The Wedding!

She said yes!  Mick and Jessica are finally Mr. & Mrs. Swenson.  

We love weddings almost more than anything in the world and we had a great time at their wedding in Portland/Vancouver.  

The temple sealing was really beautiful.  I couldn't stop the tears from flowing.  Being in that holy place with ALL of my children and their spouses was an incredibly joyful and tender mercy.  I was also overjoyed to have Ken's mom, JoEll there along with my Dad, thanks to my brother Chris who brought them to Oregon on Thursday.  The sweet assurance was also given that my mother and Ken's dad were very present, unseen but their presence was strongly felt by all.  Families really are forever, and Mick and Jess are the newest family branch of our family tree.

Beautiful.  What more can I say about this photo.  It's great the way Abby loves Jessica, otherwise she would not have been a happy camper!

Good looking bunch of guys, don't you think?

I love this photo because I love these daughters.

The girls are already getting excited for the DANCING!!  They do love a party, especially dressed in such exquisite fashion.  Of course, their preferred partner is always "graampa".

Audrey came prepared for rain.  

Thankfully, our prayers were answered and the rain stayed away.  We were even graced with some moments of sun.  It was a beautiful day!

Audrey graciously shared her purple polka dot umbrella with us for this photo opp  with her Great Grandma Swenson.

The ring ceremony was enjoyed by all.  It was a great opportunity for her bishop to give a few words of counsel and for her extended family to feel a part of what took place earlier in the Portland Temple.

Lucy's sunflower was almost bigger than she was!

Amy, did you plan this?

Hannah was giving us her "diva" look.

Todd was following her lead, I think.

Then the dancing began, and Matt didn't waste a minute getting into the beat of the music.  

Later on he decided that moving people's shoes was much more entertaining and we spent the night watching him carry shoes all over the church.  

We finally found Hannah's under one of the chairs.

Abby was grandma's dance partner for much of the night since her dad was busy with Hannah and her mom was entertaining George. (He'll make his official appearance in July, we hope.)

Mick always could cut a rug at a wedding (and onstage too).  I think we have some really great shots of him dancing at Laura's, Sam's and Shelly's.  He was busily serving a mission in Mexico when Rob and Matt got married, so missed those opportunities to shine.

Audrey found that if she danced with Matt, she could pretty much pick the dancing and the "dipping" that went on.  I don't think she ever dropped him, thank goodness.  (Maybe her mother warned her about dipping.)

We tasted all of the cakes and goodies.  They were DELICIOUS!  We're pretty impressed that they were all made by Jessica's sister.

When it came time to through the bouquet, Izzie showed her athletic prowess and snagged it!

Way to go Izzie!!

Unfortunately,  Audrey thought she should have caught it and she let Jessica know.  Tears flowed.  Sometimes it's just tough being a little sister.

Once again I am so impressed with Jessica's family.  Another sister came to Audrey's rescue and parted with her bouquet.  You can see the effect this had on Audrey.  The Hunt's are an amazing family.  Mick is lucky to be a part of it now.

The crowd gathered outside to throw petals and cheer on the couple.  Andrew was just about done by now and ready for his bed!

With the car properly decorated, the happy couple is off, and the party girls are winding down.

Well.  Erick or Leila or Izzie, you are next.  It will be a long time before we have another wedding in the family.  That makes me sad.  But we are just starting on baptisms (Erick) and then we will have priesthood ordinations, and then graduations and missions and THEN more weddings!  I can't wait for it all.  Temple weddings are the happiest kind.  Love is forever and that's the only way to insure that your marriage bond will be eternal.  I pray my grandchildren will be as blessed with good spouses as my children have been.

My cup runneth over.