mr. & mrs. jennings

on saturday my sweet sister in law avery said i do and married a man who loves her like no one ever has before.  the last 5 days have been a whirlwind adventure!!  on wednesday night nick and i flew from san diego to denver.. we flew to denver instead of omaha or lincoln because the tickets were a couple hundred less!!  so when we got to denver we rented a car to drive to nebraska.  nick had rented a dodge charger to surprise me and have a super cool car to have for the weekend, BUT, they were out.  the nice lady at the counter said that since they were all out we were going to get an upgrade! woohooo!  apparently in denver an "upgrade" means mini-van.  we just laughed so hard and owned it! 

from there we drove to the krogh's house in a suburb right outside of denver to stay for the night.. even though we barely had any time with them it was good to see julie & cindy for just a little bit!!

friday morning we got up and on the road and drove about nine hours to get to timberlake ranch camp where the wedding was going to be. 
that night we started right away working on wedding details and then spent the night around the campfire before bed.  there is something so amazing about being around a fire with family.. i love it.
friday morning, avery's mother in law hosted a little bridal shower for her.  it was just family and sweet and intimate.

 after the bridal shower we headed back to the cabin we were staying in and worked on putting together our bridesmaids bouquets & opened our gifts from avery..

we all couldn't believe that avery, on top of planning a wedding in 4 months, had the time to make us each a beautiful quilt that fits our own individual personalities!! okay, but on the other hand, we totally could.  avery is the most thoughtful person i have ever known and is so incredible at making people feel so special and loved!  when nick and i got engaged she sent me the sweetest care package with a million little things in it, each with their own notes.  she is so amazing!
although a little out of order.. here's how the rest of the wedding weekend played out..

avery going over her vows before putting on her dress

havi, lace, blake & i

blake!

lucas!

at the rehearsal.. nick walking his mom down the aisle

i'm doing make-up, havi is working on the hair!

hitches

ave & all her brothers

at some point these all/were hitch girls :)

love my man

these never get old

so blessed with amazing mom & dad in law

the bride and groom letting go of their floating lights!

a tearful goodbye

gosh, i love him

my adorable nephew, everett

our cute flowers

after the wedding, we had a major family and friend hangout at the cabin.  the next morning was mothers day and all the guys cooked breakfast for the moms, it was so sweet.  i'm so glad i was there to love on my sweet mother in law, but it was also bittersweet because i couldn't give my mom a big hug.
after a relaxing morning we packed up and headed out camp back to the house to spend one night with family.  picture this.. sitting on a porch swing, on the porch of an old cute farmhouse in the middle of nebraska, where it's quiet outside, the breeze is warm and all you can see are green pastures.  i wanted to just press pause and stay in that moment forever.  words can't describe the feeling of how peaceful it is and how evident the presence of God is there.. so unreal.

after driving 7 hours back to denver we finally made it to the airport and on our way home

i loved these few days and i love being with family and i love the reason we were there.  i am so excited for avery and warren to start a new chapter in their lives as husband and wife and what an amazing team for the Lord they will be!  as we were were leaving, i was so sad to say bye, but my heart was also so full.  i feel terrible for people who marry into families and have in laws that they dread seeing.  i couldn't ask for a better family to call me their own.  they bless me and love me more than i could have ever asked for.  when we were saying our goodbye, my mom in law was hugging me crying and said to me, "i am so thankful that you are my daughter and i am so thankful that you are nick's wife"  those words, yet simple, meant the world to me and all i can say is that God is good.