A Special Evening

Savannah has always wanted to get married in the Washington DC temple but was somewhat hesitant to let Mason know when they first got engaged. The bride gets to choose the location but she was nervous because all of his family is in the West and we don't even live there anymore. However, I'm so glad she decided to just go with it because it was such a beautiful place for our family to have such special events take place. Tuesday night was one of those most special times. Savannah and Xander were both able to go through the temple for the first time surrounded by family and our closest friends. It truly was one of the most joyful times in my life!

We grabbed some missionary pictures while there!

Afterwards we grabbed even more pictures! I am so grateful for all our people who were there for my kids on this special night.

Kim and Rich Paul, Heidi and Ryan, my mom, Sydney, Ellinor, and Doug Wine, Melissa, and Celesta and Glenn Lyman.

Mom being kidnapped, ha ha!

Meanwhile, back in Bel Air, Bryan took the kids out to eat at Red Robin. Five root beer floats for Noah! Fun night for everyone!

Wedding Week - Day 2

Tuesday morning hotel antics!

When we first started making plans for our time in Maryland, David suggested going to the river. I dismissed it thinking it would never work logistically but I'm so glad that we were able to add it to our plans because it was exactly what we all needed. We were a little worried about the weather at first but it turned out to be a really nice morning and we had so much fun!!

In all my years of going to the river I had never once floated down it but, after watching how much fun Ryan and the kids were having, Heidi and I decided we needed to do it!

We had a moment's hesitation when we stepped in the water because it was absolutely FREEZING but after a few minutes, we adjusted and were fine.

We did get a little nervous about snakes...

and the rapids but we managed to do fine on both counts. No snakes and we made it past the rapids with only a few bumps to the bums.

We even managed to make it to the side of the river before going downriver too far and walked back to where David was. We waited for a good 20 minutes or so but when the kids never made it back we figured it was time to go find them. And of course we found them at the jumping rock! One of their tubes had popped but they were still having fun!

After a few jumps and some picture taking we were all ready to head out and get some lunch. And just in time, too. The weather had turned a bit ominous with a huge storm rolling our way. We met Bryan and Xander at Buontempo Brothers, our favorite pizza place in Bel Air.

Then it was off to Rita's for dessert! The temperature had dipped so we all sat there freezing while we ate our gelatis, ha ha!

Such a fun day together!