WEDDING BELLS RING

Brighton and Jordan's wedding was so very wonderful. First there was the day at the Provo Temple when Brighton went for the first time. It was a peaceful and calm day and she did really well. That day relatives started arriving. Whit and Heidi came in first and it was the beginning of a great week. Chelsea flew in on Monday night in time for the dinner and Grant flew in the day of the wedding. We had some days of errands and tying up loose ends. On that Monday night we went to a fabulous Thai restaurant, "Pawit's Royal Thai Restaurant" in Salt Lake put on by the Phelps. There were about 50-60 close friends and family there and the atmosphere and food were great.
Then the wedding day - How Spectacular. Brighton looked gorgeous and all the family looked sharp. It was very crowded in the temple and Brother Groberg sealed them. A very special moment. Many of you may know that the movie, "The Other Side of Heaven" is his story. Then there was a long picture taking session. Thank you to all who hung around for that. Our family and Wendy and Megan Hull rested at Noah's in Draper and played a little pool and regrouped and had a little food.
Then for the Reception - how fabulous! We had such a marvelous outpouring of love and attendance - Wow - sorry to all those who came the second hour and missed the tarts!! Matt Stevens was an incredible MC. Let us discuss the Venue - I was thrilled with Le Jardin. There aren't any photos that do the gazillion twinkle lights, fountains, and chandeliers and greenery justice. Undescribable!!
The cake was great - not a crumb left and everyone danced. A picture to last forever - my mom and dad rocking out on the dance floor.
I sorely missed some of my dear friends who couldn't travel, but big hugs to all of you who came and joined us in this wonderful celebration. One of the top ten best days!!!!

FINAL FIVE DAYS

So we are five days away from the wedding and everyone starts arriving tomorrow. It seems we have been planning for a long time. I really hope everything goes smoothly! I only have a couple things left to do - get all the stuff for the
DVD copy and one thing with my dress. My list was so long a few days ago and now I am amazed that it's down to about 5 things!! Whew - here we go

Tricks & Birthday Treats

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So Whit turned 30 - AHHH - and Heidi turned 29 on November 2 - How did that happen? They went to D-land to celebrate Miz Heidi's and Heidi threw Whit a surprise party with smoke and mirrors. So sad I wasn't there.
This year for Halloween good ole' Lizzie Borden showed up once again and I took third prize in a spontaneous Utah County contest. I saw people going up the stairs to participate so I crashed it and won a prize!! Here are Brighton and Jordan going off to a party after spending dinner with us, Doug and Mooja (the beagle) and the folks. A photo of Whit and Heidi as Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett for this year.
We had fun handing out candy this year and eating pizza. Mooja was all over the neighborhood enjoying himself. He was good - didn't really bark but just loving the children. I guess we had probably between 150-175 tricksters this year.
Weston was in Indiana with Stef - here he is in his Ninja outfit - we missed him!!

BRIDE IN LA

Brighton and I flew to LA on Friday night and she had her Los Angeles Bridal Shower and it was perfect!! My great friend, Cathy Roberts, and Chelsea and Heidi worked together to give Brighton such a beautiful day. We got to see so many wonderful friends, and some we hadn't seen in so long. Many people drove a long way to get to the shower and the decor, food, games,- everything went flawlessly. Thank you everyone for making it so fab-u-lous!!

Game Starting

Okay - Go Dodger Blue - My boss is a Cubs fan - I hope we can stay friends - cause it's LA Time!!!!

COUGARS EAT BEAR!

WOW! I was really nervous going to the game today. But it was euphoria. When it became 28-0 we were flipping out. I kept putting my hands on my head in astonishment. And then at the half it was 42-0 - WHAT!!!! Although UCLA is my alma mater my blood is Blue - BYU Blue and Dodger Blue. For those of you who stayed under a rock today - BYU bludgeoned UCLA 59-0. Go Blue!!!

Still hope

So, the Dodgers are back in first place - there's still a little hope. However, tonight they started playing San Diego and are already behind 3-0. Not liking it. But the weekend was good when they swept the D-Backs. Right now I'm pretty much just doing stuff for the wedding - getting addresses, looking for a dress. trying to keep things going and on the move. We stayed home quite a bit this weekend and I'm actually still tired. Gearing up for the BYU vs. UCLA game this Saturday.

Family Vacation

San Diego was a lot of fun. First of all we watched the Dodgers beat the Phillies and we all got to sit together. Eric and I got on the Kiss Cam!! Ha!! I've always wanted to get on that at the Jazz game and there we were on the big ol'Diamond Vision and so we gave the stadium a show - none of that old people peck stuff!!
Went to the Zoo on Friday and that was way fun - especially the Panda Bears!! Love them. Our condo was on Mission Bay and we really enjoyed our bonfire and roasting s'mores one night under the stars. Spent a day at the beach and the water was so nice. Rented boogie boards - but many of us got sunburned (poor Heidi the worst). Weather was perfect and we also went to Sea World. It was a great trip!!

Chapter End

Well, this week was kind of a summing up. The week started with a terrific James Taylor concert with Whit and Heidi as a "finale" to their summer here in Utah. We really didn't get to see them all that much, they were so booked up with teaching and rehearsing and with the gas debaucle they had to stay almost all the time up in SLC, but we are grateful for the time we did have with them. They are a motivated and fun couple!!
Brighton hurt her back terriby on Tuesday and a couple days were helping her get into therapy and she is really doing very well. Chels was up for 48 hours (missed you Grant) and Chels, Brighton and I did get an afternoon together and we saw the wedding venue, visited Grandma and Chels met Stef, Weston and beagle "Mooja" and then she flew home - too fast.
Eric was away most of the week so I forget who he is - but he did get back for the final performance of "Twelfth Night" and now Whit and Heidi are on their way back to Burbank. BOO-HOO!!
Brighton's kitty, Lola, even left us today to go back with her Brighton.
Today Eric and Brighton and I got to go up to celebrate Doug's 30th birthday and we had a nice visit. Weston was super happy and Stef made some yummy desserts.
Next Chapter - Family Vacation in San Diego!!
We will miss Whit and Heidi - we got used to seeing them on a regular basis.

