President's Weekend we had the opportunity of flying to Salt Lake City, Utah for a wedding: Eric's younger bro, Marc, got hitched to a gorgeous "Princess" named Rachelle! The weekend was too short, but filled to the brim with festivities and unforgettable moments. The best part, or at least ONE of the very best parts for me, was that Gwen took naps and went to bed when we put her down so that when she was awake she was always in a great mood. It made for a thoroughly enjoyable trip!
Gwen wanted her giraffe and her princess water to have their own seats in the terminal.
And unlike our last flying experience, she did a FABULOUS job allowing us to buckle her up--so long as giraffe got buckled in too. She kept telling him it was to keep him safe and that it would be okay.
We got there in time for the family dinner the night before the wedding. We had a gorgeous view of the SLC temple. Gwen called it a castle.
Poor thing, she was exhausted. Can't blame her. Between getting up 2 hours early to make our flight in the morning, the 2 hour time difference, and the start of the dinner...well, let's just say she started to melt down majorly around 8:30 pm (ie 10:30 pm here) and begged for her binkie, giraffe, and bed. Luckily, she is totally in love with her grandpa. He succeeded in getting her to --gasp!-- fall asleep in his arms! Which she NEVER does for us!
Eric, Bryce and Collin serenaded the happy couple with Kiss the Girl. You will have to take my word for it, but Eric makes an AMAZING Scuttle!
Day of the sealing: what a beautiful ceremony! I was reminded of how I felt when Eric and I were sealed, and of course that made for a very special, grateful feeling that stayed with me all day.
Here's my knight in shining armor. I love him so much. Attending a sealing just brings all those feelings to the fore like they are brand new.
Gwen kept repeating over and over and over again: "I wanna get married! I wanna get married! I wanna get married!"
It was rainy and cold while we waited for the newlyweds to come out.
Everyone sought shelter under umbrellas.
Or coats if umbrellas were lacking.
Did I mention it was rainy and cold? It wouldn't have been so bad, but in all the technical challenge of figuring out who went in which car to the temple, Gwen and I got separated from our warm coats. And that necessitated some improvisation. She was happy with Grandpa, once again.
Elise was a lovely Bridesmaid, though the casual jacket hides the elegance of her dress--hand made by my talented MIL.
Yay, Marc and Rachelle finally emerge, kissing photos abound, and the professional photographer pretty much took over from there.
That evening, the reception in Provo at the library:
color is bad thanks to the romantic lighting, but you get the idea.
Gwen got some face time with her new Aunt, Princess Rachelle.
Unfortunately, all of the photos of have of Eric and Gwen together are blurry like this one. They were so sweet, though. :) Eric's only complaint was that they never did a slow dance that we could dance together. They only did Mother-son and Father-daughter dances. Oh well, we both got plenty of dancing in. I think I was more sore the next day than I've been so far in the third trimester.
Gwen looked lovely in her beautiful blue dress, hand made by the bride's mother just for Gwen. As soon as Gwen saw it, she said, "ooh, I wear Cinderella dress! My fairy God-Mother (she puts a long emphasis on the "ah" so it sounds more like "Maaahther") made for Gwen!" and she could hardly be persuaded to put down her flowers. She made exceptions for eating and dancing...
And she did plenty of it. She danced with me (yes, this is a less than flattering photo, but it documents the crazy amount of dancing that my father-in-law feared would put me into labor)
Rachelle, aka, the "Princess"
Uncle Collin (who favored all of us with more dance moves than one might expect... I think he had some extra incentive. More on that much later from now)
and of course, with Grandma. She also made her jacket. See, I told you she was talented!
And lastly, aren't Marc and Rachelle so handsome together? Ah, I feel the love. :)
We started the rest from seed indoors. Gwen was especially excited about the flower seeds I let her pick out at Home Depot. She wanted to carry them around and was upset when I took them to a) read the directions and b) open them to get the seeds out. 
Gwen was a big help at planting the seeds, but for some reason didn't want me to take pictures of her. So, we had to sneak some. They aren't the best shots, but you get the idea.
She was very excited about seeing the butterflies and asked me repeatedly "Gwen hold them in my hand?" on our way there. When they landed on her, she was THRILLED!
Totally worth the money, just to see the expressions on her face! She kept raising her arm and telling them to fly away. She also loved the fish. It was nice to have some me and Gwen bonding time!
One beautiful blue one from Costa Rica landed on my belly... Gwen was happy that baby sister got to see one too!
She also really loved the Chihuly artwork throughout the conservatory. She kept asking, "What's dat?"...and all I could say was, "pretty sculptures, honey...I mean, pretty round bowls and plates, just for looking." Well, whether or not she ever understood what a sculpture is, she sure liked looking at them. :) 
The first two nights we tried to help her fall asleep by staying in there with her and singing her favorite soothing Primary songs. But when she was still awake 2 hours later, we ended up putting her down in her crib. Fail. By the third night we were both tired of the process and decided to have her tough it out a lil. Sadly, she cried at the door for almost an hour begging to come out... but happily, she found her way back to her bed, crawled in, and went to sleep til morning. After that, things have gotten better and better. The past two nights she barely even whimpered about it. I think she is starting to even be proud of herself for sleeping in a big girl bed. I know we are! And the best part is, she won't feel like the new baby is evicting her when that time comes!
