Chris and Aimee's Big Day 4/17/09

The wedding day was finally here and the weather couldn't have been better, everyone got ready with little issue and the limo arrived on time to take all of the ladies to the winery. Chris and the groomsmen were already there waiting for our arrival. Chris and Aimee had a private moment in the limo to see each other for the 1st time and then we hurried to get pictures done before guests began arriving.

Could they be any cuter?


Zach looked so handsome.

The bridal party at the Palm Event Center

What a beautiful bride!

Our latest family photo

Our side of the family

The ceremony was held in the Barrel Room. The lights were dimmed and tea lights flickered along the barrels. It was gorgeous! The girls dropped petals down the aisle and Allison got quite a laugh when she turned her basket upside down and dumped her remaining flowers right up front! No traditional wedding music for this couple. The groomsmen walked in to the Beach Boys, the girls walked in to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" and Aimee walked in to Lionel Richie. I think we all walked out to "Forever in Blue Jeans" by Neil Diamond. It was really unique!

Everyone is in place for the bride to walk down

{You may kiss the bride}

After a few quick photos in the Barrel Room, we all mingled during the cocktail hour. There were families from out of town that I hadn't seen since our wedding, so it was certainly nice to visit. Our friend Rob was the DJ and it was soon time for the bridal party introductions and the reception to begin. Taylor and Allison danced to "I Like to Move It" from Madagascar as they walked out and got the party started.

The dinner was amazing (salad, wine-glazed tri-tip, halibut, mashed potatoes and green beans). I know that was very important to Chris and Aimee. They also worked very hard preparing for their 1st dance and it truly paid off. There was a lot of eating, mingling, toasting, and dancing and we all had a very memorable evening.

The oldest and youngest cousins, me and Lucas

and our Cousin Keri


Trying to convince my cousin Anna to move to California

{Allison joins the crew from Iowa in the "Taking Care of Business" dance}

{The "tie-on-the-head" tradition started at our wedding almost 12 years ago}

The night finally got the best of Taylor at about 11:45

We stayed for Kolby's serenade(a surprise to Chris from Aimee), bubble blowing and the last dance and saw the happy couple off. Congratulations Aimee and Chris!

Rehearsal Dinner

We all met for the rehearsal at the Palm Event Center at Mitchell Katz Winery. We did a few quick trial runs, stressed about how slow we would have to walk down the aisle and realized that Taylor and Allison were quite comfortable in their role as flower girls (this would be their 4th wedding!). {I can't believe Chris is getting married!}

{Aimee's Mom, Joanne with my Mom}

{Darrin, "Red", Dave, Nick, Chris and Kolby}

{Cousins}

Chris, Aimee and my parents had certainly done their research on places to hold the Rehearsal Dinner. They picked Terra Mia Ristorante Italiano in Livermore and it was perfect. It was the best Italian meal I think I have ever eaten. I got the Pollo Saltimbocca and Matt had the Ossobuco and we are now hunting for recipes to try them at home. Thank you to them for a wonderful evening.

{Chris and Aimee}

After a lovely dinner and time to visit, the bride and groom thanked everyone, passed out some very thoughtful gifts and Chris brought most of the room to tears as he welcomed Zach into his family. He and Zach have formed quite a bond over these last few years.

{An emotional moment for Chris and Zach}

The evening continued as we met the extended families and friends back at the Marriott hotel for drinks and desserts. It was nice catching up with my friend Brent (we have been friends since grade school) and hearing the latest stories from my cousins. Matt and I both laughed as we looked around the room and saw all of them drinking at the bar. In the 19 years we have been together, we have seen them all grow up so fast. It is so much fun to get together with all of them.

{Darrin, Brent, Engelbert and Matt at the Marriott}

{My cousins Matt, Thomas and Ryan}

{One last hug with their single uncle!}

Pre-Wedding Activities

We arrived in Danville Wednesday night and were welcomed by a house full of relatives. I think we had 5 uncles, 1 aunt, 12 cousins and all of their families come to town from all over the country. It was quite a family reunion. We chatted over a pasta dinner and enjoyed catching up and sharing stories.

{Taylor couldn't wait to meet little Jack}

{Taylor is happy to have Zach as her new cousin}

Thursday morning, the wedding party and family met at Campo di Bocce for a little Bocce ball and lunch. I love any competition so this was a lot of fun. It was nice meeting Aimee's friends and family and getting to know the other ladies in the bridal party. The kids had fun running around the courts and playing with the youngest kids in our extended family. We wrapped up at 1:00 so we could all have some time to get ready for the rehearsal.

