Jenn and Derek's Wedding: Fun, Fun, FUN!

Our family took a fun little trip to Fresno to see our friends Jenn and Derek get married. We were looking forward to this event for a while. The anticipation began when Brooklyn and Ian both got their OWN invitations to the wedding which also came with fun gender-appropriate stickers for the kids to decorate each of their response cards. The wedding and following lunch/reception were no less kid and family friendly. I have to say, it was the most fun wedding I've ever attended. The proof is in the pictures. I couldn't stop clicking my camera because every where I turned were unique, classy, and down-to-earth details.
First of all, the ceremony was perfect: short, sweet, and to the point, about 15 - 20 minutes in length. The event was held on the groom's family ranch which was beautifully landscaped.
I also felt that it was very sweet of the bride and groom to include us in so much of their day! We saw the bride morning of the wedding as we left the hotel. She stopped by to say hi to family and friends who were eating the breakfast buffet there. She also made it known to us early in the day that she and the groom wanted to share a table with us at the lunch reception - wow! Talk about VIP treatment!
Before the lunch and after the ceremony, we had so much to feast on, visually and otherwise. First stop, the CRAFT TABLE, designed with kids in mind. The bride's mother did an awesome job with this one. There were only maybe a dozen kids or less total in attendance, but there was a craft table tempting enough even to the adults. It was stocked with coloring books, bubbles, bubble wands, paper crowns to decorate, markers, foam and other stickers. I literally had to pull Brooklyn away from it to show her the candy table only a few yards away. But before the candy table, there was this lovely beverage buffet table. It was one of many, I might add. The other tables had apple cider, water, soda, and a full-service bar, which Stephen and I didn't visit.
The lemonade was such a sweet refreshment on this warm day!
The table settings were so beautiful and no two were exactly alike, though they all coordinated.
Here's a table for making note cards for the bride and groom in lieu of a guest book. I love how the bride was very casual and had her own unique twist on wedding traditions.
Did I mention yet that there were two air-bounce structures for the kids?? Stephen spent a lot of time there with Ian. He was really sad about downing that orange soda too while minding our little kangaroo, don't you think?
One of the bounce houses was an obstacle course, the other was a gigantic slide. There were even people designated to supervise the bouncy things. Ian became fast friends with one of the super nice helpers, George, who is pictured later.
Ian's awe at the corner of the candy table.
Dad steps in to help out on the stuffing of bag #1. The almonds and grapes used for function and decoration were from the family farms.
Here's the staff that manned the ice cream booth from Marble Slab. I've never been to a Marble Slab ice cream shop, but I hear that they're the equivalent of a Cold Stone Creamery. Jenn and Derek make weekly stops to one near their home on date nights. So, it was only fitting that the crew there catered their signature ice cream at the wedding. Another fun twist - there wasn't a wedding cake, but it was not even missed. Sugar cookies were provided as another dessert as well.

Here were some of the topping choices
Brooklyn revisited the craft table several times.
One of the guests donning her paper crown from the craft table.
Ian and Brooklyn at the candy table. Brooklyn's holding her bag of loot...before it broke due to the over-stuffing it.
Crafting again.
Simple, yet stunningly beautiful flowers in Mason canning jars
A view of the farm-grown cotton that was included in some of the flower arrangements. I loved all the little farm touches! Ok, the boy with the crown in the background is pretty dang cute too.
More flowers with a touch of cotton at the base.
Jenn, the bride, and Brooklyn
Jenn and Derek with our kids. Derek was looking forward to seeing his "Buddy" Ian. Too bad Ian was playing Mr. Shy Guy.
mother and daughter
The three gals: Me, Brooklyn, and Jenn. I actually thought my hair might look more formal if I took it out of the ponytail just before this picture was taken - HELLO pony-dent!
Ian and George
Ian bounding through the obstacle course. Crazy kid!
Ok, I see a future teenager in this face. This could be the face I see in a future high-school sports game...if he's not too cool to acknowledge his mom/#1 fan on the sideline.
Down he goes! (Those shorts were put on after the ceremony.)
Brooklyn and a new friend Jillian, who attended the wedding with her grandma who is a friend of the groom's mom.
Now another kind of fun begins...the DANCING! Jenn was opposed to having a DJ and an official dance floor, but I have to say, the dancing was just so entertaining. First of all, I think we were all drawn to the beat by these energetic middle-aged mommas and grandparents who were ROCKING OUT! We couldn't just watch with out catching the FEVER!
My husband and kids are NO strangers to the dancing scene. Somehow I'm not quite so confident as them, but I do sneak in a few moves to the beat here and there.
This whole scene was highly entertaining. I couldn't stop grinning!

