What a great couple! We were so excited to visit Utah for Matt and Clancey's wedding. The ceremony was one of the most spiritual I have ever been to. Elder Yoshihiko Kikuchi 
of the Seventy sealed the two. He was the mission president to Clancey's dad in Hawaii several years ago. The Spirit just eminated from him. I have never been to a sealing so centered on Christ. It really made me think about my own marriage covenants.
Then it was off to the luncheon at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. We sat at a table with all of Jeff's siblings and spouses. Anna got dressed up in a "fancy" white dress and her favorite Sunday shoes. She loved running between the tables and saying "hi" to all the guests.
After lunch we had a short break and then made our way to Clancey's parents' house in South Jordan for the ring ceremony and reception. The ring ceremony was really nice. It was fun to see Clancey's dad walk her down the isle. The recption was a little windy but that didn't spoil the fun to much. Leatherby's catered the occasion with ice cream sundays. Matt and Clancey creamed each other with wedding cake and got down on the drive way (dancing). Anna also got in on the dancing action. She danced with Ethan and Tanner and her daddy. Then the "hokey pokey" came on and she decided she needed to be right in the middle of the circle. That's our girl. She's not intimidated by much.
Anyway, congrats Matt and Clancey! We love you!
What a great trip! We were able to do some really fun things while Larry and Marlene were visiting.
Alright! And now for my thoughts. In no particular order, here are some of my favorite memories from the trip.
Thanks Larry and Marlene for such a wonderful time! We love you!
So, I know I am continually back tracking, but these pic
s are so cute (in my humble mommy opinion) that I couldn't resist posting. We had a really fun Fourth this year. Jeff's parents were in town so we decided to go Washington D.C. to take part in the craziness up there. After getting redirected several times by traffic cops, we ended up checking into our hotel, near Dupont Circle, a little later than we expected. As we were preparing to head out to the mall, Jeff's parents flipped on the news. Surprise! 
The mall had just been evacuated for a tornado warni
ng! Now, I will be the first to say that Virginians get a little over excited about the weather, but aparently it was a legitimate warning. Everyone was evacuated from the mall and sent into local businesses, etc. for a few minutes. After that everyone was let back on. So, we joined the masses and made our way by Metro to the Washington Monument lawn. The fireworks are launched from the WWII Memorial which is right inbetween the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Monument. We were right there. It was amazing to look across the reflecting pool and see masses upon masses of people on the steps of the Lincoln Monument. Anna fell asleep on the train, but woke up just in time for the fireworks. They were amazing! Some of them felt like they were coming right at us. It made me think of "bombs bursting in air." I'm so grateful to live in a free country. After the show we hung around a bit to let the crowd disperse and then it was back to the hotel and to bed. Although I missed the normal barbequeing and local parades that usually make up the Fourth for me, I was glad I was able to experience Independence Day in our nation's capital.
It was so fun to be home for my only sister's wedding day! I loved being able to see her so excited and in love. There were many highlights (and lowlights) from the festivities. Lowlights first: How awful that Matt's mom had to have an emergency apendectamy the night before the wedding! I felt so bad as Matt's dad had to rush off from the family barbeque to take his sick wife to the ER. Luckily she was still able to attend the day's events. Lowlight number two, Matt was sick with an awful cold! Sorry Matt.
Now for the good stuff. What a special experience to be in the Jordan River Temple and witness the eternal marriage of Matt and Liz. Liz looked gorgeous (of course). It is always tender for me to experience sealings while sitting next to Jeff. It always remindes me of how blessed I am to have an eternal companion who is so loving an generous and kind. It's also a great reminder to me to live worthy of my marriage covenants. Matt's grandpa sealed the two which was pretty neat considering the history. Matt's grandpa was actually a good friend of my Grandpa Wood. He was responsible for setting up my Grandparents at BYU. WOW! That one definitely came full circle.
