Erin is still with us. She returned from her mission at the end of March and will be going back to BYU soon. It's been so nice to have her for this long--I'm going to really miss her when she leaves. She hasn't been feeling great since February and we're trying to get it figured out. It looks like she had a bad case of mono in Feb and pushed through it, which resulted in her now dealing with chronic fatigue. We're still searching out the rheumatoid factor and fibromyalgia options, but dealing mainly with chronic fatigue. She's taking a serious dose of vitamin D every week and has had a B12 shot to help as well. She's still a little slow and taking it easy but those vitamins have helped.
Caitlin is getting married this summer. It's coming up fast for us! We're excited for her and Michael! They've been dating for about a year and really enjoy each other's company. I was able to go to Idaho and Utah about two weeks ago to get some wedding things done. I drove way too much for someone that doesn't really like driving. I flew into SLC on Thursday, then drove to Idaho, saw my girls, took them grocery shopping, slept one night, then Cait and I drove to SLC the next morning to get to work. We stopped at a dress shop in Kaysville and found the dress. I was so grateful that we found it so soon and then was even happier when we found out it was on clearance. Definite score! It took us longer to find the shoes. We did more shopping and then stayed in SLC for the night.
Saturday morning we drove down to Alpine and American Fork to meet with our planner, my cousin, E. She's amazing. She's got great ideas and is pulling it all together for us. We ate French toast and made lists. Then we visited my sister-in-law, put flowers on my dad's grave, and went back to SLC for more shopping and meeting friends. Then, in the evening, we met Michael and his parents, found him a suit, then went to dinner. After a delicious dinner, we drove back to Rexburg.
Sunday morning I put dinner in the crock pot and went to a student ward with Stefanie. That was awesome and will always be a fond memory. It was the first time I had ever gone to a student ward and I was so impressed with the knowledge and wisdom these kids have! They are all natural leaders. After church I had an much-needed nap and then we had a delicious dinner that we shared with whatever roommates and friends showed up. And of course, we played games. Monopoly Deal is a new favorite!
Monday we ran errands around Rexburg (found the rest of the fabric for Stef's HS grad quilt--one day it will actually be done!) and then ran errands in Idaho Falls. Cait's roommate introduced me to a great antique store in IF, in which we spent way too much time and had me wishing for a UHaul. I bought a few surprises for the kids. I got Benj some old comic books which he promptly devoured, and Jace a wrestling-trophy belt. I expect to see him wearing it when the season starts again. I got Stef a cake pan shaped like giraffes--her new favorite thing. I got Erin some tiny canvasses at the store where I found the quilting fabric. (I know this is TMI.)
Monday evening I drove back to SLC to sleep one more night (thanks VT's!) and got to the airport by 4 am to come back home! In going back and forth to SLC to Idaho and Utah County, I drove 1200 miles at least in those 4 or 5 days. But mission accomplished! We got the dress and a lot of stuff checked off our list!
We have had so many tender mercies through all of this wedding planning. We are able to have money to pull from to get all of this taken care of. We are finding things easily and on sale over and over. We really have been blessed. It's going to be a fantastic wedding day for C & M!
