kevinnowak.com

1,460 Days.

Hard to believe that 4 years has past...but it has.  Here's to a new house in year #5! [and a new job for me]

Happy Anniversary Kelly!

Decorating 101

Right about now Tommy and Heather should be returning from their week-long honeymoon on a relaxing Caribbean island.  I can't imagine the looks on their faces as they open the front door of their house.  You see...Kelly, Deb and I decided to go over and do a little celebratory redecorating yesterday morning in anticipation of their grand return as husband and wife.  

We printed signs and photos and blew up about 100 or so balloons and put them everywhere. We put the signs and photos in the toilets, microwave, fridge, washing machine, in the cabinets, even in the shower.  Not to mention all the spots I can't even remember already.  They'll be finding photos and signs for the next 2 years!  Our grand masterpiece was an tunnel made of streamers that lead to a "Welcome Home Newlyweds" sign.  Came out amazing thanks to Kel and Deb's craftsmanship! 

         

         

         

       

         

        

         

         

      

    

      

         

Of course just as we were about finished with our handy work one of the neighbors spotted us and busted up the entire operation.  Luckily our identities were concealed at the time! 

    

     

    

P.S. - Much thanks to Tommy and Heather for leaving a spare key in a spot we knew about!

P.P.S. - Wearing panty hose over your face, for even a few minutes, is really uncomfortable.  I'd never make it as a bank robber! 

P.P.P.S. - The part about the neighbors busting us was fabricated...it just made the story better and gave us a reason to wear said panty hose.

Tommy and Heather.

This past weekend Tommy and Heather got married up in Philly and we were there to take it all in.  I actually had to take some photos back in NJ of all the guys getting ready and then only snapped a few shots during the ceremony before retiring my camera back at the hotel for the rest of the night.  For whatever reason typepad is giving me all sorts of problems with posting photos tonight [no need to worry, I've already opened a help ticket with them]  so I'm going to have to do things the old fashioned way and post a photo album over to the left for you to see all the photos.  So, click here or just click on the Tommy and Heather album to the left.  There are a handful of photos in there from the rehearsal dinner on Thursday night and then the actually wedding and getting ready for the wedding on Saturday afternoon.  All the photos taken at the reception are courteous of Kathy P because like I said earlier, my camera was taking a rest at the hotel room and I was enjoying a few Captain and Sprites! 

Wedding Season?

Who knew that the middle of November was a busy time for weddings?  Kel and I were invited to one on the 15th in NJ and to another on the 22nd in Washington. 

First up was Kel's cousin Liz.  She married a great guy named Dan Marino.  No relation.  He doesn't even wear Isotoner gloves!  That took place just outside of Philly and required our usual drive down to NJ.  [which always sucks!] 

  

Last night we got back from a whirlwind 4 day trip to DC and I'm still beat.  [especially after staying up late to edit over 1,200 photos last night!]  My good friend, former grad-school roommate, and frequent KN.com commentor MWP tied the knot to a wonderful gal named Taylor on Saturday afternoon.

    

While in DC we stayed with another great friend of mine, Mark B and his wife Jeanne.  The live about 2 blocks from the church and reception joint so it worked out great.  Plus we got to hang out and spend a good amount of time with them. 

  

I won't get into too many of the details about both of the weddings and our time in DC, but I have created a few albums of photos for your viewing pleasure. 

Liz and Dan

Martin and Taylor

DC Trip

They all have several pages of photos so be sure to click through them all!  I took about 700 or so photos at each wedding and then another 400+ walking around DC.  If you were at either wedding and you'd like a DVD with all the photos on it, please ask and I'll send.   

Time to Catch-Up.

Greetings readers.  The Sox winning the series and then the Pats blowout win over the Skins really dominated the site last week so I didn't have a chance to keep you apprised of the hum-drum happenings here in the real like at kn.com.  And trust me...lots have been happening.   

I do of course want to touch on the big game yesterday, Patriots/Colts.  What a game!  I must say that I'm a bit shocked that the Pats did finally cave to the pressure and decided not to run up the score and keep it close.  Maybe it'll win over some of the haters though, cough, MWP, cough, others.  Although I'm sure those types of people will be pissed that they kicked that extra point at the end...probably should have just taken a knee right?  Oh well...you can't please everyone.  9 and 0 with a perfectly placed bye week.  Should be an interesting final 7 games for the team representing New England.  Perhaps they'll even get some decent officiating? 

