First Date Night in Ohio!

What a perfect night!!!

After a not-so-perfect night last night - waiting for B to arrive after many airport delays and cancelled flights - we finally got to have our first Date Night in Ohio!

Brandon and I were huge fans of the first Transformers movie, so we thought the perfect start to the night was to see the sequel. Let me say one word: AWESOME! It was SO GOOD! We LOVED it! Totally worth the theater cost in our opinion!!!

Afterwards, we went out to dinner compliments of my sister's boyfriend - Sam gave us a gift certificate to one of our favorite restaurants! WOO HOO! We even have 1/2 the certificate left over - enough for another dinner out. Thanks so much Sam! It was AWESOME!!!

When we pulled back into our driveway tonight, I was proud of the lights I had put up today! This is random....but doesn't our porch look pretty sweet at night?

I was so happy to have B back home! He's got to go on another business trip on Monday - but this time for only 2 days...not as bad! We had a wonderful date tonight - and plan to make this a weekly occurrence!

Tomorrow we are having a cook-out with my fellow ER residents at a local park. That should be fun...I'm anxious for B to meet all the people I will be working with for the next 4 years.

Father / Daughter Dance

If you didn't get a chance to see our Father/Daughter dance, check this out! It gets really good around 1:25!!! Special thanks to Mara!!!

Finally...His Flight Leaves!

As you can see from the above picture, B's flight has FINALLY left Newark tonight - 5 HOURS LATE!!! Don't they know he is my new husband and I really want to see him? I have missed him all week long!

As you can ALSO see, he is not flying into the correct city. He's going to land and still have a 2 1/2 hour drive home! (At least there was someone on his flight who only lives 5 minutes from us - and he scored a ride!! Woo hoo!)

We've moved our date night to tomorrow night instead!!!

I can't wait to see him!

Hubbie in a DELAY!

So here is the bummer for the day:

Today is our 3rd week anniversary...and B had to leave last Sunday for a business trip! I have been anxiously awaiting his return ALL WEEK LONG! We had a date planned for this evening....dinner and a movie.....it was going to be so much fun.

AND....

Continental RUINED our plans!

B has been stuck in the Newark, NJ airport all day long - and is STILL waiting to leave. He keeps getting delayed even more!

As of now, he is still scheduled to get in tonight...but, geez, what a bummer!!! I really hope he gets in tonight! I REALLY MISS HIM!!!

Our AWESOME Reception!

Below are a few of my favorite pictures taken at our reception. Very special thank you, to my friend Aaron, for taking such great pictures and capturing the moment! You really did a great job...I LOVED all the family pictures you got!

We've Moved In!!!

We're heeerrrreeee......

After a WHIRLWIND of a wedding and reception, Brandon and I packed up and moved to our new place...3 states away for me, 2 for him. 10 hours from my family, 7 for him. We have loved our first 5 days here....but, man, unpacking everything is A LOT of work!

Here is our moving truck prior to leaving. It was only 1/3 to 1/2 full at this point. Can't believe all the stuff I had....Riley, my family dog, tried helping too.

Brandon "took one for the team" by driving the big Penske truck. I drove my own car. He said it was loud in there...and he could feel every single bump in the road. He was SO HAPPY to finally get to our place!

And after 5 days of unpacking, here is what we've got....

This is our front entrance after coming up the stairs....

Our sweet dining room/kitchen table.....(we've replaced the rope lights since then...)

Here is the view when you immediately turn the corner coming up the stairs.

And here is looking through our kitchen.

Brandon's family brought all his stuff up on Friday and they were such a help to get everything done!! We really appreciated them helping us out!!!

Unfortunately, Brandon had to go on a business trip today for the rest of the week. I've never cried to say goodbye until today.....somehow it hit me that I had only been married 2 weeks, I was in a brand new city - in a brand new place, and he had to leave for a week. I cried when I left him at the airport today. But, we've already got a date all set up for Friday when he returns...and I can't wait!!!

We miss all our friends and family back home...but we are "spreading our wings"..... So far, we have loved every minute of our new place!

