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.  

Bachelor Party

Ian's youngest brother Evan got married in July.  Before the big day, the male members of the family threw him a bachelor party.  It included golfing at the driving range with appetizers.

Followed by a pizza party at neighbor Larry's home.  

Congratulations Evan and Valerie!

A Few Random Events

So much has happened this summer.  Here are a few events that happened in July.  

Ian and I helped out at a local Relay for Life event.  We always love helping out good causes and this was one of them.  

We got to attend Ian's friend Whitney and John's wedding in SLC, UT.  In usual form, I didn't take many pictures so I had to steal this one from their Facebook page.  It is way better than anything I would have taken anyway.  They are a good looking couple and it was so fun to celebrate with them.

  

We got to see Brea and Michael at the wedding too.  We missed the rest of the groupie - they have   been friends since college.   

You are probably tired of seeing pictures of our garden and produce now, but we have been so excited about our garden and fruit trees this year!  Our peach tree gave us a nice crop of peaches.  

Our garden has been producing veggies like crazy.  We love harvesting in the morning and thinking up new meals we can make with them for dinner that evening.  We are hooked on gardening and are excited to start cold weather crops soon.  

April Happenings

April was a busy month for us.  I flew to Colorado for a day to see my brother perform in the high school play Brigadoon.  He was such a great actor!

I met Ian the next day in Utah for Brea and Mike's wedding.  This is Ian's group of friends from college that still stay in touch.

April also brought two showers.  A wedding shower for Valerie (my brother-in-law's fiance).  They will be married in July and we are so excited she will be joining the family.  Sadly, I did not take a picture of a single thing!  We also had a baby shower for my sister-in-law Megan.  We decorated onesies for her baby boy.  Again, no pictures sadly.      

The NCAA Volleyball Championships were held at UCLA this year.  I met Ian after school on Saturday and we went to the championship game of BYU vs. UCI.  BYU lost the game, but it was nice to see so many cougar fans.    

Wedding Bells

My dad married Julie Stenton Galloway on March 23, 2013 in the Salt Lake City, UT temple.  The night before we had a dinner with the Anderson family.  My aunts and Grammy are amazing and did it all!  

In the Anderson family, each person is assigned the number when you join the family.  My Grandpa presented Julie and each of her four kids a certificate with their number.  I think the Anderson family is up to about 112 people now.  

Coming out of the temple.

The day was quite chilly, but a nice day for pictures.  Some of my favorites.

Carly and Max Wedding

In December, my cousin Carly married Max.  They are another great couple and she looked stunning.  It was extra special being in the temple with them because my Grandpa Anderson was able to marry and seal them for time and eternity.

The siblings again.  We were missing Jennie who was about to have her baby.

Alana and Steve Are Married!

Alana and Steve Johnson got married on December 17, 2011 in the Los Angeles LDS Temple.  They make such a great couple and the day was wonderful.

Brielle, Gavin, Coco, and Ethan all dressed up.

I am so glad that I get to spend eternity with this man!

Wedding Day!

Ian and I got married on May 29, 2010 in the Salt Lake City temple.  We were married and sealed by my Grandpa Anderson.  Grandpa and Grammy are pictured here.

We had so many friends and family come from all parts of the country to help us celebrate!  Here is the Anderson family...  

...and the Finlay family.  

We had a wonderful luncheon afterward at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.  Later in the evening our reception was held at Thanksgiving Point.  Here are some of the pictures in the beautiful gardens.

Our families...

My handsome husband.

The girl to boy ratio in my family has always been heavier on the girl side.  With the addition of Ian and Brent (Kristen's husband who joined the family May 1st) the ratio is even now.  This was one of my favorite pictures.

The day was nearly perfect.  We enjoyed spending time with all of the friends and family we love!  I wish I could have included many more photos, but this post was already picture heavy.  Thank you for helping us celebrate!