Shelly's Wedding

This August, we traveled from Idaho to Utah for Shelly and Russ's wedding. I can hardly believe my little sister is married, but we had such a fun time in Utah preparing for her wedding.

When we first got to Utah, we realized that we still needed some wedding decorations. My mom, Shelly, and I spent some time shopping and getting the last minute decorations (mainly picking out flowers, and food items). We made the boys come along sometimes, but for the most part they were quite willing to take part in the wedding planning - especially Russ. He was so involved in his wedding plans it was crazy!

We spent the week hanging out and preparing for the wedding. Making the decorations was a lot of fun for us as it allowed all the girls time to chit-chat and catch up on things. I don't think we slept very much that week - especially my mom - but we sure did have a lot of fun.



We decided to take a break from the decorations and wedding planning to have Shelly's Bachelorette party. Shelly's best friend, Kari, and I planned a night at home with the girls. We invited all Shelly's friends and most of them were able to make it. I don't think Shelly was expecting to have as much fun as she did, but don't these pictures just say it all?!?!



Shelly and Russ then went to the Mount Timpanogos temple and received their endowments. It as so special to be there as my little sister's escort and to help her though the temple for her first time. It was amazing to see how much she had already been prepared for the temple, and how much she enjoyed her first experience there. Nathan and I gave Russ and Shelly big hugs and then let them say hi to all the friends that had come to share this experience with them.

After the endowment session we headed to lunch to eat at Cafe Rio. Everyone in Utah is obsessed with that place!!! Luckily, I actually do like it and we had a lot of fun. However, the break was over and it was crunch time to prepare for the wedding reception.

My mom never ceases to amaze me. She did so much for my wedding, and here she was, doing the exact same thing for Shelly's. Obviously, I wouldn't expect anything less from my mom as she loves her girls. But, I was certain mom would get worn out and start to slow down. Little did I know that all it takes is a little Natalie next to her and she's good to go for hours!! Natalie loved cooking with Grandma and showing off while Grandma made decorations.



Now, we had a week to plan, decorate, and put the final touches on Shelly's wedding. A WEEK! I am not kidding, my mom is amazing. She did all the decorating, cooking, and even made Shelly's wedding cake. Of course there were a lot of us girls helping, but my mom still did most of the work! So, here it was, the night before Shelly's wedding. My mom is very much a perfectionist and wanted Shelly's cake to be perfect and fresh. Well, my mom and I got to spend the night before Shelly's wedding decorating the wedding cake. It was so fun to spend that time with my mom and see the cake when it was finished. It was amazing!



August 15th, 2008, Shelly and Russell Bishop were sealed in the Jordan River Temple. It was a gorgeous temple, and the sealing ceremony was absolutely wonderful! The sealer talked a lot about families, and how Shelly and Russ will have a wonderful family if they remember to keep Christ at the center of their relationship, which I fully believe they will do. After the sealing, we spent a lot of time taking pictures on the temple grounds. Russ and Shelly were so cute, and Shelly especially looked ADORABLE!





The reception was held in the ballroom at the Provo Library. It too was gorgeous and decorated beautifully. I was Shelly's Matron of Honor, and Natalie was Shelly's flower girl, and did a great job looking cute and showing off for everyone. We had my brother-in-law DJ for Shelly's wedding and we had a blast! Everyone was dancing and having fun, especially Shelly and Russ. I think they had a wonderful time and really enjoyed their special day.





CONGRATS on your wedding Shelly and Russ!!! We Love you!

Idaho Travels

Before moving to Arizona, we decided to take a little summer vacation. We ended up moving in with my in-laws for a month in Lewiston, Idaho! We had a wonderful time, and spent almost every day outside in the gorgeous sun swimming, boating, golfing, visiting with family, etc. Here are some photos to journal our fun times . . .

Natalie Driving: Daddy and Natalie playing at the water park: Riding the Carousel: Jason and Lisa on the tube: Jason wakeboarding: My Sexy Stud getting a little air: Me - attempting to wakeboard!

Thanks Mom and Dad Larson for letting us crash your house - we LOVED our vacation in Idaho.

