Lake Wedowee

We had a super fun weekend at Lake Wedowee with the Garrison's (Jeff, Jennie, Cassidy, Davis and Beau) and the Westfall's (Chad, Stacey, Khira and Ashton...Ayric couldn't come). The Garrison's lake house was amazing and the lake was gorgeous. Hopefully next time we go the weather will be a bit more agreeable.

Mark, with the lake house in the backgroundDavis and AshtonKhira, Cassidy and JennieJeff

Orlando Trip

I realized earlier this week that if I don't catch up on my blogging immediately, I never will. You'd think I'd have tons of time to blog, since I have no job, but I just don't know where the time goes. Oh wait...yes I do. I spend it reading everyone else's blogs! So this is the first of many catching up posts...let me backtrack a few months.
Over Memorial Day weekend, we took a quick trip to Orlando for Mark's friend Nevada's wedding. We had an awesome weekend doing the following...
Thursday - Drove to Orlando. Arrived early in the evening and checked into our hotel. Went to walk around Downtown Disney. Since it was raining, we decided to eat dinner (at the fun T-Rex restaurant) and then call it a night.Friday - Got up early and went to the Kennedy Space Center all day long. We had a great time, even though the rain continued. Realized that Mark could realistically get a job with NASA...wow! Ran out of time and didn't get to see everything (this is definitely a 2-day trip, for anyone planning to visit). Went to Nevada and Sherine's rehearsal dinner. Partied all night with The Tams.
Saturday - Went to Downtown Disney again (I had to get my Disney fix!). Took some fun pictures, like this one in the candy store.Had lunch at The Rainforest Cafe with Josh and Natalie Findlay (friends we shared a room with). Drove to the wedding. Realized that Coptic Orthodox wedding ceremonies are totally unlike anything I've ever experienced (I'm talking singing, chanting, foreign languages, standing for an hour+...). Headed to the reception and enjoyed an awesome night of great food, bellydancing and fun. Did I mention Sherine is Egyptian? They sure know how to throw a great party. Too bad we forgot out camera! (These are a few that Natalie sent me.)Sunday - Went to Gatorland with Mark and his parents. Loved it. Loved the porcupine the best. Lost at least 5 pounds due to the heat. Drove home the LONG way. Arrived in Atlanta around 3am. Great vacation.

Congratulations Carly!

I'm really glad this girl is getting hitched. First, because she found a great guy and sounds so happy. Second, because I finally have a good excuse for a Utah visit. So mark your calendars for July 24-August 2. I'll be there.

You glad I stole a pic from your Facebook page, Carl? Hope your wedding dress is as phenomenal as this Vietnamese outfit! ;)

Noelle vs The Cockroach

This is a true story.
To set the scene, it was Sunday evening. We arrived home from a delicious dinner and a few rounds of Hand and Foot. Mark headed into the office to start on his homework. I thought I'd watch TV. Then, in the corner of the room, I spotted a bug. It wasn't too scary, so I tried to kill it with a flip flop. It kept rolling up into a ball, so I called Mark into the room. I thought I'd open the porch door and toss the bug out there, but wanted Mark to flip off the lights (so more bugs didn't come in). Mark mumbled something about not needing to turn off the lights.
So there I was, on my hands and knees, about a foot from the door. I open it to toss the small bug out and THE WORLD'S LARGEST - AND FASTEST - cockroach runs in directly for me. I swear it was sitting out there just waiting for the door to be opened. I screamed at the top of my lungs and jumped up and backwards right into our coffee table. I knocked everything on the table over and was literally screaming, crying and shaking uncontrollably. It took me about 20 minutes to calm down. And Mark didn't even make fun of me (because it seriously was SO BIG and SO CLOSE to my face).
The end result - one very dead cockroach (thank you Mark!) and one lasting impression from the coffee table. I told you I ran right into it!

Dear Fairy Godmother (and/or Fairy Godfather):

Mark and I want to say THANK YOU! We were definitely surprised to get your letter. This note was so thoughtful... as was the accompanying gift. Apparently we are NOT smart enough to guess who you are, so we'll have to hope you read this blog. We do really appreciate your generosity in this rough time we're going through.
Love,
Noelle and Mark

Spring Break 09

For spring break last year, we went to Chattanooga and then Puerto Rico a few weeks later. This year...not so much. Sad, especially since it's our last one! But we still had some fun. We went to the King Tut Exhibit (FYI they have 1/2 price tickets if you go Monday through Thursday after noon). We thought it was really cool - crazy to think how freakin old all the artifacts were. The next day we went to meet Sonny at the Capitol. (Mark's mom is in charge of Public Affairs for the Church for the southeast. She was having the gov sign a proclamation and invited us to be in a picture. You can see some more info - and the picture again - here.)
Mark and I also watched Gone With the Wind (his first time) and then went to check out the Margaret Mitchell House. I had it on my list of "Things to Do in Atlanta" and figured we should get it over with - it wasn't really that cool. I wouldn't recommend it unless you totally love GWTW. Or unless you can do it for free, like we did.Me and ScarlettIn front of the entrance to Tara

That pretty much wraps up the week we had. Oh yeah...and if you were still wondering which show was better (see post below) the answer is LARRY BY FAR! A Chorus Line was so lame and Larry turned out to be freaking hilarious. Yes, it was a surprise to us too!

The Fabulous Fox

So far, we're really enjoying volunteer ushering at the Fox Theatre. The senior citizens we work with are all super nice, and seeing shows for free can't be beat. This month we worked two shows...one that was fantastic and one that was barely worth the parking fee. Can you guess which was which?