A [Really Long] Vacation Report

Brace yourselves -- this post isn't short.

The first half of our week in Provo was spent getting ready for the second half. I did a lot of couch sitting during those first three days -- not because I wanted to, but because just about every time I stood up and walked around, I'd start getting contractions. The couch was comfortable, if a little boring. But then, I suppose by definition, a vacation should be relaxing and should therefore involve a lot of couch sitting.

By Thursday, though, the contractions had, for the most part, subsided and I was feeling pretty good (well, aside from the obnoxious hacking cough I'd developed...but by Thursday I'd called my doctor, been given a list of "okay-for-pregnant-women" ingredients in cough medicines, and had visited the Macey's pharmacy). And so I let the parties and festivities we were there to participate in hit me full force. It was great. Here's the basic run-down of our goings-ons:

The Wedding Dinner
On Thursday evening my family hosted a family wedding dinner in the church cultural hall. As it was being catered by two amazing cooks in our old stake, all we had to prepare was the set-up and the centerpieces. Fresh flowers were purchased in large quantities at Costco, which me, Mom, Aunt Colleen, and cousin (by marriage, anyway), Leisa, later worked to assemble. Last year, for Tyler's wedding dinner, we'd all been instructed in the art of flower arranging, so this year we were pretty much pros. They turned out quite well, I thought.

Everyone gathered at 6:00 at the church, and we sat down to feast on a variety of pastas, Caesar salad, and famous Provo High Cluff rolls. As has become tradition at our family wedding dinners, a microphone was passed around the table, and all who wanted to shared stories of the bride and groom. Because Riley was the groom, and because he's hilarious, there were some pretty good stories going around -- among them, his fear of pine cones, the time his pants were filmed falling down at the beach, and his critically acclaimed Jr. Jazz documentary on his basketball team, "The Real Dawgs."

The Eagle Court of Honor
Immediately following the wedding dinner, we were ushered into the Relief Society room, where we got to watch my youngest brother, Scott, be awarded the rank of Eagle Scout. It was a very nice ceremony, especially considering the fact that there were a few last minute cancellations on the program. And, what with the fact that whole car-loads of family were in from out of town for Riley's wedding, and who had just been down the hall eating wedding dinner food, it was very well attended. Great job, Scott, for earning your Eagle! Not an easy task, I'm sure.

The Wedding Day
Early Friday morning, we all headed down to Manti to witness the sealing of Riley and Chelsea. It was a beautiful day -- you really couldn't ask for better weather for a wedding! And it was so lovely and comfortable being able to sit in the temple surrounded by so much family. They were sealed in the same room that Blake and I were two years ago, and I have to say that it was really quite nice to not be the focus of attention this time. Instead, we got to watch from a couple rows back. It was a beautiful ceremony and, what with that fact, as well as the fact that I have too many hormones currently raging through my body, I cried during the whole thing. Their sealer, who had an entertaining personality, gave them great counsel and advice which was incredibly well-suited for this particular bride and groom. When they came out of the temple, they both looked starry-eyed and very, very happy. I never expected Riley to marry his high school sweetheart, but he and Chelsea seem to be a perfect fit for each other.

Because we were starving, we (Blake, myself, and Tyler and Amanda, who drove to Manti with us) stopped on the way home at a little malt shoppe in Ephriam. Turned out that the rest of the family had decided they were also starving, so we all gave that little diner some pretty good business.

We had about a half an hour to relax at the house in Provo before it was time to head to the reception. Our family had to get there early because we'd hired Riley and Chelsea's photographer to also take some family photos of us. This really was the first time, what with missions and distance, that we'd all been together in several years, so we had to take advantage of the opportunity. I'm excited to see how these photos turned out.

The reception was lovely and also well-attended. Riley and Chelsea both looked beautiful, and I think everyone had a great time. One of my favorite parts of the evening was when Chelsea threw her bouquet...right into a pond behind her. That was funny enough by itself, but it was even more hilarious to watch all these girls trying to reach in and grab it! Anyway, it was a lovely evening, and while it was sad to see it end, I was definitely ready to sit down and elevate my swollen, tired ankles.

The Baby Shower
But the fun wasn't over yet! On Saturday my sister-in-law, Amanda, and my mom gave me a baby shower. It was lots of fun! First it was great to see so many old friends, not to mention all the family that was still in town for the wedding festivities. But it was even more fun to discover that two of my friends were also pregnant (yay for you, Rebecca!!! And Kay, I hope he's come by now!). Amanda made some pretty darn delicious food, and our baby got stocked up on adorable clothes, blankets, and toys...which ultimately took a bit of effort and creative thinking to fit into our car for the trip home (but which also gave me a great activity to work on during that long drive -- time passes incredibly quickly when you're caught up writing thank you cards).

Whew! So those were the big events. But there were other things we did, as well. Here's a [relatively] brief list:

• On Monday evening, we gathered a whole crowd to join us at Leatherbys -- because I was NOT going to be denied my Swiss Milk Chocolate shake a second time!
• On Tuesday morning, Blake interviewed for the New Jersey job. We had a bit of a phone crisis (my parent's service has the annoying habit of disconnecting at the most inconvenient times), but that aside, it went decently well. He didn't get an offer for a follow-up interview, though. Oh well...there will be others.
• It wasn't just my family that we got to see. Blake's brother, Eric, and sister, Kimberly, are also in Provo, and we spent quite a bit of time with them. We also visited with his aunt and cousins in Alpine, celebrated a birthday on Sunday with another set of cousins, and visited with his cousin, Lee, his wife, Sherrie, and their adorable new little baby girl.
• We also had a lovely visit with my old roommate. It was great to see you, Heath!
  
• On Saturday evening we all got to watch my sister, Katie, perform at the high school in her final dance recital. She looked great! My two favorite dances were their last two -- one because it was creatively choreographed using black lights (half of the dancers wore white shirts, and the other half wore white pants...you can have a lot of fun with that combination under black lights), and the other because it was their last dance and those girls all looked so happy and radiant.
• One other recital we watched was my 9-year-old cousin, Emily's, living room rendition of a Celine Dion number. She even recruited my sister, Chelsea, and my cousin's girlfriend to be back-up dancers. It was a riot!
• Blake spent a hefty portion of the week checking our messages at home and doing his best to stay in contact with the insurance companies as he tried to get that stupid fender bender resolved. I think it's all going to work out, and smoothly, too. Still, what a pain!
  

All right, I think that's it. Whew! Are you totally exhausted after reading all that? I am! Gold stars for you if arrived at the end of this post in one piece -- or if you arrived at all! But seriously, we had a great time -- it was totally worth the long drive to be there with everyone for all these fun events. Oh, and yeah, pictures will be coming soon, hopefully sometime this weekend, so stay tuned.