Wedding Weekend Getaway...

This last weekend J and I flew to Santa Barbara for his brother Jeff's wedding. I must say, we did a pretty good job of being "adults"...it was the first time we've ever rented a car by ourselves, drove in an unfamiliar city without getting lost (well, except for the first 20 minutes cause J thought he knew more than mapquest) and had no one but ourselveves to worry about! (Special thanks to my mom and dad, aunt Janny, Ariel and Sandy for juggling our munchkins while we were away) It was a quick little trip packed full of fun, food, shopping, manners and entertainment! I was so excited I forced J to take a picture in the freekin' airport...I know, kind of lame...


First things first...as soon as we landed and arrived at our much anticipated destination I made J pose for a picture in front of Spencer's parents beach house (for all you MTV/HILLS junkies :)) where my inlaws were staying. The beach house was beautiful with an incredible front row view of the ocean...





We even saw dolphins right off shore...J obviously wasn't too quick with the camera...


On to a quaint little beachside cafe we went for some yummy sandwiches with some of J's family. It was the cutest little cafe with a sandbox right in the middle of the eating area for the kids to play in, I could get used to that...I think I'd actually be able to eat in peace if there was a sandbox for my kiddos to play in.
My inlaws Larry and Cheri, J, Me, Mark (J's brother), Vanessa (JW's gal) and JW (another one of J's brothers).


The girls...Cher, Vanessa and I


Next stop...Peuso Nuevo mall...this mall was the most peaceful, serene mall I have ever been to. I know, I know that sounds totally corny, but it was amazing! It was an outside mall lined with huge, lush, green trees with flower arrangements and exotic plants lining the walk ways. Any shop you could possibly want to look in was there...including Ben and Jerry's!
I love a chocolate fudge, brownie sugar cone...double scoop of course :)!



That evening was the "rehearsal dinner" which I have no idea why it's called that other than you rehearse the same toast you're going to deliver the following night?
Anyhow, it was held at a beautiful home owned by the Busch family in Montecito.
Here J and I are passing through the entrance to their property...doesn't my man look so handsome :)! He was on his best behavior, which I didn't know he had, the enitre night and he looked so sharp!



J and the groom (his brother Jeff)...


2 of the gals we hung out with the majority of the time @ the dinner and wedding, cause everyone else was so much older than us!


Marky, J and I...


I loved the fancy place settings...here's when our manners, or lack thereof, came into play. I have never seen so many silverware thingys or drinking glasses for one place setting in my life.


Let's just say, when the couple putting on the dinner owns Busch (Budweiser/Busch I think it is) there's an unlimited supply of their product on hand.


The bride and groom...


J's sister Kirstin and her fiance' Alex...


We had such a wonderful time @ the dinner and it was unlike anything we'd ever experienced before! The night was fantastic and the company of J's family is always a blast!
The next morning we ate at the yummy Summerland Cafe where darling little Cami played her DS during breakfast...


Posing for a pic. in between bites :)...


The groom (Jeff) and his mom Cher, just hours before the wedding...


So their big night came and it was beautiful and once again, unlike anything we'd ever seen before (other than on TV...and all this time J's been telling me all my reality shows are fake and made up and it's not "reality", well apparently it is reality for some people honey!)
They were married "lakeside", apparently some individuals have "lakes" in their back yards...if you look closely, behind the trees you can see camera crew. Bravo is taping a new reality series showing the lives of Polo players. Jeff and JW, along with 2 of their other polo playin buddies are the guys who will be cast in the reality series. I'm excited to watch it!


J and I in our "fancy" attire...



The reception following the ceremony was held above the lake on a polo field. Jeff, the groom, is a professional polo player who spends the majority of his time playing in Santa Barbara and Argentina. The owner of the estate and property where the wedding and reception were held is part owner in their polo team, I forget what they're called, but that's how Jeff has become acquainted with these guys (same with Andy Busch, where the dinner was held the previous night). Anyhow, that's the significance of the reception being held on the polo field. And what would a polo player's wedding be without horses?!?!
J and I petting one of the prized horses, it's like stroking a $200,000+ dollar bill. These horses are worth more than many of our homes, it's insane! (We should have stole one:))


Here's just some fun pictures from our eventful, fun evening...

