My Life in Photos

I do and the kiss

2012-02-08T07:12:00.001-08:00

more vows...my vows to Heather

2012-01-29T14:14:00.001-08:00

detail of bridesmaid dress

The Vows

2012-01-21T17:39:00.000-08:00

Ceremony

2012-01-18T07:17:00.000-08:00

my bridesmaid Danielle looks stunning

it was suuuper sunny i felt bad for our guests, but glad the programs made good sunshades/fans!

Cereony Begins~!

2012-01-17T07:13:00.000-08:00

both dads looking at me and smiling!

the guys watching me walk down the aisle

i like the sun spot on this

cool angle

more pre-ceremony

2012-01-16T09:28:00.000-08:00

wes and his favorite beer

brother love

brother/bff love

wes made this sign!

Me as Bride

2012-01-14T15:18:00.000-08:00

getting ready

2012-01-12T07:15:00.000-08:00

Here are some shots of me and the ladies getting ready

i heart my cousin

coool hair/tatt shot

something blue!

ma nin

ma ma

love the colors

diving into dress

details and getting ready

2012-01-02T07:20:00.000-08:00

veil was on loan from Kerry

got the perfume from Victoria's secret with a gift card from Velya!

My aunt gifted me this purse from my late grandmother's collection

shower bouquet

potted flowers from my sis

lovely makeup artist friend Rachael

hotel and dress/outfit

2011-12-31T13:50:00.000-08:00

i really love this hotel

love the color

yup those are my wedding day shoes!

the detail on my dress

Wedding Bride and Groom

2011-12-29T10:40:00.000-08:00

After our ceremony Wes and I were whisked away for portraits of just the two of us...you wouldn't know it but these photos were taken in the Zoo parking lot. I also felt very uneasy being away from my folks and not getting to have a drink or taste an appetizer...these photos seemed to go on forever and I even asked the photographer is we could do it later or hurry it up and she said the lighting was great and it was our only opportunity to get these shots of just the two of us. Here are a few of my faves from the first batch:

this one was towards the end of the night...i had no idea my husband was going to change into a tshirt and jeans...oh well

Engagement Photos!!

2011-11-04T18:07:00.000-07:00

It almost rained the day we took our engagement photos in January 2010, and my friend Rachael came to do my makeup. I was really upset at the thought that our photographers wanted to postpone until April. I really wanted to use the photos for our save the dates and I was just excited to do it. I couldn't pick out what to wear, and everything seemed to happen last minute, but the photos turned out pretty good nonetheless. They are all here.

A few (or more) of my faves:

The Nin

2011-11-04T07:10:00.000-07:00

Heather is our "Nin" and we love her very very very much. But she is also 16 years old and I am sure I have received my first grey hair since she has moved in. Someday I will pluck that hair and cherish it because while we get frustrated, we also are getting to know her and I truly believe she is destined for great things. This photo is special to me because this is her school picture that signifies the year she came to live with us. It makes me happy. She is a beautiful girl and we are lucky to have her!

Best of Friends

2011-09-27T07:14:00.000-07:00

A couple years ago I got to plan the staff holiday party at the Academy of Sciences and I hired the same photographers I used for our wedding to do a "fun booth" at the party...seeing these pics makes me miss my great friends at my last job...

Photos from the Wingeiers

2011-09-21T07:19:00.000-07:00

Our buddies Brett and Kerry came to the wedding, brought their 3-week old baby (my BFF SloMar) and took some great photos- thanks guys!

wedding photos from the Huffs

2011-09-18T17:54:00.000-07:00

some wedding photos taken by my good friends of the huff family:

dancing to black eyed peas after the ceremony

i love my nephews fist in the air!

amazing orange sunset

dont tell me this is the the sweetest father son moment

jen looks gorgeous here!

michelle cracks me up

amazing zoom under the crescent moon

fun booth!

Last of the Rehearsal Dinner Photos

2011-09-08T08:02:00.000-07:00

matt and haydee

boogie

so sweet

connor was playing

each parent got an embroidered hanky

love their expressions

Yet Even More Rehearsal Dinner Photos

2011-09-02T07:15:00.000-07:00

the much practiced kiss

mom love

more mom love

double mom love

cheers!

More Rehearsal Photos from Kim

2011-08-25T07:17:00.000-07:00

what are these looks?

beautiful danielle

Syman had a birthday yesterday - happy birthday dad!

thats the spirit!!

great dads!

Rehearsal Dinner Continued

2011-08-19T07:25:00.000-07:00

Nin with my rehearsal buquet

Wes practicing the processional with Nin

Beautiful Haydee

Me and my Dads

pensive?

