I realize I'm being a little delinquent in getting the rest of our Puerto Vallarta pictures up...I'm working on it!!! But in the interim, one of the things we did after the wedding was go snorkeling. And why just snorkel like normal people observing pretty, colorful fish and coral...no the Hollands step it up and snorkel with sea lions (hmm...guess who's idea that was?).
Luckily Lithiboo was really friendly and fun, after you got over how weird it was to be swimming with something this big and whiskery. About 3 minutes after this picture I got stung by a big, nasty jellyfish which put me out of commission for the rest of the day pretty much. But I digress...
The first part of our trip to Puerto Vallarta (and really the whole reason we were there in the first place) was for one of Neil's high school friend's weddings. They had a great day (but isn't every day great in Mexico?), everyone looked fantastic the historic church where the wedding took place was just awesome.
{FYI, you can click on any of these pictures and see them larger}
The fans really came in handy after the ceremony when they shut off the industrial floor fans in the church!
Who is this child and why is she not in a GAP ad? Seriously she's beautiful...
After ceremony chaos where everyone is just happy and clueless about what to do next!
After the ceremony we all headed back to the resort for a reception dinner and Jee Eun and Joe emerged with these insanely cool floral crowns which her mom apparently just whipped up after the ceremony from some fresh flowers growing on the grounds of the resort. Isn't that what everyone does between the ceremony and reception?? Talk about feeling guilty for just sitting at the swim up bar with margarita(s) the whole time!
The best man presented them with this bottle of tequilla and a little insanity followed (don't worry, there are plenty of good "post-tequilla" pictures to come).
...And then they partook in some fun Korean customs of catching nuts in a cloth to signify the number of kids you'll have plus some kind of piggy back ride which I'm sure has some significance but right now just looks fun. Who gets to do that on their wedding day???
Aaah, yes...let the shenanigans begin.
I love this picture of Saki. If that isn't the perfect "damn you tequilla shot!" face, I don't know what is.
There were beautiful babies everywhere at this wedding but these 2 in particular...I mean seriously. If I could have figured out a way to smuggle them through customs, I would have taken them home with me.
More fun pics to come of the rest of this night plus the rest of our trip post-wedding.
We're back from an awesome 9 days in Mexico! I have so many great pictures to post all this week but for now just wanted to say that we are back state-side and already missing the fish tacos and margaritas at 10 am.
I came home today to find the funnest, most amazing flower arrangement waiting on the front porch. My sweet in-laws (and I hate calling them that because it always sounds cold and mean, 2 words that could not be less descriptive of this wonderful bunch!) sent Neil and I a wonderful anniversary gift in honor of our 3rd year in wedded bliss. The colors are so bright and cheerful and what could be more cheerful than the whole thing packaged beautifully together in a giant margarita glass? It's gorgeous, I can't believe how thoughtful they are!!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!
Neil went just a tad crazy at the strawberry farm down the street today ( which incidentally is actually called "Holland Farm") and I have just found 16 POUNDS of strawberries stashed in our fridge.
I suddenly feel like Forrest Gump having to come up with every strawberry recipe known to man... Strawberry shortcake, strawberry cobbler...hmmm, that's all I got. Lucky for me they are beautiful, full, juicy berries and I have no problem just eating them out of this box. Mmmm...summer.
We had big hopes for this long weekend which included a day trip down to the beach on Sunday. Those plans were quickly changed after one quick trip to the soccer field on Saturday. She normally spends her trips to the soccer field running around like crazy until she looks like she's about to have a heart attack...this is normal Daisy behavior. And on Saturday that moment came sooner than normal because it was about 85 degrees. So thinking he was helping her cool off, Neil brought her over to the dog drinking fountain (how awesome is it that they have one of these?) She proceeded to drink but also to lay right down in the puddle that was forming and then they went off and played on the field some more.
...Well we've since pieced together that this little "break" in the puddle must have been the culprit, softening up all that paw skin only to be ripped off when she went back onto the field because she walked into our kitchen leaving little bloody paw marks with every step. Yes, she managed to sheer off the skin on each of her little paw pads, leaving behind just raw, bloody, painful little nubs. She looked so pathetic with her little legs shaking as she tried not to put any weight on her paws. We even noticed she was trying to walk like on her tip toes, digging her nails into the ground to keep off her pads. :(
After some wrangling, we managed to get her all cleaned up and bandaged which left her looking like a horse getting ready to run the Kentucky Derby. And then of course came the incesant liking which led to this...
Yes, the dreaded, yet comical Elizabethan collar. It's ridiculous looking we know, but it's the only thing that keeps her from licking/ripping off her bandages. After 2 days of this she's doing much better, we're happy to report. We just keep washing them and keeping them clean. It just never ceases to amaze me the things this dog manages to get into.
I always find it a little comical how the crowd divides up on the lawn. It is certainly a family friendly event with strollers and blankets and dancing kids everywhere but there's a whole other area where the "kid-less" seem to gather (and no suprise, it's closer to the bar). So we bounced between both of these areas to hang out with both crowds and while the family section is way more entertaining, it is definitely much more exhausting too! Lots of running around keeping kids out of bushes, changing diapers, etc.
Here's Ella with her beautiful grandmother, Tim's mom.
Tim, big-Tim and little baby Sienna
Ugh, she's so cute, it's gross.
We are conspiring to keep Tim at Chapel Hill forever so we can see these adorable kids grow up...oh and yea, we kinda like hanging out with the Smith's too!