Georgia On My Mind . . .

We just got back late last night from a quick trip to Georgia where we attended an open house in honor of Kristen and Peter's wedding.

Lucky for us, Wes has both a brother and a sister who live there, so we received the royal treatment during our stay and had a great time visiting family.

His sister lives in a wonderful neighborhood. Many of the houses look like they came straight from the story books of my childhood. And the thick woods surrounding the houses seem so magical during the day, and almost eerie when you drive through them at night.

(The loud sounds from the tree frogs don't help that eeriness, I must say)

Being from the Arizona desert, looking out her back window to this beautiful, lush view was quite a treat.
While in town, we wanted to soak up some of the local culture, so we made a quick stop at The Varsity, a very popular restaurant in downtown Atlanta, adjacent to Georgia Tech, that specializes in healthy foods like chili cheese dogs, onion rings and orange freezes. This is a really bad picture (my husband took it very quickly) but I got such a kick out of the "tables" which were actually school desks!
We also had to make a quick run by "The Flying Biscuit" for a snack. We got a buttermilk biscuit and apple butter that was delicious!! (The picture is of Wes and his sister, who served as our Tour Guide Extraordinaire)
And in case you were wondering . . . we also ate some southern fried chicken! (Of course)

But our trip wasn't all about the food. We also had a little adventure. We decided to take a tour around downtown Atlanta on segways!!

Here Wes is practicing before we headed out across town.

And here is the three of us near the end of our three hour tour. The segways were a lot of fun and much easier to ride than I had anticipated. You only use the handlebars for steering. To move forward you just gently move your weight to the balls of your feet, to move backward you put your weight on your heels and to stop, you center your weight. That is it!

But as we scurried up hills in the humidity and heat, we did have a lot of fellow tourists give us envious looks. Seriously--I would look for this kind of tour in any city from now on!

And then of course, we also attended the wedding celebration at Peter's parent's house. They have a beautiful home in northern Georgia and just getting there was an adventure--due to bad traffic and gorgeous scenery.

Here they are greeting some of their guests.
We had a good showing from our family as well. Below are two of my nieces who made the drive up. Brittany (r) also brought along her two little boys.
Wes' brother's family also came along with a surprise--Aunt Celeste and Uncle Vaughn. In this picture is Sunny, Lexie and their mother Dawn (who is Wes' brother's wife-and yes, I know she looks like one of the girls rather than their 40 plus mother!!) And also on the right is my husband's Aunt Celeste.
She and her husband Vaughn totally surprised us by driving over from Kentucky!! Following the open house we went to their hotel and visited for about another hour and half.

And then of course we also got to spend a little time (and I mean very little) with the bride and groom who still appear happily married--after one entire week!

I am hoping to soon get up pictures of the wedding and reception in Arizona but I am waiting on the photographer. As soon as I get some though, I will post them.

And now we are back to our heat. I will have a little time at home before I head off to Colorado for the birth of our third grandchild!!

Life is good. And definitely brings . . . joy to my journey.

Sweet Tales from the Wedding

After months of planning, and countless hours of work on the part of innumerable people, Kristen and Peter’s wedding went off beautifully. I didn’t take very many pictures as I was busy with so many other things, and we had a photographer, but I hope to post pictures when they become available.

In the meantime, here are a few random stories from our weekend that I wanted to be sure to share.

1. Miracles of Miracles!! There were two miracles I witnessed this past weekend. The first is that my back held up through all the work and stress. I have a bad back and usually when I am in a highly stressful situation, or having to do a lot of physical work, my back flares up and I end up flat down in bed. This time I didn't have any serious back problems until the very end of the reception. But even then I made it through all the clean up!! Truly a miracle.

The second miracle was the weather!! It has been very hot here in Phoenix--about 105-110 degrees and somewhat humid. However, on the day of the wedding, I walked outside early in the morning and felt COOL air!! We had some pictures taken around 7 and additional pictures afterward and we never felt terribly hot. It was such a blessing!!!

