Fathers Day 2014

Someday I will write a more thoughtful and planned out post on McKay as a dad so you guys (and future generations since this blog is turned into a book) can get to know him a little more.  He is a pretty great dad if I do say so myself and SO helpful when it comes to raising our kids.

For example, yesterday I called him at work and told/warned him about our "plans" that evening.  "Plans" being you say yes mam when I ask you to do something because I have a list of things that need to get done and I am too tired and pregnant to do them myself.  I had been having a rough week and finally hit my breaking point yesterday and needed his help in "picking up the pieces".  haha poor guy... But ofcourse in good old McKay fashion he came home, took orders, helped clean the house, didn't complain when dinner was pizza, wore the kids out at the park while I went grocery shopping, and put them in bed for me.  So yes he is a great dad and a very understanding husband.

Fathers Day this year was similar to mothers day.  Not tons of fan fair but we did try and make him feel loved and special.  We started out the day with a nice breakfast and then headed to church.  I was speaking in sacrament meeting that day so, Happy Father's day to McKay, he got to wrestle the two kids all by himself.  But for the most part they did pretty well and were able to all stay in the chapel for the whole meeting, which some days is a huge accomplishment.

After church we took naps (so glorious!) and then had a nice dinner after.  I made Parmesan Chicken, mashed potatoes, and carrots.  One of McKay's favorite meals.

That evening McKay opened his gifts.  We got him a cooler and a camping chair.  Then he and the kids danced in the rain.  He said dancing in the rain was his favorite part of the day (I must need to improve my cooking skills haha)

ps. I have to stop and talk about the above picture.  That is such a typical Adalyn face.  She didn't really love dancing in the rain, because the rain got her dress messy.  She is so girly!  She is hanging on to Mckay for dear life so that her feet and dress don't took the ground.  haha I am just trying to embrace this stage since the 40 different outfit changes a day could make anyone go CRAZY!  

Happy Fathers Day McKay!

    

Corinne and Stu's Wedding

On June 7th my younger sister, Corinne, became Mrs. Hales.  :)  It was a beautiful spring day and everything went off without a hitch.

The day started off at the Draper temple where they were sealed as husband and wife.  That is the same temple that McKay and I got married in so it was fun to remember back to our special day.  The sealing was so sweet and I just loved being able to be a part of it.  Mykelti, my youngest sister, was a trooper and watched the kids for us while McKay and I went to the sealing.

Here are a few random pictures while we all waited for the bride and groom to come out of the temple.

 So fun that Larissa and Rusty were able to be there from Connecticut...

Mr. and Mrs. Hales

After congratulating them we headed to the back of the temple for some group shots.  I didn't snag many pictures at that point since none of us were really dressed in our "Wedding" clothes (my family usually just saves those for the reception) and I was trying to keep my toddlers photo ready which was no easy task.  Fruit snacks were the only thing that kept us sane that day.  Lots and lots of fruit snacks.  

After Corinne's sealing they had a luncheon at my parents church that Stu's family had catered by Apple Spice Junction.  We were not able to go to Corinne's Luncheon because it was at the same time as John and Sarah's wedding.  We were sad to miss it, but happy it was the only thing that day that we had to miss.  Because honestly their sealings could have overlapped which would have made us so sad to miss one of them!

But later that evening we joined back up with my family for Corinne and Stu's reception.  They had their reception at the Draper Historical Park which is just up the street from my parents house.  My sisters and I grew up riding our bikes to that park and we would walk through it each day on our way to school. This park has some special memories with our family so I was excited that at least one of us was able to have our reception there since we all have talked about having our wedding receptions there at one point or another.  

In the past my mom has always hired a decorator to decorate at our wedding receptions.  But this time since the reception was outside we decided to try our hand at decorating ourselves.  It was a big project for all of us, but thanks to some wonderful friends of my mom's we were able to pull it off and the reception was beautiful.  I had fun being able to help with some of the decorating details and decisions.  It is a LOT of work, but more rewarding in the end.  Here are a few pictures of the reception that I grabbed.  I mostly helped with the picture frames behind the food table and a few of the flower pots.  

 

Before the reception started we took a few more family pictures in front of their backdrop that they had set up for the line.  It was up in a gazebo while their food and tables for the guests were down on the grass in the tent.  

