Little Happies -- Joyful Pictures

As I mentioned back in my first-ever Quick Takes post, this week's Little Happies theme is Joyful Pictures! I've actually had quite the trip down memory lane looking through thousands of old pictures. What a blast! I've picked out 20 of my all time favorites, though I could have shared about a hundred more. I'll stick with these 20 for now and hope you're not too overwhelmed. Enjoy! And perhaps you'll join in too? :)

--one --

A good friend of ours took our engagement photos for free! Here's one of our absolute favorites. John was actually whispering something inappropriate into my ear, though I can't remember what. It ended up making for a good picture, so I can't be too mad at him. I feel like we look like babies in this picture, by the way, and it was only 3.5 years ago.

-- two --

John did a one month rotation in Antigua, Guatemala during his residency, which was awesome, especially because I got to join him down there for a week. This was, by far, the best mojito I've ever had in my entire life. Just look at the amount of sugar on that rim! Guatemalans sure know how to make 'em right. 

-- three --

I snapped this little pic on my last day in Antigua. Some little kid accidentally let go of his balloons and they drifted farrr far away, past the tall Cathedral, up into the cloudless sky. I just think those tiny, colorful balloons look so cute and beautiful up there. Bye bye, balloons.

-- four --

My mom (on the left) LOVES Nascar. So when my parents visited Johnson City to meet John's parents (on the right) for the first time, we just HAD to go to the Bristol Motor Speedway for my mom. That's what you see in the background here. But my favorite part of this picture is how it brought our two families together. It was a fantastic trip. 

-- five -- 

This one will forever make me giggle. John accidentally shrunk his favorite (wool) sweater in the dryer.   So, of course, I made him put it on. And pose for a picture.

-- six --

Every one of our wedding photos brings me great joy. But this one stands out the most. I know I've posted it on here before, but it's worth including in this Joyful Pictures post. Our wedding photographer (my older brother) captured such a great moment here -- us walking down the aisle together, excitedly smiling at all of our happy guests, officially married. We love it. 

-- seven --

And another from our wedding -- John's mom on the left, my mom on the right, presenting the gifts together. I love that they're smiling at each other and I love the colors of their dresses together. Another happy wedding moment successfully captured. Thanks, brother!

-- eight --

On our honeymoon in Aruba! We went on a sunset cruise, and boy, that sunset did NOT disappoint!

-- nine --

I got to sit in a DeLorean! The Back to the Future trilogy is one of my all-time favorites, so this was a very exciting night for me.

-- ten --

I give you: when John drank coffee for the first time. We went to Starbucks and John said to the barista, "I don't really like coffee, but I need some caffeine for my upcoming overnight shift in the hospital. What do you recommend?" The barista responded by making this HUGE, sugary, creamy coffee concoction. And he gave it to him for free! John really enjoyed it and had absolutely no trouble staying up that night, obviously. 

-- eleven --

And now a picture of me drinking something fun. Have you ever had bubble tea? It's a Taiwanese tea-based drink made with a flavored tea and large tapioca balls. That's what you see sitting at the bottom of my drink. Sure, it's a little weird at first, but you get used to it. And now I actually really like the extra chewy texture the tapioca balls add to my tea drinking experience. Yum! 

-- twelve -- 

I'm proud of taking this picture, mainly because the colors are so pretty. Love fall foliage! 

 -- thirteen --

Siblings!! My sister had a photobooth at her wedding reception, so of course all of us sibz had to get together for some fun photobooth pics. Up top we're being all classy, but the bottom pic is where our real personalities come out. Love these goobers.

-- fourteen --

Another photobooth picture from my sister's wedding -- my grandma being ridiculous. We call her Memere. She's a trouble maker. And we love her dearly.

-- fifteen --

Chilling with my niece, Lindsey, and a whole buncha New England lobsters. They were tasty. Is it weird that we played with them before we boiled and ate them?

-- sixteen --

I LOVE getting henna tattoos. Once a year, Memphis hosts an India Festival and there I always treat myself to some sort of (temporary) skin art. It just makes me feel special for the few weeks it stays on. I'm definitely not the permanent tattoo type, so henna is perfect for me. Oh, and pay no attention to the emo face behind the hand -- I was being a goof.

-- seventeen --

John and I learned how to make our own pottery!! Ok, so we're no experts. We took one class and needed a lot of guidance through the whole thing. But it was fun, we smiled lots, and now we have about 5 bowls in our cupboard made by us. Sure, they might be lopsided, but they were made with love and that's what counts! Right? 

-- eighteen --

There are some extra-nerdy board games I just won't play with John. This is one of them. It's called Talisman. SO NERDY. One night he wanted to play so bad, he just decided to play against our stuffed animals. He would take a turn, then he'd walk over to one of the stuffed animals and play for them, then switch to the next one, and so on. It was hilarious. I felt like I was watching a toddler play make believe with his toys. At least he was having fun!

-- nineteen --

We hiked to this waterfall. Then I took this pretty picture. I wish I could just take you there with me. You'd just love it. 

-- twenty --

Nearing Christmas, dressed to impress, about to see to the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, happy to be together. It doesn't get much better than that! 

Thanks for reading along!! I can't wait to see your joyful pictures! Or if you'd rather just do a regular Little Happies this week, I'd love to see that too! 

Have a happy Monday, everyone!

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