Jonny 'n Jamie

My little brother Jonny was married to his beautiful bride Jamie on June 18th, 2010. We were so happy to be able to be there for the festivities and the wedding.

Jonny is a very lucky guy to have nabbed this girl. Jamie is awesome and we love having her in our family!

The weekend fun began with a wedding dinner the evening before the big day.

My parents put this together and did a fabulous job. Great food, great company (lots of family came from both sides!), and good entertainment. What more can you ask for?

They asked us siblings to put together a little song for the dinner, so Peter had the great idea to rewrite "Jesse's Girl" and sing "Jonny's Girl". With some help from Abby, I rewrote the words and tried to tell a little about Jonny and Jamie's story in the telling. Then the 4 of us sang it.

We also recruited Scott, Geoff, and Julie to jam out on their rockband instruments during the guitar and drum solo parts. They hammed it up good and were highly entertaining to watch.

On Friday morning Jonny and Jamie were married in the Salt Lake Temple. They make such a cute couple and seemed happy to finally have the big day here!

Avery was so excited to give them hugs after they exited the temple.

Sophie let me curl her hair for the occasion and she was very happy about looking like a princess in her flower girl dress all day.

Both girls love to sing "I Love to See the Temple" and were very excited that they got to go the temple for the wedding.

Sophie had to go touch the outside. Gramma Lamb talked to her about how it was hard rock just like the Savior is our rock.

Having a wedding right in the middle of lunch and naps is not the easiest thing for these kids, but we made it through.

They actually did great right up until we were supposed to do all the family pictures.

That is unfortunately when all the meltdowns began, especially for Sophie. As you can see, there was nothing I could do to convince her to look at the camera. She was done, and she spent the entire picture shoot with her head buried in my shoulder.

I love this picture of all the siblings.

My Mom and Dad had a very busy day, but it's a great kind of busy and they were just so happy for Jonny and Jamie.

Here are some of the Austin side, my Mom's side, who came to the wedding.

And here are some of the Lamb side. I feel really short in this picture, and I don't often feel very short. This side of the family has a tendency to be very tall, as you can see. Actually, this picture is neat because we got to see my cousin Alex who was serving on Temple Square as a missionary, so that was fun to "run into" her.

I love this picture of my Dad. I think this was actually days before the wedding, but it looks almost like he's taking a break between all the craziness to enjoy his cookies dipped in milk. And if you ever wonder why I sit on counters, wonder no more.

The reception was held in the backyard of some friends of my parents, the Boyds, and is the same place where Joseph and I had our reception 5 years ago. It was a trip to go back again because in a way it feels like we were just there, but 2 1/2 kids later, we've definitely done a lot in those 5 years. We all spent the afternoon setting everything up back there and it looked beautiful.

The girls spent the majority of their time on the basketball court driving this. And yes, that's their personal slave Uncle Scott behind them.

Sophie was especially happy about the ice cream that was catered by Leatherby's at the reception. I think she went back for 3rds.

Avery spent all her time at the water table, filling up and then subsequently dumping out cups of water, over and over and over again, much to the chagrin of her parents. If she weren't so darn cute....

My Grandpa and Grandma Lamb are currently serving a mission in the Nauvoo Temple for the summer, but they were given permission to come to the wedding so my Grandpa Lamb could perform the wedding for Jonny and Jamie. He did a great job, and it was so fun to see them for a couple days.

I love this picture of my Grandpa Austin. He spends all his time doing family history and is an absolute family history guru. He's a great example to me.

Jonny and Jamie had their first dance after cutting the cake (which they smashed into each other's mouths and subsequently won me a back rub from Joseph, thank-you-very-much), and throwing the bouquet and the garter. Then they each danced with their mom or dad, and then all 3 couples got out to dance. I love this shot of my parents. They celebrated their anniversary the very next day.

Here are all the bridesmaids with the bride, Jamie's sister and sisters-in-law.

And here are the handsome groomsmen, Jonny's brothers and brothers-in-law. (I love how the one glowing is mine. :D)

Scott being...Scott. Slambdance Revolution!

Avery and Daddy found the tree swing, too. And even though Avery looks terrified here, she really did love it.

I just love weddings! I could go to a wedding a week and be happy. Thanks for giving us a reason to come to yours, Jonny and Jamie! We love you!

Nauvoo

Here are (finally!) some highlights of our trip to Nauvoo over Memorial Day weekend.

Joseph's entire family (minus one) met up in historic and beautiful Nauvoo, IL for the weekend for a great family reunion.

The first thing we did when we got there was go to the temple. Half of the adults did a session one night while half did a session another morning. That temple is so gorgeous. We drove right by it coming into town and it brought tears to my eyes the minute I saw it.

