California Vacation, Part 2

We made it to the following weekend. The stork is definitely on its way for Kelsey and Jordan. They are expecting a baby girl in September, so just around the corner. :) I can't wait to see her and what she will look like. 

Friday, we got everything together for Kelsey's baby shower to celebrate the upcoming arrival of Baby Girl Snowden. Collin spent time with Jordan and helped out with the wedding while we were at the baby shower. Everything turned out so well. There were creative games, good food, and lots of gifts for the baby. I was in charge of taking pictures. Here are some of the highlights from the shower:

The Decorations:

 Lots of Food :)

 I loved the centerpiece!

I thought this was clever. :)

 Baby Snowden. :)

 So Many Gifts!!!

  


Kelsey, Family, and Friends:

 This is Rachel with her dog Bella.

The Poulson girls and Kelsey. Kathleen (left) has been best friends with Kelsey for 19 years and helped host her baby shower

 Kelsey's friend Heather who also helped host her baby shower

Kelsey's friends from high school and their kids

Kelsey and the beautiful grandmother-to-be, our mother, Mariko. :)

Mom's really good friend Gail.

Heather, Amy, and Andrea

Jordan's Grandma

Catherine, Erin, Sarah, and Sister Andrews

Emma and Sister Hansen

Our stepsister, Nicolette and Kelsey

Kelsey was surrounded with gifts!

Opening my gift. :)

So happy for Kelsey!! Look at her baby bump. :)

Kelsey is just glowing. She is such a cute mother-to-be. I know she will make an amazing mom because she has been an amazing sister to me all these years.

On Saturday, we made it to the big day for Miles and Mikaela. I remember the first time I met Mikaela. It was at our apartment for General Conference last October. As they began dating, I instantly thought that they were so compatible and perfect for each other. I also remember telling to my in-laws that Miles and Mikaela will get married in August before they were even engaged. Sure enough, my prediction came true. :)

It was a beautiful Saturday morning at the Sacramento Temple. Collin's grandpa sealed Miles and Mikaela in the temple. Mikaela was beaming. She smiled throughout the day. The sealing was so touching and sweet. I was moved to happy tears. :) While waiting for the Wheelers to come out, I was admiring the details about the wedding. Her colors were aqua, red, and yellow. I was a bridesmaid and Collin was a groomsman for the wedding. Mikaela picked out really cute bridesmaid dresses. I wore a red lace dress that came down to the knee. Collin wore a white button-up shirt and an aqua tie. I also LOVED the artistic bouquets and boutineers. 

Aside from the lovely colors and details, the bride and groom looked stunning as they came out of the temple. They were just radiated with happiness to be sealed together as husband and wife. Family and friends gathered around with excitement for the happy couple. As pictures were being taken, I took a few of my own. :) 

 THEY'RE MARRIED!!!

 Look at how happy they are. :)

 Bridesmaids!! 

 Grandpa Wheeler

 Paul and his cute daughter, Lila. :)

 My sister-in-law Jocelyne and mother-in-law Julia. These two are beautiful, inside and out. :)

 

Collin and I in front of the Sacramento Temple

 Hey, everyone kisses at weddings. :)

After taking pictures, we headed to the luncheon which was put together by my mother and father-in-law. We ate Mexican food and had brownies and cookies for dessert. Miles and Mikaela arrived making a grand entrance. Afterwards, Grandpa Cummings, who sealed them in the temple, gave a wonderful talk about temple marriage. The bride and groom's fathers gave speeches about the happy couple. We ended the luncheon with a slideshow that Collin put together for Miles and Mikaela. He did such a good job. :)

Right before we left for the reception, I got a surprise visit from my good friend Joe. We got to talk and catch up. We have been friends since my freshman year of college. He is now engaged to be married on September 6th. I couldn't be more excited for Joe! He found himself a great girl. :) I wouldn't expect anything less for him.

Miles and Mikaela had a fun and wonderful reception. It was an outdoor wedding that took place at the Cavitt-Stalman building in Granite Bay. Ironically, I used to go to the Single's Ward there. Everything looked so cute! It looked like a country/summer theme on the pavilion decorated with lights and bunting. There was even a lemonade stand and a table with the wedding presents. After the cake-cutting and bouquet toss, there was lots of dancing. I pretty much danced the whole night away. Collin and I helped decorate the car and before we knew it, the newlyweds left for their honeymoon.

It was truly a great week in California. I have missed my family and friends so much, so seeing them again made my heart full. I am so grateful to have them in my life. Floods of memories began to come back to me while I was home, and more memories were created. Memories that I will always cherish.

