Jer and Char's wedding weekend.

Last month Jer got hitched. The wedding was tons of fun and very elegant. All the events of the whole weekend from start to finish are well documented on Tim's blog. So, check out some the the following pictures here than head over to Tim's blog.

The following pictures are of the morning of the wedding at the salon.

This is the bride, Charlene. There were at least two ladies tending to her all morning. I believe she felt like a princess.

Here is a picture of Rachel having make-up applied.

Kate was the next seat over having her make-up applied too.

Charlene's sister, Pam in the mist of an up-do. She has really long hair and it took some extra time to pull all her hair up but the end result was beautiful.

This is Charlotte, I believe she was the first one to have everything complete. She looks like an Ann Taylor model to me. (Sorry the picture is a bit blurry, too many cups of coffee that morning).

Here is the Maid of Honor, Julie. That water bottle did not have water in it...she and Charlene started the drinking a bit earlier than the rest of us... Mimosa's.

Pam and Charlene's Mom gave her something old, blue and borrowed.

Check out Charlene's vail hanging on the cabinet door to avoid it form getting any dirt or dog hair on it before the ceremony.

Go to Tim's blog for all of the events. Enjoy.

Woo Hoo! I finally updated this thing!!

The summer months have been very busy and joyous.  I have had the opportunity to meet a lot of the great people.   When Tim accepted the job offer at Raven Software we both knew that relocating to a different city would be difficult.  However, we both feel very fortunate that we were able to tackle this adventure together!!  That makes a world of difference.  Also, some of Tim's friends from Chicago also accepted a position at Raven and this allowed a natural group of friends to develop.  Tim's friendships with "the EA boys" has grown stronger.  And, I have had the pleasure of getting to know the boys and all the wives and kids too.  

"The wives" or "the girls" having been keeping each other busy throughout the summer.  We go out to dinner to celebrate each of our birthdays.  We have attended summer concerts, street fairs and the farmers market and we have had a BBQ at someone's house at least 5 times this summer.  The group also meets for Sunday brunch on occasion.  Also, we have started a book club.  All these events have allowed us to develop a nice friendship.  None of us have family in the area, so we are sort of a "surrogate family" for each other.  In addition, we are all  "gamer wives" and we understand what it is like to have our husbands working long hours for weeks on end.  So, we tend to support each other through these times.  It has been a great pleasure getting to know all the families.  I feel very fortunate to have made such great friends.    

This is a picture of Todd and KC.  Tim and I had everyone over one night for dinner and drinks. It was fun just sitting around the dinner table talking and making joking.  Todd looks so pleasant and KC his planning something devious.  They are both tons of fun.  

Adele and Dan, they are the newest members to our group of friends.  They just relocated to Madison in July.  There is one bone of contention with this couple....notice the Steelers hat on Dan's head.  Yeah...we are working through this flaw.   

Here is a picture of Matt (left), Tate (center) and KC (right).  This was a BBQ night at KC's. Tate's wife is not pictured I believe she was out of town.  Matt is still playing the field and has yet to settle down. 

This is a picture of Meredith.  I can't believe I don't have a picture of her with her newborn Gabby.  Often, Gabby likes to hang-out in a "sling" around Meredith's shoulders.  I believe Mere is enjoying her free time while it last.  Below is Gustavo, Meredith's husband with their other daughter Maya.    

Here is a crazy picture of RJ and his son Noah,  two peas in a pod.  Marisa (yes I have a friend named Marisa...sounds just like my name) is pictured below.  Her and RJ are expecting, a baby girl, this December.  Congrats!!

Mike with his daughter Iris blowing bubbles at one of the BBQ's.  His wife Tracy is pictured below with their other daughter Sage.   Every picture I had of Tracy this day she was laughing and having a good time.  

A better picture of Sage (left) playing with Trevor.  Trevor is the son of Mark and Kelly.  

A close-up of Iris...too cute to pass up this photo.  

Mark is holding his son Spencer.  This day Spencer couldn't get enough of his Dad.  Kelly is pictured below fixing a drink for one of her kids.  The following picture is of their other son Trevor, digging a hole outside of  the sand box.    

That wraps up what I've been doing here in Madison with my new friends.  There has been a couple of weekends were Tim and I traveled to Chicago to visit Josh, Rachel and Norah and vice versa.  And a different weekend to visit Lisa, John, Jack and Will.  It has been very nice having family 2 1/2 hours away versus 9 hours.  Traveling the short distance is much more manageable for a two day weekend.  I hope to post pictures of the family weekends for my next post.  But, there is no telling when that may happen.  So, just check out Tim's blog.  That will keep you up to speed.    

Family Time before my move to Madison!

Spending time with family before I moved to Madison was tons of fun.  Below are pictures of the time I spent with family.  The first bunch of pictures are of the Latini side of the family.  We gathered at my sister Monica's house for Easter and for a birthday celebration for Morgan and Madison...they are now 10 years old!! 

Below is a photo of my brother-n-law Grant, my sister Alanna's husband.  Later in this posting you will see pictures of their whole family at Bearon's Baptism. 

My brother-n-law Scott, sister Monica's husband.  Unfortunately I don't have a picture of Monica because she was sick for the Easter and birthday celebration =(.

Here is my nephew, Bearon...my second godchild after Morgan!!

My nephew, Major thinking about birthday cake!

Here is my nephew Joey, so serious in this photo!

 

My oh so cute niece, Casey.

Always happy and excited niece, Morgan my first godchild.

My beautiful niece, Madison...10 going on 16! 

My brother, Dennis...unusually serous in this photo!

My spunky and free spirited sister Lora.

My loving and caring mother... She is looking upon her newest grandchild with those loving eyes and smile. 

