Until then I leave you with this.... Ah yes Kauai here we come!
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
New Wedding Update...
Yay we have everyone that we were responsible for booked!! We also have everyone's food orders in. We can't wait to see everyone. The day of the wedding is June 12, 2013 so if you are going do not plan to do a whole lot that day. There is info packets coming your way for the full timeline and information... but if you are like us and excited to explore everything and planning your excursions already, then block us off for that day. From 11-3 we will be at "The Wedding Venue" and after that we are planning to go off to other beaches in Kauai to take a few more pictures. Then everyone can go their own ways and do what they want until 9 PM where David and I have a fun surprise planned on the beach near the Sheraton! Can't wait! See you all very soon! More updates and info to come.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Project Thyroidectomy: Haiti Edition
So for most of you following and reading our blog, you know that I (Jai) just went to Haiti. I know some of you do not have a facebook so I wanted to share the link to the pictures for you all to look at!
To ask me if it was what I expected is a loaded question... I luckily did not go there with much of any expectations so it was a sensory overload trying to take it all in as we rode through the cities. We landed in Port-Au-Prince, which is the poorest city in our hemisphere. With a population of around 3.7 million, and 230,000 killed in the 2010 earthquake, unemployment is at an all time high. People are still living in the "tent cities" set up for them from all the global organizations that came to help after the disaster. Corruption, religion, and politics all run very gray here. Riding through the city I am really just too shocked at what I am looking at to let the fear that I should be feeling set in. People with machetes everywhere, cops with hand guns and assault weapons with fingers ready on the trigger... really a different world. The smell of course is overwhelming with the "meat district" being the most nauseating. They have raw, cut meat out in the open sitting on a wooden table for people to purchase. Now I live with David and can handle a lot of bad smells, but this almost made me lose my cookies. Anyways back to the poverty... now I think it needs to be understood ahead of time that these people, although they are living in conditions we wouldn't let rabid animals or our worst enemies live in, they for the most part have no idea what could be possible. They are all busy living, life is fast and vibrant here, for them this is "the dream".... and they, unlike some of us, are busy LIVING IT!
Sanitation is of course non-existent. When you are a germaphobe this is not ideal. We did come up with the unofficial country motto... "When in doubt, whip it out!" These people would seriously just drop trow and go wherever they were and no matter how many people were around. Which makes me wonder what all "dust" we were actually breathing in! We would also see older women and kids naked taking baths on the side of the road in a watering hole for any old person to see. Anyways back to the sanitation since there is no formal system, trash is thrown everywhere. They burn plastic, and streets and ditches are lined with garbage. The stagnant water in the streets are a filmy, whitish mess that is foul smelling and full of mosquitoes. Livestock roams the streets, goats are tied to rocks in the middle of no-where without person in sight... it's an everyone knows that's so-and-so's goat kind of deal. Huge swine fill the ditches eating whatever other people have already picked over. People rummage through trash looking for something they can eat, use, or wear. Now you would think man they should just start a government ran organized system of handling waste products... yeah... no. The way it works in Haiti is everything has to be their idea, no matter how good the idea is and funding given from other countries the answer is no they will figure it out themselves. Which by the way they are not figuring it out because they like to overthrow their governmental heads and have mini "manifestations", or uprisings, in the streets.
Deforestation is another very big issue in Haiti. They have literally raped their mountains of beautiful vegetation to make their form of coal to be able to cook their food and to give them light at night. It's sad but at the same time they need to eat, and it truly is the big money maker here. Hideous concrete masses block out the beauty of the ocean that surrounds this poverty-stricken country. Looking at the view and thinking of home this would be prime multi-million dollar real estate, but here it is sprinkled with garbage and surrounded by bad smells and even worse scenery. The beauty here is under so much resignation. It is sad. I wish I could have taken a video of the driving here. To explain it is one thing but to see it is completely different. They have suggested sides you should drive on but that doesn't necessarily happen, the many motorcycles weave in and out of traffic and we saw up to 4 people on one dirt bike. Shockingly to me there would even be babies in the middle of two or three adults on the bike! This made me a nervous wreck! From Port-Au-Prince it took us 2.5 hours to drive 18 miles to Leogane. Trying to capture every image you desire is really just impossible. I had neck cramps and eye strain just trying to take in everything I was seeing.