It was a perfect way to work that sugar through the kids (and Stephen's) systems!
I don't know who had more fun, me watching them or Stephen and the kids dancing like nobody's business! I shamelessly admit that I was totally adoring my family at this point.
Stephen was sure working up a sweat! He said it felt like Louisiana summer day - hot and humid. I was getting a little hot and bothered myself with this view of Mr. P90X graduate.
Cotton again!
The kids could not get enough of their Daddy's attention! They loved dancing with him.
Like I said, this man is no stranger to the dance floor.
I love reading between the lines of this picture. Big sister and friend teach little brother his first dance lesson. Classic.
Uh-oh! The shirt is untucked people, we are really getting down!
A too-scared-of-the-hot-plastic-on-my-bare-legs Brooklyn being escorted down the slide by George. Thanks for the rescue once again, George!
King and Queen of Bounce
Make that Prince and Princess. The true grand finale was the bride and groom's little escapade to the kingdom of air and bounce. I don't know about the other guests in attendance, but I couldn't help but think of her poor dress! Would it SURVIVE the slides? NO! It did not survive she later reported. Does she regret this? Not a chance.
Love this. Love them.
One of the bags of candy, sorted by Brooklyn upon returning home from the little adventure. (The two pictures following this should be first, chronologically)
This was Ian moments after being buckled in for the journey home.
And a few minutes after that, Brooklyn looked this way too. I'm chuckling that she was literally mid-stroke in the Strawberry Shortcake coloring page.
Jenn and Derek, thank you thank you thank you so much for including us in your momentous day. We loved every second of it was great to see you again! Best wishes!

September/October

I'm still catching up on some overdue posts, so here are a few snapshots of our lives in September and October. Me and Brooklyn take a few minutes to document our coordinating colors in these church outfits. I love breaking out clothes that are those odd in-between sizes and wearing them on the day when they fit just right. I haven't worn this dress for maybe 2 1/2 years and won't be wearing it again for who-knows how long. This picture was taken on September 11th, so yes, my belly is 2 months of pregnancy bigger than that now.
Sigh....Can I just say that this guy is my LIFESAVER? Without a doubt, the highlight of my day is the moment he returns home from work. I love that he usually whisks the kids away for some outdoor activity while I finish dinner. He even, at a huge sacrifice to him, has been known to watch animated movies with them and read superhero stories too.
This is what we did the day Brooklyn stayed home from school due to illness. We finally painted that tea set that she got from Aunt Helen for her 5th b-day which was only six month ago.

Our little table hasn't forgotten this painting experience despite my best efforts to rid it of all the residual paint that didn't get immediately scrubbed.
Here's a Halloween craft we did on a night when Stephen had a boys' outing. Its supposed to be a skeleton crown.
I just had to laugh when I found these little imprints on our plush new rug. It reminds me of that saying or poem about little hand prints everywhere that young mothers always clean off, then miss when they vanish years later.
Though the photography doesn't win any presentation points, this was a super-yummy side dish that I was proud to bring to the table to complement our dinner of left-over split-pea soup. The dish pictured is a new recipe I tried called "Gratin of Cauliflower with Gruyere." Even the name sounds fancy, no? So the key ingredients here are cauliflower, panko (Japanese bread crumbs), a little salt, pepper butter, parsley, flour, milk, onion (regular and green), and Gruyere cheese.
The next picture is of the roux that was the base of some gumbo that was made later that same night at a cooking demonstration I attended here at our complex. One of the fun benefits of living here these cooking demonstrations that are held twice a month. I HAD to go to this one because it was Cajun/Creole cooking night. We watched Chef Jeff or Mike or whatever make dirty rice, gumbo, and, as Brooklyn a la Princess Tiana might say, "Man-catchin' BEIGNETS!" YUM!
Here's a picture of my kids during about the first 20 minutes of the first session of General Conference this October. Of course, these first few moments they were still on their best behavior. At least we are glad that they are getting into the habit of tuning into conference every 6 months.


