James and Brooke's Wedding Brunch

Here are some fun snapshots of family and friends at the wedding luncheon, and a few pictures and the temple afterward. We had so much fun seeing family, and it was wonderful seeing Brooke and James; they looked so happy together. It was a very joyous occasion.

I'm post dating this so they are in chronological order. I've been a real blogger slacker lately, but I'm going to try to catch up.

Michel and Analyse catch up with Marie.

Dad and his brother Ray enjoyed swapping stories.

Makenna looked lovely in her floral sundress.

Miles is glad to have so much family together.

It was great fun to have Joy around, and she is looking very fashionable, as always.

Mom and Stacie look great in their gerber daisy colors, and Mom is happy to be holding lovely baby Hope.

Snack time for Zach and Ben. Darius and Ruth are enjoying being parents of two very cute little boys;

Me with my very handsome, conscientious, considerate, and fun boys. I couldn't ask for anything else better.
Family weddings can take a lot of work, but I love them. I can't wait for the next one.

James and Brooke

Congratulations to James and Brooke who were married on Saturday!


They look very happy together.


Jame's siblings and inlaws.


Lots of nieces and nephews.


Brooke's family.

I hear bells...

James gave me a call this evening. It went something like this:

"How's it going?"
"Good, how are you?"
"Are you doing anything this weekend?"
"Just watching conference."
"It was fun seeing you and your friend, Brooke, a couple weeks ago? Are you dating?"
"We'll actually, thats why I called; we're engaged!"

Yeah!!! It's so fun to have siblings get married! Brooke seems really nice; a real catch. Congratulations, lil' bro!

Family Downtown Evening

This year we bought a family pass to the Utah Children's Museum at The Gateway. The kids have been there a few times, but I've only been once so we decided to go downtown and make a visit for Family Home Evening. They had a special Robots exhibit that was pretty cool.


They had robotic toys, statues, and these really cool robotic arms you could control. It was a big hit with the the kids. We spent almost two hours there and we didn't even hit half of the place, so we decided we need to go more often. I had forgotten how fun it is. It was great because they're open later on Monday nights, and there was hardly anyone else there. Plus it's such a great opportunity to play with the kids.


On our way to the museum I took this shot of Temple Square through the car windshield while we were waiting at the light. It looked so inviting that we made a whole night of it and wandered around the temple grounds admiring the shimmering lights after the museum.

The Assembly Hall looked stunning with all of the vivid orange, yellow and purple lights all around it. I'm usually quite the Grinch, but even I can't help feeling a little jolly with all the Christmas lights up.

The temple of course looks very majestic and inviting behind all of the brightly lit trees. Somehow it's always so comforting and peaceful to me. Of course it was Christmastime 1995 when Melinda and I were married in this temple for time and all eternity. I was going to say that was the best Christmastime for me, but when I honestly think about it, they keep getting better; especially with each of the children.

I loved Melinda then, but I love her so much more now. Now we have Lisette, Miles, Ian and Saffron, too. My love hasn't been spread thinner now that we have them; my capacity to love has grown more than I could have ever imagined.

They had nativity scenes from different countries and cultures around the grounds. Lisette made sure we saw them all. We really liked the New Zealand one, with the lamb and the kiwi. It's always a good reminder that Christmas is about Jesus Christ and not Santa Claus or the Christmas Monkey.

We finished the night off by getting cinnamon rolls and egg nog from Harmons. Yum. We made hot cocoa with little marshmallows and sang some Primary Christmas songs before we prayed and went to bed. It was a very nice family evening.

Brian and Dejah

Congratulations are in order for Brian and Dejah! Brian called earlier this evening to tell us the good news of their impending nuptials!

Melinda was just telling me yesterday that she thinks that Brian should marry Dejah. We're so glad because Dejah is too good to let go.

They looked so happy sitting with each other during the family party on Saturday. They are definitely a great match.