1. I #2. A League of Their Own. I had a vision for the reception and worked for several months to make it a reality. The day finally arrived for us to set up and while my husband and several others tackled the drop ceiling, I went to work with two friends to create a faux gazebo where the musicians would perform. Before going to the church, I put together a box with everything I could think of that might be needed. I had string, wire, wire cutters, scissors, duct tape etc. I was so pleased with myself for being so prepared and proudly displayed my box to my friends. Sonia Holmes looked in it and then asked, “Where's the chocolate?” A big oversight to be sure. But soon Sonia and Michelle Hill were pulling out screws, screwdrivers and ladders from their supplies, and I quickly realized I was out of my league on this one. I was so glad they were there, and even happier to leave the construction of the gazebo to their capable care. They both were awesome and stayed many hours making sure everything was perfect!!

And here is a little sneak preview of how it looked. This was taken before the centerpieces arrived but gives you a basic idea. The structure in the back is what Michelle and Sonia put together using Kristy's 8 foot posts and 5 gallon buckets.

#3. DIY to the Extreme! I really wish I had a picture of the wedding cake!! Kristen did not want to serve cake and she did not want to pay for an expensive cake that wasn’t going to be served. So, being the resourceful, thrifty person she is, she decided to make the cake herself—with fondant frosting. Now she had never used fondant before, but she had seen several you tube tutorials, so she felt perfectly qualified. Unfortunately the frosting was very hard, did not roll out well, and consequently was rather impossible to smooth over the cake. In some places there were folds, and in other places very noticeable gaps, leaving the chocolate cake exposed. No problem! Ribbon and silk flowers rushed to the rescue. Personally, I voted to throw it out and replace it with something from the store (especially when a pink substance started oozing from one of the gaps in the frosting), but Kristen insisted on putting it on display. (Much to my chagrin. :-)When it came time to cut the cake, they could barely get the knife through it, but in the end they did, each took a bite, and after the reception I happily threw the poor little cake into the garbage

#4. Secret Elves . . . I am so grateful to the many, many people who helped set up for the reception. They truly were a little army and did an amazing job. Wes and I worked from around noon to 4:30 but then had to leave to attend the wedding dinner—the night before the wedding. Our friends kept working, however, and when we returned around 9:30 there were only a few minor detail things that were left to do. Since we had an early day ahead of us, we went home around 10, leaving the mess from setting up in the cultural hall, with the plan to return after the wedding to clean it up. But when we returned the next day, we discovered that everything had been cleaned, the floor swept and the halls and lobby vacuumed!! I honestly started to cry. Thanks so much to the Carlini family and Doug Nelson for all their hard work!! It was very much appreciated. Thanks also to Doug for spending so many hours fixing the electrical problems so we could have all the lighting!!

4. And speaking of thanking people . . . thanks to Lisa Nelson for sewing the cute table cloths, Suzie Jones for the darling aprons, the entire Sheffield family who came to set up, Kristy Rose and family for the posts we used for the “gazebo”, as well as the lights for the ceiling, Jodi Poston for the plastic used for the ceiling, David and Vicky Goss for the backdrops, my daughter in law, Kali for the cute floral swag she made and the other decorations she borrowed from her cousin Becky Stone, Susan Hunter and Jenny Carlini for the food table display, Connie Purtymun for her table cloths, Bryan Purtymun for all of his help with the ceiling along with his son in law Andrew Darrow, Phyllis Leber for loaning me her chair covers, Matt Bullock for serving as Emcee, Jen Collins for the beautiful flowers used by the wedding party and Jackie McAfterty for the gorgeous centerpieces—as well as a thank you to all who helped set up, take down and donated greenery, cut up fruit in advance and served the food at the reception. Whew!!!! ( I have more thanking to do but will save it for other posts.)

It was a wonderful, beautiful day for our family, and there is no way we could have done it without all of your help!! How blessed we are to have you all in our lives!

We love you all!!

I'm Done!!

I am not done in the sense that I have completed anything, I am done in the sense that I quit.

