Friday, September 30, 2011

5 years ago...

i walked down the aisle with my dad
 who gave me away to my best friend
 who took it very seriously
 as did my sister
 {glad i wasn't this much of a mess at her wedding!}
our closest friends stood up for us
 we were toasted by pop pop
 my dad
 and pete's {and many others, pics aren't great}
 cold shot rocked our world
 we at the most amazing cake {some say, to this day, the best wedding cake they've EVER had}
and paaaaaarrrrrrrrrtieeeed with our family and friends {until my parents shut down the ipod at 3am}
happy anniversary, pete!

{i STILL haven't asked for our digital pics without a copyright - wth}

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

virginia city



Church
The 19th century mining boom turned Virginia City into the most important settlement between Denver and San Francisco; and grubby prospectors into instant millionaires.  They built mansions, imported furniture and fashions from Europe and the Orient, and helped finance the Civil War... and then went on to build empires around the world. The finest example being San Francisco.
via.


because of the crash at the air races, we ventured to virginia city for the day.  jack's favorites, always competing - planes and trains.  {and automobiles, actually!}
looking out from the train station
we took a train ride to 'gold hill'.
jack in awe
we got a little plane action

stagecoach rides
that's jack's little hand waving at the steam-engineers
jack blowing his train whistle
he's letting the kids that got off for a leg stretch know...
allllll abooooard!!
mine wash
and spent some time in the old town:
yes they had 'em
we're working on not shooting (where do boys get it?!?!)
so we didn't watch...
this miner let you feed his mule for a dollar
i really enjoy the ornate decor of the time
candy makers
ice cream!!!
 saw some attractions:





Tuesday, September 27, 2011

reno air races

via
a tragedy occured on friday, the day before we were supposed to attend the reno air races.  jack had been talking about this event for a year.  we were up at the cabin (no cable, listening to our xm stations) when we received a call from the willis fam checking on us.  we were shocked and received a few calls and texts from family and friends making sure we were okay.  it's so sad that so many people passed (latest report is 11, including the pilot), with 74 people incurring injuries.

we are thankful we weren't there and our thoughts go out to those that were.

Monday, September 26, 2011

reno's rib cook-off

since we've taken camping out of our weekend ritual, we've had to think of another habit.  CABIN in the mountains!!  my parents have a gorgeous cabin about 3hrs from here, between truckee and reno off on a tangent.  we love staying there and decided the reno rib cook-off was the perfect activity for the weekend!

we had breakfast at...  

you'd think with a name like terrible's they'd go out of their way to have the most amazing food.  you'd be thinking incorrectly. 

next we headed to the cook-off.  before settling in to taste some ribs, jack and pete went on a few carnival-style rides:
patient jack
then the main event!
delish sauce-style ribs @unlce bub's

a dry rub from another stand
this place won tons of awards!
they had a line to prove it :(
it was super-duper hot, so after walking all the vendors (i don't know why i love them, but i do!), we let jack run in the fountains (don't worry, they were heavily chlorinated, so no risk of disease):
spirited jack splashed EVERYONE within his water's reach
and got drenched.
well needed, but not enough to cool down everyone.  we headed to a nice restaurant in reno with their own brew (so jealous of the boys!) and played at circus circus for a while (winner, winner!  we came home with too many stuffed animals!).  cooling off in the casinos was fab!  our night's sleep was even better.  

Sunday, September 25, 2011

sister bellies!

taken almost a month ago!

mr. + mrs. martin

jocelyn and devin tied the knot on 9.10.11!  i've known jocelyn since our days back at alpha phi, we were in the same fall '98 pledge class.  jocelyn and i don't see each other as often as i'd like (maybe different life-stages?), but when we do, it's never awkward and we have a great time!  it was beautiful driving through the vineyards by the river:
their ceremony took place in a gorgeous little catholic church in guernville, with the reception at Thomas George Estates winery in healdsburg.  the scenery was beautiful with very yummy snacks set in the winery's cave:

jocelyn is the queen of 'to-do' lists (i believe i am the princess), so while guests milled around during cocktail hour, becca and i set to the task of asking them to complete a 'to-do' list for the newlyweds.  the envelopes listed dates (like 1st anniversary, 5th anniversary) and days (like a rainy day in sf, when devin is sick).  it was a super cute idea to keep the spirit of their wedding night throughout their marriage.
directions
milling at mouth of cave
tasting room
 dinner was seated and absolutely delicious!  tomato + mozzarella, fresh local grilled veggies, pasta, chicken with prosciutto + cheese, greens with pears + goat cheese.  i was loving it!  
these envelopes were passed out during dinner.  the couple shared a time early in their not-even-a-relationship-yet past when devin brought back wine and lottery tickets after a run to the store.  jocelyn was hooked - she's such a gambler - and they shared their first kiss that evening.  the envelopes held two lottery tickets and a lucky penny - such a cute and personal favor!
a delicious cake topped off the meal - with three different flavors, all spectacular.
the weather was perfect!  a little cool for the east bay guests who had been experiencing very hot weather, and a little warm for the city folks who survived the coldest summer ever (you know, because it's san francisco).
cave entrance
after the mandatory wedding festivities, we watched the couple enjoy their first dance, watched the bridal party perform a dance routine to a variety of 'very-jocelyn' songs (hot in herrrre and should've been a cowboy),  and the floor gave way to a fabulous dance party!  even pete joined me for a few :), and baby liked it too!  
mr.+mrs. martin