The Senator and Kinski get married, good times with good friends!!!

Mariner’s Wedding:
Man, it was AWESOME! Michelle and I, as well as the rest of our friends, had a fantastic time. I don’t know a single person who didn’t enjoy themselves. Pretty much, any time us Sig Taus (and women-folk) get together, we have a damn good time! (I know, how gay!). The Pine Knob Mansion was beautiful! The weather couldn’t have been better, and the distant sound of Lollapalooze in the background was a charming touch! (Seriously, it was pretty cool!). Kinski looked most beautiful. She’s a cute girl and all, but she was exceptionally gorgeous this eve. The SenatorTM was rather dapper his damn-self! Parents on both sides were very proper and well put-together. The Deacon, David’s uncle from “West Texas” was the star of the show (besides the Bride and Bridegroom). He had jokes about West Texas, livestock, and drinking. He made everyone chuckle a handfull of times. The reception that followed was awesome. I think we stayed there until about 12:30AM. We had no intentions of leaving until the crowd REALLY started to thin. We had to get ready for the next day, a day of “fun and sun” at the Abdella’s place, on the lake! It was great to see Sinan and Tijen, his wife. We’d never met her, and had been so anxious for over a year now. It was good to see everyone!

Fun and sun at the Abdella’s:
Recipe: 1 part sun, 1 part 80 degrees, 3 handfulls of friends, 2 parts lake, 1 part lakefront crib, 1 part phat ass Mastercraft X-Star boat, 2 parts wakeboards, many, many parts beer, many, many parts “beer and brats”, and zillions of parts of good times…what do you get? An awesome time at the Abdella pad. We had intended to stay there from about noon until 6pm or so, and head back to the Filias “Family Ranch” and relax. 32 seconds after getting at Mike and Amy’s, it was clearly evident that we’d be staying there until the fat lady sang! And she sang at about midnight! The only reason we left was to protect Jesse from his long trek (nearly 90 minutes) back to South Lyon. We always want our friends to be safe, so we made the trip home. Besides, nobody was left anyway. We stayed well past our due. 🙂 Michelle got to try wakeboarding for the first time, and I guess she kicked some serious ass! She got up on her fourth try! I think it took me about six tries! She also was able to go back and forth over the wake. Me, no such luck. I’m so proud of her and also so happy for her that she was able to make such a quick leap into wakeboarding. I think she’s hooked. She can’t wait to go back and hang out at Mike and Amy’s to give that a shot.

Pictures of the wedding: Wedding Bliss
Pictures of fun and sun: Fun and Sun

Running 12 miles with Kapis:
What a pleasure it was to run with our Southwest friend, Justin. He’s been an inspiration, coach, and all around good friend the past few years, and as of late, he’s become a “partner” in the quest to become physically fit beyond our wildest dreams. Michelle, Justin, and myself had planned to make the 12 mile run investment on Friday morning so that we could enjoy ourselves at the wedding and the following day at Mike and Amy’s. What an investment it was! It most certainly paid off! Our first six miles was a non-event. We ran hard and fast (for us–9 min. miles) and enjoyed wonderful conversations about half ironmans, swimming, biking, and running with Justin. At the seven mile mark, devastatia hit. Man, did it ever hit! I quickly sucked down a “goo” and was praying for the energy to come back into my soul. It didn’t, really…but I managed, as did Michelle. At the ten mile mark, Justin wanted to sprint ahead for the last two miles. At this point, Michelle and I took a .375 mile walk break. MUCH needed. We coasted in and still managed 1:55 for the run, giving us a 9:37 per mile pace. Justin, on the other hand, finished his last two miles in 14 minutes! 7:00 minutes per mile! Can you believe that? That is amazing! A pure machine…and what an inspiration! The guy just had a tumor removed from his lung a few months back and he’s already kicking ass and taking names! God bless him! OH yeah, he also brought us a little gift. He brought us one of Dr. Barry Sears’ books on “The Zone” diet/lifestyle! I can’t wait to read it and start trying to convert my diet/lifestyle to one that is a bit more health-conscious. We’re already on our way, actually. Thanks, Justin!

Car:
No more Golf GTI VR6. Greg came and picked the car up at 9PM last night. It was the cleanest it’s ever been, too! Good luck with it, Greg!