Lauren and Justin - She Said Yes!

After storing the umpteen leftover Morning Glory Muffins, he picks up the stripe dish towel and snaps it lovingly in the general direction of her backside. Her posterior. Her booty, if you will. "Ouch! That was really wet," she screams.

"You wash. I'll dry."

That's Justin and Lauren. A team. A team who is dedicated to one another, to serving the Lord, and to serving in the inner city St. Louis, Missouri public school system as Teach for America ambassadors. A team who kicks butt at Cranium and all its zany activities. For example, Sensosketch. It's just like Pictionary, but the artist's eyes must be closed while sketching. Justin can draw a straight line and with a huge grin on her face, Lauren will bubble over with laughter and correctly guess, "the St. Louis Arch!" And let's not forget Lauren's Cameo and her goofy face, to which Justin instantly guessed (correctly..), "Jim Carrey!" Ikea.. these people mean business about their board games.

Despite the darkness they witness on a daily basis, from the derogatory comments of their students, school shootings, abusive parenting, and the continuing low test scores, their beautiful spirits are not hindered. They know at the end of the day, everything will be okay. Lauren and Justin close each and every evening by praying together. Because at the end of the day, they know their faith and their commitment to one another will get them through. Together. They're better together. They're stronger together. And together they know they can always count on...

My favorite... (click to enlarge)

Her rock.

Her other rock... :)
Justin's best friend: John

Lauren and Justin's ceremony and reception will be held in St. Louis' City Museum. Before I go any further, you must see a picture of this joint: www.CityMuseum.org. After our nice dinner in downtown St. Louis, Justin and Lauren said, we should probably change clothing so we can run around the museum. Run around the musem? "Oh, good idea, walking all over and gawking at art in four inch heels wouldn't be much fun for my little feet," I thought to myself, "Tennis shoes and jeans should be fine." And that they were, because flip flops would've cut it; the City Museum is NOT a museum at all, really. At least not your typical, statues and art on the walls museum. It's like a giant junkyard/playpen, built entirely out of materials from old rundown St. Louis factories and buildings. There's cave spelunking, a seven story metal slide, stair cases made out of conveyor belts, etc. etc. You've got to see it to believe it. "The museum is all about restoration," Lauren told me, "And that's what we feel our job is like at Teach for America. We wanted our wedding to be reflective of us in every way." Stay tuned for their August 1st wedding.

It's going to be epic.

A few shots from a personal point and shoot at the Museum: