Last weekend Justin's sister got married and we had a really fun night at her wedding. The weather was perfect and it was really nice to be around so much family. The girls had a blast dancing the night away. They both can be pretty shy at first and Aspen definitely is but they were the queens of the dance floor. They were also the only kids there so they kind of stood out. Dinner was good and we really had a fun night.
Aspen's pose was cracking me up. I love that sweet face.
We had a nice long holiday weekend. Well, Justin didn't have any extra time off, but I did. On Friday, Everly had a half day so while she was at school, Aspen and I met my sister and Nora at the library for storytime. We picked up some new books for Everly because she is reading all of the time and constantly going through books. It is a good problem. Friday night I had soccer and then Saturday morning I woke up to run 9 miles with my sister. We are in the last month of training for our half on November 5th. My mom was generous enough to come over while I ran since Justin had to leave for his first triathlon. He did really well. It would have been cool to see him but it was really far away. After my run, the girls and I picked up our groceries and some donuts and then headed to the monthly home depot project. Of course it was a project with like 20 nails and 4 screws while I am by myself. I survived though, and they turned out cute. Saturday afternoon we had a bridal shower for Justin's sister at his other sister's apartment. It was really cute and then I stayed after to go out with the girls. It was a good night. Sunday morning I had a soccer game and then Sunday afternoon we kept things really chill and just ordered takeout. I also had Monday off so I planned a trip to the Botanical Gardens which I will share tomorrow.
they love giving the peace sign in pictures
The only part Aspen really does.
such a cute tea party set up
the bride
the whole group
the girls loved playing with Justin's cousins
the tea party location turned into a rooftop happy hour later that night
Today Justin and I are celebrating our 5 year anniversary. We are currently in Portland, Oregon on a trip that I feel like we have been planning/waiting for since we got back from our honeymoon, haha. I am sure I will have lots to post about next week. I absolutely loved our wedding day and love our wedding photos. I love going back and looking through them each year. 5 years and 2 kids later and I think we are doing pretty awesome. The fact that we committed to taking this trip and making it happen is a big deal in itself. Thankfully my mom is helping and staying at our house and shuttling our kids around. We have some pretty awesome family that has been willing to help out so we could take this trip. To be honest with you, looking back I didn't how good of a choice I was making 5 years ago. As each year passed and our family grew I have gotten to know Justin more and more. I am pretty lucky to have found such a great husband and father. We have now been together for over 8 years and it seriously feels like it has flown by. Crazy! So glad to be sharing my life with my best friend.
Last weekend we were so excited to be able to attend a beautiful wedding in Palm Springs to see Justin's cousin Katie get married. Justin's cousin lives in LA but the rest of her family is in Utah and so we don't get to see them often. Palm Springs is only a 4 hour drive for us so we were really looking forward to seeing everyone. We hadn't seen most of them since being in Utah for a Dave Matthews concert 5 years ago before we were married or had any kids so it was definitely time to see everyone again. I worked a half day on Friday before we grabbed some Dutch Bros and hit the road a little after lunch. The girls were great and napped for part of the drive. We stayed at the same Choice Hotel as Justin's brother and sister thanks to their awesome family discount and his other two siblings were at a different choice property down the road. On Friday night we went for pizza and it ended up being really good. For me, Pizza always tends to be the easiest for large groups and Upper Crust in Palm Springs did not disappoint. Nothing fancy, just good hot pizza and pitchers of beer. Friday night everyone else was going to the estate where the wedding would be the next day to hang out for a pool party but that didn't start until 9:00 p.m. so with 2 littles and an early morning run planned we made it an early night. Thankfully our brother-in-law Mark came over to our hotel room at 5:00 AM so that Justin and I could run 7 miles together. It always feels good to get a long run in and Justin and I don't get to run together often so it was nice. Next time, I will pick a more simple route because it was dark and we only had 1 headlamp and missed a turn, but we got in our 7 so it is all good. Justin and I took the girls for a little outlet mall shopping and then I met my sister-in-laws at Sephora to get my makeup done for the wedding while the girls napped. The wedding was at 4:30 on Saturday afternoon at the Cree Estate. It was a really cool property with multiple pools and the bride and groom were staying there too which I imagine made everything a lot easier. The ceremony was short but fun and sweet and different. I love weddings so it is always fun to see everyone's different take on what they want their day to be like. During cocktail hour, Everly met a little boy that she played and danced with the rest of the night. Also during cocktail hour, Aspen took her first real step. It was just one step, and we didn't get it on video, but it was perfect. The dinner was really yummy. They had a buffet from a BBQ food truck and I am usually pretty picky about my beef but they carved it right there and it was sooooooooooooo perfect. Everly had lots of fun dancing the night away and there were even sparklers! It was a super fun wedding and we are so glad we got to go and see everyone. On Sunday morning we slept in a little and then grabbed coffee before heading back home. The girls had their Cardinals outfits on for the game and we even made a quick pit stop at our favorite Blythe spots (Starbucks and Teddy's donuts). We got home around lunch on Sunday so it was perfect even though we were all pretty exhausted (I took a 2 hour nap). Thank you to my mom and brother-in-law for feeding our pets (even though my mom skipped two of Oscar's meals, haha, he was pissed). No more trips for us until our 5 year anniversary trip to Portland in November which will be kid-free! Here are some pictures and a video from the weekend:
Big Dutch Bros = mandatory potty break in Quartzite
carb loading
runner's high
matching jammies
my sister let us use her portable high chair and Ev got a hotel mani/pedi
Thanks for the pic Berkley!
She was so independent all weekend long.
Aspen's signature smirk. (Ev was at the kid's table)
twinsies
The kids table disposable camera is filled with selfies of Everly. The kid next to her was her buddy all night long.
