around gr

Jon and I took a semi spur-of-the-moment road trip to Grand Rapids yesterday. We started off our trip at Mars Hill and heard an excellent message from Rob Bell (a must listen if you're bored or antsy with your current circumstances).

Afterward, we had hummus and falafel sandwiches in the grocery section of The Pita House in East Town. Note: Jon has decided to never eat a hummus sandwich again as he is still thirsty from it.

Then we visited the Frederik Meijer Gardens for the last day of the butterfly exhibit. The greenhouse was warm and filled with lots of kids and lots of photo enthusiasts. I have never seen so many expensive cameras in one place before! Jon and I had fun traipsing around the greenhouse in search of still butterflies. I even managed to get a few shots of the infamous Blue Morpho (can you guess which one that is from above?) - there were only 2 living ones in the greenhouse. We also got a chance to visit a few of the outdoor sculptures in the sculpture park, including Nina Akamu's, The American Horse (Leonardo DaVinci's horse), and the newly installed "Grand Rapids Arch" by Andy Goldsworthy. It was raining, though, so we weren't able to spend too much time outside.

We met up with Emily and David at Emily's apartment and had a lovely home-cooked meal and laughter-filled conversation. It was a quick trip, but we had a fun time seeing the sights and getting away for a bit!

Rodrigo's Spain

Jodi scored us awesome tickets to the DSO through her GM discount and we got to see Rodrigo's Spain last night. Sir Angel Romero was AMAZING! I don't know if he inspired me to learn how to play better or if he completely scared me away from the guitar altogether, though. There is absolutely no way in the world that I'll ever be able to move my fingers at lightning speed and make music like he does! But for now it's at least something to dream about.

What the?

Not exactly sure what this "creature" is, but it's been showing up in my yahoo mail box. Any guesses as to what kind of animal this is?

cranbrook

Jon and I took Saturday afternoon to explore Cranbrook. We often visit each season to photograph nature and flowers and scenery. It is so relaxing and refreshing to spend the afternoon outside in the sun surrounded by beautiful things. We ventured out beyond our usual spot at the Art Museum and ended up touring the Bog Garden and Oriental Garden at the Cranbrook House and Gardens. The daffodils and tulips were in full bloom and the tree buds were starting to open. Jon and I have decided that when we either retire or both go fully freelance (whichever comes first), we will both be volunteering at the gardens on a regular basis.

Happy Easter

Jen and I had a fun time catching up on Thursday night over Easter cookie decorating and egg coloring. We ended up with a ton of *mostly* cute cookies and some bright hard boiled eggs.

the road trip

After the wedding, we headed to Vermont for a week long stay at a cabin in the mountains. We made a stopover at Niagara Falls on our way east.

We were surprised at how nice and non-kitschy our cabin was.

One of the highlights of our trip was our tour of the Ben & Jerry's HQ in Waterbury, VT. We treated ourselves to a pint of Half-Baked.

We also did some antique and health food shopping and some exploring in nearby towns.The scenery and pace of life in Vermont was a nice change from Detroit strip malls and hectic schedules. It was such a relaxing getaway!

03.18.06

We did it!

Jon and I were married on March 18, 2006 at the Salem Walker Church in Northville, MI. We're so glad the wedding craziness is over and done with! Everything went smoothly and mostly as we had planned. We had a beautiful day and were surrounded by a small group of family and friends. It was a low key celebration, keeping with our style, and we enjoyed every minute of it.