My Dad, looking for the best bargain in the newspaper ads...his speciality!

The next bunch of pictures are of my husband's side of the family.  It was great spending time at my in-laws house...just relaxing and telling great stories.  And of course, goofing around with Norah!

Brother-n-law, Joshua with daughter Norah...she is inside my purse!

                                     

Another picture of Joshua and Norah with Gizmo! 

Picture of my father-n-law, Norah and Molly.  Norah had found her voice and can scream very well.  Dad and Molly are stunned by the sound from this little girl.  

I'm not the most attentive person when it comes to taking pictures.  I have failed to get a picture of my mother-n-law, Rachel and Jeremy ( and Charlene. She was at work).  

The next grouping of pictures are of the baptism for Bearon.  And at the very end, a good bye and farewell picture of my nieces and nephews (well 2 nephews are missing from the picture, Jack and Will.  They live in Chicago and didn't make into Clevleand for the celebration). 

 

Sister Alanna with husband Grant and their two sons, Major 2 1/2 years old and Bearon 5 months old!!

A picture of my two godchildren, Morgan and Bearon and me. 

For my next post, I'm hoping to have some pictures of my new friends I met here in Madison. 

  

Where does the time go: Spending time with friends before I move!!

I know it has been quite awhile and I could mention a thousand and one excuses as to why I have not had time to blog, but I won't. If you read you will find out what I have been up-to. Currently my problem is deciding where to begin my story.

The time period of the below events occurred 3-4 weeks before I moved to Madison, WI..basically the month of March. I will begin with the weekend after the huge winter storm in Cleveland. I traveled North (were the winter weather is worse) to Madison, WI for a 4 day weekend visit with my husband. A whole month had passed since my last visit. Anyway, I cannot recall doing anything special that weekend. I do recall unpacking a bit...our household goods were moved to Wisconsin a few weeks earlier. I know both Tim and I had a lot on our minds. The closing of our home sale in Cleveland was coming to an end. Thank GOD!!! This is another story that will have to wait for a different posting. The sale of our home was not the only event coming to an end. I had about two more weeks of work with the Cleveland Clinic. There were a lot of loose ends to finish up there. In addition to the house sale and the end of my days with the Clinic, my life in Cleveland was coming to an end as well. My goal was to spend time with both sides of the family before leaving and attempting to fit some time-in with friends too. It was sad having "final" meals with each group. However, there was something exciting to look forward to...living with my husband again. Tim and I have worked hard to pursue our individual career goals and we have been successful. Now, it is time to focus on our couple goals. First on our list is travel. We have dreamed about returning to Jamaica for our 10-year anniversary. Unfortunately, we will have to postpone that dream for a while longer. I guess our 10-year creped-up faster than anticipated. However, we do have two trips planned for this summer. One, in early June... we are heading to Outer Banks, North Carolina for a family vacation. I can't wait to feel the warm ocean breeze on my face and the smell of salt water in the air. Our second trip we are heading to Seattle in July for a wedding. I have never been to Seattle so I don't know what to expect. I look forward to exploring in a new city.

Our house Sale...Couldn't find a picture of the house with this sign. Oh Well!

Some random photos:

Bailey loves playing with big chunks of ice.

I lost my train of thought.... back to spending time with family and friends before I officially move to Madison.

Spending time with friends was awesome. Tracee and I spent a 1/2 day at the spa together. We both received a gift certificate from our husbands as a Christmas gift. We both needed time to unwind from our busy lives. Then we met with Kelly at a bar for lunch. I had a wonderful time talking with both of them. We may not see each other often but we always pick-up where we left off, as if no time has passed. It was great spending time with them and very hard saying good-bye. Unfortunately, Jeanelle was unable to attend due to our last minute planning but she was there in spirit. I hope all is well with J-Dog. I think about these three friends in Cleveland often and I miss them all.

Another good friend, Debbie, was visiting Cleveland around Easter time. She lives in Denver so I jumped at the chance to see her while she was in-town. I had the chance to visit with Debbie, her mother and her 2 children. I had a wonderful time with her, the friendship we share is special and I will always cherish this. Again, Debbie is another friend I don't see too often but she is often in my thoughts. I find myself reminiscing about many summers working together at the city pools. We had so much fun together and we always looked out for each other. I miss Debbie too!!

My friends from grad school...Cindy, Brian, Elizabeth, Jen, Monica, Anna & Scott all met one evening after work to say goodbye. All of us became good friends during the 2.5 years in school together. We all helped each other through the tough and rough times with school and life events. I hope to see this crew again soon. I miss them a lot. I miss discussing anesthesia with them and all the crazy things that happened, or almost happened during our days as a student. This is not intended to scare anyone about anesthesia. The crazy things that happen are not necessary related to anesthesia. It could be simply miss speaking while giving report to the doctor and what ever you just said had a fun connotation to it. It's times like that I miss the most.

I have another friend Laura who lives near Columbus, Ohio. It has been too long since we last talked or saw each other. I think of her often and wish her the best. I know we can always talk to each other no matter how much time has passed.

Ah! Family.... I think I will write a different post about the time I spent with family. This one is getting too long. I will say this...I miss the fam!!! Living in Wisconsin with Tim has its perks. But, I miss the family. I'm slowly adopting "family" here. I have met some really kind people here that I believe I could rely on. I will write about my new friends another time.


This next picture is part of Bailey's morning routine. She wakes me up early and I'm thinking she needs to go outside to take care of business. Well, once I'm done putting on some warmer clothes to take her outside...she doesn't want to go. All she wanted was my warm spot in the bed. She literally will not move from this spot until she hears the back door open.


I saved the best picture for last, a picture with Norah, my niece.

Take care!!!