sailing

"I find the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving: To reach the port of heaven, we must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it -- but, we must sail, and not drift, nor lie at anchor." --Oliver Wendel Holmes

Allow us to introduce you to the Taylors. We were fortunate enough to witness yet another union between two people we love very dearly. Elizabeth and Gene finally tied the knot. The ceremony took place on a gorgeous yacht in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. The bride was given away by her son, Matthew, who, as you can tell in the picture above, was ecstatic to be able to call Gene his new stepdad. And, truth be told, he's incredibly lucky. Gene loves that kid, and really, what's not to love? He's a great dancer.

We enjoyed spending time with our friends and celebrating the happy couple. It wasn't too long ago that all eyes were on these two.

Lauren and Brad will welcome a precious puppy to their new home, which is a stone's throw from our little abode (move-in date still yet to be determined, but we hope to have them in the zip code by Thanksgiving). Brad's taking suggestions on names. Current fave is Coolio. Personal opinion: no. The yacht was quite classy. Two floors were enclosed and climate controlled, which was nice due to the frigid breeze on the water. The top level was an outdoor deck, and while the wind was enough to literally stop you, it really was a beautiful view.

I mean REALLY beautiful. Where else can you get a picture with the Domino Sugar sign in the background? That's a priceless experience right there.

we love brad. we really do.

Yeah.....about this shot....so, in lieu of a signature board, Gene and Elizabeth decided to have everyone sign the wheel, which was incredibly clever. You can go into any house and see a signature board. How many houses have a yacht's steering wheel mounted over their fire place? The kicker was that everyone had to have their picture taken with the wheel prior to boarding. Eric decided to be creative....just as the photographer was called away (see girl with large camera in background). The joke wound up working out, but it was a bit of a delay.

In all seriousness, it was a lovely, sweet ceremony....very unique.....very first class (no pun intended....okay, well maybe a little pun intended).

congratulations, gene, elizabeth, and matthew. we are beyond thrilled for you. Saturday morning, we rose early to retrieve the munchkin from her Aunt Carrie and Uncle Greg's. We understand she was a very good, yet somewhat quiet, houseguest and had a great time bunking in with her cousins. We also FINALLY got to see our fave niece in action on the soccer field.

look at that fierce determination. that's my girl.

When we got out of the car, we started panning the field looking for Carrie or Greg....basically looking for any set of adults sporting two toddlers. This is what my eyes ultimately fixated on while frantically fumbling for the camera:

And while it's great for Mommy and Daddy to have a night out while our girl hangs with family, it really is the highlight of our day to be reunited with her.

the little munchkin's kind of a keeper..... .....as is this little munchkin:

it takes a real man to sit in a pink chair.

Danny's "thing" is to say "ooooooh!!!" when something drops or someone falls. Anna's is "Uh! ohhhhh". Oh, those darn kids and their music....

girlfriend takes after her momma....caffeine is a necessity. After the game, we headed down to see GrandPop in his new digs. It's a sweet place, and I've already put a down payment on a room. Who could complain? They provide your meals, they do your laundry, they set you up with activities, bring in entertainment, and keep you medicated. It sounds like Heaven to me.

these are my new favorite images. it's like a guilty pleasure. We headed across the street to Shultz's Crab Shack for lunch. Literally across the street....we walked. Greg drove GrandPop. The combination of a 45-mile-an-hour speed zone and a senior citizen on a walker didn't seem like a good idea....somehow three adults toting toddlers and a five-year-old sprinting across did. We had a great visit with him, and he seemed to really enjoy himself. To be perfectly honest, it was hard NOT to have fun because all three kids caught a serious case of the sillies as soon as we hit the table.

i'm with carrie on this....this little habit of his IS enough to drive you to drink.

We never like saying good-bye, so we bid everyone "see you soon", and headed for home. The silliness continued on the trip home for a bit, but eventually, Princess Anna tuckered herself on out for a nice long nap.

We know she played hard this weekend since this is what we found at 9:00 this morning: (chickie-doodle never sleeps past EIGHT).

It was a fabulous weekend with some fabulous people and it has left us with some fabulous memories and even more fabulous stories.