Ari H

Utah...it never gets old

11:30 AM

First time we've all been together in 3 years



What's winter without snow? Thanks, Utah.

Any time I get to spend with our nephews is precious time



We made snow angels in snow that was up to his waist :)

She's the prettiest

Sibling dinner. Brett is always too busy for us. :(

Favourites

Bachelor party in a suite at the Jazz game

We did some research before our Utah trip for some new, great places to eat. Happy we made it to Sweet Lake - Biscuits and Limeade

Eggs Benedict is my go-to on any breakfast menu. This one with local eggs, fresh made biscuits and red quinoa hash browns gets two thumbs up from me. HOWEVER, the winner of the menu is definitely the pancakes! They are called Conspiracy Cakes. They grind the flour fresh every day and you can absolutely taste the difference. That's probably the conspiracy...

Before heading back to London, we took some family pictures in the snowy canyon



I love my people

Ari H

Larson Wedding 2017 + my newest sister!

11:00 PM



The cutest

We got to celebrate with Danielle at the Grand America Afternoon tea

Then it was off to set up for the rehearsal dinner!





It's so hard being so cute.

Standing around waiting to be call for family pictures.

Couldn't be a cuter or grumpier ring bearer.

Grand America ballroom for the wedding dinner



Ezra + Shirley partying it up before Ezra's bedtime


Wedding photo-booths are my favourite

This is the kind of thing that happens when you leave your phone with your friends. Joke is on you, dears.
They filmed our musical number so thank you! If you want to see it, let me know.

But seriously, every Larson wedding needs a Jon + Susanna. These guys saved the day in so many ways! Love you guys.



Woot woot! It was a beautiful send-off

Selfie with sparklers is not a good idea



Great day, sad it had to end because I adore my family but beyond happy to have gained a sister!

Cute little babushka kept us smiling as we checked out of the Grand and headed back to real life.

day trip from London

Temple and Croydon

4:53 PM

Weekends are so special. At this time of our lives, it means we get to soak up 48 hours of being together.

We attended the London England LDS Temple. It is about 30 miles from the City of London.
For people who don't have a car, the public transport from the City to the Temple consists of either hiring a small bus with a bunch of other people or taking the train and a cab or a series of buses and a bit of walking. 
We did the train this time and it worked out! We didn't sleep in or nearly miss the train so...oh wait, one of us slept in a bit. ;)
England has beautiful country. It's gorgeous and inspiring just to be out in so much green and fresh air in a place where mobile service is patchy. A nice little break from the city. 

One the way back home, we got off the train in East Croydon for a Costco run.
We wandered through the city to find FOOD before shopping. If I go to the store hungry, I buy sooo much more than I should. At Costco, that could be a mistake of terrible economic proportion...

We have been meaning to try the chain Yo!Sushi that is all over town.
Pleasantly found a small branch inside one of the many malls of Croydon. (Seriously, so many big malls all close together)

The coloured plates have different price values attached. At the end of the meal, an attendant counts up the number of each colour plate and hands you the bill. It could be really easy to spend loads of money by just grabbing off the conveyor. We stuck to pushing the red button at our table and getting the warm, fresh options that were not coming out as often on the conveyor belt. 
There is a refreshingly cold water tap right in front of you, both still and sparkling water are unlimited. You just pay for the cup.
Aubergine Salad (I looooove eggplant)
I had some chicken katsu curry. Taylor had a yummy veggie soup with udon noodle. We split a few plates of sushi. Sushi wasn't bad.
While I'm glad we tried it, I wouldn't recommend it over somewhere like Hare & Tortoise which is probably in the same price point.

We got our loot at the Costco and hauled it back home. We took the train to London Bridge station during the peak time that the train was experiencing severe delays and other issues due to the England/Wales Rugby game. It's an exciting time to be in London (isn't it always?....) Rugby World Cup 2015! I just wish I knew more about rugby...

bridesmaids

Valerie and Eston 2015

9:30 PM



I adore this girl. From the first time I met her, we clicked. We were assigned to be companions while serving LDS missions in Argentina. I hadn't spoken English for nearly 9 months (other than emails home to my family, which were awkwardly half Spanish, half English anyway) and Valerie was still working on her Spanish. It was an awkward and hilarious time. So many experiences that bonded us like no other 5 weeks in anyone's life could have. Without going into Too Much Information, she took care of me when I was crazy sick, we survived several days without electricity to heat our apartment or water in dead of winter, weird food and broken toilets. Extreme bonding time.
So when she not-so-slyly told me that she was getting married in March, I HAD to be there!

