My cousin Mickelle got married the first weekend in June, but I'll admit, aside from a few I snapped with my baby, I don't have any pictures of the wedding.  Me, my parents and siblings were busy helping Mickelle's family cater the food for the reception at a beautiful indoor-outdoor venue overlooking the valley.  We put together a charcuterie board Olivia-style, and boy did I gain a lot of respect for my sister Olivia who frequently caters charcuterie boards at weddings with no one but her husband to help her. Olivia wasn't at Mickelle's wedding, but instead there were probably ten of us various relatives bustling about all night making sure the board was stocked with food.  By the end of the night, my parents sent me home because I was full aches-and-chills sick with mastitis (for the second time). Moment of note for me, as a mom, was when we were trying to take group pictures after the wedding, but it was past Beckham's nap time, so when everyone did a quick cheer for the bride and groom for a photo, Beckham was startled and immediately started crying, and all the dozens of people grouped up for the photo said, "Awww!"   

While my family was in town, I took Sophie to the butterfly biosphere.  Beckham is less all-smiles than he was when he was a few months old, and now he just gets his "intrigued face." 

 I'm officially 37 weeks pregnant, and the time can't go by any slower. Although most SLPs in my district took the summer off before resuming work last week, I was one of three SLPs who worked the extended school year summer program. I'm not returning to work for the next school year, so I decided I might as well. But the summer program was only a few hours a week for four weeks of the summer, and then it was over.  So most of my summer consisted of moving to our new apartment, decorating and organizing it, visiting with family members who came in town here and there, and, well, being pregnant. It really does feel like an occupation sometimes, with how much effort it takes just to do simple things. My sleep schedule is WACK. Currently it's a vicious cycle of getting sleepy during the day, falling asleep for a few hours in the late afternoon/early evening, being WIRED at night and not being able to go to bed before 2 AM, then sleeping in till 10:30 or 11:30....and so it continues. Dallin's friends will hear my voice over Discord and be so confused how/why I'm still awake, since usually I go to bed hours before Dallin. But I figure why try to fix my sleep schedule when the baby will have me on an even wackier sleep-wake cycle? 

A few other things have happened this summer:

• My high school friend Hayden got married at an art museum, and it was absolutely lovely.  The next day Hayden toured the rest of us around the local aviary.
  

• I went paddle-boarding with my BYU friend Haylee. It was a very windy day and I was glad I didn't fall off the paddle board, because there is no way I could have climbed back on with my big belly! Afterwards we enjoyed ice cream and were able to talk and catch up on the years we have missed together.
• My cousin Paige had her baby, and now I am SO anxious for my baby to arrive. Some babies are born looking a little squishy from their delivery, but Paige's baby is so cute and perfect.
• Dallin's sister Olivia moved up here, and she has come over a few times.  The Urness parents also fly up a lot to work on rebuilding the house that burned down. Over two years later, it is so close to being done!
• We got a text that Dallin's brother Cooper fell off a ladder and dislocated and broke his wrist. This is within the same year that Cooper had appendicitis AND also tore his knee followed by a really complicated surgical recovery that ended in some level of sepsis.  When we found out about his wrist we were just like, you have to be joking.  

 

• Dallin and I went to a Tabernacle Choir concert with our friends Kenzie and Connor, who we haven't seen in ages since they moved. 

 

