This weekend, my Jensen side of the family had a reunion/birthday party for my grandpa up here in Utah. It was the first time in a while that we had (almost) everyone together. The only people missing were some of my siblings and my mom, but other than that every member of my extended family on my dad's side was there.

This year, grandpa turned 20! We were so proud of him for finally getting out of his teens. Okay actually he is 80, but has only had 20 birthdays since he has a leap year birthday. So we always make fun of him for being so young. 

The weekend was filled with games, food, laughing, and lots of ear wiggling. For as long as I can remember, my grandpa wiggled his ears at us. So as a surprise to my grandpa, I recorded a few seconds of every person in the extended family (even those who were not present at the reunion) wiggling or at least trying to wiggle their ears. Even though if you are reading this you probably don't know the people in it, it is still hilarious to watch, so go for it.

The reunion took place up in Provo Canyon at my family's cabin. While I didn't really get anything done that was on my to-do list, I have to admit that it was really relaxing being up there in the middle of trees and mountains able to sit down and relax. The long weekend gave me time to do things with Jeff. This was so valuable to me because this past month Jeff has been super busy and I haven't seen him as much as I would like to.

I'm so glad that all of my extended family was able to travel to Utah and come together for a few days to celebrate my grandpa.

love,

SK

Jeff and I have been married for ONE MONTH! Woohoo! It's been the absolute best. I love being able do everything with him.  For the most part, we don't see each other during the day due to work and other things, so our prime time together is in the evening or even sometimes after 9pm when Jeff gets home. That's a little rough. But at the end of the month that will change and Jeff should be home around 5 every day.

But anyways... 

This month has been a new adventure that I have loved and also realizing/discovering a few new things. Some of these things are:

Marriage is wonderful, and I highly recommend it :)

love,

SK

For our honeymoon, Jeff took me to Cancun! It was - for the most part - an amazing week filled with delicious (and free) foods, wonderful weather, and listening to Jeff attractively speak Spanish to everyone. I had been to Mexico, but never Cancun, and Jeff had never been to Mexico, so everything we saw was new and an adventure. 

Free Perks of being on your Honeymoon: When we arrived Sunday night, they upgraded our room and somehow knew that we were on our honeymoon, so our bed was decorated with rose petals, and kissing towel animals. We ordered room service for dinner and they brought a complimentary plate of strawberries with warm chocolate to dip in, as well as a full bottle of champagne (that went to waste due to us not drinking alcohol, but it was a very nice gesture). 

Two days later at dinner, they brought us a free dessert as well as glasses of champagne. This one was funny because they sat there waiting for us to drink the champagne before they would bring us the bill so after sitting there for quite some time, we poured it into our water cups so they would think we drank it! Then, the brought the check right away.

The next day at dinner, we once again got a free dessert, and a nice couple that we had been talking with and knew we were on our honeymoon actually paid for our whole meal! They were so incredibly nice and also from California, and so generous to pay for our meal. 

Also for lunch one day by the pool, we got a free chips & salsa with our meal.

The Sort-of Disastrous Day: Jeff & I really wanted to go see Chichen Itza (aka "Chicken Pizza" according to our tour guide), so we set up an excursion with the hotel's travel agent with a specific tour group and that we thought was only doing 2 activities then returning back to the hotel. Well... the morning of the excursion we were greeted by a very small white van that had no leg room, and didn't get back to the hotel until 12 hours later! Yes, you read that right, 12 hours. It was 100 degrees outside, the hottest day of the week, and the air conditioning in the van didn't work! It was miserable! We did get to see some cool sights, but we were so miserable that I honestly didn't enjoy them as much as I could have. 

The Wonderfully Adventurous Day: Another day excursion we went on turned out fantastic. We started out by snorkeling in a Turtle sanctuary. If you know me, you know that I love turtles so this was filled with squealing through my snorkel mask and not wanted to get out of the water. Next, we went swimming in a "cenote", or an underwater cave that was filled with freezing cold, natural mineral water. Finally, we went 4-wheeling through the very rocky jungle. So we got to see 3 different aspects of Mexico and enjoy authentic Mexican food, all while being transported on a bus that had leg space and air conditioning that actually worked!

