Pre-wedding festivities.

GUESS WHAT!!! 

I am officially a married woman.  

That's right, folks. I am off the market. I am no longer one of those fishies in the lonely dating sea. Sorry, fellas. Actually, I think I may have heard some men crying while their hearts were breaking and their dreams were shattering on my wedding day.  Alas...until polygamy is widely recognized as normal, healthy, and legal, I had to narrow my choice of husband down to just one lucky man.

This lucky, handsome, hunk of a man:

This handsome man and I drove up to Idaho on Thursday, July 17 (with my mom and Kennedy) to go get our marriage license. Thank you for finding us worthy to get married, city of Pocatello!

My amazing, wonderful, crazy brother and his darling family (as well as my mom) were up there with us that night. It was beyond wonderful to have them spend the entire weekend with us. (I love this dude.)

I also love this crazy lady who I call "mother."

Thursday evening, we all hung out at my soon-to-be mother in-law's house, where we had dinner and finalized some wedding plans.

Friday morning, the ladies in the family went out to breakfast and had a little "bridal brunch." It was nice for us to spend some time with just the ladies.

After breakfast, we went up to Lava Hot Springs! A few of our friends met up with us and floated the river. 

We had SO much fun.

My new father in-law joined us and BBQ'd for everyone!

And ohmygosh this picture is so adorable I just might cry. It's my darling niece, Aysia, and my psuedo twin nieces. I'm surprised this picture didn't break the internet, because it's so cute.

Tubes are for more than just floating in rivers, apparently. They're for playing games in.

And for sunbathing.

Also, have I mentioned that Casey is one lucky man?  Well he is. Obviously.

Our friend (who was also our Officiant) took the big little girls down the river. They loved it!

The soon-to-be newlyweds had to go together, of course.

That night, Casey's amazing mom (Julie) and his sweet step-dad (Dean) hosted a rehearsal-type dinner, where all of our family and wedding party could eat and mingle. It was great to have everyone there!!

Me, Mom, brother

My beautiful grandma

My sweet new mother in-law, Julie

My daddy and my step-mom

My step-daddy

Also- I'd like to take a moment and bring some attention to my dress - my "Pocahontas" dress, as my mom calls it. Gorgeous, right? I basically had 3 wedding dresses. Long story. But my mom said she wanted to buy me a wedding dress (because she's amazing). So we went shopping and found 2 we LOVED. We couldn't decide between the two of them, so she bought both (again, because she's amazing). This is dress number one. We embellished it with beautiful beads to make it more blingy and wedding-y. :)

The kids having fun, as always!

Love.

My new ADORABLE niece, Julietta.

Hot babes.

This picture says so much.

So does this one.  ... Ten years ago, or even 5 years ago, I had never imagined that my brother and I would ever be this happy to be standing next to each other.  Over the passed few years, we have had many heart-to-heart conversations and I love that I have been able to develop such a great relationship with him. I love this bother of mine more than I ever thought would be possible. (Love you, bro!!)

My glam squad (a/k/a hair and make-up team)

Glam squad selfie.

Brotherly love.

Speaking of brothers. And sisters. Can you believe how many new siblings I just inherited?!? This is my new family, guys. (And there are actually still 7 who aren't in the picture. Haha!)

This girl. THIS girl. She has become one of my closest and dearest friends. And I just love her. We decided that when we die, we will become ghost friends and haunt everyone.

And this one needs no explanation. She's my Ashley. My lifer. My "person." And I love her.

Casey and I were so happy to have this evening to spend with our closest friends and family. I don't know how we got so lucky- but we sure do have a lot of great friends and family.

Next up- the weddddding!

Boats and concerts and stuff.

Do you know what is fun? Boating. Do you know what is even more fun? Having friends who own boats who like to invite you. What is even better than that is when you really really like these friends. BONUS.

We've gone with these amazing friends up to Echo Lake a few times this year, and it has been marvelous.  

I actually even got up on the wakeboard, last time we we went! Go me!

Casey did, too! I don't have a picture of it. But here is his beautiful face, anyway.

The girls.

The crew. A/k/a our adopted family. They are so much fun!!

And finally, the sexy couple.

Another thing we've had fun doing this summer is going to concerts.

Michael Franti at Usana! He was a great performer. Love his music.

I also went with some other friends to Red Butte to see Sarah McLachlan. She was great! (And what a cool venue.)

And ok, this may not have been in the summer. But it was this year. And we loved it. I am sooo in love with Ingrid. She put on such a fun show. And her voice is flawless.

We've also taken a few hikes up the canyon to enjoy the fresh mountain air.

Maddie kinda likes it.  Just a little.

This summer has flown by.  I'm guessing it's mostly because the first half of the summer was spent planning and then having a wedding- and then a honeymoon!! (Blog post(s) coming soon!)

Summer is for fun.

Ok, I think I've blogged enough about me. For now, at least. 

You're probably thinking: What about Kennedy??? What has she been doing while here mom is off having the time of her life with her girlfriends? Poor little girl. Her mom is just playing around like she has no responsibilities, and Kennedy is probably sitting at home, cleaning up all of her mom's messes.

Well don't you worry your pretty little head about that. Kennedy's summer hasn't sucked even a little bit.

First, backing up a few months to the end of May, we made sure to go to the color festival again, with Ashley and the girls. It was fun. And chalky.

And then what was miss K doing while here mom was out gallivanting in Las Vegas?  Oh, she was just in Jackson Hole with her friend, riding horses and playing non-stop. NBD.

And what better way to start your summer (and to end your school year) than to have your favorite cousins come all the way from Bali to visit you?!  (This is a picture of the first day of 4th grade vs. the last day of 4th grade. How great is it that these girls happened to be with her on both days? I love seeing the contrast in much they've all grown!!)

After school ended, it was Kennedy's 10th birthday!! (I am still trying to convince her that she's only 8, but she won't have any of it.) We had some friends come over (with her cousins) for a little surprise party. :)

For her actual birthday, we spent the entire day at Lagoon with my brother and his family. What a fun day!!

Not long after her birthday, she was able to spend a full week at girl scout camp. I was so proud of her for going!

 She made some really good friends and had SUCH a fun time.

I was definitely glad to have her back, though!!

We have also spent lots of time together as a family. 

We have had some fun family nights out to dinner.

And friend movie nights out.

And late nights out. (She still pretends to be asleep so Casey will carry her to and from the car. He gives in every time.)

And crazy Costco trips.

And we find some really useful and fun stuff at yard sales on Saturday mornings.

So yes. Kennedy has certainly had her fair share of fun. But wait- there's more!  Want to know what she does ALL day long while mom is busy at work?

 Oh, just a little of this.

And some of this.

 And a whole lotta this.

With a bunch of these.

Fun, right? All day, every day, she gets to play with kids- swimming, watching movies, playing at the park, doing crafts, going hiking, etc. I love that she is able to do this all the time with her daily summer camp. Happy kid = happy mom.

And this beautiful little Kennedy of mine is so sweet, that when her mom complains of having sore feet after a long day of work, she gives her a full-on foot massage and spa treatment.

The only bit of sadness we've had all summer is when Kennedy's best friend(s) from across the street moved out of state.  :(  It was such a sad goodbye.  The good thing is that they moved to Las Vegas, where we have family. So we will definitely be going to visit them- soon!!

We have had so much fun this summer and are sad to see it end! Just one more week until school starts. Boo. But don't worry- we don't plan on stopping the fun. We are already planning some weekend getaways to vegas (to visit family/friends), camping trips, and lots and lots of skiing. Bring it on, life!