Jamie's Wedding - Part Two

Everything is kind of out of order...but close enough for me.

I guess you could call this the "rehearsal" dinner.  The night before the wedding, all of my family and a few of Leah's peeps met at the local Burgerville for some caviar and salmon.  Okay, maybe there were a few burgers in the mix as well.

Grandma Wilma was thoroughly enjoying her chocolate cherry shake. Burgerville had straws already, but if they didn't, it would not have been a problem.  Grandma always comes prepared with straws of her own...bendy, of course.

Rinar and Julia.  I have taken away her binkies, so her pointer finger is an ample substitute, I guess.

Cody and Catye trying to stay warm while pictures just kept going on and on and on.

Apparently, Jamie has no earthly clue how to open an umbrella.  Hopefully, he knows how to unbutton stuff, or his wedding night was probably the pits!

There you go...this was our half of the wedding party...14 of us. My little family comprises half of this picture. Sheesh!

Hey Leah...let me give you a clue.  CANDY!  It works every time.  Cookies are also a good option as well.

This is Leah's immediate family.

They were channeling their inner Fredette.

Seriously, what was wrong with my two little ones?  Hmmm...it could have been lunch time, and they might have been freezing and bored out of their minds. But besides that, what is the problem here?

Jamie and Mom had a sweet moment here. I just really sucked at getting a good picture to capture the moment, unfortunately.

Jamie really can smile "normally".  Here he is with his best man, Dane.



Here is a seriously blurry picture of the wedding cake.  By the way, if you would like to schedule me for your wedding photography in the future, just call 1-800-BLURRY1.

The reception was at Leah's aunt's house in Newport, Oregon. They managed to fit a lot of tables into a small space. And speaking of that, there may have been soMEbody who may have almost knocked the cake over when she was bending over to help a one year-old.  Maybe. Possibly.

Julia and Grandpa made quite a pair. She told me later that she just really liked his pink tie.

Decorations, just because you weren't there, I thought I would include them.

I had to get the karaoke going at this shindig.  It was hard for me to break out of my shell, but I just sucked it up for the good of the party.  After Rinar and I sang a rousing rendition of "Summer Nights" from Grease, I had to pick out a song for Jamie to sing to his lovely new bride.  Unfortunately, there were only 4 CD's and one of them was Christmas songs. Jamie was riddled with indecision.  My choice?  "Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting".  He was uh-mazing.  Jamie and Dane tore it up. It was sooooo romantic.  He even threw in a few Kung Fu moves at the end.  Zach and Raef and Eli really loved it.

So, of course Leah had to follow it up with something equally as romantic.  What else, but "Lean On Me"?  I almost felt Morgan Freeman and the ghosts of Eastside High singing right along with her. By the way, did you know that "Lean On Me" is a really long song?

And then they drove off into the sunset....ummm...I mean the wet, sloshy, and muddy hillside.  He is driving a vintage Mercedes, or something like that. 

Jamie and Leah...now you are on the road to eternity.  Yeah, good luck with that!

Quick Thought on the Road

When you have 5 kids and are traipsing through liberal-land, it is almost like you are on another planet. We went through Northern California today.  At the gas station in the Redwood Forest area, the Subaru Outback (of course!) in front of us had bumper stickers that were so offensive to everything I believe and hold dear, I just had to laugh and feel sorry for the curmudgeonly old broad who was sporting them.

One bumper sticker said, "6 Billion Miracles Are Enough". I almost wanted to have all five of my snot-nosed, sugar-encrusted kids go up and give her a great big, tree-loving hug. She might have melted like the wicked witch in the Wizard of Oz!


"AAAAHHHHHH, I'm melting!!!! Melting!!!! Melting!!!!"

All of my kids piled out of the car like the clowns in a circus act and tumbled into the Chevron.  I was kind of waiting around because I wanted to see what a person like that actually looked like.  And then, there she was.  She tried her best to avoid eye contact with me.  But in my most cheery, global-warming induced, soldier-saluting voice, I said hello.  She shrunk in terror like a rat exposed to sunlight and hurried on her way. 

Besides that, the drive on the 101 from Oregon to Napa is just gorgeous and totally the opposite of the drive from Las Vegas to Reno.  We did a little hike on one of the Redwood Trails and of course I stopped at the visitors center to get a stamp for my National Parks passport.

Jamie's Wedding - Part One

I am going to have to blog this in two parts because I am on vacation now and the computer is slow.  I was able to get these photos up before my connection konked out.

There he is, my brother Jamie with his new bride Leah. They have just walked out of the Portland temple. Shockingly, it was overcast and drizzling here in Oregon. No vampires were glistening on their wedding day, for sure.

There goes my crew on their way to the temple. They got to wait in the foyer. It really didn't take very long.

Nevertheless, they weren't that happy as you can see.  You know, a song comes to mind when I look at this photo.  Hmmm...how does it go?  Oh yeah!  "I love to see the temple, I 'm going there someday, to feel the Holy Spirit..."  Oh, you get the idea.

Harry just kept on feeling the Holy Spirit.  He was overcome by it, as you can see.

Here is my sister Catye and my Mom, and Grandma Wilma.  This was shot in the temple atrium right after the ceremony.

Lake Las Vegas

We took some family pictures out at the entrance of Lake Las Vegas. They did pretty good, but Julia really wasn't that cooperative. Well, until she got to be center-stage.

 

6 Tunnels Half Marathon

Carolyn said, "This is Rinar and his harem."  haha!  From the left, Leanne D., Amrayne M., Carolyn M., Rinar, and me!

Yep, I did it again. I ran a half marathon yesterday.  I really wasn't in love with the training this time around and I felt like I was getting slower every time I hit the road. Nevertheless, on Saturday I laced up my shoes and pounded the pavement for 13.1 miles.  

