The Summer of Wedding Frenzy!

I'm sure you can tell by looking at my lack of blog writing this summer that I have been super busy...actually, that is an amazing understatement! It all started with Chelsie and Kenzie's graduation from LDS Seminary and Ogden High School and everything escalated from there. We had already decided we needed to sell one of our homes but in order to get top dollar, they both needed some renovations so that was our plan for the summer until Holli and Erin both got engaged and decided to get married this summer! Not to worry, I knew I could handle it all and I was excited for my girls. They had both selected wonderful men to marry. So, as you know, I quit my job and got to work at home. Holli and Matt came home from Virginia in mid June so we could meet Matt, they could help us with the renovations and we could plan their wedding. Well, of course the renovations didn't exactly go as planned as is often the case with 70 year old homes. Things moved slowly. The wedding plans however, moved along great thankfully. We were able to finish the living room, dining room and entry way thanks to Matt and Holli and me! They are now a beautiful yellow. I am happy just walking into those rooms. Dave started on the bathroom and we are still working on that. In the meantime, Holli and Matt got married on July 31! We were so happy to meet Matt's family and felt a deep connection instantly. The week with them was so much fun. Matt has three sisters close to my girls ages so it was a lot of estrogen, but oh, so fun. The wedding dinner the night before the big event was so much fun! We had a Mexican Fiesta complete with wonderful mexican food and a pinata. What a great evening. The next day was the wedding day and it was beautiful. The temple ceremony was wonderful and the reception was so much fun. People stayed and partied and then we sent the newlyweds off in a white stretch limo with all of us waving sparklers. They were off to Cabo, Mexico for a week of sun and fun.

Oh, also, about six weeks before Holli and Matt's wedding, my mother got sick and was hospitalized for 5 weeks! It's a long story, but needless to say, she wasn't able to come from Canada for the wedding. Luckily, she is on the mend now.

In the meantime, plans were well under way for Erin and Jared's wedding. But first we had to get into high gear and get the twins ready to go to Snow College so within a week, we had them accepted, registered for classes, found apartments and dropped them off! I must say that it was harder than saying goodbye to the newlyweds! My babies are in college! How did that happen so fast? They were nervous, excited etc...but are all moved in and classes have started. We made two trips to Ephraim (3 hours each way) in one week. The girls seem happy and are adapting well but their mommy misses them.

About a week after the girls were off to college, my grandmother passed away. She was 90 years old but wasn't terminally ill or anything like that, so I wasn't expecting it so soon. Her funeral was here in Northern Utah (she has lived in Cali. for the past 4 years). It was so nice to see some of our relatives again and Grandma's funeral was a lovely celebration of her life. She passed on some great qualities to us...her love of nature, camping, flower arranging, baking, cooking, decorating etc...We'll miss her but are glad she is with our grandpa now.

The next week was Erin's wedding. It was on Sept. 8. She was a very calm and collected bride. I was amazed. Everything went off well and the day was so wonderful. We had the luncheon, ceremony and reception at the Gathering Place at Gardner Village. It was so much fun. Erin worked hard on her wedding and every little detail was taken care of. The DJ was fabulous and successful at getting people onto the dance floor. Erin and Jared are now on their honeymoon at an all inclusive resort in Mexico. I'm sure they're having a great time beginning their lives together.

So...as you can see, our lives have been hectic. I really don't know how we made it through except with help from the Lord. I seriously prayed multiple times a day for strength to make it through to the next day. I'm so happy for all of my girls and their new adventures in life. I'm grateful for my new sons in law! They are both so wonderful. I love 'em.

We still haven't sold one of the houses, so financially, we're about tapped out, but we have the faith that something will happen in that area. I just hope it's soon! LOL