paradise - part two

the second half of our soCal trip was spent with my family in witnessing and celebrating the marriage of my brother, scott, to his love, alisa. i love weddings! they were married in the lovely san diego LDS temple. it was a gorgeous day and a beautiful ceremony. my father was able to perform the sealing, and words cannot describe the feelings of being there with all of my siblings, their spouses and my parents together – with my father officiating. emotions were high and my gratitude for eternal families grew ever stronger. we topped those festivities off with a relaxing day at the beach. could life get any better?

the kissing couple.

the happy couple.

the groom's parents, groom, bride and bride's parents. don't they all looks so great?!

this is what ryder thought of all of the pictures. all he wanted to do was smell every flower in site (and those of you who have been to any LDS temple ground before know there are plenty of those around) and to throw as many blades of grass as he could get his hands on down this drain. cute kid.

hansen family portrait. my parents in the middle with all five girls, five sons-in-law, two boys with two daughters-in-law, as well as four granddaughters and five grandsons (with two more grandchildren on the way).

again, ryder wasn't extremely fond of the picture-taking ritual. here he is expressing his sentiments during the grandkid pictures. whoops.

our family photo with the bride and groom. it was very hard for ryder to turn away his attention from 'whale watching' in the bay to look towards the camera. again, his love of whales was present wherever there was water.

ryder taking in the fresh air and beautiful scenery around Coronado.

we drove back to sf on a sunday, where ryder and i then hopped in the car with my sister that tuesday to go home to merced for the week. stacie (my sister), her daughter elli, and my mom's mother, grandma horne, had stuck around after the wedding to play and help get ready for scott and alisa’s open house at my parents' place... so how could i not join them? we had such a GREAT week watching movies, swimming, going on long morning walks and prepping for the party.

ryder had a blast playing with elli, although i don't think elli would say the same. he unfortunately found it his mission in life to beat her up... going out of his way when he heard her voice to give her a solid slug in the shoulder, head, stomach - whatever was most convenient at the time. he's gotten a lot better at the whole hitting and pushing thing, but we still occasionally have some rough times. luckily stacie understood and didn't take it personally. elli on the other hand, we had to convince that she really did still love ryder and ryder really did still love her.

me, ryder, stacie and elli drying off after a dip in the hot tub... don't worry, the water was just luke warm.

the merced open house was wonderful. the yard was a glimpse of eden, as it always is at such times as these. mom and dad sure outdid themselves, once again. for those of you not so familiar with my parents, my dad grew up on a farm and ever since i can remember has spent every spare day of his life (minus sundays) working hard in the yard. the beautiful flowers, manicured lawn, spotless pool, sculpted bushes and trees, and the delicious fruit bearing orchard were all benefits i received from his hard work - not to mention the most important lesson of dedication and hard work bringing success and beauty to life. Add that to my mother's amazing sweetness and devotion to providing a loving, orderly home and you have two wonderful parents. the reception was great.

a glimpse at the yummy food.

mom and dad even took a break (at the very end when most everyone had left) to enjoy the tasty treats!

paradise = time in the sun and time with family.