Jackie and Rob's Wedding 2014

Our friends Jackie and Rob got married in Manhattan! It was super fancy! The bride was my sometimes-partner-in-crime at law school. Now she fights injustice by day and runs marathons on the weekends. Yes, that's the description of a modern-day super hero.

The event was black tie optional, so Kevin and I were feeling pretty cute when we walked into a welcome area hour with wine and champagne. So we were off to a great start already! Eventually we were ushered into the ceremony. Jackie converted to Judaism so the ceremony was Jewish. I've been to a few Jewish weddings and I never get tired of the little touches that make it awesome, such as both parents walking the bride and groom down the aisle and the glass smashing. I particularly enjoyed the excitement with which Jackie enunciated the word "husband" in "I take you to be my husband."

The new Mr. and Mrs.!

The first ceremony was pretty brief and then we moved into the most serious cocktail hour I've ever attended. I couldn't try all the appetizers because there were too many but each one I tried was a delicious culinary adventure. And also, I was the first one to find the sushi bar... I tried to save some sushi for the other guests. I did my best, you guys.

The reception was officially opened by Jackie's dad's speech. He is the cutest funniest person. He poked fun at Jackie during his speech and you could tell how much he loves her. Rob and Jackie changed into some beautiful traditional Korean clothing for the cocktail hour. This was also a good heads up that the cocktail hour would be followed by a traditional Korean ceremony.

This might be one of my favorite pictures at a wedding ever (Cocktail hour)

The Korean ceremony is called a Paebaek ceremony, and traditionally it involved the bride being presented to the groom's family but in modern-day celebrations the groom is also presented to the brides family. Obviously this involved another fabulous change of outfit. Everybody bowed to one another, Rob and Jackie shared some wine, some "elders" gave some astonishing words of wisdom. One particularly amusing part of the ceremony was that Rob's parents had to throw dates and chestnuts and Rob and Jackie were supposed to catch them on a long piece of fabric. They caught 24 in total, after which we were told this indicated the number of children they would have. I hope, for their sake, that 24 is actually the number of children and grandchildren they will have.

Rob and Jackie during the Paebaek ceremony

Catching a lot of kids!

Thanking Rob's parents for the 24 children (cute!)

I missed getting a picture of the Western ceremony kiss but this one is better!

The Paebaek ceremony ends with the groom carrying the bride out on piggy back!

Then they changed back to their black tie outfits from the Western wedding ceremony for their first dance. We dined, we danced like crazy, and then we jumped around in slow motion for Rob and Jackie's video pleasure.  The band was amazing, and at one point Kevin and I actually looked up to see if Nicki Minaj had taken a hold of the microphone. The woman singing was decidedly not Nicki Minaj but could have fooled a radio listener. Everybody was dancing! We had the possibly the biggest group dancing the Hora in all of New York. (Well, perhaps on that evening.)

First dance

Lifting Jackie and Rob up during the Hora. (This is the best view we got.)

Okay, so they had a video area set up, where anything you did in 24-second increments was made to look awesome when it was converted to slow motion. However, no one warned us that there would also be still photos of the insanity.

The law school group and spouses

Rob and Jackie kept the party going all night long and went to sing Karaoke after the reception was over, but Kevin and I had to head home because Miranda was not doing great on her first night away from me. But we had a wonderful magical night, Miranda forgives me, and I can't wait to see Jackie and Rob again and hear about how amazing it was for them. You can see how happy they are together when you're with them. And if marriage is a marathon and not a sprint, well, Jackie is supremely well-prepared! Congratulations!

Brian and Paul in Hoboken 2014

Brian and Paul met Kevin, the kids, and me for dinner in Hoboken. They picked a very family-friendly place, Arthur's Tavern but I was a little frazzled because my kids are not great dinner companions. It was great to see Brian again! I can't even remember the last time I saw Paul, and so I was very behind. He got to tell me all about his wife, and I even get to meet her in a few weeks at Jackie and Rob's wedding. It was awesome of them to make time to have dinner with us!

Paul and Brian (serious and happy faces)

James is excited by the straw and new World Cup toy!

Miranda behaving for the two seconds of this picture.

• Brian's 30th Birthday- October 2013
• Brian in Washington, DC- January 2013
• Brian in Nashville- September 2012

My 28th Birthday in the Caribbean 2007

I spent my 28th birthday on a cruise, so I thought I'd just post some of the highlights of my trip here.

On the beach at Costa Maya, Mexico, 3/6

Right before getting back on the ship with Paul, Sarah, and Brian

San Felipe Fortress, the major Spanish (non-Mayan) landmark in Guatemala, 3/7

I went with Sarah, here she is on top of the fortress, Rio Dulce behind her

Jaguar Temple, Lamanai, Belize, 3/8

Sarah, Katy, Brian, and me at the High Temple, Lamanai, Belize

Midnight birthday shots to kick off my birthday

Cozumel, 3/9

My birthday dinner with everyone!

Back: Mihai, Sarah, Paul

Front: Me, Brian, and Katy

On the ship's pool deck, 3/10

Last party night!

Costa Maya, Mexico 2007

Costa Maya is a small tourist region in the state of Quintana Roo, Mexico, between Cancún and Belize. The area is generally undeveloped but has been growing quickly and rapidly after the construction of a large pier to accommodate cruise ships. The Costa Maya includes two small villages -- Majahual and Xcalak. We went to the beach in Majahual.


The after-the-adventure photo at the port


Tourists chatting with a local The fishing village of Mahahual has soft sand beaches, grass thatched palapas, and a coral reef a short distance off-shore, as well as several bars, restaurants, and shops. Mahahual is only about 2 miles from the port; cruise ships can easily be seen from the village. And that's where our problems began.

Walking past the village

Me on the beach at Mahahual

Sarah took a picture of us- Looks like Paul and I are reading
Paul notes that we can see our ship from here! We went to a cafe for drinks and snacks   This is fun! Time to go back. This is what we should have done...
... This is what we decided to do instead. We figured that since the ship was only two miles away, and we could see it, we could walk back. One little thing we failed to calculate was the location of the ocean relative to the land. So after walking for an hour down a secluded path, we reached a beach facing the ocean and an unscalable wall. Our choices: try the wall anyway, head into the ocean, or walk back one hour and risk missing our ship back to the US. 

This is what denial looks like.

We chose ocean. Now our second problem: as we reached dry land on the other side we were confronted by Mexican port authority trying to figure out why we're trying to swim around border control. Conversation clearly starts off on the wrong foot as he accuses us of trying to break the law, but he then ironically suggests bribery. Finally, through a combination of my persuasive abilities and Spanish sweet-talking, he finally lets us go without going to jail or paying money or anything. And that's why you should learn Spanish, kids!