Loni and Malcolm: REAL happily-ever-after

Loni and Malcolm got married in the Reno Temple last Saturday. I know that post-wedding life requires love, patience, understanding, selflessness, a listening ear, sacrifice and all that, but their first day of marriage sure was the right way to start a real-life fairy tale!
                                                                                
In Disney movies and happily-ever-after fairy tales, we never hear about what happens AFTER the wedding, but let me tell you-- happily ever after is alive and well, and L&M started out totally right!

I know from experience that their love will only grow exponentially from here. And that growth will come as a result of life's rollercoaster ride of ups, downs, thrills, scares, boring straight parts, and views from the top. If we keep our seatbelts on and hold hands and scream (sometimes with delight, sometimes not...), it's a great ride.

I can't wait to watch yet another one of our beloved kids and her sweetheart have the ride of a lifetime! Woo hoo, L&M!!

Trying to express what I feel...

I am so grateful for the blessings in my life-- that I get to be a mom and a grandma and a sister and a daughter and a wife.  And that I get to HAVE such an incredible mom, mom-in-law, sister, sisters-in-law, grandma and daughters-in-law. I'm grateful for my sweet, good husband and for our precious, precious kids (including in-law kids) and grandkids. I'm grateful for my siblings (including siblings-in-law) and THEIR kids and THEIR kids too. Our family continues to grow with delightful new children to love.

And I'm grateful for my friends and their families. So many people who bless my life in ways that I could never express but in ways that I pray I'll always get to keep forever.

I'm not even going to TRY to put all the pics of all of my family and friends who mean the world to me. There's not remotely enough space for that. Instead I'll post the above picture since it's a pretty good visual to represent all of the people I love and it represents our bond through eternity.

Happy sigh.

Squaw Peak...perfect mom-son date!

Last Friday, Michael and I climbed Squaw Peak, the dinstinctively-shaped pointed mountain peak that's behind the Provo Temple. As Jess would say: It. Was. Incredible.!!

That pointed, jagged peak behind Mike in this pic? Yep. We climbed that. I already said it was incredible, but did I say it was an awesome, perfect day?

We made it from the trailhead to the very top in a little under two hours. Two hours of arduous, every-inch-of-us-drenched-in-sweat uphill working out. And the view from the top? Well, pictures can't show it accurately. Especially on a sunny day. Anyone who has climbed to the top of any peak can tell you that.

And I could never ask for a better climbing buddy. I love this kid (man!) more than words can ever say. I'm soooo grateful to have had this special day with him!

(Note: We had the summit to ourselves for about an hour. Then a couple of guys showed up who were right behind us when we started out, but who veered off the main trail and ended up finding another way that took way longer. We're glad they made it so they could take our picture!)

What a good-looking man! I wonder where he gets his good looks from? :-) His humility as well...

Mike and Corey are moving to California in another week...this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, I have a feeling... I'll just savor it and pray I never forget anything about it! PERFECT DAY!!!

I love going to the temple. I always feel such peace there-- a reminder of the bigger, eternal picture, and an ever-present message from on high that everything's going to be okay.











I am in Salt Lake City this week visiting Michael and Corey. I'm loving this trip. Relaxing, enjoying M&C and the cute way they totally love each other and appreciate each other...

...and their little apartment (for this summer only) is a five-minute walk from Temple Square, so I am taking full advantage of their delightful location! I decided yesterday morning to go to watch the live show of Music & the Spoken Word at the Conference Center, leaving at 8:45 and getting there at 8:50. :-)



And I went to the temple first thing this morning. It was still dark, so the lights of the temple shone bright, warmly beckoning me as I walked the few minutes from M&C's apartment. It was well worth getting up early to hit the first session. :-) And I got there way early (Monday times are different than the rest of the week), so I got to sit and quietly read half the Book of Proverbs. Amazing book.

Yep. Good visit.

No time!

Random picture. I just love this old bridge near our house. There are a bunch of slats missing, so I got a kick out of the "Road Closed" sign.

