shotgun wedding weekend.

church of the advent is pretty much the best church in the UNIVERSE. 

it's full of super nice, fun, hilarious, generous, and sincere people. 

we love 'em.

a few of our favorites are definitely nancy, justin, krista, and luke.

so, when nancy invited us up to a cabin for the weekend for a surprise celebration of justin's recent graduation, we were all about it. 

we drove up on friday night just in time for a delicious dinner featuring nancy's out of this world cooking skills. 

i specifically requested a "wife weekend" as i called it, so she could teach me all of her amazing skills.

fortunately, she accepted my offer and soon enough i will be like domesticated or something.

i'll keep you posted.

krista and luke came in late friday night, so saturday morning we spent cooking, reading, and eating.

mr. lesley made pancrepes/palachinkas and i made an egg casserole that actually turned out pretty tasty. 

then at the men's request, we left the comfort of the cabin and went for a little hike in the snow and cold. 

but since i'm a freak and have a fear of ledges (especially ledges packed with ice and snow), the ladies (including zoey the wonder dog) turned around and headed back with me while the men charged on.

and even though the picture suggests mr. lesley is choking me, he wasn't that disappointed that his fiancee is a scaredy cat.

the little hike was perfect to get me cold enough to sufficiently enjoy a nice cup of hot chocolate upon our return

and that was good enough for me. 

the afternoon agenda included one word: GUNS.

yes. i shot a gun for the first time in my life.

and, although i was terrified for the first couple minutes, i pretty much couldn't get enough by the end.

me with a gun.

be afraid.

be very afraid.

the good news is that no one got hurt (hooray!) and it was time for the second greatest event of the day.

wedding reenactment time!

you see, nancy and justin didn't get many good shots on their wedding day a few years ago (i know, isn't that so sad!), so nancy asked me if i would snap a few photos of them in their wedding attire at the cabin.

since i like to think i'm a professional photographer anyway, i was ALL about it. 

nancy got her hair all did, we had some beverages, 

i donned my professional attire, they rolled all the dog hair off and laced up their hiking boots, and we were ready.

now, i am fully aware that i am no professional and really the extent of my photography knowledge is based on choosing a setting and pushing the button, but they were happy with what we came up with and so was i.

i don't know why more photographers don't include guns in their wedding pictures. 

these were definitely my favorites.

after all that hard work, it was time to relax.

the rest of the night was spent in random shenanigans.

including (but not limited to) stretching it out, me killing everyone in texas hold 'em, and enjoying krista's out of this world chili. 

we woke up sunday morning to another delicious meal, packed up our things, and headed home.

i am so thankful for friends who love jesus and love to have a good time.

it's the best combination ever.