Between sessions of conference on Saturday, we went to a street fair in Pacific Beach. On our walk back to the car, I saw this sign at a church and had to laugh/take a picture of it. "Welcome Saints, Sinners, Surfers." Can you tell we were only a couple blocks away from the beach?
Here are my handsome boys before they got some much-needed haircuts a la Desi's salon. Funny thing, there are no official "after" shots, but I guess what ever pictures come next can testify of the trims that took place.

I was thrilled that Stephen was so into his book that he couldn't keep his eyes off of it even for the usual few minutes of bonding-time or just regular ol' conversation that I look forward to during our routine hair-cutting sessions.
I am just shocked at how grown-up Ian looks in these pictures by the library. It must be the baseball hat and overall big-boy sporty outfit. I love hangin' out with this kid during the day while Brooklyn's gone at school. It's great to have more one-on-one time with him than I ever have before now.
I had to snap a photo of the cover of this book which was a huge hit with our family. I loved it from about the second page into it and highly recommend it. It's about a mom and dad who go out of town for a few days, but each parent calls his/her own mother to babysit their one child, Pip. (Yes, another HUGE reason I checked it out was for the name Pip in case you wondered.) Anyway, both grandmas show up and both decide to stay and watch the child together. These two grandmas couldn't be more opposite in their approaches to life and child-rearing. I cracked up as I noticed the similarities here between mine and Stephen's different approaches. One granny was way more regimented with scheduled nap and bed times, and she tries to eat super healthy while the other one is super relaxed, wants to have fun, indulges the child with treats, and enjoys plopping down on the couch to watch some good ol' t.v. I was cracking up. Love love love it!
In the end, the grandmas agree to let Pip lay down the rules, which happen to be a nice compromise. ;)

Love This

While trying to get ready to head out for the day, I caught myself instructing Brooklyn to clean up her crayons before I realized the artistry with which they had been placed. Can you determine what kind of a scene she created here? I must say, I was pretty impressed with her creativity. Hint: I think this scene she portrayed here came to mind because we used headlamps the night before when there was a power outage. The other times we typically use headlamps are for these types of outings. Still, I was impressed with the detail of it all.

Children's Museum 9/9

Once again I'm doing some catch-up posting. Here's what we did on Friday of the first week of school; we went to the children's museum. The reason? School was cancelled? Why? We had a long power outage on Thursday afternoon throughout the whole county of San Diego. Some power lines all the way in Arizona were the problem. Anyway, since the power was out indefinitely, all the schools were canceled for Friday, even though the power ended up returning around 10:45 PM Thursday night. It was nice to have a day off, even though it was already a short week since school started on the Tuesday after Labor Day.




I had never been down to the bottom floor of the children's museum, but this huge bird-house structure extends up to the main or middle level, which I have seen. The cool thing though was that there was imaginitive play stuff at the bottom for nest-building and bird dress-ups.

This was a fun craft, especially since it involved launching things off the balcony outside to the patio below where all the clay-making and statue painting took place.


More shots of the bird cage. Sorry if some are repeats. Oops!

Where the Turf Meets the Surf

We joined some friends for an outing to the Del Mar race track. It was so fun to be a part of the action and excitement. This was a first for me!
We accidentally entered the side where the top-breed horses parade around for a smaller audience who will be placing bets...no wonder our tickets were a little more costly than we had planned for. Oops! We won't be making that mistake again. It also explains why there were little to no kids there except for our own. Also it explains why we were privileged to experience this close encounter with a beautiful horse.
Here we are heading off to the back lot where all the fun kid stuff was set up. It was "family day" at the race track, so all of these extra activities for the kids were free. :)
Anyone searching for dandruff?
Here the horses are pounding down the final stretch of the race. The intense excitement of the crowds was so thrilling!

Ian in a blue bounce house
The pony rides, with one side of the race track in the background.
Face/Body painting (Hello Kitty)




Brooklyn and Ayzia