I wish there were more hours in the day. I am truly a chicken running around with my head cut off (thankfully not literally... otherwise you probably wouldn't be reading a post on my blog...). I keep myself insanely busy in a myriad of different directions and I don't seem to accomplish anything!

No time to write, as I'm between doing Relief Society work and babysitting for 7 of the 8 kids of one of my sweet visiting teachees, but Jess left a message a while ago about her blog, so I took a minute to peek (GREAT post! I'd so love to be there at the beach with them... with icebergs floating behind...), and I thought I'd at least write this much. I have to leave to babysit in 20 minutes, and I'm fresh out of the shower, so I'd probably better git.

The birth of "Lake Fairview" and other rising floodwater wonders...

 This beautiful lake was a field two weeks ago. It's down the hill from our house, and every day it seems to grow larger and deeper! It's so weird to watch the waters of the Missouri River (a few miles east of us), the Platte River (a few miles south of us), the two creeks-that-have-grown-to-full-fledged-river-size all around us, and the new various bodies of water that weren't there a week or two ago. Crazy!

Former-field-current-new-lake near our house. Our subdivision can be seen in the distance to the right of that road you can see going up the hill. Great place to live...even during times of flooding!

It's been very humbling and touching to witness how members of our stake (Council Bluffs, Iowa Stake) are helping each other at this time. There are a number of homes already under water, and it's feared that more homes will be under the floodwaters in the coming weeks. Members have been helping each other evacuate, working on sandbagging projects, building up levees, opening their homes to accommodate evacuees, making room in basements, garages and sheds to store the precious belongings of those whose homes are being flooded, and doing a myriad of other small and great acts of kindness and selflessness. 

The Relief Society president of one bombarded branch in Iowa sent me a copy of an email she sent to the stake presidency, and it made me want to cry, for she listed every family and every member of her branch and gave a report on each-- if they had evacuated, where they were staying, if they were thankfully on high ground, etc. What a wonderful example of Christlike love this sister is, and what unity that little branch must be experiencing at this trying time! 

I've learned through our own experiences that the difficult times in our lives often bring us the greatest joys. That we feel our Savior's arms around us the most tangibly when we are going through our tough times. That we feel each other's arms around us during those same tough times, and that OUR arms feel astonishingly like our Savior's arms feel! 

When we meet him after we leave this life, I have a feeling we'll recognize Him immediately because we've been blessed here by so many who strive to serve us, and His arms will feel a lot like theirs... :-) 

Michael's graduation, slot canyons, etc... (happy sigh)

It's been such a long time since I posted anything here. Stevie, beloved girl that she is, emailed me a week or so ago to say she missed my blogs, and although I've thought about a gazillion things I'd like to say here (and have a thousand or so pictures I'd like to post), I haven't taken the time. And I should, for I LOVE reading the blog posts (and seeing pics) of my loved ones, and maybe, just maybe, you all might like to see mine.

Dad in Lower Antelope Canyon. Amazing!

I'll write more about these two incredible photos on another blog, for I don't think any of us have THAT much time in one sitting. Mom, Dad and I were blessed to be able to do a trip together following one of the best reasons to take a trip: Michael's graduation from the University of Utah!!  The whole trip was more awesome than I can begin to describe in mere words. I wish Danny could have joined us for the post-grad part of our trip.

These two pics are not enhanced. Yep. That's what this amazing bit of heaven-below-earth looks like. Lower Antelope Canyon is a slot canyon near Lake Powell (Page, AZ). I haven't yet counted how many shots I took. Between Dad's camera and mine (well, 'mine'= my brother Mike's... a nice, expensive Nikon with a nice, expensive, heavy lens), we have hundreds. Sometime I will post more. Including the tiny crack in the earth where we entered and climbed down!

We loved every moment of our few days with Michael and Corey to celebrate his graduation. And Corey graduated two weeks earlier with her law degree (BYU), so we had much to celebrate, and they are on the cusp of beginning a whole new chapter of their life together! I wish so badly that we could spend more time with the two of them... AND with the five (soon six!) Edwards darlings in Juneau!

