Saturday, March 28, 2009

Sloth


I decided a little explanation was needed on why sloths seem to have become a player in our wedding.  The Dallas World Aquarium has the only publicly displayed Three-toed Sloth in the United States.  He normally hangs out in his tree which is right next to the bar in the Rainforest section of the Aquarium.  

(All information found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sloth)

"Sloths move only when necessary and even then very slowly;  they have about a quarter as much muscle tissue as other animals of similar weight...On the ground their maximum speed is .54 meters per second (1.2 mph)."

"While they sometimes sit on top of branches, they usually eat, sleep, and even give birth hanging from limbs.  They sometimes remain hanging from branches after death."

"Sloths' claws serve as their only natural defense...Despite sloths' apparent defenselessness, predators do not pose special problems:  sloths blend in with the trees and, moving only slowly, do not attract attention."

"Leaves, their main food source, provide very little energy or nutrition and do not digest easily.  Sloths therefore have very large, specialized, slow-acting stomachs...As much as two-thirds of a well-few sloth's body-weight consists of the contents of its stomach, and the digestive process can take a month or more to complete."

A very silly song, 3 minutes too long...but I did laugh out loud once.  They seem to have gotten their info off wiki also.  


Friday, March 27, 2009

Bridesmaid: Christy James

Christy and I were high school band geeks together!  She played cymbals in the drumline and is in every memory I have of my senior year.  We're been great friends since 1996.  She went to college in Austin and has since moved back to Plano, gotten married, bought a house, and had 3 babies!  Christy and her husband Kristen have two beautiful twin girls that just turned 1 in January and a brand new baby boy.  

These pictures are from when Christy came out to Concord, CA in 2000 to visit me on my 21st birthday!  We went to the Santa Cruz boardwalk and got some photo booth pictures taken.  We look so young don't we?

Up next, pictures from my trip to Seattle!



If you're asking yourself, "Is that a CARMEL APPLE Michelle is holding??"  It so is.  And it was awesome.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

HOTEL

West End Hotel 
1015 Elm Street
Dallas, TX 75202
214-742-5678

Please call and reserve your room before May 13.

The wedding rate is $89 a night.  When you contact them ask for the Blackard/Whittier Wedding.  If you have any questions or problems please let me know.  

The only parking available is valet, it's $10 a day with in/out privileges.  The Aquarium is just a few blocks from the hotel.   

Friday, March 6, 2009

Groomsman: Eli Johnson


This picture was taken in the Spring of 2000 at a weekend trip to Sierra at Tahoe.

Evan and I have so many memories with Eli, it's hard to know where to start!  He came to UNT for drum line and played quads with Evan.  In January of 2000 Evan, Eli, and I moved out to Northern California so they could march with the Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corp.  When they weren't rehearsing, Eli and I worked at the Old Spaghetti Factory together.  Then in 2003, Eli moved with Evan out to Lake Tahoe to join me in the mountains!  I think we'd all say this was an unforgettable Spring.  Our days were filled with snowboarding, skiing, Mount Talac beer, and the Lakeside Casino.  After Tahoe, Eli headed back to his home state of Minnesota and married his beautiful wife, Jenny.  Denton, Concord, and South Lake Tahoe will always hold special memories of Eli for us!  


Monday, March 2, 2009

Registry Info

Crate & Barrel

My Registry.com
Password:  sloth