Boom. boom. boom...

I am not sure what else to title this post.  After Scott and Chantel's wedding, I remember we slept in the next day and really didn't accomplish too much except later in the evening when we met up with them and her family to watch them open gifts. 

The day after Tosha's wedding Jena wanted to go to school (up at 6:00 a.m.) and then we had to pick her up at 11 or so because she had to attend the Area Special Olympics Bowling event in Ogden.

She got a silver metal after they first announced that she had gotten the gold metal.  However the score they came was way too high so we knew they needed to recount.  She missed gold by about 6 points but her team mate got the gold so it was okay and Jena was happy to switch with her.  No problem.  So we ended up taking two pictures--one with Jena having the gold and one with her with the silver.

Here is the real one--Jena with silver and Jessica with the gold.

Saturday morning we had the New parent breakfast for the Down syndrome foundation.  Becca who is 35 years old talked and sang as part of the program.  She first sang and did sign language with the song called "Just Like You" and at this point she was singing the words in Samoan (where she and her parents had served an LDS mission).

After that I met my sister Valerie at her friend's home and we headed to the Jordan River Temple.  We were able to do a session and then met our dad as he was finishing his shift at the temple.  We were able to pick up Karla and head for Mexican food before I had to take Valerie to the airport to head back to Mesa.  It was a quick trip and filled with wedding stuff...and she had to head home to do wedding stuff herself as my niece, Landi was getting married on Nov. 30th.  Thanks to Gary for keeping things going at home while I had this great day in Salt Lake.

Saturday night, Tosha and Austen returned from Park City and we were so lucky that we got to spend a few days with them before they left for Oklahoma.  It was a great chance to spend some more time with Austen to get to know him and also to have a few last days with Tosha.  They were still smiling which was awesome to see and what we expected.

On Sunday evening we had invited Austen's extended family to join us for the gift unwrapping party.  It turned out so great.

It started early with Jessica and Elessia dropping their gift off early as Jessica was covering a shift that night at work.  Jessica had painted this tile with their name and wedding date in greys and red--some of their favorite colors.  It has hooks on the bottom for keys so it is cute and useful.  It is now hanging in their apartment although I don't know if it has keys yet.

Again, I don't know what I was doing, but no pictures from our get-together that night.  We had a great time playing the "Newlywed" game---Tosha and Austen were the only players and they won all of our prizes (worth dollars!).  They did okay with their questions and they were funny too.  We all laughed much of the evening which is always a good thing.  They were so cute with their gifts and so happy with everything, it was fun to be a part of.  It gave us some more time to spend with his family which was good too.

His dad, Tom, was so sweet when the evening was done and they were the last to leave.  He told me how great a time they had had and that they now were going to start this tradition with their other children to share the unwrapping of the gifts and playing the newlywed game.  (So Austen and Tosha, I hope you paid attention to the questions as you might be in charge of the game!)

And, although we got up and got Jena off to school the next morning, I think Gary and I both headed back to bed and slept in...finally...and then I headed for a meeting at 11:30 a.m. in Salt Lake for a committee I am on--and life was back to "normal" again!  I wonder how long that will last!!??

The Wedding and all that surrounded it!

November 14th was a Thursday.  Wednesday afternoon my sister Valerie flew in to attend the wedding and we all met up at the Old Spaghetti Factory in Salt Lake to eat dinner but mostly to meet Austen's family.  And actually it was only the second time we had been around Austen in person.  We covered three tables and included both of his parents and their spouses, his grandparents (Colonel and Judy), his sister, Lizzy (his brother Taylor is on a mission), some of his stepsiblings, her grandma Hall, and Grandpa and Nana Giberson, Aunt Valerie and Aunt Vonette, Scott and Chantel, Jena, and us (Jessica, Elessia and Ben all had to work so they could get off the next day for the wedding.)  Again I didn't take any pictures but we enjoyed getting to know his family better.  We set at a table with his dad and stepmom Michelle.  Michelle had lived in our area several years ago and turned out to know many of the same people we knew (we discovered this at the shower as people came).  They shared stories about Austen which were fun to learn about.  Tosha and Austen went from table to table talking with everyone and mostly just smiling.  Tosha had just picked Austen up from the airport and came to dinner so they were very excited to be together and to begin the countdown to getting married the next day.

And if I could turn this around I would.  I need to learn how
to edit picture on this computer which I have had for over 6 months now.
In my defense, life has been busy.
The INVITATION
Tosha and a woman we found on the internet designed this cute invitation
for the wedding and reception.

Thursday turned out to be a beautiful day despite the bad weather earlier in the month.  It was cold but clear and lots of sunshine.  Tosha looked fairly together and organized during the day as they ran around getting their marriage license and a couple of other errands.  I felt okay too although we both were about 30 minutes late getting to the reception hall where the wedding and reception were being led.  It was called Chantilly Mansion and is located in Layton about 15 minutes from our house.  It is an old mansion which has been redo and remodeled for weddings, receptions and other events.  Tosha and I had looked at a few places and she decided this was a good option for her.  It turned out great. 

I took ONE picture the whole evening.  (The professional pictures have arrived but Tosha wants to see them before I print them here which is fair.)  When I add the pictures, I will send an email alert.