On to the happenings:

Lets back up to the ALCS game #6 weekend.  Tommy and his new lady friend Heather were up for the weekend, not knowing we'd be going to the game when they set out.  We had a lot planned already, Head of the Charles Regatta, Purgatory Chasm trip, apple picking, and we still managed to sneak it all in with the weather.  It was a busy weekend for sure, but well worth it to see them.  Even Erin and Matt joined us at the Chasm for our yearly visit.  Many caves to investigate and apples to pick.  Actually...it was a bit late in the season for apples so there wasn't much left, but I still picked enough to make a few pies.   

     

     

     

            (Purgatory Chasm and apple picking at Keown Orchards, Sutton, MA)

Last weekend Kel met up with a bunch of her friends from college for a night on the town.  They all went out and I got to chill at home watching the World Series with Nicky C and kept an eye on Mr. William, my godson.  Can't beat that right!

   

                                                                      (photo courtesy of me)

This past Friday afternoon Team Xaverian met up at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston for a very special event.  We presented our donation check to the doctor we raised money for this year during the PMC.  We met up with the good doctor on the PMC Bridge that actually links two of the buildings together there at Dana Farber.  It really made the ride come full circle as we presented him with the check.  After a few photos for the papers and a tour of the Jimmy Fund Clinic, we got to hear directly from Dr. Turner about his program and just how our money will help in the battle.  A special thanks to Patrick as he made the trip up just for this presentation...though if you know him this isn't a surprise.  I knew he'd be there.  From my perspective it was nice to be there strictly for a social visit and not a check-up.  As we left we told Dr. Turner that we'd be back next year too!  Here are a few photos:

   

    

   

   

                                                       (great job by Kel on the photos!)

This Saturday Kel and I had to shoot down to Brooklyn for the wedding of a good friend of mine from college, Mark.  He actually married another CUA person...Jeanne.  Mark's still down in DC so I don't get to see him all that much but it was great to spend some time with him and a bunch of other people from CUA.  While Kel and I were down there for less than 24 hours we had an awesome time!  Photos you ask...of course!

      

     

         

I think that about catches you up, and you got to see a few shots along the way.  Comment on any of the above, if you'd like.

Nothing further.

   

2 Years.

Hard to believe isn't it?  Yep, Kel and I are closely coming up on 2 years of marital bliss together.  Since we're heading up to North Conway, NH on Saturday, and we'll most likely be out hiking with the rest of the "leaf peepers" on Monday, our actual anniversary, I figured I'd post this today. 

If you have a second you should take it and sift through some of these photos from two years ago...pretty good stuff and a lot of funny memories!

I'll post some fall foliage shots next week from the Kancamangus Highway and a few other spots we'll be checking out on the trip.  Keep it real and have a swell Columbus Day Weekend. 

Wedding Proofs

WARNING: Do not read any further unless you have at least 2 hours to look through about 1,000 photos.

The proofs are ready and now Kel and I have to try and narrow these down to 30 or 40 for our album...a daunting task for sure.  We wanted to share these with everyone since there are so many great shots from the day. 

Step #1: go to www.timjoyce.com  (immediately turn the music off in the left hand lower corner, it's very annoying)

Step #2: click where it says "check-in", then click again where it says "click here to view your event"

Step #3: in the new window that opens type the password "Nowak" and you're in! 

The photos will only be online for the next 47 days from today.  Feel free to buy some shots if you'd like as there are many great photos of different couples during the reception, although they are a bit expensive!  Kelly and I will be buying the digital files from our photographer, but we're not sure when that will be.  So feel free to start sifting through all these and lets us know what you think!

Turkey Day recap to follow later today and my car is in the shop for brakes as we speak, so pray that it just needs pads and not rotors!  Thanks.

Chopper Ride.

Did you guys even read the story about me nearly falling out of a helicopter in Kauai ?  Not even one comment about it?  Just like that kevinnnowak.com could have been gone forever, with no more intriguing content for you to read during your breaks from doing work...just like that, and nothing.  Very sad folks, very sad.

Honeymoon Recap: Part 1, Kauai

We left Cape May at about 4:30 on Sunday afternoon and had to make the drive home to Boston only to pack our bags and make it to the airport.  We were both tired from the wedding, but once we got on that plane we new we could rest and relax. 

