Sydney Young Weds Jakob William Walker

The wedding in the Gilbert Temple was not until early afternoon,

so Syd had lots of time to get ready.

Her Aunt Mindy did her hair and make-up in Stacy and Tom's bathroom,

and, of course, Jake had not seen Syd's bridal gown yet.

Here is the pictorial Big Reveal:

Jake was eagerly waiting out the front door with his back turned.

 Here she comes, Jake. . . 

don't turn around!

Wow!

 We're ready - 

let's go get married!

 The photographer took some beautiful shots of them on the Mesa Temple grounds,

and here some of them are:

After the sweet and heart-warming ceremony with a large number of family members present from each side 
in this truly beautiful temple, 

we waited outside for the bride and groom to come out.

Roger snapped a pic of this pretty bridesmaid.

Sadie is the cousin closest in age to Syd and they are buddies.

Brothers Luke and Max are waiting with their Young cousin, Laila.

Proud Grandma Pam and Grandpa Roger

Here they come!

Syd and Jake had many people who love them there at the temple to greet them.

Sydney's grandparents, aunts and uncles and immediate family

Syd's Stratford side

We love this beautiful granddaughter and her new husband!

Syd's happy grandparents

One of my favorite pics that was taken when my kids were married is the one with the bride posing with all of her aunts. 

I'm glad Syd got one with her mom and her aunts (Tom's sister, Melissa, was ill back home in Provo and couldn't come)!

Here she is with her dad, Tom, and her uncles.

Syd's family has a new member!

Happy parents of the bride and of the groom

These two love this daughter of theirs . . .

. . . and each other!

Jake's family

Syd and Jake with the bridesmaids and groomsmen

After pics were taken,

a luncheon was held at Tia Rosa's in Gilbert.

Tia Rosa's is a favorite with the Youngs.

Delicious black and white-striped cookies at each place

Syd with Aunt Barb and Uncle Steve

The Best Man, Jake's brother, Luke, and Jake's best friend, 

who flew in from England, James Vernau,

and each of the dads 

gave tributes to the bride and groom. 

They were each touching and wonderful, especially Joe's for his son and Tom's for his daughter.

As we were all leaving the restaurant to head for Stacy and Tom's home for the reception to follow, 

Roger captured this pretty Arizona sunset.

We had a Grand Party awaiting us!

Gearing Up In Mesa

Our daughter, Stacy, has always exemplified this mantra

that is written on her chalkboard-painted walls of her laundry room:

And it manifests itself in everything that she does.

Stacy has style. 

You can see it the way she dresses. 
It shows in the way she serves others, in her callings in the church and in raising her kids.

And it shows in the way she decorates her home.

These are the sights that greeted us when we arrived at the Young's home

to help them get ready for Sydney's wedding and to spend Christmas with them.

They put their Christmas tree on the second floor balcony, overlooking the great room this year 

so it wouldn't hinder passage in and out of their back Dutch door during Syd's reception in their back yard.

Over 500 people attended.

Their music room

Stacy lives this mantra in the way she jumps eagerly headlong into supporting, nurturing and loving 

her husband, children, friends and even strangers. 
She lives her life, loving every moment of it.

No matter how challenging and difficult things get, 
she smiles and offers upbeat aid.

Sooooo, Stacy's detailed and delightful plans

for the  BEST.  WEDDING RECEPTION.  EVER.

did not surprise anyone who knows her.

Roger and I were glad we had come a couple of days early because 
there were myriads of things to do to help her get ready.
Roger and Stacy washed windows, cleaned outdoor furniture, 
hung giant pics of the couple outside, moved furniture.
They put up and set up, and tied up from morning until night.

I cooked.

But before I could do that, Roger and I shopped for food,
loading up at Costco and Fry's. 
I cooked for the family in the days leading up,
making shrimp and asparagus lemon linguini one night and
 cheesy veggie soup (Syd's favorite), a big salad and Londyn made homemade breadsticks 
for when Syd and Jake flew in from BYU after their finals. 
Next day we were thrilled to go through a session in the Mesa Temple for Syd to take out her endowments.
Jake graduated from BYU in December and accepted a job in Carlsbad, California, 
where he and Syd moved to in January.

On the day before the wedding,
the groom's parents, Joe and  Lorraine Walker, flew in from London;
they live in a town north of London and near Cambridge.
Stacy had friends offer their lovely home while they would be out of town for them to stay in, 
and Stacy had it decorated with welcome banners and stocked with some breakfast foods and snacks.
 Roger and I made granola for them and for our family, when they would all stay over for a few days 
after the wedding to celebrate Christmas with all of us together.

