Our fun trips...

Brian and I have been lucky enough to go on some fun trips since we've been married.  First, of course we went on our honeymoon in Flagstaff.  We really wanted to get out of the heat here in July. The weather could not have been more perfect.  Then we went to Las Vegas over Labor Day weekend.  One of our wedding gifts was a time share at the Hilton in Vegas.  It was Brian's first time in Las Vegas.  We then went camping for the first time since we've been married.  It was also the first time we went camping alone!  We have been camping together a few times but always with his family.  We had a blast with them of course but it was nice to go by ourselves.  We got so much camping stuff for wedding gifts!  We planned out the weekend we were going to go.  It ended up being a weekend that it got really cold.  It was so freezing up where we went camping but it was so warm in our sleeping bags cuddling!

 This is the hotel we stayed at on our wedding night and the night after.  The waterfall by the front door was so pretty.

 The tub was relaxing.

 We didn't spend any time in the living room but it was cozy looking.

 Well I took this picture the morning we left so the bed was messy! It was the most comfortable bed ever.

 

This was the view from our balcony.

We had a full kitchen and a washer/dryer.

I took this picture of my bridal bouquet after we left the hotel. I was holding it.

 

A few people (Shelly, Eric, and Paul!) came to our hotel on our wedding night and decorated Brian's truck. Very tricky!

 

 We saw a double rainbow on our way to Flagstaff for our honeymoon.

 Brian and I on our honeymoon.

 We went horseback riding. It was a total blast.  I put the wrong picture on here.  I meant to put the one up that actually showed the horses while we were riding.  I am on a horse in this picture but I was trying to get a pic of Brian behind me.  The terrain was rough and I really needed to be holding on with both hands so it didn't work out too well. Oh well!

 We went to Lowell Observatory and looked at Saturn through this telescope.

 We rode the ski lift to the top.  The sign above the bathroom entrance said,"The highest bathrooms in Arizona".  I got to use the restroom at 11,500 FT.

 Going back down the ski lift.

 Handsome ;)

 This was the view from our hotel room in Flagstaff.

We went to the Grand Canyon as well.  It was cold everywhere we went and we loved it.

These deer let us get so close to them.

 This is a watermelon kiwi lemonade. One of the best drinks I have ever had!  I got this when me, Brian, my Dad, Step Mother, Step Sister and her kids all went out to eat in Las Vegas.

 My Dad and Step Mother when we were waiting for our food.  It was so cool that they moved back to Las Vegas from Hawaii just 2 days before Brian and I went to Las Vegas.

Brian and I at the Hard Rock Cafe.  He was excited to get a Hard Rock Cafe Las Vegas 40th Year hat!  

 This is us at the top of the Stratosphere.

 We were at the Bellagio.  We got a great view and got even luckier. They were doing tests all afternoon.  They did show after show one after another.  It was a really amazing experience. 

 We went camping the beginning of October. We had a great little set up.  It was 40 degrees when we got there in the afternoon.  We were very prepared thank goodness.  That is our new tent!  Inside we had a blow up mattress that is thick just like a real queen mattress.  On top of that we had a thick blanket.  Then we had our 20 degree sleeping bags zipped up to make one sleeping bag!!  We then had a comforter on top of our sleeping bags. 

 We were up around 7,500 ft. and had a beautiful view from our camp site. The sunsets were so gorgeous.  We had to get in the tent about an hour after sunset because it was too cold to be out.  With the wind chill it was about 10 degrees.  Brrrrr

 What a view. We were lucky to get the very top camp site I thought, but we had the entire mountain to ourselves.  We figured that we were the only crazy ones to be camping in that weather!  It was so nice to be completely alone up there. 

We were all packed up and ready to go home.  Brian does such a good job at packing up his truck with his cool cover.  Well, we loved the cold weather but my hands hurt so bad for a week. They had like freeze burn or something.  I always had gloves on but when I washed my hands it burned to use the water.  I can't wait to go camping again! We have the coolest camping gear!

 I bought this for Brian as a wedding gift.  It's titled, Together- "For those who have found their true partner in love and life".

