San Francisco

For our honeymoon, we spent the first night in Salt Lake before heading to San Francisco for a few days. Unfortunately for Kyle, I was exhausted and took a two hour nap on Saturday after we got to our hotel. That night we walked around a little and found food for that night and the next day. 

Sunday morning on our way down to breakfast we met a Brazilian couple in the elevator. So obviously Kyle was in heaven just talking to them in Portuguese. We left early and headed to church. We got there early so we walked around the church a little. While doing so, we found out that Peter's parents were serving their mission in the ward we were going to. We caught his mom right before Sacrament meeting and had a nice talk with her. She is honestly one of the sweetest people ever.

Entrance to Chinatown

Hats we found in Chinatown

Coit Tower

 After church we went back to the hotel to change, then took off to walk around Chinatown. We covered a lot of ground that day as we also went to Coit Tower and down to the Pier to plan out the next day. 

We woke early Monday to get breakfast and hit up Lombard Street first. Then headed down to the Pier to rent bikes so we could bike across the Golden Gate Bridge. I really liked the biking. Although given it was probably the first time I had ridden a bike in 10 years, it may not have been our best idea. Man was I sore the next couple days! I'm sure Kyle was frustrated at how slowly I went down hills (I like to feel like I'm in control, okay?), but he was nice enough to act like he wasn't.

At the top of this awful hill we climbed Sunday. I insisted on a picture.

The hill was so steep

The top and bottom of Lombard Street. 

I was obsessed with the flowers on these trees

We walked around Sausalito (and got yummy baklava and bread pudding from a bakery) before we took the ferry back to the city. Once there we went to find Kyle some clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. He loved it. I tried a little, but I really hate fish, so I stuck to the bread. Then we headed over to this warehouse with a whole bunch of old video games. We played skee ball (I beat Kyle twice!), foosball (which we were both terrible at), and a couple other games (which Kyle beat me soundly at). 

Kyle really loved me taking pictures of him

After that we went to lunch at Neptune's Waterfront Grill and Bar so Kyle could get the lobster mac and cheese he was dying to try. In the end, I think I liked my meal (a Neptune burger) more than he did, but the view was pretty. And the couple next to us were delightful! They asked us if we were newlyweds and when we said yes they were so excited. She kept talking to us about how great marriage is and how important it is to make sure God is a part of our marriage. It was so nice to talk to someone who felt the same way we did instead of people thinking we were quite young to be married.

Then we went to tour the USS Jeremiah O'Brian. Kyle loves history, so he was excited. The museum part was a little lacking, but it was interesting and Kyle especially loved the huge guns at the top.

It was really windy, so Kyle's jacket was inflating

We headed to Ghirardelli Square for dessert. The sundae was delicious, but after that we felt like we didn't need to eat for another few days probably. We took the trolley to Chinatown to get some souvenirs to remember the trip by, then headed back to the hotel. By that time we were basically exhausted.

Kyle was trying to hide from the camera

On the trolley

The next morning we went to Union Square to take a picture next to one of the hearts and then headed to the airport to come home. 

Kyle slept pretty much the whole flight home

It was a short trip, but quite action packed. It was a great way to spend our first few days being married!

Wedding Day!

I don't have the pictures from our photographer back yet, so none of the ones from this post come from him. But I didn't want to wait too long to record everything. 

The days leading up to the wedding were pretty crazy. Wednesday after I finished with class, I headed up to Centerville to help out with anything that needed to get done. I ended up helping with the centerpieces, getting my nails done, going to Max's soccer game, and then heading over to Hiller's to help Debbie with the flowers. Debbie is such a sweetheart and I'm so glad we went over to help.

