Wedding, Honeymoon, Home

So Nikki and I made a deal that I would spend the time posting all of the images and she would fill in the blanks, but two vaults and two DR Peppers Later and I cannot sleep at all. I have not drank caffeinated beverages for close to a year until just recently and I can already tell the impact it is having on me. For some reason I still do not know how to navigate the images on this so they are NOT in correct order! use them as a type of visual aid/ reference. Anyways, onwards towards the story of our beautiful wedding and honeymoon!
So August first I jumped on the Jet Blue and headed down to San Diego. Nikki, her mom, and brother all came to pick me up at the airport. I had not seen Nikki for three months, and even though we talked everyday, it still kind of felt like I was meeting her for the first time at the airport! We reacquainted and headed back to her house. When we got to her house we met up with Todd and went to the Soup Plantation. Todd had gotten some free lunches so he took us out. After lunch we went back to the Soto's house and hung out for a while.
The Next day was the second, a Saturday, and the only thing on the agenda was a family reunion at Grandma Dumoulin's house. We drove down to her house where they were having a bbq, pool party, and they had even rented a bounce house. Nikki's Grandma is the sweetest lady you will ever meet. There were so many people there, but they were all very accepting of me. I really did enjoy hanging out with the family. After eating lunch, Nikki, Her sister Jenny, Jenny's Husband Dan, Todd, their other cousin, and myself all went to play Lazer tag at a place down by Jacque's house/ sea world. The Lazer tag arena (Ultra Zone) was actually really big, and there was somewhere near 35 competitors in the game. I placed 16th I believe over all, but really did a lot worse than I thought that I would. After Lazer Tag we went back to Grandmas for some cake and then went to Nikki's house and just relaxed.
Sunday Morning we went to Church and I got to sit in class with Nikki's five year olds! It was really fun seeing her teach the children and watching them interact with her. I thought that it was really special that even though there were only two children there that week the class was really unique in that the spirituality of the children filled the room. After church (fast sunday) we went home made lunch, then went to the beach for a nice walk. We love going to Torrey Pines Beach. It is by far our favorite beach in California. It is very clean and not too crowded. We can almost always play in the surf and find different sea life in the small tide pools on the boulder at the southern most part of the beach.
Monday was the day for a day at the beach. We had gone sunday, but not to play. Monday was the day we had planned on hitting the beach for some sun and boogie boarding. We took a little while to get ready to go because before we could hit the beach, we had to go downtown and get our marriage license. We drove down with Nancy at about 9am and she dropped us off at the courthouse, but the problem was the that court clerks would not allow us to get married! I had a temporary renewal form with my license because it had not yet been renewed as I had not been in the state of Oregon to renew it. The form was state issued and yet it was still "invalid" to the marriage officials! So the phone calls and panic set in! I called Brett who was caring for Gizmo during our time away and had him ransack my entire house looking for my old utah license which had been discarded but still showed a valid expiration date. He then overnighted me the license so that I could get my marriage license. My parents also called Kathy Myers, one of their friends, and had her do the same thing only this time producing my Passport. Both of our friends were able to find the pieces of identification and ship them to us the next day. It was hectic but it all worked out in the end.
My parents got into town monday evening and took Nikki and I out to dinner. We went to El Toritos in Mira Mesa. The food was good but nothing to really write home about. They told me they had a very special lemonade that turned out to be country time. That night Nikki and I stayed in Carlsbad with my parents so that we could get up early and go to disneyland with my parents and Candice. Disneyland was fun and I found it funny that My parents walked faster and longer than any of us! While in the park we had lunch at the Blue Bayou next to the Pirates of the Caribbean Ride. They food was really good, but I don't know that it was really worth thirty dollars a plate.
Wednesday was the sixth (8-6 day). That morning we returned to the courthouse and then prepared to go to the temple for Nikki's Endowment. The day was very special and ended with dinner at Black Angus. We went to dinner with Nikki's family, Jenny, Dan, and My Family as well. It was very good and relaxing after a busy day.
Thursday was the day in which all of the planning and last second decisions had to be done. Nikki and her mom had done a lot in preparation though in that all I really had to do that day was help Nikki pick some of the songs for the play list and I think that was about it? My parents drove around San Diego while I was at Nikki's preparing music. Chris drove in around 3 though and he and I went downtown looking for Gay Mart and the Buffalo Exchange while Nikki and her Mom finished planning. Chris drove in from Vegas with the idea that he would serve Nikki and I in any possible way possible. It was very nice having him there as the best man as he really did help us with all of the preparations. We drove around all afternoon and found Buffalo Exchange, but we never could find "Gay Mart." After searching for a few hours we met up with my parents in Balboa Park at the Space Museum. That evening Craig, Kim and Elise came into town, as well as Grandma Howell, Jane, Harold, and Dave and Phyllis Spaulding. We went to a mexican restaurant with Grandma Spaulding near the Temple and then went home for the night so that we could get some rest before the wedding the next day.
