Ashley's Wedding.

It's been a while since I blogged last. Our little family traveled to Texas (we were gone 10 days) and I've been so busy I have yet to unpack. . . even though we've been home five days. Eek! I love traveling, but sometimes I need a vacation from my vacation, if you know what I mean. We had a wonderful, sunny, family-filled time and I can't wait to share cute pictures of our Tenley bug at the beach. BUT, first things first. . . my dear friend Ashley's wedding.

My Vote for Babies.

There are a lot of new parents in the recreation therapy department where I work. One co-worker had a baby about a month before me; another had her son the day after me; my male co-worker announced his wife was pregnant shortly after we did; I just finished covering for my boss while she was on maternity leave; and the PRN we just hired has a 14-month-old. Whew! Babies! Other people often joke "there must be something in our water." Needless to say, we spend a lot of time offering advice, sharing tips, and exchanging stories. It's definitely been nice to have this little support group as I've transitioned into motherhood. 

A vintage country wedding.

Tiffanie's wedding turned out absolutely beautiful! She had the ceremony and reception in the Layton bowery. Some family friends of the Knowldens once owned a vintage decor boutique and did a lovely job helping Tiff with her decor and set-up. There were pretty frames and cowboy boots and twinkle lights and big paper flowers and old books and well-worn suitcases and all things vintage and pretty you can imagine. I was totally blown-away! It's crazy to think she announced the wedding just six weeks ago and everything came together so perfectly. She was gorgeous. The groom was handsome. The weather was just right. And we are really happy for her. 

Love you, Tiff, and wish you only the best!

Another wedding!

JD's younger sister, Tiffanie, is getting married today (his brother, Tyler, tied the knot earlier this year). Last night, we got together with his family and the wedding party to practice walking down the aisle. We were also treated to a nice dinner by Tiff's soon-to-be in-laws; they own a catering business- yum!  Today, we'll be taking pictures, attending the ceremony, and partying it up at her reception. . . here's to hoping all these wedding festivities will send me into labor this week! 

Handsome husband + really pregnant wife

Tyler

Trever + fairly recent new girlfriend

Tyler + Mikella

Expectant momma + (almost more expectant) grandpa-to-be

Idaho Trip

Last week, JD and I took a little road trip to Idaho for my friend Angela's wedding in Teton. We also made a slight detour to visit our friends in Boise. It was a lot of driving in a few days, but we sure loved seeing our good friends and spending time together in a new state. 

Crossing the border.

 Yummy restaurant in downtown Boise.

 We miss this cute family!

Zoo Boise on Friday. 

 Shoshone Falls in Twin Falls, ID

 Double rainbow at the falls (!!)

 Peaceful time together in the Idaho Falls LDS temple.

San Antonio friends. Look at that pretty bride!

 Gorgeous Idaho sunset. Love this man.

Angela's wedding ceremony and reception was held at the cutest barn in a small Idaho town. She did such a good job decorating with vintage books, dried flowers, romantic pictures, and rustic accents. The whole place had a dreamy feel to it. So happy she found someone to make her so happy!

The Last Few Weeks

JD and I have done a lot of fun things in the last few weeks!

 Here's a re-cap of what we've been up to:

Dinner at Jared and Karen's with Bryce and Sheree. These guys were JD's good friends in high school and we got together because Bryce just accepted a job offer in Louisiana and they'll be moving soon. It was nice to visit and catch up with them.

Dinner at Chick-fil-A. We were trying so hard to not spend money on eating out in May, but I had been talking about Chick-fil-A for weeks. . . so we gave in. Worth it!

Tyler and Mikella's Wedding. JD's little brother got married over Memorial Day weekend. We were both in the wedding party and loved sharing in their celebration.

JD's mom's side of the family at the reception. It had rained most of the day, so it was pretty chilly. . . but the backyard was absolutely lovely!

It started raining hailing during their wedding dance. While everyone rushed to get the tables and chairs and stereo equipment under cover, these lovebirds shared their romantic moment in the rain. Rain on your wedding day is supposed to be good luck, right? :)

NBA on television. We've been watching a lot of basketball lately. JD has been cheering against the Spurs (only because he's bitter they swept the Jazz) and I've been teasing him by wearing my San Antonio apparel sometimes. I'm not as committed to the Spurs as I probably should be and wouldn't mind if OKC won (gasp!) because it would make JD happy. 

Park City with the newlyweds. Tyler and Mikella stayed in a condo up in Park City for their honeymoon. We went up later in the week for dinner and games. We played games until like two in the morning and spent the night up there.