 Silly husband. :)

 Weird lighting, but here is the lemonade stand

 My new sister-in-law, Mikaela

     Picture with all the Wheeler women. I love them. :)

 My beautiful bridesmaid bouquet

Cutting the Cake

Congrats Miles and Mikaela!! :)

California Vacation, Part 1

Family, friends, wedding, and a baby on the way! (For my sister) You can say it's been busy, yet exciting time for the Carter and the Wheeler side of the family. Collin and I got packed and left Provo for the journey ahead. We got to drive 10 hours on the road, with Miles and Mikaela accompanying us, to my hometown of Loomis, California. :) They were great driving companions and kept us entertained. It was a very exciting time for them, because they were going to be married on August 23rd!

When we got home, the first thing we did was get our preserved wedding cake out of the freezer. At first, we were both nervous, because we weren't sure about how the cake was going to taste after being in the freezer for a year. It tasted just as good as it did on our wedding day. 

 

The week before their wedding, my mom and I attended Mikaela's wonderful bridal shower. We got to eat lunch, play games, and celebrate with the gorgeous bride-to-be. Mikaela was just showered with gifts!

   Me, Mikaela, and Jocelyne, all the Wheeler girls together. :)

Later, we went to our Aunt Gayle's house for a Wheeler gathering with the aunts, uncles, and cousins on Collin's side of the family. We ate pizza, went swimming, and played outdoor games. Collin comes from a big family, so it was great to see so many Wheelers!

That same night, I went to a shopping center called The Fountains in Roseville. There, I had a girl's night with my girls Stephanie and Mona. We go way back, probably to my freshman year of college. We enjoyed frozen yogurt and just talked for hours catching up on what's been going on in our lives. It felt just like old times.

The following Sunday, we attended church at my home ward in Loomis. It's been a very long time since I have been to my home ward, it filled my heart with joy to see old friends again. After church, we packed our stuff yet again to go down to the beach with Collin's family! On our way there, we visited Collin's family friends down in Livermore for dinner. We enjoyed yummy enchiladas and salad.

We drove down to the beach on Monday. So what's the first thing you want to do? Go hot tubbing, of course. :) 

                 The Wheeler brothers enjoying their vacation

After checking into our hotel, we headed to the beach. I couldn't have been more excited. I love the beach! I love the hearing the ocean waves on the shore, the cool breeze, and the ocean water beneath your feet. I haven't been to the beach in a year, so I loved every minute of it. Collin and I really like to boogie board. He was in the water for most of the time.

 Our fabulous beach picture

Tuesday was more beach fun. The boys spent a lot of time building a sand castle which ended up looking more like a sand kingdom with a pyramid, villages, and temples. It was awesome! The girls spent a lot of time relaxing and playing with my sweet niece Lila. She gets so happy and excited when you are active with her. I love that feeling when she looks at you and just smiles. After a while, Collin and I walked around the beach just talking and being silly. I love that feeling he gives me when he makes me laugh. It was overall a really good day. I was honestly sad to leave the beach.

 She is such a model. Just look at her strike a pose for the camera. :)

 Smiley Liley!

 They boys building their sand "kingdom."

On Wednesday, we spent the whole day with my family. We ate sushi at the famous Blue Nami in Roseville and saw Guardians of the Galaxy with my sister Kelsey, her husband Jordan, and my mom. We all really enjoyed it. At night, we spent time with my dad and my stepmom Patty. We ate at a Chinese resturaunt called Tsing Tao. It has become a family tradition. I've always enjoyed eating there with family. We ended the night watching "Mrs. Doubtfire," one of my favorite Robin Williams movies.

Thursday, we went on a double date with my really good friend April and her husband Jordan. We ate at Crazy Sushi (as you can tell, I love sushi. :) ). April and I have been close friends for a long time and we got married in the same year within a month from each other! I always love being around her and Jordan. They are so fun! Despite that we both live busy lives, I was glad we got to spend time together.

In the evening, we got see Mikaela go through the temple for the first time. I felt instant happiness knowing that in just a few days, she was going to be my sister. The temple brings so much peace and joy, especially throughout marriage. I was so glad that Miles and Mikaela would soon experience that.

To Be Continued....

     

Anniversary Trip - July 27-30

During our anniversary week, we surprised each other with special gifts. Collin gave me fudge from none other than BYU. It might be the best fudge I have ever had. It was sweet, just like him.:) He also gave me a necklace with an engraving of the Tree of Life. It is found in the 1 Nephi scriptures in the Book of Mormon. It's so beautiful. My hubby is the best. :) I gave him a candy bar bouquet, a card, and a bow tie coming soon in the mail. :)

Collin and I decided that after long months of working and school, we needed to take a vacation. What better time to do that then our 1 year anniversary! This is why I am glad we got married in the summertime. :)

We left Provo on Sunday afternoon and headed to Viva Las Vegas! We stayed at the Luxor hotel where everything was Egyptian themed. The hotel itself was the shape of a pyramid. We ended up staying at the towers which had a great view of the pyramid.

