Family Wedding

Yesterday, my brother got married, and I was able to attend! Like I mentioned in my last post, my parents flew us out for the weekend, and I enjoyed every moment of it! On Friday, we went to lunch at Red Robin to celebrate my parents' birthdays, and it was so much fun to just sit around a table and talk and laugh with my family. Then, on Saturday, it was time to get ready for the wedding. Hailey, my sister, and I spent a couple of hours getting our hair and makeup done. We dressed up my girls in their cute birthday dresses, and we went to the venue to set up. My brother got married on the bank of the Snake River, just across the bridge from the temple.
Their wedding colors were blue and purple, so Todd and I bought them two sets of bath towels while all of the final arrangements were being made. We made it back in time to finish setting up chairs and arranging family members as they arrived. There were several hiccups in the proceedings, but my brother and his new wife looked happy, and they even had tears in their eyes as they exchanged their wedding vows. Directly after the ceremony was their reception. We stood in a group for pictures, and then we watched them cut their cake.

Sorry, this is pretty much the only picture I took all day because of all of the running around we did. Directly in front of me is my sister, Hailey, with her cute new haircut, and Todd holding Elizabeth.

My mom had provided really fun refreshments--purple cupcakes, lemonade, and mini cups of Skittles--and had covered the tables with blue tablecloths and really pretty centerpieces made of little fish bowls filled with blue and purple glass rocks. She really did a great job of making everything nice for them! After the reception, we all went out to dinner at Applebee's with my aunt and uncle who had come from out of town. That was really fun too! (I'm sure it's obvious by now, but I really enjoy being around my family!) Then, they headed back to Utah, and we headed home. Hailey, Elizabeth and I rode in my mom's car while my dad took Todd and Evie in his truck. We got home and waited for awhile before the others got there.
It turns out that they had swung by the temple on the way home so Evie could take a look at it, which I actually really appreciated. For several months now, we've been explaining to her that the temple is a very special place where Heavenly Father wants us to get married. She's been thrilled with the temple ever since, always pointing it out in our wedding pictures and asking to drive past it. So a few weeks ago, when we told Evie that her Uncle Scott was getting married, she got really excited, and when she saw him she happily exclaimed that she was glad he was getting married in the temple, where Heavenly Father wanted him to. Since he actually wasn't getting married in the temple, I really hope she didn't offend him. But, at the same time, I want her to associate marriage with the temple. When she thinks about getting married herself, I want her first, automatic, reaction to be that she wants to be married in one of God's temples. So even though the actual wedding didn't happen in the temple yesterday, I'm glad that Todd and my dad drove her past it, just to help cement in her mind the idea that marriage and the temple should always go together.
Early this morning, my dad flew back to North Dakota for work, and we followed him to the airport a few hours later, after attending church with my mom. Our flight went well--Evie fell asleep, and Ella spent the whole time playing with me--and we landed safely. However, when we were walking through the airport, something strange happened. I had gone into the bathroom to fix my hair and when I came back, I took Elizabeth from Todd so he could grab his suitcase again. All of a sudden, a lady came up to me, gestured to Elizabeth, and said, "I know this is going to sound crazy, but I have a really strong feeling I need to tell you something. Someday, this baby girl will grow up to do great things!" We thanked her and she walked away, but it was definitely strange. I'm sure my kids will grow up to be amazing women who can do anything they put their minds to, but it was a little weird hearing a stranger say it. Of course, I'm also feeling a little weird anyway. We hadn't even gotten onto the airplane yet, and I already missed my family. One weekend wasn't quite long enough for me to soak up all of the family time I needed, and I'm already looking forward to Christmas, when I get to spend an entire week with them!