idaho - the big day

{I don't have very many pictures at the temple, but will update this when I do} 

The whole reason for our major summer trip was my brother's wedding!!

S & A were married in the Idaho Falls Temple on Saturday, July 21st. Inside the temple, a couple makes promises to one another and to God, and are sealed together for time and all eternity. 

 S & A are so right for each other, and I am really excited to get to know this girl more! The wedding was in the morning, and was positively beautiful. They were surrounded by people who love and adore them, and R and I were blessed to be one of them!

The whole A family! All together at last!!

 We had a luncheon afterwards, and my amazing brother-in-law shared his crazy talents as a Chef and prepared the whole thing. The menu was awesome, and the food was the best in the world. Seriously. It was awesome to watch him work, learn from him, feel of his energy and passion, and then eat the results! He is remarkable and the food tasted amazing. Ry is still talking about it.

 SIX girls in our family now! Love all these beautiful women!

After the luncheon we went over to the reception place to grab a family picture.

 You can tell the boys enjoyed the wait. :)

 Oh, and in the middle of the luncheon, L-man was running around the stage with other kids while the stage lights were off. He ran smack-dab into the concrete wall. He had impressions on his forehead from the texture of the concrete! Yeah, we enjoyed that one.

 Words cannot describe the love I have for these two people. They have taught me so much, and sacrificed even more for me. Their love binds us all together, and makes our eternal family richly blessed. My heart just bursts with gratitude for them and their influence on me and my children.

And being apart of this awesome group of people makes me so happy. It's a good thing families are forever, because I never can get enough of these people! Love them all!

S & A had a reception that night in the backyard of a good friend, and it was beautiful.

 I have to be honest and admit that I cannot take credit for the bridal bouquet. My sister was the genius behind it, and it looks gorgeous!

 My sweet sister K with her bridesmaid bouquet.

 Father/Daughter and Mother/Son dance. Brought tears to my eyes!
{but if you ask R, I had tears in my eyes a lot that day!}

Looking through the thousands of photos from this wedding day made me realize something. My kids look like ragamuffins! Sweet Lady-LE with her busted lip {curtesy of L-man from the day before}, scabbed over knee from falling on concrete, hair constantly in her face, and general no-smiling-for-the-camera rule; and L-man with the concrete brick impression on his forehead and the same no-smiling rule. There's darling pictures of all the other grandkids - and these are the best I've got of my own! How sad is that?! Definitely an indication that I need to look after the overall appearance of my children. Yikes!

 S & A did a beautiful waltz for their wedding dance, and even with her dress getting caught and in the way it was still beautiful and touching. And then my brother topped off the beautiful, sentimental evening by playing and singing a song he wrote for her. Oh my goodness it was incredible. I just cried the whole time! I was still getting my head wrapped around the fact that my little brother had found the girl of his dreams, and they were starting their own family. The moment was perfect I tell you. Absolutely perfect.

 You could just feel his love for her. And her love for him. They are so good for one another.

 The little girls loved the treat table of goodies with the little cups. Perfect for their little hands to grab.

 L-man was in high heaven playing with J-boy these past two weeks. At one point, as they were running around playing in my parents' basement, L-man was following J-boy outside when J-boy turns around and says, "Common L, my best student!" I hope all the cousins continue to be best friends like they are in this stage. It truly was perfect!


Some cousins of ours have a tradition of stealing the bride right as they are running away to their honeymoon bliss. I'm not sure how many knew about their plan to do the same to A, but I was completely shocked!

They drove A around for a while, and poor S was a lone man.

 So we all gathered around him and snapped a quick original-six picture. It is hard to believe that we are all grown! My heart was incredibly full at this point, and I felt time stop for just a minute as we all held onto one another. Truly a sweet memory.

Our cousins eventually brought A back, and she and S drove off as husband and wife. 

Can't wait for the family adventures to come - the family just keeps getting bigger and I love it!