and the two shall be one...

On Saturday, October 20, our youngest son, Vance, married Daphne Brown in her parent's backyard. The whole weekend was a wonderful family celebration with all of our children and grandchildren there except for John, Johnny, and Caitlin. This hasn't happened in a long time so it was a very special occasion. Everything was beautiful and enjoyed by all that were able to be there. So that only leaves Chelsea that has not been married off, but she is in no hurry, which is fine with us.

It has been a good month. We had Chelsea come to stay with us to get the house ready for visitors during my fall break. This has been very nice. It gave Doug and I the chance to go to the temple. I was able to be the proxy for a special lady that was instrumental in collecting a lot of genealogy on Doug's line. Chelsea and I attended a very nice bridal shower for Daphne on the 6th with Beth and Emily. The following week we worked hard on the house and got a lot done but fall break went by too quickly.

The week of the wedding, I went back to work and Chelsea went over and helped at the Brown's house to prepare for the festivities. On Thursday evening, after a very long day with parent-teacher conferences, the fun began with the arrival of the Newswander family and Vance. Chelsea was invited to a bachlorette party that evening and we got reacquainted with our grandkids. We are so grateful they made the long journey to be with us on this special occasion. Friday was spent in preparation for the big family dinner to be eaten after the rehearsal that evening. Mom and I picked up Rachel in the morning and Vance took off to get Tracy, little Daphne, and Emmett. Tracy had been at Jeff's because they picked her up at the airport on Thursday. Trent brought pizza for lunch with the kids after they had a 'leisurly' morning. It turned out great and we had a lot of fun working together. We had a nice evening with the Brown family and helping to get things set up for the big day.

Saturday morning was pretty laid back for a little while. We made apple pancakes, one of our favorite breakfasts. Tracy and I then began making the albondigas. We had all the meatballs ready by the time everyone started arriving for lunch. It was wall to wall people but Dad and I agree it was fantastic and our favorite times. Cruch time started about 2:00 when we were all starting to get ready. (Uncle) Vance and Kay arrived about 2:30 and helped us out by taking some chairs to the wedding. Everyone got to the Brown's before 3:30 looking great with only a missing tie (solved because Doug had one) and a uncooperative zipper (anybody got duct tape?). The rest of the day was perfect - ceremony, hugs, kisses, family, friends, food, pictures, dancing, and tears of joy.

Sunday, many of us we were able to go to sacrament meeting at Patton ward. Then we all (except Jeff's family and the newlyweds) gathered at Richard's to eat leftovers and celebrate Rachel's birthday. We talked, laughed and enjoyed each other as long as we could before goodbyes had to be said. We are so grateful that we had this special weekend together and the special effort that was made by those that came a long way as well as those that are nearby. It will not be forgotten.