the Honeymoon

Right after the reception, we had a limo pick us up at the hall and we headed to the airport to catch our flight to Panama. We stopped off at our house to get changed, and pick up our luggage, and then we headed to Toronto. It was a long day, but we were not tired. It was definitely the shortest trip that I have ever made to Toronto!!!! Curt and I talked about the day, and all the events. It was nice to be able to do that, because the day was such a blur. (this is us in the limo on the way to the airport...we do look a little tired, be were still on our addrenalin rush)

We got to the airport at about 4:45, and had to wait to get checked in until 5:30. After we did that we headed to our gate, and tried to get a few winks of zzzzz's.....but that really did not happen. We boarded our plane at 6:30, and I don't think I was on the plane for more then 10 minutes before I was out. I opened my eyes as we started to take off down the runway, but I was out again before the plane left the ground. I did not see any of the flight until we were about 1 hour out of Panama.

After we got landed, we had to take a 2 hour bus ride to our resort. I seen about the first hour, but the rest of that trip was spent sleeping as well.

But the time we got to our resort my contacts were so dried out all I could see was fog. It was not a real good first impression of our resort. As soon as we got checked in we headed to our room to wait for our luggage, and to have a nap. We just fell asleep, and the bell boy came with our bags, but we were able to fall back to sleep for a couple of hours. The rest of the day consisted of going for dinner, and then going back to bed. The first day of our trip was pretty much a right off. (That is why I didn't want to leave right after the wedding for our honeymoon. Unfortunately that was our only choice, so that is what we had to go with.)On the Monday we had to wake up and go to an information session. After that it was time to get to the vacation. We found our docking station for the week. It was right out in front of our villa, and was a foot deep pool that you could set your chair right in. It had sprinklers in it, so that when we got too hot we could go and get cooled down. It got so hot in the afternoon that I had to park my chair right under them to keep cooled off. There was a deeper pool attached to each end of it, so it was pretty much perfect. We laid in the sun, and then we we got too hot, we could just walk over to the pool and go for a dip.

Every afternoon we would head up to the hotel room so that we could have a little nape before we had to get ready to go for dinner for the evening. It was perfect. The only day that we did not get our nap was on Tuesday, but that was because we had a message on the beach scheduled for our nap time. I guess if you have to miss your nap, there is really no better excuse....right???

Wednesday was the day that the exhaustion seemed to hit me. It was hard for me to lift my head off the pillow in the morning, and when I finally did get up, I could only seem to keep my eyes open for 15 min. at a time. I think I slept pretty much to whole afternoon, and by the time it rolled around to go to dinner, I was good as new. It was amazing how it hit me, but I was glad it was a day that we did not have anything planned for, that way I could just relax and get rested.

Thursday Curt and I went horse back riding at our resort. This was the first time that Curt had ever rode a horse. We took some trails near the resort, but it really was not a true trail ride. The horses had been through it so many times, we did not even have to lead them. At one point my horse stared to turn around, and I tried to stop it, and the instructor said no, this is where we have to turn back.

On Friday we went on an excursion offered through the resort. We went to the Anton Valley (which was about an hour away, but it was all through windy, curvy roads).

We went for a hike through the rainforrest,

to a local market, and also to a place that is kind of like a zoo. There we seen all the animals that Panama would have in their forests. We seen everything from crocodiles to parrots to monkeys.

All the animals were in cages, but we did manage to see one monkey that was loose in the jungle. On the way back to the resort my motion sickness got the best of me, and I had to make the bus stop on the side of the road so that I could get out and get some fresh air. I felt the same way when we were on the way there, but I managed to get through it. On the way back I would have lost my cookies if we would have not got stopped when we did.

Saturday (our last day) was spend just lounging around, taking in everything. We laid by the pool to catch the last few bit of rays that we could. We took a walk on the beach, and pretty much did anything we wanted to do for the last time.

Sunday we had to be up at 5:30, and have our bags at the bottom of the steps for 6:00. Our bus left for the airport at 8:00a.m. It was an early morning, but we had managed to get our selves well rested throughout the week, so it did not effect us as bad as it did the week before. Sunday was the only day that we got to see the sun rise, and it was beautiful. There is something about seeing the sun rise over a palm tree, that just quite is not like looking at it over a big maple tree.On the way to the airport we got to see the Panama Canal for the last time. It is just amazing how you can cross a bridge, and on one side of the bridge is the Atlantic Ocean, and you look to the other side and it is the Pacific Ocean.

