30th Wedding Anniversary!

Bud and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary last week!

We went to Malta! We'll post about that later.  

 30 years . . .

You start to realize what a rare thing it is to be married for 30 years,

after you have hit the 30 year mark!

I feel so blessed to have found this remarkable man.

 I joke about how he drives me crazy, and its true.

He reminds me that men never really grow up, 

that they're kids at heart.

He makes me laugh, everyday!  

Seriously, he is one of the funniest people I know.

Bud, though, is a very, very moral person.

He is honest, faithful and devoted.

He tells me that I am beautiful,

which with almost 50 years of living on my face

and hanging around my middle, I appreciate it.

Bud is wise, smart and has oodles of common sense.

He has nursed me through a couple of serious illnesses.

Cooked, cleaned, held me when I struggled,

and told me to buck up when I needed it.

When I am tacky, naughty or just plain thoughtless,

he lets me know, just like any good spouse would.

He wants me to be the person that he sees me as.

Bud works extremely hard at everything he does,

and he has passed that on to our kids.

Speaking of kids, ours could not ask for a better father.

He would play with them, work with them,

teach them how to be good people.

Every night before bed, he either told them a story

about when he was growing up

(their favorite) or read them stories.  

Clear up until they were in their teens.  They love this about him.

Bud taught our kids to love God, their country and freedom.

How to make good choices and to recognize

how blessed their lives are.

Now they are teaching their children these important truths!

I look at this picture, and smile.

Look at the hope and excitement!

Is marriage this easy?

NO!

At times, it is one of the hardest, trying and soul stretching things you will ever do.

Yet it is also the most easy, natural, right experience a person can have.

But you have to fight for this experience.

You stick it out when it gets hard,

you celebrate it when its great,

and you work at it when its mundane.
You bite your tongue when unkind thoughts come to mind.
It is hard to take back hurt feelings!
You let go of the negative. Just like that. Don't hang on to it!

You realize that boring, unexciting and routine

is when marriage is at its best. Its real!

You are comfortable with the day to day and

are glad that there isn't any drama.

Steady, strong and healthy.

We married for time and all eternity!

I look forward to the future!

Wedding Day!

Jake and Shannon!
I did not know Shannon that well prior to the wedding,
but I have to say that the way she looks at Jake makes me love her.
She looks at him like he hung the moon!
And that is how she always looks at him!

These two kids could not stop smiling.

We are thrilled to have Shannon in our family.

It was a beautiful day for a wedding. The morning started out stormy
but by the time the wedding was over it very nice outside.
Mt. Timpanogos Temple

Jake and his sister, Snortney

Mom, formally the most important woman in his life!
Yeah, I am perfectly cool with that too!

Dad - Jake's buddy.

Brother-in-law and niece.
How cute is that curl in the middle of her forehead?

Snort got a kilt for our little guy.
He really enjoyed wearing it.

The baby in her Scottish dress.
Hats never looked so good!

Here is Grandpa and his buddy.
Kilt is looking good.

This is the only good picture of me in my evening dress.
These are dear friends. It was great to have our friends
come out and support Jake and Shannon at their reception.

My sister. I love her so.

Getting ready to throw the garter.
By this time, most of the bachelors were gone.
It was between two high school boys.
Shannon's brother caught the garter, sort of.
He picked it up off the floor.
I think he was embarrassed

Thanks to everyone who came out and supported Jake and Shannon. We had relatives who traveled a good distance to spend this day with us. It is so good to have family around to celebrate this great day. We love you!

We're Baaack!

Bud and I have been missing in action lately. We have had a lot going on the past three weeks. First our Dear Daughter did a tour of England for ten days and we had our two grandchildren. It was wonderful and they were really good for us too. Then Snortney spent the next eight days in Scotland with her kids and us. We did a little touring while she was here.

On September 29th, Snort, the kids and I flew to Utah to get ready for Jake's wedding. The baby came down with a cold shortly after arriving in Utah and consequently, Snort, Rynie and I also came down with the same cold. Well after two weeks we all still have this stupid, freakin' cold! I am so sick of being sick!!

I managed to drive to New Mexico and visit my mom and sister for an extended weekend before the wedding. Mom was not able to come to Jake's wedding because of minor health issues so it was good to spend some time with her. My brother also had some fresh green chili fire roasted for me. When I got back to Utah, Snort and I made some Pork - Green Chili Stew. It was yummy, with just the right amount of heat. I wish I could bring some of that back to Scotland with me!

Jake and Shannon's wedding was great and beautiful. We had lots of family and friends come. It was great to see everyone and to know that these kids have such great support. I have lots of pictures but unfortunately the airline has lost our luggage and my USB cable for my camera is in it. Hopefully tomorrow the luggage will show up. I hope so. We have new clothing, books, etc. in there. Not to mention corn tortillas!!!

So now Bud and I are suffering from jet lag. I hate trying to readjust to different time zones. It also looks like I have almost missed autumn here in Scotland while I've been gone the past three weeks. I could not believe it when I looked out on our balcony and saw some of the trees were almost leaf-less. If you are not careful, time will pass you by!

Wedding Announcement

Here is the front of the wedding announcement.

The picture and the announcement was done by Shannon's dad. I think he did a pretty good job. We have mailed out all the announcements so if you haven't got one yet please let me know so I can send you one.

P.S. This is Mel - I removed the announcement with all the personal info, but aren't they the cutest couple!

THE BIG DAY IS ALMOST HERE!!!

The wedding is about a month away and we are both really excited. Sorry that the invitations aren't out yet but they should get mailed in the next couple of days. I'm really excited to see all of you guys who can make it out, and i know that my parents are looking forward to seeing you too (almost as much as they are to get me off their hands.)

For those who have asked, we are registered at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and also Dillard.

Love ya all