• My friend Chantel called me about a seriously injured kitty she found on her way to work, likely hit  by a car. He was calm and had no open wounds but had very limited mobility--we were concerned about paralysis. I picked up the kitty from her and took the poor little baby to my house to rest quietly on a soft blanket in my bathroom while called I around multiple rescues and organizations. I tried to assist him in getting water or eating softened food, but he was uninterested.  I was worried a shelter would euthanize without giving him a chance, but after waiting an hour for Best Friends to open at noon, I discovered they only had automated messages on the phone and it took way too long to figure out they don't even typically take animals from the public. It was the same for every other rescue, and I couldn't even get an actual human on the phone to tell me the best place to take him. This poor little guy needed treatment. But of course all the shelters in the valley closed at noon for a 1-2 hour lunch break.  Because of where my friend found the kitty and after being assured by their website that they try to avoid euthanasia whenever they can, I decided to take him to the shelter thirty minutes south of me. I gently placed the kitty in the carrier, trying hard not to jostle him too much even though he never acted in any way to indicate pain. The girl at the front desk of the shelter was very kind and gave me the intake number to call back in case he was able to be treated and adopted by me or a friend.  She said the vet would evaluate him and see what the best thing would be for him. I gave the intake number to Chantel and told her she was welcome to call.   I realized that it was likely not going to be a happy ending, and Chantel realized this too.  We hoped that the injuries weren't as severe as they appeared, and even then we'd both seen Instagram accounts of paralyzed cats going on to live happy lives...but we also knew that these outcomes were unlikely.  The vet ultimately decided to help this sweet little kitty pass over to the next life.  Chantel and I wish there is more we could have done for him, but at the end of the day we are grateful he didn't have to suffer a worse death, which is what would have happened had Chantel not found him. 
• 
  
  
  
  • My cats don't know it, but they are enjoying their last few weeks of the quiet. Arlo loves laying on my belly and Atticus too has been increasingly snuggly. It could be because he is no longer a kitten, or it could be all my pregnancy pheromones. People keep saying, "Aww, I bet your cats will be so cute with your baby," but honestly I'm just hoping they can tolerate him, haha. I'm aware that babies come with a lot of weird new sounds and smells! 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  We got a cat backpack since the cats are no longer allowed outdoors--the location of our new apartment is not safe for kitties!

  
  

  We got a automatic cat feeder so that the cats would stop waking me up in the mornings, but instead Atticus has learned that if he knocks the feeder over or even drags it around, he can get some extra kibbles out of this. Of course then it doesn't go off because it's unplugged, and he wakes me up anyway.

  
  
  
  
   
   

 

Although Liv and Tanner had mutual friends and even had a class together in high school, it wasn't until living in Utah last summer that they really "met" and hit it off.  From my sisterly perspective, at least, they fell hard and fast and quickly knew it was meant to be.  My parents could tell it was serious and invited Tanner on the family cruise over Christmas break. When taking family pictures on the beach, some of us urged Olivia to allow us to take a few pictures without Tanner since they were only dating at the time. However, Olivia was relentless that all photos taken should include him. Little did we know, Tanner already had a ring and planned to propose in just a few days. All within one week (the week of Christmas and Liv's birthday), Adam and Hannah got engaged, Liv and Tanner got engaged, and I found out I was pregnant! It was definitely one of the most exciting weeks our family had experienced.

The day leading up to the wedding was quite chaotic for me.  Allegiant last-minute delayed my flight by 13 hours, and when I showed up at the airport begging them to let me on the earlier flight, they said there were no seats.  I was far from the only upset customer, but when I asked if I would get a refund, they acted like I was the crazy one. With no other options but to either miss my sister's bachelorette party and groom's dinner or catch a different flight, I bought a $250 same-day ticket on a different airline at a different airport. Dallin and I immediately hit the road again so I could make it on time for that flight. When I arrived, I was dismayed to realized I had never seen the Salt Lake airport so nutty, even over Christmas. I hopped in the insanely long security line.  On the phone, my siblings advised me to start a trial with Clear so that I could skip the line. I met with a Clear agent to try to do just this, except then there were problems with my account.  The agent, who had heard my story and perhaps had even more sympathy since I was visibly pregnant, looked over his shoulder to make sure his manager wasn't around and said, "Don't tell anyone I'm doing this, but I'm going to sneak you into the priority lane." And just like that, I only had one other couple in front of me in the security line and was able to get through to my gate. My dad picked me up from the Phoenix airport and drove me over for the second half of the bachelorette party at the pool (I had missed the brunch, but that was alright). While we waited for the other girls to show up, my dad had me call Allegiant and give him permission to speak on my behalf, and then he sweet-talked them into giving me vouchers for the major headache and financial loss they had cost me.

