mikeandjess's Xanga

Friday, November 03, 2006

Fri, 03 Nov 2006 21:32:14 GMT

This past month has been very busy, but with lots of fun stuff!

At the beginning of October, we went to the Renaissance Festival with some friends...
Me, about to charge

Some pics of Mike and I dressed up

Courtney and I...

Then we went to Sugarloaf with the Somerville Family on a beautiful fall day.

Nana and Mom

Pretty Scenery

Fun Sisters

The next weekend, we traveled up to Westport, MA to see Grandpa and Grandma Kit. It was so nice to spend time with them and have a chance to get away with Mike.

Their home is right on the water...here is a picture of the view from the golf coarse a few minutes away

And a picture of Grandma and Grandpa:

We've also made a new friend this fall. We call him Fritz and feed him walnuts...he is a very happy chipmunk!

Finally, we went on the Care group Leader's retreat. I don't have pictures from that time, but it was so refreshing. The messages were helpful and we had such a wonderful time with our couple's care group. It's been a busy month!

Goodbye ... and Hello!

Mon, 21 Aug 2006 23:58:51 GMT

The Somerville Family is in the middle of changes ...

We had to say goodbye to an old, dear member of our family ... "Jaws". He (and it was definitely a "he") was a good car, and a faithful companion throughout our courtship and engagement. We drove off in him from our wedding ...

But all good things must come to an end. The villain is:

And so we must say goodbye to Jaws ...

And hello to our new friend! Any thoughts for a name?

Meese.

Sat, 29 Jul 2006 15:22:46 GMT

One of the highlights of our honeymoon was staying in Yellowstone. You see ... apart from stunning scenery, tranquil lakes, unbelievable volcanic activity, bacteria mats, and waterfalls, in Yellowstone, they have moose! I (Mike) really wanted to see a moose. But, I knew that moose are hard to find in Yellowstone. Aside from being the largest animals in Yellowstone, they are also the shyest. [aside: do you know what it's like to be a large shy animal? You're forever lurking in corners, hoping against hope that you'll be overlooked. And then, your antlers catch on the chandeliers ... sooo embarrassing!!!]

In Yellowstone, we had to eat (funny how things don't change), and the best place to eat was the Lake Yellowstone Lodge cafeteria. In addition to reasonably priced food, it featured Helen. Helen was a seasonal volunteer from Louisiana who shared my fondness for moose. One morning, over lunch ...

... we were discussing our moose dreams (e.g. too see a moose) with Helen, and she told us where we might find meese!!!

That evening, after a long day of lakes ...

... hot springs ...

... waterfalls ...

... geysers ...

... bacteria mats ...

... mud pots ...

... and canyons ...

... we were finally ready to go moose hunting!

The moment we got out of the car, we realized that this trail was teeming with wildlife! Unfortunately, the wildlife was predominantly mosquitos. Slapping and swatting, we made our way deeper and deeper into the woods, hiking about half a mile. But, except for the mosquitos and a photogenic chipmunk ...

... we did not see anything. Certainly, we saw no large, shy moose with their antlers stuck in chandeliers. <sigh> Then! as we rounded a corner! There, off in the meadow to the left, we saw him!

... and he was not alone!

We saw a whole moose family! The Meeses!

Tired, and mosquito-bitten, but triumphant, the mighty moose-hunting Somervilles returned to their hotel...

Monday, July 24, 2006

Mon, 24 Jul 2006 23:18:41 GMT

In honor of the R&A adventure ...

New Year's Eve 2005 (3am)

Random Care Group Shot

Much Ado About Nothing (1)

Much Ado About Nothing (2)

New Year's Eve 2006

What a fun ride thus far!!! Praying for you both,

Mike & Jessica

Monday, July 24, 2006

Mon, 24 Jul 2006 23:05:39 GMT

Married a month ... it rocks!

I'm getting married in the morning ... !!!

