THE WEDDING!!!!!

They did it!  Gavin and Cadie are married!

photo by Steve Watson

After weeks and weeks of planning and creating the big day finally came and it was WONDERFUL!!!  Everything came together and the day and evening were magical.  

photo by Steve Watson

They could not have been any happier.  They both looked like they were going to burst with joy.  

photo by Steve Watson

These first 7 photos at the temple were taken by Steve Watson.  They almost don't look really they are so beautiful. 

photo by Steve Watson

It really was romantic and magical and they were so beautiful together.

photo by Steve Watson

photo by Steve Watson

They are now tied together for eternity and none of us could be happier for them.  They are a wonderful match for each other.

photo by Steve Watson

Cadie's family has some sweet friends who let us have the reception in their GORGEOUS back yard.  We hung a bazillion lights every where and decorated everything in her colors, purple, fuchsia and orange.  I was so glad that it all came together so lovely.

I had Sam climb up in their super high tree house to take this shot.

Tony and Tim have a special bond, both being Groundhog's Day babies.

Lots of Alger family 

Dandi and my Dad  created this fun photo wall.  We had a great time posing and being silly with it.  It was a great idea!

Josh with Gram and Papa Ely

Gavin and Cadie treated us all to a duet of "I See the Light" from Tangled.  It was so sweet and fit their story perfectly.

Our cousin Wendy made their amazingly beautiful and delicious cake.  The bottom two layers weighed 35 pounds and the very bottom one was the most amazing chocolate fudgy delight with chocolate mousse heaven in it.  Mmmmm!  Seriously the best wedding cake I have ever had!!!

Their first dance together, aww

Daddy Daughter Dance...  Aric was soaking in every second.

Mother Son Dance...  isn't my Mom GORGEOUS!!!!

Jessi and Todd, super cute!

Dandi made bow ties for the boys and Jessi and I made skirts for all the girls.  They were like walking decorations.  It was worth all the hours of work, thank goodness.

Jonah and Gwen were too cute dancing together.  This is Jonah giving her a twirl.  She is loving it!

All the grandkids were having a great time dancing with all the guests and the bride and groom.  It really was a great party.

Lilli and Daniel

Me and Daniel

Gwen and Daniel

Some how I didn't getting any pictures of Nathan and Drew.  I think they were busy having too much fun running around in the orchards and playing with cousins.

Me with my baby brother Gavin, the married man!

Princess Cadie with my handsome boys, Sam and Josh

Here is the photo table, complete with the bath tub picture of Gavin.  We have told him since the day it was taken that it would be at his reception.  He was not surprised to see it and was a great sport about it.

The mother and father of the bride,who happens to be Richard's sister Kristine and her hubby Aric.

I wish I had thought to get a picture of me with my two sister's in law, Richard's sister Kristine and her daughter Cadie who just married my brother Gavin!  That would have been fun.

I loved every minute of it, but I am so glad it is over.  I am exhausted and superbly happy!

Ben Franklin, Zuzu and Student of the Month

 For constitution week, Tim and Sara gave presentations in class and dressed up as their historical figures for extra credit.  Tim was Ben Franklin and Sara was Betsy Ross.  I am sad that I didn't get a picture of Sara, she looked so cute.  They did a great job with memorizing their lines and giving their presentations.  

Zuzu, Zanna, Suzu, Susie, Zuzanna, Susanna what ever you call her, she is CUTE and we love her!  I loved this picture with her big silly smile.

 Laney was chosen as Student of the Month for September.  A student from each class is chosen who showed the character trait of the month.  For September it was all six character traits, 

Trustworthiness

Respect

Responsibility

Fairness

Caring

Citizenship.

Daniel was super proud of her too.  He was so sweet to her.

Way to go Laney!  

Decorating for Halloween

Just in time for the Halloween season, we opened the front door to find this little guy hanging above our heads.

Yes, a bat.  He stayed there for about 3 days.  He would open his eyes and look at us when we would come and go, but other than that he did not move.  The kids were fascinated by him.  We wondered if he was hurt or sick, since he did not leave that spot, day or night for 3 days.  

Then one morning we opened the door and he was gone.  I guess  he had lots of preparations to take care of for Halloween.  It was a fun experience for the kids.

The Rest of Summer

It was a great summer, but boy did it go by fast!  And OH SO HOT!!!!

I know I included this picture before, but now it has new meaning with Gavin and Cadie's up coming wedding. We had Gavin and Cadie over for a game night.  We played Motor Mouth (a tongue twister game).  Gavin still didn't realize he was in love with Cadie and Cadie was doing her best to be polite about it.  It was a crazy game (and so was Motor Mouth).  giggle, giggle, hee

We did a little swimming at Ben and Nan's.

We watched fireworks at Grandma and Grandpa Alger's with all the Ely gang and some of the Alger gang.  It was an awkward night for Gavin and Cadie, since Cadie brought her new boyfriend Wes, and Gavin had just figured out the day before that he was crazy about Cadie.

We made some yummy new foods like Coconut Milk Cake and Sam's cheesy garlic tomato bread, using fresh tomatoes from our garden.  Mmmm!

Here's Drew showing off his happy racing face.

We had fun watching the twins compete in the Pine Wood Derby. 

Drew and Nate

Nate getting ready to race

Yes, I know that they are not wearing their Scout shirts.  We hadn't been able to find them for months.  They are so expensive that I was not about to buy two more shirts.  We found them a few weeks later when we were sorting a giant bucket of legos.  They were buried under tons of legos.  No one put them there though, of course.

Laney got some new clothes in preparation for starting Kindergarten.

We had a fun eating an unusual dinner of grapes, Jarlsberg, Pepper Jack and sharp cheddar cheese, almonds, baby blueberry bagels, strawberry yogurt and cranberry, pomegranate and apple juices while Dad, Josh and Tim were away at Scout Camp.  It was yummy and great for summer.  The kids said they felt like we were Greek.

Susanna

Drew, and no, I did not just catch him at an awkward moment, he posed that shot.

Nate

We went and visited with Grandma and Grandpa Alger several times this summer too.  The kids love to see them and play in the yard.  It is great to hear all the family news and stories too.  We love them bunches!

I was sad to see summer come to a close, but the school year is off to a great start and we are already making plans for next summer!

Saying Goodbye

So I guess my previous tribute to the Klippels was too short, so here is an additional post about them.

Our long time friends, the Klippels, moved this summer to Ohio.  This was more than sad for our family because Travis and Sam and also Tim and Turner have been best friends for years.  Sara is also very close to Turner because they have been class mates in school.  I taught Tanner in Sunday School for 3 years and then had Emma in Young Women's for 2 years.  I was visiting teaching companions with their awesome mother, Miranda, for several years and then got to work with her in Young Women's.  Jim, was our bishop for as long as most of my kids can remember.  We love the Klippels and wish them well, but they have certainly left a big whole in our lives.  Miss you guys!

 Sam, Victor, Madison, Travis, Kenisha, Lorenzo and Kiana

 Trav and Sam

 Trav and Victor

 Tim and Turner

 Lilly, Turner and Sara

 Sam and Travis

BIG BIG HUG!!!