When we landed in Kauai it was raining, of course it was.  It rained all throughout the wedding so it only made sense that it rained in Hawaii.  Luckily this was the only rain we saw for the entire 12 days we were there.  Our hotel was amazing, the Grand Hyatt Resort at Po'ipu Beach, 5-star all the way.  We immediately got an upgrade to a sweet ocean view room.  From the balcony you could see the ocean, the pools (yes there were more than one.  Many, many acres of pools here) and all the gardens.  They not only have a nice beach there, but miles of pools, some just for adults with waterfalls and the like.  Even a huge water slide.   One pool isn't even a pool, it's a salt water lagoon where you can rent kayaks and scuba gear...very cool. 

We spent our days alternating between sitting on the beach/pool and doing something.  So our first full day we did just that...sat and relaxed along the water, occasionally ordering a Lava Flow, so delicious, and riding the waves. It was exactly what we needed after all the stress of the wedding. 

On Wednesday we had our first trip planned.  We had to be out at a small airport about 30 minutes away to head off on our hour long helicopter ride, which some of you have already heard about.  We got there, checked in, watched the safety video and went out to the tarmac to load up.  We were in the front seats with the pilot (Kelly sat between the pilot and I), while another couple was in the back.  Remember from what I told you before, this chopper had NO doors, no nothing. The pilot was a rather large fellow, just back from flying army choppers Afghanistan, so I was very confident with his ability, however; being a gi-normous bloke meant that he needed his space, so I was instructed to sit with as much of my body outside the craft as possible.  This was great, I could get tons of pictures with my new D70s camera!  I was fired up. We got strapped in nice and snug, seat belts and straps that came down from above our shoulders. 

Kel seemed a bit nervous about the whole thing beforehand, but as we lifted off the ground smoothly she seemed relaxed and was enjoying the flight.  You should have seen me...snapping photos left and right, getting tons of good shots.  Ansel Adams was in the house!  Kelly had our other digital camera with her and she was getting some good ones too.  I didn't realize before we left was how windy it was going to be up there....a few times my headset got blown back off my head and I had to get it back on-top. 

Around the 10 minute mark of the flight was when things went bad, and went bad big time!  My camera was around my neck, as required, so I put it down on my lap for a bit to take a break from taking pics.  When I went to pick it up again I must have snagged the buckle for my seatbelt and I went from feeling snug to feeling extremely loose all in the span of 1/10 of second.  I was confused for a minute, not sure what had happened.  Kelly realized something was wrong too, but she wasn't sure either.  Perhaps I dropped the lens cap?  At this point I yell..."MY SEATBELT", but since it's so loud and windy she can't hear a thing.  I yell again, nothing.  Realizing no one can hear me, I step on the little pedal in front of me which activates the mic on my headset...again I yell "MY SEATBELT, IT CAME OFF.  MY SEATBELTS OFFFFF!".  Now everyone in the chopper is aware, and Kelly is scared. I have one butt cheek on the seat and I am holding onto a grab bar above my head, that's all that is keeping me from making an early exit! 

We still have no idea why, but upon hearing this news the pilot makes a hard right banking turn, and I'm talking hard.  Kelly grabs onto my thigh as I hold onto the grab bar.  He rights the ship and comes to a stop, we're just hovering now.  Then he comes on the headset and says "You better get that taken care of"...yeah buddy, I'm working on it!  Kelly has a firm grip on my left arm, rendering it useless, and my right hand has a death grip on the grab bar just above my head.  If I let go of that I'm done...so I had to rely on Kelly to get me strapped back in and she did a phenomenal job of getting things set.  She got the lap belt in place first, and then realized that she needed to still attached the shoulder belts, but couldn't reach them.  The wind had blown them back and behind me, well out of my reach even if I wanted to let go and try to get them.  Luckily the kid in the back seat was able to help out and flip them up to us.  Some more finagling and Kelly had me strapped in and ready to go again.  I gave the captain the thumbs-up sign and we were back on our way, like it never even happened.  Was I scared, yeah I think so.  Kelly said she could see it in my eyes, but I really don't remember being scared at the time, just focused on getting things back to normal as soon as possible.

