I don't ever remember visiting Arizona. I may have as a child, but don't remember for sure. What better time to go than in August, to get the full Arizona experience. :)
When Tyrel and Lexie decided they were getting married in the Mesa, Arizona Temple, the adults started making plans to go. (Kids would have to stay behind and participate in the open house.) We wanted the best deal possible (of course), so we looked into the cheapest flight we could find... Allegiant Airlines. Along with the cheap prices came a few details. Carry-on luggage would be an extra $35 each way and checked luggage even more, BUT each passenger was allowed one "personal item". We were told that we would not be charged if we brought a back pack that would fit under the seat in front of us. Sooo, we were all challenged (except for Dean) to pack light and get everything we would need for 4+ days into a back pack! Stressed my mom out. :)
Another detail with our cheap flight was that we would have to catch our plane in Id Falls.
Thursday afternoon we caravanned down to Rigby, ID to stay the night with Karen's mom and step-dad. They were lovely hosts. So sweet to let us crash for the night.
In the morning, we took shifts in the bathroom and got dressed into our church clothes. We knew we would have a busy day and wanted to be ready to go to the temple for Lexie's endowments. The ladies at the airport desk had to find out why were were all dressed up.
Wedding.
Oh.
Tim & Karen
Candice & Dean
Jason & Dad
Mom & Me
Mom did her journaling in the airport, because we had arrived 2 hours early...another little detail of flying (cheap) Allegiant. They start giving away your seat at 45 minutes before the flight, if you are not there. They also announced over the intercom several times that if your "personal item" didn't fit into the little caddy, that they would charge you and that you would have to go to the back of the line. Their threats made us a little nervous. Would my backpack actually fit in the caddy..and under the seat???
When it was time to board the airplane, we faked confidence as we handed our tickets to the collector and walked down the corridor. Luckily everyone's bags fit. (Karen said she had to do some fancy shoving, but got it to fit.) :)
We sat "salt and pepper" (another fun detail of our cheap flight), but could wave to one another.
When we arrived in Arizona, we rented 2 vehicles; a van and a little car and went for lunch at Subway. We had just enough time before the endowment session, to drop our bags off at Aunt Mabel and Uncle LeRoss' home (about a block away from the temple).
The endowment session was nice. We briefly met some of Lexie's family in the celestial room afterward and started to get acquainted. So sweet.
As we waited for Lexie and Tyrel to come out, we wondered and whispered about the Waldie family. We had heard of the Waldie Family when they became local celebrities for being a part of
"The Mega Wedding". Five siblings had been engaged within weeks of each other and decided to get married on the exact same day. Later that evening they were putting on one BIG reception with all of the newly married couples and family.
We may have seen a glimpse of some of their family members. :)
After Lexie's endowment session, we went back to Aunt Mabel and Uncle LeRoss' house to relax and finally get out of our church clothes. Some watched the Olympics...and napped.
For dinner, we wanted to take Mabel and LeRoss (our gracious hosts) out to dinner. We decided on a buffet...Old Country Buffet.
Jason, Tawnya, Dad (Lynn), Maliah andJosh
Tawnya, Josh and kids had traveled up from Tucson and met us at the temple. We all went to dinner together.
Dean, LeRoss, Mabel, Kyrick, Mom (Lora Dawn), Cousin Wendell, Tim, Karen and Candice
That night was Tyrel and Lexie's reception. (They actually did their reception BEFORE they were married/sealed..kind of unconventional, but worked best for their honeymoon early flight plans.) We got back into our church clothes and found our way to the church.
Their reception was so CUTE! Lexie's grandma was the driving force behind all the cuteness. I wish I had pictures, but I left my camera behind! I took lots on Mom's camera though. You can check some of them out on her
blog. :)
It was fun to get to know Lexie's family better. They are FUN! Many of them impressed us with their dance skills...especially her dad Ken doing "the worm"! Not to mention her older brother Justin who leaped over his dad standing up or her youngest brother Rhett who had awesome rhythm and moves.
After the reception, we went our separate ways. Tim/Karen/Dad spent the night with Tawnya/Josh's friends and Mom/Dean/Candice/Jason and I went back to Mabel and LeRoss' house for the night.
The next morning, we met at the Mesa Temple. Gathering in the sealing room with family and friends was wonderful. The sealer spoke for several minutes, leaving us with many thought-provoking insights. So neat.
Tyrel and Lexie were married and sealed for time and all eternity!
After a few minutes of pictures (not many.. it was hot of course) the newlyweds were off... and the rest of us had the remainder of the day/evening to fill. We hung out at Mabel and LeRoss' and eventually decided on a movie.
After the movie, we had dinner at Chick-fil-A. With all the hype in the media about Chick-fil-A, we wanted to support a business owner, who has similar views and is closed on Sundays. :)
The next morning, we went to church in Cousin Ray's ward (he's the bishop) with Mabel and LeRoss. After church, Mabel/LeRoss made us a bounteous dinner with home grown fruit and veggies. They are the sweetest, most gracious hosts ever.
That afternoon, seven of the seventeen cousins came over to visit.
That evening, Mom, Dean, Candice, Jason and I invited ourselves over to Lexie's parent's house. They showed us old family videos of Lexie when she was little (so cute) and fed us reception lemonade and cookies.
I was so glad we went over. It was nice to talk and laugh with them.
The next morning, we had an EARLY flight back to Id Falls. After a detour for lunch, we got on the road to Boise, arriving home in the afternoon.
Whew!
We "enjoyed" the full August Arizona experience... temperatures reaching at high as 115 degrees. Glad to be home to our 95 degrees and cooler nights. :)