Cami (our neice), the little flower girl, and I on the polo field...


J and Johnny (our nephew) looking smashing in their suits!


So the man who owns the "estate" in the background along with the property of the lake and polo fields is like 70 years+ and his wife is 41 years old...imagine that!


Michelle's colors were chocolate brown and ivory, they look really pretty together...


My sister-in-laws Ashley and Kirstin...they're so sweet...I absolutely love them!



Sitting down to enjoy our goat cheese wrapped in squash and zucchini? I couldn't even identify the items on my plate...the rolls were scrumptious though :)


Kirstin and Cami in their matching wraps...


The newlyweds!!!


My inlaws Larr and Cher...we love you both!


I don't think I've danced on a dance floor since Club Axis was around back in the day...but J and I figured we had nothing to loose, we both already know we're dorks. BUT, I must say you looked pretty fly out there baby! I was mezmerized...not really but you do have some skill on the dance floor hun! I have to admit, dancing did make me feel young again, until my thighs continued to burn well into the next day.
On the dance floor...





Never a dull moment when JW's around (for anyone who knows him, I know you're all laughing right now and wishing you had gone...just had to add it for journaling purposes :)...


We spent a lot of our night with Alex...he's one of those people you're drawn to because of the way they make you laugh. He's absolutely hilarious! J and I loved him and can't wait till he's in the fam!




A few more pics. for my fellow MTV/HILLS fans...Spencer's mom, Janet, has been best friends with my mother in law Cheri for 25+ years. After meeting and spending time with Janey over the course of 2 days I can see exactly where Spencer gets his sarcasm and witt. She's a blast to be around and so entertaining!
Janet is a character! She is such a loud, upbeat, fun, outgoing woman! I think I like Spencer again...I find him funny now rather than absurd! Here she is...




Spencer's parents Janet and Skip (Skip is very nice and pretty reserved)...


Well, needless to say we had an amazing time and we cherish every moment we get to spend with all the Hall siblings. They may be few and far between, but when we do, there's never a dull moment and our cheeks are always sore from the laughter shared. Thank you for such an incredible weekend and for blessing our lives! Love you guys!

July in a Nutshell...

Good lovin', I am so out of the loop! I haven't blogged for almost 2 months now, who does that?!?!? Well, now that I'm back in the swing of things and have my priorities straight (ditching the fam to blog :)) I'll catch ya all up with how we wrapped up our busy but fun summer. Here's what we've been up to...

We had a wonderful week of the 24th of July. We went to the Spanish Fork rodeo for the first time with Jay's fam and had a great time together. Anywhere where there's family, cotton candy, snocones and nachos I'm so there :)!

Family Photo...minus Landon, so I guess it's not considered a real family photo?!



Jay's sisters...Shan and Ash



Landon with his grandma and grandpa...



Binnie lovin' the rodeo!



I love this picture of Binnie...I think she looks darling so I just had to add it :)



We went boating for the day on the 24th of July which is one of mine and Jay's favorite past times...during our dating years (oh so long ago) Jay and I would go to the lake 2-3 times a week in the evenings. We absolutely loved boating...I learned how to wakeboard the summer we met and Jay rocked on the wakeboard. Watching him wakeboard was incredible he was amazing! Still is, just in other areas these days :) His old age has gotten the best of him and he has now become the best tube ridin' daddy around! He's realized that concussions and the inability to walk normal for days following his wakeboarding stunts are overrated and he has retired to the tube. Which Landon doesn't mind a bit...he gets his best buddy on the tube with him all day!

Jay and Landon goin' easy on the tube!



Binnie and Landon all harnessed up and oh so happy...we used to think B was teething all the time, but we've come to the conclusion that maybe her mood swings are just part of her personality!



My two favorite boys!



