You'd better grab some tissues!

So my sister, Amy, sent me this link in my email and I had to share.  It's awesome.... I cry every time I watch it.  (All of this guys videos on youtube are amazing.)  Thanks Amy.

Tears, NyQuil, and Wedding Cake

Just as a warning, this post contains tons of pictures, but I am a photographer... so accept it! 

So this last weekend my baby sister married the man of her dreams in the Columbia River Temple.  To begin this blog let's start a few days earlier when I came down with a miserable cold.  So the night before the wedding I ended up getting 3 hours of sleep.  I was up blowing my nose, coughing and sneezing... yeah... it was fun, let me tell you.

Needless to say the day of the wedding I was exhausted and to top things off just about everything that could have gone wrong did.  I forgot my dress hanging in our bathroom (thanks, Carey, for letting me borrow your adorable skirt!)  I just about ran out of memory cards for my camera and had to make an unexpected trip to buy a new one... eight gigs... that should do it.  And finally, the weather was beautiful, but the harsh sunlight wasn't ideal for photography so we planned to do photos in the park before the reception AND we ran out of time... and never got around to it.  (Oh and thank you Spencer and Nate for shooting backup!)

Basically the photographs aren't what I had hoped for, but I guess I did the best that I could.  I'm just glad that Kammie and Jeff found each other and were able to be sealed in the temple and it was so nice to see ALL of my siblings.  I love you guys!  

Oh, and I'm so grateful for NyQuil!  Seriously, the best stuff on the planet when I get a cold.  I managed to get a full 9 hours of sleep the night after the wedding and felt so much better.  It's amazing what a little sleep can do.

I loved Kammie's and Jeff's perma-grins!

Right after I caught them talking dirty... I didn't hear a word they said, but I could tell by the way they were looking at each other.

(I think she looks so much like Carey in this picture.)

And of course I couldn't get them to stop kissing...

Mom, Kammie and Dad.

More kissing.

All the Willis kids.

Seriously, she looked so beautiful in her dress and so stinking skinny!

So cute!

So this was in the ONLY shade we were able to find on the temple grounds and unfortunately I kinda trampled a bush while taking these.

Cute girls!

I don't know why, but I love this one.

The rings.

Jeff couldn't take his eyes off her.  Wait 'til he sees what we got her at Victoria's Secret.  Ow.  Ow.

Played any Jenga yet? 

Jeff and his grandpa, who sealed the couple.

While kissing.

Gorgeous.

More kissing...

and more...

The dress.

The happy couple.

Again.

They never stopped smiling.

Kammie, Jeff and the Lee's.

Ahhh... I love playing hostess.

So a little something you should know about me is that I love hosting.  And the last few weeks have given me not one, but two opportunities to cook and entertain for my family.  I love planning out the meals to fit the company and shopping for all their favorite snacks (I made sure Chad had some Diet Pepsi, etc).  I love sitting around playing games and chatting.  I love having company over.

Two weekends ago Jaycie's family and my parents came over to check out the show.  As you can imagine things were crazy... 10 people in our little bitty apartment.  It was so much fun though!  The highlights aside from the obvious- seeing family:

1) Pulled Pork Nachos with Fresh Salsa and avocados.

2) Spinning my nieces and nephews for literally hours on the merry-go-round across the street.  (I'm apparently too old for it.  After a few times of jumping on, I thought I was going to lose my pulled pork nachos all over the gravel.  But the kids never did get sick of it and I never did get sick of watching their faces when we got it spinning really fast.)

3) Lots and lots of playing games as a family (especially the 4+ player games that Nate and I never get to play) AND me kicking butt in Sharp Shooters!  Woot!  Woot!

Then this weekend Clem and Rita came to visit from Roseburg.  It was so nice to see them and we even got to keep them an extra day thanks to a fortunate... I mean... unfortunate flat tire.  (Fortunate that they stayed longer, not so fortunate that they had to repair the tire.)  The highlights:

1) Dinner at El Erradero... yummy flautas!  (Thanks for taking us out, Clem and Rita.) And "Bird's Envy" bread from the local bakery.... (Again thank you, Clem and Rita!)

2) Getting to come home and relax/talk on our comfy sofa after spending 4 hour sitting on hard chairs at Stake Conference.

3)  Getting one extra day to cook for someone other than Nate, the extra time to play even more games, AND me kicking butt in Blockus!  Woot! Woot!

I just wanted to thank everyone for all their support, even those who weren't able to make it, but that were here in spirit.  (Your phone calls meant a lot!)  And these pictures are for you.

Most importantly I want to thank Nate.  Cheesy, I know, but I couldn't have done this without him and his support.  Trust me, there were so many times where I was ready to giving up... so many times where I wanted to quit school... so many times where I just knew I couldn't do it... so many times I felt there was no light at the end of the tunnel.  And yet, here I am a month away from graduation and I couldn't have done any of this without Nate.  He was the only thing keeping me going.  He believed in me and my work, even when I didn't.  And he spent countless hours (and dollars) helping me mount my photos for the big show.  Thanks for everything, babe!

Here are some pictures of my show.

The opening reception:

Nate and I.  (We both look way scary!)

I hate these pictures, but they're the only ones we took. 

Again, not very flattering.

Tim Laurence, Erin Voss, Jessie Street, me and Jessie's uterus pillow

 Gallery shots:

"Warning No.1"

"Undecided", "Uncertain", and "Fastened"

"Larsen Elementary", "Undecided", and "Uncertain"

"Scattered", and "Certain"

"Never Once Considering", "Curtseying While You're Falling Through the Air", and "Shedding Gallons of Tears"

Group member Erin Voss' work in bronze. 

Group member Tim Laurence's work in acrylic and oil paint.

Group member Jessie Street's work in mixed media.

My photographs and film.

"Fastened"

"Warning No.1", "Larsen Elementary", "Undecided", and "Uncertain"

and Erin Voss' bronze sculptures

From Clem and Rita's visit:

Rita, me and Clem

Nate and I.