Of shoes and ships and sealing wax...

Actually this post has very little to do with shoes and nothing to do with ships and especially not sealing wax.

But when I was trying to think of a way to tie together all the random things I wanted to talk about all that came to mind was Alice in Wonderland  "The time has come, the walrus said, to talk of many things..." Probably a better title would be something like "of weddings and weekend doings and watching harry potter...". 

My roommate from winter semester got married on Friday and asked me to be a bridesmaid. Casey was a great comfort to me last semester. We share a similar sense of humor and she was an answer to prayers many times. She and Drew never fail to make me laugh – they had a game they would play about who could get a better smirk, giggle or full out laugh with tears from me. So I was happy to go and help her on her special day. The weather was overcast but not a drop of rain fell on them and gray makes colors pop so beautifully. I loved the dress she chose. It was a wrap so it fit all of us very well and navy blue is a color I can rock. Here are some pictures from Drew’s sister’s camera so don’t judge the weird angles or faces. Their photographer was fabulous and there will be some wonderful pictures coming.

I was so grateful for our friend Ryan during the reception. Because Casey was my roommate we really don’t have a lot of mutual friends or even acquaintances and I was so worried that I was I wouldn’t know anyone or have anyone to be with. But we talked and danced and laughed through the whole thing.

Some thoughts about weddings: This is my third and a half time being a bridesmaid. [A half because it wasn’t official one time but I was there from the rehearsal dinner the night before to the clean up, got her diet coke in the middle of a too long photo shoot, helped her change out of her dress, etc...] So I have a little bit of experience at watching what happens behind the scenes. And I just don't want my wedding to be like your typical mormon wedding. I want my family and friends close to me; not busy with stressful things to do. I want to give myself time in the days before so the little things can come together. This will play out through various means after I work with my husband-to-be but it will not be the normal crazy running from sun up to sun down. And I really want the focus to be on the fact that we just got married. Not on the luncheon or the reception. Just some thoughts.

I lied a little bit when I said this wasn't about shoes. Friday night after I got home I finally kicked off my shoes and my feet hurt so bad. Six hours is too long to stand in heels when not used to it. I collapsed on the couch and apparantly was in quite an entertaining mood. In my half-asleepness I asked Aubrey and Tyler if they would rather drink only pickle juice or cranberry juice for the rest of their life.

Saturday morning I worked a 5K for Parent's Weekend to earn money for Stand for the Family. Then I watched the football game. Oh. my. heck. It was way more stressful than it should have been. The beginning was great. The opening run was good football. 40 yard return on the kick and then 10 plays - 2 passes, 10 runs and a touchdown! There are my cougars! And until the middle of the 2nd quarter it was 16-0 but then we let their defense score. Really? And until the last minute it still could've gone either way. Gah. Football is not good for my blood pressure.

I spent Saturday afternoon/evening at the Hale Theatre Center in Salt Lake with my Grandpa. We saw the Drowsy Chaperone. It was FABULOUS. I absolutely loved it. It was so funny but so right at home too. I'm so glad Grandpa shares his season tickets with me. Half because I love the theatre and half because I love my grandpa. We always go out to dinner after. We saw the funnest group of high school students dressed up for  a Halloween dance there. Sometimes I miss high school activities. Not high school itself. Not the drama and the everything being the most important thing in the whole world. But I miss marching in the band and going on silly dates and being on stage and eating lunch with friends every single day.

I came home and stopped by Heather's on a whim and got to join her for a dance party! I needed it. I'm sure I look ridiculous when I dance but I absolutely love it. There is nothing like screaming Cascada at the top of your lungs. And then when I came home I found Andrea and Molly in my bed about to start Young Victoria which I have always wanted to see but never had watched. It was fabulous. I miss England so so much! Also, I want a Prince Albert. Speaking of dream men... forget Mr. Darcy and don't even try to tell me Edward Cullen is worth anything... I want Gilbert Blythe. Seriously. Farm boy, future doctor, encourages Anne to stay true to herself and what she knows. That is exactly the person I need in my life.

