Monterey Bay Aquarium

The morning of Clint and Audra's wedding we took the opportunity to take our family (plus Beverly, cousin Shara, and Audra's daughter, Reagan) to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was incredible and I am so glad we took the opportunity to go even though it was packed. I think I could have spent hours watching the jellyfish displays. I was completely transfixed! My only complaint was I wish we would have had more time there, but we had a wedding to get to! :)

Peyton trying on some dolphin fins.

Morgan overlooking the bay.

Trevor "hands on" with some sea creatures.

Splash zone!

Clint and Audra's wonderful wedding

On July 24th, my brother Clint was married to Audra at a picturesque vineyard in California. It is clear to everyone who sees them how in love they are. I am so happy for them that they have found each other! The ceremony was beautiful and I was tickled that Clint and Audra asked me to sing Nat King Cole's "LOVE" as they exited down the isle.

The dinner was AMAZING and the presentation of everything was gorgeous! After dinner and the toasts, we danced the night away. It was such a fun party!

Me with the groom before the ceremony.

My beautiful new sister-in-law, Audra.

Audra's awesome kids, Keely and Avery. (Such a great addition to our family!)

Sweet Reagan!

Cyle giving the best man toast.

First dance as man and wife!

Audra thought of everything and threw a pizza party for the kids with gift bags
full of fun things to play with.

Clint shared a sweet dance with Grandma.

While we were dancing, an incredible full moon rose over us. How did they arrange that one?!?

Hooray for family!

Every two years we do a family reunion with my mother's side of the family. It is an absolute blast! I love catching up and hanging out with my fantastic aunts, uncles, and cousins. It is especially fun that my cousins have kiddos about the same age as ours and it is great watching them play together.

For the reunion we went up to Lake Tahoe again and we couldn't have asked for better. The place we stayed at had cabins with a nice open space where we did our giant group meals and a pool and hot tub steps from our room. (It was great to put Cooper down for a nap, crack the window, and play with the kids at the pool.) Lake Tahoe is beautiful, even if the water is a bit cold. Almost everyone was able to attend and we had around 50 of us -- quite a crew! We loved spending time together in such a beautiful setting.

It was also a treat to be there for my cousin's wedding. She chose a beautiful spot right on the beach. We loved being there to support her and her super, cool new husband. After the wedding, most of us just changed into our suits and played at the beach. So fun!

We didn't want to the party to end, so the next day we packed up and headed to Monterey so we could continue the party down at Clint and Audra's wedding. (To be continued...)

My mom and her awesome sisters!

Beautiful Colorado!

I am sure I am biased, but I love where I live! I feel so blessed to live in a place where I can see the mountains! We get some fantastic sunsets. We also get some great summer storms. I can't help but be in awe and think about how much God must love us to give us this beautiful world.

Wednesday means...

A few years ago we my wonderful friend, Gabe, introduced me to Union Reservoir. I couldn't believe that this whole time it was practically in my backyard and I had never been there before. There is a lake to swim in, sand to dig in and make sand castles, a park to play in, and lots of trees for shade. It makes for a fun day. This summer we went every week we were in town. I especially love that time in the late afternoon when most people have gone home and things get slow and mellow. Union Reservoir makes for perfect summer days!

My Inner-teenager...

Every once in awhile my inner teenager roars to life. Usually that coincides with the release of a Harry Potter or Twilight book or movie. :) It was no different On June 30 when Eclipse, the third installment of the Twilight saga was released.

I organized a group to go the evening of the 30th. It was super fun being with friends that were willing to be goofy with me. Marie, Jamie, and I kicked the excitement up a notch and actually went to a midnight showing too. That was really fun to be surrounded by people (okay, mostly girls) that were as excited, if not more, than I was. It was fun to be silly for 24 hours and I am so lucky that Ken lets me embrace that giddy side of me from time to time.

Next installment of teenage excitment is due Nov. 19 when Harry potter and the Deathly Hallows is released (it also happens to be my birthday)!

Rite of Passage...

Morgan got braces this summer. She was a real trooper and dealt with her sore mouth really well. I can't believe what a difference it is already making. She is going to have an even more beautiful smile!

Big T, little t, what starts with t? Trevor and T-Ball. T T T.

It was fantastic spending some glorious Colorado evenings watching Trevor and his friends, Jude and Collin, playing T-ball. They had a lot of fun together and learned the basics of baseball. Trevor was so funny to watch. He sure could hit the ball far, but once he was out in the field, somehow balancing dirt on his head was more entertaining than the actual game.