Rehearsal Dinner

2011-08-14T15:59:00.000-07:00

In the madness of me posting all those wedding related photos I somehow managed to skip photos of our rehearsal dinner!

I enlisted the help of my wonderful cousin Kim to take the photos...she is really something special as not only did I get some pretty cheap photography for a very special night, but my payment was a donation to St. Jude...please inquire more about Kim and Photos for Cures here.

Here are some of my fave shots:

Danber to Napa

2011-08-04T07:22:00.000-07:00

Our good friends and neighbors, Amber and Dan, had never been to Napa. We had a groupon for a wine tasting that was intended for su to go with Garrett and Christine, but we kept having to change the day we would go and then the groupon was going to expire soon so we took Dan and Amber (or Danber) instead. We had a blast and there were some cool spots we checked out along the way. Here are a couple snapshots:

Ball Game

2011-08-04T07:17:00.000-07:00

In May We went to a ball game....And there was a big school band playing the national anthem....and we both got new hats!

My Best Friend Matt - Matthew Lindgren, LMFT

2011-08-03T08:58:00.000-07:00

I am writing a blog post to honor my best friend Matt. He is having a big birthday this month and he is really a top notch guy. He has become a brother to me and is just all around such a special person. Him and his wife are hands down the best friends I have and I love them both dearly.

Here are some fun facts about Matt:
1) He is as silly as me. He has a silly sense of humor and can always make me laugh
2) I met him in a bar - it was a social group that met in bars every week and a mutual friend brought him and we had an instant mutual like :)
3) Matt used to live in SF, and now lives in the east bay - like me
4) Matt taught me how to ride a motorcycle and even "loaned" me his Yamaha Virago that I "owned" until the starter clutch needed to be replaced so I sold it and bought a Honda Shadow.
5) Matt used to be a technical writer, and now he is a therapist (a very good one!)
6) Matt is from Fargo, ND
7) Matt is going to be a dad before the end of the year and I will be a very happy, proud aunt!
8) Matt surfs...the web and the ocean
9) Matt was my Man of Honor and Officiant at my wedding
10) You should click the following links to learn more about the amazing work Matt does:
Matt's Professional Website
Blackbird Family Therapy
Yelp Reviews of Matthew
Follow Matt on Twitter
Get the facts on Linked In

Cake

2011-08-01T19:56:00.000-07:00

Dont get mad, but we ate our cake top before our anniversary. It was quite large and taking up valuable freezer real estate...and calling out to us with its beautiful orange deliciousness...Jenai is a cake making goddess and we just cant get enough. This thing was fabulous even a couple months after the wedding!

More Santa Rosa Fun

2011-08-01T19:45:00.000-07:00

Visit Cousin Steven and Meet a Winery Cat

2011-07-20T07:17:00.000-07:00

My Cousin Steven is pretty Awesome, but so is this cat we met at a winery near his house in Santa Rosa

Sawyer and waking up

2011-07-19T07:00:00.001-07:00

To Heather from Santa

2011-07-12T07:29:00.000-07:00

Heather got a really cool Artists backpack from Santa this year. See we didnt see her for Xmas, so she got it when she was with us on New Years Day.

Heather's Art

2011-07-11T07:13:00.000-07:00

Heather and I collaborated on the concept for her Sweet 16 Birthday Party invitations. I suggested she draw a picture of herself and this is what she came up with- I love it!

Christmas

2011-07-10T20:25:00.000-07:00

Looks like I am finally winding down on 2010 photos...here are some shots from Xmas day at the home of our cousins near Sacramento. Most notable is the photo of Garrett, Wes and Mimi (RIP).

I was not feelin Xmas as much this past year but wes put up the little fiber-optic tree

my sis made this cute lamp for us

love love love this shot

bil and soon to be sil

cousin theresa making something delicious

RIP 'Bu

2011-07-08T07:15:00.000-07:00

So sometime in early to mid December I was driving home from visiting friends in SF and it was raining...I was on I-80 East in the leftmost lane when I recall traffic coming to a stop...not too suddenly but I recall having to put some pressure on my breaks to stop maybe 6 to 12 inches behind the SUV in front of me. Within seconds I was hit from behind. I think I was in disbelief for a few seconds, then I did a quick self-check to make sure I was okay. The airbags did not deploy, but the car behind me made me hit the car in front of me. I immediately call Wes and then the man in the car in front of me came up to me to make sure I was okay. I asked if he called police and he said no, so I did. Then I got out on the left side where there was no traffic and saw that there were in fact two cars behind me involved in addition to the one front of me. It was a small young girl in a big dodge truck, then a fancy SUV, then me in my Malibu Maxx and another SUV. Police came, told us to stay in our cars and when they determined that everyone was able to drive they lead us to a spot off the freeway (where Wes met me) to get all the info. Oddly enough the officer I talked to recognized my Academy jacket and asked if I worked there- I knew his sister, a former coworker! I was very shaken and very sad to see my car in such condition. To make a long story short the car was totaled and we bought a used Saturn View on December 31.

