Scott and Sara's Marriage BBQ Celebration

Scott and Sara got married at Yellowstone Park on 3-2-10. Coolest date ever, eh? Unfortunately I was unable to go for all the fun (they went dog sledding!!!), but luckily they came to Reno for a celebration with the family! :) Lots of pictures to share with you. First we have the newlyweds:

Some much less newlyweds (Kevin's parents, plus Sara's dad, all deep in an intense conversation it looks like- I was being sneaky with my camera!):

And my Aunt Linda and Uncle Paul:

My Dad with Sean and Ashton, and their sparkling apple cider to toast with~ my older brother was dubbed Best Man and gave a wonderful on-the-spot toast, saying what the rest of us were thinking- how Scott is the happiest most laid-back person he knows, and that Sara is the most intelligent person he'll ever meet, and wished them a joyous and happy long marriage together! Nice job with that one George!

Some good conversation, in style with the casual gathering atmosphere- they look at peace, and happy together, don't they?

Scott and me together,

And the three kids. Yes, Kevin was teasing me at the time he pushed the shutter button~

The rings! They designed their own Celtic-style rings, which were made in Berkeley by a specialist, from Platinum. Very fitting for their personalities. (Yup, this is a good one to click on to enlarge and examine to detail.)

And finally, a family photo of my immediate family, except for Kevin, our photographer:

Scott and Sara, thank you for arranging this get-together! The food was fantastic (best ribs I've ever eaten Scott! I'm not much of a meat eater, but all I wanted were the ribs, hamburgers and spicy pork sausages you 'Qued up) as was the company. It was nice to meet all of your friends, and of course get to catch up with my own family that I seem to see together only at major functions at holidays (busy, every one of us!). My love to you both, and hope to see you this summer in Montana!

Scott and Sara Got Married!

Yaaaaay! I missed the day and all the fun, but my mom and older brother were able to go to Yellowstone where they tied the knot at a little chapel after a fun weekend of winter sports, including snowshoeing and dog sledding! They wore saris they bought when they visited India last year. A little S&S background: they met at UNR in a swords class where they were learning a Japanese style of the sport, and officially started dating on 3/2/01. Nine years later they were married on this same day, 3/2/10. I LOVE fun numbers like this, and the fact that they remembered this day nine years later shows what a loving and unique relationship they have. I was lucky enough to talk to Scott about 45 minutes before they got married, and he couldn't have sounded happier. My mom said Scott was glowing, with the most serene smile on his face and complete joy emanating from his being throughout the entire three minute ceremony. Sara is one intelligent, beautiful, athletic girl, and I couldn't have picked a better match for my baby brother. My best wishes and hopes go out to both of you, and that you will have happy and fulfilling lives. And come often to visit me (and cook for me Scotty) because I miss you both like crazy. Love you both, and my most sincere welcome to you Sara. Please take care of my Scott :)

SCOT-TAY!

Yeah! My little (big, or taller, and much at that) brother was in town this weekend with Sara so they could go to her grandmother's birthday party. We went to BJ's Brewery for lunch on Sunday and got to hang out afterward. Just thought I'd share a couple pictures- here's one of the non-Jesus Scott and Sara and Kev:

I swear I can never get that boy to look at the camera! (Oh, yes, I said boy. 'Cause that makes me young too!) And me with my Ashton:

Berkeley and San Francisco with Scott and Sara

I have lots of lovely pictures to share today! I took a couple days off from work to go visit my brother in Berkeley, but we also managed to escape to San Francisco for the day on Sunday. It was the first time Sean and Ashton (and me too!) have ever ridden on BART, and Ashton was definitely concerned because he thought it was going to be a roller coaster, like Space Mountain or something. But once we got started, he quickly relaxed and quite enjoyed his ride. After walking around for half the day, he started asking every so often when we got to ride the train again. :)



And did I mention we walked for 5 and a half hours?



Sean and Ashton did awesome, too. They didn't complain, only begged to be carried because they wanted to climb all over Scotty.



I have to say Scott was quite the trooper- he willingly carried them both almost as often as they asked. What a great uncle! They soaked up the attention.



We found a free museum of SF history, all machine operated, but the best part (for S & A) was the distorted mirror. Talk about some hysterical laughing! And again when I downloaded these pictures (I took about 10 of these).



One of the best smells to ever assail my nose, this place is true to it's name! We stopped in here just to breathe, but of course ended up buying a different hunk of chocolate for each of us.



Oh, yes, SO much goodness... and Scott was kind enough to pose for me with the goodness, no Greatness!



Sean and Ashton begged to go on the carousel on Pier 39:



Family picture with Alcatraz in the background:



On Monday we had planned on taking the boys to the Exploratorium, but they were closed on Mondays! Didn't know that, so we headed to the second best place: The San Francisco Zoo! It was pretty cold, so we bundled up and headed out. Of course when we got there, we headed to the Children's Zoo first. Sean and Ash had a great time petting/chasing/brushing the goats and sheep (although I somehow managed not to get a picture from the front):



Ashton and Sean took their turns riding on the available saddles- Ashton on an English style saddle:



And Sean on a Western saddle:



Then for a fun family photo in a prairie dog hole (with my camera set precariously on a rock on an auto timer- I didn't do such a good job of lining it up, now did I?)



Now, I was all excited to go to the zoo because they have I think 4! snow leopards! But I was thwarted in my excitement to see them by the fact that the entire feline conservatory was closed! No snow leopards for me. Bummer! But I did get to see a 3 month old baby tiger, one of three born in the zoo, and I was even lucky enough to find this one lazing next to the window! We had to wait our turn to get up close, but it was worth it! Here is Ashton, the tiger and Sean:



And another one with just Ash (can you just see the "Awww!" on his face?):



I couldn't resist this Lemur pile- I think since they are from Madagascar, I bet they were cold this day too! SO CUTE!



They are more colorful than I realized too!



One final picture of the boys on the bronzed puma on the way out the door...

Weekend in Berkeley

For President's Day weekend, Kevin's parents graciously offered to take the boys so Kevin and I could drive to Berkeley to visit my brother Scott and his girlfriend Sara. I spent the vast majority of my Saturday and Sunday doing homework anyway, but I did get in a bit of fun as well. Scott, Sara and Kevin decided to go for a nice long bike ride (27 miles) so I could have some quiet time, but I did get a few fun pictures before they left. Scott's hair is getting super long (he calls it his Jesus look) and he decided he wanted to try to get it into a pony tail:

Here are the results:
This is a picture of the inside of their cosy one-bedroom apartment, perfect for 2. I'm trying to remember how many extra doors there. I think there are 11 or 12 for basically 4 rooms (kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and living room). Correct me if I'm off, Scott. Fun memories. :)