I didn't get back to American Fork until pretty late that night, but I was up bright and early to head into school for a little the next morning. I was only supposed to be there for 30-40 minutes, but the professor went 45 minutes over time. Needless to say, by the time I got back to American Fork I was super frustrated. Cute Kyle calmed me down though and told me it was all going to be okay.
Most of the day was spent figuring out last minute stuff, doing the cake, and hanging out with family. One of my favorite parts of the whole weekend was when Kyle's family came over that night and we had our dads give us Father's Blessings. Kyle's mom came up with the idea and I'm really glad we did it. For one thing, it put everyone in a better mood and helped us to remember what was really important about the whole wedding thing. Plus, Kyle has 5 little siblings who are too young to be in the Temple for the ceremony, so it was neat to have them be a part of it. His two little brothers even cried, which was really sweet. It made me so grateful for my dad and for Kyle's dad. We are both so lucky to have been raised by such incredible, faithful, kind, and loving men. I cried through the whole thing (which prompted Lyla to ask me in the middle of Kyle's blessing why I was crying). If there was anything I would definitely do again about my wedding, it is definitely the Father's Blessing (other than the actual ceremony, obviously).

Kyle's little brother Jensen actually turned 16 the day before our wedding. So we also got to celebrate his birthday. Jensen is seriously great. He's so funny and quirky. Everyone loves him. And he was such a good sport about us "stealing his thunder." After Kyle's family left, we headed back to Hiller's to help with flowers while we awaited the call from the reception center telling us we could come set up. Anne flew in from Ohio for the wedding and was nice enough to come help too. Anne and I went back to my house to help. As soon as we pulled in the driveway Alicia informed me that I had been "voted off the island." Aka I was sent to bed while they went and set up. They are too good to me.

The next morning rolled around very early. I woke up early to eat and Alicia was nice enough to do the same so she could help me with my hair and make-up. Once that was done, my parents and I headed up to the Temple. The next couple hours are quite the blur. After we got dressed, Kyle and I got to spend some time in the Celestial Room before we met with our sealer and then went into the room for the ceremony.

I really loved our sealer. He explained the covenants fully, which was exactly what we were hoping for. It was great to walk into the room and see so many people we love there to support us. I cried throughout the ceremony. Pretty much the whole day, actually. But it was all happy tears!

Coming out of the temple

Me and my sisters

Kyle and I with all of the grandkids

The two of us

My and my siblings

Siblings in our traditional pose. Alicia is 34 weeks pregnant here,
so a piggy back didn't seem like the best idea.

Shan, me, and Alicia

After pictures was the luncheon. Kyle's mom did such a beautiful job decorating. She had quilt squares at each table for people to write advice or congratulations on. We also had one person at every table introduce the table and give advice. There were some good ones in there. At one point, we got very nervous as all of Kyle's roommates filed to the front one by one and came toward us. We didn't need to worry, though, they were just giving Kyle his present: Chick-Fil-A sauce. I love those boys!

Kyle's parents, my parents, and Kyle and I all said a few things (accompanied by a lot of tears) and then let everyone go and just chatted with a few people. After we went to my parents' house and took a nap. Much needed. Then we headed to the reception. The family came early and we took some pictures in their wedding clothes. The rest of the reception was a whirlwind. The line for the reception was SO LONG! We didn't really get a break all night. Around 8 Shannon, Alicia, Haley, and Kate (who was nice enough to fly in from Louisiana for the wedding) sang "100 Easy Ways to KEEP a Man." They are too cute! And then Alicia and Shannon sang our sister song, "I Will Never Leave You." I love that song and I love my sisters so much.

My incredible family from Left to Right: Will, Peter, Alicia, Abby, Amy, Henry, Connor, Spencer, Max, Mom, Lyla, Dad,
Me, Kyle, Nate, Daxton, Porter, Mandi, Shannon, Adeline, Jeff, Derrick, and Mary

My with my nieces: Abby, Adeline, and Lyla

Jordan Schouten, Hayden Loftus, Me, Kyle Lemperle,
and Dave Thompson

Hayden, Me, and Kyle. I don't know what I would have done without
these two boys. Also I look super short. 

We cut the cake, I threw the bouquet, we danced with our parents, and then had our first dance. After greeting a few people we went to change and headed out. It was crazy and overwhelming, but all around it was an amazing day!