Cute Cats and Cupcakes

2011-07-04T11:13:00.000-07:00

Mister is a ham, but I like the progression of these sawyer pics

cupcakes and stuff

2011-07-01T20:02:00.000-07:00

on Halloween jenai and randy and dan and amber came over to watch the giants game. jenai showed me how to make rainbow cupcakes and we used leftover batter to make halloween themed mini cakes and other weird creations

pumpkin carving - halloween 2010

2011-06-27T07:23:00.000-07:00

I think we had learned after the fact that my father and mother in law had done the EXACT same pumpkin designs too!

Yummy Cake

2011-06-23T07:09:00.000-07:00

For special occasions and sometimes for no reason at all, my friend Jenai will make a beautiful and delicious cake...here is a peanut butter chocolate cake she made for us last year:

more cute Kaleah and Kitty too

2011-06-20T20:55:00.000-07:00

Kaleah KC Cutie Pants

2011-06-17T11:10:00.000-07:00

Shortly after the honeymoon we had the honor of stopping by for Kaleah's first birthday and took some photos of her opening and loving the harley outfit we got for her!

she was waking up from a nap when we got there

her auntie loves her

so does grandma!

her big sis and yoel were there too

attempt to read the card...

perfect fit!

Harley Davidson Cafe in LV...nuff sed

2011-06-15T09:18:00.000-07:00

thats the last of the honeymoon photos!

cute cubs and favorite beer

2011-06-14T09:27:00.001-07:00

M&Ms and Lion Around

2011-06-13T09:21:00.000-07:00

M&M World was fun!

I love the lion habitat!

More Eiffel Tower and Trasure Island Show

2011-06-09T16:41:00.000-07:00

yup...still working on honeymoon photos...here is the latest:

the ship in front of the hotel

view from the eiffel tower

maragrita in an orange pirate skull

brain freeze!

special effects

La Tour Eiffel

2011-05-23T06:34:00.000-07:00

Thats right in all my time in Vegas I had never been up the naughty step-child of the grand tower of Paree. Going up the real thing with my parents in 2005 was pretty awesome, but catching the sweet Vegas skyline with my new husband was pretty great too. The line and the price was almost as harrowing too.
Here are the pics:

Wes annoyed that I am taking pics while we stand in line

going up!

Hilarious photobomb!

We caught the Ballagio fountain show from above!

Thr Strip

2011-05-16T06:54:00.000-07:00

outside of our hotel


cool waterfall

Hoover Dam and Bellagio Fountains

2011-05-11T06:48:00.000-07:00

More Hoover Dam Photos

2011-05-07T21:03:00.000-07:00

Honeymoon continued

2011-04-28T06:45:00.000-07:00

On our second day in Vegas we took our cool Chevy rental to Hoover Dam - I had never been! When we got there there was crazy slow traffic, news vans, etc. It wasn't until later we realized that it was the grand opening day for a new bridge that was built for locals to bypass the tourist traffic to the Dam. We opted out of the official tour, since it was over $30 per person, but walked around and took photos.

the new bridge

the dam

bridge+news vans

our rental traffic was so slow i got out of the car to take photos while wes waiting in "line"

I like this sweet older couple holding hands

Honeymoon

2011-04-19T06:23:00.000-07:00

Wes and I decided to honeymoon in Vegas....I love the heat, he loves the food...I love the shopping...he loves the Harley stores....its perfect for us both!

airplane view!

nice day

cute, right?

double door entry!

sofa action

big tub!

shower in the SECOND bathroom!

view from our front door...cool lobby!

free champagne!

We decided to go all out since its a cheap vacation and we got a beautiful Suite at Treasure Island...check it out!

And along came a spider...