President and Sister Gulbrandsen are some of my most favourite people on the planet. Steff flew in for the day and it was lovely to see her. We were all companions at some point. Love these people.

I mean, we're really cute. haha

Some of the friends that just hung around the temple for a while. Mostly because of our insane love for Val Pal. (Jess, Katherine, the beautiful bride, me and Steffannie)


Oh yeah! Eston was there, too.... haha

All photo credit goes to Mikki Platt, wedding photographer extraordinaire, who also did our wedding pictures. I will forever be obsessed with our photos and Valerie's are just as amazing! Mikki has photographed cousins and friends since our wedding and she's not only a talent behind the camera but the sweetest person ever!

bride

Whirlwind weekend

6:05 AM

We were in and out in Utah. Got in Friday night around 11 and left Sunday afternoon at 5.


But in between? In between those two flights, some of the most precious moments of my life occurred.

What a glorious weekend!

I only have one biological sister. And I always joke that she's my favorite one. Most of the time, it's not a joke. 

Look at this girl. She is someone who knows who she is, has an idea of who she wants to be and doesn't bend to make people feel comfortable about what she likes and dislikes. Makes her headstrong at times but she has the kindest, most tender heart you may ever know. 

She married her best friend on August 2, 2014 in the Manti Utah LDS Temple. When a worthy member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints enters the temple, he/she makes a covenant to God, (a temple covenant is a sacred promise that when kept, meaning, when obedient, extends beyond this life on earth)  and promises to keep the commandments to receive the blessing of eternal marriage. It's a marriage for which we do not see an end, not even death. I can't think of a more hopeful, peace-bringing promise than to have eternity with my love so I wish it for everyone. 
Congratulation, Ruth and Kameron!


Bridesmaids. Remember my post about trying to find the dress? :)

This guy is my all-time favorite wedding date. We've been to quite a few of people we absolutely love! I picked his tie. The pic makes it look pink but it's really a very cool orange tie. Looked perfect. 
I got lots of compliments on the green. I'll have to buy more green things. This is the only green article of clothing I own. I also am in love with the flower crowns we wore instead of holding bouquets. Good call! 

The beautiful bride with my darling parents. 

Cutting the cake! Beautiful decorated by Courtnie, a former roommate of Ruth's and fellow bridesmaid. Courtnie's mom made the cake, which was fabulous. They were a dream team!

I didn't get as many pictures as I probably would have taken had my dress had pockets for my phone. That's why there was a real photographer there and we shall see more pictures in the near future. 

But I love these people. My people were there with us Saturday night. So many people helped pull the reception together and then clean up afterward! Haha we forget about that part but it was so much easier with loving hands. 
I have to give a shoutout to my sister's amazing friends that helped pull it all together in the last few months. They were crazy busy the week before the big day and the day of was a little insane. 
I am so grateful for the blessing of safety for Kameron's sisters. On the way back to Utah County from the Manti Temple, the bumper of Nicole's car fell off, the car ran over it and popped one of their tires. In the middle of nowhere. I'm so glad they didn't get hurt and that they still made it in time for the reception. It was hot and I'm sure it was incredibly stressful for all of them. I'm glad it wasn't worse although I wish there was some way we could have helped them better. We love you, Muhlstein's!

 * * *

Sunday we spent in Salt Lake City with the Larson's. We met sweet little Ari, our nephew, when he was being de-swaddled. It was THE cutest thing in the world to watch him stretch his tiny arm and legs after being wrapped up tight. 

I can't imagine a better way to spend an afternoon than with a newborn sleeping in your arms. 

Uncle Taylor must have helped Ari feel comfortable enough to relieve some of the gas that must have been bothering him because the 5 minutes they were chillin on the couch like this, Ari was ripping and rolling.

It breaks my heart to think about how different our darling little nephew will be whenever we get to see him next. We don't know when that will be! But that Sunday was just a tough day for me all around. 
We said goodbye to everyone and we headed to the airport. 
My parents and two of my brothers came up to see us off. (Sister and brand new brother-in-law were on their honeymoon :) )
I only got pictures with my dear parents although now I'm really kicking myself for not getting pictures with my brothers. Especially since Sammy (no one calls him that anymore, just me) will be entering the Provo MTC in just a couple of weeks to prepare to serve in the Honduras Comayagüela mission for two years. 

Not happy enough for real smiles


TTFN Utah 
Back to New York for two more weeks and then off to London and our new life!

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