Number 2 Wedding...Actually #3

Sept. 27, 2015
Dear Sister Kristina,
Well, of course I'm writing again to you from Utah. I came down this weekend by myself since dad had to work. Yesterday was a busy day. I went to my aunt jerrie's funeral. It was a really nice funeral, beautiful music and it was fun seeing my cousins again. My sister Patrice came up and was there and so was Steve and Carolina and Bill and Nancy. Theresa (from renaissance) was there too.

In the afternoon Kirk and Sarah and Addie came to my hotel so they could swim. Ha ha Alex came over too because Savannah is out of town teaching dance in Washington. We all went together to McKenna's wedding. It was up parley's canyon at this beautiful spot in the mountains. My pictures don't do it justice. She looked gorgeous, happy and it was fun that she had asked Ben to marry them. So Ben got his license and actually did a really nice job, a few jokes here and there and a few quotes even one from a "humanitarian named Gordon b. Hinckley". I loved it. Then they served dinner and there was dancing. Sean was so sad he missed it and McKenna really missed having Sean there. They will always be close cousins.

So just before I left for the weekend grandpa called me and told me that Trevor and his girlfriend eloped to Vegas and got married. So there was actually another family wedding, but it happened kind of fast.

Now we're looking forward to Dakota's wedding. She's getting excited.

Today I went to church with Kirk again and had lots of fun with Addie. I don't know how it's possible that she just keeps getting cuter. I couldn't take my eyes off her today because she was so stinkin cute and I got her laughing so hard in Sunday school, I had to try to not be so funny. Ha ha. Then we had dinner at g&g's. We missed having Sean and Blair there, but Sean called while we were all there.

Sean and Blair are really loving their new place in Chicago. It looks like a great place, red brick with ivy growing all over it and only four miles from downtown. I can't wait to get there and visit them and explore a new city too.

Savannah came back today and now Alex is on his way to new York city for a week with some of his advertising group. They're going to be meeting with ad agencies while there, but also doing lots of fun things too like a Yankees game, a Broadway show, etc.

I'm going home tomorrow morning. Driving is definitely the hardest part of these quick trips, but I sure love going to all the family events and seeing Addie so often. I didn't get to hear the women's conference since I was at the wedding, so I'm going to listen to it on my way home.

Nikki is now officially a mia maid. Leah is down to two weeks before her best friend moves away. Dad has made grape juice, grape jelly and salsa this year. I love that he loves to can.

I saw the missionaries at church today and I just sat back and watched them. It really made me think of you. They were so friendly and had such a light radiating from them. Then I read Kat's post and knew that she had given her farewell talk today. It seems like she's had to wait forever for this time to come and she's finally going to the MTC this week. She's more than ready. Spencer is still right there by her side.

In young women today (I went in with Sarah) we learned about how powerful positive, kind words are and how conversely powerful negative, mean words can be. Whenever I think of Christ being by my side, I always hear positive words of love and encouragement. I know that He would want me to be His spokesman for all I come in contact with, so I made a renewed commitment to look for opportunities to compliment, uplift, and comfort with my words. I really appreciate that lesson.

I hope you are having a wonderful day and feeling Christ by your side in all that you do.

I love you very much!
Mom xoxo

At Nikki's 14th birthday party

Swimming at Nana's pool (at Fairfield Inn, haha)

McKenna's wedding

After dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's

Festivities!

Sept. 20, 2015

Dear Sister Kristina,

Well, the wedding festivities are now over and they were all wonderful. The open house at the Williams was beautiful, fun, great food and good company. The weather turned out great after a week of storms. It was fairly cold at night, but they had a fire in the fire pit and did smores. The girls and Clark were in charge of that. Debbie made all the food, a chocolate chunk cake and a lemon blueberry cake, homemade otter pops made of fruit and herbs, two different salads, different kinds of cheese dips and crackers and four different flavors of fruit and herb waters. Dad put up lights in all the trees and on their porch. I made a backdrop that flowed in the wind and looked pretty and there were candles lit everywhere so the ambiance was very ethereal. Blair and Sean looked so happy and had fun with every event.