This is Austen with his Bishop who was the one who performed their marriage.  They came to the door of the dressing room when Tosha just had the underdress of her wedding dress on.  The bishop wanted to talk to them both about the service.  I game Tosha my grey sweater so she wrapped it around her and stood in the door way for this conversation....a moment to remember.

The bishop did an awesome job with the service.  It was very warm and solemn as he shared beautiful quotes from President Hinckley about marriage.

I will write more about the wedding, the family pictures, and the reception when Tosha gives me permission to publish some pictures.

But take my word for it---it was a great day, Tosha and Austen looked amazing and so happy, friends and family had a good time being together, and they really got married!

We headed home to sleep and they headed up for a few days in Park City!!!  Welcome to the family, Austen James Russell, we are glad to have you.

(As a side note:  Jena wanted to add Austen's name to her phone so she brought the phone to me to add in the number.  She had already written his name--Austen Hall.  It turned out that she thought he would become a Hall now that he married Tosha and was her new brother.  After all, Chantel became a Hall.  I had forgotten to explain that Tosha was becoming a Russell.  It can be confusing unless you know the little details of life.)

Pre-wedding hair appointment for Jena

I couldn't imagine anyone else doing Tosha's hair for her wedding than her.  She can do so many great things with her hair and look great no matter what.  However I convinced Jena that for Tosha's wedding she needed to have her hair done.  She agreed since it was for Tosha.  (She also agreed to wear a necklace for the wedding, another unusual event.)  Tosha decided to wear her hair down so we decided to have Jena wear her hair up.  Amy McNeill, a family friend and the one who cuts our hair, did it for her.

The starting point
Jena said it looked like she was having a Mohawk!

Jena checking her hair out in the mirror.
It turned out great and she had curls for a couple of days which
got her lots of attention from those who are used to her everyday
straight ponytail.  It was darling.

For the record, for as tough as Jena is about most things, she has a tender head and everyday when I brush her hair she will complain that it hurts.  She did not make one complaint during the entire hair do production.  At the end, I commented to her about that.  About 30 seconds later, with no one touching her head, she said a quiet "ouch".  It was perfect comedic timing and we all three cracked up laughing.

The fun weeks before the wedding

With November starting then I was able to focus on the BIG EVENT Tosha and Austen's wedding and two smaller events for the Utah Down Syndrome Foundation--A strategic planning meeting in Lehi on November 8th and a New parent breakfast in Salt Lake on November 16th.  Cleaning the house became quite optional and I think cooking dinner was a rare event as well.  The good news is we all survived and had some fun in the meantime.

Tosha had found several (hundred) darling things on the internet and Pinterest to do for wedding receptions.  She choice some darling ones and figured out how to make them herself.  One was a darling little airplane made with a stick of gum for the wings, tootsie rolls for the body and white life savers for the wheels.  They were so cute.  I thought I took pictures but didn't find it on my camera.
Another idea was her sign-in book.  She wanted tree limbs with notes that people who sign and give advice and then clip onto the tree.  Here is me showing her a vase to see if she liked it (and she did choose this one.  Look for it in the wedding pictures later. People loved it.)



These white sticks, rocks, and tin vase became a beautiful
tree which got filled with great advice from
family and friends on the day of their wedding.

We had lunch with Austen's grandmother Judy who lived down the street from Austen in Mountain Green.  We met Austen's mom as she was the one who was designing and making the cake for the wedding from several pictures Tosha sent her.  The cake turned out amazing and was like Tosha envisioned it.  It was so "Tosha" and I think Austen loved it too.

A week before the wedding we had three busy days in a row with a Sisters' dinner at IHOP in Riverdale, because Jessica, Elessia, and Chantel all had to work on the day of her wedding shower.

After dinner, they stood in the cold for a picture
since I forgot to take one indoors.

 The next day, I was headed down to Thanksgiving Point, Lehi, UT, for a meeting with people interested in the UDSF.  It turned out to be a very exciting meeting as we discussed the needs of the individuals with DS in our state and their families.  It was a great group of people as well, all very passionate about the topic.  Here is a white board full of ideas.  More meetings to follow.

Jena and Tosha
I must have taken pictures mostly with
Tosha's camera because I can't find
what I thought I took.

Saturday was the shower.  I guess I used Tosha's camera to get a shot of the decorations out front with balloons and streamers.

It was a fun time to share with our family and Austen's family, our friends, and Tosha's friends as they came and went during the Open House style shower.

When Tosha got home, she then proceeded to FaceTime with Austen and show him the gifts they got.  He was properly impressed. (I actually don't know how Gary and I survived during our engagement apart for three months with limited phone calls--too expensive and only a couple of visits and LOTS of letters.  Tosha and Austen had FaceTime which was on constantly it seemed when he was not at work.  I appreciated the conversations I had with Austen as well on FaceTime.  After all he was taking my sweet Tosha to Oklahoma City.  Luckily Austen is a friendly person and also smart and knew talking with me would pay off in the long run.

After the party Jena helped clean up.
Jena does not like popping balloons but her
cousin, Krystal, had popped some by sitting on them
so she had to try as well.  She broke three of them that way
but then went back to the regular way.

Every once in a while we would hear an excited voice (Tosha's) saying "I am getting married." sometimes several times an hour.  It was true.  She was getting married and the time was almost here (well, you know what I mean...as part of the story telling of this blog.  It is Dec. 15th now and she already got married, but I am trying to catch up.  Moving on.....)