ben + queenie: wedding day bliss.

my dear friend barb called me while the houseboat party was just getting started last friday. she told me her son ben would be marrying queenie at 8 am monday morning... would i (and camera) like to witness the joyous occasion? um - yes! of course!

here is what barb had to say about her kiddos:

"They met in 2008 while Ben was living in Beijing and Queenie was working part-time at TGIF's.  She was attending Beijing Institute of Technology at the time.  She is from Baotou, Inner Mongolia and was the number one student in her high school class which allowed her to enter BIT.  Before Ben brought her to the U.S., they traveled to Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Thailand.  They designed and had their rings made in Sri Lanka.  I was able to follow their relationship and adventures via email and photographs.  Over time, I got a sense of Queenie's personality and she is exactly like I thought she would be, only better!  She is very warm, friendly, caring, loving, smart and funny.  Having her here is like looking at a picture of her coming to life before your eyes!  I love everything about her, but what I like best is she called me "Mom" from the minute I saw her at the airport.  I missed Ben so much and couldn't wait for him to get home.  Now I have my son and a daughter and I am so happy for them and for me!"

i am sooo happy for you too my dear friend! and so happy for ben and queenie. they are a beautiful twosome. it was a whimsical morning. i am so honored to have shared this occasion with you.

cheers to ben and queenie and their

happily ever after.

nik

"love is the greatest refreshment in life" - pablo picasso

happy happy 3-0. houseboat style.

i have two incredible sisters. i have always been a tad bit envious that they both have summer birthdays. summer birthdays = way cool birthday parties. parties that take full advantage of the sunshine and the happiness it brings.

way cool b-day party case in point: houseboat weekend for jess' big 3-0!

ryan and i found ourselves scrambling at the last minute to make babysitter arrangements so we would not miss out on what will go down as an epic happy birthday jess/houseboat weekend... luckily, our dear friends and family came through for us (once again) and we were off to eastern (way eastern) washington for a big adventure to celebrate one of the coolest chickas we know.

we partied. we relaxed. we had mimosas for breakfast.

jess and danny fished. i took some overexposed pics of them with their prize fishies.

we chilled on the sun deck.

played a little chicky foot...

we exited the sun deck via the super rad water slide.

some exited in groups.

(i was told that it was very bad, unprofessional judgment to post this pic on my photography blog. just this once, i am happily willing to decline professional judgment. to have a pic this fun and not share it with the world would be a bit tragic, don't you agree?! tehe).

and we laughed, hysterically, over and over again about these shorty short shorts. THANK YOU CJ!

we partied like rock stars for "80's night (which actually turned out to be pink/teal/fishnet night)."

danny lovingly created a (happy birthday 30th jessie) cake.

 it looked pretty worked over the next morning but was delish. ;)

we gathered wood. we made fire. we sat around it telling stories, laughing, loving life. we missed our littles and decided the next houseboat adventure would include them!

rent a houseboat! you won't regret it! we rented ours (here).

happy birfday to my beautiful

sassy

sweet

talented

fun (so much fun)

genuine

amazing little sister.

love you.

nik

p.s. stay tuned for next post: ben + queenie, a love story.

"a sister is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost" - marion c. garretty

wiL

meet baby william patrick.

so. so. so sweet.

nik

"dwell in possibility" - emily dickinson