The Mad Scientist

If my husband wasn't an Air Traffic Controller his dream job would be mad scientist. But since that doesn't always pay the bills he is happy to pursue this dream in his spare time. He loves to do little "experiments" or at least that is what he calls them. I call them disgusting!

After we got married I moved into this bachelor pad. One of the first things I did was clean out his fridge and fill it with yummy healthy food. This might sound like an easy task but I assure it it will filled with lots of laughter, disgust and being grateful for a strong gag reflex. He had several experiments in his fridge, AKA food that should have been thrown away long long ago. Did you know that if left alone in the fridge for who knows how long Gatorade will actually solidify and turn into this nasty looking foam. Neither did I. Cleaning out that fridge was an experience neither one of us will ever forget! Haha

Since I took over the kitchen Hubby has been extremely limited in his "experiments" but recently found a new one....his left over jack-o-latern. He is his latest masterpiece and something he is very proud of. It is currently growing hair!

Duck Pin Bowling

Yup! You heard me correctly...Duck Pin Bowling! That was are adventure last week. Since moving to RI all the locals we have gotten to know have said "You have to go! It is very Rhode Island!" and Rhode Islanders love doing anything Rhode Islandish. So we called up some of our friends and made it a group date!



So the basic rules of Duck Pin Bowling are that the ball is smaller, about the size and weight of a shot put. There are ten pins, probably half the size of normal bowling pins. You get 3 chances to roll the ball. If you knock down all the pins it is a strike. On the second roll, if you knock down all the pins you get a spare, just like normal. The third roll is just to up your score so if you knock down the rest of the pins you get a pat on the back and just a normal 10 points, nothing extra.

The bowling alley we went to was classic! Probably build 50 years ago. We had to keep score manually (yeah it took us a while to remember how to score strikes and spares!), push a button to reset the pins at the end of our turn and push a different button to get rid of deadwood, or the pins that fall down during your 3 rolls. Chris was having a blast pushing buttons.



Duck pin bowling is deceptively hard! We waltzed in there assuming we would blow everyone away. I mean come on an extra chance to bowl, we were going to knock down all the pins every time! Boy, were we wrong!

That ball is so small that if you throw it too hard it is like a bullet and it just plows through one single row pins. Too slow and it rolls into the gutter. The key was a medium speed so that the ball curved slightly and would roll into multiple rows since the pins don't really do a good job at knocking each other down. Putting spin on the ball is hard too since it is so small and there are no holes for your fingers you simply palm it.



Overall, we had LOTS of laughs and LOTS of fun. We'll definitely be back for more bowling! By the time we leave RI we plan on being experts!

One Year Older and Wiser Too...

A few months ago my amazing husband asked what I wanted for my birthday. Since he had some time off for work we could go for a long weekend somewhere. Excitedly I answered...HARRY POTTER WORLD! He laughed a little and then said..Let's Do it! Let's Go!

Little by little our plan evolved to include his little sister and my little brother and all of Universal Studios Florida. The weather was warm (except when we were soaked from the water rides) and we had a blast! It was also a great family bonding experience because we only got one hotel room. Crazy I know but we're on a budget! So I shared a bed with Lauren while Brendan and Chris got to cuddle in the other bed. Needless to say our sleep arrangements cause for some very hilarious conversations and memories. Lauren confirmed that I do like to sleep with my butt poking out and taking up half the bed while Brendan and Chris did everything possible to avoid touching each other, including a wall of pillows and sleeping on the smaller portion of bed ever. Chris decided that stealing the covers is a Wells family trait and had a 'Who can make the smelliest fart? Contest' with Brendan. We all suffered. It was all in good fun but I was very happy when I got to fall asleep on Chris' shoulder again! I missed waking up and his face being the first thing I see.

Here are a few stops we made during our trip...

Stop 1: Pirate Minature Golf! No trip to Florida is complete without mini golf and this course was challenging! We had a blast! Needless to say everyone made a Hole in one but Brendan pulled it off in the end.





Stop 2: Hard Rock Cafe....delicious as always and rockin! The waiters performed Michael Jackson's Thriller, I got a free birthday dessert and an embarresting song. We got to play on a giant (we're talking wall sized) touch screen computer that had a little info card on every piece of memorabilia in all the Hard Rocks all over the world. We discovered you could flick them and send them flying! Then off to explore more of the Universal CityWalk.