Surprisingly enough, I actually really like the course.  It has a bad rap, but let me tell you, there were some definite positives to this race. First of all, it was the perfect Saturday to run. The weather was ideal, just a gorgeous day and wonderful time of the year. The course had two out and backs, so you had to turn around twice.  I really liked that because there was always someone to watch and since it was a wide bike path, there were always lots of runners around me.  We started the race in the middle of the course and headed toward Boulder City. It was a steady climb for about 2.5 miles, then a quick descent to the turn-around. After that first hill (I usually hate hills) and a quick hello to Leanne, Amrayne, and Carolyn, we got to run back down the long hill. So, on the way out I kept my pace just under 10 minutes, and on the way back I held myself back so that I did not run faster than 8:00. I didn't want to be sore, because I have a lot of things to do this week, and sore is not one of them.

After we passed the finish line we headed out to the tunnel portion of the race. I really did not like the gravel, but after a while I got used to it and stopped thinking about it.  Then the fun part was going down a steep hill, only to see even more descent.  I was a little panicked, because I knew that what goes down, must go up.  Then right before the last turn around at about mile 10 or so, it was a steep, killer climb. Yep, I walked. There was no point in running it because I couldn't have done it any faster.

I was surprised that the hill coming back was not as bad as I thought.  I got to say hello to Rinar on the way out, and then to Leanne, Amrayne, and Carolyn on the way back. That was fun.

I conserved my energy for the end of the race. I never usually do that. I must be growing up or something. Therefore, when everyone else was walking up the hill, I was running at a pretty good clip. Then when we hit the tunnels again I started reeling people in at a pretty good pace. No one passed me, but I bet that I must have passed about 30 runners. I felt great and I had a lot of gas in the tank.  

When you have runs like that, you want to do more.

My time was not that great, 2 hours 5 minutes and 58 seconds, but I felt really good afterward and I am looking forward to doing another one real soon. I think halfs are the perfect distance for me.

The Difference Between Boys and Girls

She eats with a fork. Just a little on her face.

Fork? What fork?  Plus, he is saving some for later.

A Face Only a Mother Could Love

These Moments

Do you ever have a moment when you realize you have taken things for granted?  I have been feeling that way a tiny bit this past week. As I drive around Las Vegas, I see the beautiful mountains in the background. They seem to be a little bit softer, a bit more colorful, and inviting.  The trees seem to stand a little bit taller and the air is more crisp.  

I must be getting ready to say goodbye. The time is quickly approaching and Las Vegas seems to be beckoning me to stay. Everything seems a little bit nicer now that it won't be my backyard anymore.

Ironic, huh?

Just this past week the weather has been ideal. It has been in the low 70's with a slight breeze. The bushes are starting to reawaken and the city seems to be pulsing to a lovely rhythm.  

I know that I am moving and that I am running out of time.  I look forward to a new chapter of my life in Reno, while at the same time I have tried not to think about leaving. There is a part of me that doesn't want to leave. Nevertheless, it is what it is and I am going to savor new opportunities that I am being blessed with today.

However, as I view Las Vegas in my rear view mirror for the last time, I am sure I will shed a few tears.

Eli's Birthday Party...Finally!

I threw together a very last minute party for Eli. He turned three almost a month ago.  The only thing I had done for him was tell him happy birthday. I thought I would remedy that. Yesterday, I told a few of my friends who have kids his age that I was throwing a party in the morning. It was so last minute. I baked a cake last night, printed up some coloring pages, pulled out some old Halloween crafty foam stickers, and got some sugar cookies at the store for them to decorate.

7 kids came over and it actually turned out really well. They had a lot of fun for 90 minutes and then it was time to go home.

Don't you love the sprinkles? He did a great job on his, with an avalanche of sprinkles.

Jocelyn, Ben, and Shyann

Carolyn and Jocelyn. Jocelyn's hair is amazing.

Charlie M. with his half-eaten cookie.

This cake was supposed to be red.  I really did add a lot of food coloring. I guess I need to add a lot more. I did not intentionally make him a pink cake. And what's wrong with pink anyways? It's still a color.

Harry loved all of the sugar.  Bullseye!

Eli LOVES to color. He will do it for hours. He colored three Diego pictures on his own and did a great job.

Julia really liked the frosting on her cookie.



We sang to Eli  before everyone left. This is a pretty funny video. Eli's friend Ben was really into this whole birthday thing and blew out the candles first.  Then I re-lit them and we sang a refrain and he tried to blow them out again but his mom stopped him. He wasn't too happy about it.

Moving Fast

I met with two realtors a few days ago and they both think it would be best for the house to be empty before we put it up for sale.  Apparently, they don't think real estate and five small children mesh very well. 

Looking at my calendar and what is going on in my life, I have a small window to make this happen.  Fortunately, I don't have to do any packing. I just set up an appointment and the moving people come and it is done.  Hallelujiah!  However, the window is fast-approaching.  That means I have less than two weeks to live in my house.  Then I go on a family vacation for about a week.  Then I come back and hang out in St. George for a little bit.  By the beginning of April, we will officially be in Reno.  It is just the way it is going to have to be.

It is spring time and it is a good time to put our house up for sale.  I am praying that we will be able to sell this house quickly at a price we can afford.  I don't know what the future holds, but somehow I know that everything will be just fine.

With that said, I am still in denial. I can't believe how quickly this has all happened.  I try not to think about it because it makes me a little sad. There are so many wonderful, fantastic, amazing people here in Las Vegas and I am going to miss them all.

In the meantime I have got to de-clutter and paint.

Sigh...