Or at least I would like to. Just for a day or two. I actually love doing weddings, but I have to admit I am starting to get very stressed over this. And my house is a mess. The dining room table is so covered in flowers, ribbons, organza and satin, that it has spilled over on to the floor and it is now hard to tell where the one ends and the other begins.

And I am very tired. Bone tired. The kind of tired that makes your body ache, your eyes burn and your muscles rebel at every movement. But . . .

Only three and a half more weeks!!

And things are moving along well. Kristen got the invitations all out this past week and they are DARLING!! Here are a couple pictures from them.

Thanks so much to Christina at Hands Full Mom for taking the very cute pictures!! She did a great job and we love them all!! In fact, Kristen loved them so much she used several on her announcement. Thanks to Craig Steed for designing and printing the announcements. We appreciate you both!!

~~~~~~~

In news outside the wedding . . . (yes, there is life outside of it)

Last week was girl's camp and my husband and I went up for a day. That was so much fun. I loved seeing all my friends who were there as cabin moms and really enjoyed visiting with the girls. And we were particularly glad they caught the two bears who had been sneaking around and relocated them before our arrival!!

In the evening there was a program where all the bishops told how they met and proposed to their wife. It was so cute. One man met his wife when he attended a seminary graduation program for his friend's younger sister. His future wife was also graduating that night. Another met his wife at a 9th grade dance--and she was several inches taller than he was. One met his wife in Boston while they were both attending graduate school and another carried a ring around in his pocket for two months before he worked up the courage to propose.

One of my favorite stories is about my friend Jenny. She set up a lemonade stand outside the boys apartments on the day most of the boys were moving in at the beginning of the school year. Her future husband bought a lot of lemonade that day.

My other favorite story came from a man who is a dentist. After dating his wife seriously for about six months, she was sure he was going to give her a ring for Christmas, but instead his "special gift" for her, was to pay for her to get a tooth fixed!! It was another six months before he got around to actually proposing. Apparently he was waiting for "Memorial Day".

That kind of hesitancy on the part of men, is why I just told Wes I wanted to get married after dating for two weeks. He agreed and we moved forward from there. :-) Easy.

~~~~~~

So my daughter Michelle was up at camp as a second year youth camp leader (YCL). She LOVES camp and will make a great young women leader someday. She is totally cute with the girls, lots of fun, and totally crazy.

So crazy that apparently there were several people who were shocked to learn she was our daughter. I guess they didn't think Wes and I could possibly have a daughter who was so much fun. Presumably because they don't think we are fun.

Seriously?!! We are fun people! We really are. I promise!

Marriage Advice From 9 Year Olds.

My engaged daughter asked her third grade school class for marriage advice. This is what they told her:

Don’t get divorced, have fun living with each other, and don’t ever get in a fight. Just be nice. –A. (Wouldn't it be great if everyone did that!)

Hug and kiss but make sure he likes you first. –T. (It is always good to be sure your husband likes you before you kiss him.)

Love each other, respect each other, and never give up on him. –T.

Never yell at each other or be rude to each other. –R.

Get speakers to get [your husband's] attention. –M. (Now, why didn't I ever think of that?)

Eat lots of cows. –M. (????)

Stick together and give gifts to each other. –K.

Have 28 kids and eat lots of cookies. –J. (I'm all over that cookie idea, but 28 kids???)

Get a 19 layer cake for the reception. –H.

Don’t let [your husband] go out with his friends a lot. – J.

Keep believing in him- And never stop loving him. –J. (Love that one!)

Kiss, have a good time, have kids. –L.

You should kiss [your husband] with lipstick and you should kiss him before you say I do. –J. (I am thinking bright red lipstick is best)

Never fight, play with him, and take each other to a restaurant. –M.

Be nice, eat lots of ice cream, and play Frisbee. –E. (Sounds like a recipe for success to me!)

Be nice and have fun. –M.

Always go to BYU games. –H.

Get 3 children, go on dates often, and go to Chuck-a-Rama. –J.

