Evan and Valerie's Wedding

Evan and Valerie were married in the Los Angeles temple on July 20, 2013.  They make such a great couple and we are so glad Valerie is part of the family now!  Their wedding day was perfect and a little extra special.  Here's why...

The man in the middle of this picture is Elder Cardon or so he has always been known to the Finlay family.  He is one of the elders who taught Ian's parents the gospel and baptized them into our church.  They have stayed in touch and has been to the sealings of many of the Finlay kids.  Elder Cardon taught the Finlays the gospel, but the Reeves family first introduced the Finlays to the gospel about 23 years ago.  Because of their influence, Ian's parents joined the church.  Now, 23 years later, their daughter Valerie married Evan and were sealed in the temple.  Needless to say it was so special to be in the temple with all of these people knowing how they have influenced each other's lives.    

The nieces and nephews were so cute dressed up.

The Finlay Fam.

Brothers.  

The reception was beautiful.  Since Valerie has spent a lot of time in France, a macaroon eiffel tower was made.  

I got to help these ladies do the flowers for the wedding.  We took a few trips to the LA flower market and had a great time putting the arrangements together.  

Cousin Convention 2013

Growing up, Ian's grandparents would take all their grandkids on vacation and call it a cousin convention.  Ian and his cousins have so many fun memories of these trips.  This year, the cousins decided to recreate the cousin convention.  We met at Lake Tahoe.  Here is the whole groupie that was able to make it.

I felt right at home at Lake Tahoe as it reminded me of the Colorado Rockies.  We enjoyed several great hikes.  

I love this picture of Ian.  He is truly in his element outdoors.

  

I fell in love with kayaking.

We tried the stand up paddle board.  It's harder than it looks!

Ian also did some cliff jumping with the more daring cousins.  

A picture of the ladies.  (Most of Ian's cousins are girls and we have a great time.)

Thanks Finlays, Crumps, and Fergusons for a great CuzziCon 2013!

A Visit From Nate

My brother Nate came to CA for a visit last week.  It was a whirlwind trip but we fit a lot of fun things in.  Nate learned how to boogie board.  He was a natural- catching on really quickly. 

Monday we went to Six Flags Magic Mountain.  It's probably been over ten years since I was at a park like this and rode roller coasters.  Admittedly, I was a little timid to go on some of the roller coasters, but I still went.  This was one of the worst scariest rides and I screamed the entire ride!  It might be another ten years before I do this again.

Isn't my brother so cute?  It was so fun to hang out with him for a few days.  Come back soon!

A Visit From The Lintons

The Lintons came to visit!  My sister Jennie, her husband, and three darling girls came to visit for a week.  We got to do some fun things together.  

We spent some time at the beach.

We visited the Space Shuttle Endeavor in its new home.

We watched the horses warm up at the Santa Anita race track while we enjoyed breakfast.

This is also the home of the famous Seabiscuit.  

We loved having visitors.  Please come again.

A Visit From Whitney

Well, it has been far too long since I updated this blog.  So much has happened in our lives since the last post in October of 2012.  There really isn't any way to write and post about everything in my mind and heart.  However, this blog is somewhat of a family history for us so I am going to give you some highlights from the last several months or so.

In October, my sister Whitney came to California for a visit.  Yeah!  It was so fun to do craft projects, talk, watch movies, visit the beach, and chat.  Isn't she gorgeous?    

Whitney's first time at In N Out.

We stopped by the LA temple to walk the grounds.

Despite being a little chilly, we took a picnic lunch to the beach one day near Santa Monica. 

I am so lucky to have so many great sisters!

    

We're On The Move!

At the end of the summer Ian and I will be moving to...

drumroll please...

Los Angeles, California.  What is prompting the move you might ask?  Ian will be doing the part time MBA program at UCLA's Anderson Business School.  It will be a long, hard three years and we are a little sad to be leaving beautiful Colorado but we feel it is a great opportunity.  And, what is not to like about warmer weather all year?  California here we come!

A New Niece!

I am an aunt again!  My niece, Genevieve Virginia Linton was born on January 11th.  She is darling and her older sisters love her!