I love this photo! SO thankful Mom and Dad could be there!

Post-commencement lunch. Can't remember the name of the italian restaurant we love across from Trolley Square. Anyone? Corey's cousin Scott joined us, which was awesome! What a great day it was...

Michael and Corey are so cute together-- definite lovebirds. It does a mother's heart good to see such love and happiness... I wish the beauty of the mountains showed up better in this picture. Gorgeous!

Proud parents, proud wife, happy-to-be-done graduate! :-)

Water torture

Nope, that's not me on the left. And that's not me on the right, either!

I wanted to write a post about what has become a torture session that I actually sort of look forward to: Water Aerobics class on Mondays and Wednesdays (8:15am) at the pool on base here.

Picture this: a former nationally-ranked (for 14 years!) German gymnast who pushes us, her water aerobicizers, to well beyond our LIMITS during the entire 60 minutes of each and every class.

Every day I want to cry, and whenever her back is turned, I rest my arms or legs for just one delicious moment before she turns around to yell at me for not keeping up.  The other day I swear that we had our arms outstretched with no break for 15 minutes straight before she let us rest. Youch!

Before every class, I dread the torture I know we'll be subjected to, but by the time we are doing our final stretches, I always feel like I just accomplished a feat as remarkable as... climbing a 14er or running a 10K WITHOUT STOPPING TO REST!  So I keep coming back.

I'm scared of Patina, our instructor, even though she is super nice AFTER class. But DURING class?  Oh my.

After enduring Patina's endless 60 minutes of endurance training, I'd better lose my angel-wing arms and cottage cheese thighs!

His Hands

On Abby's blessing day, May 2006

At Christmastime, Dec 2010

My dad and my granddaughter. 

Representing the binding of our family and the effect we have on each other as members of one family tree with many connected branches. These two special people, four generations apart, offer each other so much more than words could ever express.

His now-gnarled hands have experienced much of life-- spending many years laboring faithfully to provide the necessities and comforts of life to his family, and demonstrating love in a myriad of ways to all of us for generations... 

Her small hands are just starting out, many years away from wearing lines of experience or strain. They have a lifetime to serve and work and show love to those people with whom she will share her world. Someday those hands, like her great-grandfather's, will wipe soap bubbles from freshly bathed little bodies as well as tears from soft cheeks. Those hands, now so eager to help her mommy, daddy and little brothers, will one day, without hesitation, bandage skinned knees and hold aging hands, bringing comfort, tenderness and love.

Seeing Abby's newborn hand encased in Dad's reminds me of other hands that spent a lifetime of unconditional love and selfless service. Our Savior's perfect hands ... He serves us with them still. May we daily strive to be like Him:

"His hands...tools of creation, stronger than nations, power without end,
and yet through them we find our truest friend.
His hands...sermons of kindness, healing men's blindness, halting years of pain,
children waiting to be held again.

His hands would serve His whole life through, showing man what hands may do,
giving, ever giving endlessly!
Each day was filled with selflessness, and I'll not rest 'til I make of my hands what they should be...
'til these hands become like those from Galilee.

His hands...lifting a leper, warming a beggar, calling back the dead,
breaking bread--five thousand fed!
His hands, hushing contention, pointing to heaven, ever free of sin,
then bidding man to follow Him.

His hands would serve His whole life through, showing man what hands may do,
giving, ever giving endlessly!
Each day was filled with selflessness, and I'll not rest 'til I make of my hands what they should be...
'til these hands become like those from Galilee.

His hands...clasped in agony...as He he lay pleading, bleeding in the Garden...
while just moments away, other hands betray Him out of greed, shameful greed.
And then His hands are trembling, straining to carry the beam that they've been nailed to,
as he stumbles through the streets, heading toward the hill on which He died...He would die!
They take His hands, His mighty hands, those gentle hands...
...and then they pierce them, they pierce them-- He lets them, because of love!
From birth to death was selflessness, and clearly now I see Him with His hands calling to me...
...and though I'm not yet as I would be, He has shown me how I could be.
I will make my hands like those from Galilee."

