Here's To You Mrs. Robinson

It's hard to believe that our much-anticipated trip to Utah has come and gone. Pretty sure that was the fastest week of my life. My dear sister is officially "Mrs. Robinson." What a grand occasion the wedding was. The announcement pictured above was featured in the Davis County Clipper - a longstanding tradition for anyone who lives within Clipper boundaries - but I must say, I've never seen so many people respond over an announcement. They open the paper, see the picture and move on with life. Not with this one. Random people that none of us Irvines know called my parents house asking/commenting about Lindsay's announcement. Classic. That's Irvine wit for you...

Perhaps the reason our trip flew by so fast was because it was jam-packed. I'm a little worried that everyone who saw us probably thought we looked like zombies because we were going nonstop from point A to point Z every day trying to see all our family and friends. Luckily, we managed to pull everything off. Not as many pictures as usual for us, but lots from the main events. We flew in on Wednesday and after a Cafe Rio run, we hung out with our parents before crashing in Centerville with the Chapmans.

Thursday: Provo & Ogden....at the same time.

We figured we'd get to see more people if we split up. I needed to spend some time in the BYU library on Thursday to work on my dissertation and since Steve is basically allergic to Provo, I figured I'd take the opportunity after studying to hang out with my dear friend Penelope Celeste and her beau, Sam. Good times. Amazing things are around the corner for that girl. While I was in Provo, Steve went to hang out with J.R. and Tesse up in Ogden, two good friends from his Choralaire days.

Another reason I needed to head to Provo was in order to pick up Lindsay's wedding flowers early Friday morning and head back to Bountiful to arrange them...

In case you're wondering, this is how flowers are packed before they end up at your neighborhood floral shop. Fascinating, I know.

Luckily I had help processing all the roses (meaning, removing all the foliage and thorns from the stems).

250 Cream and Black Magic roses later...

Time to start arranging!

Nathan's boutonnierre

Everybody else's boutonniere

It's funny how much flowers reflect personalities. Lindsay went for classic and elegant - a perfect fit for describing my sister.

The bridal bouquet. I tried some new greenery for the collar, pittosporum - oh man, I loved it! It looked fantastic and made the roses pop. Absolutely brilliant.

Big fan of the ribbon too. It was red/black depending on what light it was under.

This was a special request on my part. I remember having my whole family together at my parent's house the night before Steve and I got married last September to enjoy some delicious Chinese food and just have fun together before the hustle and bustle of the wedding day. I asked if we could do that again, which ended up being a great finish to a day full of arranging flowers. No time like quality time with the fam.

Heaven on earth! Myca (my sister-in-law) brought these over to my parent's house Friday night, which provided some exquisite dessert after the Chinese food was devoured.

The whole family, minus the bride and groom. They were at a dinner that night with Nathan's family out in SLC.

Saturday: Wedding Day!

This hardly ever happens - the entire Irvine clan in one place at one time! Amazing.

Dave and Linda Irvine - best parents in the world. We're still very aware and very grateful that my dad was here to share in this special day for Lindsay and Nathan. So grateful.

Hey, who let the Scottish guy in?!?! Lindsay was thrilled to learn that Steve was going to wear his kilt to the wedding, so long as he didn't upstage the groom. It was a big hit. The ring on Steve's finger didn't stop numerous ladies from commenting on how nice his legs looked in his kilt. =)

The ceremony was lovely. It was performed by a good family friend, The Rev (aka Tom Goldsmith).

And behind door #2...

A happily married couple

Reception time!

What's different about this picture?

Yes. It's Michael.

He didn't get the memo.

Maybe next time.

I'm really glad this photograph was even possible. I won't go into all the details, but let's just say that I'm really glad I didn't ruin Lindsay's cake. PHEW! My hands are shaking just writing about this picture. The cake had a close call with the table and the cake stand (removed for the actual cutting), but luckily everything turned out just fine. =) We told Lindsay what happened a few days later so as not to freak out the bride on her wedding day.

Good call.

These two are in top form on the dance floor. It's where they met, and where they'll continue to find themselves through the years.

