Showers

Erika's Bridal Shower

August 2nd

Erika has watched her brothers attend d'Evegnee parties, seen pictures of d'Evegnee parties and heard her mom admire d'Evegnee parties so for her bridal shower she really wanted a Sarah d'Evegnee party.  It was even more than she expected and was a perfect reflection of Erika.

When we got the invitation in the mail Erika was so excited because it completely fit her personality.  

The food was fabulous!  

The way Sarah had the party set up was perfect for Erika.  She doesn't like to be the center of attention and have all the focus on her and she was worried about giving the right reactions to the gifts she would open so when Sarah told us how it would work it took the pressure off of Erika.  We played a game that let us learn about each other, from each other and give our gift to Erika.  It broke it up with laughter, a few tears and included all of us as the spotlight and Erika was able to really enjoy it.

We all left with a party bag.  Our favorite was the bookmark that Sarah had made. 

Thank you, Sarah!!!

Kate's Baby Shower

September 1st

During my planning time for the wedding I would have these overwhelming moments that would temporarily suck the fun out of it.  My refreshing relief was in planning a baby shower for Kate and Brooklyn.  It gave me a different set of colors and ideas to pour over and the excitement over a baby girl for Kate was just the mental and emotional high I needed to get back into party mode.

I had so much fun doing a full set of monthly onesies for Brooklyn, cutting out and gluing small pieces for the invitation, making a diaper motorcycle and planning the game, prizes and food.  It felt great to have fabric and paper crafts scattered all over.

The food was delicious!  We could not go wrong with Zuppa salad, a personal made Panini and fruit.  The game was fun!  Baby Bunko got everyone talking, playing and laughing.  The gifts showered clothes, diapers and baby essentials over Kate.

I love this picture!  It looks like Kate is wearing the outfit and she is so tiny.  Completely opposite of how she felt only a couple of weeks before Brooklyn's birth date.

Baby Brooklyn

B & E . . . the Receptions

Thornton, Colorado
August 18th

Our night at Kate and Mike's house went by way to fast. We always love staying there!  The next morning we loaded up our luggage as well as the wedding stuff and headed to Colorado.  The trip seemed to go fast since we were marking the hours in terms of movies. The older boys were lost in time with their ipod games.  When I put on Tangled I noticed that Levi, Derek and Justin had all set their ipods down and were just as mesmerized by the movie as the little boys were.

There is no shortage of crazy when traveling with the Edwards Boys!

The reception in Colorado was beautiful!  Jill had everything under control when we got there and all we needed to do was smile and meet people and, according to Nathan and Hyrum, eat cake and ice cream.  Again, Cory, Meg and Katie took in the little boys and it was a fun party for all of us.

Unfortunately, my camera died and I only got a couple of pictures at the reception.

And then I got one with my phone.

Nathan was a very entertaining door greeter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rexburg, Idaho
August 25th

In preparation for the casual backyard reception that Erika wanted I used my new skills gained during a couple of late night training sessions with Sarah d'.  I figured that if we could get through the 50 or so t-shirts that we did for her family reunion that the fifteen t-shirts that we needed would be a breeze.  Sarah cut all of the contact paper for us and then I passed my crafting knowledge on to each of the boys.  I had initially planned to get it all done with Sarah but the boys were excited to do their own (and some of the Hellbusch) t-shirts.  Everyone wanted to do Ron's t-shirt (Bret's dad) because it said "Give 'em Hellbusch" and they thought it was pretty cool.

The idea of the t-shirts is that ours had our nicknames from Erika on them.  Bret's family each chose what they wanted their shirts to say.  Even though Aaron, Cory, Megan and Katie weren't going to be here we wanted to do shirts for them.

I was very excited to do the treats for the reception.  Erika and I spent hours pouring over Pinterest to find exactly what she wanted.  My stubborn nature took over and I turned down all the help offered to me by friends.  It's not a secret that Erika has pretty much pushed me away for the last 4 years and I was thrilled that she wanted me to do this for her and was spending time with me to plan it.  I wanted it to be all from me.  However, I misjudged how long it would take for me to pull off the whole thing and I didn't count on having a  major headache on the days leading up to the party.  Still, I determined not to let anyone know how I felt physically because emotionally I was so ready and willing to do it all.

