Rehersal Dinner

What a day! Friday was the family dinner at the Ranch where Cait and Jace are getting married so the day was spent cooking and preparing food.... started very early in the morning and in the end it worked out great and we had more than enough food! The Ranch is beautiful and the only concern would be... the weather! But we will have faith that it will all work out and be a wonderful day!!!

We ran through a rehersal and then ate and had s'mores for dessert and enjoyed getting to know each other. We really think a lot of Cait's family and it was fun to meet all of them.

It is interesting at times like these to see the range of emotions... I am so very happy for their wedding. Caitlyn is so much a part of our family that it wouldn't be right to not have here officially ours. Jace loves her so much... it has been so amazing to see his feelings for her grow, and become the kind of love that will last them forever! And I am so grateful to see him find the one that will love him completely and know that they will work to make their marriage what they want it to be! They have gone through some extremely hard struggles together already and have always come out stronger and better because of it. I love these two so much! And I love that she lets him still be 'momma's boy' even though we both know that she is the one that he will always take care of and honor and cherish first, above everything else. Maybe she is okay with it because she knows that I honor and cherish their love and their relationship and would never step between them? They are amazing, and this is going to be a great beginning! I can't wait to see them in the temple after Cait has been a member a year, but for now, this wedding is a wonderful thing to look forward to and a great thing for our family! We love you Caitlyn and Jace... thank you for being such amazing people!!!

Kalli - little monkey in the tree!
Kami loving the campfire...

Malone is a tree hugger!

And Wyatt is a tree hugger....

Nice...

Not sure what that look is all about, but Kalli thought it was funny!

Wyatt again... he was begging for his picture to be taken.

Sweet Gabe trying to stay warm.... love those blue eyes!

Just hanging out and trying to stay warm... notice the COATS in June!

Aw.... Kinzee loves Katie!!!

Cory and Jace... best friends since they were just little boys!

Caitlyn... it's all about Caitlyn this weekend!

S'mores are so yummy!

Kara came down to visit and spend this fun weekend with us!

Hey Kami... you are gorgeous!!!

Working on the marshmellows...

Nothing better than having great brothers right Kailee???!!!

Tallin, Kara and Kailee...

Hanging around the camp fire....

Boys will ALWAYS be boys... Hunter, Willie and Wyatt wrestling...

STETSON!!!

Garrett and Jenna

Shalum and Chelsea

Our cute flower girls and ring bearers....

Presenting Mr and Mrs....

Sweet kids, they were so excited!

Practice makes perfect.......

I have decided that I completely adore my girls... they have fun anywhere they are and bring so much joy to everything we do in life!

This ring bearer is a little unsure of what he is doing here!

These are some pretty girls!

Waiting for the wedding party to get it right!

I think this might be a little hard on her daddy... he adores his girls but we feel so blessed that he also loves Jace like a son. Jace is very lucky to marry into a family that loves him so much and we feel very blessed that they love him like he is a son to them!

Jace has overcome some pretty huge struggles... he has felt the most terrible pain and learned to walk through it. He has overcome and he has grown and become a man that any mom would be proud of and we pray that he has a life time of joy and that even when the hard times come, their love and faith will carry them through!!!

Gabe and Nate

Last night while waiting for Tallin to get home Tiffany and Garrett came over with little Gabe. This boy is so adorable and Nate absolutely loves him. The second he walks in Nate is all over him and Gabe loves him back. It is so fun to watch them together and I have visions of them being best buddies in the future. They are so fun together and I feel like a very blessed woman to have both Nate and Gabe as mine to love and spoil!!!

This face was just too adorable..... He constantly chews on my hand. You would think he was teething but so far there are no teeth in sight!

As soon as Gabe comes in the door Nate has to have him... Nate giving sweet Gabe a kiss!

This was so funny... everyone had their phones or camera out taking pictures of him and he looked up as if to ask what is going on, though you can tell by the look on his face that he is okay with all of the attention!

Nate sharing his penguin with Gabe.

Uncle Nate taking care of baby Gabe!

Tallin's Birthday

This day started out pretty normal... boring even. Tallin, Preston and the girls went to a late movie last night so they slept in and I got up knowing I had a full day of shopping and preparation for this weekend. Tallin got up to birthday wishes and he decided they would come to town with me and get him some new black slacks for Cait and Jace's wedding. He had to work tonight so we planned on doing cake later....

