Cozumel

Our second cruise excursion was in Cozumel. We did the Beach Break Deluxe, were we sat on a private beach for the afternoon. We had free drinks and free food, a beach and a pool. It was a nice relaxing afternoon and I finished the fourth of the six books I read.

While at the pool, we met four lovely ladies who were dental hygiene students at Memphis. When they found out we were on our honeymoon, they bought a round of shots. I politely declined - I'd had too much sun and the thought of tequila made my stomach turn. So Marc took the shot to celebrate. And that one tequila shooter caused this:

Progresso

When our cruise arrived in Progresso, Mexico, we decided to take an excursion that took us to some Mayan ruins and then to a beach. It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either.

The Mayan ruins basically consisted of the Temple of the Seven Dolls (there were 7 dolls in it when it was discovered) where the sun does something nifty one day a year and a freshwater pool that was shallow on one side and very, very, very deep on the other. The tour giude on the bus told us a little about the ruins, but focused mostly on trying to preach about Jesus Christ. Now don't get me wrong, I love me some Jesus. But I wanted to learn about the ruins. The tour guide at the ruins told us basically what I told you above - 7 dolls were discovered in the temple and we could drown on one end of the pool.

The beach was. . .a beach. It was nice and warm, but quite rocky. But we could see our boat in the distance and the drinks were free!

The view from the beach chair - our boat

The best thing about our cruise . .

. . .the towel animals!

For our honeymoon, we decided to take a cruise. After much debating, we decided it would be our best bet to avoid cell phone and blackberry reception. (and actually, we were wrong. Cell phones and blackberries work on cruise ships. So I just turned mine off!) We wanted to go our of New Orleans or Mobile, since Marc was running that half ironman in Florida. And we wanted to leave early in the week of May 12. Our only real option was the Carnival Fantasy, leaving May 12 for five days out of New Orleans.

All in all, we had a good time. We relaxed and got some sun, and I read six books. But the food was AWFUL. Just horrid. And while we made the best of it and enjoyed ourselves, our shore excursions weren't the best.

But it was just fabulous to get totally away from work and just have fun with Marc. After getting married and two of the busiest work weeks to date, I needed to rest and relax. And that part of the cruise could not have been better.

Our Wedding

I haven't really said much about our wedding, but only because I haven't had a free moment in the past couple of weeks. But is was perfect - just what we wanted.


Friday night, Marc's best friend fried fish and my mom boiled shrimp and we had a chance to visit with familt yand friends who were already on the island. It was a nice, relaxing way for our family and friends to meet.

Saturday, I had some beach time with my parents, my brother's family, my Aunt Lyn and her son and his family. It was great fun to play in the sand with Brynna and Brayden!


Sunday morning, we got up bright and early and set up the beach. It was just like I picturesd it in my mind! Then we all ran back, got pretty and came back to the beach.

After posing for pictures, we married and then had cupcakes and mimosas. Heavenly! Some folks left soon after the vows, and some stayed with us on the beach until 4:30 that afternoon. And that is just what we wanted. It was so laid back and we really had time to talk with everyone and enjoy the day.

Thank you to everyone who came and everyone who sent us their best wishes.

My Iron Man

As a training run for his full iron man in the fall, Marc competed in a half iron man triathlon last week. That means he swam 1.2 miles . . .

. . .and then he rode his bike for 56 miles. . .

. . .and then he ran 13.1 miles.

I am so proud of Marc, but sometimes I do think he is a little crazy.

We're back!

The past three weeks have been amazingly busy in the McMotte household. After getting married, we had two weeks of solid, intense work for the University. Then Marc headed down to Pensacola on May 8 and he and his dad went to Panama City on the 9th so Marc could run a half iron man triathlon on May 10.

While Marc was swimming, running and biking, I was working to make to commencement ceremonies for 3500 students run smooth. Immediately after, I spent the night with Mama and Daddy in Hampton so I could fly to Pensacola on the 11th. Then Monday the 12th, Marc and I took our honeymoon cruise.

But now we are back, doing laundry and buying groceries and trying to get back into the swing of everyday life as husband and wife.

It's a bird. . .It's a plane. . .It's Super Brynna!

My mom has been making "super" outfits for my nephews and the children of my cousins. During the wedding weekend, she gave the outfits to my cousin Bryan for his children Brynna and Brayden. Brynna was just adorable, and I wanted to brag on my mom's creative-ness and share the cuteness with the world wide web :-)

Smiling for the camera

Showing off her Super Hero Emblem

About to Fly into the Night