Stop 3: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter!!! As soon as we entered Universal Studios Islands of Adventure I made our group run to the Harry Potter section. It is perfect! It felt as if we had walked into the movie! I got my very own wand, drank Butterbeer, went shopping at Zonko's and rode the castle ride 3 times (easily the best ride in the park!) While waiting in line for the castle ride you wind through different classrooms and parts of the castle that are very familiar to anyone who has seen the movies. All the portraits move, the Sorting Hat talks to you, and you truly feel as if you are wandering through Hogwarts. It was magical!






Stop 4: The rest of Islands of Adventure....including water rides where we got soaked thanks to stupid people who shot us with water guns, some awesome roller coasters, and playing in Suessland! Brendan and the Grinch got along great!






Stop 5: Margaretaville for some disappointing wait time and food.



Stop 6: Seeing Real Steal at Universal CityWalk. We saw this movie solely on the recommendation of some friends and they were right! It was good! My personal favorite part was the last fight where the camera scans the crowd and you see an advertisement for XBOX 720 and instantly both my husband and brother go..."Sweet! XBOX 720!"

Stop 7: Bed

Stop 8: Universal Studios.... We had a blast! We went on tons of roller coasters! Chris killed us all in the Men In Black Alien Shooting game, we rode the Mummy ride 3 times in a row (outside of Harry Potter World there was barely anyone in the park), almost got eaten by Jaws, and survived a Twister.






Stop 9: Back to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter for some more Butterbeer (yes it really is that good! Imagine cream soda with caramel whipped cream on top.) Another quick castle ride and some last minute shopping.






Stop 10: NASCARworld none of us are Nascar fans but we had heard the food was good and it was! Then with our feet about to fall off we made our way back to the hotel to pack and get a good night's sleep before heading the airport early the next morning.

It was a great trip! I can't wait to go back! I think I even made a Harry Potter fan out of Chris (such a good husband!)

A Car Adventure

So this weekend Chris and I have friends coming to visit. WE ARE SO EXCITED!!! However, our friends need a place to sleep while they are here....luckily we have a guest bed. Only problem is that guest bed is in a storage unit with all my teaching stuff. We needed to solve this problem and fast! Here is our solution...



That's right we drove with the box spring and mattress on top of my Jetta! We got some funny looks. A little boy even popped his head out of an SUV and gave us a big smile! Thankfully the wind wasn't too bad because it if was we could have been in trouble. At the end of the day we had a lot of laughs and a great memory!

I'm A Mommy......

to this beautiful healthy energetic boy.



Got ya going for a minute didn't I? Haha! I win!!

Anyway back to my baby boy....since I am currently unempolyeed this sweetheart and I have been spending ALOT of time together. We go on several walks a day, chase squirrels, practice our tricks and cuddle together.

Jak, who started out as my husband's dog has slowly become MY doggie....he sleeps on my side of the bed, won't get out of bed until I do, and cuddles with me on the couch (occasionally squeezing inbetween Chris and I.) Then again like any child he can be a true delight especially when he barks nice and loud every time I talk on the phone.



Jak loves to play this game where he jumps up on the bed when I'm in the middle of changing sheets and rolls around with this look on his face that says, "Pet Me! Pet Me!" He loves to chase and attack the vacuum, pounce on the pile of dust and dog hair pile I just swept into place. My favorite is when he jumps up and gives me lots of loving slobbery kisses.



So it is official I have become one of THOSE people...the ones that walk around covered in dog hair and don't care, have a blanket in my back seat that is also covered in dog hair, and can't go out for more than 6 hours because doggie has to go out. Those people that take their dog everywhere they can and talk about them like they were human. Yup...I'm one of those people and I LOVE IT!



I LOVE MY LITTLE FAMILY!!!

Wedding Decorations 411

I loved planning C and I's wedding. I loved thinking of all the details that would make our day really special. For me the most important thing was that I wanted everyone to have fun! So everything was geared towards making sure the atmosphere encouraged them to have a really good time.



A modern twist to the traditional "tinkling of the glasses" (Wedding guests tap their glass with one of their utensils. Other guests join in so that the sound gets louder and the bride and groom have to kiss as long as the tinkling continues.) was that everyone at our wedding would ring unique antique bells. The really cool thing was that there were 6 different styles of bells and when they were all rung together it created a beautiful harmony. These bells were probably my favorite little detail of the wedding. I searched the internet forever to find them! I plan on using them to help decorate our Christmas tree!