 You can't see it very well, but this how the pyramid looks when it's lit up

 This is how it looks when it's daytime

 The hotel rooms from inside the pyramid

 The hieroglyphic writings

We ate at a buffet located at Mandalay Bay. The food was yummy. We really enjoyed the crab legs and steak that was served there. The next day we ate another buffet that was really good. I really liked their Chinese food.

On Monday night, we got the opportunity to watch "The Tournament of Kings." It's where we get to eat dinner with our hands and watch people sword fight and joust at each other. We decided to root for the "bad guy" of the show. He was called the Dragon King. He used a flame thrower as a weapon. You could feel the heat of the fire on your face. Nothing like a good dinner and a show. ;) I was astounded by the performers! It was amazing what they could do. All I can say is, they have a lot of guts to perform some risky moves. Here are some pictures before and after the show:

Not very good pictures, but this is the round table that they placed in the center of the stage

Part of the stage set

  This guy doesn't look like my husband, does it? ;) I thought this guy was so awesome! I had to get a picture with him.

We headed towards the Bellagio and watched the fountains. It was a pretty cool sight to see.

It's a crazy angle, but here is where the fountains took place before the show

 This was the best picture I could get of the fountains, but I like it. :)

After the fountain show, we got a chance to go up the Eiffel Tower in the Paris casino. It's about half of the size of the real Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. The one in Las Vegas was still pretty tall, so I can only imagine what the real Eiffel Tower is like. When we got to the top, this is what we saw:

 We, of course, had to get a picture of ourselves. ;)

We saw the most incredible view from about 400 feet up the tower! I loved seeing the whole city of Vegas from where we stood. It was so beautiful or as the French say, "belle."

Tuesday, we did some sight-seeing around Vegas and a whole lot of walking. All I can say is, I am glad I wore tennis shoes that day. We took some pictures that I felt were some of our highlights from our trip to Vegas.

 The New York, New York

 The Excalibur

Eventually, we took a monorail to get around Vegas. We came across the Venetian where we enjoyed gelato ice cream. When we finished our ice cream, we took a romantic ride on the Gondola.What made it really special was when there was a gondolier that steered the boat and sang a song for us. It felt like we were actually in Venice riding on the river.  

The Gondola

 Blurry picture, but I still think it's really special. :)

 The Shopping Malls at Venice

After a while of walking, we decided to rest somewhere and came across giant chocolate fountain. It had to have been the biggest chocolate fountain I have ever seen. I felt like Charlie in the chocolate factory!

Collin and I received two pairs of free tickets to see the shark tank in Mandalay Bay and the Titanic Exhibition in the Luxor. We chose to go to the shark tank first. We got to see all kinds of creatures like the komodo dragon and the piranha. We even got to pet sting rays (with one finger of course.) 

 Komodo Dragon, just chillin'

 Piranha

   From the Shark Tank

 

We received tickets to get a discount on any restaurant we wanted to go to in the Luxor. We picked Rice and Company, which is a sushi place in the casino. The sushi was so delicious! I hadn't had sushi like that in a long time! My sushi craving was satisfied and most of all, we barely spent anything out of pocket. 

After dinner, we went to the Titanic Exhibition. We weren't allowed to take pictures, but I can tell you what we saw. There were many artifacts displayed that people have found from the sunken ship itself. We also saw recreations of the first and third class bedrooms, docks, and the grand staircase. It all felt so realistic, as if you were on the Titanic itself. I was completely intrigued by everything that I saw. Titanic has always been something I have been fascinated about, so it was a cool experience for me. I still can't believe that the ship has now been underwater for 102 years! It's so sad that the majority of the people did not make it out alive. We will forever remember the Ship of Dreams and all those that lost their lives on April 15th, 1912.

Shortly after the exhibition, we drove down and stayed in St. George for the night. The next day, we got up, had breakfast, and headed to the St. George temple. We walked around and took a few pictures.

 There was a wedding going on that day, so that's why you see a group of people gathered together.

 It was one of the oldest temples ever built. Commenced on November 9th, 1871. Dedicated on April 6th, 1877

We arrived in Bryce National Park a few hours later. This was probably my favorite part of the trip. We got to see the most breath-taking views! I got carried away with pictures, but I don't care. :) Take a look:

 Sign Pictures :)

 There was a raven just hanging around the sign. Collin looks so funny. Haha.

 So Picturesque!!

 I loved the cloud formation in this picture

 You can't see it very well, but there is a rock to the very right that looks like a sunken ship

  Thor's Hammer

It was a photographer's dream! I was in Heaven. I had never been so blown by such a spectacular view. When it was time to leave, I was almost sad, because we had such a great time. If there is one thing that I learned from this trip is to always spend time with your loved ones and never take it for granted. I savored every moment of this trip, especially when it was with my sweet, wonderful husband.