On the day before the wedding, there was a big crew of friends and the Walkers 
and some of their friends to help set up and to feed.
We made a big batch of Sham's ham sandwiches, Stacy's friend, Alison Bench, brought over a hot artichoke dip and a delicious cake for that night, 
and we had veggies and dip and sweet goodies.

ui

Another proof of Stacy living that mantra,

she had purchased movie theater tickets to the premiering Star Wars 

because all of her family and the Walkers are big fans. 

So off we all go, that afternoon, to see Star Wars. 

We didn't get home until dinnertime, 

so we had planned a menu that could accommodate fast prep. 

The day before I made two big pans of Funeral Potatoes and we had bought fresh salmon at Costco, 

which Roger grilled outside when we returned. 

Sydney made her homemade bread and I made a large avocado and citrus salad, 

using some of the delicious oranges that grow all around Stacy's home.

Stacy and Tom wanted the dinner the night before to be casual and in their home, 

so their family could get further acquainted with the Walkers on a more intimate level. 

Tom and Stacy had previously met Joe and Lorraine briefly when they were in Utah last summer, 

but none of the others had met each other.

Joe and Lorraine are in the middle, standing next to the groom, Jake's, only sibling, Luke, holding his son, William

Luke and his wife, Rachael

After dinner, we hurried over to Ryan and Emily's,

where Jeff and Mindy had just arrived from Highland, Utah, for Jeff to DJ

Pete's 16th Surprise Birthday Party out in their backyard.

Jeff is the real deal when it comes to DJ-ing;

he took a class in NYC when he worked on Wall Street from some famous DJ guy 

and he bought the pro turn-tables, etc.

 He used to do it on the side and he had more time to do it and had lots of gigs, 

but because he was bringing his stuff to Mesa to do Syd's reception, he DJed Pete's party. 

He had those kids rockin'!

Ryan and Emily's house was also all decked out beautifully for Christmas!

It is so great to have two kids's families to visit in Mesa.

Every trip we get a two fer!

Our other kids's families arrived throughout the evening, and as each guest arrived, 

he received one of these welcome boxes from Stacy and Tom, which contained 

all kinds of Syd's and Jake's favorite things to enhance our stay: snacks, treats, lip balm, etc.

our welcome box in our guest room

And here are a couple of other mantras that are on Stacy's laundry room wall:

I think this girl has got life figured out.

Let's Celebrate! - Christmas Parties and Our 48th Anniversary!

We returned to St. George from Hawaii from our wonderful Thanksgiving holiday on December 1,

and we jumped right into the next holiday.

We had three Christmas parties that week.

I enjoyed a nice Relief Society luncheon and program 

and the NAI Christmas Party was the next evening.

It was held at the entrance to Zion National Park at a nice restaurant, the Majestic View Lodge. 

We were served a delicious buffet,

then we played a slant board, bean bag toss game for money and prizes.

After about ten of the party guests had tried and missed,

Roger and I each tossed the bean bag in the $20 slot,

which put us in the group of about ten who competed for big prizes, like a big screen tv, 

a hover board, a large set of dishes, etc.

Neither of us got it through the holes on the prizes round,

but on the toss for money after that, I won another $20.

I guess it was that softball pitching I did 

in the vacant lot across the street when I was in the 5th grade!

NAI always has such fun parties!

We had a White Elephant gift exchange, 

and we won a new, really nice throw (under my feet).

This is the first time we have ended up with a nice White Elephant to take home!

That evening, after we returned home, Mindy and Jeff, with their friends Kristen and Craig and Jeno and Adam arrived and stayed overnight 

on their way to celebrate Jeff's birthday in Las Vegas.

Roger and I fixed them pancakes with fresh raspberries and candy bacon for breakfast, 

then off they went!

That night was our Branch Christmas Party, 
which was a nice ham dinner.

We have so many dear friends in this branch and our socials are always a lot of fun!

Monday night was a performance of the Southwest Chorale and Orchestra's performance of The Messiah, 

which I sang in when we first moved to St. George.

Anne and Jay Taylor invited us, with the two couples who were on the Viking Cruise with us, 

Annette and Lynn Taylor and his sister and Pat and Clyde Sitterud, over for dinner,

then we went to the concert together.
Oh, how I love, The Messiah!

Anne always sets such a lovely table.