So there you have it--the secrets to a successful marriage!! I am headed out right now to buy a Frisbee, ice cream and cookies. :-)

Only Nine Weeks To Go!!

Kristen's wedding is just NINE weeks away!!

Which means . . .

I only have NINE weeks to turn

This. . .

And this . . .

And this . . .

And this . . .

And this . . .

Into something

FABULOUS!

This is going to be one very big

DIWF

(Do it with friends)

Project!

Prayers are appreciated. :-)

So Much Fun in Just A Few Weeks!!

Life has actually been rather busy lately . . . and so very much fun!!!

We had the baby blessing of our little grandson, Enoch. What a great day that was!! We loved being there with so many friends and family members to celebrate the big day.

And then his father had a birthday! Happy Birthday Ryan!

Unfortunately we were out of town and weren't able to celebrate with him (but we did leave him the dog to take care of in our absence:-) However, we will be celebrating in style later this week.

I flew to Colorado Springs to spend some time with my daughter Camille and her cute little family. I took several pictures of Carly (who is 2) while there, but she wasn't too thrilled with me doing that and didn't smile in any of them.

However, we did have a nice time at the zoo, where we got up close and personal with the animals!
The next day we all loaded into the little Corolla and journeyed over the Rockies through the snow and ice to Utah to attend the graduation service for Kristen! Good job Dave on the driving!! (Camille's husband) I only white knuckled it a few times.

And Congratulations Kristen on being a college graduate!!

Following Kristen's graduation, we went to lunch at a little Chilean restaurant in Provo. The food was so good and fresh. I ordered a mango drink and then got to watch them peel the mangoes!! Yumm!
Easter Sunday was spent at my sister's house where we had a wonderful dinner (and got to Ohhh and Ahhhh over Kristen's diamond ring!). Thank you Melissa and Joe for that delicious meal.

Here I am in Melissa's backyard with my four daughters!! Life doesn't get much better than that. (And in case anyone is wondering--Camille is 6 months pregnant.)
Also in Utah I was able to go to dinner with my two older sisters and their husbands (which was a great time!) and have an Easter egg hunt with my two younger sisters and their children.

Then we hurried back to Arizona where I spent most of my week working feverishly on a Luau we were having Saturday night. I spent hours collecting cute decorations and planning the table settings.

But, the day of the Luau, the wind kicked up and blew all the decorations down the minute after we put them up. After fighting the wind for almost an hour, I surrendered and put the decorations away. The plates and cups were dumped unceremoniously on the serving table (which is my number one sin for party decor!:-) And we ate cold food (wind chilled) on a table void of decorations. Ugh!!

But everyone seemed to have a good time despite the lack of cuteness and warm vittles.

We had a hula hoop contest.
Pineapple bowling with coconuts
A spear throw and Maori stick dance. And then . . . The sister missionaries taught everyone the Hula and the Haka!!
I am still cleaning up the mess in my kitchen from the cooking. But I had a lot of fun that night.

And I have had a lot of fun the past few weeks. These are the times that definitely bring . . . joy to my journey!

It's A Boy!!

This past weekend, our daughter Kristen not only graduated from BYU

(Congratulations Kristen!)

But she also got engaged!

Sunday, April 24, 2011

To: Peter

6 feet 4 inches

180 pounds

Cause for a little celebration!

Congratulations to you both!!

We know you will have a wonderful life together.

And we are looking forward to the wedding in twelve weeks!!

Ever Since She Was Little She Has Wanted To Be . . . And Now She Is!

Ever since she was little, (although not quite this little)

she has wanted to be a teacher.

And now she is!!

Meet the newest third grade school teacher

in the Nebo School District!!

She starts in the fall

And is VERY excited.

I am excited for her,

But a little sad for me,

As it means she won't be moving back to Arizona any time soon.

So quickly they go from being babies

to being all grown up.

But that is a very lucky thing for a third grade class.

CONGRATULATIONS KRISTEN!!

