The Gwilliam Fam: Wedding Weekend

August 1-4, 2024

We crammed a lot of fun in Brinley's wedding weekend. We rented a nice VRBO with lots of rooms and Brinley stayed with us. Parker and Britney did too, and my dad had a hotel not far away. We played games, ate out, got Swig (sodas with mix-ins), went to BYU, thrift shopped, rode eBikes up Provo Canyon and more.

Brinley and I have found that a little schedule on family trips helps us not be quite as boring. Here was our rough outline.

Kaide FREAKED out on the first flight--screaming and crying. Poor little guy. He was terrified I think. He was a pro after about 30 minutes though.

I love this picture. While we were waiting for our luggage, Kaide noticed this guy lying down in the middle of the floor. He thought a little rest was a great idea.

So good to be with our girl before her big day.

We scheduled an early morning eBike ride up Provo Canyon. It was awesome! This is my second eBike adventure, and I am a fan. It's a fun and easy way to be outdoors, and you can choose your level of exertion so it works for a big group.

Bridal Veil Falls was pretty.

Derek was trying to move out of his apartment and maybe finish up finals so we were all really glad he was able to rearrange things and join in the fun.

Me, Aunt Aileen, Abi, Danielle (my first cousin), Emerson & Brittney

The crazies part of the morning is when we ran into my Pitt family on the trail. They are all from Texas and were up in Utah for a family reunion. Because they had been there all week and had to get back for work, they weren't going to make the wedding. It was so fun visiting with them for a few minutes.

We ate at Costa Vida, In & Out and Brick Oven and got treats from Great Harvest and Swig.

Parker, Aubrey and I did a BYU campus tour and then met the others at the bookstore. I remembered a fun vacation were my parents took us to the mall and gave us $20 each with the goal of getting the best bang for our buck. The winner received a prize. Brian and I got cash ahead of time and gave everyone $40 to spend in the bookstore. The winner received $40 more.

It was fun to watch everyone scouring the store to find something they wanted. Brinely, Parker & Erin bought BYU sweatshirts. (I'm sure they had to add some of their own cash.) Aubrey bought a planner and highlighters. Tanner bought Kaide the cutest little letterman jacket and won the prize. Brian, Grandpa and I were the judges. I like how it worked out because then Tanner had money to spend on himself. He is a cute daddy thinking of his little boy.

We were all hungry and Brick Oven had a long wait. I was really wanting to order to go and take it back to the VRBO to eat. However, I'm really glad we waited it out though because we had a lot of laughs around the table that night.

Me, Bri, Park & Erin

Grandpa, Brinley (Derek was with his family), Aubrey, Tanner & Britney

Saturday was all wedding and that will be in another post.

Sunday we decided to go to church in Orem rather than in Draper. Before church started, I took Kaide to this fun park in the neighborhood. I wanted to include these two pictures because he was so brave. He went on this huge slide over and over again.

He made sure I went over and over again too. He would stand at the bottom and hold out his arms to catch me as I came down. It was adorable.

Papa & Kaide

After church, everyone headed to Bruce and Denise's house, and I was able to borrow Parker's car and go see my amazing college roommate Thelma Lou. (Well, really Thelma Jayne, but I often called her Thelma Lou.) We had so much fun during our college years. I love her so much but between our two schedules, we rarely are able to connect when I'm in Utah.

It was wonderful being with her for a couple of hours. She fed me a yummy lunch, and we talked nonstop the entire time. We know each others parents and siblings, and we have children in the same young adult stages. We talked callings and hardships and blessings and life. We laughed, and we cried together. It made me wish we lived closer.

About the time I needed to head out, her husband, Adam, came home from church. We were all good friends our freshman year at BYU. I stayed a bit longer, and we talked more. I am grateful God placed them in my life path.

We wrapped up our busy weekend with a fun sleepover at the Gwilliams. Although the extended Gwilliam fam had been visiting together all weekend, Brian and I had missed out on that part of things. (Parent of the bride duties and all...) It was great to be with the big family group. Did I remember to take pictures? Not really. Ugh. But we visited, ate a big meal, napped on the couches and floors, and Denise and I even managed to sneak in an afternoon walk which was a lot of fun.