We enjoyed these guys so much on our long cruise on the rivers of  Europe,

and it was a joy to get together with them again!

Anne served some yummy soup in a bread bowl, Pat brought a delicious salad 

and I made a chocolate torte for dessert,

in honor of Pat's obsession with chocolate.

Celebrating Our 48th Wedding Anniversary in Las Vegas

This was to be a bit of an unusual Christmas Season for us this year

because our first grandchild got married - 
Sydney Young to Jake Walker on December 19th.

We told Stacy that we would come early to help her get ready

(the reception was held at their home in their backyard in Mesa),

so we did all of our own Christmas preparations early, so we could head to Mesa, then stay over for Christmas.

We had our Branch Sacrament Meeting Christmas Program on December 13 instead of December 20 

so I could direct the choir.

We performed, "Angels We Have Heard On High,"

"It Came Upon A Midnight Clear," with a male and a female soloist (they sounded amazing!),

and "Silent Night," all with piano and violin accompaniment. 

Many came up and told me how they now had the Christmas spirit.

Right after our meetings, we packed up the car for our 13-day stay in Mesa and headed for Las Vegas 

to celebrate our anniversary and stay overnight at the Aria.

Roger sweet-talked the check-in person (no one can believe that a couple can stay married for 48 years!) 

and we were upgraded to a 180 degree view of The Strip in a Junior Suite.

This time of year is always a good time to stay in Las Vegas

because there are typically not the big crowds so close to Christmas,

but there were still plenty of party revelers around!

We booked a reservation at Le Cirque in The Bellagio.

The original famous restaurant is in NYC

 and it is known for its gourmet French cuisine.

We each ordered from a prix fixe, three-course menu.

They first served a wonderful sashimi appetizer and the most delicious selection of unusual breads.

For a first course, I ordered the lobster and avocado salad.

Amazing!

Roger ordered the yellow-tail Hamachi salad.

He loved it!

For our main courses, I had the John Dori fish fillet with grenadine-poached rhubarb and warm eggplant salad

and Roger had the paupiette of potato-crusted sea bass.

Oh. my. goodness!

For dessert - 

chocolate souffle for me . . .

. . . and their famous chocolate ball,

which disintegrates when the warm sauce is poured over it,

for Roger. 

They also brought a beautiful little plate of truffles after dessert, 

and they presented us with a clever little box of chocolates for our anniversary.

After dinner, we walked through the Bellagio terrarium, 

which is always beautifully decorated 

with live flowers and plants for Christmas.

Roger set up the camera, 

standing in the exact spot and focusing in on it, to get a couple shot.

We waited and waited for the right stranger to walk by to take our pic,

and (oops!) this is what we got.

Oh, well, maybe next year!

And, by the way, in case you didn't notice,

I got a lot of mileage out of my silver Christmas poncho!
And I wore it a lot more throughout the Season.

Next day, after a delicious lunch at our favorite, Mon Ami Gabi,

we drove to the SAS shoe outlet 

to get my Christmas present from some of the kids.

These are so comfortable!

Then we hit the road for Mesa.

Before I leave my post on our pre-Christmas, 

I wanted to show our decorated house, with our stained-glass Nativity.

And new this year is the beautiful little pieced quilt my sister, Joan quilted for me.

The Gabrielsens trade names for Christmas, and this year the Morrises had Roger and I.

Doesn't it look pretty on our little table behind our couch?

I will treasure this and every year it will remind me of my much-loved, very thoughtful and talented sister!

Now, off to Mesa!

An Early Christmas Present

Because it was a moment in time for our family,

before our oldest grandson, Josh Stratford, left for his mission to Hong Kong, Mandarin speaking,

before our oldest granddaughter, Sydney Young, got married December 19,

we wanted a family portrait. 

The wonderful photo studio that did each of our brides' portraits and their wedding pics, 
Busath Photography, does family portrait composites.
The cool thing about these portraits is that each family is taken individually in their studio in SLC, 
which can be on the same day 
or their sittings can be on different days, 
then Busath makes a composite that looks like the whole family is posing at the same time. 
Such a method is the only way our family could have a portrait with us all together.
Over about a six week time-frame, we and our five kids, with their families 
(from SLC, St. George and Highland, Ut; Mesa, Az; and Boise, Id) made our way to Busath for this portrait:

We used this pic for our Christmas card, 2015.

My talented daughter, Missy, and I designed it and she put it together.

It was folded two times, with the front flap saying:

The entire card opened up to our portrait.

The second flap said:

The back flap said this: