the inside, it's a veritable water wonderland!

 Did I mention the lazy river?

Well, Thermapolis implies thermal springs.  Though it didn't appear to be spring fresh, the water came from natural springs unseen to the visitors, and these springs heated the pools.  It gave the indoor water a sort of greenish tint from time to time which could make one wonder what their pool neighbors are up to...  There is a dress code~the men are required to dress like women (the Euro-suit looks like half a bikini) and the women are free to dress like men (read: no tops required).  It was an adjustment to take in all the fellas in speedos, but thankfully only one woman bared it all.  My dear husband, as reluctant as he was, sported his (borrowed) swim suit with style.  It was a modest black number which covered all the necessary parts.  

We spent the afternoon floating around the lazy river.  There were different stations of water jets to massage different parts of the body and large jacuzzis to gather in.  One pool had a current which you could swim against for exercise.   There were hot baths and cold baths~Maria explained that it's supposed to be good for your circulation to spend some time in hot water and then switch to cold water.  There were saunas filled with an incense-like smell; they were super hot and relaxing.  It was a really nice way to pass a warm summer day.  

No pictures from Thermapolis... there are certain things that should stay among Europeans.  Hope yall have had a lovely Sunday (or any other day) today!

T-9 days to Summer

In just a little over a week, I'll be chanting no more pencils, no more books, no more teachers' dirty looks.  This little ditty has no better application than in France where the teachers scold their scholars more harshly than I've ever seen and where children spend the better part of 10 months in the classroom (minus Wednesdays for the elementary schoolers).  Summer has arrived~the sun is up before 6am and doesn't set to slumber until 10pm. It's time we were free to enjoy the bliss of this season.

What next?  That's the hot topic around these parts~where are you planning to go & what are you planning to do?  Right now... I have no clue.  It's a funny thing.  I was talking to my friend Sarah earlier today about how since I finished college, each year there has been some major transition in jobs and/or housing.  Anybody who looked at my resume would think I was a commitment phobe, but I seriously would love some career building, root planting, gainful employment.  How do I keep finding myself on the job market?

Being on the hunt for a job is very different now that I'm married, too.  Kyle is making the final lap earning his double masters degree in electrical engineering/optics.  He's Mr. Degree times 2!  Naturally, everyone (including me) looks to him to see what move the Hamiltons will be making next.  Don't get me wrong~I'm very proud of him, and I know hands down that his career opportunities are excellent.  I'd say it provokes two very strange reactions in me.  First, lazy Leah says, "Great, he'll find a job and I can stay home and do the dishes and grocery shopping.  I may even learn to whip up a few dishes.  I'll be the perfect femme au foyer, as the French say."  It may not sound lazy, but deep down I know I'll get sucked into Regis & Kelly the moment Kyle departs for his nine to five in the morning and lose many a productive hour for nothing.  On the flip side to this, I get this strange feminazi voice in my head that says, "I, too, can be an upwardly mobile contributor to society.  We are DINK material in the Hamilton household."  I definitely don't want to feel that I'm competing with my sweet husband to land a stellar job to impress other people.  There has got to be something in between.

Ultimately, the best solution would be for Kyle to find something he loves to do in a place that doesn't feel like Narnia under the rule of Jadis, and I can find a position to keep me occupied and bring home a little more bacon.  It's my pride that pops out and tells me that I have to have an equally impressive endeavor as my husband.  I think it stems a bit from this year where 9 times out of 10, folks love to gab with Kyle about his studies and research.  Then when asked what I do, people are less than impressed with a part-time English teacher at elementary schools.  The follow up question is always, "do you like it?"  To which I try to give as brief a response as possible before my audience has completely zoned out.  It was a tough pill to swallow, but people find teachers boring.  Kyle's current occupation is like rocky road ice cream in the world of conversation, and sadly, my job is vanilla.

But you know what Fred Astaire taught me?  Vanilla, vanella, chocolate, strawberry. Oh, let's call the whole thing off!  With that, I'm looking forward to a real summer.  A summer of reading, writing, exploring, traveling, jogging, and who knows what else.  And until the break begins, I'll happily enjoy my last few hours with my little messins et messines.  With that, shall we SHOW & TELL?  Yes please!  This weeks theme~geometrical images in color!

Pauline made me another doodle image with her colorful collection of pens.  It reminds me of a black light poster my high school boyfriend had.

Margot~a third grader~sketched me this little wonder.  It looks like a daisy, or une paquerette (in French!)

Auriana never disappoints.  She provided me with some slick snail shells and something that looks like a diamond treasure one would find in a Nintendo video game.

