Weekend Wedding

My youngest sister Mel got married this weekend! Jeff and I flew from Pasco to Utah in a quick overnight trip for the wedding. We left the kids behind at their cousins' house, and the timing of that parenting break could not have been more perfect. Amber had gone on a destruction spree that week and maxed me out completely. I was practically giddy when we left the kids at the cousins' house and drove to the airport. Hello, wedding!

See ya tomorrow night, kids! This minivan is OURS.

The wedding reception was the night before the wedding--interesting, order, but it was nice to have time to see family members before we met at the temple. Aside from eternal love and union and all that, the best part about weddings is the large extended family gathering! It was absolutely wonderful to see so many family members that I do not get to see very often. I took exactly zero pictures at the reception. My sister Em was the photographer and she had it all handled. Oh wait, we did take a Gwynn cousin picture, because we were almost all there! I think we were only missing two of my cousins on my mom's side at the reception! (one is 9 months pregnant and unable to travel, the other came the next day)

I only have five cousins on my Mom's side of the family (Gwynn side), but quality is always better than quantity. [I pilfered this picture from Facebook]

After the reception, most of Mel's siblings gathered in her hotel room for some last minute hang-out time before the big day. We asked her questions about Braxton (we don't know him at all yet), gave her advice, told her awkward stories, and gave her practical presents and stayed up nearly till midnight. (living large since we all have kids) Poor Jeff was off getting cough drops because his sore throat was flaring up, and Kyle and Alivia were the only ones who had brought their child with them so they were caring for baby Ezra. But the rest of us had a grand ole time on Mel's last unmarried night.

THE WEDDING: It was a glorious October day--sunny with bright deep blue skies and crisp cold air. The Provo City Center temple is beautiful. I have been processing the beauty of that special day and trying to figure out what to share. My overall impression of the day was predictable: JOY. Even though feeling joyful at a wedding is predictable, it doesn't diminish the feeling!

The sealing was at 10am on Saturday, October 21st. The spirit was so strong when the sealer started talking! He started by bearing a strong testimony of the gospel, the priesthood power, and the temple. Then he explained the sealing ordinance in detail. I loved listening to him talk: he used the perfect combination of powerful truth, simplicity, and humor. One minute my eyes were brimming with tears, and the next, the whole room was laughing! It was a wonderful feeling to be laughing in the temple--such a rare occurrence, but it WORKED. When the sealer told Mel and Braxton that they could kiss, they did a quick smooch and then the sealer said "I think you can do better than that!" HAHA! The whole room laughed. So they kissed again. Happy, teary-eyed goodness filled that room to the brim.

After the sealing, we all took turns quietly walking over and hugging Mel and Braxton. Hugging in the temple somehow magnifies the happy huggy feelings. Just like "church sleep is among the healthiest of all sleeps” (an apostle's words, not mine), temple hugs are among the best of all hugs. Dad had all of the Brown siblings and spouses stand to the side and wait after hugging them so we could all do a "group hug". Em rolled her eyes and laugh-groaned a little, and maybe it was a tad cheesy, but it was also THE BEST and so special to be in the temple with ALL of my siblings and ALL of their spouses and both of my parents, all standing in a circle hugging. Dad was crying freely, of course, and those of us who inherited his tear ducts joined in. Happy happy family moment. It doesn't get better than that. Families are forever! Our group hug lasted about one minute and then we all filed out quietly, back down the spiral staircase to the waiting room. I love how the default volume in the temple is quiet. There is so much room to think and feel when it's quiet.

I know that not every family gets to experience the JOY of all being in the temple all together on the same day, so I feel exceptionally grateful for that wonderful experience. The thought came to me that "all is not done". Yes, we were all there with our spouses, hugging in the temple at that moment, but we also all have to continue in the way and keep choosing the gospel, keep choosing the temple, keep choosing to follow Jesus Christ's right way. As a teenager, church lessons about temple marriage always left me with the vague idea that once you've been sealed in the temple, you've "arrived," and that is your final destination. You are done. We never really talked about what comes next: the big challenging middle part of life's journey. The everyday part where we have to stay true and faithful, keep living, keep progressing, keep on the right path, and work every single day to stay there! I will always treasure that special, glowing, perfect family moment. I also acknowledge the effort that went into reaching that point, as well as the continued consistent effort that is required from each of us to be able to keep growing, refining, learning, and progressing toward more similar ideal family moments. Onward and upward!

I snagged a few cell phone pictures while we were waiting outside the temple for Mel and Braxton to come out. I did not get pictures with all of my beloved long-lost family members, but I did enjoy their company fully.

Post-cry puffy eyes.

For some reason I took a picture of the brothers. Jeff is very happy to have a brother on the Brown side who is the same height as he is at last.

Sister wedding selfie! 

My "celebrity aunt" picture. I have always felt a special kinship to my Aunt Stefani. Maybe it's because we both have red hair. Maybe it's because we're both 6 feet tall. Maybe it's because she is awesome! It was good to see her, and this picture makes me wish I had gotten more pictures with relatives, because we don't get together very often. 

Em has some pictures, a few of which I hope to add to this post when she finishes working her magic on them (she took my Grama-Grampa picture). For a gorgeous preview of the breathtaking pictures Em took of Mel and Braxton, check her website.