The last time I was in Nauvoo was when I was a teenager, and the only thing that was on this plot of ground was a grate over the old well in the ground. I can remember hearing a frog croaking down in it. So to see this amazing building there now instead was an emotional moment for me.

The girls couldn't get enough of looking at it. Sophie kept pointing up to the Angel Moroni on top and telling everyone what she saw up there.

You know what? Families can be together forever! I'm so grateful for temples that make that possible!

Just down from the temple you find this statue of Joseph and Hyrum on their horses looking back at their beautiful city before they headed off to Carthage Jail. This is the last time they got to see it. I loved this statue, and apparently so did Sophie.

Off to Carthage we drove next to visit the site of the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. It is a well-done tour, and while this building represents a place of great sorrow for members of our church, the missionaries take the time on the tour to remind us of the testimony that these men died for, and the hope that brings diminishes the sorrow. I know they died for the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and I love them for their lives and testimonies of Him. Lee is showing us here the bullet hole that took the life of Hyrum Smith.

My Grandpa Lamb and Grandma Maybeth have the unique opportunity of serving in the Nauvoo Temple as ordinance workers this summer until November. They have been having a wonderful time and seem to love it there. It was so fun to meet up with them a few different times and see some sites of the city. Here we are standing outside of Carthage Jail in front of the window where Joseph was shot and fell to his death below.

We left the girls with the family one peaceful evening and walked in the warm twilight down the Trail of Hope that the Pioneers walked to leave their beloved city and cross the great Mississippi to head west to Utah. It was interesting reading the placards they have placed there with accounts of different people's experiences in leaving their homes and friends. It must have been so hard.

We spent some time with Maria, Taylor, and Shelly skipping rocks on and staring out at the wide Mississippi River where the ferry boat took hundreds of wagons across to Iowa to begin their trek.

Probably the highlight of the trip for the girls was the oxcart ride we took one morning. They thought it was so cool to be under a real covered wagon,

pulled by real oxen named Duke and Don. They got to touch them and watch them get hitched up and follow directions to move, and they were happy going round and round in that wagon and learning about how the Pioneers traveled west.

The other fun thing for them was spending some time at Pioneer Pastimes. The kids were able to try out many of the games and activities that Pioneer children might have played with. Avery and Clarissa played with these blocks for quite a while.

Sophie got dressed up to look like a real, authentic Pioneer girl. She didn't keep it on long, but she sure was cute!

And handsome Aaron is modeling the clothes of a Pioneer boy.

Joseph and I played with this game for a little while. You have to toss a ring back and forth to each other with these two sticks. Let's just say it's much harder than playing catch with a ball and glove!

You can rope these sheep but Siesa and Sophie preferred to simply ride them.

Another highlight was watching the missionary couples demonstrate how Pioneers would have baked bread, dipped candles, made their own cloth and rugs, and many other things. We got to help them demonstrate how to make your own rope. Avery helped daddy turn this big wheel at the end that tightened the three smaller ropes into a great big one.

Sophie and Sadie carefully kept the rope tight and straight while it was being twisted.

And then Sophie got to bring this rope she helped make home with her! She has loved playing with it.

While we were in Nauvoo we got to stay at the Hyrum Smith home on the outskirts of the city. It was the perfect location for all 31 of us to squeeze into and we loved getting to all stay together. We'd put the kids down in their various separate rooms in one part of the house, and then shut the door and get to stay up late chatting with the adults in the add-on to the house.

The last day we were there was spent touring the various homes and businesses of the Saints. This is at the blacksmith shop that ironically was run by an ancestor of our family. We all got to take a prairie diamond ring which Sophie loved and it was a really neat tour to see how blacksmiths did their jobs.

Joseph and I went with Bob, Craig, Taylor, and Shelly on the Community of Christ tour of the locations they own, including the Nauvoo House, the Old Smith Homestead, the Red Brick Store, and the Nauvoo Mansion. When I was here as a teenager with my Austin family for a reunion, we stayed in the Nauvoo House which was very cool. I still have vivid memories of sleeping with all my cousins in the attic and being scared to death during a loud thunderstorm one night. I know I didn't understand everything about the history of this city very well then, so I'm glad that I got a chance to come back as an adult and hear all the stories again. Here we're standing in front of the Red Brick Store that Joseph owned and where in the top floor some very important things happened for the Church.

And here is the Nauvoo Mansion where Joseph and Emma lived with their family. It was a well done tour and my appreciation for the early Saints and all they did and went through was rekindled by visiting all the buildings of Nauvoo and hearing their stories told again.

It was a very fun reunion trip with the Jensen clan, and we only wish it could've been longer! Thanks again for a wonderful weekend!