Month: August 2022

Scott (Jonathan) Phillips finally got married, and Taylor and I were so excited to celebrate his big day. The wedding was in the middle of August, so we also decided to turn it into an extra anniversary trip, and stay an extra day in Boston on Sunday night after the wedding.

The wedding

Taylor and I have so many fun memories with Scott, we were really excited to think of fun things to share to highlight our childhood with him. We haven’t been as close to Scott over the past 10 years, so it is hard to figure out who he kept up with, and who we could look forward to seeing at his big day.

The rehearsal dinner- I haven’t laughed so hard in a few years. Ren Phillips was so, so great to see. It has been 15 years since we were roommates together in Boone, and I have only seen him a few times since he moved to Amsterdam shortly after college. Yet, we picked up and laughed together in a way that my soul truly needed. He is back from Amsterdam for just these few days, and he was ready to pick up right where he left off, and all of us were better off from a night with the Ren that we love.

Ren delivered on a miracle for us. What does that mean? Well, we (Chad, Houston, Taylor, Rachel, Sara Core and I) knew that speeches had to happen. Yet, the wedding was about 75% “new” friends from Ivy League professional connections, and only about 25% “old” friends- the ones that knew him as “Scott” instead of “Jonathan”. Specifically, us “old” friends know about how Scott’s speech at my rehearsal told a story, but left the ending open-ended. His speech 12 years ago was a disaster, and now that his great day was upon us, it was time to get him back- but how could I do so while not being mean, and still honoring his bride? Taylor coached me through it, and, well, just watch for yourself.

The ceremony

Whaleback is a small, “community” ski mountain. “Community” means that it is a non-profit that helps kids learn to ski, and it is visible from the highway just before taking the exit to Dartmouth. Its beautiful, and when Scott moved to Dartmouth, Katie knew that she wanted to make this her ski-mountain. And now that it was time for them to exchange vows, the community-nature of the mountain, and the community-driven nature of both Scott and Katie, made this a special place to have a ceremony. It was really fitting- it matched Scott perfectly. It was simple, outdoors, fun, and brought together the many parts of “community” in the same way that Scott has done his entire life.

It was great to see Robin, and Valerie gave SUCH a beautiful speech. There was also dancing, featuring Rachel Lynam:

It was just so much fun. here is another:

And a few pictures from the wedding reception:

The Boston

We tacked on another day to our trip, and did Sunday night in Boston. We met up with our Greensboro friends that moved to Boston just a few months ago (Cathy is from Boston, and moved back home to be closer to her family). We did some walking on the freedom trail, I had my first Lobster Roll (warm and buttered), had the best raw oysters in my life (good gracious, they were delicious), and went on a date-night to an italian restaurant.

Hey-o, while we were in Boston, there was the feast of Madonna (Of course!) celebrating the saint and also asking for protection for the fisherman for the year. It was unexpectedly busy in little Italy in Boston on a Sunday evening.

Taylor and I took Rosie to Carowinds this week.

This trip was a flying success; thanks Taylor for the awesome idea.

We surprised Rosie, and left Mercy behind with Grandma Zippy and Papa Pack (Thanks again for the help!), and had a whole day to have fun. Taylor reached out to her cousin who lived nearby, and we were able to spend the day with Brantley, Brenden, and Aunt Luann.

They are season ticket holders, and this was awesome for couple reasons:

• We didn’t know which rides Rosie was tall enough for. It would be terrible to walk all around the park, and be disappointed to learn that 4’2″ Rosie couldnt do the rides she wanted to do.
• Cousins make everything better.
• Taylor and I didn’t have to make any decisions
• Taylor and I didn’t have to navigate the park via map on a tiny phone screen.

The last time I went was in high school, and sadly, the math says that was about 20 years ago. Back then, there were about 3 or 4 major roller coasters, and I remember having to wait in huge lines to ride any of them, especially the Wayne’s World Hurler, a huge wooden coaster.

Taylor and I really showed our age because though the ride is still there, it lost the “Wayne’s World” branding related to the movie 16 years ago.

The day was so much fun, and we paid dearly for it the day after. I felt like I got in a fight when I woke up Saturday morning. My fitbit said I did 20,000 steps, but it was the rattling around on roller coaster’s that made me feel my age.

12 year anniversary

Happy Anniversary!

It’s been 12 (mostly) amazing years- there have definitely been some hard years during that time, and I just want to keep it real about that.

Though the calendar says it was our anniversary, our plan to celebrate is our upcoming trip to New Hampshire and Boston to see a friend’s wedding in 2 weeks. I have never been that far north before, and am looking forward to seeing that area of the country. If you have any recommendations for what to see or do (or eat) in Boston, pass it on!

Since there isn’t a grand anniversary to really expand on, here are a few more pictures from the past 2 weeks: