For labor day weekend, wifey and I traveled to Ocean City for two days to be with her family and then back to good old SP to go out on the boat and hang out with my fam. We had great weather and got to see one of the coolest sunsets that I had seen in a long time.
We were trying to get a family shot with my fam here's how it turned out. We look good.
All of the pictures can be found here.
CM and I just returned home from the Zuidema Family Cruise/Family Reunion/Birthday/Anniversary Celebration. We had a great time and it was a fun opportunity to get to know her side of the family. If these photos look familiar, it's because I went on the same cruise last summer with my family. Good times, including this hum-dinger of a photo below. Dutch Girl never saw it coming.
You can view the entire collection by clicking here.
So it's been a while since the last blog post (there was some big event going on that consumed my every waking moment) but now we have more updates than you can imagine. The only problem is that in about 12 hours we will be on a bus with 40 high schoolers from Towson High heading to Young Life camp in Virginia.
So, when we get back in a week we will have multiple blog posts explaining the photos from our honeymoon, but for now, enjoy the pictures. We have many stories about Elbow Beach, the Crystal Caves, mopeds, dinners on the beach, and lots of good times. Here is the link to all the photos.
So after a drive that lasted 9 hours through the night, we finally arrived back in Severna Park at 6 AM. And not a moment too soon, it was getting pretty miserable when it was 4 AM and everyone needed to stretch out and sleep (and the Mexican buffet line at the reception was not treating me right if you know what I'm saying).
Derek and Carole's wedding was beautiful and they seem to be very happy. Overall we had a great weekend as a family and I love them a lot. I'm not sure what more to write about, so I'll leave it at that. The rest of the pictures from the weekend can be found here.
Good times tonight from Ann Arbor, Michigan. For the first time in history I think every living Metzger on our side of the family was in one room at the rehersal dinner. Grandma and Grandpa made the trip along with my Grandpa's brother, Uncle Don (who was hilarious). I got to sit at a table with my brother and sister along with my cousins (who are awesome). We also had the opportunity, while killing 4 hours, to drive around the University of Michigan's campus and go to a restaurant called Metzger's. We didn't get a discount for having the same last name.
I've had a Coldplay song stuck in my head all day for a number of reasons. One of those reasons in particular is because I was listening while thinking about my family.
Oh, what good is it to liveI love Chris Martin's songwriting, but this one hit home because I remember writing in my journal the last time I was up here in Michigan about how I wish I could see how different our family would be if love had entered the picture sooner. Even Grandpa commented tonight on how much he has enjoyed getting to see the entire family get along. Somehow through his illness I hope everyone realizes how much we need each other.
With nothing left to give
Forget, but not forgive
Not loving all you see
-Swallowed in the Sea by Coldplay
First of all, happy Thanksgiving everyone. I hope you had a great day with friends and family.
Secondly, the lady above is the mother of my cousin's Spanish exchange student who does not speak English and is going blind. Try keeping up with that one. For a family of pasty white, blunt, Germans with mustaches, this officially registers as the single most random thing of my life. Barbara is the exchange student and she does speak English. We talked for a while as I brushed up on my Spanish and talked about Real Madrid.
Later in the evening we had a chance to have 4 generations of Metzger's sit in the same room and listen to my Dad and Uncles Carl and Robert ask questions of my Grandma and Grandpa about their lives. I had the cameras set up to record the whole thing. It was an incredible time as we laughed, listened, and shared memories together. Hopefully the video will be a treasure for our family.
It seems to me weird that it has been 7 years since we have all been together. I told Jen as we were preparing a midnight meal of mashed potatoes and turkey that I hope we never go 7 years without seeing each other. It's even weirder to think that as kids we spent every moment with each other and now we have to schedule each other into our lives.
I leave you with one more great picture from the day. Ladies and Gentlemen, the brains behind the Clapham Institute...
Again, all the pictures from the weekend are located here.
I'll continue posting pictures as the weekend continues. Be sure to keep up with all the pulsating action from just outside Toledo right here. All the photos are here.
The drive out here wasn't too bad. No traffic and the weather was fine until we hit Ohio (figures). I had good conversation with the fam and great tunes to keep me company for the 10 hour journey. Jennifer's brilliant plan was to stay up all night last night so she could sleep through the entire car ride, it worked. She then took a sleeping pill to go to sleep so all in all I approximate that she has either been sleeping or eating 18-19 of the last 24 hours. Sounds like a roommate of mine.
One of my goals to accomplish before the end of the year was to read 1 book all the way through. I figure you have to start with baby steps at some point. I brought The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and Perelandra which I just realized is Part 2 of a 3 part book series by C.S. Lewis. Nice. Looks like Narnia it is.