Kara saved me.  With the party set for Saturday I had all the arrangements for backdrop, dress, tables, chairs, dishes and foods all planned but when I started making it all, still wanting it to be fresh for Saturday, I realized I was in over my head.  Still, my stubborn self wanted to do it all.  I don't know if Kara read more into our phone conversation than I thought I let on but she decided to come a couple of days early.  I could not have pulled it off the way I had wanted to without her help.

She helped me finish the 200 cake pops and 200 truffles, which could be done a little early, and then she saved me from my own insanity as we did all of the other treats.  She even took random pictures like me doing my hair shortly before it started.  Most of Saturday morning was a blur because my headache was so bad and I had pretty much overdosed on anything to numb it and was still hiding it from as many people as I could.

Little did I know that Heavenly Father had things all arranged to save me from my own stubbornness.  I had a general idea of how I wanted the tables set up and the backdrop done but by Saturday I had to let go.  I needed to let those who had offered to help to completely take over and they were so great to run with it. I wanted to hug Kara, Sarah, and Michelle and bawl my eyes out when they came to my rescue.  But, I had shut off emotions at that point and determined that I would do everything I could to make it a perfect day for Erika. That probably translated to a lack of appreciation for Kara, Sarah and Michelle but I sincerely love those girls and am so thankful for them!  They saved the day, the party and my stubborn hiney.

Sarah showed up earlier in the day with a smoothie, which I think was the only thing I ate besides meds and a few vegetables that Kara handed to me throughout the day. Sarah and Kara put together the tables for the desserts, smores, drinks and gifts.  They made it look better than I had imagined in my head.  It all looked so pretty together!

When Michelle randomly called to see if she could come over early to take pictures and begged to help with set up I realized that I was not in charge at all and offered a prayer of gratitude accompanied by a few tears.

Derek used his carpenter skills to get the backdrop to stay up standing on uneven grass and fighting the Rexburg winds.  Michelle worked her boutique magic to make it all come together.

The "formal" side of the backdrop
Derek cut and sanded the cake top puzzle couple
I made the cake, including free handing all those chocolate puzzle pieces
Grandma Fullmer made the beautiful bouquet

The "fun" side of the backdrop
Crochet Bouquet made by Michelle Ray
Skittles and containers provided by Sarah d'
Kitchen cake put together by Kara and Kimber

The idea behind the back drop came from a poem that Erika wrote her freshman year called "Picture Perfect".  It was written out of desperation to be who she is while others expected her to fit into the perfect picture frame that society had created for her.  When Michelle told me about doing a trash-the-dress photo session I had to have her explain in detail what that was.  I knew immediately that it would be perfect and from there the backdrop idea blossomed.

The formal side is what everyone expects.  The beautiful white dress, the temple, a formal ceremony.  She did want that part and it turned out as princess as she wanted it to be but it did not reflect all of who Erika really is so she wanted her wedding party to show off her relationship with Bret and the fun people that they are.  The fun side covered that.  The thrift shop dress and suit after the paint party, the crochet bouquet, the puzzle picture, the kitchen cake and the colorful Skittles all seemed to showcase the unique, spontaneous, colorful kids that they are.

Some of my favorites . . .

We had disposable cameras for the kids to take their own pictures with and Korben took that job seriously! We loved watching him push his glasses down so that he could see through the camera to take his pictures and since we had an extra shirt for him he fit in as our backup photographer.

It was so nice to do the whole party in jeans, t-shirts and barefoot!
The boys each loved their shirts and still (5 months later) wear them frequently.

"Sup Shorty" and "Mornin' Lil' Bug" can be heard whenever Derek and Levi wear their shirts and "J-Man" is used on a daily basis.  That's just who Justin is right now.
When Erika shows up in her wedding party t-shirt she is greeted with a loving "hey there, Mrs. Hellbusch".

