Reception Numero Dos...

A week after Kasey’s wedding in Murrieta, the Stephens Family piled into Roger (the name we’ve affectionately given our 1996 forest green Ford Explorer) and headed to Chino Valley for Kasey’s reception in Arizona.

Fun Fact:
Chino Valley is the site of the first Territorial Capital of Arizona, the city sits at an elevation of 4,750 feet and local wells provide most of the drinking water.

The reception was hosted by Jace’s parents, Wick and Linda, in their back yard. The decorations were beautiful and the food included many different types of salsa - Wick’s salsa, in particular, was delicious.

There was fun, dancing and we got to watch Kasey open some of her presents. (Note: They got TWO toasters. Because you can never have too many toasters.)







“I went to Kasey’s reception at somebody else’s house. There were a lot of frogs and crickets there that I picked up. It was cool.”








"We had lots of fun and Jillian kept frogs. I washed my hands after I touched them (Jillian didn't, even after I told her to). I met new people and they were very nice."

Mawwiage

On September 8, 2007, our daughter Kasey married Jace Lewis in the San Diego Temple. Kasey met Jace in Arizona after he returned from serving a mission in New York.

The reception was held that night in our back yard. Guests began arriving at 7 pm and the new Mr. & Mrs. were introduced at around 7:25. Kasey looked beautiful in her gown, which she and Jaime designed with the distinctive red sash.

Over 130 guests attended to wish the couple well. Jaime’s brothers Brian and John even drove down from San Jose, arriving just in time.

The backyard was decorated for the reception with lights, candles and red, black and white linens. The food included a selection of salads and two chocolate fountains. It was an all-around great time, with dancing, cake and bouquet throwing.

Fun Fact:
To light the event, Jonathan spent four days stringing Christmas lights over the lawn in our backyard. Jonathan hung nine lines of lights from the roof of the house. Each of the nine lines is made up of three strands of Christmas lights, which contain about fifty lights each. So that’s, uh something like ... (9 x 3)50 ... carry the 1 … anyway, it’s a LOT of lights. Especially when the strands go out and you have to figure out which light is causing the problem.

It was a lot of work preparing for Kasey’s wedding, but thankfully, we had many wonderful helpers. Jaime’s sister Heather came down from Utah for the weekend to make sure the Stephens family was fed and watered regularly. She cooked meals, ran errands and was an all-around Godsend. Our stomachs thank her.

Our thanks to Lindsay for the lovely flower arrangements, to Linda and Heather for the delicious cake and to Lynn and Wick for handling the photography. Also to those who helped with the back yard at the 11th hour: Jane and Lavon, Gina and Miguel, Wayne, Linda and Theresa, John and Jenny, the Allen family and the Lewis family. It would’ve been a crummy reception with this giant pile of chip blocking the entrance.


Though we miss Kasey every day, we’re thrilled that she has started this new chapter of her life with such a great guy.


Best wishes to the happy couple.







“I liked the reception, except I had to wear my Flower Girl dress all day. And it was cold.”








“For Kasey’s wedding, we went to the temple and it was really great. I got to spin boys around on our tire swing too. I think Jace is a great cousin (or brother-in-law).”