Happy Earth Week!

Today is the first day of Earth Week and we just wanted to remind everyone to start making small changes each day to make a difference. Since Casey and I moved up to Minnesota, we have been trying to do our part to reduce our carbon footprint. No more plastic bottles or bags, all fluorescent light bulbs, shorter showers, we are even starting to grow our own veggies! They are starting to sprout, which we are very excited about. Unfortunately, we can only enjoy them during the summer months, but even just a few months can help. There is a great carbon footprint quiz online at: http://earthday.net/footprint. While I know everything isn't possible, it is a great wake up call, and it explains how you specifically can change some things to reverse your footprint. I love this year's Earth Day poster, as it reminds me of a Planet Earth episode where the Polar Bear could not find food because the ice was melting too early. Remember, take care of your environment, all our children have to deal with what we leave them. Now that we know the effects of our actions, we can stop and reverse them.

Interacting with the Locals

We hope that everyone had a wonderful Easter. Casey and I spent our first holiday as a married couple grilling burgers and playing a board game. Scrabble, in case anyone was wondering, and I, of course won, also in case anyone was wondering. The Easter bunny was very good to Casey, and even left a few treats for us to share (also known as I bought some treats for myself).
Now, for the real purpose of writing tonight's blog, Casey and I wanted to share the two significant events with the locals that we thought everyone would enjoy. As I mentioned in the previous blog, Casey and I ventured to St. Lucia, and had the opportunity to interact with the locals on two separate occasions. The first true interaction was on our taxi ride, where we saw the beautiful island of St. Lucia. On the way up the winding mountain our taxi driver pulls over to the side of the road and this is the character we met. He had a boa constrictor pinned against the mountain, and if we tipped him, we could take his picture. Well, we of course couldn't resist this picture of a thousand words. He even offered to allow us to hold the snake, but Casey had enough. Especially since he held the snake's mouth about 2 inches away from his face, arm, and leg on countless occasions.
On our last day at the resort, we ran out of cash, but still wanted a few more souvenirs. Let me preface this trade that will occur...the first day we were in St. Lucia, Casey wears his board shorts. These aren't just any board shorts, these are the "Bob Marley" board shorts that all the locals comment on. So, since we spent all our money on the horseback riding on the beach (much to Casey's enjoyment) and the taxi around the island, we needed something to barter with that they would want. We tried a bottle of the "local viagra," which was a bottle of rum that we won the night before in karaoke, but that didn't work. So, we pulled out the shorts. At first, he was a little hesitant, but in the end he couldn't resist the "Bob Marley" shorts, who? Casey was sad to part with the shorts, but it was so worth the story.

We're Hitched!

As many of you know, Casey and I were finally hitched a little more than a week ago. While nothing really went according to the countless hours of planning, it was perfect. The 30 mph wind, the sunny day, the wedding party, the guests, and family made everything exactly what Casey and I always wanted. I want to thank everyone who was apart of this special day. I know I have said all of this before, but thank you. Thank you to Jamie for planning so much stuff that I don't think I will ever know how hard she worked. Thank you to Danielle for being by my side, despite our differences, but the day made us closer than before. I can't wait for our future and nieces and nephews. Thank you to Missy for being apart of the day and understanding my crazy side, your bachelorette party will be next girl...get ready. Thank you to the entire rest of the wedding party, it wouldn't have been as much fun without everyone. Thank you to both of our parents who worked so hard preparing, and making sure things were as perfect for us as possible. Well, enough of the thank yous...

After the wedding, we went to the beautiful island of St. Lucia, and had a wonderful time. We survived the crazy taxi rides, went to the only drive-in volcano in the world that smelled like rotten eggs, went horseback riding on the beach, had massages, and just enjoyed the first week of married life. We even mastered the art of bartering with the locals for some souvenirs. Here are a couple of pictures to show you a glimpse of the fun and love we shared and will continue to share for a lifetime.

With this ring, I, Casey Smith, vow to take Rebecca Edwards, the love of my life, and the girl who rescued me from myself, for eternity. I promise to be the rock when you need me to and the water when you need to drift away. I promise to always do everything in my power to give you all you deserve, mentally, physically, emotionally, and with any luck, materially. I promise to be the husband you have always dreamed of and more. With you in my life, I have become complete, there is no on in the world I would rather be spending this moment with than you.
As we stand here today, I, Rebecca Ashley Edwards, give my heart to you, Casey Taylor Smith. I promise to uphold every value we have built, and will continue to build as a family. I promise to love you endlessly and unconditionally. I promise to be the one you can turn to when things just aren't going right. I promise to make you proud as we build a life together. I promise to always be the person you fell in love with, even when I am a little older, a little wiser, and little grayer. I promise to stand by you even if I don't necessarily agree, because from this day forward we will be a team starting a new journey on our own. From "Sleeping to Dream," to "Somebody Loved," I will love you forever.