Austin and Lindsey Got Married

My nephew Austin and Lindsey chose Chantilly Mansion in Layton as the place for their wedding.

My brother Andy is the father of the groom. Amanda is the mother of the groom and also the maker of the beautiful wedding cake.

Rachel was the flower girl and Maggie was a bridesmaid.

As the guests were arriving, I noticed a man who looked very familiar to me. I kept looking at him wondering why in the world he was at my nephew's wedding. He is a member of our stake's high council who is assigned to our ward. He attends our meetings every Sunday.

He lives in Bountiful and my brother's family lives in North Ogden. How in the world would they know each other well enough that he would be invited to the wedding ceremony I kept wondering?

The more I watched him, the more puzzled I became. He was carrying a black binder and was looking very official. So official, in fact, that I soon realized he was the one who was going to be officiating the actual marriage ceremony!?! That added more perplexity to my pondering.

I was very happy when he walked over to talk to me. Ahhh, the perfect chance to find out how in the world Dave Petersen knew my brother. He stuck out his hand and introduced himself as Bishop Petersen. Well, of course. I already knew his name!! The bishop part was new to me, but I just figured he must have been a bishop some time before he was called to the high council.

I gave him a questioning look as to why he felt the need to introduce himself when I knew very well who he was. I decided to play along and introduced myself to him knowing very well he knew exactly who I am. Then I started to tell him what I knew about him--he lives in Bountiful, he is in our stake, he goes to our ward every Sunday, etc.

At that point, he said matter-of-factly that I was confusing him with his IDENTICAL twin brother.

Sheesh!! How freaky! He looked and acted IDENTICAL to the way his brother looks and acts! He even sounded IDENTICAL to his brother! It was weirding me out big time!!

And the weirdness continued...! When I got introduced to his wife, Andy and Amanda reminded them and me that their son Trevor and our son Ben had served in the same Singapore Mission together.

Ben and Trevor were companions for a short time and they were also roommates in college for a while. I remembered how the Petersens came to Ben's homecoming talk four years ago and I'd met them then.

That's probably why I felt like Dave Petersen looked so familiar when he got assigned our ward and first started attending each week.

It's all crazy and I must admit I just couldn't keep my eyes off Bishop Petersen all evening because I still could have sworn it was the Dave Petersen I know that was standing there before everyone performing the marriage ceremony.

It was kind of nice when Bishop Petersen started the ceremony by telling how he had been honored to receive the Eagle Mentor Pin from Austin. The pin is awarded by the Eagle Scout to a person who was instrumental in helping him earn his Eagle rank. Bishop Petersen had been Austin's Scoutmaster.

Nice little personal touch to help us know the friendship and bond he and Austin have with each other.

The new Mr. and Mrs. Ward.

I loved taking photos before and after the wedding.

Sarah brought along a very cute little companion with her to the reception. We were able to visit with my cousin Angie and her sweet family for a while.

Time for the newlyweds to leave on their honeymoon.

The sun was casting a glow in our direction as we were leaving, so we had to stop for a photo.

Rebecca had every intention and desire to be there, but her family had all been taking turns being sick and she didn't want to infect anyone at the reception.

I was so glad Sarah had been able to attend that evening. Lincoln was a hit with everyone who saw him. He was giving out smiles galore as he was being passed from person to person. Such a little angel baby!

I had to laugh at what Sarah wrote when she posted this photo on Instagram.

"My date tonight flirted with every lady (and man) he saw, puked all over himself and passed out before the party was even over. But I'd still go out with him again."

Quotes of the Week

"Sometimes you just have to look back at your past and smile about how far you've come." 

 -- Author Unknown 

"If you ask what is the single most important key to longevity, I would have to say it is avoiding worry, stress and tension. And if you didn't ask me, I'd still have to say it." 

-- George F. Burns 

"If a problem is fixable, if a situation is such that you can do something about it, then there is no need to worry. If it's not fixable, then there is no help in worrying. There is no benefit in worrying whatsoever." 

-- Dalai Lama 

"Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life, and when it comes, hold your head high, look it squarely in the eye and say, 'I will be bigger than you. You cannot defeat me.'" 

 -- Ann Landers 

 

Wynne Blessed on Father's Day

Wynne Marie Thomas's baby announcement.

Abe and Klarissa decided to bless their baby daughter on Father's Day. Here's the stroller brigade inside their church building.

Glen and I were feeling very blessed we got to be there for the beautiful baby blessing given by Abe. I know Klarissa's dad had been enjoying time with the family before we got there and stayed a couple of days after we left.

Here's little Wynne tucked into her stroller under the baby blanket from Bethlehem.

The stroller group walked home after sacrament meeting. Michael was able to get Newland to sleep. Glen felt the need to keep the sleeping boy company by taking a long nap himself when he got home.

But first the three of us had to hike up the hill to the car after church was over.

Gotta love the famous San Francisco steep hills!

Abe and Klarissa fixed a delicious grilled steak and grilled veggie meal for us. We ate it out on their back patio under the palm tree. 

Here are the men with their Father's Day gifts Klarissa had so thoughtfully gotten for them.

Along with Newland who was already eating away at the chocolate gift Abe had received.

When we dropped off the car seat and stroller the first night we were there, Newland had been so disappointed to see me at the door instead of his grandpa.

Glen has always been his favorite between the two of us. It made me happy when Newland softened up to me and sat on my lap while watching one of his favorite kid movies. Glen was enjoying a Father's Day phone call from one of our children.

Abe wanted in on the selfie photo.

It just wouldn't be a Sunday without popcorn!

Time for more photos in the back yard before the sun went down.

After such a great nap, Newland had lots of energy. He got on his bike and pedaled around and around and around the patio. It was tricky business to not get run over by him as he made his endless rounds. 

And we had to time the photos just right or Newland would photo bomb the picture.

One of my favorite activities when Newland was blessed was watching Abe and Klarissa having a little personal photo session with him in his white outfit. I was so happy when it came time to do the same with little Wynne.

She was so content lying on her back with her arms outstretched being the perfect little baby model. So cute and so sweet and so precious.

Now some photos with her hat off so we could see her hair.

My favorite moments were with mother and daughter.

We had a little FHE activity with Newland.

It had been a wonderful weekend with Abe's family. It was so fun to see Wynne in person for the first time. We were happy Newland's lip was healing. We appreciated Abe and Klarissa's hospitality.

They have such a precious little family!!