The Phone Call

So, I'm finally getting around to some wedding day blogging . . . the bride and groom don't celebrate their two week mark until tomorrow, so I consider this a successful blogging turn around time. :-)

These pictures are from in the middle of the day -- Lacy and Ben had been married in the morning, in the Bountiful Temple.  Between the wedding and the luncheon, we all went to hang out at Ben's parents house.  And to shock my Mom, Lacy and Dad with the biggest surprise of the day.  :-)

See, my baby brother, Cody, is in Uruguay on his mission.  He was a little bummed that now on top of missing the arrivals of a new niece and a new nephew, he was also going to miss a wedding now.  But, his sweet Mission President called my sister the day before the wedding to tell her that Cody would be home at 3:30 in the afternoon (Uruguay time), and we were welcome to call him at the apartment at that time, and surprise the bride and her Mom with a wedding day phone call with Cody.  Star, Talina and I were practically giddy about the big surprise.  Star had actually forgot her cell phone on the way to the temple in the morning, and had to turn back home to get it since it had Cody's international phone number on it -- making her almost late for the actual wedding ceremony (she was the last one to arrive, by a bit . . . Talina and I giggled while watching my Mom fume about Star's tardiness on such a big day.)  After the ceremony, we had told the whole family to meet up by 11:30 at Ben's parents house for a surprise gift.  As the time closed in, Talina, David, Greg, Star and I watched the clock anxiously, until the time we could call Cody (and kept everyone corralled in the same room as the time ticked closer).  Star then said it was time and went out to her car to go 'get the gift'.  She called Cody from out in the garage, then came in and told Lacy, "Before I give you your gift, you need to talk to Grandma . . . " (one of my Grandmothers had missed the wedding due to illness).   Lacy said hello, then got a confused look on her face when a decidedly non-Grandma voice asked, "So, how do you like your new last name?"  "WHO is this?" Lacy asked, confused.  Star, Talina and I could barely contain our smiles, or the tears that were forming in our eyes.  A second or two late, "Cody!?" she exclaimed.  My Mom's eyes got huge and at this point I'm pretty sure my tears were really starting to flow.  Everyone got a chance to talk to him, for about 15 minutes altogether, then we said goodbye until November, when he'll come home.

It wasn't the highlight of the day, but it was up there!

The last couple pictures weren't from during the phone call, but still at Ben's parents house, between various wedding day events.  Ben's family was so hospitable to us and our brood of children -- and it helped that his Mom is a preschool teacher in her own home, so we had a basement full of toys (and hardhats) to play with . . .