Candy's Wedding

So, Candy got married to Ben on Saturday with the reception the night before. A good way to do it, I think. Then you're not so tired for the wedding night!

The reception was really nice. But that girl does not mess around with her wedding colors! (Wedding colors always make me think of Steel Magnolias: "My colahs ah blush and bashful." "Yoah colahs ah pink and pink.") Her colors were pink, teal, and purple. There was a candy table with candy of those colors, streamers and ribbons in those colors, and a purple chocolate fountain. Ben is a good sport.

The wedding was at the Bountiful temple. With Salt Lake closed for 7 (seven!) weeks and Ogden being remodeled, there were approximately 64,000 weddings at Bountiful. Still, it was very nice. I found out Ben's full name is Benjamin Joseph Alexander Neals (sp?) Nicholls. Whoa. Also, MY brother's name is Benjamin Joseph, and my son's name technically is Alexander. Double whoa.

Ben was very sweet at the ceremony, and sadly most of us are sympathetic criers. Good thing I had waterproof mascara. However, I was a little bugged by the sealer. He gave a talk at the beginning, and that's just what it was. It was totally a memorized, rote speech. Not really what you want at a wedding. Well, not really what I want. Fortunately, Uncle Don sealed me and Zane, so I got personal, loving advice. "Candace and Benjamin" didn't, so much. Also, there was so much talk about children! What if they have trouble getting pregnant? Or want to wait a few years? And (not to complain too much), the sealer was very traditionalist, talking about the joy that Ben will have bringing forth his lovely wife in the resurrection, just like he (the sealer) will do for his wife and sons. But not his daughters. THEY will be resurrected by their husbands. It all felt very "women are property-ish" to me.

The wedding dinner, however, was nothing less than stellar. The tables were all set up as African animals, as Ben is from Zimbabwe. Or "Zimb." So, there was the baboon table, giraffe table, zebra table, and so on. We all got a little zebra or giraffe key chain, handmade from wire and beads. The food was great, the company was great, and the speeches made everyone cry. What more could we ask for? Just that Karen did not have to leave right after it.

Congratulations Candy and Ben! Welcome to the family, BJANN.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl

Four years ago today, Sabrina came into the world. For the previous nine months, I had controlled what went into her, what she heard, what she felt. I've heard children have a hard time differentiating themselves from their parents until they're about 2, but it was the other way with me. I could not tell a difference between us. When she had a milk sensitivity, I was confused. We love milk!

Now, I know we're different people. (For one thing, I was never that snotty at 4, I'm sure.) But that doesn't mean I truly feel separate from her. Someone tells her they won't play with her? My heart breaks in two. She cries because Daddy is making her eat her noodles? I want to hold her and tell her she only has to eat one half of a noodle. She is afraid of the water? Just let me hold you. Don't be scared. I know I can't give into these impulses, but I feel her pain like mine.

Of course, there's the other side, too. She goes down the water slide? My heart bursts with pride. Her squealing delight at successfully completing Fruit Ninja on the Xbox Kinect makes me laugh out loud. "Mom, I DID it!" when she sounds out mmmmm and sssss is so unbelievably joyful.

I don't want to be the mom that makes her children think it's their job to make her happy. It's not. It's my job to be happy. But dang, girl. You make it easy.

Happy birthday baby girl. I'm so glad you're my daughter.

Family Reunion

A few weeks ago, we went to a Sargent family reunion in Washington. (We were near Forks, but we didn't see any vampires. Probably because it was miracle weather with sunny skies every day. Not common, I understand.) It was great in almost every way.

It was great because the setting was amazing, the beach was fun, and the food was great. It was fun to have Mom and Dad there to take the older kids, especially. With a newborn, it was nice to have some other grownups delighted to take my kids. Who am I kidding? It's ALWAYS nice to have grandma and grandpa around to spoil my kids! I also loved the airshow Uncle Wayne did, seeing Amanda in her helicopter, and watching the little kids.

It was also really great to see all my family that I haven't seen in years. Here's the problem: I wanted to hear more about Uncle Jerry's new business, Aunt Gay and Uncle Peter's new stores, my cousin's new jobs and kids and houses, and sit and visit with all the aunties (and Uncle Dale, honorary auntie). Sadly, I had kids with unreasonable demands, like wanting dinner. It meant I just didn't get to have the same reunion as my childhood: playing on Grandpa's hay, making tiny dollhouses, doing talent shows, making capes (i.e. having a cape made for me), and so on. Those were the days, my friend.

Random Catch up

I know it's been awhile since I've posted last. There are two reasons for this. 1) I have a new baby, which probably should actually make me post more, and 2) I've been depressed sad. I guess "depressed" is a loaded term in our family! I don't think I diagnosable, just feeling like I have a mountain to climb. It turns out our car was totaled, because it's all aluminum. Why does that matter? I'm so glad you asked! Turns out, you have to have a whole different, specially-designated set of tools for all-aluminum cars. So, instead of $45/hour for repairing the little car, it was $125/hr. Well, that took the car from being repairable to being, well, not.

So, Zane went car shopping. I tried to abdicate responsibility completely, but he forced me to voice my opinion, which was mostly "that sounds fine," or "that's maybe more than we wanted to spend." He ended up with a Mini (precious!) with only about 90,000 miles, which is considerably less than our poor totaled Insight. However, the day (THE DAY) we got it, the power steering went out. $1,000. See why I've been depressed sad?

Add that money issue to this one: Zane has too many clients who think they have a right to free legal care. Newsflash: that only applies to criminal cases, and then guess what? The attorney STILL GETS PAID. By taxpayers. The attorney DOES NOT WORK FOR FREE!!!!! Stupid non-payers of their legal bills. It's stressful to own your own business.

In happier news, Raiden is still being called Jemonis by his big brother and sister. He's sleeping better, or maybe I just can't find the baby monitor. Whichever. He only woke up once the last two nights, which does not suck, and might be why I feel like I have the energy to blog this morning!

Sabrina and Sasha are gradually getting used to having a baby. They've always been perfect with Raiden, but Sasha has bled a couple of times from Sabrina's fingernails, and Sabrina's done her share of crying about being hit. I think they're getting better.

The final happy news (for now) is that my sister-in-law Karen is here! She lives in Iowa, where Austin goes to medical school, which is too far away for regular visits. My kids are loving playing with her five kids, and I'm loving talking with her and watching her do fancy gymnastics tricks. By the way, have you ever been up close and personal when a real gymnast is doing tricks? Whoa. They are real athletes, which you don't realize as much when you see them wearing sparkles and hugging each other after a routine. Between the sparkles and the hugs? Some serious strength and athleticism going on there.

So, that's most of the last month. Upcoming: The vacation to Washington!