Thursday night the wedding extravaganza began with a dinner for Anthony and his new lovely wife, Laura. We ate at a little cafe in Draper where they served fresh fruit and french toast. It was very yummy. After eating, the Maid of Honor, Best Man, both sets of parents and the Bride and Groom all gave little speeches. Many of the speakers spoke about what a great fit the two are and many spoke of their experiences with Anthony and how lucky he is to have Laura. Anthony spoke last and it was so cute how he spoke of Laura. It is so great to see Anthony so happy and Laura too, she is a wonderful catch! Matthew and I are particularly excited to go on "Dates" with them in the near future.
After the dinner I headed off to Ashley's house for a Bachelorette party! We got to see her dress and talk about honeymoon plans and catch up with Jen about life in Texas. Then we played a "how well do you know each other game" where if Ashley answered the question wrong a part of her gift was taken away. She only answered 2 or 3 wrong, but they were pretty vague questions, so in the end we let her keep everything. After playing the game, we made some cookies and continued talking.
While I was at the party, Matthew took Anthony out for their own Bachelor Party of sorts. Matthew tells me that they ended up at "The Ritz Classic" bowling alley. He reports that they played two games of bowling, where Anthony completely destroyed him and then they moved on to play 3 games of pool where Matthew won the first two games and Anthony won the last one. In one of the games Matthew hit his last ball in and then it ricocheted off the wall and then hit the eight ball in. He, Anthony and a few bystanders were in complete amazement and if you know about Matthew's skills when it comes to pool, you would be amazed too! After leaving the bowling alley, Matthew and Anthony ended up outside our apartment talking about this, that and other random things for about an hour and a half. It might have been longer, but Anthony knew he still had about 3 hours of work to do on a portrait of Laura and it was already after midnight.
Friday after school I picked Matthew up from work and we headed to the Draper Temple for Anthony and Laura's sealing. We got their early and contemplated grabbing something to eat, but decided to sit in the temple for a little while instead. While waiting for the sealing we were able to read some scriptures about marriage and talk with Laura's dad. The sealing was wonderful and helped to remind Matthew and I of the promises we have made to one another and the love that we feel. We had a good time talking with one of Matthew's friends from high school, Craig Fisher and his wife, Crystal. We also chatted with one of the missionaries that served with Anthony. We had fun taking some pictures and were excited to get some food and a small nap in before the evening festivities began.
Later that night I dropped Matthew off at Anthony and Laura's reception and headed over to Ashley and Rusty's reception for a little while. Ashley was beautiful of course and the reception was elegant. I was stationed at the guest book for 30 minutes, to help the guests know what to do. The guest book was unique because it wasn't really a book, but rather the guest signed river rocks with sharpie paint and Ashley and Rusty plan on putting the rocks in a vase to put on a table at home. It was a very cute idea. I was able to see Ashley and Rusty cut their cake and dance before I had to head back over to the other reception.
Anthony and Laura's reception was at an art gallery, which was the perfect setting for them, especially since Anthony is an artist. When you first entered the gallery three portraits Anthony had drawn were front and center, one of Anthony, one of Laura and one of the two of them together. They also had a photo booth and props for the guests to take pictures in so they could put them in the guest boot and as a gift for the guests to take home. They served yummy crepes and cupcakes. I was able to talk a little more with Craig and Crystal and meet their three adorable little girls and also talk with Justin Jay Kofford. Close to the end of the reception, Matthew's parents showed up and we were able to take pictures, eat and talk with them. It feels like ages since we have seen them last, so it was good to see them again. Soon Anthony and Laura cut their cake, threw the bouquet and we sent them on their way with a line of sparklers. Matthew and I stayed to help load gifts into the car and then headed home.
Saturday, Matthew and I spent the day running errands, cleaning and completing some things for church. I was also planning on getting some school work done, but Dennis and Niche invited us over to watch the Utah vs TCU football game and we were asked to babysit for Alli. Unfortunately the Utes lost, but as the saying goes, "You win some, you loose some." Near the end of the game I headed towards Alli's and Matthew headed towards the campus to work on a DVD for his parents. When Matthew finished what he was working on he came over to Alli's to watch a movie with me, but soon we realized that the movie we rented was blank, so we called "Redbox" and they gave us codes for two free movies. So we plan on returning the broken movie today and renting the movies another time. Instead of a movie we decided to catch up on the last few episodes of "The Office" and while we were waiting for Alli to come home we also watched an episode of the new series "Outsourced".
Today we were able to spend another Sunday with the members of the branch we serve at. Matthew and I have grown to love the brothers and sisters in the branch and look forward to each Sunday. Today I taught Relief Society and each week I am more amazed at the things they can teach me. I came into the lesson thinking it was about facing adversity and come out of it realizing that it is about balance and so much more. I love their insights and the experiences that they are willing to share with me. It is a calling that has taught me so much and I know I have grown and become better because of it.
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