Elderly are rare to see but they exist. The life expectancy is 62 with a median age of 21, excess mortality is due to HIV/AIDS with approximately 120,000 people currently living with these diseases. They also have a high infant mortality rate at 52/1000 births resulting in mortality. 19% of the children under 5 are underweight. On a similar note cats are rare to see here because they get eaten! On the patient charts they have estimated ages because many of them are not sure of how old they are. Prenatal care is rare but there are many organizations that go to Haiti and volunteer strictly just for OB to help these women get the care they need, and to better the unborn child and mothers chances of surviving post-partum. Finally arriving at the hospital it is almost dark and the streets of Haiti at night is literally the last place in the world I want to be. I would rather roam the dark alleyways of Detroit or Memphis than be out or stranded anywhere in Haiti. Arrival at the hospital was... shocking to say the least. First off you should know there are huge concrete walls that surround it with barbed wire, sort of like a prison... but then again I have also never been so happy to see tall barbed wire walls in all of my life (oh and to be inside them)! For the record for all of you health care complainers out there (and I was one), we really have absolutely nothing to complain about. This was our first night arriving and I am going to be honest I almost broke down and cried and was seriously asking myself what have I gotten into. I now look back and know this was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life. I needed this and these people needed us. We are so spoiled in America and tend to focus too much on me, me, me and not enough on those in need!
First night done and woke up to roosters it was pretty cool. We did not have any surgeries planned for Sunday so we had a little "field trip" planned to go to Jacmel. The ride there was beautiful and I had no idea how mountainous Haiti was. Jacmel is a complete polar opposite from Port-Au-Prince and I am so glad I got to see it. Still poverty but beautiful and cleaner. The whole city was gearing up for Haitian Defile Kanaval, which is their version of Mardi Gras. There were bands, music, costume rehearsals in the streets, stadiums being built, and very elaborate artwork throughout the city. Day two of this trip I had already taken 210 pictures... note to self: more conditioner and more memory cards. Side note if you take pictures of Haitians they want money for it so I had to do the pictures in stealth mode. We stopped off in a beach in Jacmel, which was beautiful it actually reminded me a little of the other side of the island (Dominican Republic). Here I tried coconut milk straight from a coconut and I did not enjoy it. I tried some fresh caught grilled mongoose (which is what they call lobster) and it was spicy and pretty alright! Today was church and on our ride back we saw all the ladies dressed so pretty in their nicest clothes. In spite of all the filth these girls can get their whites blindingly white... I need their secret!
Finally surgery... what we're here to do. We were here to take out thyroids. The Haitians have a problem developing big thyroid goiters, for the most part because they lack iodine. Here in America we get it from our iodized salt, and there you would think they would get it from seafood but unfortunately many cannot afford this food, or lack the resources to go out and catch it. For those that don't work in surgery some of this might be difficult to understand, but here we go. They have flies in the OR, back home when we saw a fly we had to call a manager, someone calls her manager, we're required to break down our case, kill the fly, go re-set up the case and start all over. Why all this over a fly... well if the fly lands on any of our sterile material or God-forbid an open wound all hell could reap havoc on the patient's body. But here eh it's a fly, it happens. Like I said night and day from the US. My instruments we washed off in the same sink we washed our hands in for surgery, but hey when life gives you lemons... you deal. At home when the case is over we rip off our surgical attire and throw it away, here if that gown's not too bloody they want it back to autoclave for the next case. Crazy/unheard of and even harder to give into because it goes against everything that is right and safe back home. However if we didn't do it we were looked at like wasteful Americans. Hopefully someday some sort of JACHO will get in there and clean'er up. Another crazy practice here, the next person waiting for surgery sits right outside the OR in their gowns waiting, where they can see the other surgeries going on.... you know just waiting and watching surgery (no big deal) HA! Going to visit our patients post op was very different too. There are up to 10 people per room recovering, with flies and mosquitoes flying around everywhere. The next day Dr. Roe and I went and checked on our Thyroidectomy patient and she was doing great and was so grateful which made it all worth it, and it was so nice to see that they are happy that we are here.
