May.... May.... May

It is the 31st day of May and I am still here, folks.

I cannot believe it

I truly can't

It is a true testimony to the thought that 

We can do hard things

 Because this month was rough to say the least

I took over Kori's blog.

Mom asks us to write every day and she and dad send us pictures.

The blog has been so fun because it gets hundreds of hits every day and that means so much to our family to know that so many people care about her and love her.

 Kaleigh had her first dance recital

She is so darling and she loves to dance

She truly is a natural.  Look at her standing perfectly in first position

She is such a girl

She loves pretty things and being pretty.  She only wants to wear dresses and she takes perfect care of her dolls and this morning I have been watching her in our back yard chasing butterflies.  I have said this a million times, but there is something magical about her.

 For Mother's Day, I asked all EIGHT of my children to take a picture with me.

This makes my heart happy.  And here was my view at Church that day

We not only took up the whole row, but three of our family members were lap sitting so we could fit

 The next event was Quincey's graduation.  The graduation was at Dixie State at 2:00 and we had nice seats for the event that lasted way too long.  Thanks to the Pine View Band, that for some reason thought that they needed to play a completely unrecognizable Lord of the Rings medley that went on for over 20 minutes.  It was so sad, people started talking and getting up and walking around and the band played on.   

 Quincey was suffering tremendously from "middle child syndrome" this day

even though she is nowhere near the middle child position.

She felt like her graduation was unimportant to all of us and that no one cared about her because hardly anyone from our family was there and Brayden's events were so much more important. 

Well....  I was there!

Listening to the stupid band!

And really, it's not our family's fault that someone else planned it to happen in the middle of the afternoon when every one was WORKING.

And that several of the family members were stranded in Texas!!

But,  I am very proud of her because she graduated with a 3.5

and she somehow managed to reconcile her 193 hours of absences with community service and restitution.  I personally feel that it would have just been easier to just go to class, but what do I know about anything?

 Then we rushed home and changed our clothes and ventured on over to the church for Brayden's ordination

 Such a nice boy

Brother Finch put him on the spot and asked him to say a few words 

and I thought he was going to pass out.

Panic washed over his face and he went completely white and stood up there looking like a deer in the headlights...  until Russ said

"Come'on Man, we are all family here"

And then he relaxed and said 14 words and sat down.

He is so shy

 We celebrated the events at Red Robin

 Three of the most well behaved children that I know...

And I am not just saying that because they are my kids because I would never say that my children were well behaved it they weren't.  But these kids really are.  What a blessing they are to me. 

 The next event was Peyton's Kindergarten well child visit.

I tried, but could not get up my courage to take her.  I am fine when they are babies, but the older they get, the wimpier I become and I can't take them.

So Dad took her.  And he did her hair too.   Here she is showing her bravery for her finger stick.

Also,  I will add that not one tear was shed during the immunizations. 

What a darling.

 Because she showed superior bravery, Dad took her to Target and let her choose whatever she wanted for a reward.  Obviously, she wanted a lot.  And he is a total softie.

 At the beginning of May, Brayden drove up to Canada to pick Crysti up.  She put all of her belongings into a big trailer, including my wedding announcements that I was to address and mail out.  Well... the trailer got stranded in Orem as well as my invitations.  

I only had four to hand out.

And everyone knows I have FIVE friends.  

So, this was a problem.  And made me sad.  

So, I did the tackiest thing I have done in a long time and I posted this on my Instagram and invited all 93 of my followers to our wedding.   Including The Fitness Gurus and Style Salon.  I really hope they come.  

 In the midst of all of the chaos, I had a birthday.

My 29th.

It was so nice.  

My husband showered me with gifts.

My co-workers showered me with gifts

And my family, who knows me really well, allowed me to keep it low key and 'no big deal'  just the way I like it.  It was a perfect day.  

Raleigh got to work making the wedding video.  

It was so fun for me to reminisce and look back on the life of my first born...

He was such a cute little kid.  I could have posted a thousand pictures of him because every single one was adorable and I took 24 thousand pictures of him.  The wedding video literally could have been two hours long with all of the pictures I have.  But Crysti only brought 40 pictures of herself to put on the video and that would have been awkward.  24 thousand to forty.

Our next event was the Temple.  We did this on Friday night.  It was a lovely night.  But we were missing so many significant people.  Where was Papa?  Kori?  Russ?

It was SO inexplicably hard to go through this without them.  

It didn't seem right.

So, we were sitting in the Celestial Room and it was late.....and I leaned over to Brayden and said 

"Hey, did you pick up your tux?"

And he goes  "nope"    like it was not big deal. 

Like he WASN'T getting married the next day at 10:00am

My mom very nearly fainted and had to put her head between her legs.

She suggested that she would miss the sealing and go get the tux in the morning.

"Are you kidding me?"  I blurted out, not at all reverent.

"We only have 3 family members in town right now.

You WILL be there."

And I began to formulate a plan.

And the plan was going to be perfection because of the place where it was being formulated.  Surely angels above me were silent notes taking and would help us pull it off right???

I told Morgan to set her alarm for 7:00am on Saturday Morning and to meet me in my room to get her assignments.

