Tag Archives: wedding

Finn ~ 48 weeks

DSC_0485We all returned from vacation with a little something. In Finn’s case it was another tooth! He is now up to 6 and this most recent one, the front right, is coming in pretty fast. Look at those teeth! Kevin and I were a bit less fortunate and came back with a sinus/cold/chest kind of illness. It’s not really much fun.

Finn did great for a majority of the trip, despite the lack of schedule and on many days lack of sleep! Traveling to and from everywhere takes some time and he isn’t really interested in napping if he can watch people and his surroundings instead. He made a ton of friends on the cruise ship since there weren’t a lot of young infants on board. Most places we went everyone just smiled at him and commented on his beautiful blue eyes. It was fun to sit down with family and friends each night for dinner. A couple of the evenings were a bit tough as we had the 8:30 seating. Finn and I left mid-dinner twice as he became a bit loud and fussy and was in need of his bed!  Kevin stayed for the remainder of dinner and was sweet and thoughtful each night – he brought a latte and dessert back to our room. Yum! Dessert and a latte in bed, that’s not a bad way to vacation 🙂

On Sunday, we arrived in Key West about 6:30 a.m.  Somehow I was awake, which was nice as I was able to watch us arrive in the port.  Once Finn and Kevin were awake we were getting ready to head down for our first breakfast onboard and the power on the entire ship went out! Uh oh! It was out for about an hour so they continued to put out food that didn’t require cooking, but other than that it was limited to whatever they had when the power went out. The worst part, for me, was they ran out of coffee! But it wasn’t long before everything was back up and running and we all enjoyed a nice breakfast.

Once we returned to our room we realized the water had a brownish cast to it. After running the shower for about 10 minutes it cleared up – thankfully – as it was time to get ready for the wedding! Yay! We were off the ship by 10:30 am and we all walked up the hill and made our way to a trolley that took us to Smather’s Beach where Brett and Missy would be married. I don’t have any photos during the wedding, as DSLR camera’s weren’t allowed since the wedding was conducted by a photography company. But I was able to get some before and afters. It was a hot and sunny day and there were lots of family and friends there to celebrate their marriage. Afterwards everyone was treated to a lovely lunch at the Conch Republic in Key West. Jim welcomed Missy to the Armstrong Family by presenting her with an Armstrong sash that was fastened with the Armstrong Clan pin. Both Kevin and Erika toasted to the newlyweds during the casual afternoon reception where we were all mingled together. We had a little bit of time at the end of the afternoon so Grandma and Grandpa took Finn back on the ship and Brett, Missy, Kevin, and I walked around Duval Street in Key West and had a drink at Sloppy Joe’s. Missy wore her Armstrong sash all afternoon and it  was cute to see everyone congratulate them on getting married – one gentlemen asked to have his picture taken with them!IMG_20140209_065750818_HDR DSC_1452 DSC_1457 DSC_1459 DSC_1462 DSC_1464 DSC_1469 DSC_1472 DSC_1474 DSC_1500 DSC_1476 DSC_1479 DSC_1484 DSC_1487 DSC_1489 DSC_1494 DSC_1497 DSC_1504 DSC_1510 DSC_1524 DSC_1528 DSC_1531 DSC_1535 DSC_1537 DSC_1545 DSC_1549 DSC_1552 DSC_1553 DSC_1560 DSC_1556 DSC_1566 DSC_1569 DSC_1572 DSC_1575 CSC_1795 DSC_1596 DSC_1598 DSC_1602 DSC_1610 DSC_1611 DSC_1615 DSC_1720 DSC_1713 DSC_1620 DSC_1617 DSC_1622 DSC_1625 DSC_1633 DSC_1634 DSC_1635 DSC_1639 DSC_1641 DSC_1642 DSC_1643 DSC_1644 DSC_1646 DSC_1659 DSC_1676 DSC_1677 DSC_1679 DSC_1681 DSC_1662 DSC_1685 DSC_1686 DSC_1709 DSC_1696 DSC_1702 DSC_1714 DSC_1730DSC_1776 DSC_1731 DSC_1736 DSC_1739 DSC_1733 DSC_1740 DSC_1746 DSC_1712 DSC_1725 DSC_1745 DSC_1759 DSC_1750 DSC_1765 DSC_1768 DSC_1769 DSC_1773

Each evening we watched the sunset together on our balcony (when the sun was on the correct side that is!). Most days at sea were lazy and casual days on the ship which allowed Finn to get some much needed sleep. Everyone enjoyed the sun (or shade), beverages (mine were the specialty coffee drinks!), and food (so much food!). And we enjoyed many good dinners, served by Joquin and Olga – they were wonderful!DSC_1782 DSC_1785 DSC_1787 DSC_1800 DSC_1803 DSC_1807 DSC_1812 DSC_1813 DSC_1816 DSC_1817 DSC_1822 DSC_1823 DSC_1833 DSC_1839 DSC_1845 DSC_1848 DSC_1851 DSC_1867 DSC_1873 DSC_1882 DSC_1776

