Jody's Wedding

Our friend and former employee Jody got married last weekend in Electric City, Washington, and she asked Sam to be her ring bearer for the ceremony. The four hour drive there was beautiful! We got there early afternoon, soaked up some sun, went swimming, took a nap, and then got ready for the wedding that evening. It was a hot day, but luckily there was a nice breeze. The wedding took place outdoors just off of Banks Lake which is in Eastern Washington just east of the Grand Coulee Dam. Jody had asked Glen, the previous owner of Great Harvest, to perform the ceremony, so he got ordained online to make it official. Our friend Lisa is also ordained to perform weddings, and has done 30 or so ceremonies, so she was able to help Glen prepare for this. He did a great job!

I was a little nervous that Sam would not cooperate during the ceremony, but he really surprised us! He took his job very seriously and did a fantastic job! He walked down the stairs holding his special pillow, continued down the aisle, and then walked over to his spot by the groomsmen. When it was time to exchange rings, he walked right over to the couple and then back to his spot like a pro! The poor little flower girl he walked down the aisle with forgot her flowers, but other than that, it was perfect.

For months we told Sam that he was going to help Jody get married and that he had a very important job to do. As it got closer, he kept asking about when he was going to get married to Jody. He was a little confused, but still happy to help out. He may have done so well because we bribed him with an early birthday present if he would do his ring bearer duties just like we had practiced.

Afterwords Chris, Sam, and I were walking hand in hand with Sam in the middle. He was so happy that we were happy with how well he did as well as being happy that he could open one birthday present a day early. This cute little boy was bursting with excitement and took my hand to give me a sweet little kiss, and then took Chris' hand and gave him a sweet little kiss too. It was the perfect little moment. I love our little family!

The wedding was very relaxed and fun--just like Jody and TJ. The food was great and we enjoyed sitting right by the water as the sun set with some people that mean so much to us.

While the dancing got started, we snuck off to go see the laser show that is projected nightly onto the Coulee Dam. Sam fell asleep during the 40 minute show, but Chris and I enjoyed it.

Sam's birthday was the next day, so we opened a couple presents in our little motel room. We hung out for awhile, checked out of our room, and then made the trip back home. It was a short little trip, but I'm so glad we were able to go.

Here are pictures of the bridesmaids
and the groomsmen (and TJ, the groom, in white)
and Sam matching the groomsmen with his cool shades.

A Few Sam Quotes

"I love you more than garbage trucks!"
Which is very sweet considering how much he loves garbage trucks!

"My toots were pretending to be fireworks."
Said on July 4th after coming home from watching fireworks.

"Mom, look at him. He's huge! Look how huge his tummy is!"
Pointing and talking really loud as a fellow ward member is walking up to the stand to bear his testimony in church. How embarrassing!

"Ok, let's play a game. It's called Mommy cleans up my bedroom and I watch."
That one did not go as he had hoped. Tricky boy!

"I'm a little grown-up because I'm almost 4 years old, so you'd better listen to me when I talk to you!"
Hmmm...Maybe he spends too much time around adults.

Random Update: March-June

March 2010
After watching Julie and Julia, Chris decided he wanted to try making a fancy meal. So he cooked and slaved all day over Beef Bourguignon a la Julia Child. We had several courses and tried to make it a traditional French meal. It made a lot, so we invited some friends over.

April 2010
This video is from Easter morning with Sam finding his Easter basket.



May 2010
Chris' parents went on a cruise and brought back a couple gifts. I filmed this video meaning to email it to them, but never did. So here you go, Brett and Valerie. Thanks for the souvenirs!



June 2010
It was the first warm day we had had all year, so Chris and Sam decided to go to the beach. Chris put sunscreen on Sam, but not on himself. After staying for four hours, Chris came home looking like a lobster and was in pain for about a week.

Random Update: January-February

Going through our pictures and videos, I realized that there was a bunch of stuff we never blogged about. This post is mostly for the grandparents and other family members who live far away who want to see Sam. Enjoy!

January 2010

Assuming Sam still fits it, this astronaut suit will be his Halloween costume. I'm all for the easy, use-what-we-already-have costumes! I don't have the energy to be more creative!

February 2010
Sam took swimming lessons. He loved going swimming twice a week, but finished his lessons still afraid to put his head all the way under the water.
For Sam's Christmas present, we got him a year-pass to the Everett Children's Museum. We go frequently and think it's a great place to go when it's rainy and cold.

This video shows his little head injury from jumping on our bed and falling off. It wasn't really bad at all, but Sam got to wear a nice bandage to keep it covered overnight.

And these are some pictures of Sam writing a letter to Gram and Grandpa Allen (so sorry it never got sent!! I can't remember where we put them!).