Tiffanie's graduation. JD's little sister, Tiffanie, graduated from Layton High School. We are super proud of her and are so excited for what's in store in her life.

Camping with the Weeks and Leues. We planned to go camping with these guys, but ran into issues when we tried to find a camp spot. It didn't end up working out as we planned, but we had a bonfire anyway and spent the evening playing games and visiting.

Fishing with the Williams family. Camping didn't work out, but JD still really wanted to go fishing. We invited the family we live with and JD taught all their kids how to fish. I sat out in the sun and helped cook breakfast in the morning. We were up in the mountains for a few hours, but JD was the only one who ended up catching a fish. Still, it was pretty special to see JD's sweet interactions with those kiddos.

Dinner and dominoes with friends. Cory and Sean and Jeremy and Stefanie came over for dinner on Saturday night. We enjoyed delicious food and played dominoes. Love spending time with these guys!

We are blessed with such good friends and family and are trying to enjoy the sweet time we have together before our little one joins the family. We know we'll miss these days!

Wedding Week

My best friend from college got married yesterday. This week has been busy with all her wedding festivities. Tuesday: bridal shower. Thursday: pre-wedding dinner. Friday: sealing ceremony and reception. I'm so happy for Cory (and just a tad jealous Sean gets to keep her as a roommate forever!) 

I loved getting to spend so much time this week with all these lovely ladies. It's hard to think about us growing up and apart, but I'm so thankful for the special memories and bonds that will keep us connected forever.  Love ya'll!

Wedding and burgers.

This weekend one of JD's favorite mission companions got married. We were able to attend their temple sealing. It was a sweet and sacred ceremony, where they promised to love and take care of each other forever. The feelings of love and devotion in that room reminded me of when I made similar promises to my husband and to God. In the hustle and bustle of everyday, I sometimes forget to honor and respect my marriage relationship. JD's super-de-duper important to me (obviously!), but I could be better about telling and showing him that. I'm thankful we were able to go to the temple this weekend with his newlywed friends so I could feel this giddy happiness again and re-commit to having a rockstar marriage with my husband! 

We got burgers at In-n-Out on our drive back home. I'll never understand why JD needs to order a double-double when we go there. . . but, I guess part of making marriage work is learning to pick your battles. 

 I let him win this one ;) Happy Monday!

Not my news.

So it's not really my news at all, but something big happened recently! My friends from high school, Taylor and Alisha, got engaged. Wahoo! They've been dating literally as long as I've known them and I'm so excited for their marriage. I've been stalking their pictures on Facebook and thinking about them tons lately. The magic happened in New York City, where Tiffany moved earlier this year. My heart aches a little thinking about Taylor, Alisha, Trey, and Tiffany celebrating together so far away. I miss their friendship and sometimes wish the passage of time and growing up didn't mean separating ways and moving on. So, sweet friends, we haven't talked in months and I don't know all the details of your lives, but I'm thrilled for this next step and I'm sending loads of warm wishes your way. Love and miss all of you!

Best man.

Last week, one of JD's best friends got married. Jeff and JD were friends in high school. They worked together for two summers. They snowboard together often. JD has Jeff on his speed dial and Jeff asked JD to be his best man. JD organized a "bachelor party" for Jeff; basically, all his old friends from high school got together to pig out and watch home videos from their Taylorsville days. JD was pretty stoked to get all the guys together again. They had a really fun time.

On Friday morning, we went to the temple ceremony. . .

and on Friday night, we danced and celebrated at their reception.

It was a perfect day to get married. Clear skies and a little zip in the air! Oh, and if you recognize some of those boys,it's probably because you saw them at our wedding :)

Same groomsmen. Same tuxedo rental shop. Same florist. Same photographer. They're off to a good start! Congratulations, Jeff and Jamie. We're so excited for you.

Happy one week!

A week ago today Chris and Cami tied the knot.

We loved being part of the celebration!
These two made me absolutely giddy.

It's refreshing to see people so crazy in love.

Happy one week!

If I had an unlimited flight budget...

I wouldn't have missed this cute Utah celebration in May or this beautiful Texas affair in June.I wouldn't have to miss her happy day on August 13th in Utah

or his San Antonio blissful union on the 21st.
I don't care who it is, or where it is, or how far away I am..

my heart always breaks a little when I have to miss

happy celebrations of love and marriage.

I hate that flights are so dang expensive.
So bummed I'm missing all the festivities!