The morning after we made a big Thompson breakfast here and the Williams came over to join in, then they opened presents here. They got great things and lots of gift cards and cash. They should be set for a while-at least a few months anyway. I made them a quilt, of course and they both loved it. Here's a pic:

We had a nice Sunday. Sean and Blair took off this morning. They took grandpa in their car and Charmaine and grandma drove in another car so that they could get all their stuff in the cars. I have to say that when they left, I just cried. There's something about your child moving away that just doesn't feel very good and I will really miss them. I liked everyone being in Utah cuz it was so easy to visit, but on the other hand I'm so excited for their new adventure and I know it will be so good for them to get a start to their marriage being on their own, etc. especially in a fun new place. Dad and I are already planning a trip to Chicago sometime in November.

With Nikki and Leah

View of William's house from their back yard

With Alex and Savannah

Us girls and our palazzo pants

Open house decor

Pres. Shaw

Pres. Stafford and Sherry

I saw this as they were cleaning up afterwards. The candles melted very fast.

I just spoke with Grandpa Trumbo and he said that Trevor got married over the weekend. He and his girlfriend went to Vegas and got married without anyone knowing. Grandpa says he really likes his new wife and thinks they will be great together. By the way, grandpa is like your biggest fan. He always asks about you, reads every word of your letters, etc. I love that.

My Aunt Jerrie (grandma Jo's older sister) passed away over the weekend. It was just two or three weeks ago that her husband Marv passed away, so I think she just wanted to be with him. Grandpa Trumbo called her two days before and knew she wasn't feeling well, so he told Jerrie to give my mom a big hug and kiss for him when she saw her. Very sweet. Her funeral is this coming Saturday so I'll be going to it. I'm going to be down in Utah anyway for McKenna's wedding which is Saturday evening, so I'll just go to the funeral first. It will be good to see a lot of my cousins there.

I got to play the piano in Primary today. Sister Ray was gone, so I subbed. I love being in there. Bro. Tiegs was the chorister and he was really fun and had the kids doing crazy things during singing time, so it made it even better. Nikki taught most of the lesson in Beehives today because this was her last week being a Beehive. I think she did a great job because she read to me what she was going to say. She made up this story to prove her point and had a handout with it. She's great. She's really looking forward to being a MiaMaid too, but her leaders all say they are so sad not to have her in class any more. Also at church today they released Bro. Gines in the Stk Presidency. The Gines sold their home and are moving to a home in the Star Stake. Their whole family spoke today in church. Bro. Jeppsen from the 4th ward got called to be the new counselor to Pres. Stafford.

Saturday evening we went to Collette Leifson's open house. Remember she married Chandler Warr, Cameron's brother. Cameron was at the open house with his wife and new 2 month old baby girl, Quinn. He's in law school now.

Tomorrow the MiaMaid leaders are putting on a lunch for the girls at the church, so both Leah and Nikki will be going to that during lunch at school. They are pretty excited about getting to leave the school for lunch. haha

Has it started cooling down there yet? It's definitely fall here now and I love it. I love watching BSU and BYU football. This week BSU won their game 52-0 and BYU just barely lost to UCLA 24-23. Tanner is still doing a great job as quarterback. 

Did you ever get that talk I sent you?  Just curious. Sometimes I read things that I just want to share with you, so hope you don't mind if they are kind of long, etc. I have a couple more I will be sending too.

How was your week?  How is your training going? Is it harder or easier than you thought, to train? Is there a sister missionary that you report to about your training? Or do you report to a District or Zone Leader? Just curious how it works. I went to a training meeting this past week and Devin Durrant was the trainer. He's the 2nd counselor in the Gen. Sunday School Presidency, but I knew him from college because he played basketball at BYU with Steve. So I went up to him afterward to say hi after all these years. It was fun talking with him and he did such a great job teaching us about teaching the Savior's way.  I know it all applies to missionary teaching too. Some of the things I learned were that in a classroom situation or teaching situation, it isn't the teacher that teaches, it's the spirit. The teacher is only there to lead the discussion and that the students should be doing most of the sharing, teaching, talking, etc. The learner should get the most out of the lesson, not the teacher. Always find time to let others have opportunities to share their testimonies by listening to what they want to say or share. And always ask questions that will help them think, ponder and allow the spirit to teach. Then always leave the student with an expectation or responsibility to do something, to act on what has been talked about and have them report back.

