Back to Reality

I know, I know, I said I would tell more Tahiti stories. But I'm tired. We made it back to Dallas - just in time to discover that Shelby is sick :-( Poor baby. We took her to the vet and he thinks it's stomach troubles. This too shall pass ;-)

I still owe you wedding stories - I LOVE my memories of my wedding day and do need to put them down here but want to put pictures with my blog post. Sooo, more to come on that later.

We began painting the house today! Hooray!! The UGLY colors are finally becoming 'our' colors, a process for which I have never taken part. I love the color shopping aspect, not so much the painting part. I will blog about those colors w/ pictures too once we get it the way we want it.

Good night...[yawn]

Story Time.....

I have to move fast b/c our internet card only lasts 24 hours!

Yesterday we took a tour of the interior of the island by Land Rover. We went with 2 other couples and became fast friends. The guide took us up winding mountains, which was terrifying at times but the views were so worth it! This place is gorgeous from all angles and we took pictures of all of it and still didn't feel like we were capturing all of the island's beauty! On the tour, we also saw an ancient Temple, fruit plantations, the area of the island where Marlon Brandow shot the movie where he met his Tahitian wife (the name of the movie has escaped us). We ended the trip at a distillery where we took about 5 shots of the various liquor they make on the island - all a huge ploy to get the tourists to buy, buy, buy. Soooo now our bath tub looks like a college frat party. But you really can't beat coconut rum and fresh pineapple juice! Beau even recommended drinking it for breakfast - slow down sister.

When we arrived back from the tour, it was time for our couples massage! Everything was so clean and professional, just like in the states! It was well worth - not to mention we received 50% off. Maybe we should go again today... :-)

I love the locals here. They take such great care of their island and themselves. We are staying on the island of Moorea and it's so clean. There is no litter anywhere, they don't use plastic or Styrofoam and none of the homes really have "junk" hanging around. They are proud and I wish I could learn more about this place. I will have to do some research when we get back. We learned some on our tour yesterday but their English can be very broken and what I did learn only made me want to know more.

Tonight we are taking a sunset cruise, which I am looking forward to! We are also snorkling and feeding creatures tomorrow so I will blog on that too.

Nana!! (goodbye!!)
xoxo

Bonjour from Tahiti!

We have been here for 4 days now and I still can't believe the scenery around us. Everywhere you look, it's just breathtaking! Beau bought me a wireless card from the front desk just so I could blog! :-) The combination of the beautiful scenery and the French being spoken around us is incredible! So beautiful.

I'm a little overwhelmed with so much to say and only wish I had been blogging since our first day here. Maybe later. Prepare yourself for rambling....

A few quick notes about our trip so far:

Business class on Air Tahiti was wonderful! We landed and I didn't want to get off the plane. It was my first time to fly in a plane with 2 aisles AND chairs that lay almost flat AND where each seat has it's own flat screen TV. I'm in love. It makes an 8 1/2 hour flight seem like no time at all. I kind of can't wait to fly back ;-)

We are staying in an above water bungalow and it's fantastic!! I really thought we would experience no A/C, bugs, minimal luxuries - but OH NO! This place looks like it was just remodeled yesterday w/ beautiful hardwood floors, oh-so-clean everything, heavenly king size bed and a glass bottom in the living area that lights up at night! The back deck is very private with lounge chairs, a granite counter top table to eat room service food (which we have done and it's amazing) and bottom level deck to sun bathe and swim and snorkel from. It even has a shower where you can rinse off. Even better than all this is the modern bathroom with one of those 'rain' shower heads, granite floors, a stand alone, gorgeous tub and 2 sinks where the bowl sits on top of the counter. Too cool. Oh, it comes equipped with a flat screen TV too but the only English channel is CNN and Beau doesn't want one bit of reality in this room ;-) The room also has remotes for everything - how lazy can one be? I have figured it out!!

I'm telling you all this b/c I sincerely recommend this place to ALL my family and friends - it's truly amazing!

More to come on our delicious meals, the great 4X4 tour of the inside of the island we took today, tomorrow's sunset cruise, snorkeling, our couples' massage, the locals and their pride of this island, the shopping we did today, and Saturday's feeding of some kind of fish (can't remember the name). We have been here 4 days and I still can't believe my eyes. We are so blessed to be able to make this trip and I only hope that everyone gets to see a place like this at least once in your lives!

Love you all! I'm homesick for my Shelby :-( And I just finished a book where the characters have stayed with me. I keep thinking about them and feel like I have lost friends. :( You know you have found a good book when that happens. It's called The Help. Another thing I recommend to everyone. Ok, Mahana!! (no idea what that means).

xoxo

Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds!!

We did it! And it was perfect! I will blog much much more about the wedding, preparation and events leading up to the big day when I have more time and pictures. But here I will tell you that Beau and I kicked off our 24 hours of travel in style! He is so good to me and in addition to 1st class travels, he purchased 2 passes to the Admiral's club! Both for the 3 hour layover in Dallas and the 6 hour layover at LAX (where I am soaking up the free wifi at this very moment!). It feels good to be back on a computer - I haven't used one since the office this past Wednesday. However, I look forward to not using one again for another week!

You can't miss what you don't know and I fully expected to pass this 6 hours by sitting with the common folk in the main areas (I hope you get that's a joke) and scanning the crowd for celebrities. But now I know there is a-whole-nother world called the Admiral's Club where jetsetters pass their time being waited on and sitting in massage chairs. Drinking complimentary coffee and using oh-so-clean-you-can-eat-off-them restrooms. Beau has spoiled me!

I love you, Beau Reynolds and I never expect to sit in airport common areas again, wait....that's not what this blog is about. I love you and can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you!!! <3

New Home Owners!

Well, we did it! We are officially first time home owners and are also officially living in our lovely new home! We closed Thursday afternoon, after a couple of days of fear that we may not get funded until our wedding week - not good since we had to be out this weekend.

We moved in yesterday (ALL day) and we are LOVING the new home! I love all the space and all the natural light! Beau loves the surround sound throughout the house (ok, I'll admit, it's pretty cool) and he loves the garage! I can't blame him. Shelby is loving her new doggie door and the freedom that comes with it. I'm loving it too. She's a chronic in-and-outer. It's annoying.

We broke the cardinal rule for new home owners and that is that we headed to Lowe's first thing this morning. Ok, I just made up that rule but it should be written into the closing documents that the buyer(s) will not visit Lowe's or Home Depot the first several months of owning. You WILL spend money and think that you can remodel the entire thing all at once. I had to stand back and take a breath after we were considering a new front door, paint for several rooms, new door knobs and hardware, and a new front porch light (we did get this). We are loving the 'burbs so far - everyone is so nice and neat-looking - their 2+ kids too!! ;-)

Wedding Update: OMG we are getting married exactly 1 week from now! Where did the time go? We are so excited but lots to do at work still. Our bags are all packed, ceremony programs are going to press Monday, weddings songs have been edited and are about to be sent to the band, and all outfits have been finalized!

Happy Easter!