Wednesday is another field trip day since the surgeon Dr. Roe was training was scheduled to do surgery across town with other doctors. This was my favorite field trip. We went to Petite-Riviere-de-Nippes and Miragoane. We visited a well-oiled medical clinic which was beautifully landscaped, and again barbed and gated. The clinic is about to build OR's and if they do I told Dr. Roe I would actually go back there because they have TV, A/C, and you can sit outside and play with goats! At the clinic they have an area outside where the patients wait to be seen, they have a computer filing system, and nice rooms and equipment to see patients. After this we went to visit a school that Dr. Young, the anesthesiologist that went with us, has helped get up and running. This school holds all grades and lets the children stay until they finish, up to the age of 23, if it takes them longer than that they have to be transferred to a different school. The children were adorable and all uniformed. Next stop lunch.... After lunch at a hotel and my first time trying Guinea hen (not terrible), we went to a Catholic church that had suffered destruction from the earthquake. You could tell this place was amazing prior to. Funny story while we were waiting to get into the church we ran into our first thyroid patient where Dr. Roe saw her post-follow up in the streets and took her bandage off and asked her how she felt... which was fine, then she got on the back of a motorcycle and rode off home... WILD! If that was me I would still be on the couch whining to David to please bring me a milkshake, pain medication, and a back massage. If I said it once I will say it a thousand times these women are hardcore. Their pain tolerance is impressive.
Thursday and Friday were jammed packed with back to back surgeries with barely time for food, which is fine I didn't eat much of anything presented to me anyways. We got finished around 6:30 Friday and our last case developed a huge hematoma waking up from anesthesia. She had to be re-intubated before her airway collapsed from the blood. Roe and I got in there, check everything out and nothing but clots to scoop and suction out, no active bleeders. Roe blamed it on the rest of the group members that visited the voodoo guy that morning (we didn't go but definitely had to clean up the damage) haha. We checked on her before leaving Saturday and she was great, could talk, no hoarseness or any complaints... thank God! Side note: while the others was at the voodoo place they saw a dead body in full rigamortous there. The widow could not afford a proper burial and she took him to the voodoo man who will take care of the body.... not sure how... I don't believe anyone had the gumption to ask. Finally after a week we gather up enough courage to venture out at night with our trusted Haitian driver and visited an amazing French chef's restaurant in the middle of nowhere (I mean we literally drove over a creek and through a field to get there). I have no idea how he stays in business but the food was amazing. Three courses, one with red wine, one with white wine, then it ended with coffee and ice cream. Delicious! Probably the most calories I consumed collectively while I was there. On the way back to the hospital I realize just how incredibly dark Haiti is. There is not copious amounts of light pollution that we are used to... the night is NIGHT!! So dark my eyes were working in overtime.
While we were here we stayed in Leogane, and one of the problems they are having here is lymphatic Filariasis which is spread from person to person by mosquitoes. People with the disease can suffer from lymphedema and elephantiasis and in men, swelling of the scrotum, also known as a hydrocele. There was a Urologist from Notre Dame that was there while we were who took care of about 25 hydocele patients. I know there is so much more that I probably should talk about but that is all that is coming to me at the moment. There is a link to the pictures on facebook where you can see all the pictures. Warning: some are graphic (surgeries, nudity) sorry ahead of time but I thought it was important to document all that I could.
Overall I am so glad that I went on this trip. There are some really great people in Haiti that I got to meet and there are a lot of programs being set up and going on to help the Haitian people provide a brighter future for themselves and others. There are amazing parts of this country and I am so glad I got to see both the good and the bad. These people are rising up from a terrible catastrophe that has struck their nation and it is going to take time, money, and a whole lot of volunteers to help them rise up. Whether church or medical I totally recommend going if you get the chance on one of these trips. This was a really rewarding experience for me and we got to help people that really needed it, it also helped me realize how fortunate we truly are. So back on day one I questioned what I had gotten myself into.... well on day seven I knew two things: 1. I needed this trip and 2. I wouldn't trade this experience for anything in the world.