Happy Birthday, Jessie!

Today's my precious Jessie's birthday. She's 26. I can't believe it! I am so grateful for every moment of her life, for she's blessed me (and all of us in our family and waaaay beyond!) more than mere words could possibly express. I love her and I thank God for her, for she's made this world a sweeter place!

Out here on my own...

This is random, but ever since Thia Megia sang this song the other night on American Idol , I have been humming or singing it. I never saw the movie Fame, but I knew this song and have always loved it. Now I can't get it out of my head. Here's a link to listen to Thia and to the original '80s version:  Out Here On My Own


As I have contemplated the lyrics over and over, I realize that they have special meaning in my personal life. They reflect my relationship with the Savior.

For like the song says, I have my 'blue' days, and I often wonder if I really will be able to make it through this life. Like you, I sometimes feel alone and scared, and I feel that I don't fit in in certain situations, and many times I struggle with wondering just who I really am or if I can measure up to who I know I should be. I know the veil separating us from heaven is indeed thin-- I've had beautiful experiences to show me it's VERY thin-- but there are times it seems as thick as a brick wall.

The beautiful chorus of this song brings me back to the light and joy that I receive when I put my focus on the reality of my Savior. Whenever I take the opportunity to look at life with an eternal perspective, it's like closing my eyes so I can be with my Savior, begging Him to help me through and to (interesting thought) help me need Him.

One of my favorite scripture stories is the account of Peter walking on the Sea of Galilee. 

As long as he kept his eyes on his Savior, he was able to continue walking no matter how frightening the storm or how fierce the waves. The second he took his eyes off of Jesus, he became terrified of the height of the storm-driven waves and the blackness of the sea, and he immediately sank. But Jesus reached forth and pulled Peter back up. Peter could have drowned, but he CHOSE to reach up and grab hold of his Savior, and he lived. And learned an invaluable lesson about faith.




So... here are those lyrics.  See? I did NOT get off topic... Not really...

Out Here On My Own (from Fame)

Sometimes I wonder where I've been,who I am, do I fit in...

Make believing is hard alone... out here on my own.

We're always proving who we are, always reaching for the rising star
To guide me far and shine me home out here on my own.

When I'm down and feeling blue, I close my eyes so I can be with you. 

Oh, baby, be strong for me, baby, belong to me... Help me through... Help me need you.

Until the morning sun appears, making light of all my fears
I dry the tears I've never shown out here on my own.

When I'm down and feelinf blue, I close my eyes so I can be with you. 

Oh, baby, be strong for me, baby, belong to me... Help me through... Help me need you.

Sometimes I wonder where I've been, who I am, do I fit in...

I may not win, but I can't be thrown out here on my own.

"Home" for awhile

Michael asked the other day about our little Value Place hotel room, so I thought I'd take a few pics of what has become 'home' for us and give you a tour. By the time we close on our house (April 4th), this little room will have been our home for 3 months together and 4 months for Danny. Wow.

But we've had VERY cold winter weather much of the time since coming to Omaha, so we are VERY grateful for this little room. It's clean, it's keeping us warm and safe, and it's helping us realize that we don't need all of the luxuries and extras that most of us often think are necessities. Countless others throughout history have had it much, much, MUCH worse!! We don't dare complain!

Taken last night. COLD night...I was glad to take the pic and get inside!

Want a tour of Rm 331? This is our view from the door. We have a kitchenette, bathroom, double-sized bed, storage nooks under the bed, little table and two chairs, dresser, TV, and "closet".  We have several bins, boxes and bags, so almost every inch of the room is filled with our stuff. The double bed has made us appreciate our queen-sized bed-- can't wait to have a little more elbow room so my hourly hot flashes won't wake Danny up anymore! :-)

 The view from the end of our bed. The tiny kitchen has two burners (no oven), microwave, apt-size frig, and enough cupboard/shelf space for our needs. Our electric skillet Christmas gift from Mom and Dad has been indispensible, and our Christmas mugs and Danny's Language Service Corps mug serve well as our glassware. We bought a crockpot, two pans, and Dollar Tree silverware, plates and bowls for two. Plus a couple of bigger bowls for necessities like salads and yummy mixed fruits, so we are in good shape here!