Cara and Justin picked us up at the airport, and we arrived back in Listowel around 9:30pm. Lexy and my mom were there to greet us. Curt's mom came over as soon as we got home, and we opened up our wedding presents. Lexy was glad to see us home. She has never really been away from us for any lengthy periods of time. A couple nights was the most she had ever been away, and this time it was for 11 days. For the next couple of days she stuck by our sides like glue. I think that she was trying to tell us something!!!!!

It was a wonderful honeymoon. Very hot, but absolutly wonderful!!!!!

Dum Dum De Dum....Mr. & Mrs. McLaughlin

September 15, 2007, the most wonderful day of my life. I could not have imagined it to be anything shorter then amazing, and it did wasn't. All the months on planning and preparations, and it unfolded with no hitches. For the 10 months that we were engaged, it was only a vision in my head of what it would be like, and when it all unfolded, it was even more spectacular that I had dreamt about.
My wedding day was a day that I had been planning for ever since I was a little girl. With each year that I got older, details would change here and there, but one things stayed constant....it would be a fairytale, and that is exactly what it was.
For those of you who know me, you know that I am not a lacy, white type of girly girl, and I wanted my wedding to reflect who I was. That is why the only white thing that was at my wedding was my dress. Everything was very rustic, very country.....very me.
All the girls spent the night at my parents house, and I got to sleep on the couch that I practical spent every night on in my teenage years. Since I am the type of person that has to fall asleep with the t.v. on, and I was never allowed to have a television in my room, I always seemed to fall asleep in the family room when I was a teenager, so that is where I spent most of my nights sleeping. It was like old times. I had not spent the night at my parents place since Curt and I bought our house over 2 years ago, so it was nice to spend my last night as a Strachan in their house. Surprising enough I managed to get a good nights sleep (once I got to sleep), but it was not very long, as we had to get up early to go and get our hair done.
We went Laura's shop over in Palmerston to get our hair done, and Jaycee came over there to do every one's make up. It was so relaxed, and calming. I did not have one jittery nerve (well, until I started to walk down the isle).
When I arrived home the back yard was all set up. It was even more wonderful then I had pictured it to be. We had the straw bails set up, with the wood on top of it for seating. For the 'pew markers' we had sap buckets filled with ivy and sunflowers (the ivy that I had been growing all summer), and then we had fall decorations all over the yard.I kept my composure very well all morning, not breaking down in tears at all. That is good for me, as I am usually very emotional. The point of the day that really hit me was when I was in the back bedroom getting my wedding dress on, and I could hear the soloists in the back yard practising their song. Our friend Pars, and Curt's cousin Carrrie were doing the singing, and I had wanted them to do a duet of Shania Twain's song, From This Moment On. I left it up to them, but that is what I had requested. They would not tell me what they were doing, even at the rehearsal they were still tight lipped about it, so when I herd them doing it, I had a little moment of emotion.
So all of us girls were dress, and we had the photographer there in lots of time so that we could get our pictures done before the guest started to arrive, and everything was falling into place. My parents, the girls and I sat up in the kitchen and watched all the guest as they arrived. We could see them coming, but with the sun hitting the window, they could not see us standing there.
For those of you who know me, you also know that I am not the most graceful thing, and put me in a wedding dress, that touches the floor, it was a disaster. I was standing at the kitchen table, and I seen Curt and his parents pull up, and I took off, so that I did not see him. I tripped over the front of my dress, and I did a header into the wall. Thank god I got my hands up before my head hit the wall, other wise I could have been walking down the isle with a black eye.
2:30 arrived, and so did the butterflies in my stomach. I only had a few moments of this though, because my dad started to loose his composure as we were about to walk down the isle, and I did all that I could to try to get him to stop crying. I think that distracted me enough to get rid of my butterflies, and I only dropped a couple of tears. I had to keep nudging him as we were walking down the isle, as I could hear him taking a big gasp for air. My dad is a rugged guy, but when it comes to emotion, he wears his heart on his sleeve, and he never really had shown that to us, until the weddings this year.

The only thing that I would have changed about the day, was the weather. It was a great day for the guys that had to stand in their tuxes, but for the girls who had to be in their slinky dresses, it was COLD.From the time that the ceremony began, until the time that we hit the beach in Panama, the time just flew by. Before we knew it, we were Mr. & Mrs. McLaughlin:Curt and I did our first dance as soon as we walked into the hall, that way it was done and out of the way. I must say, we got a lot of compliments on the dance. Our dancing lessons must of paid off.
The hall was absolutely gorgeous, when all the light were off, and the effect was there:And as I said, it was everything that I wanted it to be, and sooooo much more.