We took pictures outside the temple, then went to a nearby church building for an informal lunch. Then we all hugged and parted ways. Jeff and I were hoping to go back to the temple and do a session, but we ended up not having quite enough time before our flight, so we drove back to Salt Lake City went on a leafy walk through Memory Grove Park. It filled my fall foliage dreams with a bower of happy yellow leaves. We hiked up to the Utah Capitol building and then ambled through the wooded trail along a creek. We were feeling photo'd out, but I did snag a couple of selfies because this was our first date-ish outing alone together since before cross country season started, and the place was just so YELLOW. 

I think I was laughing because Jeff always tries to put his head slightly in front of mine in selfies because my head is slightly bigger than his. So if my head is in front of his in a close-range picture like a selfie, my head looks TWICE as large as his and it looks ridiculous. 

Trying to get a picture with the yellow leafy carpet behind us...

I have a thing for yellow leaves against a blue sky. 

This tree held me spellbound with his perfectly arching branches of golden leaves filtering the molten fall sunshine. I literally stood there and stared at it for five solid minutes.

We lasted for about an hour walking around the yellow woods, but then we were hit with a wave of exhaustion. Jeff was especially tired because he was still getting over last week's cold, so instead of exploring more of Salt Lake City's treasures, we went to the airport and sat at our gate until our 8:30pm flight.

We were both looking forward to the anonymity of sitting and reading quietly in the airport. But Jeff said hi to this awesome man and they ended up talking for nearly an hour and a half, al the way till we boarded our flight. At the moment of parting, Jeff asked his name and we realized that he is the father of a lady we knew in our Walla Walla church ward nine years ago. I taught his granddaughter's primary class, and Jeff knows another of his granddaughters--she's a cross country coach who he sees regularly at meets! I'm glad Jeff chose personal connection over holing up in the airport with his tablet like me. "Don't let life's distractions eclipse heaven's light." --Gary E. Stevenson

One more time. Love.

Apples and cousins

Last weekend (actually it was 10 days ago--October is FLYING by), we picked apples with Grama Leslie and Grampa Dan. They are expert gleaners and aren't afraid to ask around for post-harvest picking permission. Afterwards, Grampa Dan made his weekly Saturday night pancakes for dinner and we played with cousins. Warm fresh apple pie was also involved. The only thing missing was Jeff, who was home sick. My current best coping mechanism for dealing with a sick husband is to leave him alone, though, so it worked out nicely: he got a quiet afternoon/evening at home to rest, and we had fun with family. The best part of living near relatives is the impromptu, everyday bonding. We like it.

Before we left for apple-picking (on the way out the door, actually), the kids just HAD to rake the smattering of leaves into individual piles. Jay made his own little leaf nest, then Rose made one for Amber and then another one for herself. Since we weren't in a big hurry, I basked in the soft sunshine and watched them play for a while before we headed off to apple it up.

Amber likes to trade spots: I give her the camera, and she gives me the swing. She looks so cute and funny holding our giant heavy camera up to her eye and clicking pictures. She actually got me in this one! 

 Three kids, three nests. A few days later, we saw a dog trot into our yard and pee right in the middle of Jay's leaf nest! The next day, our yard was mowed and the leaves blew away. Plenty more leaves have fallen in their place since!

On our way to Grampa Dan's house, we stopped at a roadside pay-on-you-honor pumpkin patch. I mostly wanted to take a pumpkin picture, but I thought we might pick up some pumpkins too. We had all picked out pumpkins before I realized that Jeff was home sick, and we ALWAYS pick out pumpkins all together every year. So I made the kids put their pumpkins back and we left empty-handed, to await the return of Jeff's good health. (and the pumpkins were ridiculously overpriced, and our friends grow a pumpkin patch and give away pumpkins...basically this stop was kind of pointless, haha, except for the satisfying rows of round orange pumpkins)

 At last we made it to Grandview, where we teamed up with Dan and Leslie to pick 200 pounds of apples in 15 minutes flat. I always have plenty of extra apples to give away when we go picking, because everyone picks SO MANY, SO FAST.

Back to the Westridge Drive homestead, a quick call alerted us to the imminent arrival of The Cousins. Jay, Rose, and Amber dashed out the front door and across the neighborhood to meet them and join them on their walk to Grama and Grampa's house. Since Amber is only 2, I followed to supervise her street crossings. She supervised Grayce (who's 1 year younger). 

 Post pancakes, the kids had the best giggliest time sliding down the stairs on a crib mattress.

 Pile on Grama!

 I sat with this cute guy and squooshed his chubs. Cole is a charmer.

We drove home into the sunset.

Ten days later I am finally getting around to processing those apples. It feels like more work every year! Somehow I always manage to forget the tedium in the 11 months between apple-time. This morning I listened to Wuthering Heights on audiobook while I toiled over the apple-ing. I have been listening to it for a few weeks now, and it is hilarious, entertaining, with enough gothic tones to make it a grand October read (or listen).

 Speaking of harvest, I finally got around to salvaging my tomatoes this morning too. We've already had at least two freezes, but I figured I'd harvest what I could to see if they ripened in a paper bag like my friend said. Time will tell!

 My three $2 Walmart seedlings did better than I expected! I wonder if planting them earlier next year will yield more RED tomatoes.

20 pounds of green tomatoes--if only they will ripen, we'll have salsa! 

 Also of note: this tree. Golden glory.

 My view from the tomato patch as I harvested this morning.

 Not bad, October.