I told her to bring a piece of paper and a pen and sit on my bed and I gave here the following instructions in this exact detail

At 9:45 you will go upstairs and wake up the groom's men who will be sleeping ALL OVER Brayden's room.  Wake them up and have them follow you to the tux shop.  They open at 10:00am.  Pay for the tuxes.  Put Brayden't tux in your car and give the groom's men their tuxes and tell them to go home and change and come over to the Temple.  

You will then stop at Maverick and put two bags of ice in the two coolers in the back seat of your car.

 Take the coolers over to Bloomers where you will pick up the flowers.

Drive over to the temple and meet Nana at the front doors where you will give her Crysti's bouquet and Brayden's tux.  She will meet you out there at 10:45.

That's a good plan right?  

Complicated, but do-able for a 16 year old who is really a 30 year old.

Yep.

We start getting ready for the Wedding and the next thing I know, Quincey bursts into our bathroom. Raleigh is just getting out of the shower. 

I am standing there in my underwear and she is hysterical.  She doesn't care that we are nearly naked....  she doesn't even notice.... and she is just yelling....

"Brayden just hit my car!!  He just side swiped my car and he yelled out the window as he was backing out of the driveway... Sorry about that, but don't block me in on my wedding day....  I'll pay for that later."

We quickly put on whatever silly clothes we could and went out to survey the damage.

On my way back in, I notice that Brayden's temple bag is gone, but his Temple pants were still hanging over the chair.  For reals?  The Groom forgot his pants?  Isn't that a long standing joke?  The Groom who was so nervous he forgot his pants?  Well our's did... just before he wrecked his sister's car.  Keep in mind he doesn't have Temple Pants AND he doesn't have his after Temple pants either.

I finish getting ready, leave extra early, so I can give him his pants and we head to the temple assuming everything will be well at home.

Each big child had specific assignments

All would be well.

The sealing was perfect.  Brayden was very emotional.  And he was shaking so badly, he couldn't put Crysti's ring on and dropped it twice.  

We left the room and Mom went out front to get the items from Morgan.

Morgan was there with the flowers.  

But there wasn't a tux.

And Mom says  "where is Brayden's tux?  Do you have his tux?  Tell me you have the tux?

And Morgan goes.  "I don't."

And Mom says  "Why?  Weren't you supposed to go get it?"

And she goes......... "yes"

And Mom says  "well.............................. where is it?"

And Morgan says  "I don't know,  I'll go back and get it."

WHAT???????????????????????

~Insert expletives here~

I was THINKING lots of expletives in my mind......  in the temple........and I said two of them out in front.

I'm going to hell.  FOR SURE.

And so Morgan goes back to the tux shop, but there are no tuxes to be picked up because unbeknownst to ANY of US, Brayden had arranged for the best man to pick them up.  And didn't tell anyone.

Which really....   why didn't we think to use the Best Man?

He is the BEST man, afterall.  

But why would Brayden make the plan.

He hasn't made a plan....  ever.

Too many chiefs directing this event

And no one is communicating.

And why is Brayden calling the shots at this point? 

He is not typically a shot caller

He just barely started ordering his own pizzas.

Why start planning things now? 

Now the new problem is we can't find the tuxedo deliverer.  

He's on the grounds somewhere....  but nowhere.

And poor Crysti has been in her dress for an hour now.  Just waiting. 

And the temple workers say to me...

"He'll just have to walk out in his street clothes."

And I fell apart.  

"NO!!!!!   I am the mother of this boy.  I have raised him for 20 years!  I have cleaned up his vomit, attended orchestra concerts, waited upon him hand and foot and my only reward for years of service is watching him walk out of the Temple in a beautiful Tuxedo with his Bride.  NO!!!   I am sitting right here on this love seat in the lobby, until the tux is in the building.  Someone go entertain the bride and apologize to her from me on behalf of my son,  I totally take the blame for him...  

But, he will be wearing a tux when he walks out, if we have to fashion him one out of a paperclip and a sheet.  He is not coming out of the Temple in his wrinkled white shirt and his skinny jeans.  I will die"

So, Raleigh goes in search Caden.  He makes two laps around the Temple and then he sees him.

And my cute husband, who does NOTHING fast, was walking like he was on fire and he looked like Superman as he walked up with it.  

And I burst into tears.

My skirt was really big.  And I had to apologize to several people in the Temple because it was so flashy and flamboyant and people kept sitting on it.

My Mom said that I looked like I was about dance in the Nutcracker.  And she was pointing at me behind my back.

Tulle is the thing.

At least that is what I kept telling people who looked at me.

I think this is a beautiful picture

After the Temple, Crysti's family went to Zion

We went to Chuck a Rama

Brayden and Crysti went to Target 

and then we all met at the Alumni House to decorate.

Peyton and Kami had a lovely conversation over lunch

 And Kaleigh fell asleep on her shoulder on the way home.

Long time friends, Brayden and Jamie

This is what we looked like in the awkward receiving line....  standing next to the Ex

 And just like that....  our family of NINE became TEN.

And finally....

Kori came home

 Mom was so happy to see Dad after three weeks in Houston

 This right here is true love

 Complete and total true love

 And this is neighborhood support.   What great people.

Good-bye May.

June will be a breeze right?

Yeah, Right.