Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Anniversary Weekend Remix


So here is a list of what I was looking forward to & how it was:
  • Eating the top of our cake! Yes, this is one of the top things.  Our cake was done by a lady who has been around forever & her cakes are just awesome.  I wanted lemon cake with raspberry filling and Joe wanted white cake with strawberry so we alternated layers & of course the only bite of cake that I had was when Joe tried shoving a whole piece in my mouth so I am anxious to try my wedding cake.  THE CAKE IS AMAZING.  I AM STILL EATING IT BECAUSE JOE DOESN'T EAT SWEETS SO I GET TO ENJOY IT ALL TO MYSELF.  IT TASTES JUST AS GOOD AS IT DID A YEAR AGO, EVEN AFTER BEING FROZEN!  
  • Hot air balloon ride.  We were supposed to do this on our honeymoon last year in Galena but we didn't get to because of all the pilots being gone to a hot air balloon festival.  CANCELLED.  SO UNBELIEVABLY UPSET THAT THIS WAS CANCELLED, I STILL HAVE HOPES WE WILL ONE DAY GET TO TO DO THIS.  THE WINDS PICKED UP TOO MUCH SO THEY HAD TO CANCEL IT.
  • Renewing our vows.  Yes, we are going to renew our vows!  We are doing it at the Iron Horse Social Club & Motorcycle Museum & I cannot wait.  It's a biker bar/motorcycle museum in Savanna.   THIS WAS SUCH A BLAST, SEE PICS BELOW!  SO GLAD WE DID IT, LOVED THAT IT WAS AT IRON HORSE  & SO THANKFUL TO THOSE FAMILY & FRIENDS WHO JOINED US!  
  • Camping.  We are going to camp a night or two a Poopy's in Savana on our way to Galena since Eagle Ridge is pretty expensive & we love to camp.  WE ALWAYS HAVE A GOOD TIME CAMPING, SEE PICS BELOW!   LOTS OF ALCOHOL INDUCED FUN CAMPING AT POOPY'S!
  • Bike trip!  We did our honeymoon on the bike, I hope to do all of our anniversaries on the bike.  JUST LIKE CAMPING, WE ALWAYS HAVE A GOOD TIME WHEN WE'RE ON THE BIKE.  THIS TIME OF YEAR, BUNDLING UP, & SEEING THE BEAUTIFUL FALL SCENERY, WE LOVE TO RIDE THIS TIME OF YEAR.  


So we left Saturday morning about 11 and headed to Poopy's where we ate lunch, set up our camp & hung out and enjoyed a few drinks before the vow renewal.  We renewed our vows at the Iron Horse Social Club which is a biker bar/motorcycle museum downtown Savanna.  It was a blast.  Our friend Mike was ordained online so we had him officiate for us.  I used a bouquet and a veil and headband that we found at the bar (God knows how many people have had that on their head!? yikes!)  The ceremony was cute, I walked down the aisle with my beer and my bouquet, Joe and I both had our chaps on and a white shirt, he had his leather vest & gloves & his bandana on so we looked pretty freakin' awesome if i do say so myself.  The ceremony was short & sweet.  We took a bunch of pics, had a few drinks, Joe and I danced to a slow song, then everyone who wasn't camping headed for home.  It was going to be a cold and windy ride home, especially since it was near dark.  

just pulled up to Poopy's... lots of layers to stay warm

renewing our vows

Just Married (again)

notice the hand on my boob, which i did not notice at the time!

on the iron horse

fun toilet up some stairs, like a trashy throne?!

Joe, Jessica, Mike, & I decided to take a little ride so we crossed over the bridge & into Iowa and went to a bar in Sabula called Flippers where we played the juke box, drank beer, & had a good time.  We signed our name on a ceiling tile & had our picture taken by it.  We made our mark at Flippers in Hawkeye territory!  We headed back to Poopy's to continue drinking, we got our sweats on, made a fire, then decided to go play in the park that butts up behind the campground.  We had tons of fun camping & playing.  

fun at flippers


riding in Iowa, we skipped rocks at this lake, like old skool!

the ceiling tile at Flippers!

playing in the park

TWINKS!


