HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Well we got back VERY early this morning (2am) from the Dominican Republic. Well rested, tanned, and stomach in tack.

We got to the airport on Dec. 23rd in the afternoon to wait in an hour long check in line up. We passed the time away by getting to know the group we would be hanging out with for the next 7 days. The flight to the Dominican was straight through and went by pretty quickly. We arrived to a huge rain storm but no one seemed to care because it was so beautiful and warm. We hopped on the bus and made our way to the resort. Everyone got sorted into their rooms and met in the lobby. Ian's uncle and 3 cousins had been there for a couples days already so it was great to meet them and get the scoop on the resort. We started at the Disco and continued the night at the Beach including a dip in the ocean...

The next morning I slept in due to a little too much fun the night before. Everyone met at the pool and the entertainment began. Taryn played Bingo and won along with 3 other people and then Karl (aka. Mr. All Inclusive) was fortunate to be the judge of a (lap) dancing contest. Too funny! We continued into the afternoon and met for dinner...all 23 of us!

The next few days were much of the same. Breakfast, Beach, drinking, pool, lunch, pool, drinking, dinner, drinking, (are you seeing a pattern here?) night time fun...sometimes dancing sometimes just chillin'. Oh and let's not forget our super late night visits to the Hambergasa joint for some Jamon and Queso sandwiches and patatas!

The wedding was on the 27th of December at 5pm. What a beautiful day. The guys and gals spent most of the day seperated and started getting ready around 2 or 3pm. They had the ceremony in the gazebo while a huge crowd gathered to watch. It was a bit weird to see all these guests standing around in their bathing suits and towel but it was kinda neat too. Everyone was just so excited to see the bride and groom. The ceremony was super quick and was done in Spanish and English. After the ceremony was over they served champagne to celebrate. Ian and Taryn took off with the photographer to the beach for some photos. Everyone else gathered in the lobby for a drink while Matt and I set up the sound system at the restaurant. The reception was outside on the covered terrace. Before dinner we had speeches and then I sang. Dinner was awesome and I was so full by the time desert came around. We danced a little and shared a ton of laughs (especially watching Bella-Ian's niece) dance around. So cute! We headed to the Disco and got nice a sweaty before calling it a night.

Over all it was an amazing time. Everyone got along so well and we managed to stay together most of the time. That's always hard to do when you're in such a large group.

I'm so happy for Ian and Taryn, they are truely perfect for each other. Many years of good times ahead and hopefully a 5 year anniversary reunion back at the resort! To view all the pictures from our trip go to www.ianandtarynswedding.shutterfly.com and type in wedding when it asks for the password.

Here's to a new year full of exciting adventures!

Until next time...