On our day in Cozumel we disembarked and began walking to a nearby beach. Within a short distance a cabbie stopped and talked to us and offered to be our cabbie for the afternoon, so we obliged! He took us to Paradise beach where we spent a couple of hours and played in the water. Then we headed to the Mayan Ruins for a brief visit, followed by a driving tour of the downtown area of Cozumel. He explained alot about their culture and the landmarks as we drove around. It was a nice, and long, day! DSC_1898 DSC_1915 DSC_1917 DSC_1923 DSC_1926 DSC_1941 DSC_1946 DSC_1948 DSC_1951 DSC_1952 DSC_1957 DSC_1960 DSC_1964 DSC_1971 DSC_1978 DSC_1989 DSC_2000 DSC_2009 DSC_2013 DSC_2020 DSC_2030 DSC_2037 DSC_2038 DSC_2039 DSC_2042 DSC_2046 DSC_2047 DSC_2053 DSC_2055 DSC_2095 DSC_2101 DSC_2102 DSC_2056 DSC_2058 DSC_2061 DSC_2065 DSC_2070 DSC_2073 DSC_2082 DSC_2085 DSC_2088 DSC_2091 DSC_2092 DSC_2099 DSC_2107 DSC_2113 DSC_2122 DSC_2124 DSC_2128 DSC_2131 DSC_2134 DSC_2136 DSC_2137 DSC_2163 DSC_2179 DSC_2188 DSC_2202 DSC_2205 DSC_2218 DSC_2226 DSC_2229 DSC_0006 DSC_0010 DSC_0019 DSC_0030 DSC_0038 DSC_0049 DSC_0059 DSC_0061 DSC_0068 DSC_0084 DSC_0093 DSC_0095 DSC_0105 DSC_0110 DSC_0113 DSC_0122 DSC_0127 DSC_0135 DSC_0147 DSC_0161 DSC_0168 DSC_0171 DSC_0176 DSC_0184 DSC_0197 DSC_0206 DSC_0211 DSC_0213 DSC_0214 DSC_0228 DSC_0235

Playing on the beach in Cozumel!

After the cruise we spent a few nights in Duck Key, Florida which is about halfway to Key West. We stayed in a condo that was part of resort which had several pools and hot tubs and a even a saltwater lagoon and dolphin area. While we didn’t swim with the dolphins we were able to see them and snap some photos. We drove to Key West one afternoon where we had very tasty Cuban Sandwiches at the local restaurant Paseo. Finn enjoyed watching all of the birds roam around while we ate. We ended the night listening to live music and watching the sun set. On our final day in the condo, fin was loving having the freedom of roaming around a larger area. You’ll see him using a chair as a tool to get himself around the first floor.  It’s pretty cool to watch. He knows when he gets stuck to go to another side and push a different direction! On our last day we spent several hours at the lagoon where Kevin and I got a bit too much sunbefore returning home.  And now that we’re back, we’re ready for another vacation 😉  Enjoy!DSC_0279 DSC_0298 DSC_0288 DSC_0291 DSC_0313 DSC_0326 DSC_0353DSC_0334 DSC_0358 IMG_20140214_203334971 DSC_0371 DSC_0373 DSC_0374 DSC_0376 DSC_0379 DSC_0386 DSC_0382 DSC_0391 DSC_0401 DSC_0404 DSC_0407 DSC_0408 DSC_0415 DSC_0418 DSC_0419 DSC_0422 DSC_0429 DSC_0437 DSC_0458 DSC_0460 DSC_0468 DSC_0470 DSC_0479 DSC_0483 DSC_0485 DSC_0488 DSC_0490 DSC_0493 IMG_20140215_113413709 20140215_123019 20140215_132252 IMG_20140215_153454521 IMG_20140215_153514228 IMG_20140215_153528458 IMG_20140215_153956955 DSC_0499 DSC_0504 DSC_0508 DSC_0509 DSC_0521 DSC_0537 DSC_0544 DSC_0553 DSC_0556 DSC_0558 DSC_0562 DSC_0573 DSC_0578 DSC_0583 DSC_0592 DSC_0637 DSC_0648 DSC_0655 DSC_0667 DSC_0682 DSC_0690 DSC_0698 DSC_0703 _20140215_154104

Our Wedding Day!

We are so blessed to have had such a wonderful wedding day! We were surrounded by our families and friends and the day couldn’t have been more perfect!

Be forewarned – there are lots of photos here! Henry Photography did an excellent job capturing everything about the day.

Kevin and I (ok, mostly me!) wanted to do a “first look” so we could see one another and spend some special moments with each other in daylight, prior to taking our vows.  It was a sunny, yet cool day. After our meeting on the roof-top terrace at the Renaissance Hotel we spent some time going around Columbus with our wonderful friends who joined us as our wedding party! And we were fortunate to have our friend, and pastor, Rev. James Kessler unite us in marriage!

How does it go – great  minds think alike? Little did Kevin or I know we had very similar gifts to give one another. You see Kevin always joked about getting married wearing a kilt fashioned out of the Armstrong tartan.  Since the kilt idea wasn’t going to happen my sister helped me come up with the idea of kilt “socks” that Kevin could wear with his tux. I was able to find a shop in Scotland (online of course) that would custom make the socks in the Armstrong tartan! I was really excited 🙂 Then, as a complete surprise to me, Kevin had the idea to have his dad present to me a sash, fashioned out of the Armstrong tartan and complete with the Armstrong coat of arms pin, at the beginning of the reception. I was floored and thought it was the perfect gesture to welcome me to the family!

We will let the pictures tell the rest of the story!