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Since all is changing - figured it is time to make the transition from an "all about me" blog to one that will encompass our new family. So go ahead, add us to your blog list and prepare to take the journey of married life with us as newlyweds.

http://boylesplace.blogspot.com/

See you there!

This day I marry my friend; the one I laugh with, dream with, live for, love.

OH – what a whirlwind of a week! I can’t believe it is all over but it was the most perfect and amazing time of my life. Jeff and I both agreed, while sipping Majestic Sunsets on the beach of the DR, we wouldn’t change a thing.

After I broke away from work on Wednesday, we packed up 97% of our animals and belongings (the fish stayed behind) and headed to Ocala for some visiting with family before the big day. Lots of primping and preparation led to a fantastic, relaxing time at our BBQ rehearsal dinner and finally – the culminating event.

The wedding day was all I ever hoped for and if anything went wrong, I certainly did not know it. We tried to soak in every detail, enjoyed a quiet dinner alone and then partied our booties off with our favorite friends and family. The band was amazing, the cake was the best I have ever had and everything just looked beautiful. I can’t take too much credit, my mother did an outstanding job and handled most of the details. All of her planning made everything run so smoothly. I couldn’t be a happier bride!

I have posted lots of pictures from all the wedding festivities on http://www.peekboyles.shutterfly.com/ – if you can stand looking through hundreds of pics, go for it and feel free to add your own if you have some!

Official..In More Ways Than One

It has been a big week in the Boyles/Peek household. Clearly with the wedding so close, one would expect lots of planning and finishing to be going on at this time. What I didn’t expect was a surprise trip to West Palm on Wednesday and Thursday of last week; oh the joys of procrastinating engineers. Our GIS department is a constant source of frustration and anxiety for me. I realize their lack of involvement on the marketing side is due to their project load on the billable side but that doesn’t justify ignoring all our attempts to successfully market their products and capabilities. Just when I think I have things under control, GIS strikes again. This time, the sole conference attendee informed me that while we would be paying for his trip down to West Palm for the So Fla GIS Expo – he would not be able to transport any materials down, nor would he be able to set up and attend during exhibit hall breaks because he was bringing his family down and was unsure what their plans would be.

At two o’clock on Wednesday, my boss suggested I attend to ensure that we would be well represented. I left at four for my whirlwind tour of South Florida, dragging Jeff and Addie along for the ride since he had both days off from work. We were able to squeeze in some visiting time with his parents and had a great dinner both nights. I performed my duties as Conference Queen and we made it back to Gainesville by midnight on Thursday.

Friday was the culmination of Jeff’s law enforcement training. His parents and I had made plans for them to come up for his Swearing In Ceremony with the Sheriff’s office prior to our little stint of a visit. They woke up early Friday morning and drove up to make the 10:00 ceremony. My mom also drove up to see the award for all of the hard work he has put into this dream over the past two years.

The Sheriff in Alachua County has been making waves for some time, being that she (that’s right, she) is the first female Sheriff the County has seen. She has made some major changes and done some necessary “house cleaning” within the organization. After hearing her views and dedication to the deputies during the ceremony, I truly cannot imagine a better place for Jeff. Her tenacity and fervor for her own was refreshing and nothing of the politically correct answers most elected officials lean toward these days. The past few weeks have been tough for law enforcement in our County and hard decisions have been made – yet she made it very clear that she stands behind every one of those decisions made by her employees. It was a proud moment for all of us as we watched Jeff take his oath. Jeff’s ambition for going into law enforcement grew from his father’s constant suggestion of what a great cop he would be. It was only fitting that his Dad be there to pin on Jeff’s badge at the end of the ceremony.

We visited with his parents for the rest of the weekend, the boys did their thing and I shopped with Jeff’s mom. It was back to work on Monday but today brought another official ceremony – the marriage license! We have a 3-day waiting period but other than that we should be good to go! I snapped some pictures in the courthouse despite Jeff’s protests. Horrible pictures but fun to remember that day! Enjoy.

Fall is in the Air

A few things have occurred in the last week that need some updates before I get into my intended blogging content.

Bert/Birdman has died.

We thought he was doing much better but he took a turn for the worse on Friday morning and had passed when I went home for lunch. While Birdman will be missed, we had no intention of keeping him long-term and judging from my conversation with owner John, I am sure he is in a better place than back in Hilliard with his other 200 racing pigeon brothers and sisters.

We now return to your regularly programmed content.

