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In February, Andrew popped the question to Cora! We knew it was coming by that point, we just didn't know when. Cora has wanted to get married in the Manti temple for as long as she can remember, but that wasn't going to happen because it was under renovation for almost another year. Andrew was thoughtful enough to arrange to propose to her at the Manti temple. He was even able to finagle his way onto the temple grounds, even though they were closed to the public. It was a total surprise to her.

We were so incredibly excited for Andrew to be a part of our family. We had already met him and spent a good deal of time with him. He and Cora had known each other for just over a year, and we knew they were the perfect fit. They set the date for May 26th, so we started working on plans right away. I drove out to Utah to look for dresses with Cora. We didn't know if we'd find anything that day, but it was fun just trying on different styles.

Then she thought she had found THE dress.

We had an appointment at one more place, and we ALMOST didn't go, but I'm so glad we did, because that's where we found the REAL dress (and since this is so old, and already after the wedding, I can post it here).

She wasn't even going to try on this dress because she didn't like the sleeves, but me and Anna talked her into it. I remember when she came out we were all stunned. I had to bring up the picture of the previous dress she had liked so much, and it didn't even compare. Abi even started crying. That was the one, and I got to be there for it. I knew that things were going to be tricky with Cora living in Utah, and us in Nevada. I knew I wouldn't get to be there for every little detail of the planning, but I got to be there for that, and it was really special.

80 For the Win

My Dad was born on January 26, 1923, so naturally her turned 80 this year. We planned a big party for him in Lehi, Utah (even though Dad and Lynn moved to Washington, Utah the previous year, most of their friends and family are still up north). It was nice visiting with family we haven't seen for a while, meeting some of his old work buddies, and seeing him smile so much as he was mingling with everyone. We had decorations, food, and a video playing with plenty of pictures from over the years. I hope he felt as celebrated as he deserves to be. Nobody deserves it more.

Looney for Tunes

I was in charge of our anniversary for this year, so I booked us tickets at the Smith center with the Las Vegas Philharmonic - Bugs Bunny at the Symphony.

It's exactly what you imagine it might be. A combination of the Bugs Bunny cartoons that introduced you to classical music, and I live orchestra playing that music. Wagner, Strauss, Mendelssohn, and others. You might not recognize their names, but you'd know thir music if you heard it, and it may very well be because of Bugs Bunny.

We stayed the night at Harrah's in the biggest suite we've ever been in.

And for dinner we stumbled upon Guy Fieri's Vegas Kitchen. Thank you Guy. Thank you.

(since this is a year old post, I can tell you that since then we have been back several times, and it is always a win) I told Joe that next year he is in charge of our anniversary, and I want it to be a surprise.

Christmas Break - 2022

For Christmas break May had her tonsils out.

It was pretty rough going for a Christmas break, but better than missing a bunch of school. Of course, I'm 100% sure that she would disagree with me. I was missing German Christmas markets pretty bad (it never gets easier), so in addition to our annual gingerbread, I made some Kinderpunsch, currywurst, pretzels, and flammkuchen. It hit the spot.

On Christmas morning my kids continue to let me take the traditional picture of them with their stockings, even though they've just woken up. Bless them. It's what I live for.

And just like that, another year was over.

Disney World - Day 3

We got a park hopper this day, and split it between Hollywood Studios for most of the day, and Animal Kingdom for a little bit. Actually, I don't even have any pictures from Animal Kingdom except for our ride photo from Dinosaur.

We wore matching shirts that we had bought the previous day in the Germany pavillion.

And Cora and I wore matching backpacks that we bought.

We got reservations to eat at 50's Prime Time Cafe, where we were treated like family and had delicious shrimp and grits.

Not a lot of pictures from this day, but I know we had a good time.

On our final day in Florida, Joe and I flew back home a little later than everyone else, so we got to have some time with Cora on our own, and that was really nice. We didn't go to a park, we just hung out at Disney Springs and got some food. It almost made us wish that we had done the whole trip with just her and us, but we still loved being there with our other peeps. I'm so incredibly glad that Cora got this experience, and that she'll have those memories the rest of her life.

Disney World - Day 2

We spent the second day of our trip in Epcot, my favorite park....sometimes. International Festival of the Holidays was underway, and one of the things we wanted to do was the cookie stroll. The cookie stroll is when you go around and try and bunch of different cookies, and then you get a prize at the end. The prize is a cookie. In case you didn't already eat enough cookies. Well, actually there was a pin too, but the funnier answer is just a cookie.

Another fun thing to do during this festival is to go around World Showcase and listen to all the different story tellers talk about different Christmas traditions from around the world. There was the mischievious and magical Barn Santa in Norway.

There was La Befana, a kind-hearted witch in Italy.

There was Father Christmas in the United Kingdom.

And we also caught other entertainment like the Lion Dancer in China and the Women drummers in Japan.

We played around a lot with photo pass this day, as if there wasn't already enough entertainment.

And finally the main thing I wanted to do this day was attend the Candlelight Processional, which is a choir, orchestra, and a celebrity narrator that reads the Christmas story. I didn't want to wait in a huge line to get in, so we did the dining package earlier that day at Spice Road Table in Morocco. Delicious food, if you like that sort of thing (not everyone in our group was thrilled with the flavors here - they're different - but I was on board).

And later that night we headed to the show. The narrator that night was Isabella Rosallini, and I really enjoyed it. I can see why locals come see this every year as a part of their Christmas tradition.

And that was mostly our second day.