Wedding Time and Christmas in Utah

February 04, 2018

Wedding Time and Christmas in Utah

We planned to stay in Boston for Christmas in 2017 because we thought it would be fun to have our own Christmas for the first time, and saving the money on flights wouldn't have been too bad either. But my darling cousin and best friend Jessica got engaged in September and set a wedding date a little over a week before Christmas. I couldn't miss her wedding! And there would be no point in flying back to Boston right before Christmas so we decided to stay for Christmas. I am so glad we did! As fun as it will be to have our own Christmas one day, there really is nothing like being home for the holidays. So thank you Jess and Jordan for getting married in December!

Now the craziest part was that they got married on December 16th. We got home from London on December 15th. So we were home for about 7 hours after our trip in London. 7 hours to unpack, repack (PS, we packed dirty clothes because we didn't have time to do laundry), shower, and sleep for about 3 hours before we had to get up and head to the airport. We basically were going to get into Salt Lake with just the perfect amount of time to drive down to Payson in time for the luncheon before the sealing so I had been praying since September that we wouldn't have any flight delays leaving Boston. I could not miss her sealing! She did her reception the night of the 15th so I already missed that, I couldn't miss the most important part too! Miraculously. for the first time EVER, our flight out of Boston left basically ON TIME! We did actually take off a few minutes late because they had to de-ice the wings, but we landed in Salt Lake in time for my family to pick us up and take us straight down to the luncheon! My hair wasn't done because I didn't have time to curl my hair, and we were sooo tired and sleep deprived but we made it! I am so happy! The luncheon was great for catching up with friends and family and hearing about how wonderful Jess and Jordan are (spoiler alert, they are amazing!). There was a scary moment when we realized the dessert had almonds in it and Payton ate a bite of it and had a reaction. My dad took her to get Benadryl and then met us back at the temple for the sealing. We went to the sealing and it was so wonderful to experience it and see how happy Jess and Jordan are together. Right after the sealing my dad left to get Payton and take her home because she was supposed to work that night. We all assumed the Benadryl had done its job because we didn't hear anything else from them. So we literally froze to death taking pictures but they were wonderful pictures!

The happy couple

Uncle Ben and Grandma Jo

After we were done pictures we said goodbye and on the way home we stopped at my cousin Gage's house to see him, his wife, Kerstin and their son, Nixon. I'm so sad we didn't get a picture! When we finally got home, I couldn't wait to crash and sleep for the next 15 hours. But not long after we got home, we quickly realized the Benadryl Payton took was not going to be enough and neither was the epipen and she was going to need the hospital. After she received a blessing, my parents took her to the hospital. Thanks to some steroids, epinephrine, and more Benadryl, she was able to come home that night. She still had some swelling and problems with her throat over the next couple of days but she was alive! Finally, after knowing she was going to be ok, I felt like I could sleep. I don't think I've ever slept so well in my life.

On Sunday we went to church with my family and then had to do laundry when we got back. But hallelujah for free laundry! It costs us $4 to wash and dry one load of laundry here so it felt like the lap of luxury to not have to put in 8 quarters and stuff the washer as full as we could to really get our money's worth. After the excitement of free laundry, we headed out to see some friends. We got together with Shannon and Jonathan and their baby, Bentley, Tim and Sarah and their baby, Hadie, Tanner and Kristyn and their toddler, Atticus, and Mike and Vanessa and their baby, Huxley. We had a fun night eating, catching up and playing games. Again, I'm bummed we didn't get a picture!

The week was busy with working during the days and trying to see everyone at night. Monday night we got together with some of my friends from high school and played games. No picture! I was slacking! Tuesday we were supposed to go to dinner with Jess and Jordan but they got sick on their honeymoon! So we went to Star Wars again instead. Wednesday night was my work Christmas party at Rodizio. And Thursday we went to Benihana with Shannon, Jonathan, Bentley and Jess and Jordan were feeling well enough to meet us there too! And I got a picture!

Jess, Jordan, me, Greg, Shannon holding Bentley, and Jonathan

Friday night we went to dinner with Greg's family and took pictures with them Saturday morning.

Kiya, Emmy, Sam, Kaylene, Ed, Anna, Greg, me

The rest of the day was spent running errands and then my grandparents from Canada came down with my Uncle Erik and Aunt JoAnne. We hung out with Shannon and Jonathan Saturday night too to see them one last time before we'd come back to Boston.

Christmas Eve morning we went to church and then headed down to Spanish Fork. We stopped at my grandparents' house in Spanish Fork Canyon and played some games with them. The canyon always looks so beautiful in winter!

For dinner we went to my Uncle Arild's house where we had a big Norwegian Christmas Eve and it was such a blast! Arild and Kate did the traditional dinner with riesen grot (rice pudding), pork chops and potatoes. We also did a white elephant exchange which is a tradition we've started in just the last few years but it's been a fun one! Greg and I made out pretty well this year! He got a Bobba Fett mug and I got two boxes of sugar cereal that we never buy because it's bad for you, but it's Christmas! I was very excited about the cereal! We played games after that and then headed home. Christmas morning we were able to see most of the presents opened with my family before we headed to Greg's parents' house for presents. As mentioned in my London posts, I'd had a pretty bad cough. And I already have terrible allergies at Greg's parents' house because of their pets so I was only able to stay for about 20 minutes before I was coughing so bad I couldn't breathe and ended up throwing up a little. So Greg brought me back to my parents' house and then he went back to spend a little more time with his family. We spent the afternoon cooking getting ready for the big Christmas dinner we were having with all of us and Kate and Arild's family plus my other grandparents. It is always so special to me when I get to spend time in the kitchen with my bestemor (grandma). We had a big turkey and ham dinner with my parents, me and Greg, Rem and his girlfriend, Loan, Payton, bestemor and bestefar (grandma and grandpa Larsen), Uncle Erik, Aunt JoAnne, Kate and Arild, Keith and Shirsten and their two daughters Lucy and Stella, Hannah, Cooper, and my Grandma and Grandpa Remington. It was the best time! There are few things I love more than a huge family dinner. We played games afterwards and it was a wonderful Christmas! Our flight was leaving at midnight that night so after all the playing we had to go pack up and head to the airport. There really is nothing that beats being home for Christmas!