2011-04-13T22:02:00.000-07:00

A noiseless patient spider,
I mark'd where on a little promontory it stood isolated,
Mark'd how to explore the vacant vast surrounding,
It launch'd forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself,
Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them.
And you O my soul where you stand,
Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space,
Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to connect them,
Till the bridge you will need be form'd, till the ductile anchor hold,
Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my soul.
-Walt Whitman

A moment, then more day after photos

2011-04-13T21:01:00.000-07:00

First I would like to take a moment to talk about how great my new family is...they are very loving and kind and warm. I particularly love my "new" grandparents...Mimi and Poppa. Mimi is spunky and funny and sweet as pie. Unfortunately she had a fall the other day and is currently not doing real great. Wes and I are driving to sacramento tomorrow with garrett and christine to see her and the family. I am really hoping to see Mimi wake up and get better. Please think good thoughts for her!

Now to continue with the rest of my "day after wedding" photos. We had a nice breakfast at the hotel with lots of family, then later in the day Aunt Denise hosted a great dinner at her house in Lafayette.

cutest siblings

i LOVE this photo of my moms

kim cracks me up

we celebrated trish's birthday

we brought wes' grooms cake since it wasnt eaten at the wedding

The Day After the Wedding

2011-04-08T06:50:00.000-07:00

Since I only took a few snaps of thr camera on my wedding day I tried to make up for it the next day. Here are some highlights:

Sun rises through the window of our suite

view from window

so pretty

my husband wasnt impressed

his vest with the lily

flowers held up really well

Kim and niece Alicia

Uncle Mike and his Grandson Connor

Mom and Candy

cute sibs

Best Mother and Father in Law ever!

The Only Photos I Took on my Wedding Day

2011-03-28T06:42:00.000-07:00

My biggest day ever and I barely took any photos myself. After I woke up I took some nice photos of the view from our room ...thats pretty much it!

It was a huge suite...wish I took more photos of it

boats at jack london square

beautiful gold flowers from my sister

Guest Photos

2011-03-20T21:47:00.000-07:00

Here are some more photos from my guests, I dont remember who took what:

cool hotel

bride and groom silhouette

nice tree, nice bikes

deed is done

love his face here

More Jen Photos

2011-03-19T23:06:00.000-07:00

i love the faces they are making at one another

jack london square and the pretty girl alicia

best photo of alicia EVAARR...this si the one they will show when she is on american idol and they are looking back at her happy childhood

i have no clue where this guy was spotted, but he is cute

love this photo...same trees where wes and i had our portraits taken after the ceremony

sibling love

my dads both walk me down the aisle, just as i wanted

Heather proves you are never too old to be read a good penguin story

not quite as planned, but still a nice set up

so sweet

Photos from Jen

2011-03-19T22:18:00.000-07:00

My cousin Jen, who has two amazing kids, Connor and Alicia, took a lot of photos on her trip to California wedding and otherwise- and sent them all to me! I did some of my usual editing...and as per usual they are all out of order.

beautiful, happy alicia

near the hotel in jack london square...people forget how pretty the oakland waterfront can be

beautiful, happy alicia :)

jack london square

our awesome hotel

handsome nephew tony - LOVE the bowtie!

alicia running between the tables at the wedding

they found the farmers market at jack london square...i wouldnt be able to wait to eat those strawberries either

its funny how even if youre not a magazine model bride and even if youre wearing boots and some funky orange...little girls will look at you and see a disney princess. as a bride you become a celebrity to all girls under the age of 7...i had little girls hanging around me a lot at my wedding and felt the love

another prime example...there she was as i tried to eat my dinner

beautiful Nin and her beau

the kids all tuckered out- so cute!

there were different kinds of candy and snacks in the centerpiece "jars" so some people tradedthem with other tables to try different things

Reidy Vacation Continued

2011-03-16T06:50:00.000-07:00

Here are some more fun shots of the kids visit to the bay area:

I have no idea what boat they went on, but it looks fun!

Hotel pool...I am sad we didnt get a chance to swim

not sure which beach they went to

love this shot

California Vacation

2011-03-16T06:46:00.000-07:00

Some of my far away family members and friends made a fun vacation out of their trip to come here for the wedding. My Cousin Jen shared with me her entire album of photos from her trip. Here are the photos she took of some of my favoritest kids visiting the museum I work at:

on the roof!

I heart Claude!

living rainforest

this is pretty much how i feel after a day at the museum too

Engagement Photos

2011-03-16T06:42:00.000-07:00

More later, but here are a couple of the engagement photos:

I dont know why my photos are so out of order....

Some Phone Pics

2011-03-14T12:54:00.000-07:00

I think these are iphone pics from my friend at the wedding:

cool view of the inside of the hall from the outside at night

the awesome view

a drink and a view

Todays Wedding Photos

2011-03-14T12:10:00.000-07:00

the orange tones in this tree make me happy

woah we have generous family and friends! Do you see the Harley gas tank we had our guests sign?

we tried to dance

Wes thanked everyone

People and Sunsets at Wedding- oh my!

