We love weddings

October and November consisted of weddings on the Nielson side.

Derek and Cole found amazing girls.
They are wonderful. We love them both!

The weddings took place in the Salt Lake Temple.
Both days were chilly but they were beautiful.

In October, Derek and Alli were married. I already posted about this but I am going to post photos from the photographer.

It's official.
Love this one.
Reception
We love dancing!
November was Cole and Sara's wedding.
They were married the weekend before Thanksgiving and the celebrating lasted for a week.
There was a dinner the night before their marriage, a reception in North Salt Lake on the wedding day and then the next week their was a reception in Pocatello.

Bridals

Wedding Dinner

The Happy Couple

Utah Reception
First dance
Grandpa Stratford with the couple.

My cousin Ella
The day after the wedding, my parents took us to Grand America for brunch.
They have the best brunch.
The food is top notch.
Way too much food was eaten but it was delicious.
The happy newlywed couple also joined us.

The growing family
Between bites, we laughed.
Adored Noah.
Enjoyed one another.

Pocatello Reception
My mom sure knows how to decorate.
Mom's creamed pie.

Noah with his new tie I made him.
There was a lot of celebrating these past couple of months.
We enjoyed spending time with family and are grateful for the new additions to our family.

Wedding Fun: Part 1

At the end of September I went home to help my mom prepare for Derek and Alli's wedding.

It felt like I did more for this wedding than my own wedding.

A week before the wedding there was an open house in Pocatello.
My mom took on the stressful job of making all the food and decorating.
She is so talented at envisioning what a party should look like.
She really made the yard look beautiful for the open house.
The wonderful 90 degree weather also helped.
(wish we could of had that kind of weather for my own reception)

The yard and decorations.

My mom ordered the hydrangeas online.
They arrived bigger than what my mom expected but they were amazing!

The food was displayed beautifully.

Chocolate cupcakes, pumpkin bars, oatmeal bars, caramel apples,
turkey and ham sandwiches with this amazing spread on top,
huckleberry popcorn, strawberries, and grapes.
The food was amazing!

The happy couple!

More to come of the wedding in Salt Lake!

3 Important Updates

#1:
This handsome fella turned 30 last week!

Of course I had to make his favorite cake...poppy seed.
I think it's the best one I have made yet!
I saved the best for him:)

And he was so happy about his new quilt!
I still cannot believe I made this.

#2
Derek is getting married!
My family loves Alli and
I cannot wait to have another sister!

#3:
Although there is not a ring yet...Cole is getting married!
Hip-hip hooray for two more sisters for me!

I couldn't be happier for my brothers.
They have found great girls and I love them both!

Cannot wait for the celebrations! Congrats Big Brothers!

Becoming A Housewife!

My good friend Jeminee Pahl is getting married in about 10 days. I could not be more excited for her! I threw her a "50's Housewife" bridal shower the other week. I have never given a bridal shower before but I think it turned out well (thanks to my mom and friend Rachel).

For the shower the girls were supposed to wear red lipstick and high-heels
--going with the housewife theme.

When the girls arrived they picked out an apron to wear for the party. My mom and I made the aprons. We found fabric that was somewhat vintage and then mixed and matched them for the skirt and waistband. I think they turned out cute!

We then made pizza on the grill!
--had to use our housewife skills to make dinner and so our aprons could go to good use!


Once all the fun of eating, playing games and opening presents was over we went outside to get some pictures with my grandpa's 1963 Ford Galaxy Convertible.
--it's kind of a 50's thing right?

Thanks for getting married Jem so our friends could get together and have
some fun trying to be "good housewives"!

BeST dAy of My LIfE!

4 weeks ago (May 27th),

Nate and I were married in the Salt Lake Temple! It was the best day of my life.
The day went by so fast. It almost seems like it was a dream but it was the best dream I have ever had and I am glad it really happened!!

The day was absolutely perfect!

We were blessed to have family and close friends
at the temple to be apart of our special day. The ceremony was beautiful and I
loved the spirit I felt in the sealing room. I loved kneeling across the alter
from Nate. He is one good looking guy!
The weather was also perfect. My mom had been praying for months for
good weather and all that praying helped since we were blessed with cloudy,
70 degree weather (perfect for taking pictures in).


