offshore cpa: Mudding and Marriage

Here I am, writing another summary post after a trip off the island. Hopefully you're not getting too irritated by these teasers. Someday, they'll evolve into full blog posts. But a few sampler photos help me justify why I left this paradise, if only for a few days.

Firstly, the chance to travel with my best friend after his hectic busy season wound down--while in the middle of my crazy period--was a bonus.

We traveled back to Chicago, staying with SM and her parents in Naperville for a few nights. What a treat to be part of a family for a weekend!

One of the highlights was playing a vintage lawn game that surely must not be sold anywhere in North America these days.

photo credit: NS

Those are pointy metal tips, my friends. I could have impaled someone!
Of course, I was a born natural... to a game that no longer exists.

As much as we love Chicago for the city itself, our main motivation for flying there this time was a Tough Mudder challenge.

What I could I have done without this girl's boundless energy and positivity? Nothing.

Trust me, being any kind of dirty is not my thing. I went into this event kicking and screaming. But by the end...

Yeah, that's me in the middle. I don't know what happened. I suspect that I had fun?!?!

...I'm glad I did it.

The next day, we took our weary bodies downtown for a bit of Chicago Springtime.

A proper trip to a city always includes at least one museum, so we toured the Museum of Science and Industry, including a look inside the U-505 WWII submarine.

Storage space was at a premium. It sorta stressed me out.

We were then off to Pennsylvania for an all-important event...

...the wedding of N's sister - our resident Pinterest expert and all-time do-it-yourselfer.

I now have a huge newfound respect for the popular Pinterest-inspired wedding. Basically, it takes a lot of time and a lot of effort.

But, like anything else, with the right people on your team, things get done.

You need both the boys...

Setting up the backdrop

...and the girls.

Finishing the favors

And speaking of girls, there were a lot of pretty ones involved in the weekend's activities.

Advice hour at the bachelorette evening.

This is only half of the wedding party. Ridiculous.

Rehearsal shot.

Those young ones. They're always a camera favorite.

Rehearsal shot.

Congratulations to A&C! You managed to pull off a gorgeous outdoor wedding without a drop of rain! I consider that to be a highly successful event indeed.