Brandon and Jessica's Wedding

I recently went home to celebrate the wedding of my sister Jessica. It was fun to get to see everyone. I have four sisters and we all got to come home for the wedding.

They came with their cute families so let me introduce them for those of you who do not know and some of you who haven't seen them in a while.

Stephanie and Jason have two kids and live in....just kidding promised not to tell :)

Erin and Todd have three kids. One had just gotten up from a nap and was not into getting her picture taken, even after the promise of a new barbie. Can you guess which one this is?

We were all glad that Kerie got to come but sad that she had to leave half her family home. She came with one kid in tow and dad at home with the other. J

essica married Brandon K to add another in-law to the family.

My mom and dad right before the reception, looking very relaxed but nearing exhaustion.

Jessica wanted to be able to involve all of us in the wedding festivities so in the three days that we were at my parents home we did it all: shower, dinner with the new in-laws, hair, made food, decorate the gym and the wedding day rituals. WARNING: This blog is a little lengthy as I run through the days leading up to the wedding.

2 Days before the Wedding

Today we had much to do to prepare for the wedding. Jessica would like to have the reception in the back yard so we are preparing the house and yard for lots of guests.

Jill came to the house and we all got our hair done. She was at the house all day long.

Made dinner and ate with the new in-laws.

... and still had fun.

One Day Before the Wedding

Today we had the bridal Shower,

these are the moms with the bridethe quilt mom made for Jess

Bridal shower games! Make a wedding dress out of toilet paper!

Bridal Shower Treats...Yummy!

I went to Mindy's to make the piggy's in a blanket, But I did most of the work ;)

They liked doing it so much that they made more for themselves the next day...Crazy!

and we decorated the church because it was still cold and rainy and it didn't look like we would be able to have and outside reception.

the best wedding coordinator

The Wedding DAY

Jessica and her bridesmaids had a slumber party the night before the wedding at the house and all got ready together in the morning. That morning Jessica needed to be at the temple by 9:30, she was up at 5. A high school friend of Jessica's did her hair and

then it was off to the temple....in the rain.

When they came out of the temple it was still cold and raining but we were able to get a few pictures in before heading to the luncheon.

It was fun to see the nieces and nephews watch Jessica come out of the temple. They could not take their eyes off her, but that didn't mean that they wanted their picture taken with her.

The luncheon and reception were wonderful.

We got to see family and friends and have fun together.

Congratulations Bradon and Jessica, and thanks for a wonderful day.

My Week in Memphis

Erin and I decided to take a long anticipated trip out to Memphis to Visit our sister Kerie and her family. We decided to go at this time so we could see our brother-in-law Jared graduate from Optometry School. Way to go Jared we think you are awesome for this great accomplishment.

We started our vacation off by driving down to Utah and stopping at Tai Pan, where we proceeded to spend all our vacation money before we even flew out of Salt Lake City. After shopping we spent the night our our Grandma McFadden's before boarding the airplane to Memphis by way of Denver CO.

Our flight from SLC to Denver was pretty uneventful however during our flight from Denver to Tennessee the flight attendant asked over the intercom if there was a doctor or nurse on board. We were then greeted at the airport by a fire truck,

a cop car, and ambulance.

We had to remain on the plane for about 1 hour after landing. They never really told us what happened, but we assumed from the action that someone at the front of the plane had a heart attack.
Once off the plan we got our rental car and we were off on the big bad road. Erin had to drive due to my huge ankle. She was NOT happy about this and after having a short 30 minute freak out we were on our way. Below is a picture of the big bad road and all the terrifying traffic that Erin had to maneuver through as she was slightly loosing her mind.

Thanks Erin for being so Brave!

We flew into Nashville, so while in Nashville we stopped at the Grand Ole Opry.
We were to late to get into the show so we watched the live entertainment outside and then looked around for a fun place to eat. We found the Underwater Aquarium across the street from the Opry house and decided to check it out.

We split a meal here and had lots of fun eating good food and enjoying the ambiance of the restaurant. We loved to see the fish swimming by as we ate but here was one guest that decided to stay put.

We got to keep the cups our drinks came in and they were our very first Tennessee souvenirs.

With our dinner we got food to feed the sting rays, so after dinner we headed over to do this. It proved to be much scarier then we first anticipated. I was a total chicken and could not quite get myself to stick my hand into the tank after I saw how large the sting rays were and how they swallowed your entire hand. Erin had no fear as she dropped the shrimp into the water.

From Nashville we headed over to Memphis where we got to visit Graceland, and learned all about Elvis.

We toured his house and were surprised to learn that he paid $100,000.00, boy have times changed.

We also got to see his cars, and walked through his plane. It really was quite interesting and a fun day.

On Sunday after church Kerie gave us a tour of St. Jude where she has been spending most of her days this year with Emma.

We were impressed as soon as we walked in with how welcoming it felt. It did not look or smell like a hospital at all. All the walls(floors and ceilings) are decorated in themes. We got to go back the next day with Emma for her check up.

She was amazing as she helped the nurse take her own temperature and blood. Emma was thrilled as we left the hospital because her counts were high enough that she no longer had to wear her mask. What a good day.

We also visited the Mississippi replica

and stood on the banks of the Mississippi River....in the rain.

Before leaving we got to have some good southern barbecue with Kerie and Jared. MMMM Good!

We had a great trip but were glad to come home by way of Las Vegas. We were not excited to spend 12 hours in the airport to get home but we were glad to make it home safely.

Yeah for Spring and A Fun Weekend in Idaho Falls

Yeah for the sunshine!! Chloe and I walked outside the other day and look what what we saw...

my tulips coming up. I was so excited that I went right inside and took down all my Winter decorations(way over due),

and decorated for spring.

I am excited to be able to do things outside in the sunshine, easy driving on dry roads, and of course looking forward to summer vacation.

I did get to experience easy driving as I went home for Easter weekend. The roads were great, the traffic not to bad, and the Family was great. I went horseback riding with my dad, and to Monsters Vs Aliens in 3D with my mom.
Erin and I went shopping to get beads and then made watches. Ok Erin made the watches and I took pictures, but I did help pick out the beads.

Kambree and I did our makeup,

and had an easter egg hunt with Karson.

We had a great easter dinner and enjoyed each others company. We missed those that weren't there and look forward to seeing you all this summer. Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter Weekend.

I love Spring!