Engaged

Brighton and Jordan are now officially engaged. Jordan did a great job of proposing in North Carolina and it was very creative and thoughtful. We are excited for them and our new addition to the family!! The wedding will be NOVEMBER 25th!

Reverent Raccons

Somedays our CTR class goes well. Today we had Natalia, T.J. and Katelyn being really good Reverent Raccoons. On these days we remember how lucky we are to help teach the Gospel in Primary. Here they are with their Good Samaritan paper dolls!!

A good day

This has been a good day. Number one - it's Friday. Number two - Whit's old friends Ryan and Kristen Furst flew up from Agoura, CA to see his and Heidi's play. Number three - went to see Whit as Malvolio and Heidi as Viola in a "so very funny" production of a contemporary "Twelfth Night". Number Four - Brighton is officially engaged and Jordan proposed in a very quaint and special way. Number Five - next week Chelsea Paige is comin' to town - better watch out!!

Good day - Sunshine

A little while ago - Brighton and I went cake testing as shown and here is Heidi with her new short hair for the play - and she and Whit were GREAT!!

America, America....!!

Today we had a really fun family picnic. Whit and Heidi came in yesterday to work at the U and do "Twelfth Night" so they got to see a lot of family they hadn't seen in awhile. It was quite hot today. Michelle, Grant's sister joined in with about 40 family members. We all ate and then played a water balloon basketball game Janson and Noelle supervised. After that we competed in horseshoes. It was great to have a relaxed and fun fourth. Following the picnic we went to cool off and see "Get Smart". In the evening we stayed in and relaxed.

Eric's Retirement

This last Monday Eric retired from the City of Provo after 27.5 years but totaling 30 years on paper. His staff gave him a beautiful Open House and a beautiful memory book. He appreciated all those who came and supported his finale. Pretty amazing that he started at the City when he was Whit and Grant's age. Whoa!

Weston's First

On June 6th Weston was one-year old. He is so funny and cute. Doug, Stef and her sister, Kristen, came down to celebrate. One of Weston's favorite things to look at in our house is the overhead fan/light. He was very excited to open his gifts. He got some great toys and we hear Oscar the Grouch from our talking Sesame Street gift is a favorite. We put him in the center of our table to open his gifts. Weston is big on balloons too. We had dinner and Stef brought an ice cream cake from Coldstone's.

This month was super cause the next weekend was Father's Day and we got to celebrate again. Eric had been in LA for the US Open (which he was pretty excited about) and so he got an early Father's Day with Whit, Heidi, Chelsea and Grant. Then he came back on Saturday and Doug, Stef, Weston and Dyana (Eric's oldest) came and we had a big lasagne dinner and then went miniature golfing. Eric was the scorekeeper and before we knew it he wasn't keeping any scores - it didn't matter. It was fun to be outdoors. On Sunday we headed over to Pat and Lee's (my sister) and with Mom and Bob had a yummy steak dinner. It was a great Father's Day weekend!!!

Hail, Britainia

Dear old chaps - we have returned from an amazing trip abroad! My word, it was wonderful. We left on May 23rd for jolly old England and had such a fab-u-lous time. Cannot tell it all. We looked for Sweeney Todd on Fleet Street, visited with the Queen at Buckingham, saw the crown jewels at the Tower and managed to leave with our heads still attached! Stayed at Twenty Nevern Square, a quaint little spot, in South Kensington and the tube was a jaunt away. How we loved seeing The Great Hall from Harry Potter at Oxford,visited good Will Shakespeare's birthplace in Stratford, and wandered back in time at Warwick Castle.
Of course this doesn't begin to express THE THEATRE!!! We saw a hysterical play called "The 39 Steps" - true Brit fashion which incorporated every Alfred Hitchcock movie reference. Then another night at "Billy Elliott" which was phenom. Stood as serfs in the yard at the Old Globe to see 'King Lear". We ate at Sherlock Holmes Pub, Wagamama's, Galileo's, The Mint Leaf and even the Food Court at Harrad's. Loved the British Museum and riding the London Eye. Shopped at Picadilly and Oxford Circus and strolled through the Portobello Market. Went to the King Tut Exhibit, O2 and the Imperial War Museum. Then we were on to taking the Eurostar to Paris!!!
We stayed at the Grand Hotel Leveque which was walking distance to the Eiffel Tower and our last night we strolled over to see it all lit up - which is breathtaking. Also took in Notre Dame, Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre and the Champs Elysees for several hours of shopping. Ate at small cafes and bought fresh fruit and bagettes or croissants for breakfast. We moved around on the Tube and the Metro with ease - so much fun and easy!!
It was a trip of a lifetime.

GREAT MOTHER'S DAY

MOM'S DAY or weekend was so nice. I talked to all my kids and got beautiful flower arrangements of all sorts - gorgeous. Eric gave me two arrangements. Brighton had exchanged with me a Forever 21 card so I went shopping with that. Doug and Stef also sent yummy designer cupcakes. Eric and I saw "Ironman" on Friday and I took my little momma to see "Baby Mama" on Saturday. On Sunday we had a family picnic and I only took 7 pictures - I need rehearsal on this for sure. But here's a few of the extended family.