Exciting things of note: We bought our tickets for Harry Potter! We have reserved seats so we don't have to wait in the cold. We are dressing up and having a party before hand. I am so excited. We have like 20 people coming and have all the major characters down and well cast too. It is going to be awesome. I am so so excited. Also, we are going to Lagoon for Christine's birthday. I love roller coasters. I love the feeling you get in your stomach. One of my favorite things ever. I definitely had a NCSHHS last night. And I'm okay with it. And I don't know that it's exciting but: the mountains have snow on them. Actually I kinda am excited because I have really cute winter outfits. But I'll be way happier if they'll turn on the heat in our apartment! It was 61 degrees when I woke up this morning. BRRRRR!!!!

Update: It is snowing here too now. Ready or not, here it comes.

Alyssa's Wedding

[Note: Long post. I'm longwinded. I know. I'd like to say I'll change but let's face it... I won't. So too bad.]

Sorry I'm so slow at posting. Life around here has just been crazy lately. I can't believe how much their always is to get done and how their always seems to be so much more. 

I went down to Utah a couple weeks ago for Alyssa's wedding. It was such a wonderful time. 

I went down on Sunday and helped Grandpa work on his and Grandma's life stories. He needed help with the scanning and pictures and I was happy to help. I also spent a bunch of time playing with my cousins. We set up a plastic slide on the hill and had a water slide. They loved splashing and soaking me and I loved listening to them giggle every time that they did. 

Tuesday night I went with Grandpa to the Hale Theatre and we saw the Wedding Singer. I loved it. It's set in the 80's and the music and costuming were just fantastic. My parents would have loved it. It was just such a fun show. 

That night and for the rest of the week I stayed in Kaysville with Alyssa and her family. We were trying to figure out where everyone would be staying and it was going to be so crowded and expensive to have everyone in hotel rooms and I knew that my great-aunt and uncle had an empty house that we might use. They are serving a church mission and so I called and they were of course very willing to let us stay. My mom's cousins washed sheets for us and got everything ready. It couldn't have been more perfect - the house was two blocks from the stake center and only minutes from Dan's home in Layton plus we had a yard for the kids to run around in and plenty of space for all of us. We are so grateful to my aunt and uncle for their kindness and generosity in letting us stay with them. 

Dan and his brother Matt took us out boating on Wednesday. I tried wakeboarding for the first time. I didn't quite get up but I didn't want to take anymore time away from the rest of Alyssa's family. None of the kids had ever been out skiing before and I wanted them all to have as much time as possible. I'm going next week with Grandpa and later in the summer at Lake Powell and so I didn't need to take up their time. It was such a fun day though. There is no happier place to me than on the water. 

Thursday we spent at Temple Square while Alyssa and Dan did a session. The rest of us watched the Joseph Smith movie and went through the visitor's centers. I love temple square. It has so many feelings of wonder and awe from my childhood, memories of peace and love from trek and a million happy thoughts from visits in between. 

 

There was a dinner at Dan's grandparents that evening which was fun. I'm so glad for little kids. I didn't really know many people there and there wasn't much reason to be meeting new people and so I was happy to listen to stories and throw footballs instead. The little boys were impressed that I could throw a decent ball. :) 

I stayed up late with Lyss and Dan that night working out last minute details, taking flowers to the decorator, ironing tablecloths and doing other little things. I finally got to sleep around 2:30 and woke up around 6:30 to go do a bunch of those little things - dropping off tablecloths, picking up the bouquet, etc. We got Alyssa and her parents out the door and then got the rest of us ready and drove to the temple. 

Look how cute the people I got to be with are! 

Waiting, waiting, meeting people whose name I probably will forget, trying to keep kids out of the fountain, waiting, keep the bouquet out of the sun, pinning the boutonniere on Chris, fixing the boutonniere, waiting, and then...

Here they come!!!!

So happy and so in love. I am so excited for them. Sealed together for eternity. I want that - more than anything else. 

