White dresses and golden fur...

Both sides of the family at the Cardston Temple
My girls with the happy couple
Whitney loves her brand-new Auntie!
Fun wedding favors
With Great Gran
All the cousins together. They all played so well this time, I am excited they are old enough to remember each other now. A lot of fun was had, not a lot of sleep... We left Monticello at about 11 am on thursday. We drove to Orem and dropped off a few things, went to the bathroom and grabbed some food. We then drove to Dillan, Montana. The next day we made it to Cardston, AB. I used my US passport for the first time, Scott did not want to deal with two passports for me. It felt a little weird, but it's a lot simpler not having to prove I am allowed back into the States. We were so lucky to get to stay with Brother and Sister Hornberger, who introduced my mom to the LDS church and helped us and taught us so much over the years. We are all friends with their many children, and grew up with them. They have a great little house that is built for grandkids to visit, and the girls loved them. I think the Hornbergers liked spoiling them, too. We met up with Peter and Pam, and Dad there and went to a Chinese restaurant. The place and the service was a little different, but the food was delicious and plentiful. we filled two whole tables and it was a little crazy, but fun. On the way back, we realized I did not have my temple recommend, which shows good standing in the church to allow entrance to the temple the next day. So after a few phone calls that was all sorted out. We all got some much-needed rest and got up ready to go to the wedding.
We got there in good time and left the kids in the care of my dad. Unfortunately, he cannot go in the temple, which is sad for us, but he has been great about it. This explains a little about the temple. The wedding ceremony is short and special, we are so thankful this wedding is not "til death do us part" but continues on forever. Dan and Melissa were happy in their own quiet ways. Afterwards we went outside to wait and be attacked by mosquitos. Somehow I am the only one who ended up with bites all over my legs, but I did defend many people. We mingled and visited until the fancy couple came out, looking radiant. Melissa's dress was beautiful. There was not really a photographer, but many pictures were taken. After that we all got packed up and headed to Claresholm, where we had a family lunch. After that we went to the church for the reception. It was so good to see a lot of people from my side of the family, and a few friends from a while back. The kids had fun running around. Natalie and Abby were in charge of the present pile and they did a very good job keeping it neat. After the newlyweds left in a shower of bubbles, we drove North to High River where Pete and Pam live. we stayed and played for a few days before making our way back down to the USA. We got to Dillan again the first day, and then after a quick stop in Orem to visit Scott's grandparents, we went the long way around in order to pick up our puppy. It was a very quick and yet very long trip, but we wouldn't have missed it. The girls did amazing thanks to some good books on CD and brand new Barbie movies. Whitney struggled, but I don't blame her. Scott was a trooper and drove the whole way. It ended up being between 16 and 18 hours each way, with only a few short stops. The four hours home with the dog were nerve-wracking for me, I didn't know how it would go, if she would be car sick or whiny but she did great, slept a lot of the time and went potty when we stopped.

We decided to name her Ruby, a name we all more or less agreed on. She is a sweet puppy, and we have benefited from being late picking her up. Our breeder's friend took care of her for a few weeks and she has raised guide dogs, so she seems to be off to a great start on training, and even sleeps all night! I keep wanting to knock on wood. She is coming out of her shell more each day, so we shall see in the next little while. But for now she is a smart girl, she is energetic, but not overly so. She is already learning some tricks and is doing great in all other puppy areas. She LOVES Scott, and he may like her a little The girls like her a lot, Whitney and Sara don't like when she jumps on them, but we'll get used to each other and it will be ok. So school is out, summer begins with baseball and T-ball and swimming lessons and new puppy and all four kids all day, but hopefully it will be a fun one.