Cheyenne and Tyler got married last week!! What a week! They were married on Saturday, and on the Monday before, they still didn't have a place to live. That was our biggest stress! But we didn't need to stress. God had it all worked out, and Tyler and Chey signed on a cute little place in South Provo Tuesday morning. We were able to get last-minute wedding preparations done and move a few essentials (like a bed and a couch!) into their apartment before the big day. All my kids really pulled together to help make the wedding day a reality. Megan worked on flowers and decorations and the cake. Mariah and Sarah did a cute bridal shower and dinner the night before. Cali planned the shoe game and a beautiful speech. We were busy bees! In addition, Chey and Tyler wanted to do proxy sealings at the temple on Tuesday night and we made that happen, too! It was super special with Savannah, Cali and Richmond, Kevin and I, and Chey and Tyler all there.

Saturday was the BIG day!! Cheyenne's sisters came over to do yoga with her in the morning (this was the compromise since I said NO to the planned 4 mile run (the day would be exhausting enough!)) Beth did Chey's makeup and Micah sat on her lap and wanted some, too! Chey and I drove to the temple in the rain to do pictures with Mariah before the ceremony and the rain stopped while we did pictures! Mariah did a fabulous job and Chey looked soooo pretty. We will post those soon!

The ceremony was beautiful in the temple and so many people she loved were there to support her. She and Tyler exited the temple with aplomb and my friend Jen and her husband, Stuart were there to take pictures and video, and Tyler and Chey were so so happy! More pictures to come!

We accidentally left Tyler and Chey at the temple without a key to Tyler's car but never fear, Jen and Stuart brought them back to Springville for us! The pavilion at the church was decorated so beautifully! We had professionals do drapes and lights and Megan had everyone put out her table decorations and finishing touches as we prepared for the dinner. Tyler's mom had a wonderful luncheon/dinner of chicken salad on croissants with salads and lemonade and cookies. It was so yummy. (It did rain again at this point, but we were under the pavilion! Yay!) We did speeches to the bride and groom at the end and many sweet tributes were made!

After dinner, everyone helped set up for the ring ceremony. Chey really wanted a processional with flower girls and bridesmaids and walking down the aisle so we made it happen and it was really fun! Instead of flower girls, we had leaf children. Tyler had three of his nieces on his side and we got Chey's oldest two nieces on her side and they spread leaves from their baskets and looked super adorable and had so much fun! Ben played and sang "You are Gold" from the National Parks on his guitar during the processional and it was so genuine and beautiful. Way to go, Ben! Kevin made a good speech and Tyler and Chey were sweet and it was all very picturesque and beautiful. More pictures to come!

From there, we moved chairs and food to set-up for the reception and we also got some more pictures in! Tyler wanted s'mores for the reception. We used sterno cans for the roasting at ten different stations and it turned out really fun. We also had charcuterie that just needed to be set out and refilled. McKay busted out the music and did some singing. Roxabelle staffed the polaroid camera for the guest book. Lots of people came and walked through the line to give their congratulations! After about an hour of the line, we broke it up and played the shoe game. My sons-in-law added new verses and sang my favorite song--this time for Tyler ("Married a Skinner, feel like a winner, gonna treat her right!"). Then they cut the cake and smeared it on each other thoroughly, cleaned up and had first dances. Chey wanted time to dance after that and they all had great great fun rockin the dance floor! For send-off we had sparklers and . . . water guns (because Chey and Tyler are big on water fights). The young people had a great water fight as Chey and Tyler drove away. It really was an amazing, beautiful day and something tremendous and eternal to truly celebrate!

It reminds me of the movie Groundhog Day where Rita says, "This day was perfect. You couldn't have planned a day like this." to which Phil replies,"Well, you can. It just takes an awful lot of work." Ha ha! And it's worth it!

So, in other news . . .  since I last wrote, Ben had his regional cross-country meet (last race before state) and did great! He also had his first choir concert of the year and the first performance ever to be held in the new auditorium at the new Springville High School. The choir sounded amazing and they all did so well!

What a difference a day makes...

Also, the weekend before the wedding, Tyler's sisters had a bridal shower for Chey in West Jordan and it was a great party. I loved that we got to know his family a little better and also that all of my daughters were together! So fun!

