i LOVE weddings!

last weekend mike and i attended the wedding of our friends fred and brigid.   mike was the best man and we ended up having a great time!  the reception was actually at the same place we had our wedding, so it was really fun to be on the other side of it for a change.  congratulations to fred and brigid!  we love you guys.

p.s. i've been trying to take more pictures of the things that we do so you all have more to look at.  enjoy!

doesn't my husband look so pretty in brown?  looking good, babe!!

the boys.  (the groom is in the front middle.)

the bride with her sisters and her niece.

mike's friend bb with a turtle he found at webb park

the bride's dress was GORGEOUS! it had a very vintage feel! (you may have to click on the photo to enlarge it to see the detail)

the bride with the groomsman.  this picture is so cute with all the sunglasses!

me and mike.  we don't take nearly enough pictures together.

after the ceremony, fred and brigid took this vintage car to the reception.

me and julie forest.  i miss her and need to make more of an effort to visit her and scott in temecula.  she and i started the dancing that night with our boys.  so much fun!

the first dance

the first dance was cut short halfway through so the bride and groom could enjoy the astro jump that was present for all the kiddies to enjoy!

mike giving his best man speech.

san clemente sunsets

as you all know, mike and i don't have a whole lot of time to spend together.  but on occasion we'll do more than sit in our living room, eating egg burritos while watching lost.  

so a couple weeks ago, when the weather had made a turn for the better, we decided to go and watch the sunset.  by the time i got off work, mike had packed up a cooler with some cheese and crackers and we headed down to the beach.  it was so nice and peaceful just to sit and watch the waves and the surfers as the sun slowly drifted toward the horizon.  

i took a few photos and here are a few i wanted to share.  (have i told you guys how much i love living near the beach yet?)

here's an artsy one.

i tried playing with some of the editing options and i think this one came out pretty well.

once the sun went behind some clouds, there were so many beautiful colors in the sky.

and i finally got my in-focus picture of the moon.

by golly, she is alive!

i know you've all been wondering where i've been for the past month.  and the truth is, i haven't been on some exotic island where they barely know what running water is, let alone have an internet connection, further preventing me from posting updates to my beautiful blog.  

i've been around, but have been more interested in reading the updates of others instead of making my own updates.  and for this, i apologize.  but don't fret, i will be making more of a conscious effort to post more often than once a month.  

so to start, i thought i'd update you on my "garden"  (you must picture me holding up the first two fingers on both hands while slightly bending at the second knuckle when i say "garden."  these air quotes, as they are called, are necessary because three pots can hardly be called a garden).

but look!  after a month, my flowers are still beautiful!

JUST KIDDING!!! (had you there for a second, didn't i?)

my garden actually looks like this...

everything has died except for my kalanchoes.  those are still a brilliant redish orange color, which i love!  i really don't know what i did wrong.  it's possible that i didn't water them often enough.  and it's also possible that most of the flowers i bought because they were pretty (rather than easy to care for) don't get nearly enough sunlight on our balcony.  oh well.  i'm thinking about replanting a bunch of those kalanchoes in various colors since i seem just conscientious enough not to kill them.  

any helpful gardening tips are welcome!