Greg Got Married!

On June 23rd, my one and only brother got married in the San Diego LDS temple to a perfect girl for him. Greg is a very quirky guy but has amazing qualities as well, and she adores him for who he is. Heather is sweet and smart and fits in great with our family. Needless to say, we were thrilled to be a part of their engagement, and heading back from China for the wedding was the only option. 

Their wedding day happened to fall on our visa trip weekend, so we all flew back from China and made it to San Diego the night before the wedding. After a late Chipotle dinner, we all slept until around 1:00 am, and then walked around in the gardens of our hotel from 1-3:30 am, at which time we came back inside and slept until morning. We let the boys sleep in as much as possible, and they actually did great and made it to the temple in time! The sealing ceremony was really special, and Landon brought his camera to be the "wedding photographer". All of his pictures have the frame around them- he set his camera to take pictures with this frame. 

Bro-in-laws shooting the breeze. They got along great!

Very pregnant Mariah and her bestie Christy!

The groom in his custom suit

Heather did a great job picking out colors and outfits for everyone. She had a vision for the little nephews, and I went out on a limb and purchased everything online, from China, to be sent to my parent's house. The lavender bowties, gray suspenders, and rolled white shirt sleeves made their outfits, and I'm just elated that everything fit properly. After wearing "road clothes" for a few months without an opportunity to go to church outside of our hotel room, it was fun to get the boys dressed up for a change!

Uncle Greg and the nephews

I will title the next few pictures, "Owen found his pockets, and decided to become a model."

Along with supporting my brother and his new wife, it was so nice to be all together as a family, including spouses, for the first time in awhile. We are crazy, we like to try to pack too many things into too short of a time frame, and we love to work together to feed large numbers of people. That's the Livengoods in a nutshell. 

All the siblings and spouses... Heather fits right in!

After a yummy late lunch at Duke's in La Jolla, we made a short stop at the beach for the kids to play and then headed back up to Atascadero. It was a long drive and we barely made it before midnight. Since the boys were jetlagged, it didn't really matter that much, but they slept some of the way and we were able to get them back asleep relatively quickly, The next morning, my parents were up nice and early doing food prep, because they organized the food for the reception! My sisters and I helped by cutting pineapples, onions, peppers and zucchinis for grilled veggies and pineapples. Greg served his LDS mission in Brazil, and Heather served in the Philippines, so they had a mixture of foods from their mission for dinner, including garlic sirloin steak, yummy Asian marinated chicken, spicy black beans, rice, and grilled veggies and pineapple. Everything was delicious, and fortunately my parents enlisted some helpers to man the grill and buffet table so they could enjoy the reception. Weddings are great for bringing extended family together, and it was awesome to see my relatives from Northern California- Grandpa and Grandma Murphy, my Aunt Mary and cousin Gracie, my Aunt Jeanne, Uncle Jim and cousins James and Gabriel, and Grandpa Karl and Grandma Betsy. 

The decor was so pretty with a rustic feel- burlap and mason jars and wildflowers. In a word, the whole reception was very romantic. Greg and Heather were beaming and it was so easy to see that they love each other so much. There was a ring ceremony for all those who could not make it down to the temple in San Diego, and then dinner, dancing and cake cutting. Heather's aunt made a very pretty cake for them to cut, and then delicious Madonna Inn cakes with the famous chocolate curls were served. YUM!

Going to a wedding reception with two little boys leaves little time for chatting, but we managed to visit with extended family for a bit, and both boys made an appearance out on the dance floor. Landon and I danced a bit, before he exited back to the nursery where he kept busy playing with Heather's nieces and nephews. Owen found a friend in Heather's sister, who spun him around a little. After that, Owen wanted her to do it again and again, and even walked over and pulled her back on the dance floor to dance again!

Heather, Greg and grandparents

One of my biggest regrets from our wedding is not getting good photos with extended family at the reception, so we made sure to capture some pictures with family at the reception before sending Heather and Greg off on their honeymoon with bubbles. 

All of the Livengoods, minus Landon and Austin who made it for the next picture

It was funny because after we sent them off, Greg just drove around the church parking lot because Heather forgot something in the church. We helped clean up for a bit, but then headed home with our tired boys to get them to bed. When we got there, Heather and Greg were at our house picking some things up and opening wedding presents! We had to kick them out after present opening so they could go off on their honeymoon driving, camping and staying at B&Bs up the coast to Washington!

Very early the next morning, Austin left to fly back to China to finish his project. We stayed with my parents, and then for a little over a week with Austin's parents before meeting him back in Chicago after his project was over. My sibs all left the next morning, so the house went from VERY full with all the kids to just Claire, the boys and I within a day. I guess that's what happens when everyone has their lives in different states! It was so great to see everyone and if you can't already tell, I am so happy for Greg and that he found Heather! We look forward to many fun family get togethers ahead in the years to come!