The Wedding

July is now just a blur…and June is totally forgotten.  But with the aid of comments from friends, and occasional picture popping up on Facebook (because heaven knows I didn’t take any if you can believe it) and little piles of “stuff” still taking up residence in various corners of my home, I will attempt to piece together and share the Highlights. 

First the planning, Summer was in Idaho I was here, sample phone call… “Mom, is my wedding ready yet?” (well that may be an exaggeration, but you get the idea)  Summer came down to visit and we hit the material store to find tablecloth fabric so we could have a jumping off point for the colors, she wanted Coral, grey and yellow…we let me just say coral is in the eye of the beholder, 8 million shades and variations of coral.  Ended up with a pretty color I like to call peach.  From there (the colors pinned down) we talked food…she wanted traditional wedding food, chicken croissant sandwiches, fruit, vegies and a couple of assorted salads.  And I decided cupcakes would be fun (since I had a vision of the cupcake stand I wanted Arlon to build) and she said…great. 

Now the doing…hemmed tablecloths, made a few more backdrop curtains for a couple of additional stands Arlon made for me, ordered paper lanterns, (originally we were doing a false ceiling with lots of paper lanterns, but luckily I helped a friend out with their reception food and in exchange he put up a tulle ceiling for us that he did for his daughter) ordered 5 lbs. of Jordan almonds (because I love them, forgot to take them the night of the reception, so I have been eating them….continually since) ordered invitations, ordered flowers, shopped for a dress, bought suits for the grandsons, made dresses for Taylor and Amy, started baking cupcakes….well you get the picture.

So the big day is fast approaching, Summers flies in, She has borrowed on of Jakes sisters wedding dress to wear, it is gorgeous!   Jake flies in, he came, so the wedding is still on 

 

Thursday night they do Wedding shots, (since it will be 108 degrees when we come out the the temple)    and interviews for the wedding video…(Jake has that deer in the headlights look, combined with “is it over yet!) Friday we spend the day decorating.  Brendan gets the biggest trouper award because he got to have Cindy Ray boss him around as he hung my Glob-ial of paper lanterns.    Heath Westenskow put up the ceiling the night before. Lisa made a cute banner that says thank you, to hang over where the gifts will go

  Friday night is the best, Summer goes through the Temple.  This is the moment you feel like you’re an okay parent.  Then we go over to Grandma and Grandpa Knights house where Jakes family has been arriving and will camp out for the weekend, eat pizza and check out the “other side”.

 

Saturday we get up, get beautified and Summer, Jake & I leave for the temple…WAIT…what's that Summer for got the wedding license… call dad, he saves the day.  The Ceremony was beautiful.  As I look around and see the other 3 girls and their husbands, all able to be in this beautiful building together I am so grateful for choices they have all made.   Then its out into the heat to welcome the newlyweds and pose for the traditional temple step picture…have I mentioned its really hot!     Then its back to the church for the wedding luncheon.  The Fullmers really wanted to take care of this but after I convinced her it was more stress for me trying to get an exact head count,(Knights and Lewis’s do not like to be pinned down)  She agreed to pay for it and let my wonderful cousins Julie & Kim and Aunt Pat serve us homemade Café Rio at the church.  (again no pictures, so mad)     Its was really good, if I say so myself, and very low key .

Then it was back to Calli arranging the Centerpieces and Lindsey taking care of the Kitchen for me and getting all the cupcakes frosted (my beautiful cupcapke tower Arlon build) and food put out.  I was originally just getting croissants from Costco, but my other wonderful cousin Debbie volunteered her and Pam to bake 300 rolls for me, they were soooo much better than Costco.  But did they stop there…NO they worked like dogs along with Aunt Nita, and Ted (who also made the delicious pasta salad) and his wife Stephanie in the kitchen.  Those wonderful friends from the ward who came and helped got to know Waaaay more about my family than they probably should, but take us like we are and know that I have Aunts and cousins that will  stop, drop, and do anything to help me out!!!           

It was beautiful and I couldn’t have done it without Family,which is really what its all about      

Last fling before the ring!!!

Summer made one last trip to Arizona before she comes back to tie the knot, and we filled it with as much getter done stuff as we could.  First on the agenda was of course Jessica's graduation.  A big success, she graduated!!!

Then it was shower time.  Lisa made big pom poms  and made a backdrop for the food table.  I pulled out the Zebra striped tablecloths (because pink and Black and Zebra all over is really what Summer is all about), and Calli and Lisa made yummy food.  Calli whipped up some breakfast casseroles, and pasta salad, while Lisa cut up fruit and helped mix up punch.

Food, Fun and lots of family and friends!

 

    cute water bottle labels  …  

  last minute banner  …          sign in table… 

   Sisters …   Kathleen and LeeAnn talking about the great food(I hope) …

(Summer getting pointers on how to visit with friends)… Jessica and Taylor (always ready to pose)…

Summer and the little girl she used to nanny…Friends….

cousin friend… more friends…

”special” friend… “old” friends… and chit chatting friends!!!

Practical gifts…and impractical gifts!!!

Zara will never be the same!

Cheesy smiles…

creepy smiles…

your face is going to freeze that way smiles….

is it over yet smiles…

and I wasn’t invited smiles!

All in all it was fun and she got a lot of really cute things.

don’t you just love it when a plan comes together!!!

Jessica

Jessica Lyn Lewis.  Born  August 27, 1993 at a whoppin 10 lbs. 12 oz.  our caboose, our last angel, the final twinkle in daddy’s eye. 

She was a really easy baby, but that was because she was just a life sized doll for her 4 older sister to play with.

She always thought she was as old as all the other sisters, she was reading before kindergarten, playing t-ball,

(if only for the snow cones that followed) and building sand castles with exactness, and hunting for sand dollars in the sand dollar river, in Mexico over spring breaks. 

When she was 7 she begged for and got a puppy (one of the Clouse doggy descendants) that pleasure lasted about 6 months, then the puppy turned into a rather large dog, who made rather large…droppings!  Then “Bear” became mine, but Jess will always think of him as hers. 

 

 

Jess and Summer spent lots of time lounging in our “pool” growing up.  A large water trough, that they could run in circles making a really good whirl pool, and since we were the only family with a “pool” in the neighborhood she had lots of friends.  Her best friend was Claire, who died…not really but her sisters told her she did when Claire moved away and we never heard from her again. 

We moved to Gilbert, when Jessica was in 4th grade.  She always danced to the beat of her own drum and in third grade decided she wanted to play the cello instead of the violin like her sisters,  in gilbert schools you don’t start orchestra until the fourth grade, so she already had a year under her belt…which made her FABULOUS!!!  So basically Jessica is smart, talented, and because of her early experience in our backyard “pool”, and many years of summer swim team, she would later go on to become a great Swimmer for Gilbert High School. 

She has made some really good friends through the years, some come some go, but all have brought their own kind of fun to the party.

I don’t know what the future hold for Jessica…but she will come out on top, because she knows who she is, has a family that loves her (even though they tell her often she was adopted).

  but right now it’s a new milestone for Jess, High School graduation!!! We love you Jessica…You Are BEAUTIFUL!