Cruise Memories

As promised, below is a photo slideshow and a few videos from our recent cruise. Enjoy!

Photos From Our Trip...




And a Few Videos As Well...

Boarding the Ship:



Getting Ready for Formal Night:



Our Dessert Experience in Rhodes, Greece...



Our Serenade in Rhodes, Greece...

Back to the Real World

On Monday night, Matt and I returned from our "big vacation" of 2009. Always looking for offseason travel discounts, we were fortunate enough to find a great deal on a cruise to the Eastern Mediterranean. Needless to say, we jumped at the chance.

We boarded the Celebrity Solstice on May 15th, and during the next few days, we headed to various places in Italy, Turkey, and Greece. It was an incredible experience for which we are both so grateful. We took two cameras and managed to snap just shy of 1,000 photos. At the moment, we are trying to wade through them and narrow them to a number that is manageable for uploading and sharing. So, we'll be posting those in the coming days.

In the meantime, I'll just say that the trip opened our eyes to how big the world is and how much more we need to learn about it.

An Amusing Saturday

We needed a little amusement this weekend, so we headed to an amusement park. Seemed like a logical move.

Our Saturday trip to Kings Dominion in Richmond, Va., didn't disappoint as we mixed roller coaster rides with consistent breaks to settle our stomachs, which admittedly aren't as strong as they used to be. We used said breaks to try on hats at the gift shops and to sample some of the outrageously priced amusement park food. Along the way we learned from a fellow patron's example that not all stores enforce the "You break it, you buy it" policy after all. Good times.

Almost as amusing as the rides were our fellow park-goers. We started our day by watching a near-fight at "The Shockwave" (expletives were hurled, bulky boyfriends were called to the scene, but ultimately everyone gave peace a chance) and ended the day by standing in line for "The Dominator" with disgruntled, flamboyantly dressed transvestites. If that's not an advertisement for family friendly fun, I don't know what is.

Even though we saved a few dollars with the Duke employee discount for park admission, we kept our game playing expenses to a minimum, losing just $2 to the coin toss game. (We wouldn't have had room for the giant stuffed bear in the car anyway.)

Our only real miscalculation on the day was our timing with water rides. Clearly, the White Water Canyon should've been conquered while the sun was still shining instead of during the cloudy, cool evening, shortly before our 2 1/2 hour ride home. Live and learn.

So our Saturday was filled with fun rides, silly hats, and transvestites. What could possibly make a day like that any better, you ask? An obvious question deserves an obvious answer: Dinner at Shoney's!

Come Sunday, we didn't need any more amusement. Mission accomplished. Thank you, Kings Dominion.



Video taken on board the Rebel Yell roller coaster











Erica drives the antique cars















Scooby Doo gets two thumbs up











A romantic pose with the"Eiffel Tower" in the background











Erica's long lost twin is a face paint model











There's no going wrong with Scooby











Ending the day with "The Dominator" (disgruntled transvestites not pictured)

Exploring Durham with the Gregorys

This past weekend, my mom and dad descended on Durham to spend the weekend with Matt and me.

Although home projects have been a major part of previous Gregory visits, I was determined to let them relax and learn more about this area. So, the weekend included visits to Pulcinella's (a local Italian restaurant), the Carrboro Farmer's Market, 501 Diner (a great, local breakfast spot), and a Durham Bulls game.

Enjoying the Durham Bulls game (while Matt takes our photo)


As with most visits these days, the Wii certainly provided some entertainment. My mom and dad had fun cow racing against one another, and I challenged my mom to a friendly game of tennis.

Look at that Wii bowling form!


Mom and I enjoy a game of Wii Tennis


Mom and Dad Crack Up at the Cow Race (and Mom Wins!)


On Sunday afternoon, my parents headed home to Nashville after a tearful goodbye. As it often happens, the weekend made me realize how much I miss my family back home. So, I'm thankful that they were able to bring a little bit of home here to me.

Photos from Last Weekend

As I mentioned in my last post, Matt and I both traveled to visit friends last weekend. Matt visited Dan, a friend from grad school and an usher in our wedding, and I visited Melanie, my best girl friend and former roommate.

Besides spending time with our friends, Matt and I had the chance to visit with their wonderful families as well. Matt got to see one Dan's daughters, Anna, play her first teeball game. And...I got a chance to practice my photography skills on Melanie's kids.

Below are the weekend's photos followed by some favorites from my very informal "photo shoots" with Nathan and Camille:

Home Sweet Home

This past weekend, Matt and I both traveled out of town to see friends. I sent Matt to St. Louis to see his friend Dan for the weekend (it was the birthday present I gave Matt earlier this month), and I went to visit my best friend and former roommate Melanie.

The past few days have been a blur for me, as I flew to D.C. for work on Wednesday night and stayed there through Friday evening. I flew straight from D.C. to Birmingham and flew back to RDU last night just before midnight. Matt had a late flight in from St. Louis, so we met at the airport and headed back home together.

We each had a great weekend with friends, but it's really nice to be home. We'll post photos soon.

Taylor Team 5 Visits Durham

We're still catching up on some overdue blogging from early April.

The day after Brent, Renee, Rachel, and Ryan left town, Taylor Team 5 came for a visit, their second since we moved to North Carolina.

Pete, Michele, Emily, Lindsay, and Madelyn arrived on Wednesday evening, April 8, and stayed until Saturday afternoon, during which time we ...

-Spent lots of time in the bonus room, taking turns on the ever-so-popular piano keyboard. It's the first place the girls wanted to go as soon as they got here.

-Met Mama Dip and sang "Happy Birthday" to her.

-Put the girls to work after they consistently offered to help (they cooked breakfast with me and made Rice Krispies treats with Erica).

-Learned that Emily is a natural at Wii Bowling.

-Visited the Museum of Life & Science.

-Played with the neighbors' kids.

And more.

During a visit to Franklin Street, I told the girls they each could have one thing from the UNC stores. I assumed they would come away with championship T-shirts or some similar Carolina Blue items; instead, Emily and Lindsay both left Tar Heel Bookstore with pink highlighters.

Madelyn did choose a cute UNC cheerleading outfit for herself. Though she continues to deny any influence on the decision, Erica - who loves the outfit - was holding Madelyn when the discovery was made.

Also notable was that Emily lost a tooth during the visit. (Don't worry, it was already loose.) Somehow Lindsay kept all of her teeth in place, even after getting hit in the face - accidentally - with Emily's lacrosse stick.

As you might expect, we took many photos before the Taylors headed back up the road in time for Easter. Erica and I are experimenting with Picasa's many options, so for something different - and easier to upload - I made the photo collage below (click on it to see a larger version).

Here are a few fun videos as well.

The first is Madelyn's spontaneous "Mama Dips!" cheer, the second demonstrates Emily's skill at Wii Bowling, and the final video is Madelyn showing Uncle Matt how to sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" after I messed up the words. I believe her response was, "No, Uncle Matt, that's not how it goes."









Needless to say, a good time was had by all. Especially Uncle Matt.