We arrived into the sunny 70 degree weather and I was in HEAVEN.
The trip was actually for Ryan's sister Erin's wedding to a fantastic man named Steve Erb whom we are so excited that we finally get to claim as a family member.
We stayed with Erin and Steve for the first several days we were there and had a great time hanging out, going to Thai restaurants (Steve is Asian at heart and would prefer an exclusively Asian cuisine), playing Guitar Hero and just catching up from not seeing each other in much too long.
My honey- the rock star
Bride to be Erin at her first Guitar Hero attempt
Ryan's cousin Jeff had taken the whole week off of work while we were there so we basically kidnapped him and took him everywhere we went. It was great! You may remember him as the Best Man at our wedding back in the day.
We visited Ryan's Mom at her apartment a few blocks from Huntington Beach and had to walk down to the water and get our feet wet. While walking on the pier we noticed a jellyfish hanging out in the water below us, which was cool. Mindi is not ever allowed to move ever, because we want to visit her in that great location repeatedly! We then walked downtown and had dinner at an open air Mexican restaurant and bought fresh strawberries from a vendor at the street market.
In the pre- wedding festivities, the boys went golfing as part of the bachelor party and the girls had nails done.
This is one of my favorite pictures of my beloved mother in law- sitting in the pedicure chair trying to take pictures of everyone else but being tortured/tickled by the pedicurist and so being paralyzed.
My parents were able to fly in to go to the wedding as well so it was so great to see both sides of the family all at once! Ryan's whole family basically adopted my parents as long lost Therriens and couldn't have been more welcoming. I have the best in-laws ever.
Speaking of that, Ryan's family threw us a surprise baby shower just after the rehearsal which the whole family was able to come to. We played really cool games I had never played before like- melt candy bars in diapers so they look like poo then guess what kind of candy bar it was by the chunks, name the baby animal (like a baby elephant is a calf, etc)- much harder than you would guess.
The wedding itself was at one of the HUGE Calvary Chapels in So Cal in an outdoor brick courtyard full of huge palm trees and planters of flowers backed by a huge fountain. It really was amazing. The bride was breathtaking and everything was so beautiful! Ryan and I were both in the wedding party and so got to walk down the aisle together again, which was super fun since we have been married for almost three years already- time for a refresher.
My dad and the baby he adopted for the night- Ryan's friend Nason's baby Maddy. He
was getting lots of Grandpa practice that night. I can't remember ever seeing him hold a baby that little, even one he was related to.
Mom and I at the reception- aren't we cute?
The next day the whole clan (including the bride and groom- I was impressed) went to Disneyland, a sacred ritual for the Therrien crew. I hadn't been to Disneyland since I was about 14 so lots had changed. It was really nice to go with So Cal natives who knew Disneyland better than their own backyards. I never had to look at a map or go out of my way to get anywhere.
Ryan and Dad waiting in line for the tram.
Kimbree, Me, and Now Married Erin waiting in line for something.
I was still able to go on quite a few rides even being 33 weeks pregnant, so that was fun. The baby seemed overall unimpressed by the rides in general- even the spinning teacups. Our nephew Davis showed me the ropes on the Buzz Lightyear ride where you have to shoot targets with a laser gun throughout the ride.
Ryan and Davis waiting in line for Star Tours
The main thing I wanted to do at Disneyland was to get a churro- so that was one of the first things we did after we got there. The other goal was to get a princess dress for our baby girl in honor of her first trip to Disneyland. I did find a gorgeous, ridiculously expensive Belle gown that I just couldn't leave in the store. I hope our little one loves it as much as I do!
Another favorite moment at Disneyland was Ryan's cousin Andrea and husband Javier announcing she was pregnant with their second (and third) child while at Disneyland with "future big brother" Justin wearing a shirt that said just that. This is the growing family all dressed up at the wedding the day before.
The one downer was that we lost our fantastic camera on the Star Tours ride. We tried not to let it ruin the fun, but we were so relieved when Disneyland called us 2 days later saying someone had turned it in. We just got it back in the mail a few days ago, which is why I am finally able to blog!
After all of that fun, we eventually did have to come back to Dreary Dayton, though we did stay an extra night in Cali after volunteering to be bumped off of our United flight and so getting put up in the Embassy Suites and 2 free United tickets anywhere in the US.
1 comment:
It was so much fun to read your blog update. I absolutely love the pictures of you, Ryan and the Baby (belly) at the ocean. I would bet Ryan’s mom took them! She is a very good photographer!
I can imagine the wonderful photo's you will have of your baby girl.
It's less then one month now! You look so good and I bet it’s almost hard to believe the time is just around the corner. I'm glad you had a great vacation. I am remembering you in my prayers and anxiously awaiting to light the little shower candle!
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