Christmas in North Carolina

Beth and I had the opportunity this Christmas to drive cross-country to North Carolina to spend Christmas with Beth’s sister Claire and her husband Mark.  Their son Nathan had been born just days before we arrived.  It was awesome to get to see him as well as hang out with the whole Maranto family.  Due to the cold and snow we mostly hung out around the house, with a few outings to see Boone and a local cheese factory.  It really was a very relaxing trip for Beth and me (one we hope to repeat soon).  Here are some pictures from all the festivities.

Christmas Family Pic

Beth and Mary in the snow

Nathan and his Mom

Nathan and his Grandma

The Kolvites

Freezing pic on Mt. Jefferson

Settlers

Storytime with Nathan

Walcott's first sled ride

The whole

Wedding

Waiting in the Jackson airport waiting on my overbooked flight I decided I should catch up with the blog from this weekend.  I’ll try to remember what I can, but I’m sure Beth will correct some things, so maybe check back again for updates.

Friday morning we rode up to Starkville with my brother and met up with Andrea, Richard and their daughter Charlotte at Bulldog Deli.  The Deli (as we call it) it very important to Beth and I, above and beyond their awesome food.  This is where we had our first date back in December of 04 and also where we went to eat before getting engaged.  So needless to say we always try to eat there when we are lucky enough to make it back to State. The Cuban Panini is my personal favorite.

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We then walked around campus a bit to see some of the changes.  It’s amazing how much can change in just a few years.  There are new buildings and updated buildings, but overall the campus remains the same beautiful campus that I remember. The Chapel of Memories (below) is where I proposed to Beth and then below that is the Chemical Engineering building that I spent so much time in as an undergrad.

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Andrea, Richard and Charlotte also got a picture there as this was Richard and Charlotte’s first trip back to MSU.

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We then left for Columbus for me to pick up my tux and to get checked in to the hotel.  The rehersal and rehersal dinner were that night.  Beth and I had the pecan crusted catfish and an awesome dessert of creme brulee.  The night was a lot of fun with a hilarious slideshow and some pretty entertaining toasts as well (especially Allison’s mom’s for those of you who were there).

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The guys then hung out afterward at Allison’s family cabin in Sturgis.  It was great to get to catch up with some of them that I hadn’t seen in years.  The cabin was nice and perched on a grassy ridge with a small lake on either side surrounded by woods.  It was just the kind of landscape I have come to miss in Arizona.  We traveled back the next morning in time to change and get to the church for pictures.  The ceremony was nice and we ended the pictures amazingly quickly afterward.  We then took a bus over to the reception at a lodge about 20 minutes away.  It was extremely nice (a really cool venue) and the food was amazing.  There were crab cakes and a mashed potato bar with an awesome crawfish sauce just to name a few.  There was also a good local band that was a lot of fun to dance to.  I also got to catch up with some other fraternity brothers that came to the wedding.  The night was a lot of fun and the bus ride home was interesting to say the least.

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The next morning we got up for breakfast at the hotel and to see Andrea and Richard off.  Hopefully we’ll be heading up that way around Christmas and get to hang out with them again.

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We then headed back to Starkville to meet up with Farmer, Jenna, Begonia, Haylee and Stevie for a lunch at City Bagel (another of the restaurants that we always love to hit).  It was good to hang out with them, as, except for the absence of Grant, it was just like old times.  We also got to talk to Jenna and Haylee (Farmer and Begonia’s girlfriends, respectively) and get to know them better, which was nice since we really didn’t know them very much.

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Lastly, before heading back to Jackson we drove through the Cotton District, which was a great area to live at State (Beth lived there for a year) and had cool old houses and shops as well as a outdoor festival with numerous bands once a year.  This kind of architectural uniqueness is definitly missed in Tucson.  Tucson has its own, but I am still very partial to this style.

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For a few more pictures see the new addition of a Photos page (above).

Award Night

We travelled back to Mississippi for a wedding this weekend and were able to get back in town a little early to spend some time with my family.  Even though we had to leave the house at 3:30 this morning, it has been really nice to be able to be here.  My mom picked Beth and I up at the airport and we spent the afternoon with my nephew Owen.  It’s sad, but we have only been able to see him once (last Christmas) since he was born in April of last year.  It was a lot of fun to just hang out and play with him as we were able to really get to see some of his personality.  Owen is such a fun kid.  He just seems to find joy is all sorts of things and he just seems to want to get you to join in.  I do feel like that happy kids are such a reflection of the parents and the attitude they have toward their children. I hope that one day our children will have as much fun in our everyday life.  Here are a few pictures from the afternoon:

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Since we were here tonight, we were also able to go to an award banquet for my Dad.  He was named Engineer of the Year for the US Army Engineering Research and Development Center.  I was really glad to be able to be here for this and I know that he hates being the center of attention, but he deserves it.  Congrats Dad, you’ve really been an inspiration to me.

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