Corinne's wedding colors were a light peach/coral with navy blue, grey, and green.  After buying a few different outfits for the kids I think I finally got the colors right.  :)  The kids looked so cute and Adalyn loved wearing her sparkly dress.  

By this point in the evening the kids were done having their picture taken

The reception was busy, but luckily it never felt too crowded since people could just spread out on the grass around the park.  I tried to chat with as many people as possible plus chase my kids around.  They sure enjoyed running around on the grass.  

Watching their wedding slideshow before the reception started

Cutting the cake

Then we sent them on their way in their "beautiful car"

Congrats Corinne and Stu!  It was a beautiful day!  

p.s. after writing these wedding blog posts I am kind of disappointed with myself that I didn't take more/better pictures to document the day.  Like I don't even have one picture of my dad... blah!  So sorry if the story line is a little choppy!  I will try and do better in the future.  

pps.  Corinne since I didn't get great pictures it just means that you will have to create a blog and post all the professional pictures to it so we can all see.  :)  

  

John and Sarah's (and Maka's) Wedding

On June 6th we had a fun opportunity to go to a wedding dinner/reception for McKay's younger brother, John and his new wife Sarah.  They would not be getting married until the 7th, but were having their dinner on the 6th.

John and Sarah met online and then after dating long distance for awhile Sarah moved to Colorado so that she could be closer to where John was. So while we didn't get to see them very often while they were dating since they lived so far away, the few times that we did get to meet Sarah we all loved her immediately.  She is a great addition to the family and we are excited to get to know her even more.  Sarah also has a son named Maka who is 2 and he is absolutely adorable.  He is the most laid back, fun loving 2 year old I have ever met.  Such a sweetheart!

John and Sarah's wedding dinner was outside in the garden area at the Lion House.  It was a PERFECT night to have an outdoor dinner and the setting was beautiful.  Mostly just the adults went to the dinner which was SO nice to just talk with McKay's siblings and parents and enjoy a nice dinner without the distractions of all our cute kiddos.  Thanks to my parents who watched our kids, while trying to get the last minute prep for Corinne's wedding.  The night off was greatly appreciated!

John and Sarah did the traditional speeches, cutting the cake, and dancing at their dinner.  So it was almost like a wedding luncheon and reception in one.  We were enjoying ourselves so much that I only got a few pictures at the dinner.

 Couple's first dance

 In this next picture you can sort of see Maka dancing behind his mom and John with his cousin.  So cute that he wanted in on the dancing action.  

Here we are enjoying the nice evening.  Their wedding colors were light pink and dark gray, hence the pink tie.  

And can I just say YUM! to the lion house rolls!  So happy to have them since I pretty much crave them every time I walk into a Desert book.

Here is a close up of Candace and Chad.  We can thank McKay for this picture.  We had fun laughing and talking with them and Diana and Dax all through dinner.  

Now we interupt this blog post with some other exciting news.... 

This is Diana and Dax.  McKay's younger sister and her new husband.  They got married a week before John and Sarah and this was their first night back from their honeymoon.  They decided to get married in the Anchorage, Alaska temple so none of the family was there to witness it, but we are very happy for them!  Congrats to the new couple.  :)

We stayed for a long time at the wedding dinner (just too much fun to leave)  So it was a late night getting back to get ready for the next day.  

June 7th dawned bright and early and we were up and at it from the start since we had a very full day ahead of us.  Corinne and Stu were getting married first so we started the day off at the Draper Temple.  After their sealing and pictures we headed to Wendy's for a quick lunch stop.  Luckily the kids crashed in the car at this point so we were happy that they got a little bit of a nap since the fun was just beginning for the day.  

We arrived at the Salt Lake Temple early so the kids enjoyed their lunch while strolling around temple square.  

I loved their little matching outfits!  

Once it was time for the sealing we handed over all of the kids to some very great cousins and siblings (it was a ton of kids, thanks Julie and Lindsey for babysitting).  The sealing, as always, was a very spiritual experience.  After John and Sarah were sealed as husband and wife, Maka was sealed to them as well.  Not a dry eye in the room as they became an eternal family of 3.  What a blessing and beautiful experience to witness.  Congrats to the very happy family!

Handsome Maka! 

Everyone else who came to celebrate their special day...  

John with McKay's dad and step mom  

McKay and his uncle Eric that he works with here in Idaho.  McKay really looks up to him a lot.  

And a couple more pictures of the bride and groom.  What a special day!