Happy Anniversary to Us

Dalan and I spent the eve of our seventh anniversary in the pouring rain at the Utah game. Ha!  It was an adventure for sure.  

I gave Dalan this with a penny from each year we have been married for our viper anniversary. 

And he got this from our wedding reframed. 

The Wedding

Ali and McKay got married on 6/8/13 at the Lodge at Stillwater in Heber. It was beautiful. It was magical. It was a blast. 

Here is a quick run down of all the highlights-

We had a rehearsal dinner the night before in the valley.  The food was great, and the company was better. 

Then the bridesmaids and Ali headed up to the resort for the wedding eve. We had a gorgeous room, although I slept on the side that was hot. I was the first one to bed and the first one up.  That never happens. 

Then it was time for hair.  My mom, McKay, and Quinn arrived. Ali and McKay snapped some photos. 

Next was the rehearsal. It went really well, especially considering we needed to practice getting 7 children down the aisle. 

Then it was time for more photos. Most of the kids were quite cooperative during this time. Mine wasn't one of them. 

Then it was go time. The ceremony was beautiful and the bride was radiant. I think 5 of the 7 kids made it down the aisle. Mine was one of them... With a little help. 

The reception was a blast. There were a few little mishaps, including McKay's poor grandma getting hurt during dinner, but the dancing was so much fun. Quinn and I danced almost every song. And the s'more bar (as well as the actual bar) was a huge hit. 

And a crew of people decorated McKay's truck. Ha ha. Sucker! 

I can't wait to see the professional photos. I know he took over 2,500 photos!  

And I know Ali and McKay will have a wonderful life together- full of wacky adventures and happy memories. Love you guys!!!!

Bachelorette Party

We had Ali's bachelorette party here in town last weekend while the guys went off to Wendover. We had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and then went back to Ali's for games and drinks. Good times were had by all. I think silly nights with the ladies are the best. 

(Tallest to smallest 10/2008 and 5/2013)

Easter Weekend-Ali and McKay

On Saturday afternoon, we found out why Ali and McKay ditched out on the egg dyeing fun- because they were busy getting engaged! Hip hip hooray! McKay whisked Ali on a surprise getaway to Park City, and popped the big question! We are so happy for them! It is totally the best news ever! I love an engagement and I love a wedding! And, of course I love them!!!!

Then, that evening Ali and McKay were kind enough to take Quinn to the monthly family/Easter celebration at his parents' house. Quinn got to run around with other little kids, and they even hid eggs for her. She was the purple eggs! My favorite story of the night was when Adri, the oldest niece, came up and told Ali that Quinn was downstairs licking the dog bed. Ha! That's our crazy girl! Thanks so much for including her, and letting us go to dinner Quinn-free!

We are so lucky to have McKay and his family officially joining our family, however, honestly it has felt as of they have already been for quite some time. I just love McKay so much, and I am so excited about this engagement!!!!!

Three Wonderful Years!

Dear Dalan,

Thanks for always being there for me. I know I can always count on you! You are the best, and I love you so much!

Happy Third Anniversary!

love, Jess

Happy Anniversary

Two years!
One kid!
Hundreds of memories!
One thousand times the love!

Happy Anniversary!

Wedding blog memories

I spent some time going down memory lane tonight, and read through our wedding blog. I wish I would have used blogger instead of this site, but I was lured in by all the "wedding" features. Unfortunately, all the pictures are no longer showing up, and it is hard to access. It was still fun to read though. If anyone is bored, you should give it a little peak, the blog part is listed under diary. Enjoy!

Annivesary Numero Uno

Dalan and I celebrated our first year of marriage this last weekend. It was so much fun, most of you have probably already heard me gushing all about it on facebook, but it really was that special.

It started on Friday night when Dalan suggested we go to Spaghetti Factory for dinner. This is not one of the usual places on our list, and it sounded so good. On our way there, I discovered that on that same Friday night the year before, but a different date, we had gone to Spaghetti Factory for our rehearsal dinner. So, by accident, it kicked off our anniversary weekend celebration. It was a fun coincidence.

On Saturday, Dalan and I headed up to Park City. First stop, the outlet mall. We had not been there forever, and the deals were great. As with most places, I have found the shops up there to be hit and miss, sometimes I can't get over the deals, and sometimes, I groan and think, these prices are not any cheaper than in Salt Lake at the non-outlet mall. I am glad this shopping trip was the first choice. I got my new shoes, both Dalan and I found new shirts, and new jackets. Luckily, we got hungry and lost some of our energy, otherwise the trip would have been very expensive.

