9 year anniversary

Today is our 9th wedding anniversary! 9 years ago we got married in Athens, GA. It was a gorgeous day although the days leading up we had some severe tornadoes hitting the area. I'm not sure how Gary managed to get off in May to get married in the middle of pool openings ( I know he wouldn't have given anybody the time off!), but I'm glad because it was a great day.

I remember the caterer shaking his head at all the alcohol we had bought for the 130-140 guests, and said you bought way too much. Needless to say, we knew our friends and there was one case of beer left and one bottle of champagne! We had a great time and when the time came to cut the cake, we used the cutting knife to feed eachother and then the caterer proceeded to cut the rest of the cake with the same knife! After the reception we went downtown and continued partying all night in the local bars. It was fun!

Our "honeymoon" was spent on Fripp Island with 16 members of our familes and friends and this was when we first fell in love with Fripp. We always laughed talking about our honey moon because it wasn't the traditional way of honeymooning. We even brought our cats Norm and Elaine. And anybody who's ever heard of Norm must know that Gary loved me a lot to bring him on the honeymoon.

I'm grateful for all of our memories and just so sad that we didn't get longer together. The night before Gary died we were planning our 10 year anniversary trip. I had found this amazing little private island in the Carribean, and I was showing Gary all the pictures that I found and I was getting annoyed b/c he was watching the tornado that was hitting Atlanta during the SEC basketball tournament.

Thanks to all my girlfriends who are joinging me tonight for dinner. It will be fun!

Fripp Island

Fripp Island, S.C. has been our sanctuary for the past several years and this is the place we came to relax and enjoy eachother. Therefore it seemed to be the right place to spread Gary's ashes. This past Saturday, April the 5th we got up at Sunrise and headed for the beach. Gary was always up at sunrise when at Fripp and took the dog for a walk. It was a sligthly windy morning so after Hayden and I got the first shovel full of ashes and were ready to throw it in the ocean, the wind got hold of it and blew straight into Hayden's face!! Needless to say, Gary will be Hayden for a long time!

Thanks to our dear friends the Pecks, who have been visiting us almost every day and even joined us at Fripp. Their boys have been providing the best therapy for Hayden, and it brings a smile to your face to see them play and enjoy eachother. Even Emmie's got her first boyfriend in Charlie!

Celebration w/ PMG

Later that night PMG had arranged for a celebration of Gary's life down in Buckhead. All GMs and their wifes had made the trip to Atlanta which we all appreciated. The celebration included a slide show of Gary (thanks to Allen and Jen for doing this), food, drinks and a lot of speeches and tears. I'm so glad I came to this event, although I didn't feel too good the next morning thanks to Steve's gin and tonic mixing which only included gin, no tonic or lemon! Everybody here have been such a vital part of Gary's life (and mine although it seems like it was more in May less in November). I will miss being a part of this great team and I also know Gary will be greatly missed!
Love you all!

People enjoying a Sam Adams beer (one of Gary's favorite's)

I love you guys!

Thanks for being there for me!

Paige and Sonja (not sure about the baby!)

Reception at the house

Thanks for all your support

The past month has been a blur. We have all been hurting so much and we are missing Gary terribly. It's hard to believe he is gone, and yet life continues around us like normal! Iwould like to thank everybody that attended the visitation and the funeral. Everybody who knew Gary can agree that the service was very fitting. The entire service was arranged by my wonderful friends Paige and Sonja who left their families up north (DC and NYC) and flew to be by my side, and Kimberly who in turn used her amazing skills and set of friends to pull the entire event off. I am so grateful for all their help and their friendships. Our friend Jonathan, (old swimmer from Athens, now Father Jonathan) officiated and created a very nice service which included some special moments he had shared with Gary. Our friend Heather who also sang at our wedding were able to sing her heart out, it was magical! Three very special people in Gary's life (Sharon-sister, Tim-friend from UK, and Jim-boss/mentor) had some great things to say about Gary and I do appreaciate all the kind words and good memories. My sister-in law Jenny was so kind and took photos of the funeral and the event at our house and I'm so glad because I hardly remember anything of it. Booze, pills and crying will do that to you..!

Thanks once again for all your support and friendship during this difficult time. Your thoughtfulness is appreciated and I am forever grateful for everybodys kind words and love.