Horseback Riding with the Burgesses

While we were up in Alpine for the wedding reception, Shana and her dad, Clark, were nice enough to take us up to the Alpine rodeo grounds to ride their two horses, Strider and Ellie. We LOVED it!

Stacie happily grooming away...

Trying not to stand too close to his hooves! I am not so secretly scared of horses... and this was part of my equinophobia therapy (I made up that word - sounds pretty good, huh?)

Shana looking super adorable with her big pets

Stacie's ready to ride :)

Kevin's taking her out for a spin

I feel a lot better when I am on top of the horse...then all they can do is buck me off, right?

After we had had our turns riding, Clark and Shana REALLY rode them!

It was such a beautiful day!

After we finished riding, we thought that the horses needed a treat from the orchard. This is me trying to prove once and for all that I am not afraid of horses! Of course, it actually freaked the heck out of me!

Calling All Angels

One of the perks of my dad's business is our Angels season tickets. I can't stand to watch baseball on TV, but I really enjoy going to the ball field (I think it is all the treats I usually buy!). As a kid, my dad would take us all the time and I even got to go to game #6 of the 2002 World Series...it was awesome!

Do you think we look like sisters?

Kevin, me, Stacie, and Mitch

Little hams!
:)

Getting goofy...

We won!

Most Recent House Pictures

Our wonderful realtor has been really great about sending us pictures of our house every week and these are some of the most recent batch!

They are now working on the exterior brick/stone

This is a shot from the master bedroom into the master bath

The master bedroom

This is a shot from the great room into the dining room (on the right)
and the kitchen (on the left)

This is a shot from the great room looking at the entry on the right

and the dining room on the left

The Alpine Reception

My new sister-in-law, Shana, grew up on an orchard in Alpine, UT, but moved down to Southern California to go to nursing school a few years ago and thankfully met my brother Mark in the local singles ward. He is so lucky to have such a great bride and I am so lucky to have such a great new sister-in-law!

Well, two weeks after the wedding, our family took a road trip (which was very interesting, to say the least!) up to Northern Utah for the second reception. We had a great time getting to know Shana's family better and becoming increasingly more jealous of her upbringing in one of the most beautiful cities in Utah with tons of land and horses to boot!

Here are just a few pictures before the reception started :)

Baby Lydia Arrived!

On August 6th baby Lydia arrived...and her Uncle Kevin got to be there! When Kevin's sister Lisa went in to labor she gave us a call and Kevin drove up to St. George as a surprise to be there! It was worth it!

Opening Presents with the Newlyweds...

And all whackiness ensued!

Hanging out at their cute apartment

Mark's not really sure what to do with a green Mickey Mouse pitcher!

Shana's dress looks a little too small!

As does Mark's tux!

Not sure what Mark is pointing to...hint hint

(actually, I don't want to start any rumors...they are NOT expecting)

Mark and Shana's Wedding

On July 31 my older brother Mark married the coolest girl in the world - Shana Burgess. They were sealed in the Los Angeles Temple in the morning surrounded by family and friends and danced amongst twinkling lights and stars in the evening at an outdoor garden reception held in their honor.

Thankful that it isn't OUR wedding day!

Kevin and Kevin...groomsmen and brothers (in-law)

Father and son in tuxes...too cute!Tracy and Cody

They're married!

Just the beginning of a long day of pictures and posing!

The bride and all the groomsmen

The reception was held at the Fullerton Arboretum and it was so beautiful! My mom made the centerpieces to resemble the cherry blossoms found on Shana's family orchard in Alpine, UT...they turned out AMAZING!
Twinkling lights, candles, and stars!

Mark and Shana were so cute during the first dance :)

It was a great day!