2011-03-13T08:26:00.000-07:00

My super awesome in-laws

I think I was showing Mimi my shoes

Beautiful Mimi and handsome Papa

I love this photo of my silblings with my grand-parent-in-laws

I love the fun silly photos

I think this is when I was thanking everyone

My nephew Solomon had the sweetest speech

Amazing sky

I love the streaking plane-cloud heading towards the moon like a bow and arrow

This was our sunset just for us

orange sunset for orange wedding

Really Love these Pics

2011-03-12T09:17:00.000-08:00

I love this photo of my brother in law Ian...kinda dreamy looking

The phographers told us to fist pump twice after the kiss and we forgot to we later posed the pump

my two favorite redheads and my sister

My brother in law and soon to be sister in law- thats right- they are engaged now!

my other brother in law and sister in law, I wonder what happened that made her give that look there

our besties matt and haydee

scene of the "cocktail hour"

brothers

sisters

me and my brothers

us and some of the 'rents

three brothers, one dad and one grandpa

Continuing.....

2011-03-07T06:33:00.000-08:00

My ladies in waiting....

our fabulous no-nonsense day-of coordinator, Jeanette

I made the programs, keeping with the post-card theme of all our collateral

doing the formal photos was stressful...we had to yell for people to come and kept forgetting people and groups we wanted, plus i hadnt said hello to anyone yet and everyone was having appetizers and drinks and i wanted to join the fun

I felt pretty good about reading my vows to Wes

I felt bad that our guests had to sit facing the blinding sun

I didnt know why the girls stood to far apart from each other....

my honey reading his vows, he did so good!

Wedding and more Wedding

2011-03-04T06:49:00.000-08:00

Sorry all I have is more wedding photos...thats all youre going to get for a long time so get used to it!
Lets start with the good stuff....the kiss!

Here is our march back down the aisle together to the Black Eyed Peas:

look at the sexy legs in this shot:

Here are our "Peeps" dancing away after us!

I was happy Haydee was represented!

Meanwhile the inside reception is ready for dinner...notice that the chairs i ordered (white ones) were not present, so the ugly gray hall chairs had to be used:

Love on Valentines

2011-02-14T08:09:00.000-08:00

I finally processed a few more photos from the wedding and how appropriate tht it is valentines day:
Best man and bridesmaid stealing some shade prior to the ceremony:

One of my facorite babies...SloMar- only 3 weeks old at my wedding!

My ushers (all my brothers) seated the moms:

Me and my dads getting ready to make the walk:

Wes walked Heather down the aisle after the moms were seated (sorry a little out of order here):

Here we are!

I had special vows for my stepdaughter, Heather:

exchanging of rings:

And the kiss!

The Ceremony

2011-01-28T06:56:00.000-08:00

These photos show the anticipation of the wedding party geting ready to walk down the aisle!

Details

2011-01-25T06:54:00.000-08:00

As centerpeices we used some vases, apothocary jars and vases to house fun orange snacks:

Wes made this really awesome sign to point our guests in the right direction:

My buddy Jen Huff helped by making these really fun poufy tissue decorations that we hung from the trees, I love them!:

I woner what my uncle Mike thought about it all:

Oh and we cant forget the bikes or the beer...my fabulous brother Zak picked up the keg...too bad it didnt work!:

And here is our peeps (well half of them)...patiently waiting for the ceremony to begin:

Cake!

2011-01-24T19:35:00.000-08:00

So my good friend Jenai is the best and she has on several occassions made amazing cakes for us. Our wedding was no exception. This photo does not have the fun cake-topper, but you can see this multi-layer orange cake with a road going around it (leads to the top where the motorcycle cake topper sat). The cake is red velvet and vanilla with frosting and fondant. it was so fun, I just loved it! Also, we had a giant glittery orange skull for the cake stand, but the cake was so massive, it didnt work out to use the stand after a little bit...this is one of the few photos of it on the stand.

Heather's Art

2011-01-11T08:07:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago Heather spent the whole weekend with us and I helped her with a photography class assignment. It was a lot of fun! I set up a backdrop and some lighting and she took photos of me and wes for her "friends and family" assignment. She also had to do a still object, so she set up a wine glass and grapes. My favorite is the photos of her grandparents dog. check it out:

Getting Ready for My Wedding

2010-12-19T22:36:00.000-08:00

This was my dress hanging up patiently waiting for its glorious day:

I wore white Doc Martens that had flowers embroidered on the side and I used a beautiful orange ribbon as shoe laces:

I had to dive into my dress:

Just abour ready to go:

More Ceremony Photos

2010-12-19T20:00:00.000-08:00

Here are some more shots from our wedding ceremony:

wes trying to stay cool before the ceremony begins

me reading my vows

our fabulous officiant, matthew

walking back down together

a little out of order, but here we are fist-pumping after the vows

one of my favorite shots- I think my cousin kim took this!