These are just a few pictures that Laura and I got that day. They aren't the best quality or the best angles, etc... but they show what we looked like and how happy it was.

After we finished pictures Eva and I drove down to Salt Lake to pick up the cake from someone Lyss knows from school who did it. This was an adventure to say the least. We had to have the A/C on freezing cold to keep the cake cool (buttercream frosting will melt) so we were so cold during the whole drive. Secondly we had to balance a HEAVY three layer cake on a HEAVY wooden stand on my lap. Then Eva had to drive my Grandpa's car (which she had never driven before but she was not about to take the cake) through stop and go traffic between Salt Lake and Layton. Oh and the stand only had about an inch on each corner that I could use to hold onto. And did I mention that it was HEAVY. Every bump, stop and corner the cake would wobble and lean. It was crazy. By the time we got to the reception my blood pressure was so high. Never doing that again. I could just imagine a sudden stop or a fender bender and my face ending up in the cake and I didn't think Lyss would appreciate that very much. But we got it there safe and sound and I even carried it in without dropping it. Wonderful day. It was crazy but it will be one of my favorite memories with Eva (second only to the bean war) because just like that night we alternated yelling with laughing and had the best time. I love that girl. So much. 

The reception was nice. The gym looked incredible. A lady in Dan's ward decorates and she and her sister-in-law had done it all. It was gorgeous. And we didn't have to do setup. The food was extravagant but yummy. But excepting the families I knew a total of about three people there. Luckily all of us kids went out and decorated the car for a good chunk of time. They accidently left it unlocked and we even got the inside too.  Funny story: I had some things that Dan and Lyss needed to take with them and I went to ask them if they just wanted them in the car. Dan said yes please and reached to give me his keys and I said oh I don't need them - it's unlocked and just smiled. They both looked at me and I nodded yep, done. :) 

There was some dancing, some bouquet tossing, some streamer throwing and then they were gone. 

We cleaned up and went home. The next morning we cleaned up the house and I went back to Grandpa's. We spent the evening watching old family videos. What a treat. I just laughed and laughed. Megan and I used to be exactly the same as we are now. Except that Megan used to eat dirt. :)

I came home on Sunday. I definitely got a speeding ticket when I was this side of Boise almost home. I was anxious to get back for Sunday dinner and had just sped up to pass someone and hadn't slowed back down when the cop clocked me. Bummer. I guess pretty much everyone gets one at some point right? :(

Some thoughts when all is said and done:

 I'm so happy for Lyss - she has been a roommate and best friend for the past three years and I'm so glad that she found someone so wonderful to spend forever with. And I'm so happy that person was Dan because he is such a good friend as well. 

I'm so excited to go the temple someday. I don't know when it will be but until then I will do all I can to be patient and prepare and be worthy to go inside. I can see how much it has blessed the lives of my parents, other family and many friends and I'm looking forward to the day when I can go farther than the baptistry. 

I'm so glad that I got to stay with Alyssa's family. They are the most beautiful people you will ever meet from the inside out. I was so glad for the chance to get to know them more. I was also really grateful for Alyssa' parents and how much I learned from them even in just a few short days. Chris (Alyssa's dad) sat and talked with me about boys and career goals. He listened carefully to what I had to say and then gave me heartfelt advice. It was really helpful to hear some ideas from another perspective. They are such good people and it was a privilege to be with them. 

I have a few thoughts about weddings and receptions. Last summer I was pretty close to a couple weddings and I was intimately involved in this one and after them all I don't think I will be doing it the traditional way. Mormon receptions are typically expensive gift drop offs and since we try to put them on the wedding day and are very frugal it usually means that those closest to the bride and groom - family and friends are busy running around getting things ready and then see nothing of the couple. I think that's stupid. I'm not suggesting scrapping it altogether - I want to do something for sure. I love people and would love to see friends and family that won't be around for the wedding. But I would much rather have a casual backyard party a little while after the fact. We'll see how this idea develops and changes as I go to more weddings and grow up and as I actually plan it all with someone else. :) But seriously. Too much too fast never made anyone happy. 