Dad is starting to fall asleep and I still want to chat with him tonight, a little pillow talk at least before he really falls asleep, so I better wind this up. I love you so much and thinking of you and what you're doing, where you are brings me such peace especially when I've needed a little extra peace in my life. Thank you for being there for me even though you're far away. There's no greater joy than to hear the testimony of your child and to know they are sharing it with others. Remember how loved you are!!

Have a great week.

Love you,

Mom xxoo

Me and Marcela

The fam

Nikki

The fam

With Addie

Crazy familyl

The Thompson's

Temple group pic

Wedding Week!

Sept. 13, 2015

Dear Sister Kristina,

We had such a great week!! Everything about the wedding and all the events surrounding it went beautifully and it was so much fun. Sean and Blair looked so happy. I sent a couple pics, but still haven't seen very many from Fabiana, so as soon as I do, I'll send them your way. It was fun being with them for the First Look photo shoot and to have Marcela there was extra special. It was a lot of work, remember? hauling everything around,etc but so worth it. The pics I saw from her camera looked amazing and of course she had a few of them all ready for the reception. 

On the wedding day we were able to get a few things done in the morning like decorating Noah's, running errands, etc since the sealing wasn't until 4pm. It was funny because on the way to the temple (we were supposed to be there by 3:30) and when we were just about there, we saw Sean in his car right in front of us. He was supposed to be there a half hour earlier, so we knew he was running late to his own wedding so I called him and said to just pull up in front of the temple and we would park his car for him. He thought that was a good idea. I'm sure Blair was starting to wonder. haha But it all worked out just fine and the ceremony was wonderful. We took pics outside with the whole group. The ones who came to the temple with us were Steve, Carolina, Dakota, Axel, Kassie, Marc, Allen, Lisa, G&G Thompson, Charmaine, Kirk, Sarah, Alex, Savannah. 

Addie, of course, looked so cute with her hair in pigtails and little bows. Leah and Nikki loved that they got to take care of her while we were in the temple. She runs around so much now, it's a much harder job.

Here's a pic of us girls tonight. We watched home videos together and we're all wearing our lounging pants. I bought a pair of these for each of us girls at the beach house and we all loved them so much, so I bought a pair for Marcela too. She's been wearing them each night to lounge in. Too fun.

The reception at Noahs was absolutely gorgeous. Debbie Williams really knows how to decorate. It was a lot of work, but boy it was worth it. I can't wait to get pictures from Fabiana to share with you. The dinner was catered by a restaurant that both Sean and Blair love called Spitz. It was Mediterranean food and everyone said how much they liked it. I wasn't sure if it would be a good choice for a reception, but it really was delicious. I was so busy talking with people that night though and sure wish I could just sit down and have some more of that food now. :)

At the reception Jodie and Mel surprised us by showing up. It was so fun seeing her again and we had them sit at the table with us. And Doug and Robyn Ellis who used to live in Hilton Head also showed up. I loved it. Tani and his family also came and Paula and I talked for quite a while. She's really struggling with Tani and has a hard time (very similar concerns as mine with Leah). so Paula has asked me to call her so we can talk more. I could tell she was feeling a lot of stress about things, so this week I will be calling her. I just put my arms around her and told her to hang in there, that I knew how she felt and that I was there for her. I'm going to make it a point to keep in better contact with her.

This is a pic I posted on Instagram the night of the big BSU/BYU game. Nikki helped Marcela make empanadas for us. They were so delicious. Tanner Mangum pulled out another miraculous last minute win for BYU and he's becoming somewhat of a hero at the school. You'd be proud of him. Leah was not very happy about the BSU loss though.  Marcela sent a picture of the empanadas to Sean on his honeymoon and he asked her to set some aside for him when he comes into town this week. haha Blair said he was drooling. Sounds like they are having a good time and are now in Jackson Hole. They will be here this Wednesday to get ready for the open house this Friday.

I've been having fun with Marcela here in town. We've been shopping, eating, playing and eating some more. Her friend is picking her up from Mtn Home  to take her back to Utah and then she's leaving for Argentina on Wednesday. So we'll spend a little more time in  the morning then I'll drive her to Mtn Home. We'll visit dad while we're there since he will be working. I'll miss her.

