Ephraim’s Rescue, Andrew’s Party, Zack’s Reception & My Luau Dance

Today was JAM PACKED from the minute we woke up!  Lexie called at 7:20 (so much for sleeping in) and said to come over and eat b/c they were having Texas shaped waffles, bacon, eggs toast, etc.  So, we got dressed & went over to Mom & Dad’s.  After breakfast Mom gave Jackson & Andrew & Nick & Dad haircuts.  I sat on the edge of the pool & watched Jackson while he played on the Shamu shelf.  Mom was so hot & sweaty when she got done that she just jumped in the pool in her pajamas!  The rest of us got ready to go to the movies, and Jackson had the time of his life staying home w/ Papa & Mimi and having them all to himself.

We all piled in Lexie & Jon’s van and drove to the movie theater.  I was trying to get a cute picture of Rufio walking into the theater w/ the kids, but Lexie photo bombed the picture.  We had a good laugh about it b/c she thought I was trying to get a pic of everyone.

We went & saw Ephraim’s Rescue, which is about the Mormon Pioneers & crossing the plains to make it to Utah.  We are so lucky, b/c they are only showing it at one theater in TX and it’s only 15 minutes away from our house.  It was a great & touching movie.  Although, I do have to say that if I had to choose between this one & 17 Miracles, I would choose 17 Miracles.

At one point near the end, I had tears just streaming down my cheeks.  I looked over & saw that Autumn was crying just as much as I was.  During the credits I leaned over & asked her why she was crying.  She said it was b/c that nice man had helped those people.  I saw it as a great opportunity to teach her, and I asked her if she felt happy & warm inside.  She said yes and I told her that she was feeling the Holy Ghost!  Her eyes lit up & I could see & feel the joy radiating from them.  It was such a neat & sacred experience to share w/ her.

On our way out of the theater, we had to stop and get a group picture by this backdrop for the new Planes movie.

John insisted that I get in the picture & get a girls only picture b/c I’m always behind the camera taking the picture.  You can for sure tell that I had been crying a lot during the movie.  I’m glad we got to go see that all together!

We got back to Mom & Dad’s house & the fun didn’t stop.  We had a party to celebrate Andrew’s upcoming birthday.  He had requested hot dogs & hamburgers & corn on the cob for his special birthday meal.  We ate and then swam for a while and then he was ready to open presents.  I love the look on his face when he opened this big can of Almond Roca and realized it was all for him.

For his dessert he wanted ice cream & cookies.  He was so tickled when Mimi asked him a few days ago over the phone what kind of ice cream he wanted.  He thought that was SO COOL that he got to pick!  He asked for Oreo cookies ice cream, so that’s what he got!  Mom also got some Samoan & Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookie ice cream.  It was pretty good!

Jackson was more interested in sitting on Papa’s lap & eating watermelon than he was in ice cream.  It was funny to watch him & Dad interact, b/c Dad would pretend like he was going to eat the piece of watermelon & then Jackson would grab the fork & make Papa feed it to him.

After we were all worn out from eating and playing and swimming, it was time to come inside and get ready for more fun.  Dad played Legos w/ the kids to keep them occupied while the other adults got cleaned up.

Here’s Miss Autumn Bottom showing off her fancy filly shirt & jean skirt & black cowgirl boots.  Everyone but me was going to Aunt Sandy & Uncle Robert’s for Zack’s wedding reception.  It was a laid back country theme (hence Autumn’s cowgirl boots).  I didn’t go b/c I had to go home & get ready for a Single Adult dance our stake was in charge of.

Since everyone was all dressed up and we had good cloudy weather, I decided we needed to get pictures of everyone.

Mom & Rufio

4 Generation Picture

The Crew
Jackson’s face cracks me up b/c he looks like he’s scratching his belly and making monkey sounds

I hurried home, got cleaned up, loaded up my car w/ 2 boxes of decorations, went to Lane Bryant & got some new bras b/c they’re having a buy 2 get 2 free sale, and then drove down to the church where the dance was going to be.  We had decided on a luau theme b/c I had so many decorations for it already & didn’t have to buy very many extras.  I was glad I wasn’t in charge of the food, b/c that’s always the most labor intensive part.  Nancy went all out and did chicken salad sandwiches on King’s Hawaiian rolls, watermelon, strawberries, kiwi, mango, pineapple, veggie tray, chips, and cupcakes!  it was quite the spread.

This is what I did for the table centerpieces.  Super easy & all stuff from the $1 store.  I especially like the paper lanterns that looked so cool lit up when the lights were off.

I think the dance was a huge success, even though we only had about 100 people there.  I think it’s b/c there was a big group of the younger crowd that had gone down to Galvetson for some Single Adult thing down there.  But, all the feedback I heard from people at the dance was good.  It got over at 11:30 and everyone pitched in to help clean up.  I loaded up my car, drove home, and finally collapsed into bed at 12:30 am!  WHAT A DAY!!!