Lots has been happening at home since then and I'll get around to writing about it at some point. Until then... go outside and enjoy a beautiful summer evening. That's I'll be doing. 

Summertime!

Oh how I love summertime. I have been at home for a week and a half now and it's so wonderful to be home. Very different. But so happy. But I'm getting ahead of myself. 

I never told you about Jord's wedding. It was absolutely fantastic. Everything was just lovely. On Friday night we went to a dinner for her at Magelby's which was almost awkward because it was all of us girls in a corner and then a whole lot of people that we didn't know. That night we stayed at Sam's house and had a sleepover. It was so much fun. We all crashed out on the floor together in the couple blankets we managed to find and actually slept pretty well. We got up around 7:00 the next morning and Leah did Jordan's hair. Once Jord left the rest of us got ready and then drove together to the Mt. Timpanogas temple. It was a BEAUTIFUL day. Absolutely perfect. Jord and Greg came out about noon and we all took big group pictures. Jord has never looked so beautiful. She was just radiant. After watching Jord and Allie I've decided there must be something about being a bride that just makes you glow. Because they were gorgeous all day. We had a few hours in the afternoon so I ran home and put together their wedding present and then I left for Springville. Jord's reception was at the Springville Art Museum. It was so pretty. But we had a lot of work to do to get things ready. Us girls got there at 4:30 and we didn't stop until the guests started to arrive at 6:30. Then we basically just hung around and washed dishes for the two hours of the reception. We didn't really know anyone but eachother so we just sat together and helped with what we could. One of those things was providing Jord with her Diet Coke. She was so tired. And I don't blame her. Jord and Greg left and we cleaned up until about 9:30. It was a long day. But so worth it. I was so happy I could be there with Jord and help her. I love that girl.  Here are a few pictures.

The next morning I went to Sacrament Meeting with Lyss and Eva and then drove home. I hadn't seen my sister until I got home so I was very happy to be back! 

So now I'm home and it's summer! So what am I doing with my time? Well....

I moved into my room!  I know it's only for a little while but it was long enough that I wanted to be HOME and not in boxes and suitcases. Yes I am sleeping on an airbed. My little sister took over my old bed and yes my nightstand is a tote. But look at the windows!!! I guess I should explain that this is not only the first time I have been home for longer than a couple days since high school but this is also the first time I have really lived in our new house. I'm pretty excited, I love my room. And look at the sunset! Mmm. I love Idaho. 

I also renewed my membership to the local YMCA and have started going everyday with my little sister and cousin. I'm taking a jogging class through BYU independent study so I'm working on that as well as doing a lot of biking and 3 days a week attending yoga. I love yoga. So much. It is one of my very favorite things to do. 

I've been spending a lot of time outside working in the garden and helping around the farm. I spent a long time with the kids and their fair steers too! I'm so excited for the fair. It is one of my favorite parts of the summer. I missed being outside so much last year when I was working 8-5. And I am so happy to be getting tan (okay, I never get tan... but less white)!

I spent a lot of time watching movies for a couple of days because my little brother Karl had to have his appendix taken out! So he isn't really going anywhere too fast so I've been spending time hanging out with him. Karl and I decided to start a club since we are both missing organs now. For some reason the rest of the family doesn't really want to join though. I can't imagine why not. :) 

We had a pretty laid back 4th of July this year. Since Karl was down we just stayed together at home rather than going off to other places. Dad was working a 24 hour shift but he did get to come home for a bbq so we just spent the evening as a family. Luke and I were the only ones who wanted to leave so just the two of us went into town and found a place for our blanket and watched the fireworks. I love fireworks so much. My favorite is the BOOM! I love being really really close to watch. 

