Our Weekend

Unfortunately our weekend began with the funeral for JJ's Grandpa, Donal Jaques Anderson. He passed away on Oct 10th at home under the watchful eye of his sweetheart of 65 years. The service was really a wonderful time because I got to hear some of the best stories about him. For example, Grandpa was at an event in Arizona and for some reason was near the Goodyear Blimp. The Mayor and his party were walking across the tarmac towards the blimp, obviously headed for a ride in the thing. Grandpa wanted a ride too... so he caught up with the group and climbed aboard. The employees couldn't figure out why there was one extra person, but Grandpa elected to sit in the co-pilot's seat to help solve the issue :) what a gentleman! About half way into the trip, the pilot turned to him and asked, "So, Mr. Anderson, what is your position in the Mayor's party?" Grandpa turned to him with a smile, "Oh, I'm not with the Mayor's party... I just wanted a ride!" The pilot was so impressed, he didn't rat him out. Yep, that's Grandpa alright!


Here's the flowers JJ and his siblings got, the smiley face vase is perfect!!!




During World War II, Grandpa served in the Army's 714th Railroad Battalion. We were given the great opportunity of having Utah's Honor Guard present at the graveside service. The reverence felt while Taps was played was incredible, the folding and presentation of the flag to Grandma was heart-wrenching, but put the whole day together and it really was quite perfect. The perfect way to honor such an amazing individual.




Grandma and her children: David, Kathy, Carol Anne & Tim.



Me and my sweetheart!

JJ's cute cousins Joanna and Cami. I love these girls!!!

The Rockwell Clan... and Miles, he just Had to be in the picture!! :)

Gardner Village with the Witches!

A week or so ago, I went to Gardner Village with my friends Holly & Chad. We walked around and saw all the fun witches.

Happy Kids!

Saturday I met up with JJ's mom, 2 of his sisters and their kids to eat breakfast with the Witches. I was so super excited, it sounded like it was going to be so much fun! And though I had a really good time hanging out with the family, the breakfast was pretty much a let down...

This is the Witch Queen Tallulah Spellbound, she was the ONLY witch to visit our table. Supposedly all the Witches are to walk around signing autographs and taking pictures. Well, if you got your tickets the day they went on sale, this is most likely the case. However, we were on the table in the very corner, so we were forgotten & ignored. The kids got bored and ended up playing outside 85% of the time. The other percent was spent eating and waiting for the Witches to come....

This Witch ended up by our table just because she was taking a break from being on stage. She did take our tickets at the door and had a fun accent, so she gets a few points for that.

This one wasn't really a witch to me... she looks more like a Gypsy. She didn't ever come to our side of the room, I had to walk around 7 tables to get close enough for a picture. (Can you tell that I was irritated at this point??)

This was the cutest dressed Witch, however, we had to wait in line to meet her and she rushed us all right along like we smelled somethin' awful.

All in all, it was a pretty big letdown. At this point I really don't think I would go again. It was a lot of money (probably not for some people, but for me these days it was) for a not so great experience. So beware all those that want to go, get your tickets the day they come out, don't have too high of expectations for the food, dress up & I wish you luck! :)


This next event took place on Tuesday, I took the afternoon off to attend the wedding of my cute cousin Kelsey & her sweetheart Johnny. They were married in the Bountiful Temple which is absolutely gorgeous!!

The happy couple!

Her bridesmaids...

The boys... love this picture!!!

The bride's family - my cousins! Love you all!

The Groom's family... these people are soooo tall!! Kelsey towers over me, so you have to know Johnny & his dad are giants! :)

This is my amazing sister Amy with the beautiful bride. Kelsey doesn't like cake (I'm with her on this one, my wedding cake was cheesecake instead!) so she asked my sister if she could make a "cake" out of brownies. After a few tries & figuring out the best plan, she did it!! And oooh goodness, they were beyond tasty! She made a 3 layer brownie for the 'wedding cake' then she made 2-bite brownies for the guests to eat first. She made too many so we got to taste testing right away. She made some with cream cheese frosting and others with peanut butter cream cheese frosting. Are you drooling yet? You should be! Honestly, she did a fantastic job and I'm really proud of her!

It was a wonderful day, full of smiles, laughter & love. Thanks Mr & Mrs Rider for including me in your special day!