Pictures!!!!!

I hope you all enjoy these pictures because they took forever to put up. But it was ALL worth it! The wedding was so fun. And so so exhausting. So many fun things! And the BEST part of all this is that it gets to happen again in 2 months for ours!!!!

The gorgeous couple and their son. Fixing Drex's shirt.

So stinkin' cute!! They make a beautiful family. :D
This is their "You just kissed a boy - how do you feel?" face. haha
This is Jack. Jack is adorable and I CANNOT get enough of him. You will see more of him. :)
Jack and his daddy, Robbie, like to squish their faces together. SOOOOO cute.


Thomas was begging me for money.
Carol looked so cute. We tried to set her up with David's brother but they kind of just avoided each other today.
Love this pic.
Phillip claimed my sweater was shedding on him. And maybe it was.
Love this one too.
All the siblings. We just naturally segregate into boys and girls.
Goofy picture.
this one was a lot harder to do than it looked. we were all off balance.
The boys (minus Will).

Their GQ picture. And somehow Robbie ended up looking straight at me. haha
Christian and his new son! Drex is adorable.
And Drex adores Christian.

The girls.
Probably one of my most favorite pictures of the day!!!!
So so so happy for them!!

how can you not love this child?!

The reception was sooo long. It's a lot easier when you are not family. Because then you can leave when you want. Family has to stay to the end. So we took pictures, snuck cake, played some farkle and waited.
Oh, and Emma caught the bouquet. Go figure. I have never seen an eight-year-old DIVE for a bouquet before. But Emma always did like to pretend she was a big girl. She likes wearing my ring too.
And that's all because I got bored with taking pictures.
Such a fun day though. I am going to miss my family being here.
But they are coming back soon!!!

Today is a good day.

I am the LUCKIEST girl in the world. At least, I feel like it today.

For these reasons:

A) my family is coming out here in 2 days!!!

Sometimes it feels like I never get enough time with them.

(plus more people than can fit in that chair. Minus one, plus a couple new additions. :D )

B) I LOVE weddings!!! And Christian and Jamie are PERFECT for each other. Photo evidence, anyone? (sorry, I can't seem to make them bigger without making them really fuzzy)

Of course, 2 of the most good-looking people in the world HAVE to end up together. And Drex is ADORABLE. They look so happy together. I love it.

C) It is sunny today! Oh please oh please let spring hurry up. At least it is MARCH today!!

D) Lastly, but definitely not least, I get to spend all (as in 99.9%) of my time with him. Makes me so so so so so so happy!!!! (I don't know what happened to my eye in this picture. haha oh well.)

Oh, today is a happy day.

I love candid photos.

Found this little gem. Isn't it precious how the love just ooooozes off the page?

Personally, I think it would be a lot cuter if the lady on the left wasn't staring at C and J.

Oh well. you get what you get and you don't get upset. :)

shout out.

dear little brother,
happy birthday! you are no longer a teenager. you are now the big 2-0. you are pretty awesome. but you are very far away. so maybe can you work on coming home soon? like maybe in a year or so? because i miss you.
love, your big sister

Homesick but happy.

I got to walk around Salt Lake City last night. And the fact that the whole city wasn't dead and quiet by 10 o'clock made me so excited.

People were walking around and joking and laughing. There were random parties and concerts happening on street corners and in parks. And the people walking around weren't your normal -run-of-the-mill people. They had character and personality. It reminded me SO much of NYC. And I got a little homesick.

But then driving home late at night, I saw something wonderful. As you drive on the freeway and get to the edge of American Fork and Pleasant Grove, I drove over the hill and saw a beautiful sight. From way off to the side of the mountain, I got to see this: (Minus the line of light going up to it - this picture is kind of old. They light it up a different way now.)

And seeing this really isn't that big a deal. They light it up for the graduation ceremonies every semester and for homecoming in the fall. (They lit it up again tonight for the second night of graduation. I'm sitting here in my living room, and I love that I can see it from my couch.) But for some reason, it kind of hit me at this point how much I love being in Utah.