I'm spending a lot of time with my sister. I love her so much. She is my best friend in the whole world. Even when she is driving me CRAZY. (pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty.... please!) You are welcome to make fun of me but we went and saw the Hannah Montana movie at the dollar theatre. And I loved it. Everyone will probably think I am ridiculous for saying this but I love Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus. Her music is fun and easy to listen to and perfect for blasting with the windows open. Last night I felt like I flashed back to high school. My little sister and her friends had a movie marathon here and I got to be the "cool big sister" (ha.) and hang out with all of them. It was strange to be in that environment again. Not bad. I loved our high school hanging out. But so weird because I haven't seen people act that way for so long. I love my sister's friends though and I'm so glad that she found such good ones to be with. They are some pretty fantastic people. I'm also really glad that my sister and I are friends now. There was a long time in high school when everything between us was a battle. But she was even willing to let me hang out for the girl's night part of the evening and the game of "truth." And that meant a lot to me. Because she means a lot to me. 

I've been doing a lot of letter writing, a lot of reading and a lot of random nothings. I have a feeling that I will be ready for school come fall and I am kinda missing London (and quiet time! ha. I'd forgotten how loud home is.) but for right now I am just LOVING summer time at home!

It's Been Awhile

Well, it’s been quite a long time since I sat down to write anything. I won’t make excuses or try to explain. I just simply haven’t made time since I got back.

I left the London Centre at 3:00 in the morning on Monday the 15^th. I slept about an hour. I was up for a while doing some last minute blogging and packing and then when I finally laid down I couldn’t fall asleep. I was so anxious. I think I was worried that my alarm wasn’t going to go off to wake me up. So I tossed around for a little while and then finally just got out of bed. I took all of my bedding down to the laundry and carried my suitcases down to the door. Then I sat by the phone and waited. Because I was going to be paying with cash the company required they be able to call me when they arrived. So I had to give them the pay phone number and then just sit and wait. Right at 3:00 the phone rang. It took about half an hour and 55 pounds to get me to the airport. I was expecting it to take much longer. I forgot that the traffic we had during the day coming in wasn’t going to be in the way and so it took much less time. So I was plenty early. I got to the airport and found it completely dead. Absolutely empty. Almost eerily so. Nobody was at any of the ticket desks at all. So I plopped myself down on the floor to wait. A little over an hour later people started actually getting in line by the different counters. So I joined in. I was standing by a nice looking lady. We both looked at each other and kinda sighed because it was rather obnoxious to be waiting. You are supposed to check-in for international flights two hours early but no one was there to check us in! She asked me where I was traveling to and I told her my final destination was Boise, Idaho. To my surprise that was where she was going to! She lives in Boise and works as a writer for one of the local papers. We started talking and she even knew one of my high school teachers! She ended up having all of the same connections that I did and it ended up being really nice to have a friendly face and someone to have a conversation with. Definitely a tender mercy for the day. The airport finally came to life around 5:00 and I got checked in. But then when it came to check my bags I almost had a problem. My itinerary was showing up as only being to Amsterdam and for European flights you are only allowed one twenty kilo bag. I of course was actually traveling internationally and so had two huge bags. The lady that helped me was really nice and got it all fixed and printed me my second boarding pass as well. Then just a hop of a flight to Amsterdam. I said goodbye to beautiful England one last time and then fell asleep.

Amsterdam airport was well, an airport. Follow the signs and you can’t go wrong really. It was different in that security was at each individual gate and so I had to go through that again. But overall it was simple. Then I was in the air again for my huge flight. I flew from Amsterdam to Portland. It was a 10 and ½ hour flight (although with the time change on paper it was only 1 ½ hours). It was soooo long. Honestly I used to think that flying was SO cool, SO much fun. I’m done with it now. When you get two meals on a flight you know that you have been flying for WAY too long. Even though it was plenty long, I actually rather enjoyed it. I had bought Peter Pan to watch on my ipod and I also bought the book while in London. I am officially obsessed with all things Peter Pan. I love it. Reading it was so much fun to me. Peter Pan was actually originally introduced in a story called Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens and Peter Pan and Wendy is the second story. I loved reading about Kensington Gardens because I could picture exactly where he is describing and there are quotes that are perfect for what I experienced there. And the magic of his story is almost better when it is up to your head to do the imagining. I love it. SO much. I also spent time writing notes to friends and then a lot of time just listening to music and/or just thinking. I think I value time to just think a lot more than I used to. Customs in Portland was a breeze. I had been all worried about it because everyone always talks about nightmare experiences they have but honestly I didn’t have a problem at all. I just showed my passport and landing card, told them why I was there and with a smile I was through. Easy as that. Then I got my last boarding pass and waited. I got to call and say hi to my mom. It was rather weird to have my phone back. I had kinda missed it to be honest. I mean it was really nice to not be tied to anything for so long but I love how easily my phone lets me communicate with everyone. Then one more jump of a flight and I was home. Scott and Jodi picked me up with the kids and I got lots and lots of hugs. In fact, Kimber Jo just snuggled with me the whole way home. My grandparents came out to meet me when we got back and then came the little boys and my dad was back from work just a little bit later. I was so happy to be home. Missing London for sure. But happy to be back. With the time change, it had been exactly 24 hours since I left the London Centre, such a long day of traveling.