So how was your week? I went with Marcela tonight to visit a man that was an elder back in the early 80's when she was 11 yrs old and she saw on Facebook that he lived in Eagle, ID, so I told her we knew them, the Sparrows in the 6th ward. He totally remembered her and her family  and it was so fun to hear them tell stories. Marcela pretty much has grown up having missionaries in her home all the time. When we were talking with him, he was saying how much he loves having the sister missionaries in their ward now. He said they are such good missionaries compared to the elders, haha

Marcela sends her love!! She said the family prayer tonight and started crying when she mentioned how much she loved all of us and how much we meant to her. Of course I was crying too. She's a great sister. I will miss her.

Here are a couple more pics from last week:

Dakota helping the girls get ready for the wedding

The girls made this fun hair jewelry. It turned out beautiful.

Cute Addie at the wedding

Tani with the girls

We all lit sparklers as a send off for Sean and Blair

Eating at Slab Pizza before we leave Provo

And we always have to stop by Addie's on our way out of town to spend time with her. She loves books!!

Well, I hope all these pictures don't make you too homesick. We are back at home now and back in school, work, etc and just plugging along. We missed you at the wedding. Leah said she really missed you but she was more happy that you were out on a mission. That made me happy. Your service truly blesses all of us too. I spoke with our missionaries today and they've been asked to teach the third lesson to as many members as they can, so I asked them to please call me and set up an appointment. I love having them in our home, such a great spirit they bring and I don't think they even realize it. Keep spreading that awesome spirit wherever you go.

I love sooooo much!!! Can't wait to hear from you.

Mom

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Pre-Wedding

Sept. 6, 2015
Dear sister Kristina,
Well, another letter written from my phone. I'm getting better at this. I just got back from Steve and Carolina's, their newly renovated house. I'm staying at their old house, but it feels so weird since they're not here. Dakota is staying here with me, but I haven't seen her much. I got to meet Downing, her fiance. He seems really nice and they're very happy. They were working on invitations tonight. I sat out on the back porch with Steve and Carolina and enjoyed the fabulous view and the great weather. They just got back from a trip to Spain with the byu basketball team. They got to stay in the most luxurious places in Barcelona and Valencia. Steve says it was the best vacation he's ever been on. That's saying a lot. They said to say hi.
Just in case you didn't get to hear about the BYU football game, Tanner manghum got to play because Taysom Hill got hurt, broke his ankle and is out for the season. With one second left in the game, and BYU behind, Tanner threw a hail Mary pass into the end zone for the winning touchdown. BYU won and it was amazing and now he's going to be the starting qb. Next week BYU plays BSU. This will be interesting.
So how has your first week of training been going? I know you'll be a great trainer. You have natural leadership qualities. You've been prepared for this your whole life. I hope it's been fun for you.
I'm here in Provo by myself because at first grandpa was going to be coming here, but he says he's feeling too weak these days. So he's not coming after all. But I'm also here because Marcela flew in as a surprise for Sean. I've been helping her plan it and boy was he surprised when he saw her. It was good. Marcela is going to help with all the wedding stuff, the first look photo shoot, decorating Noah's, etc then she's driving back to eagle with us for the weekend just to hang out. She's so fun and she's just so excited to be able to drink diet Dr pepper again.Ha ha she's also buying clothes for Mara for her mission.starting tomorrow Marcela will be staying with us here at Carolina's too.
Alex and Savannah have been at our house this past weekend. Alex's friends Jeff got married to a meridian girl and he was in the wedding.So he came up with two of his friends and it worked out great cuz now I didn't have to find a place for the girls to stay while dad was at work today. In the morning, they'll pack up the house and drive to mtn home and pick up dad.then they'll drive both cars to Utah.
Next week I should have lots of pix for you.
Leah got released as mia maid president today. She said she was kind of sad about it and felt like she wished she had been able to do more for the mia maids.but Leah will be a laurel in a couple months, so that was inevitable.
Well, that's about all the news I can think of. I spent the day with Kirk and Sarah and Addie. When Sarah asks Addie where is nana, she looks over at me and points. I love it. She's so much fun and is actually starting to run now which is so cute.
I haven't been in Provo for quite a while and there's some changes around town like that big new thing at the mall that they're building. It's huge. Not done yet, but I couldn't believe how big it was.
I hope you are well. We will think of you often this week, but wouldn't want you any place else. I love having a missionary daughter!
Love you very much,
Mom xoxo