Amid the scorching Florida heat, the transition from summer to fall has been minimal for me. As a professional, there is no back to school rush, no shopping sprees, I didn’t even take advantage of the tax free days. So really, there has been no real indication that a seasonal change is upon us. I missed the first Gator game (blasphemy, I know) which is usually a bench mark as the official start of the school year.

This weekend, Anne and Jerry came up for Anne to attend a bridal shower for me in Ocala. The shower was beautiful and I saw people that I haven’t seen in years. We received wonderful gifts that I am not allowed to use until after the wedding. Mom should have watched more closely as she got ready to leave for the game, I think a few items might have found their way into my car. After the shower, we hurried to Gainesville to carry on our usual game day tradition of tailgating. Jeff was able to get off work around three and his parents arrived in perfect time for us all to ride to the tailgate together. In the chaos of the shower, I hadn’t even realized it was my first game of the season but my anxiety kicked in during the car ride to the stadium. I don’t know what it is about game day, but something gets to me. I suddenly couldn’t wait any longer, I needed to be there, and much faster than traffic was allowing us to go. The parking situation was horrible and no one could move fast enough. Despite my frustration, which did not coerce the college kids to pack 80 cars into their front lawns any more quickly, we arrived at the tailgate with about an hour to spare before the game.

The rush of so many familiar memories flood back as I enter the world of Gator football, it is almost like coming home. The sound of the band, the chomp, the frazzled scalpers jogging through the crowds holding up two fingers, the little girls in cheerleading uniforms, the bellow of “ice cold coo-oke” from up and down the stadium steps – all bring me right back to the wonderful family memories of being a Gator. It has a lot more meaning now that I am also an official alumni and I laugh at how many times it comes up in life. Just a few weekends ago while visiting Universal Studios, I marveled at how the ET waiting area (inside) smells exactly like the pool at the O-Connell Center. These flashbacks are probably why it has been so easy for me to make Gainesville my home.

With my first game of the season under my belt (a win, regardless of how sloppy we looked in the second half. Where was our defense?!) – I have turned the page from summer to fall and am anxiously awaiting next week’s tailgate as we take on Tennessee in the Swamp. I could sooo be the announcer. My parents’ are heading to Richmond, VA to celebrate Bonnie Bugg’s 90th Birthday. However, being the measly peon of a PR person, no vacation time for me. I will be holding down the fort and the parking pass. If you are making the game, stop by the tailgate! North End Zone across the street from Delta Tau Delta.

Another exciting tid-bit for the weekend to come – lots of friends coming back in town but I will have to elaborate more on that next week so I don’t ruin a big surprise. J Fun times to come, can’t wait for the weekend. Someone should remind me it is only Monday.

Great surprise!

I’m totally obsessed with my favorite photographer in the world right now. Caroline Johnson is by far, the absolutely best thing that has happened during the whole planning of this wedding. For anyone who has been around me in the last week, the stress of planning has definitely been getting to me and Caroline sensed that immediately. She has talked with my mom and called me continuously just to see how things are going. This morning, on my way to work, she called at the perfect moment to calm me down as I was about to go on a whirlwind of a hissy-fit (yes, my mom is from Georgia).

I just got back to the office from lunch to find a fabulous surprise. Caroline and Mary of Caroline Johnson Photography had beautiful flowers sent to my office to cheer me up and reassure me that, “they have my back.” You just can’t put a price on the friendship and confidence that has come out of this “business relationship.” I will be singing her praises from the rooftop for years to come.

Thanks Caroline and Mary – you guys are simply the best, I don’t know how I would be getting through this without your constant support and advice.

AU JAX 2007 5163

To many, this might be a jumble of useless letters and numbers. However, I learned a new meaning to this compilation last night. This is the band number of the pigeon that flew into the garage squawking and flapping at my head, then refusing to leave. The bird first made contact with us in the afternoon, but I shooed him out into the bushes. I could tell something was wrong but I gave Kylee the “survival of the fittest talk” and assured her nature would take its course. Jeff came home from work and we left to take Kylee back to her mom’s house. I exited through the garage, only to be startled by the sound of clumsy, flapping wings. He was back.

Jeff picked him up and we discovered the band on his leg. The bird (Bert as we later came to call him) was severely dehydrated and fell every few steps. He had stopped attempting to fly and just sat there, relieved to be rescued. We put him back in the bush and closed the garage door before taking Kylee home. On our way back from dropping Kylee off, I started thinking more and more about the poor bird and how scared he must have been. Now, I would never be one to keep a bird as a pet, I actually do not like birds at all – but the thought of someone losing their own pet got the best of me. I called my mom to see what her suggestion would be in caring for the sick pigeon.

