Brad and Laura Nichols' Wedding and a Whirlwind Weekend

This past weekend, the final BYU accounting amigo got married to his lovely bride and we were able to make it out to the wedding.

A little background first...

Brad, Richard and Aaron (the three accounting amigos as I like to call them) got each other through the BYU accounting program.  Don't let all the accounting stuff fool you though, these three spent plenty of time hanging out and having fun when they were together (after all, it does takes hours of practicing to become foosball champions).  They developed quite the bond through it all and even sported matching "Y" rings at graduation. They now act as each other's cheerleaders as they all study for the CPA tests and start their full time accounting jobs.

I, for one, though am completely thrilled by how this friendship has progressed over time.  In the beginning, Richard and Brad would come over to our Wymount apartment for study sessions and I would be the only female around.  I would make goodies, they would break our dining chairs (we like to tease them about this but those chairs were sooo pathetic that it wasn't their fault really), and Aaron and I would quiz them on their dating. Here are some photos that I've never posted on here...

That time we had lunch with L. Tom Perry (who was an accountant himself!)

The gang hanging out at our apartment.  I actually think this was a meeting Brad and Aaron called to discuss how one of Richard's early dates with Emily went...

 And pretending to be doing some hardcore studying...

 This past year, Richard met, dated and married Emily and what a wonderful addition that was to the gang.  Their wedding was an extremely happy day for the accounting friends but especially me. There finally was another girl in the group!

Then Brad started dating Laura and we had to make sure we approved.  So after a while of me hearing about this mysterious La-ooo-ra (as Aaron and Richard like to call her), we all got together for a summer BBQ.  It just took that one night for the rest of us all (Richard, Emily, Aaron and I) to decide that Laura was the one and that Brad better marry her or else he's crazy.  We hung out again and went on a laser tag group date.  Brad and Laura were engaged by the end of summer and then we all left Provo for full time employment (Richard, Emily, Aaron and I to the South Bay area and Brad to Southern California).

So after two months apart, a wedding was a perfect excuse to all get together.

Richard and Aaron got time off on Friday and we started our (loooong 12 hour) drive to Utah at 1 pm.  Aaron and I got in to my sister Audrey's house in Utah around 3:30 am (soooo tired) and then were up bright and early for the wedding the next day.  Brad and Laura were married in the Draper Temple and had a luncheon and a reception in Lindon.  The wedding was beautiful and the weather was ideal (albeit pretty windy).   Brad and Laura looked so good!

^^Just a tad bit windy.^^

We had one day in Utah and we tried to make the most of it.  In between wedding adventures, we got to spend time with Audrey's family, visit Aaron's mission president, catch up with Grammy and Grandpa McKell along with Annie and Austin and their friends, stop by to chat with Matt and Elizabeth Brigham and then hit up Cafe Rio with Spencer Mun.  We wished we could have hung out with everyone we love so much in Utah but we were pretty short on time.  This just means that we will have to come back and visit soon!

Being in Utah sure made me all sentimental.  We have so many memories there!  And Utah is gorgeous in the fall.  The weather was so beautiful that Saturday that it made me think that Utah is the most ideal place to live (granted, when it snowed on Sunday morning I was reminded of Utah's long winters that I won't be missing as much).  So many people of the people that we love live there.  It's crazy how much Utah became home over the course of these past seven years.

After going to church with Audrey's family Sunday morning, we braved the open roads again and headed back to San Jose.  We made a quick stop to take some (very cold) photos along the freeway but plowed ahead from there.

^^Look at that pregnant woman leap! 7 months pregnant and still got it.^^

We got in at 11 pm Sunday night and we. were. tired. but also so grateful we got to go.

We are grateful that Brad found such a great girl that loves him as much as we all do and grateful that Laura rounds out the accounting friendship (complete with awesome wives now for me to talk to when the boys go off about excel spreadsheets and numbers and sports).