Wednesday

Wednesday started with a trip to the park where we met friends and had lunch...

Then it was off to start taking pictures of my niece's wedding. You can see more of the professional photographs by clicking here but these are some of my favorite candid shots:
First is a pic of me & the beautiful bride, just to prove that I was there since I spent the majority of my time behind the camera...

We ran into a little snag when Kylie had some second thoughts and Stew had to beg and plead to get her to come down and marry him...(not really, but it makes for an interesting story, don't ya think?)

I absolutley love this picture. Kylie says it's a bit embarassing but she just started sobbing and Shelly said "Oh, Baby, what's wrong?" and Kylie said "I'm just so HAPPY!" and they cried together for a few minutes...

And here is her mother and younger sister helping to fluff her dress and get it just right...

Isn't she lovely?

A sweet kiss from the darling ring bearer...

And here is Stewart's first look at his beautiful bride...
Look at him stare at her!
He just
COULD

NOT

STOP!

Kylie & her sister Kelsey...

Here we were trying to get the youngest boy to kiss Kylie's cheek but he was a bit confused with everything...

They ended up knocking the bride onto her behind...

But here he is, determined to get to his daddy and be included in the shot of the groomsmen...

And here he is again, having a bit of a melt-down right before his walk down the aisle...

One of the funnest parts of the day was spending so much time with this adorable little lady...she is also my niece, the youngest daughter of my sister, Kristen. Isabelle is hilarious and had all sorts of things to say during our photo shoot. We even played several rounds of hide-and-seek and various games that I'm pretty sure she invented...

Here she is giving an enthusiastic thumbs-up during the ceremony...

Heading downstairs as the ceremony begins...

Kylie's mother, Shelly, walked her down the aisle and they both looked absolutley stunning...

I love the look on Stewart's face...

During the ceremony the Pastor was trying to speak but Stew couldn't help himself and leaned over to whisper something in his bride's ear...

Exchanging vows...

First kiss as husband and wife!

Leaving the ceremony...

Kylie & Kelsey share a hug after the ceremony...

Kylie with her Grandmother...

My brother helping the ladies out by holding their accessories...

Never mind that THREE of my ex-boyfriends were at the wedding, these three little men were BY FAR much better looking than any guy there!

It was pretty surprising to see a photograph that I had taken show up on a bottle of wine!

Their first dance...

Here Kylie was informing Stewart not to shove the cake in her face or she would be upset...Stewart was forced to decide between his wife's precautions and the taunts of the crowd...

Hugging the beautiful bride good-bye...

I'm so happy that she's so happy!

Congratulations Kylie and Stewart, and thanks for letting me be a part of your day!

Monday

Monday morning Owen & I went along to the salon to watch mom get her hair cut and it is SO CUTE! My camera is in the bedroom where Owen is taking a nap, so no pictures right now but maybe I can sneak a few when she's not paying attention.
After lunch I drove over and picked up my sister-in-law Charly. She goes to church with Virginia, one of the ladies who was helping with the shut down of the Boise temple. They are doing all sorts of remodeling and it will be closed for at least a year. Virginia asked Charly if she would like to help and Charly invited me to come along. I'm so glad she did because it was a really neat experience. There were so many volunteers that instead of taking the anticipated three days, they got most everything done in one. All of the light fixtures were taken down and the crystals from the chandeliers needed wrapped up, which was what Charly and I helped with.

This is what the chandelier looked like that we helped with and it took the both of us two hours just to wrap all of the crystals. There was a much bigger chandelier that had already been taken down and I can't imagine how long that one must have taken.
After we finished we went and browsed the mall and several other stores...why is it that when you aren't looking for a dress, they seem to be everywhere but when you are trying to shop for one they are impossible to find?

When I got back to town I met mom, dad, & the boys at the theater to watch Cars 2 but about 40 minutes into the movie Owen decided he'd had enough. Ethan & Kamden liked it, though, and have already suggested going back to the theater to watch it again.

Another Weekend...

