Happy Belated!

We were on the cruise when January 12th came and went.. So a very happy belated to my sister Marcie!

PS... Nice pants

Honeymoon

Well.. you can basically just go to Dan's blog to read about the cruise. we did have an awesome trip. lots of sunshine.. lots of relaxing.. loved the excursion we took in Costa Rica.. our water camera photos need to be developed still, so those pictures will be put up on Facebook soon, too. it is crazy to think that one week ago exactly, we were smack dab in the middle of a rainforest tubing down a river. now we're here. might as well be smack dab in the middle of antarctica! i miss the Jewel of the Seas! though we're pretty bummed that we didnt get on the Newlywed game show.. (it was called "Love and Marriage" on our ship.) As soon as the show started and they were looking for Newlywed contestants.. Dan and I jumped up and waved our arms around screaming "Pick us!" or something like that.. and the host says "looks like you two really wanna get up here on stage to play" and then asks us when we were married and we told him September 6th. then he goes "Is there anyone else that has been married for a shorter amount of time?" and Dan and i look around the room.. we're the only two standing or even really paying attention to the guy.. and he just keeps saying "anybody? anybody?" and out of no where in the back is the most boring looking newlywed couple "we were married on October 11th." so he says to them "Alright, come on up here" so pass us and get to go up right away. Dan and I think, sure.. three other couples.. we can get up. They go and find their longest married couple.. they were going on 51 years. so they get up. then the host asks for anyone married longer than 25 years but less than 50.. and some other completely boring couple goes up because they were celebrating their anniversary on the next day. and so Dan and I figure, okay, now they want another somewhat newly married couple.. nope, anyone can go up. And we have to perform for the audience so they can judge who goes up. women have to say "Tarzan, Tarzan, Where for art thou Tarzan?" and the men have to say "Here I am Jane." And another completely boring couple goes up on stage instead of us because the husband decideds to tackle his wife to the ground, which i dont think he should have done at their age. And needless to say, that "Love and Marriage" show on a scale of 1 to 10 in entertaining points, was a 2.. and only because the oldest couple had a sense of humor about it. and the newlywed couple won a bottle of champagne and a massage package to the onboard spa.. which should have been us. so i guess, if you want to get on that show on a cruise, say you were married yesterday if you want to get up. and there.. that is my one beef with the ship. that and all the older people who took up all the sunbathing chairs by the pool, but covered themselves up in blankets and towels while wearing huge hats, long sleeved shirts, and sweatpants. that and those same people who refused to take the stairs one flight, so if we got on the elevator at Deck 3 and wanted to get to Deck 11, we had to stop at every floor to let someone on, then the next floor to let them back off, then the next floor to let someone else on, and the very next floor to let them back off.. and so on. there were also numerous times when a full elevator of people wanted to go up, while others who couldnt fit in were waiting for another elevator to go up, but kept holding the up button so that the full elevators' doors wouldnt shut thinking it needed to let people on, and a mass group of confused old pepople standing around holding the "up" buttons while staring at the full elevator just plain stuck on that floor. huh? i wonder why? so after watching that mess for a good 30 seconds, Dan and I decided to take the stairs up from Deck 4 to Deck 13 instead of waiting for them to all figure it out. and I would put money on it that not one person was actually going up more than 2 floors. The elevators were pretty informative, too. They had little plates in the floor that they changed everyday so that you could tell it was Sunday or Tuesday or whatever day of the week it was. Except one elevator.. it was stuck on Friday and confused us a couple times. i never knew what day of the week we were leaving on either, so i never watched the tiles counting down to the end. i liked it like that. i miss the cruise =(

Goodbye 2008!!!

2008... we'll miss you! You were a year becoming engaged, then becoming a McNamara. We had fun this year celebrating with a handful of friends as they became engaged, and also kept a big secret from our future sister-in-law, Megan Dunn. A year of beginning our house hunting, then seeing a lot of money go down the tubes in the Stock Market Crash. Gas started out the year as just under $4 a gallon, and ended out the year at just under $2. Was a year of bringing in another family member in the form of Baby Brooklynn, and saying goodbye to Mom's Stepdad, Bob Irwin. We saw a lot of friends come =) ... and go =(. We started out the year job hunting, and ended the year at the best restaurant we coulda hoped to work at, Bosley on Brady. We went from having a roommate on the 12th floor apartment with awesome views over the Harbor, to visiting Brian at his condo, where we saw Yovani Gallardo swimming in the pool. Brewers made the Playoffs with CC, now he's gone too. This was also the first Packers season that I can remember being Favre-less. He went, but came back in the form of a Jet. In fact, we started the year with hopes of a Super Bowl, and ended the year completely opposite. In 2008 we elected America's first black President, Barack Obama. We saw him speack twice in the Milwaukee area. I got a picture, but not a handshake, with our new Secretary of Defense, Hillary Clinton. I'm really hoping Sarah Palin gets stuck in that year, never to emerge again.

Here we go 2009! Some things to look forward to this year : Our Honeymoon Cruise!!! Adding a niece to the family with Megan and Joe.. and finally figuring out her name! =) Welcoming Amanda and Paul's baby to the world. Possibly seeing another Megan McNamara get married to Greg????? Joe and Abbie's Wedding, and Ben and Sarah's Chicago Wedding. Jorie will be graduating from Pardeeville High School. Mikaela will get her drivers license. This year, Mom will welcome foster kids into her home. Jon will be turning 70. Grandma Kamrath will turn 90. Whoo! This is gonna be a great year!

Happy 2009 everyone! =)