WHEN YOU REALIZE YOU WANT TO SPEND THE REST OF YOUR LIFE WITH SOMEBODY...

...YOU WANT THE REST OF YOUR LIFE TO START AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

-When Harry Met Sally

WHEN YOUR COUSIN COMMITS TO SPEND THE REST OF HER LIFE WITH SOMEONE,

WE WOULDN'T DREAM OF MISSING IT.

-Evan and Annalee

so... on WEDNESDAY night,

we boarded the last flight of the day and headed to oakland, california.

adelaide received a B+ for her behavior and graham got a D-.

 i was sick the whole flight, which left evan trying to hold it together for all of us.

we are quite thankful nobody on our flight will ever have to see our faces again.

at 10:30pm (cali time) we landed, gathered our luggage then picked up our rental car.

 only to realize an hour later we had left our ipad on the plane.

so back to the airport we went and hallelujah it was found!

we drove from oakland to pebble beach,

stopping for late-night in-n-out along the way (top 3 grilled cheese i've ever had)

and pulled into our home away from home for the week around 2am cali time (4am tx time).

a good night's rest did wonders for all of us,

and on THURSDAY we woke up ready to vacation!

first stop was katy's place for brunch.

the food was great and the company was even better.

then the kids took naps back at the house with grandparents,

while we hung out at the lodge and viewed the beautiful golf course.

later that afternoon we moseyed over the the monterey bay aquarium.

we got there an hour and a half before closing time,

but we packed in a lot of fun into a short time.

i was slightly obsessed with the octopus,

while adelaide couldn't get enough of the "waterfall,"

sara kate loved touching the stingrays,

and graham loved staring fish in the eye with the aquariums right at his level.

evan and mom enjoyed it all.

when they locked the aquarium doors for the night,

we made our way outside to view (and smell) the ocean up close.

what do my sister, my mom, and the ocean all have in common?

all ridiculously beautiful.

later that night we visited the spanish bay fire pits.

yes it's true, i really, really love this ambiance (and my calamari).

graham loved it too, until he took a little spill into the bushes

and nobody helped him out until we could recover from our laughing.

from there we went to jack london's for a late night dinner,

and to hear my talented cousin, brett, play.

(he also played at the wedding reception later in the week).

l-o-v-e him and his guitar skills too.

FRIDAY brought another brunch, at my most favorite place- em le's.

i'm convinced the french toast with special syrup

is really funnel cake disguised as french toast so you can eat it for breakfast, so good.

i also had some of the best oatmeal of my life.

after brunch we made our way down ocean avenue, and stopped in at the cottage of sweets.

we let adelaide choose whatever she wanted and she loaded up.

as for myself i chose to load up solely on strawberry sour belts.

my one regret of the trip was i didn't get more.

we continued window shopping

and walking toward the water at the end of the hill.

eventually we landed here.

some of us liked it.

some of us loved it.

and some of us had to be convinced

it is supposed to be fun to touch the sand.

mid-afternoon the girls met up for pedicures.

the bride-to-be chose "i do, i do"(such perfection),

while i stuck with my summer fave- "peach daiquiri."

that evening all the bride and groom's extended families joined together on the wharf.

we were treated to many courses of delicious seafood at domenico's.

i'm still dreaming about the day i eat that smoked salmon pizza again.

aunt sue-sue (mother-of-the-bride) kept adelaide entertained with her makeup bag.

she made a paper doll for her to apply makeup on, then let her move onto her own face.

coolest (and bravest) ever.

we left the men and children while the girls went to celebrate bachelorette festivities

at a gorgeous home with gorgeous chocolates and gorgeous gifts for the bride (and groom).

on  SATURDAY the boys' day started hours before ours.

it's a shame they didn't have much of a scenic view.

they didn't mind the 5am wakeup call,

for the once-in-a-lifetime treat they were given to golf pebble beach.

the girls got our act together closer to 11am, 

when we gathered at the monterey peninsula beach club for the bridesmaids' luncheon.

cousin katie, led the sweetest heartfelt prayers for the bride and groom before lunch.

then we dined on great girly dishes and desserts.

there was a lot of shout-outs to the wedding colors, with navy and coral all around.

sk and i didn't even plan this coordination, we just think allike.

miss flower girl extraordinaire got to open a beautiful gift.

she can't decide which she loves more- her cross necklace or that it matches marka's.

next stop onto the church for an important rehearsal.

adelaide stuck like glue to cousin carlee and knew her position well.

i am shocked by her attachment to the red bird, happy meal toy, that didn't leave her side.

and she shocked us all by announcing she would like to walk out holding the ring bearer bobby's hand.

 the rehearsal dinner was in the backyard of a friend of the family, 

with the most spectacular view.

here's dad and his four siblings and their spouses. i love my aunts and uncles.

 i love this family too.

graham, and his ring bearer sidekick- bobby, got to open their gift from jim after dinner.

they looked quite handsome in their personalized navy fatigues!

after dinner all out-of-town guests were invited to a coffee and dessert welcome party.

mom and i were honored to help make many dozens of our sugar cookies

with the bride and groom's initials for the festivies.

adelaide enjoyed eating and decorating at least a dozen herself.

i don't have a clue how many cookies lil' bro ate that night.

but i do know i'm in love with this guy, this picture, and this tie from dapper dude

then it was SUNDAY, the wedding day!

mom and dad let the kids relax at the house,

which meant evan and got to slip away for a scenic tour along the 17-mile-drive.

here we are in front of the famous lone cypress that is on the pebble beach logo.

we took in the incredible sights while listening to great tunes.

shortly after we returned to the house, somebody fell and hit the hearth. 

a fat lip and a bloody chin quickly emerged.

what's a wedding day without something crazy happening right?

that was so sweet of graham to take one for the team.

after lunch we all headed to the church.

adelaide proudly wore her coral velour sweatsuit

and matched the bridesmaids while getting ready.

marka sue somehow made adelaide feel like it was her day,

and of course a loved every minute of the sweetness.

when it was time for the big entrance,

i pried the huge woody doll from graham's fingers and snuck up to the first pew,

where i held it out (and a cookie) for him to see at the front of the church.

it worked and graham came waddling down the aisle like a windup toy chattering the whole way.

when adelaide's turn came she proudly dropped her petals and grinned,

as she made a beeline for the front of the church

where she knew a miniature strawberry shortcake doll was waiting for her.

yes, both kids made it down the aisle.

yes, both were bribed with a treat.

after the precious ceremony,

it was off to the reception for the newlyweds.

we released butterflies and welcomed them from the pier.

our little (windblown) family loved greeting them.

then the littles excitedly ran to grandparents

and ev and i excitedly enjoyed the cheese and cocktails.

we all enjoyed brett's live music during a wonderful dinner together.

the girl cousins celebrated.

and so did the guy cousins.

after dinner the dj kept the dancing tunes going.

we could not keep up with a little someone on the dance floor.

she was in the middle of the crowd,

clueless that everyone was at least twenty years older than her.

even marka sue and i sat down more than the flower girl.

but eventually she took a short break next to bobby.

both kids somehow stayed awake until after 11pm

as we waved flags to see the bride and groom off.

on MONDAY we reluctantly got back on a plane,

that took us back to houston.

oh how we love you pebble beach.

oh how we love you mr. and mrs. rogers!