 I have no idea where Erika learned to frisk her man's booty


Instead of cutting into the cake (they didn't want to eat it then because they had been snacking on the party goodies) they decided they needed something a little less sweet.  There were some leftover chicken nuggets from when we fed the kids before the party started (thank you Kellie and Kate for thinking of that and making sure my little boys were fed).

So, to top off the party and complete the backdrop theme

they have pictures of feeding each other chicken nuggets instead of the traditional cake.

Hyrum was the after party.

While Bret and Erika opened gifts, Hyrum danced around with his ribbon "bra bras" (we have yet to figure out where he came up with that).  He did a slinky dance and kept singing "miracles happen" from Princess Diaries.  The fact that he had been eating sugary treats throughout the part, had not had a nap in days, was wound up playing with cousins and it was close to 10pm probably had something to do with this random show of entertainment.

After several hours of coma like sleep, a hangover day to let the drugs run their course through my body and some quiet time in my brain, my headache started to clear.  Erika came in and gave me a huge hug and thanked me over and over again for the party.  It was exactly the backyard neighborhood party that she had hoped for while still showing off a little of the wedding side of things.  The headache, chaos, stress, strain on the budget and all other inconveniences of pulling it all together were immediately washed away as I spent time listening to Erika relive the entire past week and telling me all of her favorite parts.
I think my heart "grew three sizes that day".

B & E . . . the Wedding Day

(That's Bret & Erika, not breaking and entering)

August 16th, 2012

I have put off writing about this day because I cannot form an adequate sentence to describe the beautiful experience that it was.  Even if I included all 904 pictures the blessing and emotions of the day would not come through.  And, how am I supposed to select only a few pictures to include in the family album?

Watching my daughter marry someone that is so good to her and for her and who brings out the very best in her was most definitely one of the top highlights of my life.  Witnessing their marriage in the temple was a magical moment as they, through covenants made to each other and to God, became their own eternal family unit.  I have never seen Erika so calm or peaceful (no bouncing leg, twiddling fingers, playing with hair or fidgeting). 

Erika went to Utah a couple of days early to meet up with Bret and his family.  They had to get a Utah marriage license and also wanted to meet up with Mike and Kate to have some pictures taken while the temple grounds were a little (or a lot) less crowded.  Poor Bret had been driving all day long from Colorado and then had to put on a suit and look awake for pictures.  

Thanks, Mike and Kate! 

Erika stayed with Mike and Kate for the couple of days leading up to the wedding.  Kate worked her girly magic on Erika's thin straight hair not only once but twice!  It took hours on her feet which couldn't have been very good for her swollen feet, puffy hands, bulging belly-button hernia or her eight-month-pregnant body.  She paid a big price to spoil her niece on her big day.  

I chose this picture knowing that Kate is a bit sensitive about pregnant pictures (the rest of us think she is one of the most adorable pregnant women ever!) and because I love Erika's expression....."I'm getting married today!!!!"  We heard that several times that morning.

While the women worried about hair and clothes and the actual time, the boys were good to entertain themselves.  No stress on their part.  Put on their "church" clothes and get in the car.  Easy peasy.

It was a really good thing they had their individual time for pictures a couple of days earlier because the day of the wedding was beyond crowded and crazy though all of it was a joyful crazy.  When they chose to be married on a Thursday we thought it would be less crowded than say, a Friday or Saturday.  Evidently, it doesn't matter what day of the week it is at the Salt Lake Temple.  They had over 100 weddings scheduled for Bret and Erika's special day (it was exactly nine months from their official first date).

We did have a few minutes for some family shots but not a whole lot of time to pose or chat while having pictures taken.  

After a few group shots and before we were shuffled off the stairs for the next group, Michelle was able to catch a few candid shots.  One of my favorites is of LeRoy and Erika. 

He has given her a goodnight on the forehead since she was a baby, clear up until the last night that she lived at home.  As he gave her this kiss he was completely choked up with emotion.  The last month had been hard on him emotionally even though he was excited for her and completely approves Bret.  After all, she is his little girl.