Building cathedrals...

Yesterday my friend Toni emailed the following to me. I'd received it once before long ago, and I remember that it touched me then. Now that both of our kids are grown and married with wonderful lives of their own, and since I still feel a bit lost as an empty-nester (and even more lost with no home of our own for now), the timing of Toni's emailed 'gift' is perfect. 

 

I have a feeling that any of you mothers (or fathers) following my blog may also need the lift the following will give you. Maybe wait til kids are sleeping tonight to read this. Turn on your favorite soothing music, grab a cup of hot cocoa or herbal tea, and read on. I join countless others here on earth and beyond the eternal veil, in saluting all invisible mothers... and fathers:

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of my kids walked into the room while I was on the phone to ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'
     

Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone or cooking or cleaning the floors,making the beds or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more! 'will you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this??
     

Some days I'm not just a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a taxi to order, 'Right around 4:30, please.'
     

Some days I'm a crystal ball; 'Where's my other sock? Where's my phone?, What's for dinner?'
     

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history, music and literature --but now, they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!?
     

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. She had just come back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all so well dressed and put together so well.
     

It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when she turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a coffee table book on the great cathedrals of Europe.  I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "With admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.''
     

In the days ahead I would read --- no, devour-- the book. And I would discover what would become for me four life-changing truths after which I could pattern my work: 

1) No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. 

2) These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. 

3) They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. 

4) The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.
     

A story of legend in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof, No one will ever see it ' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'
     

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does'.
     

'No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, no Parent-teacher meeting, no last- minute errand is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'
     

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.
     

The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people nowadays willing to sacrifice to that degree.
     

When I really think about it, I don't want my daughter to tell the friend she's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand- bastes a turkey for 3 hours and puts together all the linens, decorations and china for the table." 

 

That would mean I'd built a monument to myself. I just want her to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to her friend, she'd say, "You're gonna love it here ...."
     

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of all the invisible mothers.

I am so hot... :-/

I HATE HOT FLASHES AND NIGHT SWEATS!!!!!

Jamee's pics at Mike and Corey's wedding

Jamee emailed me these three pictures from Michael and Corey's wedding, and I LOVE them!
Thank you, Jamee, for sending them!

These two precious girls are beautiful through and through, and I'm so grateful they're not only dear cousins, but dear friends. I am so proud of them both, for they are appreciative wives and happy mothers. And those kids!!  They are beyond precious...

I still can't believe Brian, Cindy, Loni, Jamee, Olivia, Carter and Brigham made the long trip to San Diego to celebrate Michael and Corey's special day. That meant so so SO much to us-- that STILL means so much to us! I sure love them all...

I'm glad Jamee captured this shot, for I absolutely LOVE seeing both Michael and Corey laughing on their wedding day!

And rain will make the flowers grow

For some reason, this has been a difficult morning. It shouldn't be a difficult morning, but I've got a black cloud over my head. I'm focusing on the wrong things--like our small, crowded hotel room, like the cold day outside, like the constant pain of my unfixable right hand, like the fact that I desperately need a haircut, like the unreasonable voice in my head telling me once again that I don't matter. Stupid stuff, I know, but still, that's what I'm focusing on.

Most of the pics I'd like to look at right now are on our desktop. That computer sits here in our crowded hotel room in a box. No place to put it, so it stays in the box til we are in our house. I need cheering up, so I looked for cheer-up pics on Danny's laptop and found this one:

= 

Abby made this flower for me many months ago. I'm so glad I took a picture of it to remind me of a sweet memory of a day with Abby, for she erased it right afterwards to draw something else. I'm so glad that we were able to preserve that moment and that I found this picture on Danny's laptop. 

