It's All About Family

I'm still grinning. Bonnie is FINALLY getting the "happily ever after" she deserves. Scott is a good man and I'm so glad to have another brother!

Photo by Sorensen Studios

If you want to read Scott and Bonnie's sweet love story, click on over to my sister's blog. She's written 10 hilarious posts about their looooooong courtship.

Photo by Sorensen Studios



Our trip to Phoenix for the Sorensen's wedding bash was a whirlwind experience. We had to pack a lot of fun into those precious five days! The sealing was lovely. It was a sweet experience to be in the Mesa temple with all my siblings and parents! Scott and Bon are a good match. They're the yin to each other's yang.





I believe the credit for this pic goes to Nick Sorensen.

The reception was gorgeous too! I just wish I had taken some pictures. It was so fun to catch up with my Arizona besties and extended family members. I even ran into some of my church leaders from my teenage years. I just wanted to hug them, thank them, and apologize! Let's just say that I see things differently now that I'm a youth leader (wink)!

One of our other favorite experiences was getting to meet the newest additions to the Colyar family.

Em and Eli's first meeting

Bless Sheila's heart! Just over 2 weeks after giving birth to baby Eli, she crossed the country with him. Mother and baby were troopers, to say the least. It was such fun to cuddle my new little nephew and gaze in wonder over his mass of dark hair. Seriously, Eli is SUCH a cute little boy! It was so fun to stay at my folk's house and have my sister Sheila just the next room over. Just like old times!

Emma is in love!

Before we flew home, we managed to squeeze 2 extended family gatherings into 1 day. We dined at Rick's parents' place for a HUGE brunch. Family members drove great distances to be altogether and we really appreciated it. Rick's brother, Mark, took the opportunity to announce his engagement to his dear Rosie. We are so, so happy for them. We look forward to another wedding trip to Phoenix in December!

Rosie's pic of Rick and Jake

Rosie was smart enough to bring a camera to our Saunders Fest, thank goodness. She captured some long overdue pictures.

Rosie's pic of the Saunders siblings and parents

Not all of the Saunders grandkids could join us that day, but we got most of the younger ones together.

Rosie's pic of 6 of 11 Saunders grandkids

 We need to Photoshop Dani, Veronica, Stacy, David, and Douglas into the picture!

This pic is even CUTER by Rosie!

It was hard to say goodbye, AGAIN, to Rick's parents. However, they'll be coming out for a visit when Rick graduates residency in June.

Rosie's pic of the Rick Saunders clan and parents

Later in the day we crossed town to gather with the Colyars at my brother Tim's house. He and his wife live in Gilbert with their (now) 5 kids. Daisy just joined them 2 months ago, and she's a keeper. 

Dusty's pic of Audrey and Daisy

Once again, I was frustrated that I didn't bring a real camera. I made do with my phone and Dusty covered the rest with her good camera.

Dusty's pic of me taking pics. Weird.

I must say that I find my husband particularly attractive when he's charming babies. He has such a good way with them. If we weren't getting so old...

Dusty's pic of Uncle Rick being cute with Daisy

Here is photographic evidence that my sister Sheila is amazing. Look how beautiful she is! I'm pretty sure she was operating on very little sleep when this picture was taken. It's tough being a mama to a newborn, but she's a natural.

Dusty's pic of Sheila and Eli

One of the happiest people at the party was Lala. She had most of her chickens gathered in one place. That sure doesn't happen as often as it used to!

Dusty's pic of Lala snuggling her youngest grandbaby Eli

 These two little cousins are just 2 months and several states apart.

Dusty's pic of Audrey and Papa showing off the newest Colyar grandkids

 It's hard to believe these babies are related, huh?

Dusty's funny pic of Eli and Daisy

It was a fight for who got to hold the little ones, but we managed to get an okay picture of all the grandkids but Joely-man. He was back in Maryland with Daddy Mario.

Dusty's pic of 10 out of 11 Colyar grandkids

The next morning we got up early so we could for Detroit. It was harder to leave this time. Maybe that was because we didn't get to stay long enough, I'm not sure. Like I said before, this trip to Arizona definitely made me nostalgic.

On our way out of the house, Jake got sick (throw up sick). It wasn't just an isolated incident due to our overindulgence the day before. The poor guy suffered the rest of the day. He buried his head in the trash can just at the entrance of the plane, much to the dismay of the other boarding passengers. On the bright side, no one chose to sit by us at the back of the plane. Maybe they didn't want to be around if Jake had a "crash landing" on his way to the bathroom. He made it every time though!

So, we're HOME in Perrysburg, but it's hard. I subbed seminary all week, Rick worked long hours every single day, and the kids are still making up missed school work. We already long for the time when we can get away again.

Thanks for the memories Arizona family!