Fri, 23 Jun 2006 18:45:02 GMT

Ding, dong! The bells are gonna chime!!!

Hello all, at the kind insistence of my nearest and dearest (ow! Dad! the twisting is hurting the arm!) I wanted to take a moment to say WE'RE FINALLY GETTING MARRIED!

By this time tomorrow, Jessica will be Mrs. Michael Somerville. This is a very odd thought. This is a very wonderful thought, though! All I can say is that I agree with Scripture -- it is not good for the man to be alone.

While I have your attention, MANY THANKS to many of you readers for your investment in Jessica and I throughout our lives. Many of you are dear friends with whom we are so excited to be "doing life". Isn't it awesome to think that in the Plan of Redemption, God has prepared parts and scenes for us to play? As Jessica and I have been principal characters in this scene (Mike and Jessica's Wedding -- Take 1!), we have been so grateful for our supporting cast. It would be absolutely no fun to get married without family and friends there to witness the event.

Speaking of the event, for details, check out our wedding site. (note: we'll be taking this site down when we get back from the honeymoon.

In other news, please don't expect us to update this site very often ... you wouldn't want to know. Honestly, Jessica and I aren't really bloggers. When there's important news, we'll make sure to tell you! Love you all!

Arrivals and Departures

Mon, 01 May 2006 02:41:57 GMT

Life is very odd.

On Friday, Jess moved the first of her stuff into "my" -- soon to be "our" -- house. Unloading the white Jeep Grand Cherokee, I was struck by the true weirdness of what was happening. Jessica's stuff was moving in. For good. Not to leave. Not for temporary storage. And ... even more weird, she'd be coming soon, too. Again, for good. Not to leave. Odd.

It was so good to be able to share this moment with Jess. That's the nice thing about being engaged to your best friend! I said, "Jess, this is truly odd. Your stuff is moving in, and you're next." She said, "Yeah, I know. That's really weird." Then, we savored the strangeness. Wow. Good wow, but still, wow.

Today, Drew moved out. This is a milestone, since he was the first guy into the Launching Pad, and he's the last guy leaving. Almost two years, buddy!

Thanks for putting up with me, for just being around, and for loving people the way you do. I respect you so much for your care for others, and the way that you quietly, regularly, sacrificed for them. Thanks for modeling true friendship for me. Thanks for teaching me -- by your example -- what it looks like to be a friend. I'll miss you, bro!

Again, odd.

Commuter Vehicle

Tue, 18 Apr 2006 00:39:00 GMT

I have a new commuter vehicle.

Oh yes ... the sweetness! Jess and I had a great time picking it and fitting it out. Jess enjoyed getting a chance to decorate it!

Cherry Blossoms 2006

Sat, 25 Mar 2006 02:47:57 GMT

I took Thursday off. This was a good thing. Yes, I needed to get my midterm finished (and I did), but mostly, I just needed to spend some quality chillin' time with this woman.

... and of course, where better to do some serious chillin' than the Nation's Capital? How many seagulls can you find in this picture?

We said "hello" to Honest Abe ... now that is an impressive monument.

I did have to restrain Jess from one or two things ... I'm sure you'll understand what I mean ...

Oh yeah ... there were cherry blossoms, too ... an Asians. Lots of them. Cherry blossoms, I mean ...

All in all, a good time was had by us. Most of the time was spent just wandering and talking. Good times, good times ...

Just to keep Dave happy ...

Wed, 22 Mar 2006 20:51:52 GMT

I have decided to post some pictures from the last few months. There is no purpose for this; it just makes me happy.

Yes, this is an Alaska license plate! ... but, even cooler than that ... I work at a place that has a Hawaii license plate parked in the lot quite often. Sweetness!

Jess and I were hanging out at Lake Needwood, and saw a couple walking their Macaw parrot. Odd.

Dave DeCarlo should not tangle with the Marcantonites in a water fight!

Ok ... enough procrastination ... off to write my midterm for Systems Engineering