Greetings from the Happsburg Empire

When I was about 12, my travel soccer team packed into cars and caravaned to our first out-of-state tournament in Needham, Massachusetts. For three days, we ran around the hotel in heated games of manhunt and hide-and-go-seek, cannon-balled into pools, gorged on fettuccine Alfredo in the strip mall around the corner. We won the tournament. And during the car ride home, I cried, sad to see my magical weekend go.

I thought of that experience last Sunday, as friends and family packed up their cars, swatting away their last mosquitoes, to return to their respective lives in New York, Chicago, Ohio, Boston, Boulder, and, of course, New Jersey. But this time I kept my (quite messy) tears at bay.

Our wedding was pure joy for us. From the moment that first case of Yuengling tumbled out my mom's car trunk to the moment I packed up the last Pop Tarts, the weekend was full of so much happiness and s'mores and love and bug spray. We feel thrilled, so thrilled, and warm in the very cockles of our hearts (yes, our hearts come with those) that we were able to share our wedding weekend with you.

Thank you for the campfire, for help setting the tables when I couldn't find the plates, for eating cold pizza with us in the afternoon, for holding our hands and dancing, for making us laugh, for laughing at our jokes, for indulging in our pigeon language, for serenading us under our window, for being our loved ones and confidants, our family both by blood and bond.

Michael and I have devised a partial code language (of very limited vocabulary) that we normally confine to in-house use but apparently leaked all over the camp last weekend. You might have heard us say things like 'tabes' or 'putes' or 'beautyl'. The arguably embarrassing cat is out of the bag. Thus, in the spirit of sharing, we bring you greetings from the Happsburg Empire because that's where we live together. Mostly because we're happy. And also because we're not part of a fallen dynasty.

I tend to over-share and over-write when I'm feeling emotional, so I'll try to cut this message short. Too late. Our point: Our wedding weekend was so satisfyingly fun for us. It would not have been nearly so magical without you. We thank you. We love you. We hope to see you soon.

Until then, please enjoy this pictures, courtesy of my awesome brother Stephen Green, a jack of many trades and a member of my tribe.
Wedding Photos

Much love,
Barbara and Michael
(who admittedly slip between first person singular and plural)

Final Camp Details

We are so excited that the wedding is only 72 hours away and cannot wait to spend time with everyone! We just wanted to cover payment options for those who are staying at the camp. For those staying both Friday and Saturday night the cost will be twenty-one dollars per person, which gets you a bed in an adorable rustic cabin. The payment can be made by either cash or check, these payments will be made to Barbara Green. If bringing cash, please bring exact change, as we will not be able to make change for you. A final reminder, the cabins are rustic, so if it is possible to bring your own linens and towels, that would be great. There is no need to bring toilet paper or soap however.

Check-out time from the cabins is at 1130am on Sunday morning.

The following weblink includes in-depth directions to the camp: http://www.campdarkwaters.org/contact/camp_directions.php

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact either Michal or Barbara via email or phone.