So the cruise was fantastic. We’re posting this a little late because of all the fun we had with family all visiting for Valerie’s wedding. There were essentially two things we needed to do this past week, 1) buy a car, and 2) help with the wedding. Let’s attack them one at a time.
Summer Car
Our new ride...an 1999 Audi A4 1.8 Turbo
We have been planning on driving a bunch this summer. We know we’re going to Washington at least twice, Utah, and possibly Arizona. Because of our travel schedule we wanted to have our own wheels. For one thing, we weren’t entirely sure that Kaitlyn’s parent’s cars were up to the challenge, and it’s just nice to have your own wheels. So, we searched KSL classifieds for a few days and found about 10 or so cars that we liked within our price range of a couple thousand dollars or so. We didn’t need a super nice car, just one that would run without needing too much work done to it and had good gas mileage. We drove to Utah on Tuesday, May 22nd and started visiting the cars picked out on KSL the night before. At first glance, we had our eyes on a 1998 Mercedes C-Class. One wouldn’t think that you could find a Mercedes car in good condition for a few thousand dollars, but his one had rebuilt title, meaning it had been in an accident sometime in it’s life. I (Tim) love these types of cars because it means, it they’ve been repaired correctly, they are a fantastic bargain. We liked it, but didn’t love it. So, we moved on to out next listing. We tested, two Volvo’s and two more Audi’s until we settled on a 1999 Audi A4 manual. This car seems to be just what we were looking for; right price range, good shape, and able to handle long distance. And it looks good too! It’s a little smaller than we’re use to, but it’ll work for a summer car. My parent’s have agreed to store it at their house over the winter, so we’re good there. We’re happy with it. (Plus, I think Kaitlyn loves having a manual because she’s turned into a little rally-car racer!)
Valerie’s Wedding
Valerie and Brad
Valerie’s wedding was fantastic. Things seemed to go very smoothly, because of careful planning on Kaitlyn’s mom’s part. She made all the food and was slaving in the kitchen for probably three weeks before the wedding. In total, I think she cooked about 500 crepes, 200 egg rolls, cooked 22+ pounds of chicken into bite size pieces, etc. etc. She was amazing. Kaitlyn and I spent most of Thursday and Friday helping cook and ready the reception hall, or rather turning a normal church gym into a reception hall.
Valerie asked me to be her photographer for the temple and she was planning on asking someone else to shoot the reception so I could enjoy the festivities. Boy, am I glad. Shooting a wedding is a ton of work and there was a bunch of people that both Kaitlyn and I were able to reunite with at the reception.
Valerie’s wedding was plagued with poor weather. There were forecasted thunderstorms for most of the weekend. This meant that, as her photographer, I needed to do some planning. I decided to ask her if she was okay with taking her wedding pictures the day before her wedding, since there was nicer weather. She and Brad agreed that would be a good idea and we took most of their pictures on Friday rather than Saturday. This turned out to be a good idea, since Saturday poured rain for most of the day. Luckily, there was about a twenty-thirty minute break after the temple ceremony that allowed me to take some group pictures. Since, I was worried the weather might return, I rushed through the picture taking. It was a little chilly outside, but luckily we finished most of the group pictures I had planned before the rain and wind came back, which prevented us from taking anymore group pictures. Overall, they turned out good.
Valerie asked me to be her photographer for the temple and she was planning on asking someone else to shoot the reception so I could enjoy the festivities. Boy, am I glad. Shooting a wedding is a ton of work and there was a bunch of people that both Kaitlyn and I were able to reunite with at the reception.
Valerie’s wedding was plagued with poor weather. There were forecasted thunderstorms for most of the weekend. This meant that, as her photographer, I needed to do some planning. I decided to ask her if she was okay with taking her wedding pictures the day before her wedding, since there was nicer weather. She and Brad agreed that would be a good idea and we took most of their pictures on Friday rather than Saturday. This turned out to be a good idea, since Saturday poured rain for most of the day. Luckily, there was about a twenty-thirty minute break after the temple ceremony that allowed me to take some group pictures. Since, I was worried the weather might return, I rushed through the picture taking. It was a little chilly outside, but luckily we finished most of the group pictures I had planned before the rain and wind came back, which prevented us from taking anymore group pictures. Overall, they turned out good.