Thank you for reading.
To ask me if it was what I expected is a loaded question... I luckily did not go there with much of any expectations so it was a sensory overload trying to take it all in as we rode through the cities. We landed in Port-Au-Prince, which is the poorest city in our hemisphere. With a population of around 3.7 million, and 230,000 killed in the 2010 earthquake, unemployment is at an all time high. People are still living in the "tent cities" set up for them from all the global organizations that came to help after the disaster. Corruption, religion, and politics all run very gray here. Riding through the city I am really just too shocked at what I am looking at to let the fear that I should be feeling set in. People with machetes everywhere, cops with hand guns and assault weapons with fingers ready on the trigger... really a different world. The smell of course is overwhelming with the "meat district" being the most nauseating. They have raw, cut meat out in the open sitting on a wooden table for people to purchase. Now I live with David and can handle a lot of bad smells, but this almost made me lose my cookies. Anyways back to the poverty... now I think it needs to be understood ahead of time that these people, although they are living in conditions we wouldn't let rabid animals or our worst enemies live in, they for the most part have no idea what could be possible. They are all busy living, life is fast and vibrant here, for them this is "the dream".... and they, unlike some of us, are busy LIVING IT!
Sanitation is of course non-existent. When you are a germaphobe this is not ideal. We did come up with the unofficial country motto... "When in doubt, whip it out!" These people would seriously just drop trow and go wherever they were and no matter how many people were around. Which makes me wonder what all "dust" we were actually breathing in! We would also see older women and kids naked taking baths on the side of the road in a watering hole for any old person to see. Anyways back to the sanitation since there is no formal system, trash is thrown everywhere. They burn plastic, and streets and ditches are lined with garbage. The stagnant water in the streets are a filmy, whitish mess that is foul smelling and full of mosquitoes. Livestock roams the streets, goats are tied to rocks in the middle of no-where without person in sight... it's an everyone knows that's so-and-so's goat kind of deal. Huge swine fill the ditches eating whatever other people have already picked over. People rummage through trash looking for something they can eat, use, or wear. Now you would think man they should just start a government ran organized system of handling waste products... yeah... no. The way it works in Haiti is everything has to be their idea, no matter how good the idea is and funding given from other countries the answer is no they will figure it out themselves. Which by the way they are not figuring it out because they like to overthrow their governmental heads and have mini "manifestations", or uprisings, in the streets.
Deforestation is another very big issue in Haiti. They have literally raped their mountains of beautiful vegetation to make their form of coal to be able to cook their food and to give them light at night. It's sad but at the same time they need to eat, and it truly is the big money maker here. Hideous concrete masses block out the beauty of the ocean that surrounds this poverty-stricken country. Looking at the view and thinking of home this would be prime multi-million dollar real estate, but here it is sprinkled with garbage and surrounded by bad smells and even worse scenery. The beauty here is under so much resignation. It is sad. I wish I could have taken a video of the driving here. To explain it is one thing but to see it is completely different. They have suggested sides you should drive on but that doesn't necessarily happen, the many motorcycles weave in and out of traffic and we saw up to 4 people on one dirt bike. Shockingly to me there would even be babies in the middle of two or three adults on the bike! This made me a nervous wreck! From Port-Au-Prince it took us 2.5 hours to drive 18 miles to Leogane. Trying to capture every image you desire is really just impossible. I had neck cramps and eye strain just trying to take in everything I was seeing.