For those that don't know C's family isn't Mormon so drinking is an important part of how they celebrate. So like all great things in life we compromised! We had specialty alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks because while I wanted everyone to have a good time I didn't want anyone to get out of control. The specialty drinks were a great way to control how much alcohol was in each drink. Plus they are super fun! We took basic drinks and gave them fun wedding names! They were a huge hit and we got lots of compliments on them!




C's super talented mom created these signs for us. They hung on the back of our chairs during dinner. I love them!



The whole inspiration for our wedding was the classic mason jar. I grew up drinking from them and have always loved how they looked. I knew I wanted them as our centerpieces. We put a dozen roses in the antique blue mason jars and then put 4 tiny mason jars around it with tea lights. It created the perfect romantic mood. The table numbers were letters from the Phonemic International Alphabet which C uses everyday at work as an Air Traffic Controller.



As a tribute to my teaching profession C and I created a wedding pop quiz! Don't worry it was open neighbor! It was a great way for everyone to get to know C and I and an awesome conversion starter so that both sides of our friends and family mixed and mingled! On the back the essay question was to give the newlyweds some advice, which was both eye opening and hilarious! Something interesting to note is that grown adults are as bad as my students with putting their name on their paper and checking to see if their is a back to the worksheet!



I LOVE cupcakes so I knew I wanted them at our wedding but I also wanted to have the traditional cutting of the wedding cake so once again WE COMPROMISED!! A friend from high school did our cake and cupcakes! She is super talented and loves to created unique and fun cakes so if you need one just let me know and I'll get you her info!
C's mom also collects Precious Moments and I love that she let us use the the wedding one as our topper..it is just tooo cute!!



I saw a banner in a magazine with Mr. and Mrs. _________ hanging at the entrance to the tent and I fell in love with the idea. I also love to use other people's talents for my benefit haha! This wonderful woman in our ward made my wish come true! We hung it above our table under the reception tent. It also made a super prop in our wedding photos (more pics to come!)




Here are a few more pictures highlighting other wedding details...

You wear white and I'll wear out the words I love you

The news was calling it the hottest day of the year. It was expected to be 105 degrees and feel like 115-120 degrees with the humidity. Many prayers were said, extra water bottles were bought, the ceremony site was moved to under the shade and then everything was handed over to the Lord. No matter what at the end of the day Chris and I were saying I do!

As one of our guests said,"you must have an in with the man upstairs because the temperature gauge in our car just kept dropping as we were driving here." A true Virginia summer rainstorm rolled threw just as I was taking pre-wedding pictures with my fabulous bridesmaids. After a quick dash in the rain I popped into the kitchen behind a shocked member of the catering staff to avoid a unlucky run-in with the groom. All the kitchen staff stopped what they were doing and starred at me and Roxanne (she was holding my dress thank goodness!) standing amidst the sinks and stoves. Once I explained the situation they all rushed to help me through the room without getting dirty while saying congratulations.

I exited through the kitchen into the country club's restaurant where surprised customers yelled well wishes. In the room next to the restaurant my handsome groom was waiting with his groomsmen to take their pictures. Thanks to our quick thinking photographer and the Chris covering his eyes and facing the wall I was able to make it to the safety of the bridal room where I promptly put my feet up, hiked up the several layers of my wedding dress and drank lots of water to cool down.

Not only did the rain give me that cute little antidote it also cooled the area down about 20 degrees. The ceremony was slightly delayed but everyone was much more comfortable.



Soon everyone was seated the processional started. As Roxanne started through the gate into the courtyard pulling a wagon with the ring bearer and flower girls, my Dad and I were waiting to walk down the aisle. She's a real Pippa, what can I say! That is when the butterflies hit. I had made it through our entire engagement without being nervous at all until that moment. I was so excited and yet so nervous. A quick kiss and an "I love you" and we were off. Two steps through the gate and into the courtyard and the butterflies disappeared and were replaced with a warm happy feeling. I saw Chris for only a second or two before he disappeared behind all of our family and friends as they stood for Dad and I to walk by. Once we entered the aisle the only thing I remember seeing is Chris' face. I remember every detail of his smile and his eyes starring back at me. My old roomie, Emily, told me she knew when I entered the courtyard because Chris' face just lit up and just as everyone stood he said, "I can't see her anymore!"



I don't remember much about what my Dad said as he married us, but I do remember looking at Chris and hearing him say "You're beautiful." and "I love you." Walking back up the aisle as Mr. and Mrs. Corcoran was the best moment of my life. I was finally married to my best friend and it was now time to celebrate!!!

Stay tuned for more details about the reception!!