This Saturday was the best kind of day you can imagine. It was pouring rain all day but it was one of those days that makes you so grateful and joyful for the things that mean the most: your family and your beliefs. At weddings those two things coincide because we go to the temple and witness two people promise time and eternity.

Mike and my Aunt Allison got sealed in Salt Lake and the wedding festivities were so fun and beautiful; we've waited so long for this it was hard to contain the happiness. Here's a peek at those couple of great days in pictures.

Friday Night Wedding Dinner:

The dinner was at the Manor at the Riverwoods. Mike and Allison set up a wedding app where guests could take pictures for everyone to see. They even had a hashtag: #AplusM2014.

Family members shared memories and wished them well.

Gage borrowed the camera and went to town. I just thought it was funny because you can see Alli and Mike behind Gage unaware of his shenanigans.

Weddings make me think about our wedding day and how much I love this guy.

More of my silly brothers who I don't see that often. They crack me up with their fashion sense and silly jokes.

Waiting in the Rain After the Sealing:

Somehow my dad and Uncle Doug ended up with the brightly patterned umbrellas.

Sky looking super cute while hanging out.

Here's David waiting patiently looking very dapper.

Under the umbrella selfie- hard to do when you don't want your camera to get wet.

It's hard to be a little kid and to deal with the rain, but Adeline was a trooper.

I got everyone to cheer for Grandma when she came out the doors from helping Alli- haha she was a little surprised.

The photographer did great even with the rain.

Friends who came to support them.

Here's Allison's Aunt Margaret grabbing some pictures of the happy couple.

Here's Mike gallantly grabbing both doors for the new Mrs. Dobson. Gage said at this point, "Don't all the couples go through these doors?" I told him yes and he replied, "Well, why aren't they automatic then?" Good point my friend, good point.

I love Alli's face in this one- very victorious.

I have to say here that my aunt is a total babe. When we went dress shopping with her both Grandma and I really had a hard time giving her advice because she looked so beautiful in all of the dresses.

A little blurry but it doesn't obscure how genuinely happy they are.

And then it was off to damp pictures- it didn't let up but hey isn't it good luck to have rain on your wedding day?

Holiness to the Lord.

The Reception:

The reception was at Highland Gardens and it looked like a fairy tale.

The food was great. As one kid told his mom, "I never go back for seconds at receptions but at this one I did."

Case in point: The caterers had a hard time keeping up with the chocolate churro demand so people sort of hovered around this tray waiting for more.

Even David, the Mexican food expert, approved and is polishing off seconds here.

Alli's immediate family.

The brothers re-creating an old picture with Mike.

Allison and Mike plus all the Smith nieces.

We also did family pictures during the reception. Here is Doug and Christi's family giggling because Devyn had misaligned his coat buttons for most of their pictures.

David and I were taking pictures when Sky decided to photobomb us.

David captured this shot of Adeline entertaining the older cousins.

These three were the quintessential wild kids that run around receptions looking cute and mischievous.

Aunts inspecting the bride's ring.

Allison put together the sweetest surprise for Mike.

She sang a song to him and her friend Katie played for her.

It was so perfect- as evidenced by Aunt Christi's reaction here.

Daddy-daughter, mother-son dance

Then the party really started and everyone danced.

This week is awesome! We're done with the basement apartment, David is doing great at work, I'm graduating, my aunt is getting married, I start full time as a marketing coordinator at work, and the weather is gorgeous here again.

Today we invited some friends and family over for an apartment open house and we want to share our excitement with all of you too! I've posted the before and after pictures of each room so you can check out the transformation.

KITCHEN

Before || After

Before || After

Before || After

FIRST BEDROOM 

Before || After

Before || After

Before || After

BATHROOM

Before || After

MASTER BEDROOM 

Before || After

Before || After

Before || After

LAUNDRY CLOSET

Before || After

Promise this color looks less crazy and more fun in real life :)

HALL 

Before || After:
This is looking down the hall towards the kitchen.

We're hoping to rent out the apartment for the summer and finish the last few rooms in the basement during the summer. Then we'll move into the apartment and rent the rest of the house. David did everything himself except putting in the carpet and the countertops. 

I'm so blessed to have married superman who pulled 12+ hour workdays for eight months to do what you see here. We're (now that I'm done with school my evenings are free) excited to continue finishing the rest of the house and working towards our end goal. 

It's easy to forget when you walk around a completed building all the effort it took to build. Now I notice important elements like fixtures, paint, back splashes, and baseboards with a new appreciation.

This is what the jack & jill bathroom looked like when we moved in. It had an old, low vanity, no toilet, and bare cement floors. The previous homeowners had already tiled the tub and left the tile they were going to use on the floor, which was really nice.

David took out the vanity, back splash, and medicine cabinet before we painted. After we painted, it was time to tile the floor.

I didn't snag a picture of David cutting the tile, but he used the old bathroom vanity as his work table in the bedroom next to the bathroom.

Then he laid and spaced out a pattern with the tile.

Then he cemented the tile in and added the grout and sealant. All while listening to Freakonomics podcasts :)

We moved on to the tub next. Though it had already been tiled, it needed caulking, new hardware, and a drain stopper that worked. David did a great job caulking and putting in the new hardware. 

One of the craziest parts was yanking out the old drain. The house was built it over 50 years ago and we think the drain was original. David gave himself a couple blood blisters he used so much force trying to get it out. Eventually he used a saw to cut it out. 

This picture is blurry but you get the whole view of the tub and floor. The tub is interesting. It's square and has a low seat in it. Looks like it will be perfect for bath time one day!

Here's a sneak preview of the bathroom- this is how it looks right now!