Annual Holiday Card Photo

2010-12-14T21:16:00.000-08:00

I apologize to those of you who have not yet received the holiday card (I am waiting until we get paid to buy mroe postage)...this may spoil the surprise. So two years ago I had someone take a photo of Wes, Heather and I in front of the big tree at Oakland City Center when we were there for the holiday parade. I loved the photo and ended up using it for our holiday cards. Last year I tried to have a nice at home posed photo with the three of us and it turned out horrible and I ended up having to use another old photo. This year I decided to repeat two years ago adn when we were at Bay Street in Emeryville I noticed the unique art installation in place of a tree and had a kind stranger take our photo again. Check it out:

Good Year

2010-12-14T06:47:00.000-08:00

That pretty much sums it up...with two weeks or so left to 2010 I have to say this has been a very good year. Here are some of my highlights:

Breast reduction surgery
Turning 30
Two new tattoos
Two trips to Vegas/honeymoon
Wedding/being married
Seeing family
BIL gets engaged
SF Giants win World Series
Disneyland
Birth of SloMar (friend's baby)
Wedekings are expecting!
Eliane and Andy are expecting!

Who knows what the next two weeks will bring, or the next year for that matter, but this is all good stuff. And now for something completely different (yet somehow so fitting) from our long drive home from SoCal.
This made me laugh....I can hardly see the point of the billboard:

Beaches

2010-12-14T06:41:00.000-08:00

One thing SoCal has over NorCal is better beaches....we stopped for a couple photos on our way home:

Claim Jumper Gang

2010-12-13T07:08:00.000-08:00

Exactly four years prior Some high school friends of mine and I decided to get together (with our significant others) and have dinner at the Claim Jumper. One drove up from the south (Michelle and her Husband Matt), two of us were down from the bay area (jen and her husband and me and wes) and one was local (lisa). Us four gals were all clarinet players in the mission viejo high school marching band and eight years after high school there we were having dinner in our hometown. Here are the photos form that day in 2006 (PS_ this is also the last time wes and i went to Disneyland....):

We repeated this event in 2010, here are the photos:

M-I-C-K-E-Y....

2010-12-11T09:19:00.000-08:00

That's right...thanks to my fabulous step-bro and his lovely wife we got tickets to the D-Land and went the day after Thanksgiving! Here are some of the best pics:

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-12-07T20:56:00.000-08:00

This year for spanksgiving my wonderful husband was open to a road trip to SoCal. I was really hoping for a big turkey dinner with the fam at my paretns house- its been years since we have had this...but alas my folks had plans to visit my brother and sis-in-law in washington...I had been to seattle area the year before for their wedding and JUST saw my whole fam one month earlier, so we decided to head south anyway. We got to have dinner with my step-brother and his wife, mom and friend. It was Delish! We also did some cat-sitting for my parents!
Here are some pics:

I really love the colorful table cloth and napkins!

oh.so.full.

LOVE that I caught the post-meal looks....this pic tells all

Wes calls both my parents cats "Ben"...because they are BENgals...and because they have these HUGE eyes like benjamin linus from LOST

Winter Wonderland at Work

2010-12-05T17:44:00.000-08:00

As you know I work at a big fun science museum and this year they are really trying to make the holidays festive. There is snow every 30 minutes in the Piazza, as well as entertainment, an igloo with a planetarium show inside and reindeer in the gardens! Check it out:

Cupcakes

2010-12-02T07:03:00.000-08:00

My good friend Jenai makes amazing cakes and I want to learn how to make something too. So she came over one day recently and showed me how to make rainbow cupcakes! It was a lot of fun. I brought the extras into work and everyone LOVED them. One woman at work even paid me to make them again for her! They are really fun and tasty...check out the pics:

More Halloween at Work

2010-11-30T22:05:00.000-08:00

Not sure if I explained this already, but my work BFF, Rachael and I often get mistaken for eachother by coworkers, so we thought it would be funny to dress as eachother. I wore a dress with leggings and flats, she drew her most prominant tattoos on my arms and she wore a long brunette wig and one of my favorite blouses...we also exchanged badges and name tags...the people who really know us thought it was hilarious!