Wedding Week: Day 11 (Mini-Honeymoon)

On Tuesday morning, we took advantage of the food situation and made omelets for breakfast. We enjoyed sitting on the porch...drinking Coke and Iced Tea....and looked forward to a great day! We beached-it for a few hours before picking up our rental car!

Brandon calls it "The Banana." He's still getting used to driving on the left side of the road!

In the afternoon, we had to meet with our photographer, Rebecca, to pick up all our wedding photos. They do such a GREAT job at Picture This...we were so lucky to have her!!! She is 1 week from having a baby....and she was a trooper, rolling in the sand and everything, for our pictures!

After spending the afternoon at PictureThis, we went to dinner at one of B's favorite spots...Maca Buca. We had a great dinner....and an even better sunset!!!

I mean, really, can you beat this??? I don't think so!

Along with the left-over food, we were also left with some virgin strawberry daiquiri mix. Brandon has become our evening drink maker....they are so good!

Then he spilled my drink!!! CRAZY BOY!!!

Wedding Week: Day 10 (Mini-Honeymoon!)

Monday marked the first day of our Mini-Honeymoon. Like I have mentioned in previous posts, Brandon surprised me by booking us to stay 3 extra days here in paradise! We were sure sorry to see our families leave - but, were really looking forward to some time by ourselves!

Both our families left before lunchtime. It was bright and sunny while they were packing up....Brandon and I were really looking forward to a nice day. Then THIS happened! Brandon seems to have this kind of luck.... I assured him the rain never lasted long on the island...but we settled in for a cloudy, rainy day. Oh well....still better than working back home! (Nice view from the condo though!)

When the rain stopped, we went down to the beach for a rare break in the clouds. This little guy kept popping up right beside Brandon's chair. Don't tell B I told you this....but he was pretty scared!

Since our families left us with loads of left-over food, we decided to stay in for the night...especially since we didn't have a car yet. We made quite the dinner spread with all the random food we had. We sat out on our porch and enjoyed a beautiful post-rain sunset!

It was a really nice day...just the two of us!

Wedding Week: Day 9

Sunday morning started pretty early for us! Brandon and I had another photo shoot at 9am...which meant I had to be up by 7 to get ready (in all my wedding gear!). Since our beach pictures right before the ceremony on Friday included all our wedding party, we wanted pictures of just the two of us on the beach. We "Trashed the Dress" - but no worries, it is all dried out now and in good shape for the reception next weekend! (By "Trash the Dress" I mean that I allowed the bottom to get wet in the ocean - you only get married once..might as well have fun with it!!!)

Usually we give my mom a hard time about the photos she takes...but check it out, looks like she did a professional job here! Thanks Mom!!! We will look forward to getting our actual pictures on Tuesday!

We also got a few pictures at another location - which meant a ride in the photographer's sweet mini-coop. Wind blown hair is the BEST for pictures!

After our early morning picture session, we spent the day on the beach. Shane and Michelle played quite a bit of football for their last day here!

For dinner, my family and Brandon's family all decided to combine dinners. They all brought the food to the beach pool...where we all had a potluck dinner together. It was so much fun! The only thing that would have been better is if we could have played Mafia again!

Here are the two brothers, Brandon and Shane, in some sweet jumping shots! The sunset was so great, we had to take advantage of it!

And here is my pirate husband (!!!!) displaying his wedding band in a new and unique way.

Our families all leave on Monday morning....and we will really miss them. BUT, it means that Brandon and I have 3 days here all by ourselves...and we can't wait!!!

Wedding Week: Day 8

Saturday, the day after we got married, we had an excellent day! We spent most of the day around the beach and pool - and it was beautiful!

In the afternoon, we took some of Brandon's family to one of our favorite places, "Carey's Black Coral" shop. "Dr. Carey" is a former Hell's Angel (for real), but was originally born and raised in on Grand Cayman. After his time in California with the Angels, he came back to Cayman and began collecting black coral. Now, black coral is a protected item in the Caribbean ocean - the stuff he uses to make jewelry is the stuff he found about 26 years ago! In exchange for a bikini (for his Guinness Book of World Records bikini collection), he gives you a piece of black coral that he has designed. Michelle, Shane, Sue, and Brandon were all able to walk away with a unique piece from Dr. Carey...and it is always a good and interesting time going to his "Bikini Shop."