Tuesday I just spent at home. My mom and Megan were in D.C. and NY for a History Day competition and so I was on my own to take care of the kids and get everything ready to go again. I ran an errand mid day but most of it was just spent doing laundry and pickup and getting hugs. We did of course stop by the sno cone shack and I got my grape sno cone! Summer has officially begun. Although you wouldn’t know it was summer based on the weather. It rained a lot of the day which doesn’t happen in Idaho in June.

Wednesday I spent the morning packing and then was on the road about 12:30 which put me in Provo about 7:00. For the first time I actually really enjoyed driving by myself. Normally I go crazy just sitting. But I was rather happy just thinking. But at the same time I was SOOOO excited to see my roommates!!!! I had been frustrated with how little they had written/talked to me over Spring term but I couldn’t hold onto any of that frustration as soon as I saw them. HUGE hugs and the happiest smiles. Oh I missed them. I realized that I really had only been half home in Caldwell because honestly my home is half here in Provo right now. Home is where people who love you are and I sure feel that down here. We left just after 8:00 to go to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House. It was so amazing. A couple of thoughts: I LOVE THE TEMPLE. So much. I love its beauty and that much of its beauty is so simple. I love the feeling inside the temple. There is a peace that cannot be found anywhere else. This temple felt almost like a home inside which I really loved. I love the art that is chosen for the walls. I love the sealing room. They brought us in and stopped to talk to us for a few minutes and while they were talking to us I couldn’t help but think about how much I want to be ready to be married inside the temple someday. That is all that I want. My greatest desire is to be sealed to a young man inside the temple so that we can have an eternal family. The last room to visit was the Bride’s room. I think I will truly feel like a princess when the time comes for me to be there. I was so happy to be there. I was with Eva and Lyss and Austin and one of the new friends the girls have made, a boy named Ryan. It was such a lovely experience. By the time we came out it was POURING. But Austin pulled his car up and we didn’t get too wet. Ryan hadn’t eaten so we stopped by Wal-mart to get some food and then went back to Austin’s house to eat and talk. I was so happy all night. I don’t think you could’ve taken the smile off of my face if you tried. Quote from the night: I said, “My happy thoughts are mail.” What Austin and Eva heard, “My happy thoughts are male.” Ha. :)

Thursday was a rather unproductive day but was a happy day nonetheless. I slept in late (the first time all week I had managed to sleep past sunrise). I helped with some random moving things that people were doing and talked with Lyss some. I went to lunch at J-Dawgs with Eva and Jessica and of course dumped ketchup and mustard all down my shirt. Yes, you can laugh at me. I laughed at myself. I spent the afternoon with Eva, we walked up to campus on an errand for Lyss and did a couple other random things. Heather got locked out and so she needed a ride to go get a key to her apartment. I drove her and was so happy I did because it gave us a chance to talk for the first time in a long time. I hadn’t heard anything about her boyfriend or really about her Spring term at all. So she told me the stories and we talked and laughed just like normal. I was really glad we got the chance to be apart for Spring. Not because I like being away from her but because I think we both learned and grew a lot and are both ready for fall to hold different experiences than it has before. I’m so grateful for Heather. She has blessed my life so many ways and so many times. I love having her as a friend and roommate. Thursday was also Jordan’s birthday so Austin invited us up to South Jordan to celebrate. Heather was going to be with Christian for the evening and Eva and Lyss were planning on leaving for Wyoming but I drove up by myself. It was so much fun to be with the boys again (although it wasn’t the same without Patrick) and to see Jordan with his family. I had a really fun night. Heather and I slept on the couches and she left at 4:00 in the morning to go home to Michigan for the summer. Eva and Lyss had been busy and so didn’t get to leave until early in the morning.