Elderly are rare to see but they exist. The life expectancy is 62 with a median age of 21, excess mortality is due to HIV/AIDS with approximately 120,000 people currently living with these diseases. They also have a high infant mortality rate at 52/1000 births resulting in mortality. 19% of the children under 5 are underweight. On a similar note cats are rare to see here because they get eaten! On the patient charts they have estimated ages because many of them are not sure of how old they are. Prenatal care is rare but there are many organizations that go to Haiti and volunteer strictly just for OB to help these women get the care they need, and to better the unborn child and mothers chances of surviving post-partum. Finally arriving at the hospital it is almost dark and the streets of Haiti at night is literally the last place in the world I want to be. I would rather roam the dark alleyways of Detroit or Memphis than be out or stranded anywhere in Haiti. Arrival at the hospital was... shocking to say the least. First off you should know there are huge concrete walls that surround it with barbed wire, sort of like a prison... but then again I have also never been so happy to see tall barbed wire walls in all of my life (oh and to be inside them)! For the record for all of you health care complainers out there (and I was one), we really have absolutely nothing to complain about. This was our first night arriving and I am going to be honest I almost broke down and cried and was seriously asking myself what have I gotten into. I now look back and know this was one of the best decisions I have ever made in my life. I needed this and these people needed us. We are so spoiled in America and tend to focus too much on me, me, me and not enough on those in need!
First night done and woke up to roosters it was pretty cool. We did not have any surgeries planned for Sunday so we had a little "field trip" planned to go to Jacmel. The ride there was beautiful and I had no idea how mountainous Haiti was. Jacmel is a complete polar opposite from Port-Au-Prince and I am so glad I got to see it. Still poverty but beautiful and cleaner. The whole city was gearing up for Haitian Defile Kanaval, which is their version of Mardi Gras. There were bands, music, costume rehearsals in the streets, stadiums being built, and very elaborate artwork throughout the city. Day two of this trip I had already taken 210 pictures... note to self: more conditioner and more memory cards. Side note if you take pictures of Haitians they want money for it so I had to do the pictures in stealth mode. We stopped off in a beach in Jacmel, which was beautiful it actually reminded me a little of the other side of the island (Dominican Republic). Here I tried coconut milk straight from a coconut and I did not enjoy it. I tried some fresh caught grilled mongoose (which is what they call lobster) and it was spicy and pretty alright! Today was church and on our ride back we saw all the ladies dressed so pretty in their nicest clothes. In spite of all the filth these girls can get their whites blindingly white... I need their secret!
Finally surgery... what we're here to do. We were here to take out thyroids. The Haitians have a problem developing big thyroid goiters, for the most part because they lack iodine. Here in America we get it from our iodized salt, and there you would think they would get it from seafood but unfortunately many cannot afford this food, or lack the resources to go out and catch it. For those that don't work in surgery some of this might be difficult to understand, but here we go. They have flies in the OR, back home when we saw a fly we had to call a manager, someone calls her manager, we're required to break down our case, kill the fly, go re-set up the case and start all over. Why all this over a fly... well if the fly lands on any of our sterile material or God-forbid an open wound all hell could reap havoc on the patient's body. But here eh it's a fly, it happens. Like I said night and day from the US. My instruments we washed off in the same sink we washed our hands in for surgery, but hey when life gives you lemons... you deal. At home when the case is over we rip off our surgical attire and throw it away, here if that gown's not too bloody they want it back to autoclave for the next case. Crazy/unheard of and even harder to give into because it goes against everything that is right and safe back home. However if we didn't do it we were looked at like wasteful Americans. Hopefully someday some sort of JACHO will get in there and clean'er up. Another crazy practice here, the next person waiting for surgery sits right outside the OR in their gowns waiting, where they can see the other surgeries going on.... you know just waiting and watching surgery (no big deal) HA! Going to visit our patients post op was very different too. There are up to 10 people per room recovering, with flies and mosquitoes flying around everywhere. The next day Dr. Roe and I went and checked on our Thyroidectomy patient and she was doing great and was so grateful which made it all worth it, and it was so nice to see that they are happy that we are here.
