weekly picture post

It was so fun watching the kids when Lauren "opened" her birthday presents. Will was a very involved helper and Lauren was just excited to be there. Lauren looked really cute in her birthday skirt crawling around. I need to post more pictures from Lauren's birthday.

Weston and Lauren hanging out by they fountain Monday night. We had some great weather while the Maxfields were in town, I miss it and I miss them.

We squeezed the kids into the back of our car when we went to Kaleidoscope Tuesday afternoon.

For some reason I really liked the scene in the sky Wednesday evening. Seeing the light behind the clouds reminds me that Heavenly Father is always there for me.

This girl loves to swing, but hates to have her hands covered.  Every time I stepped away from her she started taking them off and would throw them on the ground. This winter could be fun. . .

Will was very pleased with the mini ice cream cone he got when we met some friends for lunch at McDonald's Friday afternoon. He didn't really deserve it. Not only did he refuse to climb down, requiring me to climb up after him, but also because he took his socks off while at the top and dropped them over the side necessitating an employee to go behind the playground and retreive them.

Will loved the parade at our ward's trunk or treat. Parades are his thing, you know. I think he was just excited to have fellow marchers. Luckily he was able to find a small stick to use as an instrument, because every parade requires an instrument.

mr. & mrs. starita

In honor of Melanie and Andrew's six-month anniversary, I figured it was about time to blog about our trip to Utah for their wedding in April.

It was a fun trip and we were able to spend time with many of our favorite people.

First up we got to see Candace.

Candace and I were roommates for over 3 years while undergraduates at BYU. It was a busy Saturday and we didn't get to spend a lot of time together, but we were able to check out her new place and visit long enough to make me wish we loved closer. Candace was getting ready to cruise the Caribbean and I am still feeling a little jealous. A lot of my favorite memories from BYU include Candace, as well as some embarrassing ones. I guess that is the measure of a true friend, someone that knows embarrassing things about you and loves you anyway. 

Next we got to see Darren.

We didn't get to spend a lot of one-on-one time with Darren as he was getting married and all, but it was great to share his special day with him and Liz. Darren and Tony have been friends since they both got back from their Scandinavian missions (Tony=Finland and Darren=Sweden) and lived in the Liberty Square area. I like to make fun of Tony because he frequently talks to Darren, but when I ask how he's doing, he usually replies that he "thinks he's fine," but he knows the intricacies of his fantasy sports teams. 

 

  

  I stole this group picture from Cindy's facebook page. Cindy, if you read this, thanks!

After Darren's wedding we had a few days to get ready for Melanie's.

In the days leading up to the wedding Laura and I baked many of the reception treats, with a little help from TJ.

 

We were able to be at the temple with Melanie when she went through for the first time.

The night before the wedding the Starita's hosted a family dinner at Cuccina Toccana in Salt Lake City. We were served more delicious food than I could possibly eat, especially considering we were going to be dressed in formal attire the next day. In addition to the good food, I enjoyed meeting Andrew's family and hearing stories about the bride and groom. Melanie and Andrew are a perfect match. :)

 

   

Melanie and Andrew were married in the afternoon on Thursday, April 26th.

 photo by Ravenberg Photography

 Melanie looked radiant on her wedding day.

That evening their reception was held in the ballroom of the Provo Library. That room is so gorgeous, with great views. 

 Photo by Ravenberg Photography

We were so lucky that Will's uncle and several brothers of the groom were willing to spend time with him at the reception, so Anthony and I could visit with friends and family.

Sisters and sisters-in-law of the bride.

Dad and his girls.

There are now three brothers-in-law in the family. Tony's not feeling quite so outnumbered.

 

Girls still outnumber the boys though.

 

I got to see another one of my awesome BYU roommates, Melissa, when she came to the reception with her cute kids. We didn't have nearly as much time to talk as I would have liked, but it was still great to see her and so nice of her to come.

The day after the wedding we hijacked the John Girl's Weekend, stopping by their cabin in the mountains for a few hours.

It snowed (in the mountains) the night before. 

We got to meet cousin Weston for the first time.

Will and TJ threw snowballs at each other.

After a few hours we headed back to Aunt Ginger's house (our home away from home during our visit) and packed our bags. We flew home the next day. We were all so tired and happy to get home. It was a crazy-busy nine days. I'm sure I am missing a lot, but this post is already a marathon, so I'll leave it at this.

Happy 6th Month Anniversary, Mr. and Mrs. Starita! We were honored to take part in your wedding day! Sorry it took me so long to post about your wedding, and thanks for giving us an excuse to visit some friends. :) Love you!

 

Andrew & Melanie :: 4.26.12 :: Salt Lake Temple

maxfield's come to town

This past weekend we got the opportunity to show off Kansas City to the Maxfields. Steven had a residency interview at UMKC and Meredith and Weston came and made a long weekend out of it. We had a great time!

We wanted to show them what a family-friendly area we live in, and also take advantage of the remaining days of beautiful weather we had over the weekend.

Our first stop was the Power & Light District for the Fall Festival. We arrived at the tail end of things, but we were still able to have a good time. We were able to indulge in a few caramel apple slices, Will got lost in a maze, and the kids got to ride ponies.

We were all a bit surprised when Will said he wanted to ride, but we didn't want to stifle his "courage," and the line wasn't too long, so we waited. We were pleasantly surprised that the babies could take a ride too.

After the festival, we watched the BYU game and then headed to Oklahoma Joe's to drown our post-game disappointments in some Z-Man's. It's hard to eat BBQ without getting a little messy, so when we got home we put the kids straight in the tub.

Obligatory cousin bath photo.

Sunday was Lauren's birthday. It was fun having more people around to help us celebrate. 

Will was so excited he danced all over the place, Risky Business Style.

 

For dinner we had pork chops and rice, Lauren's favorite. She seemed pretty pleased about it.

Weston turns one in just four weeks so Lauren gave him some ideas of what presents he might like to get.

Due to her allergies we opted for a rice krispy cake. Again, she didn't seem to mind. 

Monday we started out slow after the birthday celebrations. Will and Weston got into some (supervised) mischief together while Lauren was at her 1 year doctor's appointment.

We went to Deanna Rose in the afternoon where Will acted as tour guide/know-it-all.

Feeding the baby goats.

 Weston's whole face lights up when he smiles. I'm really excited that Lauren has a cousin that will be in the same grade as her.

Deanna Rose tired us out, so we went home and rested for a bit. After dinner we headed down to the Plaza to walk and window shop.

Here we are in front of the J.C. Nichols Memorial Fountain.

Will really enjoyed spending time with Meredith. He insisted on holding her hand and was her shadow most of the time she was here. He was very sad when he woke up and she was gone Wednesday morning.

On Tuesday Steven had his interview and TJ had to work, so Meredith and I took the kids to Crown Center. We ate lunch by the fountains and then let our creative juices flow at Kaleidoscope.  It was so nice to let Will do art projects without having deal with the hassle of setting up and cleaning up like we do at home.

Meredith read to Will and Weston in the book nook while I changed Lauren's diaper.

 

 Missing this kid already!

Wednesday morning came way too fast.We had such a fun time showing off the city and visiting (we stayed up much too late every night talking). Best of luck to Steven with his interviews! Can't wait to find out where you end up next year!