Friday I got up and got ready for the day, worked on lists and planned out some of the things I needed to do over the next little while. Then I drove up to campus and Sean and I had lunch together. It was so great to see him. Seriously I was blessed with the coolest friends last year. Our ward brought some of the most amazing people into my life. We had some really good conversations and I was so glad he was patient with me (he’d been trying to get together since Wednesday and I hadn’t done my part). Then I went straight out to do some shopping. Allie’s wedding was purple and she wanted the bridesmaids to be wearing light (lavenderish) purple but the best I had been able to do was a blouse and so I went looking for a dress. I didn’t find a lavender but I did find a dark dress with a lighter coverup and so I bought it and decided I would let Allie choose what she wanted me to wear and I would return whichever I didn’t use. I also had stops at Victoria’s Secret and Target for gifts. Then I went home and packed for the evening and ended up falling asleep. I woke up just in time to go pick up the things we needed for a bazookie and get to Allie’s for the bachlorette party! We went out to dinner at Mimi’s Café and then went back to Allie’s for presents. Most of the evening we just spent helping her get ready for the next day and pack for her honeymoon. We ate the bazookie (yummy!) and then went to sleep around 12:30.

We were up at 6:00 to help Allie get ready. She did her hair and makeup and finished throwing together the last few things she needed. She left with her parents at 7:30. Amanda and I got ourselves ready then and were ready to go just after 8:30. We stopped by my apartment to pick up an umbrella and then went to White Willow (the reception center) to pick up the flowers. We were supposed to be able to pickup the flowers by 9:30 which was just barely going to be enough time to get us and them to the Timpanogos temple by 10:00 (which was about when they would be coming out). No one was there but we were early so we just sat down to wait. But by about 9:25 when there still wasn’t anyone there we were starting to freak out. We were calling every couple of minutes but no one was answering. This is the kind of thing that happens in nightmares but not in reality! We were starting to formulate a plan to buy lilies on our way and make a bouquet for Allie and a boutonnière for John when someone answered. She was surprised that we were waiting, said that she hadn’t gotten that message and said that she would send someone over. There was a girl who lived a couple doors down who came running over in pajamas. We left Provo at 9:50. We did not make it in time to see them walk out of the doors. But we were close. Because my mom reads this I won’t tell you how fast or how illegally I drove but I dropped Amanda off with the flowers at 10:05. That may or may not be a record. Also, for the record, I don’t usually drive quite like that. But for the morning I was a bridesmaid on a mission. The weather ended up working out perfectly because it wasn’t raining while they came out but started to pour just after. But we had all of the group shots to take and Timp has some gorgeous covered archways that the photographer used and it didn’t make a difference at all. Then just as we finished the group pictures the rain cleared out and Allie and John got to go take their pictures all over the grounds. We followed along after with all of the bags and umbrellas. It was fun. I really like Amber and I hope we get to spend some more time together. Right at the end the wind picked up and it started to rain again but all that was left was the ring and shoe pictures so it didn’t matter that we were back under the arches. Here are a couple pictures from Amber and from John's Mom.






