We've arrived!!

In case you didn't know....bikes go in the room. Too much money invested to keep them in the car with the possibility of them being stolen. That would NOT be a good thing!

Unloading the car one bike at a time :)

Seems like we left HOURS ago but we finally made it to the hotel in Miami after a few wrong turns. A car full of technology and we still had to do a few u turns. A room full of bikes, an air mattress bigger than my bed and we're ready to turn in for the night. I'm very tired and a bit nervous about tomorrow. Heard that there will be 15 mile an hour head winds (blowing straight at us) which has me worried since that makes the 75 miles all the harder. Wake up call is set for 5:45am so I'd better get to bed. Nighty Night! Ok, so I'm a little excited too ;)

The Last Supper

The Sequoia is packed... 2 bikes & 5 bags inside and 3 bikes on the rack in back. Everyone is starving so we decided to stop at Carrabba's on the way to Alligator Alley (which is finally open after a few days of closures due to fires) We're off! After a nice dinner at Carrabba's the five of us (Dr. Will, Amy, Jonathan, John & Chrissy) jump back in the truck and discuss the events for tomorrow. Oh the anticipation!!

MS 150 Bike Ride May 2nd & 3rd

Only 5 days left until I take on my greatest physical challange up to this point in my life. I will be riding a bike a total of 150 miles over the course of 2 days. This is something I committed to do at first becasuse it was a challange for me. Then I received a phone call from my Dad with the news that he had very blurry vision in his left eye. So much so that he couldn't work for fear that he would hurt himself or someone else as he is a forklift operator. After a lot of tests and waiting my Dad was diagonosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Shortly after I got word that 2 of my cousins were also diagonosed with Multiple Sclerosis. MS is something that strikes without warning and can strip you of the freedoms most of us take for granted. For my Dad it was his vison. Thankfully, after receiving treatment, his vision returned 100%. For my cousin Howard it was his ability to stand and walk. Howard also regained his ability to walk and stand after receiving treatment. However, this is something that they will both live with for the rest of their lives, never knowing when the next "episode" will hit them or what part of their body it will affect. This is why it is so important to support the National MS Society in fighting back against MS. There have been so many medical advancements that it is only a matter of time before we find a cure. I'll do the hard part - riding 150 miles on a bike. Please support me in this by making a donation. My Donation Page

I've committed to raising $1000 and am almost there. Only $365 to go! Please help me! Any amount large or small will help when added to the fundraising efforts of everyone else. WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!

With Gratitude,

AmyXOXO

My 31st Birthday and Last As a Decker

Yesterday was my 31st birthday and my hubby-to-be surprised me with a biplane ride over SW Florida. It was an awesome 1 hour ride over a city that I have lived in for 22 years. What a different perspective from the air! This airplane was built in 1940 and is one of 600 that were built and used during WWII to train military pilots to fly. Later that night I was surprised with dinner at Iguana Mia where I was surrounded by 8 of my friends. I am truly blessed! Enjoy the pics!

Hotel Information

Finally, I have the hotel information for all of our out of town guests. I wanted to find the best hotel at the best rate that would accomodate everyone while they are in FL for our wedding. Click on the link at the top right of this page under HOTEL INFORMATION and you will be taken directly to the reservations web page. Remember to enter the group code DEC to get the reduced room rate. Rates are $109 for 2 people with a king bed or $119 for 2 people with 2 double beds. There is an extra charge of $20 per person over the quoted rate if more that 2 people are staying in a room. To avoid that extra per person charge Jonathan suggests only saying that there will be 2 people in a room if you are going to be sharing a room. That is entirely up to you though!

This hotel is AWESOME! Embasy Suites is an all suite hotel which means each room has a bedroom with a door, pull out couch, mini fridge, microwave and sink. This is a brand new hotel and included with your room rate is transportation to and from the airport, our wedding as well as several restaurants in the area. Also included in the room rate is breakfast each morning of your stay. This isn't your ordinary breakfast! I'm talking an omlet station and all the fixins'! You are also invited to a complimentary managers cocktail hour each day. Free wifi, flat panel tv's and much more!!

The special rate is for 10/23-10/25. Please let Jonathan know if you will be arriving sooner or staying later and he may be able to get the rate extended to accomodate your stay. Pics to come soon!!!

Wedding Planning 101 :)

My Mom, Linda, and sister, Laura, visited me mid March to help with everything and anything that has to do with planning a wedding. I was ready for them and had appointments scheduled almost everyday after work to ensure that before they left I had a florist, baker, DJ, reception menu, invitations and most importantly someone to marry me. I am happy to report that we were very busy and accomplished everything on my to do list except for sending in a deposit for the DJ. This is fine as I wrapped that up last night and will be putting the check in the mail as soon as the revised contract is emailed to me.

I feel like a huge weight has been lifted and now I can relax a bit. Laura has the day off today and is working on getting the hotel information together for me. Check back soon for room rates and travel information! I promise that I'll post it in the next couple of days!

The fun part of their visit was getting to try on my wedding dress again!! This was the first time that my Mom or sister got to see me in my wedding dress in person as they weren't in town when I found it. Unfortunately, the store I bought it from has a terrible employee and I didn't feel as I was treated as a bride should be treated. No princess feeling for me that day :(

My bridesmaids came to town and we all went shopping for their dresses. I told all the girls that they could pick their own dress as long as the colors were all the same. Yeah! That didn't last too long because after seeing 2 of the girls in identical dresses I fell in love with the way they looked matching. This was the first time that I invoked "Brides Rule"...hehe... I changed my mind and all of the girls will now be in matching dresses that look stunning on each one of them. No, they won't be able to wear the dress again in case anyone was wondering. The Alfred Angelo store in Fort Myers was AWESOME!! What really impressed me was the fact that they had dresses in all sizes, not just 6-8, so all of my girls (who are all different sizes) got to try on "the" dress. I even got pics of all of them in the dress!! It was the wrong color but you got to see how the style looked on each one and they looked gorgeous!

Thank you to all of my bestest girls for a wonderful day!! I love you :)

Brian's Birthday - 3/20/09 - Goodbye Josh

I've been a busy lady since my last post. A lot of wedding planning to tell you about but I also suffered a great loss as well. Many of you who know me knew one of my brothers best friends since childhood, Josh Howard. On March, 20th, what would've been Brian's 27th birthday, Josh passed away after almost a week in ICU. This was a sudden passing and I'm not sure what happened. I feel comfort in knowing my brother was there at Josh's passing to guide him home. I was able to say goodbye to Josh, something that I didn't get to do with Brian, and I think that makes it a bit easier as well. Please say a short prayer for my brother and Josh, that they are without worry now and happily guarding us through our journey as angels.