Summer Weddings, Had Me a Blast!

We went to a couple pretty special weddings this summer, including Josh's baby sister Olivia's in June.

 (From L to R): Josh's step-mom, Josh's dad, Josh's sister Samantha, Josh's sister Chelsea, Josh, Olivia, Olivia's husband Mike, Josh's mom, and Josh's step-dad

They were sealed in the Columbia River temple (in TriCities, WA) and we got to see Josh's aunt Olivia and uncle Jerry King. We're pretty big fans of theirs. We love hearing their stories about traveling and they are nice enough to let us stay with them when we're driving through Utah.

Olivia and Mike then had a garden reception in Hermiston in the backyard of a friend.

Josh is pretty serious about his role as the Big Brother to three sisters. Olivia is the last to get married.

They had these cute cards for reception guests to fill out with little bits of advice to the married couple. We, of course, wrote about the importance of attending the temple, seeing movies during the day, and laughing often.

Then Josh and his siblings decorated Mike and Olivia's car. 

 The second big wedding we went to this summer was the sealing of our friend Caroline in Dallas, Texas. You may remember when we visited Dallas previously, but this time we got to see the basement.

It was very hot and awfully windy

We know Caroline from the Eugene Institute. She was in the RS presidency before I was and was good friends with Josh's previous girlfriend. She lives in Shreveport, LA now, but Dallas is the closest temple.

Isn't she cute? Caroline has a distinct sense of style.

They then had their reception in Shreveport, LA, which is on the Red River and is the birthplace of my niece Michaela. 

The waterfront is home to several riverboat casinos

Their reception started off with a wedding parade through town.

They even had a band walking along with us and playing hits such as "When the Saints Go Marching In."

It was pretty hot and everyone was pretty sweaty, but how often do you get to participate in a parade through Shreveport?

They even had a police officer to stop traffic.

Their reception was adorable. They had hot dog and Popsicle vendors, this cute painting (done by the groom):

and this map so that attendees could sign on their hometowns:

Mr. and Mrs. Eckel:

The ShepAlders and the Eckels:

Summer weddings are so much fun!

Buddy Holly was Buried Here

In addition to visiting the temple in Lubbock, we did some sight-seeing.

First, we went to the Buddy Holly Museum.

We weren't allowed to take pictures inside. The exhibit area was small, but, of course, Buddy Holly died when he was 22(!) In fact, his professional career lasted only 18 months.

Across the street, and in the scorching 108-degree weather, is a statue of Buddy Holly.

Then we drove across town to find Buddy Holly's grave:

It's surprisingly modest and just on the side of the cemetery road.

But a hundred or so feet away is this huge angel. We thought at first that his grave might be near there (but it wasn't).

Something you may not know is that Buddy Holly's last name is actually spelled "Holley," but was written incorrectly on his recording contract and he was too scared to correct it. Therefore, he became Buddy "Holly."

We didn't get to spend very much time in Lubbock (less than 24 hours) because the next morning we hit the road headed for Dallas and our dear friend Caroline's wedding.

Temple #44: Lubbock, Texas

Josh and I take special pleasure in finally crossing certain temples off our list. Recently, we made a special visit to Lubbock, Texas to see the temple there and to cross Texas off the list of states that have temple we haven't visited.

The Lubbock temple was dedicated in 2002 and it is the 109th operating temple. 

It's a medium-sized temple, similar to Columbia River, with 2 ordinance rooms and 2 sealing rooms. There is a lot of stained glass in degrees of glory motif:

The stone is white and grey, quarried in China, like Snowflake:

The temple workers were nice, but not super chatty. I guess I thought they would be because it's Texas. The Telestial room has a geographic landscape mural, which means a lot of flat, flat, flat land. But the Terrestrial room was one of the most beautiful I've seen; the ceiling is curved like the inside of a barrel, and is painted to look like the sky. Then there is a gold pattern painted over that (like gold-rimmed squares). The Celestial room has huge stained-glass windows on each side and a huge chandelier with either feathers or leaves framing it (this pattern is continued throughout the room). Then the ceiling has stars (I'm pretty sure some of them were Texas stars) carved from wood.

It was pretty hot in Lubbock, but it was beautiful.

Next up will probably be Vancouver, BC in a few weeks. It's been open for over a year and we haven't been there yet!

Doppelganger

I have a brother-in-law named Kaly.

He's a pretty distinctive-looking guy. Josh and I can always pick him out of a crowd at Autzen.

When we were in Vegas, we saw a guy who looks just like him. Almost. It resulted in this picture:

Yes, I posed on purpose just to get a picture of this guy. Josh and I are no strangers to the stealth picture-taking.

Side-by-side:

This is the kind of stuff Josh and I do on vacation. Totes.

Viva Las Vegas

To celebrate our birthdays, anniversary, and for a much-needed break, the ShepAlders went to Vegas over 4th of July weekend! 

It was pretty much a weekend of food, sun (it got up to 111 degrees!), shopping, and walking.

And lions (this one can be seen at the MGM Grand)

We also went to see some shows, like O and Viva Elvis

We went to buffets at Mandalay Bay (where we stayed), MGM Grand (where we stayed the last time we were in Vegas), and Aria (where we saw Viva Elvis). 

We came back later and bought some souvenirs and took some pictures

When I was having a spa day, Josh went out on an adventure of his own to....

You can pretty much guarantee that if he is in proximity to an In n Out Burger, Josh will be there at least once. Me? I prefer a massage and the steam room.

We chose Mandalay Bay:

Because of the pool(s):

Can you spot me in the crowd?

We also sat in the sun a bit but I didn't get even slightly tan.

I did, however, get a lot of reading done

Here are some other things we saw:

 

 Whenever I go to Vegas, I always have fun. But I'm always happy to come home afterward!

When I am 30...

When I am 30 I will be too old to:

Wear brightly colored tights

Wear my hair in braids

Wear my Disneyworld sweatshirt in non-Disney public

Spend all day in bed

Go out in public without makeup:

Wear ironic t-shirts:

But I will be just the right age to:

Listen to NPR (which has become an addiction in the past year)

Go to sleep at 10pm

Wear my glasses without shame (even if I have a "baby prescription")

Have Girls' Nights and not feel bad about leaving Josh behind

BTW, I stole this pic from Paige Miller

Tell stories about what it was like when I was your age:

I'll be 30 in less than a month. Things are going to be different around here!