This last treasure is a bit different.  I have earned the reputation of being a bookworm among my students and colleagues.  One of the teachers at my school told me she had 2 books in English that she'd like to lend me for the summer so that I have plenty to read.  They say to never judge a book by its cover, but I could hardly resist with at least one of these... 

Can you see the 1980s personages dressed in period piece costumes or were you too distracted by the clouds on the cover of Plainsong?  I can just imagine my minifeed on facebook reading: Leah is currently reading "The Bastard" 

No thank you.

I think one of my rules of life will have to be to never read a book with cleavage on the cover UNLESS it is Gone With The Wind.  If there are other exceptions, please notify me.  Otherwise I'm only picking up things that look like Plainbook... I mean, Plainsong.

Happy Wednesday.  Hope all is well in your world and you are enjoying occupational bliss.  If you are looking for work, I feel for you.  If you are looking to hire a short girl with a BS, 3 years in the professional world, and international experience, I am completely, utterly, and totally at your disposal in October.  A bientot....

Saint Avold

Our field trip was a doubleheader.  Not only were we bound for Hackenberg, but we intended on traveling to St. Avold.  Due to some unforeseen socializing and gouter consuming time with our friends Rocky & Maria, we missed the afternoon bus to our second destination.  Alas, all was not lost.  They have a car so Kyle, Maria, and I set out for America (or the closest thing to it here).  Rocky was detained with some work so we bid him farewell for just a bit.  

The Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial holds the most graves of Americans who served in WWII in all of Europe; we definitely didn't expect to find it in our little Moselle region.  It's a beautiful place and it really feels like America.  I don't know how to describe it, but it made me so proud of my country.  The amount of sacrifice these soldiers made to promote liberty and freedom is overwhelming.  Upon reading there names and where they came from, I kept trying to imagine the soldiers as small children never imagining that their bodies' final resting place would be in a very small town by a very small river in France.  So many men so far from the homes they were fighting for... 

Ultimately, it makes me very frustrated with my public education.  We may be taught about significant battles and strategies in wars (Gettysburg, storming the beach at Normandy, the Tet Offensive, and the surge in Iraq to name a few), but there was never any emphasis on the principals for which our countrymen fought.  As my dear friend Paul says, "Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die."  Similarly, I don't believe so many Americans would give their life to fleeting or unimportant values.  I'm not going to get on a soapbox about them, but it's definitely worth looking into.  For now, enjoy the beauty of the American military laid in serene and eternal repose.

A belated Memorial day & Flag day rolled into one for us.

Our missing men

Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.  One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.

The only Georgian I encountered.

A brief story on the only soldier we saw with a gold star~

On November 16th, 1944, Staff Sergeant Ruben Rivers' tank hit a mine and shrapnel cut his leg from knee to thigh very deeply. His commanding officer, Captain David J. Williams, later remembered what happened when he and the rest of the company came to aid Rivers:

    With the morphine needle in my right hand about a half inch from Sergeant Rivers' leg, I could have told my sergeant to hold him down. I said, “Ruben, you're going back. You've got a million-dollar wound. You're going back to Tecumseh [Oklahoma]. You're getting out of this. You got a Silver Star and a Purple Heart.” He says, “Captain, you're going to need me.” I said, “I'm giving you a direct order! You're going back!” I said, "Medics, get the stretcher.” He pushed the needle away and got up. He said, “This is one order, the only order I'll ever disobey.”

Three days later, they come under heavy fire from the Germans by the town of Bougaltroff.  Williams ordered his men to withdraw, but Rivers held his position firing at an anti-tank unit to cover the area for his countrymen's retreat.  His tank was hit by two shells and he was killed.  Turns out Williams did need him.

My sweet husband and me

Hackentastic!

GTL took the undergrads on a mandatory field trip to Hackenberg and St. Avold yesterday.  Kyle and I took advantage of the all expense paid trip (thank you undergrads) and witnessed first hand a major military base and an American cemetery from WWII.

The Ouvrage Hackenberg was quite impressive, but I'll share a bit of history about it with you so that you can understand more why if it weren't for America, we'd be living in Germany right now.  This section of the Maginot line was built to defend the border from Germans.  Construction began in 1930, and it went into full operation in 1939.  There is a large underground network of railways, storage rooms, living quarters, and of course combat blocks.  Being 30 feet underground felt like being in a combination of Gringotts bank and a Dharma submarine.  Sadly (and as many of you know) the French only held their ground in our region until 1940.  For the rest of the war, the Germans used the fort as a factory (what a depressing place to work~the folks who volunteer there now are like mole people).  Eventually American forces came and liberated our Lorraine region; the only external damage to the Ouvrage Hackenberg is compliments of America and bombs.  The irony of all of it is that the bombs were manufactured by the French~so in 1944 both the Americans and Germans were using French weapons to fight each other.