And then Kassi and I checked the mail on our way to taking Kassi to work... and we saw the famous white envelope! From the Church! We knew what it meant... we have been waiting for this envelope since he spoke with the stake president who told him he was submitting his papers not even 2 weeks ago! Amazing... 2 weeks! Modern technology is a wonderful thing! 2 weeks we waited... so a few more hours shouldn't be much harder. Except it was. We waited for Tallin to get home from work... and waited. 4 hours seemed more like 4 weeks! So we cleaned... and moved bedrooms around, and cleaned some more, and looked at the envelope! A few were even seen trying to peek, even listening to it in hopes that it would somehow speak to them... and we waited! And we looked at his cake....

And finally.... he came home! And a few friends had just happened to stop by... you know, it's normal to stop by the house at almost 10pm! We have great friends! :)

And so he posed with the white envelope while we got Jace on the phone...and Shiloh... and Shayne.... and grandma and grandpa....

And then he tortured us a bit... slowly, slowly opening the envelope... that white envelope that we had waited for....

Garrett has Shiloh on his phone... waiting....

Okay... enough torture already... just open the envelope!!!

Smart boy... he started by reading the addresses.... and then paused and we finally were yelling to just READ us the letter!!! By now he knew so he was just having fun making us suffer!

Holding the phone up for grandma and grandpa to hear as he finally reveals....He is going to serve the next 2 years in the Fiji, Suva Mission!!! FIJI!!!! He will be preaching the gospel in the Fijian Language. He enters the MTC on August 25th... and when Kalli heard that she burst into tears that her brother was going to leave her for 2 years ON her birthday! Cheers went up, laughing, cheering again... everyone was so excited!!! What started out as a normal, even boring birthday ended up being one that he will never forget! Elder... wow! A missionary! To FIJI!!!

Now for the cake!

Make a wish...oh that's right, he got his wish... he is going to FIJI!!!

It is amazing to think of him going for 2 years so far away. A friend asked if I was okay with where he was going but I have to say honestly that while there will be moments of normal mommy worry, I haven't really worried about where he would go because I know that this mission is inspired... that prayer goes into this call and that he is sent to where his Heavenly Father wants him to serve! I felt it from the moment I saw the white envelope...but when I looked at the bottom of the letter, and saw our prophets name on the bottom of the page, I felt absolute peace because I have more than once in my life felt an absolute knowledge that this man, our prophet, serves the Lord with his whole heart, might and mind and that as Tallin follows the mission rules and stays close to the Lord he will be watched over and will learn more, grow more and become more than he ever could hope to become otherwise! We love you Tallin and are so happy that you are willing to give 2 years of your life serving the Lord by serving others!!! Happy Birthday!!!

Because that's what sisters do...

I couldn't help it.... it was just too good to pass up. The girls were going with our youth choir to sing in another ward Sunday and were running behind schedule. Kailee had put her skirt on and then realized it had needed to be ironed. So, like a good sister, Kassi heated up the iron and then steamed Kailee's skirt for her.... after all, that's what sisters do!!! These girls are amazing if I do say so myself!! They are so fun and always keep me laughing and I am so grateful to be their mom!

Tallin prepares....

In between the madness of the wedding planning we are trying to enjoy the moments waiting for Tallin's mission call.... yes... I said mission call! His papers were submitted a week ago so we could have his call within a week or two. I cannot believe it! He loses our insurance on his birthday (the 9th of June) so we have frantically been trying to get all of the medical and dental stuff done... and today was the last of it! He had to get his wisdom teeth removed today. In town they wanted $900 out of our pocket... which is insane! WHY??? So we called the same oral surgeon that removed Garrett's wisdom teeth and off we went first thing this morning. The road construction was insane and we were about 45 minutes late but the office was wonderful and luckily for us everyone else showed up early for their appointments so when we got there they were ready and we were in and out in no time at all. I couldn't believe how fast the surgery went and his teeth were less of a problem than they thought they would be and he is recovering very quickly. We made it home safely.... Tallin slept all the way home. And while he slept I just kept thinking that before we know it he will be gone for 2 years. I am so excited for him!!! He is going to have some wonderful, amazing experiences. If I only think of how wonderful it is going to be for him, I don't think of how much I will miss him! This is truly a wonderful thing and I am getting excited to see where he will go!

I love you Tallin Scott! I can't believe that 19 years ago I was waiting very impatiently for you to be born. You were a gift then, and you are a gift now and I am so grateful for the example you are setting for your little brothers!!!