Wednesday is another field trip day since the surgeon Dr. Roe was training was scheduled to do surgery across town with other doctors. This was my favorite field trip. We went to Petite-Riviere-de-Nippes and Miragoane. We visited a well-oiled medical clinic which was beautifully landscaped, and again barbed and gated. The clinic is about to build OR's and if they do I told Dr. Roe I would actually go back there because they have TV, A/C, and you can sit outside and play with goats! At the clinic they have an area outside where the patients wait to be seen, they have a computer filing system, and nice rooms and equipment to see patients. After this we went to visit a school that Dr. Young, the anesthesiologist that went with us, has helped get up and running. This school holds all grades and lets the children stay until they finish, up to the age of 23, if it takes them longer than that they have to be transferred to a different school. The children were adorable and all uniformed. Next stop lunch.... After lunch at a hotel and my first time trying Guinea hen (not terrible), we went to a Catholic church that had suffered destruction from the earthquake. You could tell this place was amazing prior to. Funny story while we were waiting to get into the church we ran into our first thyroid patient where Dr. Roe saw her post-follow up in the streets and took her bandage off and asked her how she felt... which was fine, then she got on the back of a motorcycle and rode off home... WILD! If that was me I would still be on the couch whining to David to please bring me a milkshake, pain medication, and a back massage. If I said it once I will say it a thousand times these women are hardcore. Their pain tolerance is impressive.
Thursday and Friday were jammed packed with back to back surgeries with barely time for food, which is fine I didn't eat much of anything presented to me anyways. We got finished around 6:30 Friday and our last case developed a huge hematoma waking up from anesthesia. She had to be re-intubated before her airway collapsed from the blood. Roe and I got in there, check everything out and nothing but clots to scoop and suction out, no active bleeders. Roe blamed it on the rest of the group members that visited the voodoo guy that morning (we didn't go but definitely had to clean up the damage) haha. We checked on her before leaving Saturday and she was great, could talk, no hoarseness or any complaints... thank God! Side note: while the others was at the voodoo place they saw a dead body in full rigamortous there. The widow could not afford a proper burial and she took him to the voodoo man who will take care of the body.... not sure how... I don't believe anyone had the gumption to ask. Finally after a week we gather up enough courage to venture out at night with our trusted Haitian driver and visited an amazing French chef's restaurant in the middle of nowhere (I mean we literally drove over a creek and through a field to get there). I have no idea how he stays in business but the food was amazing. Three courses, one with red wine, one with white wine, then it ended with coffee and ice cream. Delicious! Probably the most calories I consumed collectively while I was there. On the way back to the hospital I realize just how incredibly dark Haiti is. There is not copious amounts of light pollution that we are used to... the night is NIGHT!! So dark my eyes were working in overtime.
While we were here we stayed in Leogane, and one of the problems they are having here is lymphatic Filariasis which is spread from person to person by mosquitoes. People with the disease can suffer from lymphedema and elephantiasis and in men, swelling of the scrotum, also known as a hydrocele. There was a Urologist from Notre Dame that was there while we were who took care of about 25 hydocele patients. I know there is so much more that I probably should talk about but that is all that is coming to me at the moment. There is a link to the pictures on facebook where you can see all the pictures. Warning: some are graphic (surgeries, nudity) sorry ahead of time but I thought it was important to document all that I could.
Overall I am so glad that I went on this trip. There are some really great people in Haiti that I got to meet and there are a lot of programs being set up and going on to help the Haitian people provide a brighter future for themselves and others. There are amazing parts of this country and I am so glad I got to see both the good and the bad. These people are rising up from a terrible catastrophe that has struck their nation and it is going to take time, money, and a whole lot of volunteers to help them rise up. Whether church or medical I totally recommend going if you get the chance on one of these trips. This was a really rewarding experience for me and we got to help people that really needed it, it also helped me realize how fortunate we truly are. So back on day one I questioned what I had gotten myself into.... well on day seven I knew two things: 1. I needed this trip and 2. I wouldn't trade this experience for anything in the world.
Thank you for reading.
Here is the link to the pictures:
Monday, January 14, 2013
Wedding info....
Ok partiers this is what we have so far. June 8- June 15 at the Sheraton in Kauai, Hawaii. We are going to try to have the wedding the 11th but that is a Hawaiian holiday so it might be the 12th. We will let you know more when we get it firmed up. If you have any more questions email me at: Jailynsey@gmail.com
If you can afford it, you're invited. We are keeping the wedding super small though. We totally understand if you cannot make it...... We will come back and throw a party for all to enjoy!
