Mr. & Mrs. Johnson

Here we are. We have over 955 images, so I just thought I'd post a few of them here. Don't know what else to say, other than it was the best day of my life!

Wedding Post #2 - Rehearsal Dinner

Practice makes perfect; or so they say. After the bachelor party festivities, we commenced to rehearsing. Erica made me wear a shirt and tie so I could be presentable. (Just kidding. Love you honey.)

Everyone arrived on time, and we were set to go. We began by signing the marriage license a day early (please don't tell anyone). Pictured with us is Father Charlie, the man who helped make our marriage so. We couldn't imagine working with anyone else who was so kind and easy-going. He made us so feel comfortable throughout the whole experience.


This is the illustrious best man and maid of honor. They were signing the license here so we had official witnesses. (Side note: In Vegas, for an extra $200, your witnesses can be Sonny and Cher, Bonnie and Clyde, or Johnny and June Cash.)




One hour later, we were done with rehearsal, and ready to chow down on some pizza, salad, and cake.

Here we are all getting ready to eat so pizza and salad. Everyone looks so happy! (Notice only one person is paying attention in the photo.)








This would prove to be good practice for the following day:



And finally, this man. The rehearsal dinner took place in the town bowling alley. We stumbled across a very important person in the town, who apparently was a really good bowler. From birth, this man was destined to be a bowler, I'm sure.

I think I dragged everyone at the dinner to see this picture. I couldn't get enough of this guy. So happy he is. At this point, we were only one day away from being as happy as Mr. Ball.....

"Leave nothing for tomorrow which can be done today."

Do you know who said that quote? This guy:


This little gem comes from last weekend's trip to Nashville. We were at a "trailer park" bar (has an old car you can sit on, mismatching lawn furniture, old tires, green AstroTurf), having a few big boy pops, and who walks through the door? ABE LINCOLN. I, like other bar goers, couldn't believe me eyes. He looked just like Abe Lincoln. His beard was real, his eyes looked old and wise. He spoke very little. He had a top hat. I solicited him for the picture, and felt very uneasy talking with him. Quite possibly the strangest bar night I've ever had.

I spoke with our waitress, who tells us he is a real "Abe Lincoln impersonator." This brings up a multitude of questions:

• How does one choose this line of work?
• Are there fake impersonators?
• Is this a full-time job?
• Are his circle of friends fellow presidential impersonators?

(Better pictures to follow soon.)

New Hobby - Gardening

A small but dedicated group of us at work make use of the elaborate garden that Kettering so graciously provides us. Anyone can claim a plot (or more), but only a few of us do. My motivation for getting involved was purely pragmatic, as I figured I could save a few bucks by growing some food rather than paying grocery store prices. Like many fellow gardeners, I find myself relishing (pun intended) the experience more than the harvest. I think this is something I'll continue later in life.


Here is a copy of the report I filed for others at the foundation:

TO: Kettering Foundation Staff

FROM: The Gardening Group (Lara, Derek, Matt)

CC: Mother Earth

DATE: August 1, 2007

SUBJECT: Mid-Season Report

The Gardening Group has experienced a very successful first half of the season, and wishes to file a mid-season report. We have produced many cucumbers, peppers, greens, tomatoes, peas, beans, and basil. We “weathered” some attacks from squash bugs and things of the like, but managed to recover quickly.

While we are always happy to share our harvest, we are even happier to welcome new members into our group. We plan to plant our second harvest in a couple of weeks.

Bachelor Party

Here is the first installment of the wedding weekend -- the bachelor party. (Don't worry, this entry is parent and work-friendly.)

The bachelor party was a great time, due to the fine planning of my best man. The day began with a little golf accompanied by a friendly wager,


followed by some great Chinese cuisine (my favorite),


and ended with a limo bus extravaganza. We had 14 guys on the limo bus, which we had from 9 pm - 3 am. We took advantage of all six hours. Here was the result at the end of the night.


(I'm fine in this picture, I just ad-libbed the case for effect!)

If I can get serious for a moment sans the beer case hat, this was one of the best days of my life. Spending the day with 15 of my closest friends (Dad, bro-in-law included), was truly a wonderful feeling. Some came from as close as a half mile, some came from over 2,000 miles away. I think that says it all.

Special thanks to all who came, and a very special thanks to Rob for putting so much thought and planning into making this day unlike any other.

Matt Simpson

Taking a page from Julie's Blog, I decided to create my own Simpson character, to see what I would look like if I was a cartoon character on The Simpsons.

I think they got it right! What do you think?

(Wedding pictures coming soon... we hope!)

Fear Not...

Fear not fellow blogospherians: a wedding post(s) will be coming soon. The pictures are going to be in by Wednesday, and I'll post them thereafter. I'm going to make 4 separate posts, to document the bachelor party, rehearsal dinner, wedding day, and honeymoon.

I feel terrible keeping my fans waiting, but life is hectic but great right now. For now, here is a picture of a giraffe.