Here's to the Married Man...

We were thrilled to join in the Ryan & Karen wedding and festivities. They chose a beautiful location, a beautiful (freezing) day, and a beautiful ceremony in the Manti temple.


Zachary honestly didn't understand what he was feeling. The temperature had him very confused. I think he prefers the sand in Hawaii over Utah's white sand.

Prior to the big day, we all gathered for Mom's birthday.

Later, we stayed in posh Manti, partying hard at a local pizza shop after being rejected by another diner. We stayed up late, preparing reception material, and the infamous honeymoon basket. Well, we did, but Zac was cooked for the night.

After the wedding, we went to Payson for a wedding breakfast/lunch. We joked the day before about all moving in with Mom and Dad and starting a catering business after we lose our jobs. The boys did a great job on their "Here's to the Married Man..." cheer,

...as well as their made-for-Ryan-and-Karen wedding song.

The reception was held later that night, at the Peteetneet Academy. We mostly spent the time keeping Zachary at bay on the stairs, but did have time to snap a few close-ups of family.

Parker, my buddy for the weekend:

Garrett:
Bryson, looking fierce:

Brynlee:

Tanner:

Zac, and his other father, Cory. In Sunday School, Zac honestly couldn't figure out who was his dad--Cory or Brady.
Zac, wearing a tie for the first eight minutes, thirty seconds of the reception:

GQ Blake:
Maddie and Rachel, who entertained crowds with their matching dresses and twirling.The groom:

Brady and Scott:Kristen:

Natalie:

Ang:

Me and Zac:

Brady:

The kids were sure excited for Ryan and Karen to bust out the wedding cake:

Easton and McKay:
The girls skipped out to decorate the car in sub-freezing temperatures. The night before (at the motel), Kristen broke out tissue paper and started us on 110 home-made flowers. I remember thinking that this was exactly the kind of project I try to avoid, but it ended up being a memorable experience and certainly the best looking car I've helped decorate.

Rachel, wishing Ryan and Karen a happy honeymoon:
Ryan, ready to get on the road:

The day left us all quite worn out:

Later in the week, we went skiing at Alta with Cory, Kristen, Blake, Rachel, and Kristen's father and brother. Cory actually caught us at the end of a run with his camera phone:

It snowed on us much of the day, but we absolutely loved it, especially the runs when we were with Cory and Kristen.

Brady had to leave Sunday, along with the other out-of-towners, but Mom, Dad, the Ritchie family, and my siblings were good enough to entertain and feed us for another week.

Mom and Ang even watched Zac another day while I went skiing with my brother, Kev, at Park City. It was a beautiful day, and a better resort.

Zac and I also spent an afternoon at the Draper Temple Open House. Walking through the silent tour, he let out a chorus of "Wows." He won some hearts that day.

Other things of note in this endless blog post:

• Thanks to Emily for watching Zac on Day 1 of skiing. It was also nice spending an afternoon with her little family!
• We spent most of the trip with a cold, that we ended up giving to everyone we had contact with. Apologies.
• We saw both sets of my grandparents, as well as another aunt and uncle, for some delicious dinners and conversation.
• We spent an evening with Zac's birth mother.
• Zac and I went ice skating with my siblings. Very fun.
• We were supposed to go to a basketball game, but we showed up for the 7pm game, which actually started at 4pm. Boo.
• I have not cooked in 3.5 weeks.
• Ang, Mom and I picked up some great items at the outlets one afternoon.
• We went to Cafe Rio twice. Yum.