An underground railroad

Evoking my inner Professor Quirrel~it was freezing on the little subterranean train.

It's a dark image, but this device was a must-have for the French military

As Kyle discovered, danger was around every corner.

To the left, to the left...

Is that a fake mustache?  No self-respecting Frenchman would ever disgrace his military beret by feigning facial hair.

Victimes de la mode

Let me out!  I fear a real life Today's Special event!

A tutorial on how to shoot and drop grenades on the enemy

War is never cute, but these retractable turrets are adorable.

America will blow your building up if you are a Nazi.

Bad romance

It's Thursday night & the mood is 'write'

It's Thursday night, and I'm home alone.  I was struck by an oh-so-common headache today which hindered my ability to work this afternoon and attend Bible study tonight.  Wouldn't you know that a good nap, a complete 180 in the weather,  and the Dark Was The Night album in heavy rotation are all a girl needs to kick her slight codependency on Tylenol?  Thankfully most of this week I've been feeling good in my neighborhood and have enjoyed some joyful events. 

This week GTL is celebrating 20 years of engineering excellence.  A slew of Atlanta bigwigs flew into town, and our little campus pulled out all the stops.  I again reverted to college Leah at the catered events and ate as if I had never seen a free meal.  Kyle and I got to rub elbows with GT president Bud Peterson~I already prefer him to G. Wayne.

All dressed up for the event, but fail on procuring a good image. I don't even know...

 I'm going to Show & Tell then share a bit about our field trips this week in my following entries.

Even if I were a complete failure as an English teacher this year, I'll know that I made an impression on dear sweet Auriana.  Seriously, not a week goes by where she doesn't create something for me.  I hate that she and all my wonderful CM2 students (i.e. 5th graders) have to go to dreadful college (i.e. middle school) next year.  Can't they just stay children a little longer?

Let the blog blast continue!

I'm no philosopher, but...

...we Americans often quip over Shakespeare lines.  I've been thinking a bit about ole William lately what with London on the horizon.  The most trite and overly quoted of all his lines comes from Hamlet~To be or not to be.  Perhaps that is the question, but lately I find myself asking to do or not to do?  I'll be the first to admit I love a good project.  I love organizing or writing a paper or washing a sink full of dishes (when no dishwasher is readily available).  However, I'm like the ancient copy machine at my elementary school that freezes up when commanded to do too many jobs at once.  I seize up, perhaps make an unpleasant noise (like that incessant beeping that copier makes), and then decide I need to shut down before moving on.  My shut down normally involves a nap.  Then once I get back on track, I find the lowest priority task to occupy myself with to avoid really accomplishing what needs to be done.

Tis unfortunate that this blog sometimes is the object of my procrastination.  Whether it's changing the backdrop as frequently as the sun rises and sets or just writing an entry at inopportune moments, I successfully shirk real responsibilities.  At this very moment, I could be lesson planning and burning a cd for the class I have planned tomorrow.  I also have 30 pages of French to read as well as research and an outline due on the Brittany region of France.  There are also a shameful number of dingy plates, silverware, and glasses which deserve a dip in the sink.  I imagine there is also a full laundry basket lurking under the bed, but out of sight~out of mind.

How to kick start?  When even the weight of duty and a genuine interest in these activities isn't enough to muster the strength to just get started on one, what is a girl to do?  I'm not sure just yet... How's about I report back to yall about what I read in my textbook for class?  It'll have more to do with ad-FRENCH-ure than what I'm up to today (Kyle and I went to the grocery store to get fajita ingredients and then we got McFlurries at McDo and enjoyed them while watching COPS~nothing French about any of that).  We'll go from there... in the mean time, this was a less than stellar entry~just a bit of reflection and wasting time before I really buckle down on the tasks at hand.  Farewell for now friends!

June and Yet Not Summer

I have been a busy bee, but I don't have many fun stories to share.  Last week Kyle and I had a picnic in a cute park by the river with Nyanza and some of her Strasbourg friends.  We bid farewell to our friend Emma with a dinner; she's off to Columbia next year to fulfill her dream of being the French Blair Waldorf.  Last night we went to see Lauren sing with her choir along with Michael (her husband) and Sarah (a PhD friend at GTL).  Those are the highlights with no corresponding photographs.

During the week, school is getting harder and harder to focus on.  The children are antsy and would rather be outside playing; what dope decided that French students were better off indoors for the whole month of June?  Or should I say, why would they do this to the teachers?  It's funny~I think summer and work have been synonymous since I was in high school.  Why can I not muster the strength to be on top of lesson plans for the next three weeks.  Because it's unnatural~that's why.  The last day of school is July 2nd, and you can bet those children will all be learning about American Independence day.

My class at GTL has also started to take over my life.  Rather than just being one of those creepy old people who audits a class and doesn't participate, my professor has mistaken me for one of the undergrads who has to lose sleep over assignments.  Each week we read at least 30 pages of text in French~which isn't so bad and usually very interesting.  Then we must write a summary and a little something something about what we liked.  We've already had to prepare presentations, and I just missed a deadline on an outline for our first essay.  I forgot the summer pace of classes was a bit nuts... I really love getting the extra french practice and being challenged~ in a normal day what I say in French is limited to phrases like "take out your English notebooks" or "stop hitting Alexis with a ruler" or "no, we are not playing 'Telephone' or 'Simon Says...' today...sorry kid".  I wouldn't be worried about these university assignments so much especially since I'm not being graded, but the professor has the right to kick me out if I get unruly.  Come on July!  Prof Ippolito~your class will be my top priority in just a few weeks...

...or maybe I spoke too soon.  Week 1 of July~I am jet setting to London with Audrey and her mom Sheri.  Since Audrey is such a Shakespeare & Harry Potter buff, we'll likely spend the majority of our time in search for literary lieux.  I have only one place I'd really like to see is the Benjamin Franklin house.  Hopefully I can convince the Lewis' that it's a worthy destination~word on the street is that he used to open the huge windows facing the streets and recline in the nude to take an air bath.  I'm sure it was less refreshing to his neighbors and likely a nasty habit he picked up while in Paris.  Any other recommendations?

Show & Tell?  Yes indeed!

 The first contribution by Hugo A.~I love it when the boys make me a homemade handy craft.  It's now adorning my pencil case.

Kyle gave me this last photo to share with yall.  Despite feeling unusually busy, I still happily make time for naps.  Since we have no blankets in our household, Kyle graciously bestows upon me his large Carhartt.

It's really quite cozy.

Hope some of yall are able to enjoy a vacation or trip this summer.  I'll have an adventure to report later this week~should be good.  A bientot!

Alli T!

I hope my dear friend Allison won't mind a birthday blog on her husband's birthday.  It's a bit belated (why do we only use that word with birthday greetings?), but Alli's b-day was yesterday.   Alas, shall we take a stroll down memory lane?  For those who didn't attend GT with me, Alli was my roommate for the better part of our college career.  We definitely had a meet cute~ we both requested random roommates for our freshman year and were surprised to be paired together since we attended high school together and even had gifted lit in 9th grade together and AP U.S. history our junior year.  It was a funny coincidence, but I thank God I was paired with her upon entering university.  We lost a good amount of time playing Tetris Attack, and I have Alli to thank for any athletic achievement I have reached~she, in fact, introduced me to the gym and the elliptical.  Allison also brought me to my first small group~ it was a study on Galatians. We haven't spent much time together in the past couple of years, but even now she is not far away serving as a missionary in Birmingham, England.  Perhaps if Kyle lands a position with Siemens, we'll get to join Alli & her husband Mike in the UK.  Let's get on with the photos... I have a veritable cornucopia of digital history.

The oldest picture I have of us together... at least Alli looks cute.

Looking fresh for a formal

Sassy dance moves

Less formal dancing...

We're in the middle row sporting red tops with all our girl friends.

Chilling out by the wonderful wall of prayer in 225 Woodruff.

This is Alli.... in a box!

Beach vacation our sophomore year~seafood time!

On rock & rock on!

Mind the gap

We are GT fans...

... and frequently attend football games....

... and sometimes get a little hyphy with Whitney!

A golf outing at the driving range~ we learned together, but she's probably way more skilled than I am.

This was the last time I saw Alli before she departed for Mexico~she survived living on a volcano.

Be happy.  Hug a pumpkin.

We enjoyed a good many sporting event at the SAC fields.

Merry Christmas brownies!

Beach brownies

T-Rizzle and the gals!

Apparently not having the best time at this Christmas party...

Classy black & white photo

There's no telling why we were so thrilled, but it must have been something like Trey cheering us to say cheese as happily as possible.

D-double d-date!

Brownie reunion just last summer

Getting Alli into her wedding dress on her happy day!

Et voila~a lovely bride & groom

Preparing with Alli, friends, and sisters on my wedding day.

What a lovely ensemble of identically dressed loved ones.

Happy birthday Thompson couple!

Hope yall have a lovely time celebrating your first birthdays in the UK!

Take care birthday buddies and hope to see yall in Europe one of these days!