Finally Friday came and I was up at 5 am to be ready. I was so excited to see my beautiful bride in her wedding dress at the temple. This was in reality a day that I had thought and dreamed of my entire life. It was so wonderful as we met at the temple and were able to be sealed together for time and all eternity. The sealer spoke to us of the many covenants we were entering and the eternal blessings we would receive from them. I mostly remember more than any other thing he said that though Nikki is to hearken to my word, it is based solely on my ability to hearken to the Lord's word in that I am only passing his blessings and commandments to Nikki. The Temple was amazing that day even though there were so many people there to be sealed. I had thought it would seem busy though it was so peaceful I never really thought about it. The spirit in the temple was so strong and inviting. I left the temple that day with my eternal companion. I left with that secure feeling that she would never leave my side, and I would never leave hers. That we were equals and that I would cherish her for the rest of my existence.
We left the temple to a balcony where all of our friends and family were waiting. Nikki's Bridesmaids, our families, My best man Chris, and of course Jared Medley, the Bug Eyed Photographer. It was a great celebration as we left the temple and reunited with our friends and families. It felt so good to know that each and every person who was there approved of our marriage.
After taking about a million pictures at the Temple, Chris took Nikki and I in his stretch limousine (corolla) down to the reception at the Marina del mar. The reception hall was very pretty and right on the water. The room looked to have been built in the 70's as there were many rich wood accents and wall panels, but Nikki's family had covered the room in beautiful teal accents which gave the event somewhat of a story tale feel. It wasnt as nerve racking as I thought it would be though. I was pretty sure I would be nervous and what not throughout my wedding. I had always thought that was how it goes down at a wedding, but I just told myself that I am a man now and have nothing to be ashamed of, so why not just go in and enjoy myself. It was really nice to proclaim my love and feelings for Nikki in front of all of our friends and family at the reception though the majority of the attendees were Friends of the Sotos. The event was really beautiful and emotional. Nikki had a very hard time with the emotions involved as did I. I thought the hardest part of it all was when I had to dance with my mom, and Nikki had to dance with her dad. I think we all choked back tears though Nikki let them flow freely. Nikki and her dad danced to the song that goes "did you ever know that you're my hero?" as I danced to "Momma." The reception was nice and went quickly. The lemonade chicken was good, but the mango cake, chocolate sheet cake, and strawberry wedding cake were the best.
After the reception we went back to the Sotos and opened up the wedding presents and finished getting packed for the trip to Hawaii. Chris just slept in his car while we got ready. When we finished he drove us over to the hotel and the day was finally over. The hotel was nice and they upgraded the room because it was our honeymoon. They even gave us strawberries and martinellis!
The next day Rey took us to the Airport and we headed to Hawaii! We had originally planned on just riding public transport in Hawaii, but when we landed I really wanted a rental car. I asked around but everyone wanted to double their fees because I am 24 and not 25, big deal. We grabbed our suitcases and boarded the local bus. We rode for a bit and my phones gps would not register so we began to get scared as to where we were and if we really were on the correct bus. A woman who looked and smelled like a drifter saw that we were maybe lost and came to our aid. She was very sweet and helpful. It is really a sad world as how we judge character based on appearance and our individual circumstances. She was a kind women and I really wish I had gotten her contact information so that missionaries could talk to her. An hour or so later we had reached what we thought was our stop and got off the bus. My gps now worked and indicated that we were really about half a mile away from the realtor's house where we needed to pick up the key for the condo, so we started walking. The roads were narrow and dark. There was no sidewalk, and there was limited visibility. It was risky, but at this point it was late and we had to walk. We made it to the house fine and picked up the key just 10 minutes before the last bus would pass for the day. We got to the bus stop and waited. We could finally relax as we waited for the last ride home, but after about 40 minutes of waiting we figured it wasn't really coming. With a 3 mile walk to go, we decided we had better start going. It was a three mile hike to Turtle Bay from Ted's Market, so I grabbed Nikki's Suitcase and towed her's and mine so that we could maintain a good pace. Nikki did really well especially considering the long day we had embarked on and she was wearing sandals with close to no support. We walked for about twenty minutes before the bus passed us on the side of the road with no hesitation of stopping. He had been an hour late, and still did not bother to help us so we continued on. It was dark and very dangerous to be walking that night, but then something happened just moments after the bus passed, a car pulled over with a woman and her son who appeared to be close to our age. They offered us a ride and as I pondered the decision I felt a strong spiritual impression that it would be fine for us to ride with them. They drove us for the remainder of the trip and we could finally sleep. We had both been praying that we would make it quickly and safely, and the Lord truly answered our prayers.
Sunday came next and we had thought we would get on a bus and go for somewhat of a casual sunday ride around the island so that we could plan out what we would do during the remaining week. We got on the bus and found that it stopped right at the Oahu Temple. We got off and went to the visitor's center. It was another blessing that day that we were able to see the temple and the visitor's center which we had thought would be closed. That evening we just relaxed at the house and planned what we would do the remainder of the week. The first thought we had was that we would rent a car.
