Family Reunion in Michigan

Bob and I spent an amazing weekend in Marquette, Michigan - yes, random, I know but his family was having a reunion and we wanted to be there. No one in Bob's family knew anyone in this family until a few months ago when Bob's brother connected with one of his cousins on Ancestry.com. Bob's dad was given up for adoption when he was young and the family we met was his biological family. It is a long and painful story, but the Booker family was very happy to finally meet Bob and be connected with Jerry Booker/Richard Duncan's children (Bob's dad's name was changed when he was adopted). It was pretty emotional to meet everyone and to see Bob with his new relatives. One of his dad's sisters was at the reunion and was in tears the whole time she was speaking to Bob.

We spent Saturday evening exploring Marquettte and falling in love with this little city. It is right on Lake Superior and is a beautiful place. The coastline is gorgeous and we loved walking along the beaches. I've truly never found a place I think is as beautiful as Downeast Maine, but this part of the Upper Peninsula in Michigan might be a very, very close second. Both Bob and I could picture ourselves living here. Would anyone visit us if we moved to the UP?? ;)

Check out our photos, and the post below with some video of the lake, and enjoy a little taste of beautiful Michigan!

Videos from Lake Superior in Marquette, Michigan

We spent a beautiful evening along Lake Superior. It was gorgeous and we loved being on the water. It was a lot different than Georges Pond!!



We also walked along one of the breakaways. The light was beautiful and the moon was starting to come out.

Georges Pond...

... is the most beautiful place in the world

Top Ten

Its only Monday, but we're having a wonderful time up in Maine, so I thought it was only fitting that George's Pond gets its own top ten list. So here is a list of my Top 10 Favorite Things About George's Pond:

1. Hearing the loons call across the pond at all hours of the day

2. Kayaking multiple times a day

3. Watching Bob fish and seeing the joy he gets out of it even when he doesn't catch many fish

4. Sitting on the porch reading books

5. The view from the porch - the most perfect view in the world

6. Campfires by the water at night and getting to eat 'smores

7. Eating all our meals outside on the porch

8. Seeing the sun set behind the island

9. The ducks who visit us on the beach every night to get their fill of bread and crackers

10. Kayaking - I know I mentioned it already, but I really, really love it!

I'll post photos when we get home on Wednesday or Thursday. We have internet here, but the connection is too slow to try to download photos.

Bridal Shower

I am very lucky to have some pretty incredible, amazing women in my life who inspire me, guide me and love me for who I am. Yesterday I got to see many of them in the same room and have them wish me well and celebrate my upcoming marriage. It was a wonderful experience. Scanning the room from left to right, I saw ...

... my future in-laws who have welcomed me into their family with open arms and who are an amazing group of beautiful women

... my friends from Bow who knew both Bob and I separately before we ever became "Bob and Michelle" and who have loved watching our relationship grow

... my "2nd mom" and my childhood best friend who are wrapped up in every memory I have of my childhood

... my best friend's mother who is one of the most loving, kind-hearted, sweet women I know, which explains why her daughter is so amazing and such a good friend

... my strong, bold friend from Berlin who knows what it is like to madly love that wonderful city and who went off on many adventures around Europe with me

... my Wanakee girls who shared the craziness of last summer with me and who have remained such good friends

.. my Wanakee "mama" who saw good things in me, taught me about myself, and continues to inspire me to be a better woman

... my cousins, aunts and great aunts, and my beautiful, amazing Mimi who have been there for every important event of my life and who have loved and supported me

... my girls, Victoria and Lisa, who are amazing friends and who have helped make all these wedding festivities so special. Thanks for accepting Bob into our little family and being so wonderful to him.

... my best friend and maid of honor, Sarah, who is the sister of my heart - I can't imagine having anyone else standing beside me on my wedding day. I am so thankful for all you've done for me - I've loved my parties!

... my mom, who is the strongest, most beautiful, amazing woman I know and who is pretty excited to be getting a son-in-law. I love you!!!

Thanks to Amanda and Judi for taking pictures at the shower!