Wedding Preperations

Well, I am back. It has been a while since I have had time to get some pictures on here posted, but I'm back in action. I hope that this tardiness will never happen again.

A lot has happened in the time that I have not posted. We got married, we went on our honeymoon, I practicly got a brand new house with all the wonderful shower/wedding gift that I finally got home and put in place. It has been a whirlwind of events over the past 1.5 months.

I have got a lot of pics to share with everyone of our events, so lets get to it!

Curt and I got married on September 19, 2007 and it was the most amazing day of my life. I only wish that I could remember it. I was talking with my mom the other day, and I was saying how I wish we could do it all over again. I would not have changed any detail of the day, I would only want it to slow down. It felt like I had just woke up in the morning, and before I knew it I was laying on the beach in Panama.

For the wedding, my mom and I did all the decorating (with the help of many wonderful people). My dad was a wonderful help as well, making all the centre pieces, and getting the grounds looking just wonderful for the ceremony, as well as the odd jobs that we put him up to. Shortly after my sister's wedding, our weeks or hard work started. We made everything from the napkin rings, to all the little decorations that went up around the hall. It was wonderful to spend all that quality time with my mom, and I would not have changed a thing.

On the Thursday before the wedding we had all the girls over to my mom and dad's house and we all got our feet done for the wedding. Thanks to Jaycee and Carly for bring the shop to us, it made it more relaxing for everyone.

We also got the walkway from the parking lot over at Ideal Supply marked with a burlap railing (thanks to all the boys). My dad put the final touches to the back yard:and my mom put her final touches on the cake:By the time we went to be on Thursday night, pretty much everything we set to go. The only thing that we had planned on doing, and did not get done, was to set the seating up in the back yard. It was forcasted to rain on Friday, and since we were using strawbails and wood and didn't want it to get wet, we had to wait until the Saturday morning to get that all set up.

On Friday we headed over to the hall to get everything set up. We did all the decorating by ourselves, and it looked amazing. From hanging the canopy (that Lois made):to decorating the door ways:

and putting the final touches in the bathroom:everything looked amazing when we were finished:

Catch-up

I have been slacking in my post over the past couple of months, but know that things are getting back to normal, stay tuned for wedding posts, and honeymoon stuff, and much more.

Justin's Birthday

Last week I was able to buy my very first 'brother' birthday card, as it was Justin's 25th birthday.
Cara had a surprise party for him at Moose Winooski's last Saturday night where his family and friends from Brantford joined up with our family and friends from Listowel, and we had a celebration.
It was quite the ordeal to try to get him to the restaurant for the surprise. He thought that since it was his birthday that he should be able to pick the restaurant that he wanted to go to, and he wanted to go to the Keg. I finally had to tell him to suck it up, and if he did not co-operate with us (since we were taking him out for dinner) that we would not do anything for him at all. He was kind of being a baby about the whole thing, but I think he maybe changed his attitude when we got there. He said that he suspected something, but ya right....people always say that after their surprise parties.

His actual birthday was on the Monday, but him and Cara went to Darien Lake with his brother and sister-in-law, so we had his family birthday celebration on the Tuesday night.

Omand Family/McLaughlin Family Friend's Shower

Last Saturday I had a shower hosted for me by Curt's aunt Joyce and her daughter Carrie at the Gownstown hall. All of Curt's mom's family was there, along with the McLaughlin family friends, and the wedding party's mother's.
The shower was truly elegant, true Joyce style. When Curt's aunt Joyce plans something, it is truly elegant. The appetizers where catered, along with the desserts and they were awesome.
I received sooooo many nice gifts. We are truly lucky to have all these generous people in our lives. I can not wait to get them all home after the honeymoon and get them into our house. They will all have a special place somewhere.
Here are some pictures of the day:

all the wonderful foodme opening some of my giftsme and my girls, Trisha, Cara, Laura & Jillmom, me and Lois

my bow decor....flip flops & a pashmina

Ryan & Karen's Wedding

A couple of weeks ago Curt's cousin Ryan got married and Curt was in the wedding party.
(short on words today, so here are the pictures)

the guys in the limo on their way to the church
Mr. and Mrs. McLaughlin
the most beautiful junior bridesmaid that I have ever seen....Destiny
the boys......Andrew, Curt and Ryan

Cara and Justin