After the wedding, we had a dinner with our family and
close friends. We had a live band so we danced the night away. There
were some great memories made on the dance floor including:
1st Dance With My Nathan (he has dancing skills),


Dancing With My Dad (I did not know he had so many moves),

and
Dancing With My Grandpa Nielson.


The day went perfect and I believe it was the best wedding ever!!
Thank you family and friends for supporting Nate and I on our wedding day. We love you all and were so glad we could spend our Wedding Day with you!

Lately...

On April 9th, I went to the Idaho Falls Temple to receive my endowment. It was a special day filled with new information. Even though I did not understand everything, I felt the spirit and went away from the temple filling great. I was not scared at all to go. I was excited and ready to go. I cannot wait to go again to gain more knowledge. I was lucky to have the support of my mom, my dad, Derek, Cole, Nate, Nate's mom and dad, Nate's sister Nikole and her husband Jeff and my grandpa Nielson. I have such great family and I am marrying into a wonderful family too!

That same night Nate found out that he got accepted to University of Idaho for law school. It was great news because Nate was going to have to make a payment (which he did not want to do) to Drake the next Monday to save his spot if he had not heard from Idaho. Since he got into U of I, we will be going there in the fall. It is not my first choice but it is the least expensive and in the long run it will be good not to be in a lot of debt. I am excited and scared for the new adventure Nate and I will have. I will also be able to finish up school in Moscow by taking a textiles class and then finish a few generals online. I will also be able to do my student teaching there in the winter.
(this is Nate's lawyer face)

I finished up my last semester in Provo this week. Nate has asked me if I am sad and to be honest I am not. I have had my experience in Provo and am ready to move on to a new experience. I will miss my friends and some teachers but I am glad to be leaving the Provo scene. I am excited to be back in Pocatello close to Nate and family. I never thought I would see the day when Nate and I would be living in the same city again!! It has been long 8 months of talking on the phone (Nate absolutely hates talking on the phone) and driving back and forth from Provo to Pocatello. We are both grateful we do not have to do it again!

I also heard some great news from my grandpa Nielson. When I was home two weeks ago, my grandpa told me that my grandma wanted me to have her china!! Can I tell you how happy and excited I was? I wanted to register for fine china but I knew that it was expensive and probably no one would buy it, so I went with the casual china. But now I will get fine china. A few weeks ago I was actually wondering who had gotten my grandma's china and I had this wish that I would get it but thought it would never happen. When my grandpa told me about the China I could not believe it because what I thought actually came true. My grandma must of known I would have loved her china. I was thinking about how special the china would be and how I will be able to tell my children stories about their great grandma and grandpa Nielson when we use the china.

One year ago, this weekend, Nate asked for my number...In 5 weeks we will be married!!

January or May

So... family, friends, and frequent followers... Ashley and I have a question. We'll it's actually more like a survey. For the past couple of months we've been brooding over this subject and we're almost 97.9% sure we've reached our decision. However, we thought it would be fun to ask each of our valued readers what their opinion is with regard to this life changing matter.

First, the question: When should Ashley and Nate get married?

Second, the options: Some time in January or May

Third, the madness behind each option: Why January and Why May

Why January:

1. Ashley and Nate don't have to endure 5 more months of painfully miserable separation during the week. (Nate and his gasoline tab are getting sick of the round-trip drive from Pocatello to Provo almost every weekend)
2. They can begin to reap benefits much sooner. Nate reap the benefits of Ashley's cooking expertise on a daily basis. Ashley reap the benefits of being entertained by Nate's silliness on a daily basis.
3. When you're engaged, you love someone and want to spend every waking moment with that person. Who wants to wait another 6 months and 20 days?

Why May:

1. "It's cold! Who wants a January wedding?"(Ash) May is a much warmer time of year.

2. It's not the prettiest time of year. Well maybe that's an understatement. It's butt ugly in Ashley's opinion. She didn't use those exact words, but you can imagine who did.

3. Ashley would be stressed out with planning a wedding for January while finishing up a tough semester. May gives Ashley more time to help Sally plan the wedding.

4. Ashley can finish another semester of school at BYU, which means one semester closer to graduation.

Fourth, the decision: January or May. You decide...