When we first heard that my sister and two cousins were all getting married so close together (within 4 weeks) we debated about what to do. Obviously we were going to my sister's wedding, but should we also go to my cousins weddings? Attending their weddings meant that we would be traveling for 5 week/weekends in a row (McKay's brother is graduating the week after their weddings and we had our Lava family reunion in between the weddings). We have never traveled this many times in a row since we moved to Idaho 5 years ago.
BUT this side of my family are pretty much like siblings. We were raised very close to each other. Brady lived 4 houses away from my family for several years and we had many MANY family parties and cousin sleepovers. When McKay joined the family they welcomed him with open arms and he has also gotten very close to them. So we just could not miss their weddings no matter the stress and craziness of traveling. So
We will start with Brady's wedding day fun and then move on to Trevor's.
Brady's wedding started Friday evening with a family dinner. It was held at a church near downtown Salt Lake and it was a fiesta... Literally :) Bright colorful decorations, yummy tacos for dinner and toasts to the bride and groom. It was a fun relaxing event and I am pretty sure I ate my weight in tacos that night.
And while this next picture doesn't show much I just had to throw it in. My kids are pretty much the only kids that live close to Utah on this side of my family. So with lots of adults around they are pretty spoiled by all of my cousins, aunts, and uncles. So even though Addie may beg to have other kids around to play with (she is always asking for more friends so this is nothing new) I am super grateful for all of the love and support that my family shows to my kids. This is Dayton my youngest cousin that lives in Utah. He is a great helper and my kids love playing with him.
Saturday was the wedding at the Salt Lake temple. I was told my kids behaved well during the ceremony which is always nice. We enjoyed spending the day downtown and even got our favorite German food after the wedding (although taking the kids to the German restaurant was not fun since they all just needed a nap by that point). It was probably the warmest day we had had so far this year which was rough during pictures (pretty hot), but a nice change from cold Idaho. The bride and groom looked so happy and we are thrilled for them!
Brady and Hunter were probably the most public with their displays of affection out of all three couples. They definitely have the kissing part down ;)
Brady's dad, Brent and one of her brothers
This is my mom's brother's family and I am pretty sure Adalyn believes she is a part of it.
That evening we went to their reception in American Fork. The reception was both outdoor and indoor (food inside and the line was outside) which worked out perfectly and made for a beautiful evening. Adalyn and Declin loved the random staircase in the main room and Jensen loved the Spiderman wedding cake that Hunter had made. Adalyn attempted the bouquet toss, but came up empty handed. It was fun talking with family and celebrating Hunter and Brady.
We ended up staying later then we had planned and did not get home to Idaho Falls until 12:30 am that evening which just about killed both McKay and I. We are both terrible nighttime drivers so we were thrilled to get back to our beds that night.
The next weekend after Brady's wedding we headed back to Utah to do it again for Trevor and Sam. My kids now believe that is just what you do on the weekends. 'You drive to the temple and go to a wedding'. Guess that is not a bad way to spend your weekend.
And I honestly do not know if I will ever be able to get Jensen into a white shirt and tie again. He fought me on it EVERY single time we tried to put one on him.
Trevor and Sam's wedding festivities were up north towards Kaysville area so we decided to stay at my grandma's house instead of my parents house so that we would be closer to the temple and reception. We got to her house on Friday evening had a little pre wedding sleepover with Heather, Brent, and their boys.
The day of their wedding started out with lots and lots of rain. I prayed that the rain would clear up for their special day and it did! By the time we got out of their sealing ceremony at the Bountiful Temple the rain had stopped and we were able to take pictures.
More cousins! It was so fun to be able to see everyone!
We have not known Samantha for that long and have only seen her in person a handful of times, but Adalyn LOVES her. They really bonded at the first two weddings so Adalyn loved watching Sam be the bride and to see her pretty dress. These two truly are the cutest couple!
After the Temple they had a luncheon hosted by the groom's family. I was terrible and didn't take my camera into the lunch and I am mad that I didn't because the decorations were so cute and perfect for a luncheon and the food was clever too. The food was catered by a company that comes and grills for you on site. We literally had freshly grilled chicken and steak. Both (yes I tried both) were SO moist and flavorful. Even Addie and Jensen loved it which is a small miracle with their appetites. So just imagine a picture of yummy food here...
The reception was beautiful, simple, and elegant which is totally Samantha's personality to me so I thought it fit great. My kids took over another staircase (just like they did at Brady's wedding) and I am pretty sure I saw Adalyn crawling around like a puppy at one point. So yeah... my kids were having fun. :) My favorite part was chatting with my cute cousins that we do not get to see very often and seeing Baby B in her floral crown. Isn't she adorable!
We did not stay this time for all the fun stuff like cutting the cake and dancing, but it sounds like it all went well. Since we got an earlier start the drive home was a lot smoother after their wedding.
What a crazy month we have had! But such fun memories that we were able to be a part of! We are so grateful for families and the true happiness that they bring into our lives.
