Jordan and Amanda's Wedding--July 12th
The most exciting thing we did was attend Jordan's, Michael's younger brother, wedding. It was so sweet and simple. We were all so grateful that it was planned at the same time as the reunion so we could attend. It took a bit of a sacrifice to get to it, but it was well worth it. You see the nearest temple is in Anchorage, which is about a 6 hour drive from Fairbanks. The hard part was, we flew into Fairbanks Friday morning at 12:30am (AK time) 3:30am (TX time) and the family was going to be driving out to Anchorage later that morning around 10am. Needless to say I was less than thrilled to drive 6 hours, after having flown forever, being pregnant, and having a 2 year old (who did great on the flights by the way.) So, Michael and I decided that we would use some of our miles and fly later that afternoon, in order to get get more sleep and relaxation in, plus 1 hour on a plane sure beats 6 hours in an RV. That was probably the best decision we could have made, seeing how our luggage didn't make it from San Antonio. However, we were blessed to get it just a few hours before we left for Anchorage though, allowing me to change, shower, and repack for just an overnight trip. We did get to Anchorage without any problems, got picked up by the family just driving in, and headed to the temple to attend Amanda's (Jordan's wife) endowment session. It was lovely, of course. After the session we quickly got some dinner and headed over to the hotel to put our VERY tired daughter to sleep, and try to get a few hours ourselves. Thankfully we did get some well needed rest, woke up the next morning, got ready, and once again headed over to the temple to attend the sealing. It was very simple, only family, and a couple friends were there. The sealer gave some very sweet advice and 20 minutes later another eternal family was created. They both looked amazing and I am sure will have a wonderful life together. After the sealing we took pictures, it's a good thing I wasn't the photographer, and then headed over for a very yummy lunch. After lunch, we all got changed and started our drive back to Fairbanks. I know it was a crazy three days. I wanted to fly back, but Michael insisted that we take the drive back because of how beautiful it is. I will admit it was beautiful, reminded me a lot of Europe, that is the parts I looked out the window for. Most of the time I was lying on the floor of the RV trying not to throw-up. By this point my body was done, and I wasn't taking care of it as well as it should have. Luckily for the last hour or two I sat in the front seat, got something other than snacks in my stomach, and made it back to Fairbanks in one piece, grateful to have gone to the wedding, and grateful to finally be home.
Gold Panning
One of the things that Fairbanks is famous for is their gold; and they have this little stream that you can try to pan for gold for free. Now just so you know, the most you can get out of this stream is maybe 25 cents, and you have to try pretty hard. Still, it's the Fairbanks thing to do, and the kids had a great time seeing what they could get out, which was mainly gold dust.
Ben looking for gold
Katherine, Marie, Braden, Jennette, Emma and Michael
Family Carnival and Talent Show-- we are already out of pictures :(
Michael has some the most creative sisters, who came up with some really fun activities to help keep 13 adults and 17 kids entertained, one of them being the carnival. Courtney had ordered all of these tickets, fun prizes, and carnival deco for the kids. Each family was suppose to come up with a fun booth for the kids to win prizes at. We had target practice with a Nerf gun, finding the marble under moving cups, wet sponge throwing, and a full blown obstacle course. We also had a concession stand with popcorn, marshmallow peanuts, and lollipops. We all had a great time, and it was so easy to do.
The other activity was a talent show. Once again each family had to come up with a talent. We had singing/acting, piano playing, Mongolian tongue twisters (Jordan served his mission there), a talent show, and a few other acts. For our family we wanted to show off how cute Emma can be singing "Jesus Wants me for a Sunbeam." We sing everything but the word "beam", which is what Emma fills in. It is really cute. Well, when we got up in front of everybody and asked her sing with us, she looked at me as if I was the craziest person on the planet and very clearly said, "No." Instead she wanted pretzels of goldfish crackers. Naturally I tried to get her to sing for the crackers, but once again she would have nothing to do with it. In the end the whole family just sang the song together, and Emma got to eat her pretzels.
The Wedding Reception and 30 Years in Alaska
On Wednesday, all of the women sent the men away with the 17 kids to Chena Lakes and McDonalds, so we could get the house clean and organized for Jordan and Amanda's reception, which was at the Hull House. It was great, the house never looked so clean or sounded so quiet the entire time we were there, which is to be expected of course. We were able to get everything in order with enough time to paint each other's nails while we watched a chick flick. We then spent the evening talking to a bunch of people, eating yummy snacks, and having a good time seeing Jordan and Amanda all dressed up again, and getting presents.
On another evening, after the kids went to bed, all of the adults got to walk down memory lane with Mom and Dad as they told us about living in Alaska for 30 years. Mandy even had us play a game with a number of old pictures, where we had to guess a person, place, or event, etc. It was kind of cool. It is hard to believe that someone can live in Alaska for so many years!! It is a beautiful state, but also very harsh. They have the biggest range in temperature, where their winters can be as cold as 4o or 50 fifty below and their summers can get into the 80's. And then there is the factor of being dark all of the time in the winter, and light all of the time in Summer. You have to be a special kind of person to live there. But I am grateful to have family there, it is a fun place to visit. :)
Golden Day Parade--last event of the reunion
Michael's mom is currently running for the Alaska State House of Representatives, yes she is an amazing woman! I respect her so much for all she does. Anyway, part of running included her being apart of Fairbank's Golden Day's Parade, as they call it. So during the week we were helping her set up an awesome float, it was more like a couple of my brother-in-laws doing the work, and then we all wore "Hull for House" t-shirts and helped her hand out candy or balloons while walking in the parade. While Michael's mom was stressing out of her mind about the whole thing, we actually all ended up having a good time. She had a lot of people come and walk with us to show their support and I got to stay on the float the whole time and blow up helium balloons. It couldn't have turned out better, and it was so nice to be able to see Michael's mom relax for a little bit too. As you can imagine she is extremely busy with this campaign, and because of it wasn't able to do nearly as much as she normally does with the family. It was a little weird not to have the parents around as much for the reunion, but it was amazing to see the love and support all of Michael's siblings have for each other, and how they all support and take care of each other. I have said this multiple times, but I am so blessed with the family I have and the family I married into. Both are such great examples to me.
The parade ended the reunion, and some of the husbands started leaving that afternoon. Michael was able to stay until the following Monday, and Emma and I could stay until the following Saturday. Staying up there for another week with Michael's sister was just as much fun. We got to watch Kaitlyn play in her softball games, go swimming, go out to lunch, and just hang out. All in all it was an awesome vacation and I had a hard time coming back. It's so nice to have such great family!
1 comment:
I'm glad you're back to blogging! Hopefully that means you're feeling better. And what fun adventures you've had this summer!
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