Ann's wedding

I had the opportunity to fly out to Utah/Idaho this weekend to see a good friend, Ann Collier, get married.

It was especially meaningful because they are both in their 30s and have waited a long time for this occasion. Well, at least waited a long time separately since they met at the end of last year.

Not anything against young brides, but there was a certain deepness to the experience knowing that this was more than a pretty dress, a ring, and a fairy tale experience. Some of the other brides at the temple on the same day looked like they were 16 years old! Hopefully, they were at least 18 years old. It was a little odd that a lot of them were wearing white flip flops under their formal gowns. I guess that added to the feeling that some thought this was a fun activity for a Saturday and not an eternal relationship kind of thing. Oh, am I being rude? Perhaps. Shame on me. I need to be less judgemental.

(P.S. Patti made a comment on this blog and it reminded me that I hadn't put all my feelings in the post. If my friend Ann had been wearing flip flops under her dress I think I would have felt differently, but when everything about the young ones seemed flakey...the flip flops just seemed to add to that occasion. So, here I go adding more and probably digging myself into an unintended pit when my feelings aren't really that strong on this topic. Ha. I guess it give me insight though - some people are reading this blog) (-:

Really, I didn't feel like I was judging them at this point in life. It's more of a feeling of "wow, I'm so glad that I didn't get married at that age." Now, it's taken me a little too long to get to the marriage point, but I'm not sure how well it would have worked out for me if I had made that commitment so young. I just barely figured myself out in my 30s. Plus, I was a really late bloomer in the social relationship skills department.

It all comes down to this - to each his own.

And on that note, here are Ann and Mike on their special occasion. I think the pictures tell all - beautiful bride, handsome groom, wonderful temple and grounds, and couple in love.

Christmas Moments - 2008

Finally, I've downloaded all the videos and pictures from my excursions around the midwest and east over Christmas. I drove to all locations and so I'm still recovering. Although flying can be a great option, sometimes it's nice to travel with large bags, a personal pillow and blanket and a few extra computers. This way it really does feel like home away from my little home.

In Columbus Ohio I was able to stop at the temple and see my parents. I ended up having the rare opportunity of vacuming since the volunteers hadn't shown up. Here they are sneaking in...I mean...locking it up for the night.

They are still getting use to the interesting combination of leadership and cleaning responsibilities.

I spent Christmas with my parents and Brett. Very small, but enjoyable.

My parents bought a creche type of statue for the christmas holiday. It was quite beautiful, but then we dropped into a TJMAX, or similiar store, and they discovered multiple wise men hidden in the holiday aisles.

So, long story short...we walked out with three wise men and...the 4th wise man. You kind of had to be there to appreciate all this since my parents are typically practical, but somehow got caught up in a little flashy material.

In fact, driving through part of downtown Indianapolis I caught my mom glancing at a gold angel on some random front porch. Hopefully this is a temporary issue and they will soon recover.