We will let you know more as soon as we do, have a blessed day!
If you can afford it, you're invited. We are keeping the wedding super small though. We totally understand if you cannot make it...... We will come back and throw a party for all to enjoy!
We will let you know more as soon as we do, have a blessed day!
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Summertime & the living's easy....
Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
Our second get-away and really our first vacation was in May during my summer break. (If you can't tell my/I/me=Jai... I will probably be writing 99% of these updates.) Anyways getting the old passport stamped is always a good time! The resort was beautiful and the seafood was so fresh, and each and every meal was... well simply put some of the best food we had ever had. The whole staff and all the locals were extremely friendly to us and so helpful in recommending places to go and ensuring we get there on time and safely. After a day on the resort we determined we needed to rent a golf cart for ourselves... expensive but so worth it, we explored every inch of that place! We stayed at the Punta Cana Resort which is a very nice gated area with several resorts, restaurants, and a golf course to check out.
Our own little piece of heaven - Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
While on this trip David took me snorkeling.... which was the first time I had ever been, and it was so beautiful and amazing! We had a terrific guide! It was a private tour with just us and the guides which made it even more hands on. The guide caught a sea urchin and let us hold him (like a porcupine but he didn't hurt us), and he gave me a very beautiful shell while we were snorkeling David was a pro... me well let's just say I will rock it next time now that I know how everything goes down.
That week we also went on a off-roading Segway tour (yes with jungle tires and everything), and hiked back to a 25 foot deep, fresh water lagoon. This was amazing... hiking into the rain forest was so neat and the guide knew so much about the land and showed our group poisonous trees and how some areas have deteriorated over time. At the end of our hike in we came to the lagoon where a single duck calls home, and the guides are friendly with him by bringing him food. The crystal clear water was so amazing, and although it looked shallow and like you could touch the bottom, the water was actually 25-feet deep! The water was cold but it was so amazing and such a great experience. Along the tour we were also taken to a private beach area where we could relax and take a quick dip. This is where we had photographers with us the whole time taking pictures, so if you were wondering where our super corny beach pictures came from.... well it was here.
The Lagoon - Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
We went swimming in the ocean and had a few of those umbrella drinks that are totally required in this type of environment. ;-) The picture up top shows you our own little private area that we occupied before everyone else, and laid in the sun. While we were in the ocean one day all of these tropical fish came up to us and we actually played with them. I know this sounds crazy but it was so cool. Every time we would sit in the water and stir up the sand they would swim around in it (we think they were eating something in it). They hung out with us for a very long time. I have to say overall we thoroughly enjoyed the whole trip, and would recommend it to anyone thinking of going. We went in mid-May which is still off season.... the privacy and romance was well worth it!
Umbrella drinks - Punta Cana, Dominican Republic
... From the Dominican we flew into Atlanta for one night, then woke up and headed straight to Branson, MO... time for me to meet the sisters!
Memorial Day Weekend in Branson, Missouri
This was the first time I had ever been to Missouri and the first time I got to meet David's sisters and their families. I do love the mountain scenery in Branson! David and I flew into Branson with John Schilling, David's brother-in-law's brother (whatever he's family in my book) so interrogations started early. Just kidding the flight was great with the exception of me slamming my head into the overhead luggage compartments in front of the whole plane, and John not getting a bottle of vodka that the flight attendant forgot to give him and then interrogated him like he gave it to some kid hiding out under the seats.... but other than John and I being hot messes, it was a flawless flight. ;)
That weekend I got to meet everyone and they have been so nice and accepting towards me since. I am truly happy and blessed to be marrying into a family like David's, and that they actually like me (or at least I think they do).... haha.
