Wedding Weekend

My little brother, AJ, got married last weekend.  Liam, Tom and I got to fly out for the festivities.  It was a quick trip.  I did a lousy job taking pictures.  I brought my camera, but didn't actually use it.  I just used my camera phone to catch some pics for my sister Whitney.  She couldn't be there because she was back in DC going into labor! (Welcome Baby Matthew, born 5/24.)  I had an awesome weekend, so I'd like to recount it here.  Sorry for so few pics, I need to be better at remembering that while I don't scrapbook, I do blog, so I need to take pictures.  

We left the kids at noon on Thursday with a capable babysitter, who would tag team with her sister for the weekend babysit.  We made a pitstop at the outlets and had lunch.  

I was looking for some crocs for the kids, Ellie particularly.  Crocs are my favorite summer kid footwear.  They offer toe protection sandals don't give.  Tom accuses me of ruining our boys' running abilities because they spend so much time in crocs that you have to 'hold on to' as you run.  Oh well.  They're easy.  The first time I went to the croc outlet I scored 6 pairs of crocs for $30 total.  It was awesome.  Unfortunately, I've never been able to repeat that success, and on Thursday I totally struck out.  Bummer.  I thought I might check out Hanna Andersson, but was disappointed to find that store closed.

Luckily, The Children's Place saved the day.  I was able to pick up a few things for the kids.  I wish we had one of these in our mall.

Off to a fine dining experience...

I love Culver's.  I am the kind of girl that can appreciate a good burger and fries.  Culver's butterburger and crinkle cut fries are my favorite, not to mention the delicious custard.  Their root beer is great, too. 

 Mmmmm.

Okay, then off to airport.  Our flight was delayed, so we were worried about making our connection in Denver.  But, when we got to Denver we found out our next flight had been delayed 2 hours.  I have to admit, getting stuck in the airport isn't so bad when you are with a buddy.  We finished our movie, got a bite to eat.  No big deal-except it did put us into Salt Lake pretty late.  

Okay, this post is way too detailed....let me speed it up.

We had a great time hanging with family, stayed up talking til 1am every night.  My trip highlights:  

Friday:  

Mani/pedi with my mom and sis-in-law.  It was Rhiannon's first ever, so it was fun experiencing it with her.  :)  I spent more time with my SIL this weekend than I think I ever have before, and it was so good!!!  I had lots of fun with you, Rhiannon, and this is for you (and anyone else who's had nails done in a salon filled with Asian nail technicians) Nail Salon.

Meeting my BFF, Brenda, for lunch at Cafe Rio (mmmmm) and meeting the girls she is in the process of adopting.  Those girls are so lucky to have you, Brenda!  And, vice versa, huh?  :)  It was also fun to help Brenda overcome her frugal ways and spend $ at Ikea.  

Dinner with family without chasing kids.  Although, we did have to ride in the backseat while my dad drove the winding road to Heber.  He's got this stop and go style that makes you want to puke.  I think it's harder on the inlaws, 'cause they weren't raised with it.

Saturday:

Long day.  And, we weren't even the principle players.  It was Tom's first experience with a stereotypical LDS wedding...temple sealing followed by pictures followed by luncheon, complete with program, followed by reception prep followed by more pictures followed by reception.  The last two weddings were way more casual.  Tom and I spent most of the dsy talking about what we would and would not like for Ellie's wedding.  :)

The reception was at my parents' house.  The weather was pretty chilly, so most of the day was spent in debate about what to set up inside/outside.  Luckily the weather held, it was chilly, but not real rainy-they ended up with a couple of inches of snow on Monday.  Ah, spring weather.

Just Married.   They got married in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple.   It was funny-just as AJ and Christina came out some fighter jets flew over head, so we were all turned the other way to see the planes, instead of cheering for them as they came out the doors.  

This was the table at the entryway.

They ended up putting the cake there instead.

Food was good.

Eclairs were so yummy!  I need to learn how to make these.

My nephew, Reed, with a mouthful of crackers.  What a cutie.  Love his blonde hair and alphabet prowess.  

My dad in a tux.  He really hates formal wear-he probably would've given Christina some serious cash as a payoff to not dress up.  Oh well, Dad.  Looked good.  (Notice one of the four rented heaters in the background.)

One of my favorite parts of the reception was the music-originally planned to be outside, ended up in the loft area.  It sounded great, was out of the way, and reminded me of the good ol' days of music balconies.  Pretty cool, and totally unplanned.

Oh, it was also super fun to rifle through the wedding gifts with Rhiannon after all the guests had left.  (I had flashbacks of Christmas Eve sneaks of years gone by.)  Totally tacky, but totally fun.  

Sunday:

Off to the airport, where we ran into the newlyweds.  It was fun, and only slightly awkward, to share breakfast with them.  Hope they have a fun, and safe, time in Mexico.  Christina seems nice, I look forward to getting to know her better. 

Liam was an awesome flyer!  Slept on every flight.  It was fun to just be parents of one for the weekend. He missed his bros and sis, though.  They can get the best smiles and giggles from him.  :)

Came home to happy kids, clean house, dinner in crockpot, and laundry cleaned...awesome babysitters!!!

What a great weekend!  The worst part of a great trip is getting back to reality....