Fun in the California Sun

2 weeks ago, we flew down to LA for one big, warm, crazy family reunion. The reason? To be a part of Kimberly (David's younger sister) and Aaron's Wedding Day! It was a wonderful weekend, FULL of family, laughter, and sunshine!! As you can see from the picture above, it was a beautiful weekend, with weather in the mid-70's...I was outside as much as possible, trying to soak up enough sun to last another 2 months (at least that's when I think the sun will return to Seattle ;) We all had a great weekend--we were blessed so much by Kim & Aaron's church family, who provided housing for us (and the rest of the family) and did most of the wedding details, so we were able to really enjoy everything! The wedding was beautiful, and Kimberly made a gorgeous bride! Unfortunately, I don't have very many good pictures of the couple (I was in the wedding and David was videotaping), but hopefully these few will quench your curiosity!

Kim & Aaron rehearsing...can you tell she's excited? :)

One very crazy bridal party.

One of Kim's friends did the flowers--they were beautiful!!

The cutest nephew ever! :)

The kids did great through the wedding, but you'll notice
Faith didn't quite make it through pictures. ;)

James (David's brother) and Kimiko.

The Pichura Bunch.

A very large family breakfast!

Faith turned 5!!

We spent Friday morning with some long-time friends of the Parker family (who own the lovely pool in the first picture!)

Another large family picture...and 1/2 the family is missing! :)

David & his brother Andrew...partners in crime :)

Out with the Old, In with the New!

We're not usually a fan of big New Year's Eve parties, (our annual tradition is usually to play a game of monopoly), but we decided to spend our first New Year's Eve in Seattle in style by going to Mars Hill's Annual Red Hot Bash. "Red Hot" was the theme of the night, and they did a great job of dressing up the main campus...we really enjoyed ringing in the new year in our new city. :)

A Parker-Filled Christmas

Although it's been almost a month since Christmas (hard to believe!), I'm going to post these anyways--pictures of Christmas fun are never too late in my book. :) We made the short drive down to David's parents' house in Hood River, Oregon for 5 crazy days with the Parker-Pichura clan. It was great to see everyone--it has been about 5 months since we saw most of them, so it was a welcome reunion! All of the family made it up except James & Kimiko, so we had a very full house! We had a great time catching up, and playing with the kids, who are cuter every time we see them. God has blessed us with an amazing family (both near and far),
and we are so thankful for all the blessings He has given us this Christmas.

After about 10 tries, we finally got a keeper! :)

The annual Gingerbread decorating contest in full swing!

The 2nd and 1st place winners.

The very proud 3rd place winners--a 4 way tie!

Titus "the firefighter" showing off his creating with Kristin.

Grace & I opening presents.

Kim & Aaron...enjoying their first Christmas together!