We made our way to the Na'pali coast to check out some amazing views of the mountains.  I was done however with taking any more photos.  I was content on just sitting there and enjoying the view.  After the hour was up we landed back at the airport, took a photo in front of the chopper and then went back to the car.  Kelly was a bit shaken up at this point, but I just reminded her that we were back on the ground and everyone was safe.  I guess she did come very close to becoming a widow after only 4 days!  "Would you go again?", some people have asked.  Of course!  It was awesome and you got to see things from a perspective not many people see. That being said, I would however go on a chopper with doors and windows, it was just too windy up there without them.  So that's that.  Moving on...

After we both relaxed in the car for 15 minutes we started our drive into Wiamea Canyon, the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific".  It was really cool being on top of the mountains looking down into the carved out valley below.  We drove to the end of the ridge road to enjoy some more great views of the ocean below.  After our time in the mountains we drove back out and to the mouth of the river that flows from above.  It was cool to see the river meet the ocean like that. 

Thursday found us on a kayaking trip to the Secret Falls along the Wialua River on the eastern coast of Kauai.  We're both not big fans of group trips, but the only way reach these falls are by doing a guided trip.  So along with our guide Mike and 5 other couples we set out on the 2 mile paddle.  There were a few "first-timers" that slowed the group down, so Kelly and I, with another couple, just went ahead anyway.  We pulled our boats up along the shore and set out on foot to reach the falls, about a mile away.  Once we reached the falls it was awesome...about 125' of water crashing down into a shallow pool, we just stood there and took it all in.  We had packed a lunch to eat and once we downed that we decided to take a dip (yes we went in the water before waiting 30 minutes, sorry mom).  We made our way directly under the falls and it felt like nails being throw at your head and shoulders as you stood beneath them.  There is a cool picture of Kelly and I standing just in front of the falls in the photo album, check it out.  The whole trip took about 4 hours but it was awesome and well worth it.

After the kayak back to the start we jumped in the car and raced to the north shore just in time to catch sunset.  We went as far as you can drive north around the island to Ke'e Beach that looks back on the Na'pali coast for an amazing sunset, perhaps the best one we saw the entire two weeks.  See the photo in the album.

Friday was spent sunning and playing on the beach at the hotel...just taking it easy and riding the water slide over and over.  Friday night we dressed up (in Hawaii that is khaki's and a polo) and went to one of the best restaurants on the island for dinner...the Beachhouse.  We got there early for a few drinks and to watch sunset.  You would have though I slipped the maitre d' some money as we got the best table in the house. Outside, and along the water, it was perfect.  And the food, some of the best steak I've ever had.  Kelly got a shrimp dish that she said was great too.  And for desert...a treat called the "molten chocolate"!  You have to order it when you order your meal because it takes so long to make, but it's well worth the wait.  We devoured it.

Saturday morning we had to get up and pack before hopping a 20 minute flight to Maui....Sad to leave Kauai, but knowing we still had a week of vacation left made it much easier!  Kauai was perfect for the first week of a honeymoon...very quiet, lots of other couples, and not a great deal of nightlife, which was good because we were still beat from the wedding.  But once we got to Maui things changed!  Stay tuned for that recap in a few days!

note: the photos in the Honeymoon: Kauai folder have been updated with captions, do check them out.  Also, I took over 1,300 or so pics on the trip and couldn't possibly put them all on the site, so when you stop over 18 Whittier next time you can sift through them.

Wedding Recap + PHOTOS!

First things first...you're all eager to see photos, and the photos you shall see.  Look right, do it now.  There are 3 new folders, Wedding, Honeymoon: Kauai and Honeymoon: Maui.   Click away.  The Wedding folder is ready to go with captions/descriptions added to each photo, while the other two will happen later this week as I write the recaps.  You can still view the images, you'll just have no idea what you're looking at.  I will post short recaps of each island for the honeymoon.  (How Typepad determines which image to show in the little thumbnail over there is beyond me, I still can't figure it out.  But if your wondering why Capt. Chaos and my sister are shown on the thumbnail, that's why)

As for the wedding photos, we still don't have that many, and what we have is okay, some really dark shots.  So I put up the better stuff we have gotten thus far from my parents, Erin, Nick and Jules and the shots I took myself.  I know some of you will be sending CDs and prints later this week and I will be sure to add those as they come in.  So, if you still have photos your sitting on, get them to me asap!

[ I've been thinking all day of how to recap the wedding for the site and I basically have no idea where to start.  There are so many great memories (many of them you've shared in the comments section of this site.  and keep those coming, i even put a few up this morning), and I can't even begin to recall them all in one post.  I know that Kelly has plans to sit down later this week and write down her thoughts on the day, but I think I will try to jot down some of the highlights for me, what I remember the most from an extremely memorable day: (in no particular order, just the order they fly into my dome)

_ The church doors swing open, Kelly and her dad start their walk towards me, something I will never, ever forget!