As we were looking through pictures a few days later, the one of Levi and Erika seemed to capture the highlight of my day.  It was wonderful to be in the temple with Bret & Erika.  I don't want to take anything away from that experience.  But, that joy was multiplied as we met up outside with all of our kids . . . our eternal family. 

We weren't sure if Levi was going to come to the temple or to Colorado for the reception with us but when Erika personally invited him he decided to come to all of it.  When I saw them hugging and laughing like best friends, I couldn't hold my tears back any longer.  What a beautiful moment to see my children love each other and cheer for each other and support each other.  

Most of the group headed to the park where we were going to have a picnic while Michelle, Bret and Erika stayed a little longer to get some pictures.  Kara stayed behind as moral support for the mother of the bride. (Really?  I'm the mother of the bride?) I stayed to pack the camera bag for Michelle and to help Erika change out of her dress once pictures were done. Grandma & Grandpa Fullmer were our designated drivers . . . I was to drunk on happiness to drive in Utah.

It was pretty obvious when they were ready to be done with pictures

Then it was time for a picnic.  

Bret's parents had Cafe Rio catered for us at the park.  The food was great, the company was the best!  We already knew that we liked Bret's family but after having some playtime together it was like we had known each other for years.

Cory had his skateboards with him and was so patient to teach Nathan and Hyrum.  They followed him around the entire time we were at the park. Megan and Katie stayed close by to offer hugs when they scraped their knees and fingers.  When it was time to leave the boys didn't want to come with us.  They wanted to go with Cory, Megan and Katie.

After our early dinner we all went our different ways with plans to meet up in Colorado the next day.

We headed over to Kellie's to play in the pool for a while. The boys had a great time!

  

Nathan finally got up the courage to put his face in the water and was even able to stay underwater for a record 8 seconds.  Not bad at all for a boy who is afraid to have water even splashed in his face in the tub.

Hyrum loved jumping in the water to Kellie.  He isn't afraid of water at all and actually had to be rescued as he bobbed up and down in the water, not realizing that he had gone deeper than he should have.

Derek and Justin had fun goofing off with their cousins (sliding off the sides into the water like a walrus) and took turns watching out for the younger kids. 

By the time we got to Mike and Kate's for the night we were completely worn out!  

It was perfect day!

I have a sinking feeling . . .

that this is not going to stop any time soon.

It all started when Hyrum was about a year old.  He wanted me to hold him while I was making dinner but I really needed to get dinner finished and couldn't do it while holding him.  So, I put him in the vegetable sink and turned on a trickle of water for him to play in.  He loved it!!  It became part of our routine.  He sat in the sink and played while I made meals.

And he didn't really ever grow out of it.

Even though he did grow out of the sink.

Now (at 4 1/2), without me knowing, he wanders into the kitchen, climbs up on the counter and plays in the water.

Beautician & The Beast

Bret needed a  haircut.  Hyrum said so.

He had been growing out a mustache and a soul patch (A small patch of hair between the lower lip and chin)  because . . . well, we don't know why.  He thought it was funny and many men on campus grow out facial hair to the very point that the dress code will allow.  Once one of his professors told him that he admired his "lip mullet" he shaved off the soul patch but he left the mustache for a little longer.

Then he couldn't stand it anymore.  And we were having a family picture done. And Nathan told him it was time to get it cut.

Bret and Erika have been very frugal and wise with their spending and saving.  When it came time to do a haircut they didn't want to spend the money for it.  Knowing that I have cut LeRoy's hair for the last 22  years (which started as a desperate need for a haircut and no funds to provide it) they begged me to cut his hair.  I convinced Erika that she could do it and after watching a couple of videos they locked themselves in my bathroom.  I left for an orchestra concert.

When I returned I found a clean cut Bret.  Erika wasn't overly happy with it because she had cut one part too short so had to cut the rest to match but she was determined that she would get it right the next time.  Luckily, Bret is a bit of a goofball and had her laughing through the experience.  He had her leave the top so that they could take mohawk pictures to remember the first time she cut his hair.

They even took a picture of the pile of hair.

(This is the part where LeRoy starts coveting)

The next morning he shaved off his mustache just in time for pictures.

They are so fun!