 I love this wall. The bottom right is a plaque that says, "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away". On top of that is a mix of frames.  There are some of my favorite wedding pictures in there!  It says, "Faith makes all things possible, Love makes all things easy, Hope makes all things work".  To the left there is a picture of Brian and I in Sedona the day he proposed to me. Above that there is a small plaque that says, "Families are Forever".  Then there is a pic that has a B+A with a heart around it carved in a tree.  A close family friend did that I believe on her computer (It looks so real!).  There is a picture of the Mesa LDS Temple which is where Brian and I got married.  Brian's sister took that picture.  On the far left there is our wedding announcement picture framed.  At the top it says April & Brian McCoy July 8, 2011.  On the part that is matted, we had people sign it at our family dinner the night before the wedding. 

This is so cool.  Our last name, McCoy in a black frame that was hand made.  In the center it has, Est. 2011!!

 One thing that I really wanted for a wedding gift was this quilt.  When we got back from our honeymoon we had a few gifts waiting for us.  This quilt was one of them.  I was SO excited.  It is so comfortable and I love the colors.  By the way, that is our dog Charlie lying on his blanket/bed (though he ends up on the bed with us for a while!.

 I love how well the quilt matches with some other fantastic gifts we got.  We got those king sized hand made pillow cases.  They are grey with white trim.  They are satin like. They are SO soft.  One of my bridal shower gifts were these incredible sheets.  They are 1500 thread Egyptian cotton sheets.  Yes I said 1500 thread!!! I didn't even know they made 1500 thread.  It is like sleeping in a little bit of heaven!  They have deep pockets too which is good.  I got rid of my old mattress when Brian brought his pillow top mattress over. 

The top picture is the Mesa LDS Temple.  I got this picture in a little package from the temple after Brian and I got married.  I bought a nice frame for it.  Underneath that is our Temple Certificate of Marriage for time and Eternity!  Then my Sister-in-Law Christa made the sign that says, Always kiss me good night.  It's awesome because he always does kiss me good night.  At first I reminded him but now he kisses me and tells me he loves me.  We make sure we always do that every chance we get!  I have done a lot around the house.  This is a small look.  I have a china cabinet that is full of wedding keepsakes like the guest book, cake cutting utensils, champagne flutes, unity candle, cake topper, my dried bouquet, Brian's boutonniere, the memory vase in honor of Brian's Dad, and tons of pictures, etc.!  I wish I could share all of it.

WEDDING FUN...

LOVE FILLS THE MOMENT AND THE MOMENT BEGINS ETERNITY.

JULY 8th, 2011

Our entire family came together a few days before the wedding!  I was able to have a girls night 2 nights before the wedding.  We stayed in one of the gorgeous 2 room Marriott Villas.  My nieces really enjoyed my Mom and Step-fathers swimming pool every chance they got.  The night before the wedding we had a family dinner at my Mom and Step-fathers house.  It was great to see so many people gathered together becoming one big family!  Some of us were able to watch the video that Brian made.  He took pictures from our computers and scanned a lot of pictures (I did quite a lot of scanning actually).  He put them together by age going back and forth between us (5 of him then 5 of me).  He added great music and I believe it was around 25 minutes long.  This video was played on repeat during our wedding reception but of course without the music due to us having a DJ.

The wedding day was absolutely wonderful!  The heat was not so great. I am thankful for everyone who put up with the heat during pictures outside the Temple.  The ring ceremony was beautiful.  Walking down the aisle with my Dad and Step-Dad will be a moment forever in my heart.  My brother-in-law made it short and sweet.  He made me cry, smile, and laugh.  That is when you know it was great! The reception was a total blast.  I can't even go over it all in words.  I will just have to post some pics.

The wedding night and the next night, Brian and I stayed at the Marriott Villas that I mentioned earlier.  The day after the wedding, Brian and I met with family to open gifts.  Later that night we met with my Dad to look at some of my Grandfather Morgan's things.  He sadly passed away 6 days before the wedding.  We sat and talked about my Grandfather and all the good memories of him growing up!  The next day was Sunday.  Brian and I went to church with his Mom then left on our honeymoon.  We went to Flagstaff and it was nice and cool.  We went from 110 degrees to 70 degrees or less.  It was gorgeous.  I would be writing for a long time if I wrote everything that has been going on since just before we got married.  We have been married for almost 3 months and oh boy....I love my husband very much!!

Four of my nieces. Totally adorable!

Mesa LDS Temple. This is where Brian and I got married.

After we got married. Picture of loved ones who were able to attend either inside the Temple or waiting for us outside.