Saturday morning I slept until 10:00. I can't remember the last time I slept that late. I probably would have slept right through the bridal shower that began at 11:00 if my mother hadn't woken me up. It would've been just like a scene from my teenage years if not for my 2-year-old sleeping in the playpen beside my bed.
The bridal shower was so cute and looked just like a picture from a magazine. It was a tea party and everything was perfect, right down to the weather. It's a good thing I'd slept through breakfast because there was so much yummy food that I was glad my stomach was empty when I showed up. Cucumber sandwiches, roast beef on black bread cut into hearts, scones with orange butter and lemon curd...and don't even get me started on the dessert table. The bride-to-be is one of the girls I had in my Young Women's group way back when I was pregnant with Kamden. Her name is Rosalie and she's even prettier than her name, if you can imagine. She sings beautifully and looked so happy and in love it really made me miss Jeff even more. I think I called him about five times that day just to see what he was up to.
Owen was putting up a fuss back at mom's house, he is having major seperation anxiety issues that began way back in March when we put him down for a nap at my parents' home and took off for a week on a cruise to Mexico. He's been extra-clingy ever since and it's only gotten worse with Jeff going to Orofino four weeks before the boys and I, then the adjusting to our new home, and now we are staying at Grandma's and Daddy is nowhere to be found. Owen wanders the house saying "Daddy work. Daddy work." in his sad little voice and today he spotted our family picture on the piano and had a conversation with 'Daddy'. Poor kid is going to be scarred for life.
He was the only one awake this morning when I headed to church and there was no way I was getting out the door without him, so he sat with me through sacrament meeting. Halfway through the prayer he started working on pooping and farted loud enough that the people in front of us probably wondered what was going on. Then during the closing song he must have realized that nursery was next because he started pointing at the door and screaming "Go! GO!" and so we went.
And in a few days we will go 'home' to the mountain and hopefully Owen will realize that life will get back to normal. It's going to be a crazy-busy week and I'm sure it will go too quickly, although I am missing my hubby. Probably more than Owen does.

Friday

Thanks to my great brother-in-law Wade, my mom & I were able to go have lunch at her Aunt's home in Boise without having to chase the boys around. He entertained them at his house while mom & I had a nice visit with my great-aunt Fran, my aunt Marlee, mom's cousin Karen, and Betty Joe.
I wished I'd taken my camera and gotten pictures of their cute home. When I was little I'd spend an entire week during the summer with Aunt Fran and Betty Joe going shopping, out to eat, playing outside, and even riding around in the golf cart while they played the course. Just walking up to the door brings back memories and I love all of the character their home has-from the rooster wallpaper to the ladybug magnets I remember playing with.
Betty Joe entertained us with a song on one of her 50+ harmonicas and even signed a copy of the book she wrote about detecting hearing impairments in children. We shared stories and memories from when I was little and Betty Joe even told me that I "used to be so cute" and she showed me a picture I'd drawn in first grade, way back in 1989, that she still keeps in her room.

I remember asking my teacher how to spell "I like school" but since the pictures were for a contest she told me I had to do it on my own. Lucky for me, I ended up winning the contest and my picture was printed up and displayed at local businesses. 22 years later, it's still on display at Aunt Fran & Betty Joe's house.

Me & my crazy brothers...I think I was in 1st grade or close to it.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday

Tuesday morning we packed up and met a friend at the park in Declo. She watched Ethan for us when they lived in Boise and he was a brand-new little baby when I had to go back to work for several weeks after my maternity leave so that we could close on our house in Nampa. We each only had one child back then and now we both have three. It was great to catch up with her and the boys loved playing with her kids.
We stopped by Jeff's parents' house for lunch and then went to Grandma Hurst's home to visit before leaving town. The boys and I dropped Jeff off at the Twin Falls airport that evening and headed to Boise where we stayed the night with my brother and sister-in-law. Thanks for letting us stay, Ryan & Charly!
On Wednesday the boys & I met our friends at Bounce in Meridian and spent the afternoon getting their energy out...

The boys have been begging to go to free lunch in the park and we finally made it on Thursday. Then I got to see my niece's cute new house and talk wedding photography since she is GETTING MARRIED NEXT WEEK! I went to her Bridal Shower that evening and am looking forward to seeing this beautiful bride walk down the aisle. Can't believe she is all grown up, but so happy for her.
Ethan left me this sweet note on my bed, written on his Toy Story dry erase board we found in the $1 bin at Target. It helped keep the boys occupied during the drive from Twin Falls to Boise on Tuesday, but it sure was a long drive...not looking forward to the 5 hour drive if when we go back to Orofino!