After a quick trip to Wendy's for a snack we checked into our hotel, Hotel Park City. It was beautiful, and by far the fanciest hotel I have ever stayed in. They called us Mr. and Mrs. Sellers the whole weekend (although when I hear that I expect the whining of a ten year old to follow), and made our dinner reservation for us. They also gave us a tour of our room, which was spectacular. It had a fabulous bathroom that was huge, and made me what to remodel our upstairs bathrooms ASAP. It had a big king size bed, and then a big ol' sitting room with a fire place. It also had a wonderful balcony overlooking a golf course and the mountains.

Dalan in the fancy bathroom.

Me next to the moose.

We debated getting massages, but they could not do them at the same time, and we did not want to spend two hours apart on our anniversary weekend, so we went swimming instead. It was perfect, and sos relaxing. The pool was heated, and the mountain backdrop was just perfect. We returned to the hotel room, and got ready for our dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. Dalan also watched some of the Yankees' game. Dinner was nice. It was a very fancy restaurant, and Dalan and I shared our different cuts of meat with each other.

In our fancy bathrobes, getting ready to go swimming. My mirror pictures did not work as well as hoped.

After swimming, on the balcony.

Ready for dinner.

Another failed mirror picture.

After dinner, we returned to our room to discover the Yankees' games was still on, but decided to go swimming again before the pool closed. It was perfect. The heated pool was so nice even at night, and it was romantic to swim under the stars in the mountains with Dalan. When we returned to our room, the game was still on, and Dalan got to see his Yankees win after many extra innings. He did have to miss the Utah game, but I don't think he minded too much. We also ate the cupcakes from our wedding that my mother had preserved for us. We were a little leery, but they were actually really pretty good.

Yummy cupcakes, and we are not naked in these pictures as others have assumed. We had just gotten back from swimming.

Dalan and his cupcake.

The next morning was our actual anniversary. We slept in and checked out. We went to Squatters in Park City for some brunch. We were going to order room service, but totally forgot. Oh well, next time. We stopped at McDonalds and got some strawberry shakes, and I promptly spilled one all over the car while trying to show off how many things I could balance and drive. Dalan was a sweet husband, and cleaned up the mess for me. The rest of the day was spent relaxing. Overall, I would have to rate our anniversary as the best one EVER!

Dalan is super psyched it is our anniversary.

Sucker punching an elk before heading to brunch.

Dalan got in on the action too!

One year later....the highlight reel.

One year ago, Dalan and I got hitched. Hooray for one year of blissful marriage. I really, really loved my wedding day, and would get married over and over again each year if I could. I have talked about our wedding in detail on my blog, so I have decided to just highlight our favorite movements, and show some little/never seen photos.


1. Taking pictures before the ceremony. Dalan and I didn't mind seeing each other before the ceremony, and taking all our pictures before the ceremony gave us a chance to get it out of the way and enjoy our reception and visiting with of friends and family. It was also a lot of fun and relaxing. It got our minds off the big event that was to come.

Dalan was suppose to dip me, but for whatever reason we couldn't do it. Here is one of our attempts.

2. The ceremony. I always thought I would be a crying mess during my ceremony, but I wasn't....I was so calm. I knew marrying Dalan was what I wanted more than anything in the world, and I was just so happy. I just couldn't stop smiling. Also, I could not repeat simple sentences. The Rev. Nghia had to restate my vows for me, because I was totally on cloud nine, and could not remember what he had just said.


3. The drawings. I loved Becca's suggestion of having our guests draw each other and putting together a giant portrait of all of our loved ones. We still have it hanging up in our house, and I look at it all the time.



4. The toasts. I did get teary eyed during the toasts made to us. It was so moving to have such wonderful things said about Dalan and me as we were about to start our married lives together.



5. The dancing. I had such a fun time dancing with Dalan and the rest of the gang all night long. I am so glad we went with a live band. It made the night feel so alive and fun. I also loved all the kids getting into the dancing. So fun.


6. The cupcakes. I love cupcakes, and also wanted a way around the cake cutting fee we were going to be charged per guest, so we did cupcakes instead of a cake. It was perfect. They were so yummy, and held up. Dalan and I ate two frozen ones last night, and they were as delicious as they were in 2008.


7. The bouquet getting stuck in the cubby hole in the ceiling. Who knew I was powerful enough the throw a bouquet of flowers into a small open slot in the ceiling, and have them land in an upright position? But I did, and it was awesome.


8. The car. Our bridal party and others did an excellent job of decorating a most tastefully disgusting car. It was something special, and beyond my wildest imagination.


9. Our friends. They traveled far and they spent a lot of time and effort making our wedding day perfect. There are too many pictures to post them here. Look for a special friends addition coming soon!

10. Our families. The fact that both of our mothers left us voice mails today singing "Happy Anniversary" to us. So freaking cute and thoughtful!