Wedding Bells Are Ringing!

A few weeks back (life has been so busy I can't believe its been almost a month!) we had the privilege of attending a good friend's wedding. 

 

Shannon has been a good friend of my sister since elementary school.  With all the time they spent together at church and at our house I got to know her pretty well myself through the years.  Shannon is also a teacher so we could always laugh about our students, commiserate with each other, and just compare stories about the craziness of the job :).  Good times :).

 

It's been so fun to see where life has taken her and now its so great to celebrate the adventurous journey she now shares with her love Michael.

 

The wedding was at a beautiful venue in Mill Valley, CA.  It shouldn't have taken us more than two hours to get to the venue that day, but for some reason it seemed like everyone was on the road that day and headed to the city.  It took us FOUR HOURS to get there!!  The girls were troopers, but it was a little rough along the way.  We made it to our hotel room with about 45 minutes to spare to get ready and get to the wedding, but we made it on time :).

 

The ceremony was held outside in a beautiful courtyard.  The special thing about this wedding was that Krystal was the maid of honor and Norah was the flower girl,  They both looked beautiful :).  Norah walked down the isle with my sister, but along the way saw my mom and I think wanted to sit with her cousins, so she started to cry and her dad held her the rest of the time.  Every wedding has to have at least one hiccup right?! :)

 

 

 

 

And yes, Krystal really is this tall and I'm really that short :).

 

We had a great time eating delicious food, were kept busy by trying to keep tabs on three busy, excited girls, visiting with friends, and celebrating the happy couple.  Krystal gave an amazing toast and evening was filled with sweet memories shared of Michael and Shannon.

 

 

Lucy was the happiest of course when she was eating.

 

The night was complete with homemade root beer floats (which the root beers were also the yummy favors), cake, and dancing.

 

 

The three girls danced the night away with their daddys :). 

 

 

 

And by "dance the night away" I mean it.  They stayed up WAY past their bedtimes.

 

 

The quote on the root beer bottle was perfect:

Now at last they were beginning

Chapter One of the Great Story

no one on earth has ever read,

which goes on forever,

in which every chapter

is better than the one before.

- C.S. Lewis

 

Congratulations again Mr. and Mrs. Prior!! 

 

 



One Last Hurrah

The same day as the family birthday luau we went to a Rivercats game to spend one last evening with our good friends, the Imbodens, before they moved to Tucson, Arizona for a new pastor job!

 

I think we were trying to initiate them to the Arizona heat that evening because it was a scorcher!

 

We joined their small group and met on a regular basis with this wonderful family and friends for over a year now.  We will miss Zach, Anne, and Providence dearly.  We have shared so many laughs, been through challenging times in all of our lives together, shared in the joy of new babies being born, playdates, coffee dates,  MOPS, church, prayers, and encouragement with each other.  The Imbodens have opened their home countless times for our get togethers and have always made us feel loved and accepted.  Anne even threw a baby shower in her home for our little Lucy before she was born :).  They have been true friends and have stayed by our side through so much these last few years.  Seeing Aubrey and PJ playing together these past months have been wonderful and I know Aubrey will miss her friend :(.

 

 

So, for our last Sunday evening together we went to the game with all of our groups' families. 

This was actually both Aubrey and Lucy's first time at a baseball game!!  Everyone barely watched the game, but it was fun to sit and catch up with each other a little bit as we tried to keep the kids entertained and hydrated :).

 

 



It came time to say our goodbyes.  The kids all said their goodbyes with some big hugs to a very tired PJ and we got one group shot together (minus one family, the Jicklings, who were somewhere trying to cool off I think.  I'm bummed we didn't get them in the picture).

 

Thank you Zach and Anne for everything that you have done and all that you have been to us!  We're excited for this next chapter in your lives and can't wait to see how each one of your gifts are used in Arizona.  We know we'll be in touch and still be involved in each other's lives through various forms of communication, but it won't be the same as having you live so close by. Love you guys and words can't express how much you will be missed.

 

A Celebration Luau

This summer has been full of a lot fun celebrations! Birthdays and weddings are in abundance and we're soaking it up!

A few weeks ago the Pierce side got the chance to throw a surprise birthday luau for Brandon's grandparents (aka Mimi and Corkey). Mimi is turning 80 and Corkey is turning 75 and with these two birthdays on the horizon, we decided to celebrate big!

 

We had the party at Brandon's parents house on a very hot day. Despite the lack of humidity, it felt like we were in a tropical place :). 

 

 

There were home made surfboard decorations made by Mike and Mary that each had footprints or handprints on them of each great grandchild. 

 

The scene was set for a good party!

 

We all waited out in the front yard to surprise the guests of honor. 

 

 

 

When Mimi and Corkey did arrive they were very surprised!

They were so surprised to see so many family members and close friends from all phases of their lives. 

 

 

No birthday would be complete without some cake!

 

And almost no party is complete without swimming at Mike and Mary's :). 

What a great afternoon we had celebrating two very special people in our lives. Happy Birthday Mimi and Corkey!!