4th of July Weekend

Ok, so I'm a little slow with this update. Having a big trip right after a long weekend makes it a little harder to keep up with the blog updates ;-) So here's my update from the weekend of celebrating Murica! (and, of course, the eminent binding of MC and me ;-)) So, as many know, Bristol is typically a pretty kickin' place to celebrate the 4th of July.  As me and my friends have aged, it HAS become more and more difficult to get people together, but I am still usually able to gather a decent group.  This year was notably special because it also included an engagement party for me and my favorite person, Ms. Maricruz Rahaman. A few folks decided to join us (Fishel, Frost, and Bopper) along with Julie (Maricruz's sister) and Maria (Maricruz's mom). It was the first time for my family to meet any of hers, so that made it extra special as well. :-) Most folks rolled in on Friday, so it served to be a "get settled in and relax" kind of day.  Nothing too fancy. We got up Saturday and got in a morning boarding session, then kinda took it easy until it was time for the party.  As I am late in the mix when it comes to getting married in the Bristol crowd, my parents had already been involved in many engagement parties.  Thus, we had a pretty large host list welcoming us into the realm of soon-to-be-married! It was an awesome party at Machiavelli's, a local pizza place owned by an old school mate of mine.  If you are ever in Bristol, I definitely recommend it! Who can go wrong with a Spongebob cake?! Definitely in my top 2 Spongebob cakes of all time ;-)! The party was a great time.  I saw many people that I hadn't seen in ages, and it was kinda cool for everyone to meet MC and her fam. And weren't we the cute couple to celebrate? While we, of course, look amazing, it was made extra special by both our beautiful mothers being there. Lots of pictures were taken at the party (thanks to Lauren Fincher), but one of my favorites was the one below.  Now, one of my favorite genres of pics is candid and this one was great.  My sis asked for a pic of me and my buds, but somehow Fishel missed the memo.  He thought we spontaneously just decided to crowd in and be close to him, hence the confused look on his face.  HILARIOUS. After the super awesome shindig, we moseyed back to the Fincher household for the official gift opening.  As you can see, Maricruz was pretty excited about this.;-) We had much fun viewing the generosity of our friends and making sure we knew how all this knew gear was supposed to work. And while we were super excited about all our gifts, I think the pinnacle for Maricruz was catching that first glimpse of the yellow KitchenAid Mixer. :-) I also learned (and Dad helped MC showcase) that there is a special place for the ribbons that are attached to engagement gifts. Luckily, all the snazziness is not limited only to the bride-to-be ;-) Heck, you can even share they snazziness with other brides-to-be, right Bopper? Then it was back to the lake to crash, then time for some wakeboarding pics! Doug carving it up (with a sprained ankle I might add) Shredding the gnar Catching a grab I hear, that in some states, fashion air is illegal. Way to stand against the man Aunt Douggie! Frost had a good run (even if he still holds the rope like a skier) ;-) Of course Bopper had to throw in her "glamour" shot We got Fishel up and riding. And refreshed Bopper's memory. Luckily, she still remember to hold her nose every time it looked like she was gonna wipe out ;-) I threw some uuuuuuuugly tricks, and Dad got a good set in as well. In addition to just having a blast hanging out with MC's mom and sis at the lake, Julie got to go play with some horses and my sis joined to celebrate America's birthday. I am so grateful that Maricruz's mom and sister made it up to meet all the Bristol folks at once and I'm glad that the Finchers and Rahamans seemed to get along splendidly (future family in the HOUSE!).  It was a kinda busy, but definitely fun weekend and I must say that I'm pretty happy with how everything turned out. It was great to have good friends and family celebrate our upcoming union and I think it all went extremely well.  We were extremely grateful for all the generosity and good times. Now a few more months and we'll all be family! :-)

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