Yes, I love New York, and I always will. It is such an important part of my life and it is the place I dream about constantly because I miss it so so much. But, Utah is home. I live here now. And as much as I first hated coming out here to this strange world that is so completely different from NY, it has grown on me. I hated a lot of things about this place - mostly the fact that I wasn't really happy here.

But now, sometimes I can't bear to think of leaving it. As much as everything here can get chaotic and frustrating and seem so overwhelming, this is home. This is where my heart is now.

So last night just kind of made this transition feel so real. I saw SLC and loved it and missed NYC. But then that Y on the mountain just felt so right. Homesick and happy. Is that even possible? I guess so. And that's how I like it.

Happiness is all around you, laughing with you, and loving you.

I think growing up with 10 kids in my family has made me love being surrounded by people. Moving to Utah was one of the hardest things for me to do because I had to go from having 9 or so people in the same house with me to none. It was kind of depressing. Okay, it was really depressing. I missed having both Anna and Emma come sleep with me after they'd woken up in the middle of the night (Thank you, Dad, for telling them to go sleep with me, instead of letting them crawl in with you). So, I solved that problem. I got two extra big pillows to sleep with, besides my regular one. And I put one between me and the wall, and the other I snuggle with. And then everything is just dandy! Still not quite the same thing, but definitely a lot closer.
But pillows aren't exactly the most animated.

So I've tried to convince la roommate to get a pet.
I wanted a kitten, she vetoed. She wanted a rabbit, I vetoed.

(speaking of cats:
I made a new friend last night! And he almost followed me home. I had to run a couple blocks to escape his interest. He looked a little like this:

I named him Felix. But sadly, sadly, someone in my apartment would have regretted my bringing my new friend home with me. But their allergies would have loved me. LOVED me.)

Alas, since Felix will not be joining our household, we have instead agreed to the open adoption of two aquatic creatures that will be moving in momentarily. They might already have names? If not, I want to name one Sergei and the other Hosea... or maybe Nina?

Anyways, I'm pretty stoked.

I'll Love You Forever, I'll Like You For Always...

dear Mom,

Today is your birthday. It seems inappropriate to say that you are older and wiser now because you have always been so wise, and you do not seem so old. You are so lovely to me - with your quiet confidence, your steady perseverance and your endless love. The moment I realized you truly truly loved me was one of those days back in high school- during the times when it seems like all I did every weekend was fight with you and Dad about every thing; when I assumed I was right and you were wrong.

Of course, it was just after we'd been fighting. Dad and I are so alike, Mom. We both like working with our hands, we both make a face when we're being stubborn, we both like to do things in certain ways - so of course, why would we be able to get along when we both assume we're right? Me being the over-emotional teenager that I was, I remember running out of the house crying and sitting down on the ground because nothing seemed to ever go my way and thinking that Dad was ruining my life and now I had no way to escape feeling like that. But, Mom, you came out after me. You didn't come and apologize or say things could be my way and that I could go and have fun. You didn't lecture me on respecting my parents or being a responsible person. No, Mom, you just sat down next to me on the ground. And when I finally opened my eyes through the tears I couldn't stop from coming, and finally looked at you, I saw that you were crying too. I knew, right then, at that moment that you loved me so much. You loved me enough to let me hurt and let me learn. You loved me enough to let me grow. I think at that moment, I finally began to understand the love a parent has for their child.

Mom, you taught me how to always strive to be my best, to not quit when things feel so low. You taught me how to be independent and that I am the happiest when I can be myself. I know I take you for granted and that you deserve so much more than I can give. I love you and I always will. Thank you for being the person that you are and for teaching me how to be like you.

I love you every day of the year,
but especially today, and always for eternity.
your daughter

Suddenly the world is too big.

dear fam damily,
i missed you all like crazy today. so i looked and looked through pictures. and laughed at the wonderful stories behind them. i love you a million swedish fish
love,
me

I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way.
And I will love you like this for eternity.

(*and this is a TON of pictures. sorry.... except i'm not. i like them all.)