This is beautiful.

Our wedding rings. Bands of eternity!

Of course I had to wear flip flops (at least they were white), they had lots of bling. ;) I had a diamond rhinestone toe ring, french pedicure (full set french fingernails), and my something blue was an anklet with blue rhinestones and a heart dangling down!

My niece Rebekah took this. I love that she did everything in black and white except for my eyes!

Again with the black and white except for my eyes!

The tables at my reception. They were not completely done yet. We had little cards with poems about ringing the bell if they wanted us to kiss. I also made all those centerpieces!! :)

My handsome husband. I think I did a good job picking out all the guys vests, ties, and all the flowers! Brian looks slick. ;)

A memory vase I found that we had at our reception. It is in honor of Brian's father.  He passed away 6 years ago. We had a memory table set up in his honor. The vase says: In loving Memory, these flowers bloom as a symbol of a life and love remembered.

Here is the vase again filled with white roses. There was also a shadow box with pictures and his obituary. A photo album made by Brian's Mom was on the table as well.

Our unity candle. It's a great picture showing one of the tables and our uplighting in the background.

Another good picture of our unity candle. If you haven't noticed, our colors were maroon and white and our theme was hearts!

My funny bridesmaids were trying to balance their bouquets on their palms. I don't know where my Matron of Honor was (my oldest sister).

The entire wedding party. (4 Bridesmaids, Matron of Honor, 4 Flower girls which were my nieces, 3 Groomsmen, and Best Man!) The arch is where the ring ceremony was. The chairs were moved back to the tables and after the pictures the arch was removed.  Soon after, the reception started and that area was the dance floor!

It's all about the BRIDE!!!

My brother Guy and I!  He is seriously funny. My siblings and I are always doing something goofy. Oh, my bouquet was my dream bouquet. It had Casablanca Lillies, Ruby Red roses, baby's breath, and greens.  It was wrapped in white satin ribbon and had satin buttons all the way down the ribbon. It smelled amazing!

This is priceless. My Dad is on my right side and my Step-Dad is on my left.

My Mom and I!

A close up of our cake. I put this ribbon together.  I glued the 'Happily Ever After' ribbon to the maroon ribbon and brought it to the bakery!  If you look close above the ribbon you can see the little hearts in the frosting. They did a lot of detailing to my liking.

I wanted a yummy drink at the reception. This is what I asked for and I got it.  The Country Club took care of everything.  It is lime sherbet and 7up!!  Love it.

Our amazing wedding cake!

Brian and I got these napkins made. They were either passed out when glasses were filled for the toasts or when the cake was served. They were probably used for the cake.

We are so cute. Brian and I during our first dance. Me in my flip flops and Brian was only wearing socks. I didn't even notice until I saw this picture.

These are 2 of my nieces picking up rose petals after the ring ceremony. I love the black and white with only certain things colored. My niece did that to several pictures and they are amazing.

A close up of some flowers on our wedding cake. I picked out all the flowers for the cake and brought them to the bakery. I tried to get them to match. I found some that looked like my lillies and found some maroon lillies. There are several others that really tie it all together! The cake tasted amazing though and I didn't have anything to do with that. ;)

A close up of our cake topper. I spent a lot of time finding the perfect stuff.  I found this and knew. It is gorgeous in every way. The internet can be great. Our cake knife, server, guest book, pen, card holder, and 2 champagne flutes all match the cake topper material/style. I was lucky to find them all!

We also got a sheet cake to serve to guests first. It was so pretty. I love the maroon hearts on the top. On the sides there are also the little white hearts.

Fantastic picture of the unity candle after it got dark and the lights were turned down.

This was our first dance as husband and wife! I love this picture because it shows the screen in the background playing Brian's video that he made. Toward the end this picture comes up. I had this saying typed at the top of our wedding announcement.  'Love fills the moment and the moment begins eternity'.

Aubrey and Rebekah. They are my two oldest nieces. They crack me up. They put the napkins from the reception table around their heads. Gangsta!

Taken just outside the Temple not long after we got married. Such happiness and love! He is a piece of me that was missing. It's amazing how good it feels to truly be in love and be loved!! :)

Next time around I will post a bit about our honeymoon.  We went site seeing and saw some cool things! We also went to Las Vegas over Labor Day weekend.  I know I am really behind.  I will try to catch up.