My mom’s first suggestion is that it might be a homing pigeon. The homing pigeon is a variety of domesticated Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) that has been selectively bred to be able to find its way home over extremely long distances (Wikipedia.com). After further research, we discovered this pigeon is a part of the American Racing Pigeon Union and is registered out of the Greater Jacksonville Area Racing Pigeon Association (RPA). Who knew such a sport existed?! Using the band reader on the Web site, I was able to locate a phone number for the chapter secretary and got him on the phone late last night. He knew who the bird belonged to and was able to tell me Bert is 7 months old and had been flying for a week from Hilliard, Fla – north of Jacksonville, nearly to Georgia. This is the point of the season where owners let the younger birds go for test flights to check out their homing instincts. Bert’s instincts = not so good.

I have to give huge credit to Jeff for putting up with me through this entire ordeal and his commentary was priceless. When we got back home, I had decided if Bert was still in the bushes, I was going to get some bird food and try to nurse him back to health. Of course, as soon as we pulled in, I could see the trembling thing from the car so we headed to Publix. While on the phone with my mother getting directions on what to buy, Jeff asked, “Please ask your dad if he has ever had to miss the Florida State vs. Clemson game to go buy bird seed for a racing pigeon?”

After over an hour of preparing our pigeon rehab facility, we had bird seed, water with two capfuls of Gatorade, unpopped pop corn (Web site said they like it), and a towel to make things comfy. I talked with Stephen, the JAX RPA Secretary, who told me from the description I gave him of Bert’s behavior that things weren’t looking good. As of this morning, Bert made it through the night but had not moved and it didn’t look like he had eaten or drank a thing. I called our local vet, Butler Plaza Animal Hospital, and am awaiting a phone call to hear their advice. John (Bert’s owner) is supposed to call this morning, as well.

Pretty much anyone who has known our family for any amount of time, knows this is just par for the course. Jeff made the comment that he didn’t realize what he had gotten himself into – he knew I was an animal person but he figured we would take in stray dogs or cats, not pigeons. This comment brought the revelation that I have reached that point when women realize they are becoming their mothers. So, thanks Mom, for my innate compassion for animals and strange ability to find them anywhere.

Miles to go before I sleep

That’s been the story of my life over the past week. The Florida League of Cities conference kicked off last Wednesday in Orlando and has occupied the past few weeks in preparation for our Client Appreciation Dinner. The event for 150 of our city clients was a success and a good time was had by all. This is the fun part of my job – I get to the satisfaction in our clients of a job well done and get to reap the benefits of real relationships and friendships. This was my second FLOC conference and there were many familiar faces and people I had come in contact with over the past year. It is a great feeling to come full circle instead of always being the new girl.

Jeff and Kylee came down to visit Orlando over the weekend while I worked. Saturday afternoon was open so we shot over to Universal Studios to enjoy our season passes. Kylee grows up more and more each time I see her. I swear, she will be a teenager tomorrow. Her front teeth are going to be gone just in time for the wedding. We lost one a few weeks ago and the other is dangling (which she loves to do to impress people). She was our tour guide and made the plans for all our rides. Her ultimate goal was Jaws although once on the ride, she wasn’t so sure of her grand idea. We battled aliens on Men in Black and had pictures taken with dozens of characters. Her laughter during Shrek bellowed above everything else as the hydraulic chairs bounced imitating the gallop of a horse. She grabbed at the floating heads as viewed through the Ogre-Vision glasses. Her bravery has blossomed as she is nearly seven. Last year, she would have never approached any character and this year she was running to have her picture taken with them.

My latest plans have included lots of wedding preparation as we hit the 8-week mark. There are so many details to take care of and they all seem so trivial at this point. I can’t wait to be Jeff’s wife and I just wish it would get here already (and that all those little things would be taken care of). Mom and I have pulled 1 am work nights twice this week to get invitations addressed. Lots of printing left to do, ceremony music, programs, to have a seating chart or not, if yes – place cards or decorated board? When to dance? Where to have dance floor? Wedding day timeline. Will Sharpie bleed through guest book? Good gift for 4 year old ring bearer? As I sit and work, a constant flood of questions enter my mind. What did I possibly do before I had a wedding to plan?