june

 I was doing so well until I was waiting to get something from Mark's computer.  Three months later, it still hasn't happened and I think I will move on as best I can. He had Sarah performing at her spring/end of school performance.  She did really well.
When mom came down and left all of the cloths, Alex and Annadele had a blast going through all of their new things.

The picture with Annadele sitting on the bench, is when Jessica and her cousin dressed her up.  They thought she was so cute, and I thought it was great they wanted to

play with her.  She was a life size doll to them, but she couldn't wait to see them again if only for a few minutes.

So my big day finally came in June.  Mark and I were sealed together.  It was so nice to have family and friends come share our special day.  But Kimi came a couple of days before, and we had a night out on the town.  She has only been to Vegas once before, and too tired to really see much.  We still didn't have time for everything, but she got to see a lot more than just the M & M factory.  We started out at Bellagio.  I always love the atrium, and the fountains.  Then we saw some of the mall at Caesar's, and the volcano at the Mirage.  We walked over to the Venetian to see some of the painting on the wall and the gondola rides.  They had something like a carnival going on with violist, and dancers, and clowns.  After walking all of that way we were going to meet Mark for ice cream at Ghiardeli's.  But they are doing construction right where it was, so we had to go to plan B.  We went to Love it Custard.  Kind of a scary part of town, but the custard is so good.


The day of our sealing, we had to be to the temple by 6:45 am.  That meant we needed to leave by 6:15 am, which means I had to be up at 5:00am.  I was so nervous.  I don't know why, but it was just like getting married all over again, but better.  I don't think Mark or I slept much that night, we were already awake when the alarm went off.  I read the paper work the day before, and realized we were supposed to have escorts.  So I asked mom and Michael if they wouldn't be our escorts to the temple.  They said yes which meant they had to go to the temple with us.  As soon as we were walking towards the temple, I could feel the spirit so strong.  I was already getting tears in my eyes and we hadn't even gone through the doors yet.  I knew then it was going to be a spirit filled day.   I don't remember a lot of the details.  I know I got to use the brides room, and it was sad to tell them my girls weren't going to be there.  But it is okay.  They are already taken care of.   It was fun to walk into the sealing room and see all of these faces we know and love be there to support us.  I am so grateful to those who could come.  I know we were given some great advice, and I cried a lot.  But I don't really remember what was said.  But I do remember the feeling of being extremely happy, and at peace.  I feel like there were spirits on the other side cheering us on.
We had a little get together afterwards, a little brunch.  It was fun to see Uncle Bob and Glenna Gay.  The sad news was to find out that Aunt Glenna is having heart flutters.  It was fun to see Katie and Steve, and their three boys.  I am so grateful to Mark's parents for putting it together for us while we were at the temple.  And it provided snack food for the entire weekend. 

The end of June we flew to Toronto, Canada for Lenard, Mark's cousin wedding.  I have never been to Canada, and most of the family who lives there I have never met.  I was a little nervous and excited.  We got to the church at least an hour before the ceremony.  It gave us an opportunity to walk around the church, and get a bench near the middle.  I was glad I had my diaper bag with snacks, and books.  It was a long time to wait and right during lunch time for my toddlers. It was a nice ceremony.  They even did something to represent the Filipino culture.  They drape a shawl over both of their heads and pin it to their shoulders.  It was nice
to see something from Marks background.  The only thing I didn't like were all of the people whispering, and texting on their cell phones while it was happening.  It was mainly the younger generation, but I thought it was inappropriate to be doing in the church, during the wedding.  The reception was later that night.  We were able to get  lunch and a nap in before we went to the reception area.  It was a great reception. They had gone all out.  The only thing I didn't like is that everything was drawn out.  They did appetizers, and a picture show.  Then the main dish, and a toast by someone.  The one really cool thing is that they had this violinist come play.  He was amazing.  He played so hard the bow was falling apart, but he gave Lenard and Niki the bow after he was done.  It started at 7pm and they barely had dessert at 11pm.  My kids were so tired by then, and I was a little disappointed because I wanted to dance some more but say la vi.

The next day we wanted to see a little of Toronto. We saw a little of their China town.  Mark ordered some really yummy dumplings.  Then we went down to the lake and saw some of the boats.  They were doing some kind of street fair.  The girls were able to get their faces painted for free.  It was fun to see all of the different designs the artist were creating.  We even ran into a cart giving away free ice cream sandwiches.  How cool is that.  It was a great time. 

Monday we took a drive to see Niagara falls.  It was a beautiful day.  It was a little chilly, but it was so gorgeous.  I can't believe all of the water that goes over the falls.  It was so pretty.  I am glad my girls got to see it.  Then we drove into town.  They have dinosaurs as part of a mini golf.  They had an arcade we went into, and played some games.  We got ice cream.  It was a fun day. 
We flew back to Vegas on Tuesday, but I think we all had a good time.