It's Not Thursday, But I Have A List Anyway

Bob and I have been very busy lately doing all kinds of fun things, so even though it is not Thursday, I thought I would share a list with you today. So here is the Top 10 Fun Things We've Done In The Past Few Weeks:

1. Mailed our wedding invitations. The wedding is 2 months from today!

2. Cooked with our new fun wedding gifts: griddle, food processor, and ice cream maker. We really like the things we put on our registries and we've loved getting gifts and putting them to good use. Thank you, thank you to everyone who has gotten us cool stuff from our registries!

3. Got new furniture. Our couch fiasco aside (that is another post for another day...), we got a beautiful dining room table and are waiting on a couch that will actually fit in our apartment.

4. Went to the Fisher Cats game with David, Deb, and Isabel. We all taught together in Peru and they are now in Zambia, but Deb is originally from NH so we try to see each other when they are home. It was great to catch up with them and introduce them to Bob. It was blazing hot at the game and it was a no-score game until the bottom of the 11th inning, but it ended with a Fisher Cats homerun to win, so it was well worth staying!

5. Had lobster (ok, that part was better for Bob than it was for me) with my family on Friday night at Hedding. Marc bought 10 lobsters and he, Erin, Bob and Mom had a feast. The kids and I enjoyed the corn and the french fries! :)

6. Looked at a house in Hillsboro. We have no intention of buying it, but it was fun to dream for a few minutes. The house had caught our attention when we were visiting Mom and when we saw that it was listed for only $121,000, we decided to check it out. It was a very cool house, but it needed SO MUCH WORK!! I've never seen anything like it, that's for sure. It would have taken us many years and a lot of money to renovate the house and that's not really what we want to get ourselves into right now, but it was still fun to look.

7. Went to the Common Man for afternoon drinks and snacks. We love to go and sit at the bar and read Trivial Pursuit cards - the simple joys in life!

8. Spent the day at Lougee Pond with Bob's family - see my post below.

9. Went fishing at Rye Beach with Bob's brother and nephew.

10. Just spent lots of good time together, which is always the best.

Family Day On Lougee Pond

We spent a wonderful day at Lougee Pond with Bob's family. Bob and his siblings grew up on this pond and have so many great stories about the time they spent here. It was fun to all be together and to just relax by the water.

Bachelorette Weekend

I'm a very lucky girl, that's for sure. Not only do I get to marry the man of my dreams, but I have incredible friends who want to celebrate this with me! Sarah, my wonderful, fabulous, generous, thoughtful maid of honor (she is technically a "matron" of honor but we both think that "matron" just doesn't fit her) planned an incredibly fun bachelorette weekend for me. She was determined to keep the whole weekend a secret from me and I think a lot if her joy over the course of the weekend was watching me, her type-A, control freak, always-the-planner friend, not know what was going on and just have to go with the flow. It was a good change for me!

Sarah picked me up at 2:30 on Friday afternoon, having told me nothing about where we were going, only what to pack and what to wear. We ended up at Hedding, which was our home base for the weekend. It worked out perfectly - we used Sarah's cottage and our cottage and it was nice to be someplace familiar and someplace where we could just relax when we wanted to. Friday night's festivities involved dinner with my girls - Sarah, Victoria, Lisa and Kristina. Lisa had flown Kristina home from Iowa for the weekend so she could be with us and it was so nice to just all be together. We had a very yummy dinner at Zampas, then went back to Sarah's cottage and played games and laughed and laughed. It was a lot of fun!

Nicole, Michelle, Becky and Sarah joined us for Saturday night and we had a great time going out in Portsmouth! I sported a lovely veil and bride sash all night and got lots of congratulations from people as we walked by. We started out the evening with a harbor cruise, then carried on to...

... dinner at The Blue Mermaid! It was super yummy and the drinks were great. After dinner we did the obligatory bar-hopping in Portsmouth - The Coat of Arms, The Brewery, The Rusty Hammer, and The Red Door. Lots of fun was had by all!

Here is a link to the rest of my pictures from the weekend: Bachelorette Weekend

Thank you girls for making my weekend so great and a special thanks to Sarah, with help from Victoria and Lisa, for planning such a fun time! You all are the best and I love you very much!