John, Me, & David - Branson, Missouri
.....Also during this past summer David met my family and they all absolutely love him as much as I do! A couple of them give him a hard time for being a "Yankee" (yes they know Missouri is a Mid-western state, but you know us southerners if you from anywhere but Georgia you're a damn Yankee). Just kidding. We also went to my cousin Christy and Tyler's wedding where he got to meet more of my extended family. During the week of the fourth of July we stayed in the Isle of Palms and Charleston, South Carolina with friends. This was the first time either of us had been to Charleston and we fell in love. Pretty sure we both said we would love to live there but then would probably grow to hate the tourist ha ha. While we were there we watched the fire works on the beach, did some shopping, ate some more really awesome food, and toured The Middleton Place which was an old rice plantation (you must check it out). I'm telling you now if I wanted a real deal wedding with 487654687 people it would totally be at this place!!! It was so beautiful! Anyways I do believe that wraps up our summer!
The Middleton Place - Charleston, South Carolina
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Our first trip!
Nashville
The first trip David and I ever went on together was Nashville, Tennessee in March during my spring break. Granted it's not far from good ole' Chattanooga, but it was still new scenery and even better company. We were suppose to go to a Predators Hockey game but we never made it.. instead we went exploring the main strip and all the bars, music holes, and quirky shops. Now if you haven't ever been to Nashville, which we both already had, then you should know it is a city that never sleeps and it has an over abundance of music coming from every which way so bored we were not. That weekend we also went to a comedy show at Zanies where David won a free DVD! He thought I was a crazy girl putting our names in but he won, so who's the crazy one now! (Spoiler Alert: It's still me.) David also took me to The Gaylord Opryland Hotel, and if you haven't been here then you should definitely go. I was blown away, it is so beautiful! We also drove pretty far out in the beautiful countryside to the Loveless Cafe that I had heard so much about, and the food was amazing! We also had MOONSHINE (for me it was a first)!
Soooo.... first trip and I was still convinced he was the one! Side note after David and I went on our second date I called my mom and my aunt and told them that I had met the man I was going to marry... they too thought I was just an infatuated school girl but BAM!!! I WAS RIGHT! Haha. Seriously though have you met David?! How could you not fall head over heels for him?! He is one of the sweetest, most sincere guys I have ever met! I am so thankful I am blessed with him in my life. He's going to kill me for posting this mushy-ness on here, but oh well. ;)
This was inside The Opryland Hotel
Thursday, December 20, 2012
We're still here!
We haven't forgotten...
Sorry we have so much to write and send out, but life has been super hectic lately. Between school ending and my final exam, then my Grandfather passed away, and not to mention all the holiday travel and shuffling around.... Anyways currently, we are getting ready for the Christmas holiday and planning the wedding. The wedding is constantly evolving ha! One thing is for sure we can announce we have chosen the week of June 8- June 15 in Kauai, HI. Still nailing down where it will be and the exact date of the exchanging of vows.
Soooo with all that being said you can see why we have been a little absent from the blog but don't worry we are about to bombard you all with updates... from our first trip together, up to the engagement itself. (That is if I can ever get David to write his side of what all went down). :-)
On another note can everyone reading send me your address if you want our engagement announcements. Thanks!
Jailynsey@gmail.com
Friday, November 30, 2012
Why Oh Why....
So we opted for a blog instead of a wedding website... why would we torture ourselves with more work you ask? Easy because we wanted something that would keep going after the wedding festivities were finished. You see David and I live in the great state of Tennessee (10-eye-see). David's family and friends are scattered all over the place... (Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Florida, Canada, Texas... really the list goes on and on). Jai's family and friends live further away from us as well (Georgia, North Carolina, Florida... yeah that's pretty much it).
SO as you can see we wanted to keep the ones we care about most but we don't get to see as much as we would like updated on all the crazy, fun, important moments that occur in our lives.
Since we were suppose to let our subscribing audience know what the basis of this blog was about first (ooops)... we figured we would tack it on now. So this blog is about us and silly things we may want to write about and share with you guys!
Phew now that's out of the way here's a funny video.
The real us.....
SO as you can see we wanted to keep the ones we care about most but we don't get to see as much as we would like updated on all the crazy, fun, important moments that occur in our lives.
Since we were suppose to let our subscribing audience know what the basis of this blog was about first (ooops)... we figured we would tack it on now. So this blog is about us and silly things we may want to write about and share with you guys!
Phew now that's out of the way here's a funny video.
The real us.....
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