In the evening, Brandon and I had a private dinner at The Lighthouse. Back in the spring, I had booked us a reservation for the only private table outside. It was SO NICE! Brandon said his lasagna was some of the best he has ever had. They even presented us with this complementary, congratulatory dessert! YUM!

Wedding Week: Our Wedding

Our wedding was so beautiful and it was so special!

I thought I would post the vows that Brandon and I wrote for one another. This was the most special part of the ceremony to me. When Brandon looked into my eyes and said his vows, I could see his heart. It was such a beautiful and meaningful moment for the two of us....and to have my grandfather as our minister, and our immediate families in the audience, it was a breath-taking moment.

I, Brandon/Brooke, take you, Brooke/Brandon, to be my Wife/Husband

I promise to trust you, believe in you, and love you from this moment on.

You are my best friend and the one who makes me whole.

You are my rock, my solid foundation, my soul mate.

From the bottom of the ocean to the ivy at Wrigley, we are the perfect team.

I have given you my love...now I'm giving you my heart.

Today, I am the luckiest man/woman in the world!

Wedding Week: Day 7 (WEDDING DAY!!!)

It has been a few days since I have been married...and a few days since I have been able to update my blog.

I'm a newlywed....gimme a break!

But let me now tell you all about our wedding day!!!

The day started off with my sisters, AKA MOH's, AKA Maids of Honor, waking me up at 7:45am with breakfast in bed telling me I had to be ready to go in my swimsuit by 8:00am. I figured this meant I was going on a surprise "Wedding Day Boat Dive" - but I had no idea what was in store for me!!!
I got myself ready and we headed out to the car. They told me I would be blind-folded for the trip....and I told them that even if they blind-folded me, I knew my way around the island and they couldn't fool me. I tried peeking a little too - which resulted in a towel being placed over my head.

My dad started driving - and I kept telling them exactly where we were turning. Until my dad turned into 2 different parking lots, backed-up, and spun around - then I had no clue which direction we were headed. At this point, I still thought we were going on a boat dive.

When my dad stopped the car to let us out, my sisters directed me hand-in-hand through an air-conditioned building. Again, I thought we were heading out to a dock.

When they took my blind-fold off, I was SHOCKED!

This is what I saw!!!!

My sisters - the best MOH's ever - brought me to Dolphin Discovery as my "Bachelorette Party". We got to swim with dolphins...and it was AWESOME! The 3 of us got to swim by ourselves in the tank....

Here I am being pulled through the water by the dolphins.

And here are the 3 of us getting the dolphins to talk.

Thank you SO MUCH to Kasey and Taylor for taking me swimming with dolphins! That was a once-in-a-lifetime experience...and a beautiful start to my wedding day!

After that, my family made one of my favorite dives at the Turtle Farm Mini-Wall. And let me tell you....it has been one of the best dives I have ever been on! We stayed under for 68 minutes!!! Grandaddy thought it was his longest dive ever! Not only that, but we saw 7 spotted drums! SEVEN!!! (My family back home will appreciate this!) Ever since my Mimi died, we have thought of the spotted drum as a sign from her that she is doing well in heaven. If we had seen 1 or 2, it would have been a coincidence. But to see 7 spotted drum is unheard of....I choose to believe that was Mimi telling me she was there with me on my wedding day!

When we got back from the dive, I had a little time to relax. It was at this time that I learned that Brandon had switched our plane tickets so we could stay 3 extra days all by ourselves! It was a big surprise...and SO NICE of him!

While I was getting ready, Brandon's dad and brother came up to my condo with another surprise for me - a pair of pearl earrings! I even got to wear them during the ceremony! They were SO BEAUTIFUL! Thanks, B!

Next, Brandon was surprised by a gift from me....a brand new watch. He was so surprised...and I got to watch the video later of him receiving it! I was so excited!

Our ceremony that evening was AWESOME!!! Thank you to Shane, Doug, Kasey and Taylor for being in our wedding party!!!

And, special thank you to Rebecca Davidson for taking our wedding photos! I am quite convinced we have the best ones ever!!!

More to come on the wedding itself!!!