Once upon a time, there was a great wedding...

Katie and Sam tied the knot on December 27. As is our family custom, we held the reception the night before, which makes the actual wedding day much more peaceful. As is not our custom, we had the reception the night before at our house. Andi, of course, decorated, catered, and generally ran the show. It was, of course, spectacular. Andi delegated to me (Marco) the task of captioning the photos. So here goes:

Here's the happy couple at the front door... Yes, that's our front door, now painted festive Chinese red.


Mmmm, chocolate wedding cake.


All the family gathered 'round, including Liz and Andrew from Boston, and Becca and Matt (and Rosie Jo, in the baby-wrap) from Hawaii.

Observant viewers who were at Liz's wedding a year ago will be happy to note that Grandma and Grandpa, who were both in wheelchairs then, are up and about again, hale and hearty.

When Andi saw Katie's non-conventional wedding dress (obtained from tailors in Shanghai and shipped DHL) she was inspired to give the party a non-conventional Chinese theme. So she did away with the usual brownies and punch, and instead had Chinese dumplings (pot-stickers) and garlic beans and bok choy, served in take out boxes.


Note Sam's white python boots. The hit of the evening...


There have been several votes in favor of leaving the sparkly glitter-stars on the dining room chandelier permanently. My "nay" votes are so far being outnumbered.


Sam's former workplace, a bakery in Logan, provided 30 loaves of chocolate chip pumpkin bread. Andi added the cherubs.


Cousin Ian, the Marine, showed up in his dress uniform.


Grandma's so proud!


Gladiolas.

The five siblings. No more family weddings for 20 years. Hear that Zina?!?!



Our girls sure picked tall husbands!


The happy couple.


Winter wonderland. It snowed just enough to make it beautiful, but not so much to make the sidewalk slippery.


Next day, bright and early, we regrouped in Salt Lake City.


Photogenic Zina always turns heads.


Here comes the bride... It was really cold! Thanks to Grandma Zina (Andi's 96 year old grandmother) for the vintage fur wrap.


Matt and cute baby Rosie. Of all of us shivering in the shadow of the temple, she was the least used to the cold. Give me back my Hawaiian sunshine, she's saying.


Huddling together for warmth. Oh, and because they really like each other!


Sam, Katie, Liz, Andrew.



After the temple, we had a family luncheon at Sam's brother's house in Ogden, and then the newlyweds headed off to the relative warmth of southern Utah.

So, there you have it. Tune in about twenty years from now for the next installment.

Congratulations Katie and Sam! And thanks to everyone who came to celebrate, who helped put it all together, and who have sent good wishes to the bride and groom.

The Year In Review (Part One)

Some families write clever holiday newsletters and others send chocolates, our family has its own marketing ploy to keep people tuning in. We just add a new person to the clan each year -- seven years, seven people. Andi, Xanny, Matt, Zina, Andrew, Rosie Jo and introducing ... Sam who will officially sign up on December 27, 2007 when he marries Katie. We really like Sam and his white python cowboy boots. He's an interesting yin to Katie's yang. We're happy Katie found such a great guy to add to our family.

For me, this last year was my official year of the blog. It all began in DC on Independence Ave. as a good way to share our Capital Hill adventures. IndependenceKids.blogspot.com opened the door to a photographic adventure that has taken on a life of its own. Pictures are a perfect combination of art and people and I have started shooting weddings and family portraits semi-professionally. Leaving Capital Hill, however, was less than picture perfect. I cried all the way to the airport. We loved living in the eye of the storm and I hope our next adventure is in the same zip code as our last adventure.

As for the little people in our house ... I think this ease-dropped conversation between Xanny (5) and Zina-Boo (3) sums it up. Zina: "Xanny, I nice. I love one another like Jesus." Xanny: "Well, I love ALL the others." Merry Christmas from our house. May the love of our Savior be with ALL the others of your house.

Now, I give you, the best of Independence Kids - Year 2007 In Review: (more tomorrow)

As you can see, we pretty much just sat around and watched Simpson's reruns all year. Merry Christmas.