Carpool

2010-11-30T22:00:00.000-08:00

While not everyone in this photo has been in the carpool at the same time, we have all in every which combination shared a ride to work almost every day for 3 years....we had lunch together recently to show appreciation for Marilyn, who no longer works at the Academy:

Halloween at Work

2010-11-30T07:02:00.000-08:00

There was a fun costume contest at work this year..here are some of the best:

Wine Tasting

2010-11-29T20:39:00.000-08:00

Many people made unique and generous contributions to our wedding. Our good friends Dave and Jen Huff helped us out with chosing wine. Dave has taken some classes in wine and so they had us over for a blind taste test. Garrett and Christine also came. They bought several wines, reds, pinks and champagnes for us to try and printed a fun list for us to take notes on. The verdict was that in two of the catagories the $2 Charles Shaw won over the other wines and Jen offered to help with custom labels so I was pleased about the savings! The champagne we liked the best could not be purchased in bulk so I ended up doing another tasting of my own and went with Tott's,. which was on sale at BevMo!
Here are some pics from the tasting:

Wedding Photos!

2010-11-23T20:39:00.000-08:00

So the photographers photos arrived...sort of...I got a link to an online "gallery". It a place you can view the photos, but only so big and they ahve a watermark...but you can order pricey prints from the photographers. We did order prints, because I agree their prints are superior to anything I can do at home, but mostly I will enojuy the photos once I get a disc of the images from them sometime next month. In the meantime, a lot of friends and family took great photos, that I have processed myself in photoshop. They are a bit out of order, so I will describe a little as I jump back and forth.

First up is the bridal party lining up to walk down the aisle. After the ushers (my brothers) walked the moms down the aisle, Wes walked down with his daughter Heather, followed by the bridesmaids and groomsmen.

Of course last but not least was the bride! (me!!) I had both my dad and step-dad walk me down the aisle...we didnt all fit through the glass doorway, but the aisle was plenty wide.

My coworkers came and one took this photo of the other...I want to share it to illustrate the amazing sunset outside behind him:

The day after the wedding we got our first and only "teaser" from the photographers. I asked for one to use for the Thank You notes...it was a perfect choice!

The view in front of the "audience" during the ceremony:

Thats all for now....more to come~!

Rachael and Gus get Married!

2010-11-21T12:54:00.000-08:00

Exactly one month before my wedding, my good friends Rachael adn Gus got married, and I was lucky enough to be a part of it. I offered to be their DOC (day of coordinator). I got to the venue early and set everything up and made sure everything looked good for them. They had a lovely civil ceremony at City Hall in San Francisco, followed by a reception at this beautiful restaurant at Embarcadero Center. Here are some photos:

Engagementaversary - More Pics

2010-11-18T21:57:00.000-08:00

Here are some more pics from our dinner cruise...There was a Giants game going on so I got some great shots of the ball park (we actually stopped the boat long enoughn to get some clear shots).

Engagementaversary

2010-11-16T22:51:00.000-08:00

When I realized that the day I had scheduled my make-up trial was also the one year anniversary of Wes and I being engaged, I decided to do something about it. We didnt really celebrate our four-year dating anniversary the month before, so I took it upon myself to arrange for a dinner cruise!

Wes picked me up at Rachael's after having my face done and off we went. Here are some of my favorite shots from the night:

Makeup Trial

2010-11-10T07:02:00.000-08:00

On the one year anniversary of our engagement I went home from work with my good friend and coworker Rachael. She does makeup on the side and graciously offered to do my wedding makeup so we were planning on doing the trial that day.

I was breaking out pretty bad so I knew that if she could make me look good this day I would be fine for the wedding...well here are the before and afters...you be the judge!

Wes says I do that funny eye pop thing in photos so here is a pic with and without the eyepop- i think it looked better with the big eyes....

Invitations continued....

2010-11-09T20:45:00.000-08:00

The Anatomy of our invitations are as follows:
After doing a postcard for the save-the-dates I wanted to continue with the postcard theme and have several postcards fastened together by a brad in the corner so they could "fan" out and the recipient can tear off the last one and send it back as the RSVP card.

Way back I wanted to get a tattoo and one idea I had was to get our motorcycles with the bay bridge. I got an artist on Etsy.com to create this image with photos of our bikes and while I did not like it for a tattoo, I loved it for the invitation...actually...Danielle was coming up with some pretty amazing designs for us, but none of them quite worked perfectly...which is when it dawned on me to use the art of the bikes. Danielle did a smashing job coloring in the picture to fit our color scheme and added a few great elements that ended up being logos for our wedding. One was these two love birds (I actually now have a tattoo of the birds!), another is a heart tattoo with a banner through it that reads "wes & jess". She added these two elements and a sun in the sky that actually reads our wedding webpage address!