We had lots of family come to the wedding which is always so great including Naoma & Jim, Val, Matt, Julia, Maggie, Becca, Kayla & Merrick, and Mandy & Parker. Diane and her four kids stayed and hung out at our house Saturday night which was so fun and my mom and dad stayed Saturday and Sunday for a longer visit which we loved! Micah made sure they felt at home:

It was Sarah's birthday this week! To celebrate, Megan planned a surprise birthday party for her, made soup and invited all her friends. Since Megan moved into our house this week, that meant the party was downstairs! Sarah wanted to play games at "mom's house" with her sisters before dinner so Megan just rerouted the friends to the back door while Sarah was upstairs playing games. Kevin and I had the assignment of keeping the little kids out of the way, so since we also wanted to watch Ben run in his cross country meet, we took four grandchildren with us! Sarah thought we were crazy for wanting to take the grandkids with us but shrugged her shoulders and let us use her van with the carseats. When she went downstairs to eat the dinner Megan had been making for her, I'm told she was so surprised by all her friends! She had a great time and thanked everyone lots of times! What fun!

Beth was home on Friday because Snow College has a September break and it just happened to be September 25! We love Snow College! That is also the anniversary of Beth's surgery and it has historically been a rough day emotionally for her. Last year we renamed it, "Do Something Great for Beth Day!" So this year she and I went out for lunch at La Casita (which reminded us of our cruise to Mexico) and then did some shopping at her favorite store (5 Below)! We had a fun time! Then she came home and got to participate in all the fun for Sarah's birthday. I think it gets a little easier every year. I sure love that girl.

Kevin and I had a lot of fun watching Ben race on Friday! The grandkids interest was spotty and the corraling was a challenge but we kept everyone alive and got everyone back home so we're calling it a success! Ben was disappointed in his race time but he was still my favorite runner on the course! 

That was just the start of his busy weekend. He has a friend, Jens, who got Ben and Spencer and himself dates to the Mapleton homecoming dance. After the race, Ben went to the Springville/Mapleton football game with his friends and the three Mapleton girls and sat in the Mapleton section. Springville won by a large margin and it was a little sketchy for Ben and his friends at times! Afterwards, they played pickleball and had ice cream, and Ben said that was fun. On Saturday, Ben had a 10 mile run and three hours of work before dressing up to take the girl he just met this week, Kenzi, to her homecoming dance. What a great guy!

Cheyenne and Tyler both did a lot of work and school this week. Stuffed in the cracks between those obligations, they have been working on getting documents to the mortgage officer to see if they can qualify for a loan. They finally got the preapproval on Friday with limitations. We went to see the two options that were a possibility on Saturday. We will keep you updated but I know they will both be more at peace when the housing decision has been finalized! Otherwise, they are good and still crazy about each other! I can't believe in just two weeks, they will be married!

We started this week on a very sad note. It was time to put down Sadie, our dog for nine years (we got her when she was 2). Kevin, Cheyenne, and Ben all came and cried and cried. She has been part of our lives for a long time and provided a lot of love for my kids. I think she enjoyed living with us, running through the mountains and bringing back deer bones to stash in our yard. It was a hard day.

Kevin ran another retreat this week. This time he was in Park City, and instead of helping couples, he was training other therapists to help couples. He said it was very different in emotional intensity but still a lot of very intense teaching! He was there Tuesday through Saturday although he came for a visit on Thursday. He was in a very beautiful place and did go four-wheeling again. This time he had one of the thrills of his life when a cougar ran across the trail in front of them! Never seen one of them in the wild before!

Benjamin also left the house for a few days this week because he went on a team trip to a cross country meet in Irvine, California. He had his best time ever running three miles in 16:42! He placed sixth in his race and earned a medal! He had a fun time being with the other teammates who came as well as the coaches (of whom Mariah was one!) They even got to go to the beach! Fun high school times!

Cheyenne and Tyler both had busy weeks with school and work. On Friday night, Chey and fifteen friends attended her bachelorette! Cali and two other friends were in charge and they rented an airbnb in Lehi where they could all spend the night. They made t-shirts, went to the silent disco, and played games! Cheyenne had a great time! Thank you, Cali!

Savannah and Peter had a fun activity on Saturday! They hiked to Timp cave and went on an introduction to caving tour. It's 1.5 miles straight up, so they are sore today! But they had so much fun!

On Saturday, Cali and Richmond came with Kevin and I to visit Bethany in Ephraim and attend the open house for the new Ephraim temple! It was beautiful and we loved seeing Bethany and her dorm room. She came back with us and is hanging out with Ben and her littlest fans, too!

 

I spent a lot of time this week cleaning--carpets especially. Also, our kitchen downstairs was finished! I love how it turned out.