Scott and I are very lucky that we found such wonderful spouses. Spouses who will put up with all of our nonsense when we get together. When I pulled into my parent's driveway on Friday afternoon I saw Scott's truck already there, and immediately started putting together an action plan in my head. Good thing I did because he did the very same thing and we met in the kitchen. I don't remember who went for what exactly, but I do remember a spray bottle and lots of water. My mom only has one rule whenever stuff like this happens - whoever took it, must return the bottle to the ironing board.

Sass-a-frass!

Next family event (right after the wedding): family party at the Adams residence!

We waited for this moment for a very long time.

We finally got to meet our adorable nephew, Daxton!

Isn't he the cutest little guy? We definitely think so.

He's just over six months now

Dax chillin' on a blanket with his mom, Natalie - he definitely got her good looks.

A mover and a shaker. He was wiggling around, though it could have been that he was tired of the new people who were obsessed with him. Just a guess.

Listening to Steve sing while Juli played the piano. I've missed this since moving to Scotland. We don't have a piano here, except for the pianos at church. He is always being asked to play in Sacrament over here in Scotland, but it was so much fun listening to him sing songs from our favorite musicals.

Sunday: Centerville to Logan

We got to attend the annual Cinco de Mayo party (scheduled a bit late this year) with the Stevens crew in Centerville. More people we've missed while being away. Steve always enjoys keeping the kiddos entertained whether on the grass, the trampoline, or eating otter pops on the porch.

After the party, we drove up to Logan to see some friends. First stop (sorry, no picture!): Tammy and Lorin Stevens' house (Tammy and Steve taught together in Taiwan) to catch up on old times. I met all of Steve's friends from Taiwan right after I met Steve, and they are all hilarious. I will forever have images of the dancing game in my head when I think of everyone from Steve's Taiwan adventure. =)

Next stop: visiting my fellow Scottish sibling and his beautiful fiancee. We wanted to see Michael and Mariah before they get hitched in June to hear their stories and wish them the best since we'll miss their wedding. This picture was taken for Rita McGuire. We wanted to get some traditional Scottish gifts for these two as a wedding gift and Rita insisted that she get the gift for them. That's Rita for you - a heart of gold the size of Texas. She doesn't even know Michael or Mariah, but wanted to give them something as a token of Scotland to celebrate their marriage.

It was great hearing their engagement story - totally original and meaningful. Can't wait to see where married life takes these two.

Michael Murray and Mariah Clark - soon to be Mr. & Mrs. Murray

Goofing off at Natalie and Luke's house. Steve was good and decided to work off those delicious chocolate strawberries. I, on the other hand, played with the wee one...

Can't get enough of this guy

I'll have you know that I was replaced on Steve's cell phone background by a picture of Daxton. He's that cute.

Steve decided to get in on this action too - he loves being an uncle.

Monday: Logan back to SLC

We met up with Miss Hawker (another great friend from Taiwan) Monday afternoon and enjoyed some cool refreshment at Cold Stone before Sara had to take off for work.

You know those people that come into your life that will be there forever, no matter the time or distance? That's Sister Soderborg for you. We were mission companions for 4.5 months and it was so great getting together and hearing about current events. Russ, her significant other, is one very lucky guy to be dating such a great gal. =)

With all the weddings happening right now, I do have to mention how fun it was looking through our own wedding album. This was the first time Steve and I got to see the album since it wasn't finished until December. It is AMAZING! Same story with our wedding video. I can't say thanks enough to Brody and Cameron for the amazing job they did capturing our wedding day. And thanks to all of you out there who contributed great advice on the video. It was fun watching it being married eight months now and hearing advice given to us on our first day as a married couple. All of it was sage advice, and still rings true today.

Many thanks.

Wednesday: Homeward bound

Making himself at home in the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris during our layover.

Home at last.

Scotland really has become home. Steve and I both tried to understand why we felt like strangers in a familiar place while we were in Utah. Utah has always felt like home to me, but this time around it was slightly different. Don't get me wrong - one aspect of home will always revolve around family, and it was wonderful being surrounded by family and dear friends the whole week. It's probably just that Steve and I have gotten used to everything just being the two of us, so something different felt a bit strange. We're back in the swing of things here, and on my way to the National Gallery today the picture above is what I saw.

Classic.

I love Scotland.

It's good to be home.