These Pilgrim Days: Kendra's Wedding

About the time we moved to California 3 years ago, my sister went out on a date with a guy she met on eHarmony. She met him for coffee one day (to make sure he wasn't an axe-murderer), and then went sailing out on the open ocean with him a few days later. My mom was a little concerned about the setting for their 2nd date, knowing nothing about this guy, but Kendra reassured her by saying, "Mom, I am an open-water, long-distance ocean swimmer, I'll be fine." When I asked her about the date, she (the typical Navy-pilot, stoic sister of mine) told me about the quality of the boat, the wind speeds, the current, and even the abilities of the boat's captain...I finally had to interrupt her--"But did you like him???!" She smiled shyly and said she might indeed go out with him again, which I knew meant she must have really liked him.

Since that first date, they have grown together and decided to spend the rest of their lives together. His name is Paul Torres and he (now they) live in old town San Diego, not too far from where Kendra has lived in Point Loma for the past 10? years. They both work for Qualcomm but in different areas: Kendra is a pilot, flying CEOs and such on private jets. Paul...has told me what he does a few times and I can't remember it because I am just a housewife and I don't really understand cell phone technology or big business. But he does well there and has a lot of responsibility, though he is not one the people Kendra flies on her plane.

Wedding prep was fun, and of course the 3 of us "girls" did a lot of planning and preparation together. Here we are Skyping, choosing pictures for some picture frames I made about the bride and groom.

Annie was flower girl and got to miss a day of school to go to Kendra's bridal shower. Here she is showing off her dress and shoes.

Kendra's shower was at our friends' house on the beach.

All of the guests (these are just a few) have known Kendra since she was a baby!

After the shower, we did some wedding prep, including going to see Kendra's dress (she had a fitting appointment)

Special Baby came, too :)

Kendra and Paul love travelling and the great outdoors, so they decided to have a destination wedding of sorts in Yosemite, the location of many of Paul's childhood vacations. His brother and a cousin ( I think) got married there as well. At first, it seemed like a surprising location for two beach-loving people, but they wanted people to stay all at one place and enjoy the scenery together, and Yosemite was perfect for that. I am still so grateful that we got to go spend such a beautiful and meaningful long weekend there. It is a special memory to me (to all of us).

I teared up coming through the tunnel into the park. It's like that scene in Cars when McQueen and Sally come around the curve and the music swells and the waterfall is there in front of them, only better. Have I mentioned that the thing I am going to miss the most (besides people) when we go to Chicago is the rugged landscape of the West? I mean, need I say more?!

The kids grabbed my camera and started snapping a million pictures out the car windows.

We stayed at the Yosemite Lodge with all the other wedding guests. Here we are on the porch with my parents' long-time friends, Norm Edson and Lonnie Laster.

Yosemite Falls--we got to see it every time we went out the front door. Amazing!

Every picture is amazing in a place like this!

We hiked to Vernal Falls...

...and ran into my parents and their friends along the trail!

It wasn't too crowded, but it did still feel like Disneyland for some reason.

Can you see the rainbow?

As much as I was thankful for the railing, this moment makes me nervous just looking at it.

During our trip, I was participating in a short-lived 30-Day Plank Challenge. Annie schooled me at the top by doing a 30-second plank. This girl loves exercise!

My mom said she and my dad got to this spot when Kendra and I were kids and seriously contemplated going on to the summit of Half Dome. I commend them for their courage and applaud them for their wisdom in choosing the much more manageable (but still not too shabby) hike to the top of Nevada Falls instead...which may have been the site of the infamous moment in my childhood when my father dangled me over the edge by my ankle to get his lost camera lens cover...or something like that.

Evan and his sticks.

Annie playing "house" at the top of a cliff, basically.

Almost too picturesque to be true!

(See, I was there, too!)

This is how easy it is to take a beautiful picture in Yosemite

Here are Evan and Annie cooperating for a picture. Sam may have refused to get out of the car.

I don't have a ton of photos from Kendra's wedding, since I was the maid of honor :) We had fun getting ready in a beautiful cabin at the Ahwahnee, the location of Kendra and Paul's outdoor wedding.

(Seeing as this is how my dad acted on the night of my sister's first date as a teenager, they've both come a long way!)

The setting was beautiful for their first kiss as husband and wife!

The best man and I giving our toasts from the balcony in the solarium. I talked about marriage being rugged terrain, like the hikes we had done in Yosemite over the last few days, but how the shared view from the top is always worth it.