So Sunday we woke up, ate breakfast, & headed about 30 miles north to Galena.  It was a beautiful day to wander the streets, we hit up the winery, the brewery, a few shops, and a few bars.  

Benjamins, probably our favorite bar downtown Galena.
Galena Brewery...

So we finally told Jessica and Mike they had to leave & that we needed to get on with our anniversary ourselves.  We hated to see them go, but Mike was watching Frank for me on Sunday night & he needed to get back to take care of him for me.  We said our farewell to them & headed a few miles down Blackjack Rd to Chestnut Ski Resort.  It's so beautiful there & you get a great view of the amazing scenery and landscapes that Galena has to offer.  We had a beer in the lodge then we did this amazing slide that you ride down in plastic sleds that have a throttle and a break.  We raced & I kicked Joe's ass he was jealous, & who can blame him.  We rode it three times which cost us a whopping 45$, but it was so worth it.  We didn't stop laughing the entire time & now that I look back I'm glad we did something so memorable since we weren't able to do our hot air balloon ride.  

view at Chestnut
at the top of the slide!
the slide!

After Chestnut we decided to head to the hotel since we it was after 3 and we could finally check in.  We were pretty beat, & after having several drinks, doing a lot of walking, & all the slide fun, we were ready to go chillax for a bit.  I decided to give Joe his gift at the hotel.  He actually had given me my gift on Friday before we left which was a gorgeous orchid plant, our wedding flower.  I thought that was very thoughtful of him.  He also go me a bottle of wine and told me I could pick something out in Galena if I found something I really wanted, which of course, I did!

so i found this amazing turquoisen (my FAVE!) bracelet at a little boutique in Galena.

and I gave Joe an album of a boudoir session I did for him a month ago that he had no idea about!
and he loved it.

I also gave him the extremely expensive bottle of Booker's whiskey that he has been eyeing up, 
he said he loves the boudoir photos just as much, but I'm not really convinced.

all dress and ready for some gourmet pizza at Piasano's for dinner!

the bike all loaded up and ready to go home... :-(

After dinner I called Galena on the Fly and they told us our trip was cancelled.  I was noticeably upset, & after several glasses of wine, what girl wouldn't be when something they've tried to do for two years now keeps getting cancelled!!  But i tried to stay positive & remember that we still had a full day to enjoy & it was our actual anniversary day the next day so I couldn't be sad!  It was nice to be able to sleep in, take our time getting ready, have a nice breakfast, & not have to rush out of the hotel.  We loaded the bike up, headed back to our favorite bar in Galena, Benjamins, for a couple brews, then called it a day at about 1:30 and made our journey home.  




9-24-11 truly was the most amazing day of my life & I just cannot believe how quickly this last year went by.  It was an amazing year filled with some completely unexpected moments, one being our motorcycle accident, another being buying a house, but I could not ask to have those moments with anyone else in the world, the good and the bad, I am so glad that they are with Joe.  A lot of people don't know that he really was and still is my saving grace & if he wouldn't have come into my life the way he did, when he did, who knows what mess I would be in now.  I was in a horrible place, & although I know that I had the best support group anyone could ask for, he is the biggest reason that I am where I am today, happy, healthy, & successful.  And him being there for me at that time, not a lot people can say they have an experience like we had.  We had just gotten together when I was going through the hardest, heaviest, challenge I have ever been through & he stood by me and supported me through that from day one.  I knew that he was a keeper because he was able to support me in what I was going through and never once was he not there for me, never once did he question my intentions, or chastise me for making my life right.  That's how I knew he was The One, because of what amazing person he was to me from day one.  I can't wait for the rest of our journey through life together & whatever challenge may be put in front of us, good or bad, I know that we can face together & get through together.  









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