Moving to Arizona

As you can see, we have started the move to Arizona. Packing was somewhat easy. I labeled all my boxes according to room, area, etc. I had almost everything stacked nice and neatly in the garage so our friends who were helping us move could just load the PODS and be done. But, little did I know that men and packing do not mix. I imagined a nicely stacked, organized, orderly PODS. However, when the boys told me they were done, I walked out to find this . . .

Makes you wonder how boys ever find anything without the help of a woman!

Nathan Gets Accepted to Medical School for Podiatry

After applying to many schools, flying all over for interviews, and praying that something comes of his hard work, Nathan was accepted to Medical School at Midwestern University in Glendale, Arizona. It comes as a small shock to me - knowing that we will be moving to Arizona's desert and leaving Oregon.

I should have known this was coming. Nathan went to his interview at Midwestern University and had another one scheduled in Ohio. After interviewing at Midwestern, Nathan came home and told me he was going to go to that school. He loved the area, the warm weather, the campus, the fact that the labs on campus were new, etc. He told me, "I am going to cancel my interview in Ohio. I'm pretty sure we'll be going to Midwestern and that is where I want to go." I quickly supported him in this decision, but was a little worried.

Midwestern University
Glendale, AZ

However, a few days later, we received a letter from Midwestern University welcoming Nathan to their graduating class of 2012. I couldn't believe it! Sometimes Nathan just knows what he is supposed to be doing with his life and his faith in the Lord is amazing. So . . . Arizona it is for the family, and Podiatry school for Nathan. We are quite excited for this new adventure, and will be moving this summer.

Natalie's 1st Birthday!!!

April brought with it Natalie’s very 1st Birthday! I can hardly believe that she is 1 year old already, and that she has continued to grow so fast. We had a friend take some pics of our adorable little girl. She is getting so big:

Natalie Playing on Daddy's Feet

Natalie looking at the Ducks below the bridge!

We had Shelly and Russ fly up for Natalie’s Birthday. My cousin Amelia and her fiancé came down from British Columbia and spent the day with us as well. We took a fun trip to the beach and got to visit the aquarium where Natalie loved poking the sea urchins.

She LOVED poking these!

We went to a wonderful seafood restaurant (Gracie's Sea Hagg) and had dinner while listening to a girl play music on wine bottles. It was pretty fascinating and Grandma and Natalie sure loved watching.

Natalie got so many gifts for her birthday. Grandma and Grandma Larson gave her a gorgeous dress. Grandpa Beaumont gave her a new toy box that looks like a dollhouse. She loves it, and it is perfect for her to pull her toys out and play with. For now, we’re learning how to pick them up afterwards! She also got some building blocks, sports blocks, books, cards, and new toys from my sister, Russ, Scott, and my cousins. Nathan and I got her a new big-girl carseat that she loves.

And, above all . . . Grandma Beaumont bought her the most exciting gift for everyone that showed up at my Dad’s house for cake and ice cream. Grandma got her a (believe it or not) Baby Alive Doll. That thing is amazing. It’s a large doll, about the size Natalie was at 2 months old. It has hair, eyes that blink, clothes, binkies, a bottle, and it even talks. But, what was most fun is the fact that you can literally feed this doll and it CRAPS!!! Yes, that’s right. It actually pees its pants and takes a crap. We have little tiny diapers for this doll. It was so funny to watch as Russ bottle fed Natalie’s doll, and as everyone was grossed out by the fact that the diaper filled so quickly. Nathan doesn’t really like it (he says it's, “just more diapers to change”) but it was a kick to watch. Now, a few months later, Natalie can even feed her dolly and likes to make it talk. It’s quite cute and fun to play with.

I Finally got a Blogspot!!!

I finally decided to join the Blogspot community and create one of these for myself. Of course, I ran into some technical difficulties right away and had to consult Lisa on how to get a background. I'm sure I will figure this out eventually, but for now, my page is not going to look very pretty, won't have too many extras, and might even be a little boring to read. But, I hope that sooner or later my blog will be as cool as I want it to be . . . or at least a little closer to being cool. I have a list of about 10 posts that I need to write in order to keep my family updated on our lives here in Arizona. My mom keeps saying she wants pictures, so I gotta work on that too. Goodness sakes, I'm gonna be busy with this thing!