The first time we met Brittany was when she and Nate dropped everything they were doing to come to Idaho after we announced that we were having an unexpectedly early delivery for Addison. Brittany and Nate knew how important it would be to have family there to support us in that incredibly difficult time, and they came. They sat with us as we reeled from the whirlwind of that day's events, they stood beside Addison's isolet while she struggled for every breath, they brought us food when the thought of leaving the hospital was so far from our minds. That was our first time meeting Brittany, and as the months progressed and she grew on us more, we grew more and more excited for her and Nate. We are excited to get to know her more and welcome her as a Holiday.
Last week was also the first time we met Gage (#49) and that Blaine (#4) met a large majority of the family. We loved having Grandma (#1) there to complete everything, and there was never any shortage of conversation, memories, or stories no matter what room, car, table, hot tub, or restaurant you found yourself at. I only regret that we couldn't spend more time with each person, but such is life when you have so many people together. More often than not we enjoyed sitting back and watching everyone interact.
The wedding was perfect- completely overcast, but warm, and perfect for pictures; the ceremony was amazing. The dinner the night before was incredible- the room was filled with old family friends, new family, and new family friends. The dinner culminated with sibling gifts, and in typical Holiday fashion, we went all out. We bought a chest and filled it with Holiday family traditions that we wanted their family to carry on, mainly because Nate was the keeper and enforcer of family traditions growing up. It was all there- the Tobasco sauce for bad words, the advent calendar for Christmas, the cookie cutters, the Aebelskiver pan, the bunt cake pan, the Family Home Evening manual, the pinata, and the unique family tools like scissors (the TV turning off tool), the hairbrush (the go to bed tool), and the hacksaw (the door opener tool), among many others. It took our family more than two months and hundreds of e-mails to bring that together, but it was executed perfectly. Then Brittany's brothers stood up, and in one comment, gave the best line of the entire evening- "We came up with this over two days and one phone call." Priceless.
We enjoyed sitting beside the hotel swimming pool in the evenings and mornings to visit with the family and friends, we loved the In & Out Burger runs (but grew tired of the actual food), we cherish the family lunch in the hotel lobby that could have continued for days, and we hold the beach, the wedding pictures, the tears, and the laughs priceless. We packed up our things and had prepared to leave on Friday morning when Dawn called us and convinced us to extend our stay another day and join the family at Sea World. What a day- perfect weather, perfect company, and Addison was in the perfect mood. We bounced from family to family, spending time with Blake & Jamie, Dawn & Nate, Kent & Ginger, Craig & Maralee, Jill & Eric, Brian & Colleen, and Gail and her kids (Andy couldn't make the trip). It was a delight to see the children revel in the sights and animals, and was a blast to finish off the day with all of us going on a roller coaster together.
We took our time getting home, and were able to travel with Jill & Eric and have dinner with them and stay at Brian's house in Utah for a night before going our separate ways and coming home.
For the last time, we wish we had pictures to show (see previous blogs), but will never forget what may become the last big hurrah with all of us together.
Nate and Brittany's Montage. They just belong together!
Back row l-r: Blaine, Jill, Gail, Kent Craig, Brian
Front row l-r: Steve, Dawn, Nate, Blake
1 comment:
Steve that was an amazing post! Your family is so lucky to have such a great brother like you! Your family is so important to you and I know that you and I both wish we could see them more often! You did an excellent job on the DVD for the Wedding!!!
Love you
Post a Comment