Wednesday, September 5, 2012

one year later...

can anyone else not believe that we've been married (almost) a whole year already? can anyone else furthermore not believe that we've been expecting for 7 out of those 12 months?? does anyone else even think about either of those things? probably not; probably just us. nevertheless, it's all very mind-bottling (yes, bottling. haven't you seen "blades of glory"? sheesh). 

originally, bryan was supposed to be in hong kong for our actual anniversary, so we made hotel reservations at the fancy shmanchy gaylord at national harbor for the weekend of august 10th, one month before the big day. even though bryan's trip ended up getting indefinitely postponed, this turned out to be a good move, because who knew how much i would not feel like taking boat trips, hiking around old town alexandria, and not being within 15 steps of a bathroom at all times one month later while 8 months pregnant? (other women who have been pregnant before, that's who.) much better to do those things while you're still only 7 months. it just makes sense. 

anyway, we did do all those things, and a bit more, including (drumroll, please)... WATCHING CIRQUE DU SOLEIL PERFORMERS IN THE HOTEL LOBBY!


no joke. and if you think that's some swanky hotel entertainment, you should know that every saturday night they have a fireworks show over the harbor, which everyone watches through top-to-bottom windows of the lobby:


where else can you sit and watch circus performers in the middle of your hotel, then turn your chair around to watch a breathtaking fireworks display over the water while some very talented jazz musicians and a singer serenade you from a platform, all without having to get up or put down your cocktail? (don't answer that, i prefer to pretend the gaylord is the only place on earth where such magic takes place.) 

where was i... oh right, the next day... that looked something like this:





ta-da! our hotel!




this guy was amazing! his name is jamey turner and you should look him up. he's kinda a big deal...




here's to another year of wedded bliss... ;-)

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

holden beach 2012

we started this a few weeks ago and then, well, life happened in the meantime, as it often does. so this is all a bit overdue, but we can't let any more time go by without a (drumroll, please)... HOLDEN BEACH RECAP!!

the mcnichol fam has been making the annual pilgrimage to Holden Beach, NC for about 15 years now. the crowd always varies slightly from year to year, but the 2012 installment was especially unique because we had the whole Rosenthal clan along for the ride =).

bryan's folks rented a house around the corner from the Bassett beachfront home and between the two houses there ended up being a grand total of 16 of us (16 at once, anyway. Lisa made 17 but she left before my brothers arrived).

normally i'm someone who has a hard time with change, especially where annual traditions are concerned, but this year's trip was a change in the BEST kind of way.

for one thing, we had enough people for a guys-versus-girls game of beach volley ball, followed by some cornhole...


... skin boarding... (Papa Rosenthal would NOT give up on that thing. it was downright inspirational.)



personal favorite ;-)

crabbing...
(this photo was stolen from Bryan's sister's friend, Kathryn)

one night the girls all made homemade salsa and guacamole...


and then of course there were the good old Holden Beach traditions, like John's 24th birthday (the birthday part is tradition, anyway - the number tends to change every year)...


... post-dinner jam sessions...


... and general, all-around fun and togetherness =)













Vince and his friend, Grant.




John with his girlfriend, Sarah.



Bryan's brother Stephen and his girlfriend, Emily.



toes...



hats!






this magical week went by far too quickly and culminated in a beach photoshoot, courtesy of the brothers Rosenthal: