A tie for Papa

This little fellow will not wear a tie. Not for candy, not for fruitsnackes, not for a trip to the moon. No way. Until he saw Papa wearing one. That changed everything. Here they are waiting outside the Draper temple, holding up their ties in celebration.

Congrats Dan and Angie!

Did you guys check this thign out this sweet tie?

And little Maggie wandering the temple grounds. So cute.

Bachelorette Party and "The Hair"

For Angie's bachelorette party, we decided to do desserts at The Garden on Temple Square in SLC. Dan and Angie had their 2nd first date (3 years later) at this restaurant and, with a rooftop view of the Salt Lake Temple and an open ceiling with a beautiful view of the stars, it was the perfect setting.

We all chatted and ordered desserts while Angie answered questions about she and Dan. My favorite was her answer to "What is one of your pet peeves about Dan?" She replied that "pet peeve" was too strong a word but that one thing she noticed about Dan was his tendency to be tardy. She said she's figured out a way around it though. She said, you can't rush Dan along (boy is that the truth) but you can get him to skip things e.g. "you don't need to shave, you look just fine" etc.

Becky and I were seriously impressed and not a little embarrassed that we lived with him for 20 years and never figured that out. (Guess that's what happens when you marry a scientist. She's always problem-solving.) :)

I knew when she said that (and all the other sweet things she said about Dan) that they were going to be blissfully happy. Love you Angie!

Fast-forward to the morning of the wedding. Becky and I met Angie at her house to do her hair for the wedding. Becky and I are certainly not hair-pros and there was a fair amount of nail-biting on our way there, hoping we wouldn't mess up the bride's hair on her wedding day. However, we pulled ourselves together and were happy to perform our sisterly duty. Here is the result (above). We were pretty proud of our efforts and thought Angie's hair looked beautiful.

Croquet Champion

T-ball? HA! Who needs it when you can play THIS! Croquet, the sport of champions. And how better to nurture a champion than to start him early. We have high hopes for this one; look at that form!
McKay's authentic "Blue Steel". Don't be surprised if you see this on the cover of the next issue of Croquet Today.

Family BBQ

Grandpa and Grandma Anna Lou, Kent and Grace

The evening before their "I do's", we celebrated with Dan and Angie at a big family BBQ at my Aunt and Uncle's house in South Jordan. The Shepherds graciously shared their beautiful backyard with a host of Berg's, Robertsons, Kreider's and Bairds. I believe Heaven will consist of events such as this--being surrounded by those you love so well, just enjoying the pleasure of each other's company.

It was great to share delicious food and catch up with everyone before the Temple ceremony the following day. We had awesome pulled pork sandwiches with fresh slaw on top (SO GOOD), fresh Utah corn on the cob that was Mostly paid for (more on that later), and great salads from Grandma and the Aunts.Yum!

The Happy Couple

Chuck (Angie's Dad), Angie, Dan, and Grammy Baird

Family BBQ Part 2

The beautiful backyard

Everyone enjoying the food

No Robertson/Shepherd/Kreider family event would be complete without a rousing game of croquet. Here they are, the few, the proud, the brave...

California Beef Rice *!*#

He tried to say skillet, he really did. It just wouldn't quite come out. Somehow the "sk" turned into "sh" and it was downhill from there. So instead of Mommy preparing a nice wholesome Beef Rice Skillet meal, she served Beef Rice _____. Anyone want to come for dinner?

Home Again

After an extended stay in Utah for 6 weeks, we are back to our "Old Kentucky Home". We had a fabulous time seeing lots of family and friends, celebrating TWO weddings, and getting BJ through his first round of Dental Boards (he passed!!!). We have plenty of pictures and stories to share but for now, here are a few pics of the boys since arriving home.
Benson is nearly 4 months old and is nothing short of sheer delight. He smiles all the time and giggles every time I change his clothes. His favorite place is on dad's tummy (below). This is especially cute because we have lots of pictures of BJ as a baby sleeping similarly on his dad (and mm, and several siblings).