Chase and Morgan Adams-Hart

In my youth my imagination never stretched to consider my life as a grandmother.  Mother yes.  Grandmother no.  But it has come all the same.  In fact, our grandson Chase got married this past Saturday.  Now I must consider the possibility of becoming a great-grandmother.  Wow.  How did THAT happen.

Chase has been attending BYU Idaho.  That is where he met Morgan, a wholesome, steady, lovely girl. They hit it off from the start and it wasn't long before they decided to pray about their relationship. Both felt that it was right to marry.  So, before we knew it, the marriage was announced and the date set.  So Chase is marrying an Idaho girl.  I can't help being pleased about that.

This past week has been a whirl of activity as we prepared for the wedding.  Actually my preparations consisted on getting myself ready.  There were plenty of others to do the grunt work.  Audrey and Cliff (parents of Chase) arrived at our house on Thursday, with all four kids.  I love it when family comes.  They filled all of our guest rooms, making today big-time wash day.  But it was worth it.

We drove to Idaho Falls Friday afternoon.  I was thinking that it couldn't possibly be far; after all it is in Idaho.  But we drove for almost 5 hours before arriving, just in time to go out to dinner.  Five hours would be major in California but somehow in Idaho it becomes just a regular, ordinary drive.  I'm not sure why that is, but driving distances here seem quite routine.  Even for us.  We settled in for the night in a motel near the temple.  Poor Chase didn't sleep much that night.  Perhaps you can relate.

Chase and Layne Saturday morning (wedding day).
Chase looks pretty good for hardly sleeping!

The Idaho Falls Temple is lovely, and big.  Temple workers were everywhere; an overabundance it seemed to me.  The sealing room was full of people we didn't know.  Well, we knew about 6.  The sealer spoke to them gently and was inspired in what he said, I thought.  He answered a question Morgan had about women holding priesthood power in the temple without knowing her desire to understand that.  I'm betting that Chase and Morgan will remember very little of what he said, but it was inspired anyhow.  All went well and there was just the kind of spirit there that one could wish for; sweet and tender.

Adams-Hart family (minus Chase) on the Temple grounds,
before the wedding:  me, Rayne, Isaiah, Audrey, Cliff, Allegra, Layne.

Morgan and Chase, just after their sealing, walking out the Temple doors.

Endless photos followed.  Then a luncheon for everyone who attended the sealing.  It was a crowd.  Then a reception at Morgan's home in Blackfoot.  Daughter Jessica, Chris and kids drove all day from Seattle to be there.  I thought it was a sweet sacrifice for them to make that journey.  None of our other children were there.  But they will be at the open house at Audrey and Cliff's this coming Saturday.

One of the endless photos; Audrey, Morgan, Chase and Cliff.

Layne at the reception, waiting patiently for it to be over.

The wedding cake.

Throwing the bouquet.

Chase kissing his wife.

Wedding flowers.

After the reception we drove all the way back to Star, arriving about 1 AM.  I'm still tired.  Chris and Jes stopped by on Sunday for a short while, then headed back to Seattle, arriving there at 2:30 AM this morning.  Wow, what a marathon trip they made.  It warms me.  Audrey and Cliff left with kids this morning.  We will see them in a couple of days as we head once again for California.

Today is clean-up interspersed with naps.

Fremont Surprises

I was getting ready for my day when the doorbell rang.  That is unusual.  No one rings our doorbell except the UPS delivery man.  But as I approached the door I could see that there was a figure on the porch, not just a package plopped on the mat.  I opened the door and was greeted by two lovely women I have known for many years.  There they stood, Susie Barnes and her mom, Norma Pittson, from Fremont, California.  Out of context, it took me a moment to take it in. What were these two doing here, in Idaho, on my porch!  It is so good to confront people that I actually know.  It seems that they were here for a family reunion and decided to see if we were home.  What fun it was to reconnect with them and hear the news from home.  It was a brief but happy visit.

Susan Barnes and her mom, Norma Pittson

Another Fremont family came to our attention this week as well.  Many years ago, when we first settled in Fremont, Layne was called into a bishopric, with James Glen as bishop.  They were a dynamic trio, James Glenn and his counselors, Jay Clark and Layne.  Their friendship has lasted through the years.  James Glen died this past week.  Although he lived in Utah, he was buried in Twin Falls.  So we made the drive there on Saturday.  It was sweet to reconnect with a family that has meant a lot to us for a very long time.

James Glenn

On our drive back home we passed a collection of wildfires that we hadn't noticed on the way over.  Perhaps they had spread.  The mountains in the distance were filled with smoke with clouds gathered above them.  Layne says that fire makes its own climate.  We could see that very dramatically.  Idaho is battling a number of wildfires at the moment, most of which began with lightening.  Our sunrises and sunsets are now filtered by smoke, making for very colorful skies.  Lovely but troublesome too.

Wildfires in Idaho.  Note the smoke and the clouds that gathered above.

My nephew Bryan Berrett and his family spent the night with us on Saturday.  What a lovely family they are.  They are just beginning a family vacation and we happened to be on their route.  Lucky for us.

Bryan and Jessica Berrett and their children, Reese, James and Maggie.

And so, twice this week, we have had houseguests that were passing through.  What a happy surprise to discover that Boise is a "passing through" place.  I like it.

An Open Week

It is a delicious thought to look at the calendar and see open days.  Our past week has provided us with just such a gift.  Except for the weekend, when we were blessed with a visit from California friends, Brad and Luann Warren.  They were on their way to a family reunion north of us and stopped by to do dinner and spend the night.  Such fun to have a chance to reconnect with people I know and love.  It is a happy surprise to see that Boise is apparently on the way to a number of places.  That makes our place a good stopping spot.  I'm glad for it.

Luann and Brad Warren; friends from Pleasanton.  

I've used the open days to do some more organizing.  Such fun.  My theory is that I need to get everything that is stacked in our work rooms sorted and stored before I take on a project.  Hum.  I hope that is the right idea.  I'm glad that Layne is such a structured guy.  He likes all this order I'm trying to create.  There was a time when my free-spirited self fought such things.  But I've worn down over the years.  I like it now.  I'm definitely slower at getting things done.  Is it old age, or the thin air of Idaho.  I'm used to the nice thick air of California.  So I like to think its the air.