Relatives Visit to SLC

I know I'm behind but I wanted to post about this so if any of my relatives check our blog, they get to see their faces or their kiddos :)

My cousin Brandon got married on June 2nd to his fiance Alvhild and we were lucky enough for them to have their celebrations happen in Utah!  We were able to see them sealed together for time & all eternity in the SLC temple, and then have dinner with the Evans' and all their guests at the Lion House.  It was a perfect day outside and so fun to see everyone who was in town.

 Love the crazy before and very posed after pics below - so many kiddos!

Here were some candid shots outside the temple.  I love attending marriage/sealing ceremonies in the temple.  It's the best part to a marriage because you get to share such an important event with them.  I love when a bride and groom enter the sealing room and get to see all their family and those who play an important role in their life.  (This was my favorite part 2.5 years ago too!).  And since it was my cousin's wedding, a lot of my extended family was there too and brought good feelings to me.  It was great to watch how in love they are, just adoring each other and wanting to serve the other person.  New love is so pure.  And actually older love can be too, so I wasn't saying those of you who've been married forever aren't as sweet.  But new love is just wonderful.  I know they deserve the best and I'm so happy they found each other even if it took awhile to find.  No matter how long it takes to find that right person, when it happens it is the best and the right time.  And for those of us who it has taken a long time, or hasn't happened yet, I think our love grows much more for our future spouses because we won't take them for granted, but really treasure them everyday.  Waiting for my spouse, it was hard, but I knew once he came I'd be so grateful everyday.  Sometimes there's a moment I forget but I can easily remind myself and any hard trials we have together still are okay because we have each other to lean on.  Not trying to brag about marriage, just explaining my situation - I know how it is to want to be married, and now I know how it is on the other side after waiting for a long time - I hope everyone gets to experience the joys of marriage and having a best friend forever.

So I got caught in my thoughts.... back to the wedding...

After the wedding, the Evans' cousins stayed in town for a week and we were able to see them one more time at a BBQ at Steph's home.  David had a EQ meeting so he only stopped by for a few seconds and then left me to hang and spend time with them (Nancy, Brooke, Courtney and kids and also Lindsay's kids since she was sick herself... as well as my mom and the SLC Evans' Andy, Steph, Richard and Jan and family).  I had a couple hours to experience LOTS of kids.  Between all those cousins above I think there were at least 15 little ones there.  This is how all of their family vacations are, wow!  And from a small family, that was so new for me.  And having an in-law family that is the opposite of small (9 kids), I had a small glimpse of what the future for the Clarks looks like.  And I say "small" because 9 with 3-5 kids is a lot more than 15!  Anyway, everyone had about a 1 year old, so there were 4 of them who were just walking barely.  It was cute to watch them interact with each other as well as they were given a corn on the cob that they just walked around with.  All the other older kids are cousins themselves and you could tell that they knew how to play together, get in fights, and just have fun!  While there was a lot of chaos it was fun to watch their parents as they got out the bandaids or put someone in timeout or just use those parenting skills they have developed over the past 5-8 years.  A long time ago, as cousins, we were all in that stage of playing together at reunions or trips - crazy it has been so long since those times.  You Evans', remember us visiting Alabama and all the fun we'd have: boogie boarding on the beach, boating, baseball games, the kids playing in your home together, swimming, finding a bat under the balcony, driving the doon buggy...  These are just some of the fun times I remember.  Brandon and Eric ganging up on Courtney and Andrea... Well, my memory isn't the best, but I can remember some of it right?!

Here are some BBQ candid shots, thanks to everyone for coming and to Steph for putting the invite out there and throwing a fun party!  Let's do it again soon!

 All these cousins playing together! How fun!

 She's adorable!