Jeff & I really had a great time and it was so relaxing to have a week away from work and school and any responsibilities. Thank you Mom & Dad Witt for a week of honeymooning in such a beautiful place!

love, SK

Every girl dreams of their wedding from a young age. Except back when we were 5, it was our favorite Disney prince or our neighbor down the street who saw us in our underwear one too many times. But regardless, I always dreamed of my wedding. And my wedding went exactly as dreamed, perfectly.

First off, I want to thank my parents. My mom put so much hard work into this special day and making it exactly how I wanted it, and my dad, of course, worked so that they could pay for it. As far as the planning went, I can promise you my dad stayed as far away from it as possible!

A summary of getting ready... I woke up and ate a good breakfast (this is very rare for me), my wonderful sister Jessica did my makeup, and my darling friend Hailey did my hair. Also, as a side note, for those who know me, they know I love bows. I veto-ed the traditional veil with my dress and went for a bow. Then, I was off to be married.. But meanwhile, I found out that Jeff went to the beach! While I was antsy and excited and going a bit crazy, Jeff was calm and collected, enjoying his time in Newport Beach. This kinda shows the type of guy I married... haha!

At 11:00am, Jeff & I were sealed, or married for time and all eternity, in the Newport Beach LDS Temple. The weather outside was beautiful, and pretty warm - there wasn't a cloud in the sky. This was a blessing because in the days leading up to the wedding, the weather forecast had been telling us rain for Saturday.
Following the temple, we went back to my house along with our families and out of town relatives and friends and ate lunch and relaxed for a little bit. It was nice to have a few hours to sit down and get to visit with a lot of people.

Later in the afternoon, we went over to my best friend Sarah Flanigan's home. Sarah passed away my freshman year of college, but her home has amazing gardens. Since Sarah couldn't physically be with me for my wedding, I wanted to include my memories with her by taking pictures in the gardens at her home. Her dad, Preston, and her mom, Beth, welcomed Jeff & I as well as some family and our bridal party into their home and gardens. The photos (the ones I have seen so far) have turned out incredible. It meant so much to me that I was able to take the photos there and give Jeff a glimpse of what my youth was like, running around in the huge and beautiful gardens with my best friend, Sarah.
Following the pictures, we went to the reception venue, which was a business office in Irvine that belongs to the company Masimo. It is hard to describe, so I have included pictures. When I walked in, everything looked exactly how I had wanted it to, and it all felt like a dream come true. For the reception, we had Italian food. Macaroni Grill catered Chicken Alfredo with salad and rolls, and we had 3 flavors of gelato (which was a huge hit).
Our first dance had a glitch with the music, but it was still great. We did the father-daughter/mother-son dance, bouquet toss, garter throw, cake cutting, all that wedding jazz. Our wedding favor was Oreo balls, a treat that Jeff and I made often when we first started dating. We ended the night with a sparkler exit, which was so fun! A town car took us to a hotel near LAX to start our honeymoon (which was amazing and more details will come soon in another post).

Spotlight on the Bridal Party:
Bridesmaids: Madison (best friend/partner-in-crime/gym-buddy/fellow ice cream lover/maid-of-honor), Nicole (childhood friend/freshman roommate & huge reason I made it through freshman year/constant comedian), Hadley (cousin/basically we are the same person), and my sisters Elisabeth, Anna, & Jessica.
Groomsmen: Jeff's Brothers Spencer & Rob, my brother Nathan, Cameron (my brother-in-law/Jeff's freshman roommate/best friend), & Matt and Chris (Jeff's good friends/Cameron's brothers).

I want to put a plug in for my amazing photographer. Her name is Janet Wheeland and she was fantastic to work with and has produced amazing photos so far. 

My wedding was everything I had hoped for, and more. So many people put so much work into it and I cannot tell you how thankful I am for all of those people and for those who traveled to see me marry the man of my dreams.

Now what? Well, Jeff has dental school ahead of him and both of us still have a year or two at BYU. But enough about that, wedding pictures are much more interesting ;)

love, SK