{Taylor and Allison had fun meeting Sydney. She lives in Florida.}

{Cheryl, Melissa, Aimee and Kristen}

{My Aunt Pam with her daughter-in-law and grandson, Bridget and Jack}

{Focusing on the game}

Not Your Traditional Easter Sunday

After Easter baskets and an Egg Hunt, we quickly got ready for church and made it to the 9:00 service. The girls loved the opportunity to go into the main church with us. They love the music and Taylor was even able to really understand the message. We came home for a quick snack and a change of clothes and piled back in the car for our day in SD. We decided to spend the day at the Padres game, our 1st game of the season.

We were pleasantly surprised to find the Easter Bunny posing for pictures on the grass .

They even had an Easter Egg Hunt in the Park at the Park. The kids collected eggs full of Starburst and Tootsie Rolls.

We did a walk around the stadium as we made our way to the seats. It sure was a pretty day.

We had seats in the Upper Reserved section, but really liked the view from there. We could see the whole field and the JumboTron, but were stuck next to lots of Giants fans since we sat on the visitor side. We will remember that for next game and get seats down the 1st base line. Luckily, the Padres had about 15 hits and were up 6-1 when we left in the 9th inning. It was an action-packed game. Allison got a nerf baseball from the Pad Squad and even had the courage to go up to ask for some SD tattoos, too.!

After the game, we walked around the Gaslamp Quarter and ate dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory-not exactly a traditional Easter dinner, but fun for all!

Easter Morning

I peeked in on the girls at 6:30 and saw Taylor wide awake. She didn't want to come down until Allison was up too. Taylor asked, "Did the Easter Bunny leave anything?" I nodded YES and we stirred Allison so they could head down stairs. They spotted their baskets and dug right in. The first thing they both picked up was their orange and red Tic-Tacs (figures!). Then it was on to the cute jammies from Justice, Dish books and Fairys books, cotton candy, Easter socks and pots for planting. They quickly emptied their baskets as they began to spot the plastic eggs scattered all over downstairs.

It started out as a race, but Taylor was kind enough to help Allison when she noticed her basket filling up faster than her little sister's! They were happy to find jelly beans, peanut butter eggs and Nerds inside the treasures. However, I heard them both say they were hoping to find money inside. Note for next year! Time to get some breakfast and get ready for church...

Cookie Decorating

Auntie Lisa helped us get "crafty" last night with some Easter cookie decorating. I think she knows it isn't something I would set up for the girls, but she loves doing this sort of thing. We love her for that!
She had every shape of cookie, color of sprinkle and Allison couldn't get enough of the icing in the can. She used every color and every decorative tip to make her beautiful designs. Taylor was a little more into the detail of each cookie and took her role very seriously. Lisa and I also joined in on the fun and made some nice creations of our own, while Matt and Daniel enjoyed some time chatting at the dinner table. Here are our finished creations:

{Allison's masterpieces}

{Taylor's works of art}

Thanks Lisa and Daniel for a very fun Easter Eve!

Week #2

I remembered my camera for Taylor's game, but again got sidetracked with the game. The Avalanche had a much tougher game today, but squeaked out a 2-1 win over the Lightning Bolts. Taylor scored the 1st goal and played some nice defense in the 4th quarter. She isn't fond of that position, but she did quite well. I was able to capture some photos at Picture Day at the Sports Park.

Maylie, Emily and Taylor-together again

Team Avalanche-notice the super cool banner!

After Taylor's game, we rushed over to catch most of Allison's game. She played a quarter in goal, which is always the longest 10 minutes for a parent. She only let one goal go through, but I guess it didn't count because it went in from a throw in and didn't touch another player. So the Blue Bombers are claiming a 5-4 victory, even though we don't keep score!

Sea Life Aquarium

When Allison and I went to Legoland a few weeks, we spotted the new Sea Life Aquarium next door. I promised we would make a trip there during Spring Break, so today was the day. The fish on top were made of Legos, pretty cool, and some of the fish tanks had Lego men inside as scuba divers. The kids enjoyed reading the "Fin Facts" posted throughout and answering the quiz questions on the scratch card.

Allison had fun touching the Sea Stars and Sea Cucumbers in the tidepool tank, but was disappointed that she couldn't pick anything up (at Sea World, they let you pick everything up).

Taylor and I loved the jellyfish tank and the seahorse display. I never knew that the male seahorse actually gets pregnant and gives birth!

Although we haven't officially adopted Maylie, she sure seems to be in a lot of our pictures lately. Her family actually gave us free passes for today and we were glad to have her join us. Overall, the kids and I enjoyed the aquarium, but I think I would have been disappointed if I had paid full price. We walked in at 11:30am and were back in our car at 1:00pm. We had even taken a break for lunch. The exhibits were clean and educational, but didn't offer enough hands on activities or other features.

Although finishing up at 1:00 gave me the idea to take the kids to the Carlsbad Outlets and Flower Fields. The ranunculas were beginning to bloom, but weren't good enough yet for any photos. We will have to head back in a few weeks.