The next day we moped about as we waited to meet up with kenrick and hawaii mini rental. Nikki wanted to take a nap, and luckily Arsenal was playing FC twente on espn. So I got to watch an Arsenal Match on my Honeymoon! How cool is that? After the match we rode the bus once again down to meet Kenrick at the Hawaii Pacific university. He was a really nice guy who had graduated from BYU. We got the car and we were off! We punched the Dole Plantation into the gps and headed out.
THe Dole Plantation was so good. We went and got Dole Whip and Tons of Fresh Pineapple juice. After the plantation we got back into the car and headed up to look for a surfboard rental. We went to a couple of shops but after talking to them I decided that the surf was way too flat to even be renting a long board. So we got dinner and headed home.
The next morning we got in the car and started driving. We wanted to go to hanauma bay to get our snorkel on. We drove all morning to find that the bay was closed on tuesdays! how lame is that? so we thought wed try the surf idea again on the south shore. we went to local motion to find out about board rentals, but they only had boogeys so we got them. We drove over to sandys where the waves were very nice but the brake was right on shore. Nikki didnt feel comfortable with the size of the waves and I didnt want to go alone so we just took the boogeys back and had lunch at a greek sandwhich shop in the strip mall there. I also found an animation shop called split obsession. After going to the animation shop we went to the art gallery next door and got directions to look for snorkel spots. The lady directed us to a nice little beach by a pier where they have submarine tours or something. We snorkeled there for a bit and then headed back to the north shore thinking wed make it intime for the luau at the polynesian culture center. we got back a bit late so we decided we would go watch the sunset and sunset beach and take some pictures of it. Before we went we stopped at one of the shrimp shacks though and got some garlic shrimp. It was a bit messy but really good. After watching the sunset we decided to go back home and end the day.
Wednesday was game day. Back to the south shore so we could finally get some sweet snorkeling in! Also we had to trade kenrick minis so we made the most of the trip. Hanauma bay was really amazing. it is funny because they make you watch this history video of the bay and their heritage before you are allowed in the water. They want you to be scared you'll ruin their state if you touch anything so they scare you before hand I suppose. The bay was very nice though even with lots of people in it you could see a lot of wildlife.
After the bay we decided to head back into Honolulu to find some dinner. we pulled into the parking lot of a place called "Phuket thai." We decided it looked ok so we went in. The food was horrible. I would never recommend it to anyone ever. After we ate we decided to go to the the big mall. We went in and found out how big it was as we started getting tired just walking about. After some time at the mall we decided we had had enough and headed home.
Thursday was kind of our day to just enjoy our last real moments in hawaii and make a game plan for how we would get the car to kenrick and get ourselves to the airport with no car. We drove down to the southshore again, but also because we had left our $50 gate key in the other mini and needed to get it from kenrick. We first met up with Kenrick at sandys to get the key. While at sandys we walked up and down the tide pools looking at the wildlife and finding the hollow bodies of crabs. I still really do not understand how they hollow out and still look whole and alive? After the tide pools we went shopping in Honolulu again. We found an outdoor mall with a movie theatre and decided to watch Batman. After the movie we walked around a bit and thought we would find some dinner. We went to a place that i can't remember the name now but it was like the hawaiian roadhouse diner or something. Basically like your classic california styled diner with a hawaiian twist. Nikki wanted to get some virgin margaritas sometime while we were in hawaii so we decided this would be the place. Dinner was very good and extremely filling! After dinner we went to the honolulu beach and took some pictures before calling it a night.
Friday was chaos! We got up early and took the key back to the real estate agent's home. After that it was off the the airport. We took our luggageto the airport because we didnt want to walk about with it all day. then we met kenrick at the zoo to give him the car. after losing the car we went to the zoo for a couple of hours. The zoo was really pretty run down and many of the exhibits were closed do to dead animals. I was really surprised peta or some other animal group hadn't had the place shut down yet.
After the zoo we walked about 2 miles looking for lunch. We found a mexican place called "la cucaracha" (the cockroach) and had a decent but overpriced meal (welcome to hawaii). After eating we walked and shopped all day until we finally got on the bus and headed to the airport. We had a red eye flight back toOregon and our open house was the very next day!
It felt good to be back in oregon, although i really couldnt sleep as tired as i was. I helped set up for the reception and nikki took a nap. The reception was italian themed with tons of olive garden lasagna and morrocan egg rolls. There was also a huge Italian poster on the basketball court and Italian Ice to drink. It was fun seeing so many of my old ward members though none of my friends came due to not living in the area. The food was good and we all had a lot of fun.
The next week we packed up and drove the Penske truck home. It was a fun vacation and we are finally back in Utah with lots of stories and tons of unpacking to do...