The summer went by so fast! Our summer was about a month shorter than usual because Brandon's sister got married in May so we left a little late and my sister got married in August so we left a little early. I didn't mind at all.
We left North Carolina the first week of August and decided to take a different route back. Instead taking the I-70 through Ohio to Utah, we decided to take the I-40 through Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, and then go up to Utah.
We did this for a few reasons. 1) We had never been that way 2) We didn't want to drive through Kansas again 3) We wanted to visit some relatives in Oklahoma 4) We wanted to visit Brandon's Grandparents in New Mexico. We hadn't seen them since our wedding and wouldn't be seeing them again for at least a year and a half!
Our first day of driving we went from Greensboro, NC to Tulsa, OK. 17 hours. Long day to say the least. It was nice to visit some of Brandon's extended family that he hadn't seen for years and that I had never met before.
The second day was just a short 10 hour drive to Albuquerque where Brandon's grandparents live. We were able to spend a couple of days with them before we headed to Utah for my sisters wedding. We spent a day in New Mexico and then went to their mountain property in Colorado. It was absolutely gorgeous up there. Grandma Krout also gave me a beautiful baby blanket and taught me how to crochet! The best part though was being able to spend time with family.
Here is a picture of the blanket
From the mountain property in Colorado we drove to Utah and got there the night before the day before the wedding. We stayed at my sister SunDee's house and had such a great time! The next day was Brandon's birthday, but we really didn't see each other all day. After our run in the morning, SunDee got us all donuts and we put a candle in Brandon's and we sang to him and then he left and hung out with my brother Bobby and then ate dinner with his Aunts and Uncles that live in Utah, while I spent the day with my sisters and got a mani/pedi with my sisters and my mom for the pre-wedding sister party. He stayed the night at my brothers while the sisters had a sleep over so I actually didn't see him until the wedding! We both had a great time, but we missed each other!
The wedding was beautiful and perfect. The sealing was amazing. I'm so grateful for temple marriage! The reception/party after was absolutely fantastic! The ring ceremony was very sweet, the food was great, the cake was delicious, and only the best and coolest people were there! We enjoyed it very much.
Here is a picture of my beautiful sister and her new husband!
After the wedding we drove up to Preston and spent a few days with my parents and my sister Penny and her family who just moved back from France. Brandon had never been to Preston during the summer so it was fun to do summer things there like float down the river, make tin foil dinners over a camp fire and sleep under the stars!
After a few days in Preston we drove to California. Brandon's family has an annual family reunion/house boating trip in California. We got to California a few days early and stay with one of Brandon's Aunt and Uncle's house. It was so fun to stay there! we also made a trip down to Santa Cruz and went to the board walk, toured Brandon's mission, and got to see some of our favorite people Uncle Jerry and Auntie Carol before we headed up to the Lake.
Here are a few pictures of the Boardwalk
It was a packed couple of weeks that was filled with lots of family, good food, and sweet memories.
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