Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

I'm baaa-aaaack!  And I'm pretty sure I'm better than ever.  Haha.  Last Wednesday evening, I flew out to Salt Lake City all by myself to be in town for my sister Laura's wedding.  I have to be honest -- it felt REALLY weird to be leaving all the kids and Scott behind.  Poor little Lover Boy was crying in his car seat as they dropped me off at the airport, and Jane was a bit distraught as well.  {I think she thought she was going to the wedding.}  It affected me a LOT more than I would have thought, and for the whole beginning of my trip, I was really kind of missing my little ones!  Who would have thought??  Hahaha.

Thankfully my flight was direct, because -- for those who don't know -- I really do NOT like flying.  Minimizing the number of times I would have to take-off and touch down was definitely a factor in buying that particular ticket!  Although the flight was a bit longer than I remembered it being, the unceasing prayer in my heart must have done the trick and we experienced hardly any turbulence during the flight and landed without a problem.  Once I was in Salt Lake, the days flew by as we prepped for the wedding and spent time as a family.  Here is the break down of the trip:

Wednesday --

• Emily, Jacob, and Amy picked me up at the airport.  Jacob has grown even taller since Thanksgiving and I now come up to his armpit.

• We chilled for a bit at mom's rental house before Emily and I headed back to her place where I was staying for the duration.

Thursday -- 

• Sarah and her girlie bugs arrived in the morning and I finally got to meet Trevor!  
• It was so cute seeing all the little girl cousins play together, but it really made me wish my OWN kids were there to play with them, too.  :(
• For dinner I got my Hula Salad on from Rumbi's Island Grill.  {One of the biggest items on my to-do list while in SLC.}
• The evening consisted of plenty more hanging with the fam and catching up on life.  And of course, analyzing and discussing everything around us.  'Cause that's what we DO.  Hahaha.

{Notice Eleanor flashing the peace sign in the front there -- it would become a recurring theme.  Hahaha.}

Friday --

Jacob and Henry boy chillin'

Amy hard at work on the laptop.

• My dad got in the night before and really wanted to take us all to Chuck E. Cheese's for old-time's sake.  Muffy and Trevvy Trev joined us all, and fun was had and food was eaten at the cleanest and nicest Chuckie's I've ever seen.

 The cool kids' hang-out.

 Jacob embraced his inner child.

 Meanwhile the REAL children were in heaven.  Especially Pearce -- this was her very first time ever going!

 Papi and the grandkids.  Minus mine, of course.

• Rehearsal Dinner time -- Ole!  Trevor's family put on a Cafe Rio dinner for us on Friday night.  Sarah's husband Andrew had flown in that morning, and we all convened to meet Trevor's siblings, parents,  and grandparents and enjoy a delicious meal and dessert.  What more can you ask for, right? :)

The middle table was reserved for the love birds.  

• Along with a super embarrassing questionnaire that everyone tried to fill out for Muff and Trev, they also played something called the "shoe game" which ended up being really funny and helped us learn a lot about them.  :)  {They held one of each of their shoes and as questions were asked they had to raise the shoe of the person who most fit the answer.  Example -- Who spends more time in front of the mirror? They both held up one of Trevor's shoes.  Haha.}

Cute little Love Birds.

Saturday --

• The big day!  Laura and Trevor were sealed for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake Temple at 11 o'clock on Saturday morning.  It was a really beautiful ceremony and made me, once again, really wish my better half were with me.  I am blessed beyond measure to have been sealed to my own best boy in the same temple almost 12 years ago.  
• Picture time on the temple grounds was a bit crazy once Trevor and Laura came on out, but I managed to catch a few cute moments before everyone started to disperse.  I'm sure the REAL photographer got plenty of great shots.  :)

Cute little girlie bug cousins.

Pearce, Eleanor, Penelope, Molly.

Henry just chillin' with Jeremy.

Jacob and Amy were the troopers who wrangled the kiddies while the rest of us were in the temple.

The newlyweds emerge!

Beautiful, beautiful Laura.  :)

The newest member of the family -- Trevvy Trev.

I love how Laura and Trevor only have eyes for each other.  So sweet!

The Hansen family.

Trevor and his siblings -- minus a brother who's on a mission.

• The reception was held nearby and even though it took us a while to figure out where we needed to go, we eventually found our way.  
• Being at the reception all by my lonesome is when I was REALLY feeling the absence of Scott and the kids.  It felt like a part of me was missing!  Not that I can't function on my own -- obviously I can -- but the fact of the matter is this: my identity and my purpose at this time of my life is intrinsically tied to being a mother and a wife.  It was just weird not having my little family with me.  I kept looking at the fun all the little girls were having as they ran around the reception hall and thinking that my little rug rats should have been there to join in the fray as well.  Oh well!  It's good to know that as much as my children drive me crazy on a daily basis, I really would prefer to have them near me than not.  :)

Laura and her "bridesmaids."

The beautiful french macarons that Laura's new sister-in-law made for her in lieu of a wedding cake.

Sisters, Sisters

Cute little Jakie B.

Trevor serenaded Laura with their song just before their first dance.  

I thought it was so cute how these three girlies wanted to have front row seats for the dance.  :)

• Once the festivities were over for the evening, we gathered back at my mom's place and indulged in one more Cafe Rio meal.  You can never have too many pork salads while you're in town, right??? Hahaha.  After eating, we said our good-byes to mom, Amy, Jacob, and Freddie who were leaving the next morning to go home.

Sunday -- 

• My last day.  :( After going to church with Emily and Jeremy in the morning, we hung out with my dad and Sarah and her family for a few more hours before I had to head to the airport myself.
• It was bittersweet to see the trip come to an end.  I was obviously sad to have to say good-bye to my siblings and parents, but I was VERY happy to be coming home to my own little family who I missed a whole lot.  

And there you have it -- a wedding trip recap for the record books!  It was really fun being with my family and makes me wish that much more that we all lived a whole lot closer to each other.  Absence really DOES make the heart grow fonder. :)

{Stay tuned for Scott's adventures as Mr. Mom to be blogged about in a guest post.  I can hardly wait myself.  Hahaha.}