Ginger-rock House

Levi and Daymia decided one night to make a gingerbread house.
 

After baking the gingerbread a little to long they had to quickly cut the pieces out before it set hard as a rock.   Really, it was hard!  Because they had to cut the pieces out so fast and as they cooled they shrunk a little, it didn't quite fit together as they had hoped.  They tried several times with icing but that wasn't working so Daymia's mom pulled out the glue gun.  That worked.

I was very impressed with their creative decorating, especially the candy cane door frames and the dripping ice hanging from the edges.  They had a good laugh at their shingle skills.  Levi started on one side putting the  chocolate chips close together so they were touching.  Daymia started on the other side leaving a small space between the chocolate chips.  The second side of the roof showed their improved teamwork skills.

The kids spent the next few days eating away at the house until it was just a frosted (and glued) shell.  The lingering over-cooked smell of the gingerbread didn't tempt anyone to eat the rest of it.

Spencer & Jenell

November 25th - December 16th 2012

In October we had a friend (Rick) ask us if a newlywed couple could live with us.  Complete strangers but in LeRoy's mind they were practically relatives.  LeRoy and Rick both served missions in Oregon but were never companions though they were roommates at Ricks College when LeRoy and I got engaged.  Rick remained friends with a family from the mission (a family that LeRoy had never met) and 24 years later (2012) their daughter is getting married.  A daughter that wasn't even born when they were on their missions.

Spencer and Jenell were getting married right after Thanksgiving but Spencer still had three weeks of the semester to finish and they were unable to find an apartment for just three weeks.  They did have an apartment arranged for January but needed a place to finish the semester and then they would spend the holidays in California and Oregon.

Spencer and Jenell were married on the Saturday morning after Thanksgiving, had their reception Saturday night in Oregon, left Sunday morning for the thirteen hour drive to Idaho and by Sunday night were moved into our guest room.  It was a bit awkward at first.  Spencer would take the car to go to school in the mornings and Jenell was left with complete strangers for the day.  At eighteen, home-schooled, never having lived with roommates (or anywhere away from home) and with no school or job to keep her busy she was a bit unsure of herself.

However, after about a week we all became accustomed to each other's schedules.  By the second week we were blending very well together for meals, church, fhe, evening stories, movies and other craziness.  At the end of the third week we were sad to think that it was over.

During the second week they told us that the apartment that they had a deposit on was not going to be available (the couple decided to stay longer) so they began looking for another apartment.  When it was time for them to leave for California they still didn't have a place.  So, as of now they still have all their stuff in the guestroom, are looking for a place online during the holidays and hope to have an apartment by the time they come back in January.  If they don't have an apartment by the time they return to Idaho they will stay with us until they do.

As Justin said, "we were just getting to really like them and they're leaving". We are all okay with them staying for a while longer.

Engagement Pictures

May 2012
Idaho - Wyoming - Colorado

Two years after they met, six months after Bret got home from his mission, and after months of hinting. . .
 Bret and Erika were officially engaged in April.

Right after the BYUI sememster was finished Bret left to work for the summer in Colorado.  Erika was going to also spend the summer working but in Rexburg.  The only real wedding plan complication that this caused was getting engagement pictures with both of them.  We didn't want them to be the first couple to have individual pictures on their wedding announcement so in a rash moment of engagement excitement Erika and I called up Michelle (who has been our family photographer for the last 3 years) and planned a weekend trip to Colorado.

On the Friday morning of our get-a-way weekend Erika and I stopped at Maverik to fill the car and stock up our caffeine and chocolate storage to help us survive Wyoming.  I wanted to clip my nails because they were bugging me so I asked Erika to pump the gas and use my debit card.  In a very teasing but somewhat serious voice she started complaining that she didn't know how to use a debit card . . . oh, and could she also get a Score bar for the trip?  I laughed and in the same teasing but somewhat serious voice replied something along the lines of, "if you're old enough to get married and Score, you're old enough to use a debit card to get gas".  It was just the beginning of the silly humor that would take place over the next three days.

