The Honeymooners

Hello folks,

A lot of people ask us where we're going on our honeymoon.  The answer is (drumroll please)... the beautiful (so I've heard) island of Kauai, Hawai'i!



Why Kauai, as opposed to say, Arkansas?  Oh, I don't know.



But yes, thanks to a very generous donation of a timeshare week by a certain Father of the Groom (FOTG), we were able to scrape together two plane tickets to the 49th state a week after the wedding.  I, for one, have given repeated notice to my employer that upon departure, I will be ABSOLUTELY UNAVAILABLE until my return 10 days later.

And what will we do for 10 days?  I plan to be very aggressive in my wearing of aloha shirts, which should not come as a surprise.  I also plan to be very aggressive in lying on a beach with a tropical drink featuring a tiny umbrella, and I plan to be reaching for said drink just as soon as I finish my morning cup of Kona coffee.  Maybe a suckling pig can be procured?  Apart from that, I believe there are plans to take a few surfing lessons, which if all goes according to plan, will be but the precursor to quitting our jobs and becoming professional surfers, where "work" will require us to travel to Tahitian beaches.

We are also planning on hiking the Kalalau Trail, a 22 mile round trip jaunt along the Na Pali coast to Kalalau Beach.  Given the length and nature of the trail, this is going to be an overnight affair, and I think, the first overnight backpacking that either of us has ever done.  So that is pretty exciting, as the two of us share a great love for the outdoors, camping, and overall adventuring (see Great Divide blog).  I must say that as of right now, the Kalalau Trail is what I am most looking forward to.  Do you want to help us traverse the Hawaiian cliffs and back again?  Check out our sweet REI gift registry, where you can help us do just that!  We are planning a bunch of gnarly adventures in the next few years, so anything off this list would be an awesome wedding gift, if you're into giving gifts!  And if not, that's cool too!

What else will we do?  Probably a whole lot of nothing.  I do recall the phrase "rent mountain bikes" has come up in conversation, and I know there is somewhere an artfully prepared piece of mahi mahi waiting for me to eat it.  Cruise around in our rental jeep?*  The last day we're hopping an early morning flight to Honolulu to check out Waikiki and all that other fun stuff, so I guess we'll do that too!

According to the FOTG, Kauai is also infested with wild chickens, so maybe we'll hang out with them?

So yes, does this answer people's questions about the customary post-wedding trip commonly known as a "honeymoon"?  If you have any other questions, comments, or concerns, drop us a line at aaron.kate.lifetimecontract@gmail.com.


*Are you sick of buying people "stuff" for their weddings?  Does consumer culture just chap you out?  Check out our travel registry, where you can rid yourself of the slick commercialism and "stuff" that so clutters modern America, and help us share in some experiences instead!

Captain's Log: Entry 1

Editor's Note: Today's post has been provided by Jasper, the sometimes sour/sometimes sweet, cat that also lives in our house. He insisted. 

Captain's Log: Entry 1

Hello. This is the cat, contacting you for the first time from the inside. I have been held captive in this location for 284 days now, though I have been forced to share my living space with the female human for 803 days. The newer living arrangements are indeed an improvement-- there are more and larger windows for me to stalk the prey outside the home, there are more hiding spaces, and there is an intricate underground tunnel system that goes into each room of the house. The humans call this the "the furnace duct system." Though I generally find them quite stupid, their attempt at code to keep me from using the underground tunnel is cute. Stupid, but cute.

The male human, he is also new. I saw him once in a while around the smaller space the female and I once shared, but now I see him every day. Overall, he is extremely unfriendly, which makes it difficult to lure him in to any of my traps, particularly the ones in which I appear to open for and interested in being pet and then promptly attack any hand within a 5 foot radius. Since moving in, I have launched comprehensive psychological warfare against him. Successfully completed attacks include, but are not limited to: scratching the brand new rug he bought... every single day, sitting at the dinner table like a guest during meal time, and announcing my entry into or exit from every room with a loud, high pitch, tuneless cry. 

The female human is an excellent pawn, and it is perhaps the perceived friendship between the two of us that aids me most in my efforts to gain complete control over the goings-on of the dwelling. Through this strategic partnership, I have more than once seen their computer files by simply jumping into her lap and purring briefly. Really, they are so stupid.

Shortly after we overtook the larger dwelling, the humans allowed our quarters to be infiltrated by a rather large critter. Though they continue to call it "dog," I am sure I have seen pictures of this animal before-- long, sleek, tall and tan, runs fast. Yes, this is not a "dog," but rather a deer. Distant relatives of mine, like the puma, hunt critters like this all the time. I have committed to carrying on the legacy of my ancestors. The dog, who is also quite stupid, often leaves large comfortable beds unoccupied, which I have now added to my empire. Though he can run fast, he lacks any agility and is utterly useless when it comes to getting behind or under any of the furniture due to his rather obstructive size. I am always sure to get away from his half-hearted attempts at chasing me.

The humans are planning this event they call a "wedding." I do not understand much about it, other than I was not invited and will seek revenge on them for that when the time is least convenient. I gave them just a taste of what is to come when I chewed through the corner of approximately 20 invitations and then shredded a burlap bag the female was going to use for decorations. You see burlap bag turned table mat, I see thousands of tiny strings waiting to be unleashed. And then swallowed, resulting in a potential medical emergency which will require that they female fawn over me for days, telling me what a "poor kitty" I am. Really, they are so stupid.

Polka!

We have started getting RSVPs back and we are loving everything about them-- the notes are sweet and we are happy you are all taking as much creative liberty with your responses as we took with designing the invites.

Though we have only received a handful so far, there is a decided trend in the responses to "A song that gets us dancing is:______________."

Polka. Y'all love to polka.

I said to Aaron the other day, "Aaron, I am sort of nervous about this. Everyone loves to polka, but I don't know how." Seriously you guys, 2 left feet on this bride-to-be. My version of dance is a little less 'step this way then that' and a little more 'jump up and down and just shake around a little.' Cool Hand Luke Aaron said, "Dude, don't even worry. You just sort of run and two-step around the dance floor. It's easy."


Easy, he says. Well, let me just apologize now if we accidentally crash into you whilst we are running and two-stepping around the floor. 

Hello Friends and Family!

Last week we verified that we are, in fact, on the church calendar for our wedding day and then promptly dropped the invites in the mail to make their epic journeys to such exotic places as... Iowa, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Oh! And Omaha, which we learned at a wedding a few weeks ago is "the city of romance."

I know some of you-- having received the invite that Kate stuffed, stamped and addressed (121 times) in under 36 hours-- are visiting our blog for the first time and to that we say "Welcome!"

There is some fun information here, like the 'press release' announcing our engagement, a little bit about us, and the leading ladies and gents in our wedding party.

And there is some important information, like where the wedding and reception will be and some hotel information. Of note, the Twin Cities Marathon is the same weekend as our wedding and hotels in Minneapolis & Saint Paul are filling quickly for the Most Beautiful Urban Marathon in the World. If you need a hotel room, or think you might need a hotel room, do not delay in making a reservation.

All of these things-- and more!-- can be found by clicking the page headings that are listed across the screen under the picture of the canoe (from our 2011 Boundary Waters Canoe trip).

As we approach October 5, you can come back to this website to read any important updates we have about the wedding, although mostly we post about biking, eating, and the dog. We really like our dog.

We are so looking forward to celebrating our wedding with you and have completely appreciated your support, love, and prayers as we plan the big day. Kate is, as she always says, 12/10 excited.