_ Our first kiss in the church.

_ On Thursday night Kel and I hung out with some of our friends who got into town early...we had some grub, drank a few beers, and walked the beach late at night.  Great to see everyone and I am always reminded at weddings about how many people come from the farthest places.  This time however it was my wedding that people were coming to.  We had folks from Michigan, Florida, DC, NJ, MA, PA, and many, many other states.  We even had overseas people...Thomas and Karen, who were in the wedding, made the trip from Naples, Italy and Mark, my good friend from college, his girlfriend came over from Poland.  All this traveling just to come see us two crazy kids tie the knot.  It blows my mind.

_ I know Kelly will touch on this too, as she keeps talking about it: being introduced at the reception for the first time as Mr. and Mrs. Nowak.  It was unreal, everyone was screaming and yelling, snapping photos, it felt great!  Can we do it again?

_ Our first dance to Phil Collins' "True Colors" with everyone in the bridal party singing along as we danced.  Even the owner of the hotel came up to us and said that in all his years of doing weddings he's never seen anything like that happen before.  It was awesome and weird at the same time knowing that every eye in the room was focused on us, just us.  Well maybe more were focused on Kelly, but you get the point.  Thanks for the sing-a-long everyone. 

_ Watching everyone "pass the buck" trying to win the centerpiece.  Who would have known things would turn x-rated?

_ Getting ready the morning of, not being nervous at all, knowing I was marrying an awesome woman and that I was ready to do it.

_ How about the reception, we couldn't even get people to sit down and eat dinner!  Everyone was so great and lively...I think at one point everyone in the place was out on the dance floor.

_ Trying not to laugh when Murph pulled out Bambi from his pocket.  That kid never fails to make me laugh. 

_ Dancing with my mom, that was very special.  And at the same time seeing Kel with her Mom and Dad looking on at us!

_ Hearing about how Herb Mores saved the day by making an early morning run to the florist for Kel.  Many times during the honeymoon Kel and I found ourselves looking back on all the people who helped us out along the way.  Everyone from the early planning stages all the way to the last minute emergencies.  There is no way we can thank everyone enough! You all truely made it happen.

_ Those damn bells you all kept ringing at the reception!  We loved it.

_ How about me ringing the bell on the trolley!  Now that I think about it, perhaps you guys were all just paying me back by ringing those bells?  hmmm.

_ Dan Aubin, Andy Clev and Val, Thomas and Karen, Kelly's Mom and Steve, and everyone else who was up late Friday night filling the centerpieces with sand.  I wasn't there, but heard all about it and can't thank you all enough, as I know it made things easier on Kel.  I may have just missed some people who were there, but it wasn't intentional.  I'm sure Kel will be able to provide a better recap on this.

_ Getting to spend time with everyone we love all in the same night!  A once in a lifetime chance.

_ Nick and Jules volunteering to take photos of everyone as they walked into the reception...now we have a photo and some nice words from everyone who was there.  The guest-book is really cool, next time you stop over 18 Whittier Street you'll have to check it out.  So glad that Kel came up with the idea and that we still have a connection at Polaroid to hook us up with the film.  Thanks Dad!

_ Oh, riding the waves with some of the guys on Friday afternoon after a morning round of golf, you can't beat that.

_ The rehearsal dinner at some supposedly gay bar/restaurant called Blue Martini.  It turned out to be a great night and the Lobster House burning down still makes for a good story.  How many people can say that the restaurant they booked for their rehearsal dinner burned down?  Exaaaaactly.

_ I know only the people in the wedding party got to see this...but hats off to my Best Man, Andy Clev, for being a fantastic stand-in bartender while on the trolley, a herky jerky trolley at that, and he didn't spill a drop!  Also...how about his toast at the reception?...awesome job Clev, the best I've ever heard, well except for the one I delivered on your big day!

So that's what I've got.  I'm sure I will add more stuff throughout the day/week as it comes to me.  Keep your comments coming, Kelly and I love hearing them!  Sorry for the long post, but we're still riding that "wedding high" and it's going strong.  Look for recaps of the honeymoon later in the week and hold off on checking out those photos until I post captions for them, if you can.