Meet Kristen . . . It's Her Birthday!!

This is Kristen, my third child and today is her birthday!! It is hard to believe it was 22 years ago today I was in the hospital giving birth to her. My how times flies!! (oh, and she really doesn't have one arm in a sleeve and the other bare. The arm on the right is mine)

Kristen has always been a joy, although she did make me realize I was not as good of a mother as I thought. Her older brother was sleeping through the night at two and a half weeks of age, which I was sure was due to my superb mothering skills. Then Kristen came along and blew that theory. She didn't sleep through the night until she was two and a half YEARS!!

However, that one fault aside, she is a great girl--Beautiful, strong, smart, witty, creative and independent. She is also a very gifted teacher and has an amazing ability to entertain children of all ages. She likes to draw and write, play the flute, read, hike and is a great cook.

As a little girl she was always up for adventure and felt she could take on anything or anyone. At the grocery store when she was three she wanted to carry the gallon milk containers, because she was, as she told me "A super strong woman". And at four, when the boys were in the back yard playing baseball she got her own bat and while running out the door I heard her yell, "Watch out boys!! I'm gonna hit a home run!!"

She graduated second out of 640 students in her high school class. At BYU she works in the business department and is studying to be an elementary school teacher--something she has wanted to be since third grade. On a date once a young man asked her if being "just an elementary ed. major" she had a hard time communicating with the people in the business department. (Yes, he really asked her that!!) I told her she should have said, "No, as a teacher I am practiced at speaking slowly and explaining things so everyone can understand."

Her other goal is to be a mother. On career day in high school she put on an apron and went to school carrying a doll on her hip. All through her classes she bounced the baby on her knee or would rock it back and forth. Many of her teachers were shocked she would want to be a mother when she was so smart and could do anything. Some even suggested motherhood would be a "waste" of her abilities. But I was so proud of her for standing up to them and holding strong to her values.

She is also our family's best missionary as she is willing to share the gospel with anyone who will listen--just ask her friends, her co-workers from high school or the people she sits by on the airplanes.

We are so blessed to have her in our family and wish her a . . .

VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

The Dreaded Day Is Here

The dreaded day has arrived. I knew it would happen and I know it is best, but it seems to have come much faster than I wished. Kristen leaves today to go back to BYU. She has to return to her job on Monday which is why she is leaving nearly a month before school starts.

And she is going to be very much missed.

For the past few months she has been my personal assistant. She has put together the majority of my supplies for seminary, cleaned out the office and organized all my files. She helped with parties and cooked dinner a couple times a week and kept me company. So of course I will miss her help, but I will also miss her optimistic attitude toward life, her wacky humor and her boundless energy. Her father will miss her very much as well, as she has been his jogging/walking companion at 5:15 a.m. all summer.

Kristen is a senior at BYU and wants to be a teacher. She will be a very good one. She has an incredible talent for teaching and loves kids. She can also resolve issues in creative ways.

One example occurred at church a few months ago. As we were leaving, Kristen noticed a young man around 12 in the foyer bullying some of the other boys in the ward. As she walked by she said to the bully, “Hey, you really shouldn’t have been blowing kisses at me during church.” He looked up shocked and vehemently denied it.” She told him he shouldn’t do something wrong and then lie about it. And then she left. As she walked out the door she heard the other boys teasing him about his crush. In less than a minute he had gone from being the bully to being on the defensive. And we all got a good laugh out of it.

Kristen actually makes me laugh a lot. She once cleaned out my refrigerator and then posted a sign on the refrigerator door that said "This is no longer a penicillin culture friendly environment" And signed it "State Health Department". Another time she was putting away the laundry and came across several socks without mates. She put them all in a basket with a sign on the front that said, "Socks still in mating season."

I am also going to miss her piano playing. She is the one daughter of the three youngest who will play for her own (and my) enjoyment.

But now it is time for her to once again leave us. We wish her the very best in her final year at BYU.

Kristen--We know you will be great! But we also can’t wait until Christmas, when you will be back home with us!