My favorite part of the entire day (yes, even better than Kellie Pickler) was Binnie cuddling with me :) I have waited for 14 months for Binnie to just simply lay her head on my shoulder and cuddle with me and my day finally came...I was in heaven! I think Jay took over a dozen pictures of her cuddling with me...it was priceless!





Kev and I with all the little jammers!



Boys will be Boys (Kev and J)!



Jay, Uncle Kev and Grandpa Larr...3 of a kind :)



Binnie and Aunt Ash...



The weekend of July 24th we made the unselfish decision, and the wrong one I might add, to take the munchkins to St. George for the weekend for a fun family getaway. Well, Binnie, bless her little heart, decided to set the mood for the trip by gracing us with her blood curtling screetching for 4 freekin' hours straight! Now, I have been blessed with the talent of being able to tune her shreeking out, J on the other hand has been cursed with the patience of a 2 year old. So, between Jay and Binnie fighting with eachother and Landon yelling at the two of them to both be quiet so he can hear his movie, we were off to an incredibly lovely start. Nevertheless, a few cokes and a handful of excedrin later, we eventually arrived in Sunny St. George!

We ended up having a pretty good time with the kiddos and they absolutely loved playing in the rocks and swimming all day!

Here the two little "angels" are chucking rocks at eachother...I figure eh, it's better the two of them pelt eachother with rocks rather than me doing so right?!?! They really could spend hours hurling handfuls of rocks at eachother and get a kick out of it, they absolutely loved torturing eachother!



We swam for 2 days straight...Landon and Binnie were in heaven!



Winding down with a little caramel popcorn and margaritas!(Yes, I know I look hammered...it was a long weekend!)



My two little farmer tanned kids...



On the way home Binnie did her thing...again...the entire way home. However, I must say Jay somehow mustered up some patience over the course of the 2 days and sat in the back between the 2 kids singing Primary songs in Binnie's ear while she wailed and slapped him for a good hour...good effort though hun!

We were fortunate enough to have both our families in town for the summer which kept us busy as well. My brother Matt, his wife Natalie and their darling boys were here visiting from AZ for 3 months which was a blast...Landon and my nephew Kauner absolutely love eachother...when they're well rested that is, if not, the two of them can have some knarly brawls. But, they are the best of friends and we played at the zoo, the cabin and at family parties together all summer!

Landon and Kauner kickin it at the ZOO with uncle Matt!





Landon and Kauner...our little NEMOs...



Binnie and Cameron getting rides from Jackson Grandma...





The boys...Cameron, Kauner and Landon...



Jay's sister was also in town this summer from TX. Kirsten is so much fun to be around and we love when she comes to visit!

Jay's sisters Kirsten, Shan, Ash and I...



Jay's little sis Ash is one of the funniest, sweetest, most loving, high maintenance gals you'll ever meet...Love you Ash!



10 YEAR REUNION!!! No, not mine, I'm still young :). This Summer Jay had his 10 year reunion...I talked him into attending, only because I wanted to buy a new outfit and it worked! I got my new outfit and Jay got to take a trip down memory lane...ah, so sweet! Jay graduated from Park City High School where he was voted "BEST HAIR", if only they had digital cameras back then, I'd download a picture of him and you'd know why :) that's my man! The get together was held at the Deer Valley Resort in PC with a yummy dinner, dancing and plenty of reminiscing with his buddies...

The 4 Wives Club : Me, Katie, Sacha and Jonna





The Boys : Luth, Spence, Eric and Jay



Love you hun! Thanks for a fun night!



That takes us to August and for journaling purposes I'll have to add part 2 here shortly!
Three things I've learned from this post:
1. I need a new bronzer that doesn't make my face shine in every picture
2. Model in a bottle (the spray oprah suggests to keep your makeup on all day) is overrated. My eyebrows are totally gone in like 3 pictures!
3. I paint my kids out to be terrors! They really are my best buddies, they do have their moments, but I wouldn't trade them for the world!

Hope you all had a wonderful summer filled with dirty toes, stinky kids, popsicle stained faces, late summer nights, callused feet and filthy bath water at the end of a fun summer day!