We girls enjoyed some sunshine and sweets at the bachelorette party.  We of course had to keep it fairly tame, since our 17-year-old sister Sophie was there. Afterwards, Olivia asked me if I could help her with her makeup for the groom's dinner, practicing the perfect look for the next day.  We scrolled through Pinterest to decide on colors and styles she liked.  That evening, the groom's dinner was held at Tanner's sister's house. We had catered BBQ, listened to speeches from loved ones, and played a quiz game to see who knew Liv and Tanner best.  Dallin and one of the groomsmen showed up towards the tail-end after the Allegiant flight finally arrived.  

I loved helping Olivia with her bridal makeup before she put on her dress. It was very tender to sit in front of the mirror, just me and her. 

Following the temple sealing, a few friends and siblings joined the bride and groom for a casual lunch at Cafe Rio since the power went out at Portillo's.  Liv and Tanner escaped to his parents' house for some poolside relaxation and the football game with his family, meanwhile I ran to the store to pick out a few different ribbons that Olivia could choose from to top her wedding cake, which she made herself. 

I held Olivia's bouquet during the ring ceremony.  At the reception, outdoor ovens ran the whole time baking a variety of specialty pizzas, served alongside homemade rootbeer and other sweet delicacies. We all danced (although people advised me to take it easy -- I was quite sore for the next several days).  For the couple's dance and the father-bride dance, I helped my grandma find a seat in the front so she could see and then we watched together.  I definitely got teary-eyed, but how could I not, seeing Olivia's tears of joy?!

It was such a lovely wedding.  Soon it was over, and we ushered the couple to their car with sparklers and confetti poppers. Congrats to Liv and Tanner!

 

I tend to believe that things are meant to be.  When COVID first hit China, Adam was a missionary serving in neighboring Mongolia.  Mongolia was one of the first countries to shut down, so all the missionaries were emergency transferred back to their home countries.  Adam was notified that he was being sent to Idaho, a call he was not very thrilled about. And yet, it was there that he met a beautiful sister missionary, his now-wife Hannah.  

I remember him talking about her a lot when they both got home from their missions. With his BYU-Provo classes all online during the lingering pandemic, Adam decided to join our sister Olivia in Hawaii for seven months. Hannah spent a week with him there, and shortly thereafter he invited her to stay with my family in Arizona. My whole family adored her.  They were a great match.  So when he dropped her back off at the airport and told us he was going to break it off with her,  we all thought, What are you thinking?!  She was ready to commit, but he was not.  We understood how challenging it would be with her living in Idaho and him moving to Utah, but we were still all so disappointed.

A year later in 2022, the dad took the boys on a trip to Alaska. As they put it, not two hours after Adam spoke about how badly he had messed up by ending things with Hannah, then he got a notification that Hannah re-followed him on Instagram. Apparently he spent hours the next few days of the trip on the phone with her.  

She moved to Utah the following fall.  With things getting serious, my parents decided to invite her on the family cruise.  There Adam proposed.  

They got married in the Bountiful, Utah temple on 2/25/23.  The day prior they held a groom's dinner at the Brick Oven pizza restaurant in Provo.  Members of her family spoke, as did my dad and youngest brother Eric. Eric teased Adam for thinking he had a photographic memory when he was a kid and read 15-year-old quotes from my blog about his and Adam's close relationship. 

February 25 was a beautiful sunny day with the snow glistening brightly on the mountain.  We took pictures outside the temple, and then a few hours later we met back up at the venue in Provo to set up.  

 A ring ceremony was held in which Adam's mission president spoke and Adam and Hannah exchanged vows.  Then was the reception. My mom and Olivia made a giant charcuterie board, and Olivia made the wedding cake.  There was a huge turnout -- just on the Lundgreen side of the family alone were more of my dad's cousins than have been together in years! There were all the wedding classics, plus some -- cutting the cake, mother-son dance, father-daughter dance (featuring Napoleon Dynamite choreography Hannah's dad taught her when she was 5), the shoe game, bridesmaids fighting over the bouquet, and lastly, a sparkler exit sending our newlyweds off to the Bahamas.