John Gets Married

My brother John got married this August and we had a blast on our vacation to see him and the traditional Utah sites.  John's bride, JaNae, is from Nephi Utah, so the wedding was in the Salt Lake Temple. John completed the tradition of Payne men marrying up.

Mollie's parents now live in Fruit Heights, just north of Salt Lake.  So we loaded up the van, drove down and stayed with them. We were sad to miss the festivities in Nephi the night before, but we knew that piling the kids right back into the car for another several hour drive to and from Nephi the day before the wedding would ensure a miserable wedding day.  And Mollie had hurt her back pretty badly the week before, and was about 6 weeks pregnant, and a 10 hour drive down to Utah was about all she could take. She almost didn't make the trip at all, but was so glad she could be there.

The wedding day started out with a brunch in south SLC at Kneaders attended by all the extended family.

People got a variety of breakfast treats like puffed french toast, waffles, orange rolls, cinnamon rolls, fresh fruit, french toast, OJ, etc. It was delicious.  It was also a great chance to enjoy all the cousins Aunts and uncles before the big event.

Being a good hour from Fruit Heights, we knew that we would not have time to go back to the Madsen's house before the wedding, so Mollie and I were dressed for the wedding. JaNae brought the wedding cake inside with us, to prevent it from melting in the car, I guess.  That made me nervous. I was constantly worried that the kids would accidentally knock it over, or Olivia would sneak a taste.

After the brunch, we went over to Ikea because it was so close (and we don't have one in Kennewick).  Then we stopped by the Anderson house in Draper to rest a bit before the ceremony.  Of course the kids did not rest.  They played with cousins.  I'm glad that our kids have cousins that are their ages.  The Andersons are a great bunch to play with.

This is where mom is telling me to buy light bulbs for Jeanne while I was at Ikea.  Light bulbs that did not exist...

Then off to the temple.  The ceremony was beautiful.  John and JaNae both looked great.  The sealer gave some nice words of advice.  I always love attending other people's sealing.  It gives me a chance to think back  on my own. Afterward there was the requisite picture taking on the temple grounds.

The whole gang.

The beautiful bride and groom.

The Paynes.  We really are getting to be quite a big group!

The sibs.  Everyone now has a companion.  Hurray!

Great shot of John and JaNae with Mom and Dad.

Another great shot of the beautiful couple.  It was a gorgeous (although a bit warm) summer day.

Love this shot of the cousins.  Nothing like busting a move (Noah) and picking your nose (Olivia) to give a picture just a little something extra.

Again, we got another family photo, but I think this time the heat added to their distaste for getting the picture taken.

The poor photographer tried everything to get my kids to stand up, look at the camera, and smile.  But it just wasn't happening.

So we just gave up, and went ultra goofy.

They managed to do a little better for the whole family shot.

The Salt Lake Temple is beautiful; and I really like the gardens that they put in on what used to be Main Street. Buying that piece of property was a very interesting move by the church, but it really adds to Temple Square. The reception dinner was next door in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, and was a wonderful and fancy feast.

 Sara was thoughtful and prepared a coloring book for kids that would help keep them occupied while others ate and socialized.

Apparently, I also found it useful.

Cutting the cake!

The day ended gracefully, and we drove back to the Madsens with the kids thoroughly worn out.