Once we got to Michelle's we were pretty hyper and excited for this girly trip.  As we walked up to Michelle's front door we noticed a bright yellow chair on the porch. .. well, half a chair.  It was missing the legs.  Just before I rang the doorbell Erika grabbed the half-chair and placed it about 4 feet in front of the door, pulled her knees up to her chin with her (of course) bare feet showing and and with her fingertips drumming together in excitement in front of her over-exaggerated cheesey grinned face. When Michelle answered the door she burst out laughing hysterically.  Michelle loved it so much that when she did our family pictures a few weeks later she actually posed Erika in the same position.

All of the pictures turned out great, really showing the personality of these two crazy kids.  There were so many to choose from that we loaded the wedding invitations with only a few of our favorites.

On the long trip home through Wyoming Michelle and I made a favorites list from the weekend:

* Across the bare emptiness of Wyoming there were four unmarked black sedans with tinted windows and Chinese symbols in the back window.  They all pulled off the main road onto a dirt road.  Chinese Mafia?

* Prehistoric looking bird flying in what looked like slow motion

* Little America - oriental man who bowed at Erika while holding his money tray, saw a polygamist family loading up on the fifty cent ice cream cones

* NOTHING through Wyoming except for snow barricades and semi-trucks

* Wendy's in Cheyenne smelled like vomit and they got our order totally wrong so I was a little surprised when the new limited time salad tasted pretty good.

* Cheyenne to Thornton went super fast even though Erika was constantly telling me to go faster and asking why cars were passing me

* Trying to find our hotel we ended up in the business district and found an official Google office building

* The hotel bedspread matched the hotel hallway carpet

* Michelle kept getting locked in the bathroom at the hotel - the pocket door had a weird latch

* Michelle informing us that the Hellbusch backyard has a corner - just the way she stated it so matter-of-factly had us all laughing, as if she was surprised that there was a corner in the yard.  What she meant was that it was a beautiful corner for taking a few pictures.

* Climbing the wheat field hill for pictures and by the time we got back down we had a good inch of mud on our shoes.  Barefoot Erika had the easiest clean up!

* Bret took us to a Mile High Thrift to find Erika a wedding dress and a suit for him. Erika's dress was $9 and the suit was $4.

* Walmart - HILARIOUS!! Erika changed in the bathroom and the Walmart employee in the bathroom who was gushing at how beautiful Erika's dress was and how excited she was for her.  Bret and Erika played in the toy department like little kids and as Michelle and I came to the superhero isle we were met with Bret protecting his girl. The picture was one of our favorites so we came up with a way to include it with the wedding invite:

* The Rubbermaid bin isle.  It was Michelle's suggestion to have Bret pull Erika across the isle for a picture but when Erika was pulling Bret we nearly lost all bladder control.  We were sleep deprived, hungry, tired after five hours of clothing changes and pictures and it all added up to a bladder issue.  They satisfied their hunger by eating Cheetos in the furniture department. They did pay for them first.

* Paint war on the water tower hill during trash-the-dress session and the old guy watching with this romantic adorable look on his face.  The two girls who kept trying to get in the pictures were a little annoying.

* While sitting around the Hellbusch dinner table Katie said "hawesome".  It was so funny to hear our personal family language used in Colorado, especially by Bret's little sister who had never met Hyrum.

* When we went outside to leave Bret's house there were cheese puffs all over the car, road and cars around us.  Some of his wild neighbors were having big graduation parties.

* Getting egg-ed as we drove away from Bret's house last Saturday night. Michelle hollered out "don't use your wipers".  We pulled over at a gas station only a couple of miles away and the egg was already dried to the car.  It was a pain trying to get dried egg out of the front grill and off the paint.

This isn't actually from the trip but it's the only picture I have of Michelle.  It's a photo reminder that she is spontaneous, fun, cool, and a little bit crazy and I'm just, well. . . not.

I have pictures of myself when I try to do one of those make-a-silly-face-and-it-turns-out-fun pictures but they always end up looking something like this:

It just translates to quirky, weird and a lot of crazy.  In my defense, I was hanging out with Nathan and Hyrum.
They made me do it.

And that has nothing to do with engagement pictures.