Amanda and I stopped for gas on the way home and also stopped in Wyview to pick up some cans to tie to the back of their car. We stopped back at the apartment and to our surprise found Allie and John just sitting on the couch watching the office waiting for the luncheon. I don’t really know exactly where I expected them to be but it sure wasn’t there. The luncheon was lovely. The flowers had almost been a disaster that morning but White Willow did a very good job with everything else. It looked fantastic. There were the toasts of course which were sweet. John sang to Allie which was probably my favorite part. They cut the cake and shoved in each other’s faces. While they were serving cake we went outside and made the car look a little bit better. :) And got soaked while doing it. I am pretty sure that it has rained more here in the week that I have been home than in the entire time that I was in London. We came back in and watched them dance, and dance with their parents. So sweet. Then the bouquet toss [which I did not catch :D] and the garter toss. And then goodbyes. We blew bubbles and let balloons go and they got in the car. But they didn’t quite make it anywhere because John’s brother was hiding in the backseat. :) It was pretty funny. Then some hugs and we were off. Having it at White Willow was pretty nice because it meant that we didn’t have to do any of the clean up. I came home and packed up some random stuff and then drove myself up to Grandpa’s house in Logan. Uncle Nathan was there too and it was SO happy to see them. I love my family SO much.

I slept forever and then spent the morning just with Grandpa and Nathan hanging out. I went to Sacrament meeting with Marianne and her boys and then came back up and fell asleep while I was waiting for Mom to arrive. She had just dropped Megan off at an auditioned Opera Camp for the week in Pocatello and then came down with the boys. It was funny to me how much I wasn’t missing her. That probably sounds bad. I just was back to feeling like I was at school and it was normal to not be with her and so while I was excited to see her it wasn’t the same desperate need I’d been feeling sometimes in London. We had a big family dinner and then spent the afternoon just talking and playing. Grandpa got a tetherball pole and so we went outside and played that which was a lot of fun. I hadn’t played in forever. In the evening the all the little boys and I watched Herbie: Fully Loaded. Herbie has always been a classic in our family so it was fun to see this new movie Disney put out. Goodnight and bedtime!

Monday morning we got up and got ready and went to Marianne’s house to help with some yard work. She had a lot of logs that needed split and weeds to pull. Although I didn’t help with the work very much. I spent more than 2 hours just playing on the trampoline with the little boys. I had SO much fun. Laughing and giggling and smiling just like I was a little girl again. We played so many fun games. I love my brothers and my cousins. SO much. I had the funnest time playing with them. Plus I finally got some SUN! What a lovely day. We came back and I spent the afternoon just chattering my mom’s ear off. About a million things. I haven’t had anyone to listen to my random thoughts for an awfully long time so all the things that my brain has been working on came spilling out. And I mean spilling. I was really talking fast. But Mom puts up with me and laughs at me. I came back to Provo for the evening and went to FHE with the girls and got to meet some of the rest of their new friends. They seem like really great guys and they are staying here for Fall which is super fun. I also had time to sit and talk with Lyss which was just wonderful. I have missed that time so much.

And finally today, good grief it took me a while to get caught up to here. Well, today I woke up and went running (and for the first time actually appreciated the difference that elevation makes). I came home and showered and then did scriptures and some other reading while Lyss and Eva were doing their workout. We all ate lunch together and then I spent the afternoon doing random things while the girls did their homework. For one, I worked on catching up my journal! For dinner, I ran out to the store and picked up some fresh veggies and then threw together Pasta a la Rachel. It was whole wheat angel hair pasta with chicken, broccoli, zucchini, squash, tomatoes, onion, garlic all tossed with olive oil and basil and whatever else I decided to mix in there. Don’t ask me to make it again though because I’m not sure exactly what I did. Basically Eva and Lyss asked for pasta and veggies and I did what I could. I think it turned out okay. The girls raved about it but they would’ve raved about anything I cooked for them even if it was burnt and tasted like a shoe. So who knows how good it really was. I liked anyway. And regardless I was so happy to back in the kitchen again. I’ve really missed cooking while I was in London. Tonight we may watch a movie, we may not. If not I’ll probably curl up with Pride and Prejudice or one of the other books I brought with me. No promises but I’ll try to not get so far behind again. I really loved reflecting on my day, everyday while I was in London and that is something I really would like to make an effort to continue.