Friday 22 May 2015

A Beautiful Day



Jaclyn married Mason on May 1st in the Bountiful, Utah temple and it was a beautiful day!


There has never been a happier bride and groom!




And we all felt the same way



We had plenty of time to visit and celebrate outside the temple


Carmen was the Maid of Honour and she was the hardest working Maid of Honour I've ever seen. She put in so much thought and work ahead of the wedding, anticipating potential snags that I hadn't thought of, and finding the solutions.


After I came home I told people it was one of the happiest days of my life, and for some reason everyone would play that statement down. They'd say it was only because I was happy with who Jaclyn was marrying. And yes, that's true. I admit it! I love this boy.



It was a big deal to have so much support. Nearly every person at the temple had to travel a great distance to be there.


Mason has a cute family. They put on a 'rehearsal dinner' the night before which was super fun at a Brazilian BBQ restaurant. Jaclyn's a lucky girl that Mason came with this package of people.


Mason's pretty lucky with his new extended family as well.



This guy makes all my days happy.




And so do my kids. I'm a lucky mom.

Jaclyn wrote some hilarious bio's for the wedding party introduction at the reception. Let me share:



Bridesmaids: 
Sydney: Sydney, sister to the groom, just finished her freshman year at BYU where she participated in many sports including volleyball, distance running, rock climbing, and extreme jacks, the last of which she competed in semi-professionally.
      Carmen: Carmen, Maid of Honour and sister to the bride, is a baller. Her high school team had an undefeated season this year, and won the city championship, which secured her spot as the first draft pick on the Yugoslavian women's basketball team. Unfortunately, she had to turn it down in order to finish high school.
Amber: Amber, former missionary companion to the bride, is an amazing singer. After singing in an ordinary sacrament meeting spontaneously caused the entire congregation to burst into tears, Amber has developed the ability to sing with her mouth completely closed in order to use her great power with greater responsibility.
      Chloe: Chloe, sister to the bride, and better known in the family as “Chef Chloe” spends her summers attending the SAIT cooking training camp and is an extraordinary party planner, skills which will eventually allow her to secretly control In-N-Out Burger behind the scenes and thereby take over the West Coast.
         



Groomsmen:
Steven: Steve, brother to the bride, recently went on a camping trip to Lake Powell, where he single handedly rescued his friends from a pack of alligators - a skill that will come in handy during his upcoming mission to Jacksonville, Florida.
Luke:  Luke, brother to the groom, graduated from BYU last week in Political Science. He hopes to move to Washington DC, where he will get a completely ordinary job that totally will not include going on secret counterterrorism missions and absolutely is not a cover for working for the CIA.
      Tyler : Most people are impressed when they learn that when Tyler first came to BYU, he was accepted into the prestigious BYU school of music as an organ and piano performance double major, but most people don't know that Tyler is also an accomplished bassoonist and is actually famous throughout Europe and the Middle East as the South African bassoonist known simply as "El Maestro".
Trevor: Trevor served his mission in Buenos Aires Argentina, where he picked up the useful skill of speaking Russian...in Spanish .


They are, the most interesting wedding party in the world.


Mason's mission to Montreal and Jaclyn's mission to Halifax are a big part of their love story.



On to the reception:


Jaclyn was a gracious bride.


Kevin was a masterful M.C. He had a few tricks up his sleeve throughout the night,


And Mason helped Kevin along once in awhile.


Jaclyn played, and Mason sang. They're a talented pair.


The cake actually gave Mason a moment of trouble, but ultimately his great sense of humour is what we will remember!




A little slideshow during dessert


Jaclyn and Mason have both studied Ballroom Dancing at BYU, so they can really dance.


Chloe will be the life of every party she ever attends. She has a gift for fun that she spreads wherever we go.


Then, after a little more dancing, and the toss of the bouquet, 


We gave a sparkler send off to Jaclyn and Mason and sent them on their way to the rest of their lives together.

I will say, I was wholly unprepared for how joyful it would be for me to attend the wedding of my own child. I am so very happy for them, and I will look back on this day as a perfect one.


Monday 4 May 2015

Steven's Temple Day


Steven entered the Mount Timpanogos Temple on Thursday April 30th in preparation for leaving on a mission in June. He was lucky to have his grandparents, a few uncles and aunts and cousins, as well as Ken, Jaclyn, and I with him that day.


I'm really proud of Steven and his readiness for the temple and missionary service. I know that he has followed the spirit in his decisions and also enjoyed some tender mercies along the way to bring him to the temple. He continues to press forward in his life and as a mom I couldn't want more than that for him. Next stop: Jacksonville, Florida.