We had our first niece/nephew get married in May – it was a long time coming 😀 Kaitlyn and Juston had been dating for a while and we were excited when they got engaged in October (at Disneyland) and looked forward to their wedding. Kaitlyn is my oldest niece, the oldest daughter of my brother Tyrone. When Kaitlyn chose May 4 as her wedding date we knew it would be unlikely that our family would be able to attend. The kids were still in school, Abigail had the final KingCo tournament to conclude her tennis season that weekend, it was also our stake youth conference, our ward youth temple trip, etc… You get my drift. So we decided that I would fly down and represent our family on my own. I’d have loved the kids to be there, especially Abigail and Carly, but it just wasn’t in the cards.
I booked my airfare on the dates that it would be the cheapest and ended up with a pretty sweet long weekend sans-kids and sans-husband. I arrived in Utah on Wednesday, May 1 and came back to Washington on Monday, May 6. I thought about attending BYU Women’s Conference on Thursday and Friday, but in the end decided I didn’t want to travel down to Provo and sit in classes all day. It would’ve been a good experience no doubt, but I opted for a less scheduled weekend and really enjoyed it.
Wednesday, May 1
Brenda happened to be near the airport when I arrived and since we were meeting up anyhow she swung by and picked me up. I wanted to do a little hike if possible, Brenda was having some asthma issues so we kept it pretty easy and went to the Red Butte Gardens and walked around. Brenda is a gardening guru so it was fun to check out all the plants and flowers with her. We also walked up to the Quarry House which was built back in the 1930’s.
We picked up Fox afterward and went out to dinner at Cubby’s. I stayed at my Mom’s house but she was out of town until Thursday so it was a quiet night to myself.
Thursday, May 2
I always look forward to eating out while in Utah. They have so many options. I enjoyed my dinner with Brenda at Cubby’s so much that I decided I needed to try their breakfast. The brioche french toast was delicious – lots of yummy fruit!
Utah also has lots of shopping options and that occupied most of my day today. I ate a late lunch at Waffle Love and then walked to Swig for a drink & cookie.
It felt weird to be walking around the main streets of Draper. It seemed I was pretty much the only one. Not something I would have necessarily noticed before but back home people are always walking along the parkway or city streets, especially when the weather is nice.
My Mom’s ward temple sealing assignment was tonight and I was happy to tag along with her and Val. This was my first time to the Jordan River Temple. Another difference I noticed between Utah and home is that the temple was busy, the waiting room for sealings packed – on a Thursday night. Not sure if this is simply because there are that many more members or whether the members actually attend more, but it was a happening place to be.
Friday, May 3
I met up with my childhood friend Chrystie today for lunch. No picture – Boo! It was so nice to catchup with her. On the way back to my Mom’s I couldn’t resist taking a detour to crumbl to try some cookies I’d heard rave reviews about. Flavors pictured are the butterfinger*, chocolate chip, twix* and sugar cookie (*featured flavors). I thought they were all good, especially the two candy bar ones and the chocolate chip.
Tonight my Mom’s ward had an adult progressive dinner that I joined them on. It was fun to spend that time with her as her daughter and not be in my own mother role.
Saturday, May 4
Today was ALL wedding. The sealing was at 10am, but we needed to be at the temple early and we arrived even earlier than early. I am my mother’s daughter in that regard.
The Ogden Temple of my youth is long gone and the new temple was a beautiful place for a wedding.
The sealing was sweet. It’s been ages since I’d attended a sealing and to see my niece marry her eternal companion was a neat experience.
Juston’s family is huge and they seemed to occupy most of the post-wedding photo opps. Not even sure I’ll ever see a picture from the Hipwell side, but a least I got a casual picture with the Hipwell ladies.
Tyrone and Kaitlyn have a special relationship. Loved seeing them interact today. Tyrone seemed very supportive her decision to marry in the temple. It can’t be easy to see your little girl grow up and get married.
There was a luncheon after pictures. Kaitlyn and Juston never made to the lunch (they stayed at the temple for more pictures), but our family had a great time and ate well.
We had some time to kill in the afternoon before the ring ceremony and reception. So we went to Robyn’s house in Bountiful to hang out. On the way to Robyn’s I noticed we were going to pass by an old high school hangout, Jake’s Over the Top and I couldn’t resist asking Val to stop so I could pick up a shake for old times sake. I certainly wasn’t hungry, but I had no problem emptying that giant cup of ice-cream.
the inside hasn’t changed a bit in 20+ years
My Mom, Val, Brynn and myself went for a walk in the heat of the afternoon and then relaxed at Robyn’s until it was time to head down to the wedding festivities. The ring ceremony was sweet. They had a director friend officiate and Kaitlyn and Juston shared their own vows and there was of course singing and seranding. The reception was beautiful. The weather was perfect. Such a fun night!
Dylan caught the bouquet though he had no idea what that meant
Here’s a really rough compilation of videos from the night…
My adorable little flower girl was a beautiful bride today! So glad I could celebrate their big day and couldn’t be happier for her and Juston!
Sunday, May 5
Church this morning and then the family came down to my Mom’s for dinner. I really enjoyed spending time with the family on my own. There was something different about being there without Justin or the kids. I felt I was able to be more personal and just be their sister/aunt/daughter. Tyrone and I ended up having an intense (and emotional) discussion as he was getting ready to leave. The specifics don’t need to be shared, but in the end I really felt it brought us closer and that I was able to say some things that resonated with him and I came away with a better understanding of him as well. Intense, but really good.
Monday, May 6
It just so happened that one of my besties, Camden, was also in Utah this weekend for a family event. Turns out she was staying just 3 miles away from me so we met up early this morning for breakfast at Kneaders before I needed to head to the airport home-bound. I sure love this girl and I’m so grateful for near daily Marco Polos shared with myself, Camden (Atlanta), Laura (Dallas), and Sommer (Snoqualmie) have so we can keep in touch so well. I have some of the best friends a girl could ask for.
So long Utah. It was a wonderful weekend!
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