I needed the sunshine that emanates from her inspired artistic creation. 

And maybe this is a weird thought, but as I look at this little flower from my darling little granddaughter, I can hear Eponine's voice (from Les Miserables) singing these words: 

"And rain will make the flowers grow..." 

Even as she lay dying, Eponine focused on the positive! She had every right to be miserable, as her whole life had been filled with poverty and misery, but her final thoughts focused on the fact that the rain falling upon her bleeding body would make the flowers grow. Wow. Can I please be like Eponine (except for the difficult life and dying young part?)?

We need flowers in our lives, and therefore, we need rain. So it's okay for me to have a day that doesn't include laughter and poppies. 

I'm glad I decided to post this morning. I almost didn't, since I have a lot to take care of this morning and probably shouldn't have even gone online. 

But I found an invitation from Jamee to view her blog (I hadn't been able to see it lately) and as I read some of her inspired posts and enjoyed her pics, I noted that she too has hard days, especially lately with her very difficult pregnancy. Her words, pics and family/friends' responses helped me to realize that it's therapeutic to write. She's so loved by so many-- it was wonderful to read the comments her loved ones sent to her.  

I look up to my beloved Jamee so much--and I thought I too might write for the therapeutic value (even though MY hard day is NOTHING compared to HERS! I feel really sheepish even HAVING a hard day when I think of what sweet Jamee is going through!).

Thanks, Jamee, for inspiring me to write. I feel better and hope to make this day a good one now. And thanks, Abby, for the flower. :-)

And we can't leave out Zack!

And as I express our love and gratitude for Corey and her relationship with Michael, I must say that we feel immense gratitude as well for Zack. for he is an incredibly good man. He loves Jessie so much and she adores him. He's a great husband and a terrific daddy. He's honest, hard-working (sometimes too hard-working! The day he got home from the hospital after having abdominal surgery, he went to WORK! Didn't want to take any more time off... bless him!), patient and kind. He's blessed our lives as he blesses Jessie and their children.

As you know, Zack's dad, Norm, passed away a month ago, leaving a great legacy through his beautiful wife, Lynda, and his four awesome kids and their families. Jessie expressed her love for her Edwards family members as she shared stories with me of the unforgettable time they spent together at Norman's bedside in Arizona (at Sam and Peggy's) after Christmas, and then again on Long Island a month later at his funeral. She said each moment was precious. Family is the most important gift we have next to the gifts we receive through the Savior's Atonement, and those rare times we get to spend with each other are to be cherished. 


It's amazing to spend time with our kids and their spouses-- to watch them as they look at each other and interact and serve each other with such love! We are blessed beyond measure with such kids and kids-in-law... (and grandkids, of course!)

Michael and Corey

When I think of Michael Boyd, I can't help but smile. I love that guy so much. He's brought more joy and laughter and craziness to our home than I could ever express in mere words. Those of you who know him understand what I mean. From the time he was a little kid, he's always been mindful of and kind to others, and he's always reached out to those less fortunate than him. He gets along with everyone he meets, and all creatures, human and otherwise, love him.

Mike served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Denmark from 2006 to 2008. On the first day of his mission, at the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah, he met Sister Corey Hansen, and they became the best of friends from that day forward.  After their missions, they met again and fell in love, realizing that they wanted and needed to be together for all eternity.




So in May 2009, Danny came home from his second military deployment in Iraq on leave, and he and I drove with Jessie's family to San Diego to witness Michael and Corey's temple wedding. It was awesome! (and traveling in a rented minivan with Mike, Jess and kids on the way and Jess and kids on the way back was SOOOO fun!)

Corey was a beautiful bride and Michael was a very handsome groom, and they glowed with the happiness they shared on that great day. 

Beautiful newlyweds on their wedding day

I sigh with joy when I look at this one... what a day!

We are so grateful to Corey's parents (and siblings!) for raising such a wonderful, beautiful daughter. She's blessed Mike's life and she blesses ours.