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!

The Most Important Things In Life

Big family changes always remind me of what is most important in life.  January and February had many of these events.  Two nieces were born weeks apart.  Sadly I only have this fuzzy picture of my cute niece Emma Robyn Nielson (Lindsay's baby).  Just one more reminder to take more pictures!

This is Nora Sharon Warnick (Megan's baby).

My brother-in-law Evan got engaged to Valerie Reeves.  These pictures are seriously amazing.  They will be married in July in the Los Angeles Temple.  We are so happy for them.  They make such a great couple.  

All five Finlay children with their spouses (or soon to be spouse).  

Ragnar 2012

Well, Ian and I finished our fourth Ragnar Relay race together and are still in one piece.  The Ragnar race for 2012 was in Napa Valley. 194 miles from San Francisco to Calistoga to be exact.  For those of you unfamiliar with the Ragnar races let me explain it simply.  Each team has two vans full of six people each running around the clock (yep, my second run was at 2:00 in the morning!) for two days.  Each person runs three times over the two days running a total of between 13 and 25 miles.  194 miles later the team is ready for a nice long shower and a nice long nap:)  Ian's family started running these four years ago as a way to earn money for a scholarship fund they started in their grandparent's name.  The team has changed from year to year, but Ian, myself, and cousins Erin and Allison have run all four Ragnars. 

        

Team Big Kahunas wore these bright orange shirts this year.  Sadly, you don't really see the other van of runners much.  Here is the group in my van.  Ian and myself, Ian's brother James and wife Megan, Friend Donna and her son Christopher.

  

Here is the whole team at exchange six. 

The first runner ran across the Golden Gate Bridge, and from there it was up to wine country in Napa Valley.  The views (when it was light and we could see them) were great.  Vineyards everywhere.  

Ian really took one for the team.  He had the most miles to run of anyone running the equivalent of a marathon.  Here he is pictured before his first run of ten miles. 

He looks a little more excited and fresh than I did before my third run the next day.

Running is typically an individual sport.  The Ragnar races are great because running becomes a team effort.  Things are just more fun when you do them with other people.  The whole team meets the last runner a little before the finish line and runs together to finish the race.    

  

The medal.  I wish I could say we all ran fast enough to win a special medal, but we were all just happy to finish.  Just for the record everyone gets one for finishing the race.  Seriously, anyone who runs these deserves a medal for sacrificing a night of sleep to run through the night.  

We were very excited to be done with the 194 miles!

This is my fifth Ragnar race, and my fourth with Ian.  Our relationship has changed from friends to engaged to married as we have run these races each year.

 Wasatch Back, Utah Ragnar Relay 2009

(running as friends)

Southern California Ragnar Relay 2010

(we're engaged now)

Southern California Ragnar Relay 2011

(running as a married couple)

Napa Valley Ragnar Relay 2012

(still happily married and running through life together)

July 4th on the Western Slope

Before we move to California, Ian and I have been trying to check things off our bucket list in Colorado.  For July 4th, Ian's parents and brother Evan were nice enough to meet us in southern Colorado for a few days.  On our way down to Durango, Ian and I stopped at Sand Dunes National Park.  It was what you might imagine, hot, dry, and very sandy.  

Ian was especially excited to see the Sand Dunes.  

I was especially excited to get out of the car for a little while.

We finally made it to Durango and met Ian's family for a BBQ and parade watching. Apparently the original Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory is located in Durango - we couldn't resist.  I sure am going to miss this place when we move.

Our group took a day to tour around Mesa Verde.  I hadn't been there since I went with my family in 4th grade.  

On a tour of the balcony house, we had to climb these really steep ladders - my legs were definitely shaking as I have developed a fear of heights as of late.  Some parts we had to climb through really tight spaces.

A view of their dwellings in the balcony house.

There was a hike to some petroglyphs that we enjoyed.  

In case you're wondering, my brother in law does have a boot on his foot because he had surgery two months ago.  And yes, he hiked several miles with us, went up and down ladders, and even participated in this jumping picture.

I just really like this picture of Ian.  What a handsome man.

The Animas River runs through Durango so we thought we would raft it.  

The rapids got a little rough in places and Ian was in his element.

The Western Slope of Colorado has many mining towns tucked away amidst beautiful mountain vistas.  It was a perfect day driving through these towns and enjoying the beauty.

A section of the highway from Durango back up to Glenwood Springs is called the Million Dollar Highway.  It cost $10,000 per mile to build.  Sure glad they have improved the million dollar highway since this picture was taken. 

Our group happened upon the Russell Stover factory outlet on our way through one town.  All chocolates were an additional %50 off the outlet prices because the store was moving.  It was heavenly.

One of my favorite stops was in Paonia, CO.  We happened upon the town's cherry days festival.  We tried their cherry soda.

We stayed at The Living Farm Cafe and Hotel.  Breakfast was organic, fresh from the farm.  Yum.  

We all enjoyed picking cherries in the morning.

Brad (Ian's Dad) was especially in heaven.  We all ate ourselves sick eating cherries.

We ended the trip by hiking Hanging Lake near Glenwood Springs, CO.   

I will sure miss these mountains when we move to California.  Thanks for a fun trip Finlays!