The next card is the invitation itself. Using a fun biker-style font and a more casual handwriting font, we set the toe for the wedding and decided simpler the better- see photos below.

The next card is the mapcard with more details and a map- again Danielle really nailed it here.

Last but not least is the RSVP card...I saw on a wedding blog that one couple asked their guests to draw a picture for them on the RSVP card...so one side of our card is the picture area and the other side is the response, address and stamp.

We used some pretty nice brads to seal it together and then "wrapped" the whole thing in a pretty shiny orange paper and sealed it with a sticker of either the birds or the tattoo heart. The whole thing slipped beautifully into a cloudy-clear envelope and the address was written with a silver paint pen.

I also made my own return-address labels.

The long awaited post marriage posting!

2010-11-08T21:23:00.000-08:00

I will not even attempt to recap the past few months, but the reason I have been gone so long is that I generally post according to my photos and I have been working on photos of clothes I am selling on ebay- and I just finished. The last of the items are up on ebay now and within the week they will either be sold or not and everything not sold will be donated - hallaluyah!

In other news let's look back on one particular occassion of the wedding prep process - the assembly of the invitations!

Danielle did such an amazing job making the invitations and some of our besties got together to assemble them. Here are a few shots of the good times:

Hair Trial!!

2010-08-20T22:06:00.000-07:00

I got my hair done as a trial run for the wedding day

Blond HEather?

2010-08-19T07:13:00.001-07:00

Heather was wearing her Anime Cosplay getup so I had to take a photo...of course hse has a wig and blue eye contacts...but doesnt she look super young too?

Last photos of my visit to the wharf

2010-08-19T07:12:00.000-07:00

Musee Weird Stuff continued

2010-08-16T06:53:00.000-07:00

More strange stuff from Musee

2010-08-15T16:38:00.000-07:00

Weird Stuff at the Wharf

2010-08-15T09:47:00.000-07:00

My team at work and I went to Fisherman's Wharf and I got to check out the Musee Mechanique for the first time...it has all these old coin games and attractions from days of old....most are creepy...

Fun on Solano Avenue

2010-08-11T07:13:00.001-07:00

pretty things on Solano

More Shower Fun

2010-08-07T08:28:00.000-07:00

Great Ladies (Shower Continued)

2010-08-05T06:55:00.000-07:00

My Life in Photos

I do and the kiss

more vows...my vows to Heather

The Vows

Ceremony

Cereony Begins~!

more pre-ceremony

Me as Bride

getting ready

More Bride Getting Ready and Hotel Pics

details and getting ready

hotel and dress/outfit

Wedding Bride and Groom

Engagement Photos!!

The Nin

Best of Friends

Photos from the Wingeiers

wedding photos from the Huffs

Last of the Rehearsal Dinner Photos

Yet Even More Rehearsal Dinner Photos

More Rehearsal Photos from Kim

Rehearsal Dinner Continued

Rehearsal Dinner

Danber to Napa

Ball Game

My Best Friend Matt - Matthew Lindgren, LMFT

Cake

More Santa Rosa Fun

Visit Cousin Steven and Meet a Winery Cat

Sawyer and waking up

To Heather from Santa

Heather's Art

Christmas

RIP 'Bu

Cute Cats and Cupcakes

cupcakes and stuff

pumpkin carving - halloween 2010

Yummy Cake

more cute Kaleah and Kitty too

Kaleah KC Cutie Pants

Harley Davidson Cafe in LV...nuff sed

cute cubs and favorite beer

M&Ms and Lion Around

More Eiffel Tower and Trasure Island Show

La Tour Eiffel

Thr Strip

Hoover Dam and Bellagio Fountains

More Hoover Dam Photos

Honeymoon continued

Honeymoon

And along came a spider...

A moment, then more day after photos

The Day After the Wedding

The Only Photos I Took on my Wedding Day

Guest Photos

More Jen Photos

Photos from Jen

Reidy Vacation Continued

California Vacation

Engagement Photos

Some Phone Pics

Todays Wedding Photos

People and Sunsets at Wedding- oh my!

Really Love these Pics

Continuing.....

Wedding and more Wedding

Love on Valentines

The Ceremony

Details

Cake!

Heather's Art

Getting Ready for My Wedding

More Ceremony Photos

Annual Holiday Card Photo

Good Year

Beaches

Claim Jumper Gang

M-I-C-K-E-Y....

Thanksgiving 2010

Winter Wonderland at Work