Utah Visit

We were lucky to be able to go home to Utah over Labor Day weekend to celebrate the marriage of Doug's little brother Danny to his new bride, Whitney. I haven't been to a wedding in over 3 years so I was really excited to be a part of such festivities! I didn't take a lot of pictures unfortunately. :( The night before their wedding was a dinner that was held at Biaggi's. It was so fun to go there since that is the same place Doug & I had our wedding dinner. It brought back a lot of memories! After dinner Danny & Whitney took us over to their new apartment & we ate ice cream & visited. They are living in the same four-plex that we lived in as newlyweds. It was great to spend some one on one time with the bride & groom to be. Friday was their sealing in the Salt Lake Temple & it was wonderful! It was so nice to be in the temple & witness such a special union between two people that have chosen to spend forever together. Like I've already stated, it brought back LOTS of memories of my wedding day. Of coarse it was so much fun watching them walk out the doors together in their wedding dress & tux & have all their friends & family cheering them on as a new couple. They looked great! That I actually did capture a few pictures of. :)

Mr & Mrs Shaw

Kiss the Bride!

That evening was their reception at the Garden Park Ward in Sugar House. Oh my goodness it was beautiful! They had lanterns & pictures hanging from the trees, they had a dance floor & live music/band, their cake was beautiful & the food was delicious! Gavin was part of the bridal party & he was having a ball. In fact during the couple's first dance we pranced on up to them & cut in. He also interrupted their cake cutting to snag a hug of Whitney. It was pretty darn cute & I'm glad they didn't mind. I so wish I had pictures. Once they get them from their photographer I will post some more. My parents came to the reception & then took Gavin home with them. It was wonderful not to have little man to look out for. Doug & I danced a few songs & I even got dipped. Once he pulled me back up he said all concerned, "That's probably not a good idea huh?". I may be 9 months prego, but I can still busta move! :) So for their departure from the reception they had a bunch of huge paper lanterns that we lit up & set off into the sky. Remember on the movie 'Tangled', the floating lights? Think that, but only bigger. It was SOOOO cool! The day was a success & we couldn't be happier for Danny & Whitney. She is such a sweet girl & I'm grateful to have her as a sister-in-law.

While they were gone on their honeymoon getaway we spent the rest of the weekend with our families. However, our dear friends Jamilyn & Clark had their second child while we were there. I was so excited to be able to visit her in the hospital! I haven't been around for any of my Utah friends births & so I was so happy to be there for hers.

{Sorry for the horrible images - the camera phone didn't perform very well}
Me, Jami & baby Jaxon

Doug, Jaxon & Clark

Sunday our families had a little celebration for Gavin's birthday that is coming up. It was so fun to be able to do something with our families since we are usually away from everyone on birthdays. My parents had everyone over at their house for a bbq & cake & ice cream.

My mom & sister went all out on his birthday cake. He loves animals & the zoo & so they decided to make a jungle oasis cake.

It was so darling & I kind of had a hard time cutting into it it was so cute.

Gavin loved having everyone there all focusing on him. Between all the sugar & attention he got he was all over the place with energy.

He got to open up some presents & like most kids, he was just as pleased with all the tissue paper as he was his gifts. :) Thanks everyone for making our little boy feel so loved & special!

We wish the trip could have been longer, but are so glad that we could come home for the all the festivities.