A Reunion and a Wedding

 Matt returned from his trip to Oregon and we spent the week before my trip trying to get things done around the house. More accurately, I got things done since Matt had lots of work to catch up on. I was still recovering from my cold, but I was completely better by the time I had to leave. We did get updates of Sakura's fun with family.

Carina took her to the Discovery Children's Museum

It was really odd being home together without Sakura. Instead of it being an opportunity for some quality time, we spent more of it organising, cleaning, or anything else we do on a regular basis. We did go out to dinner and watch Captain Marvel in the theater one night. Another night we went rock climbing with friends, so we did do a few fun things.

A representation of what I was going to in Utah...

On my trip to Utah I enjoyed being able to fly by myself, especially because the planes were quite full. Unfortunately, I still did not get much sleep on the long flight to LAX and arrived with only about 3-4 hours of sleep throughout the journey. Everyone was sick when I arrived, including Sakura, so Chuck picked me up from the airport. Sakura was napping so I proceeded to take a nap as well. When we were both awake I finally got to see her, but as you can see in the below video - it wasn't that great of a reaction.

It seemed like chaos because my sister Serisa had been moving her stuff out into her new apartment and there was stuff EVERYWHERE (or so it seemed to me). My mom was so sick she couldn't help and Sakura and her basically hung out and slept most of the time. This left me free to pack up Serisa's stuff for her and do some cleaning. Occasionally Sakura helped when she was feeling good. I also had to do some needed grocery shopping as there were lots of things in the fridge, but few things to make an actual meal with. There also wasn't much gluten and dairy free food. A trip to Sprouts solved that problem and I was so sad and jealous there isn't a store like that in Australia!

Saturday afternoon I went to Serisa's bridal shower that her mother in law was hosting for her family. It was a Harry Potter themed shower and she did a fantastic job! Serisa almost couldn't make it because she was supposed to work, but they let her take a long break so she could go. We had fun guessing the number of socks in a bag, drinking butter beer, and playing other shower games. The highlight was when we tried different flavoured jelly beans that could be either a good or a bad flavour. One person got moldy cheese instead of popcorn that resulted in them promptly spitting it out into the rubbish bin. We discovered at the end that they were just normal jelly beans so there weren't any bad flavours.

Sunday I made a big pulled pork dinner for everyone and discovered that my sisters don't like pulled pork. Needless to say, there were lots of leftovers and after a few days of various pork dishes we decided to freeze the rest. That night I took Serisa and her cat Whisper to her apartment with her remaining items. Since Serisa has fibromyalgia and wasn't feeling well I had to carry up all her stuff to the 3rd floor of her apartment. I strapped Sakura to my back in the carrier and took it all up in multiple trips. It's no wonder I had horrible back pain after all that. Nevertheless, it was good Serisa was finally all moved in to her new place and I had cleared her old room so Sakura and I could sleep in there on mattresses instead of a futon.

The rest of that week was spent getting wedding stuff done like organising a wedding cake, as well as preparing things for the bridal shower I was hosting on Saturday. We also went dress shopping and Serisa was able to find some dresses she liked to wear to the temple on her wedding day. Sakura even enjoyed shopping for the most part.

If you are wondering how my diet was going on the trip - it wasn't. I tried to just limit my gluten and dairy to one or two meals per day maximum and made sure I ALWAYS took my digestive enzymes. Sakura was a bit more difficult and we typically gave her fries and grilled chicken at most restaurants. Wingers was her absolute favourite and I caved and let her have buttered popcorn. She loved it so much that Carina had some gluten and dairy free popcorn that we started carrying around with us all the time.

I was happy to find that a lot of places had gluten free options at least. Noodles & Co had zuchini noodles, which I thought was really cool. We also ate at Cafe Zupas which had amazing soup and salad. Red Robin even had a gluten free bun that was really tasty!

Zuppa's

Red Robin burger and sweet potato fries (GF bun)

Purple Lemonade - prickly pear lemonade

On Friday night I went to dinner with my brother Destin, my dad, and his wife Liliana to a pizza place called Mellow Mushroom that had gluten free pizza with vegan cheese. It was a struggle for Sakura at the beginning because she was hungry and wanted some of the breadsticks others were eating. I had to walk around until the pizza was done. She didn't even care it was hot and just dug in.

Carina and I worked on getting everything ready for the bridal shower like cutting out the banner and putting together the game books. While there we also got to see her feed her bird Zeta, which was kind of disturbing to see her take a recently caught sparrow and let it go for her predatory bird to catch and kill. Falconry is definitely not my kind of thing.

We didn't get time to do the shopping for the shower the day before so we went to do it the morning of. Although the shower was in the afternoon, things did not happen fast enough that morning. Carina and I got all the food at Costco, but I had to go to Smith's Marketplace for the Price is Right game items by myself. This did not work out well. I was trying to buy spices in bulk which took too much time and I abandoned the plot and bought the jars. Then Sakura was being really fussy and I couldn't find the home items like dish towels and measuring cups. I was going to call Carina and realised I didn't have my phone and had left it with the spices at the other end of the store. After finding it and asking someone where the home section was (it is hidden in a separate section of the store) I had to relinquish any plans of being there when the shower was supposed to start. Additionally Serisa wasn't feeling well at all and "blacking out" she said. This led to my mom taking her to quickly get a smoothie and being about 30 minutes late to the shower.

Despite the very late start to the shower, having to use people who arrived on time to help set up and decorate, and having the bride to be arrive late, the shower went well. We had fun and my only regret is that I felt it went a bit long. Some stayed late to chat anyway so it must not have been too bad. My favourite part was the guess the spices game where despite my mom's very stuffy nose she managed to win the game. Even more ironic was the gift for that was an Orchid flower and she is prone to killing plants not growing them.

Can you guess which one was mine? 

Sunday I had a nice day at church with my mom and we read the Come Follow Me lesson together before dinner. As she is a lot like me, it was a really good discussion with a lot of thoughts about our testimonies of the Saviour and if we have faith like the Apostle Peter. To finish off our night we watched Mary Poppins Returns and had chocolate cake. I wish all Sundays were relaxing like that.

I got this toy vacuum for $2 at Deseret Industries

The mornings people were usually busy so I put on a show for Sakura and did some cleaning. I managed to clean out bathroom cupboards that still had stuff in there from when I lived at home with my mom. I also organised my mom's linen cupboard. I wish I had taken some before and after photos. I went to Carina's one day to try on all the clothes she was getting rid of and was happy to find a lot that I like that fit me. What was the best is that Sakura napped the whole time I tried on clothes.

My cousin's wife, Janea, is a makeup artist in Florida (see J&A Makeup Artistry) and my mom flew her out for the wedding to do Serisa's makeup. While she was here we got to spend some time together as well. We went to Winger's for my mom's birthday, shopped for garments at Deseret Book, bought some makeup at her recommendation and met some friends of hers. It was so much fun to have her around. It has been 14+ years since I lived in Florida and had spent time with her. I thought we would be too different now, but we still had lots in common and had similar humour.

The day before the wedding was a mad rush to get items for the wedding. My aunt Cherrin came for the wedding and so we went and shopped for the guest book and sourced flowers for the cake and bouquet. Gavin is Scottish and apparently it is a tradition for the bride to have white heather in the bouquet. It took us three stores to find some fake white heather, but I ordered some online at Joann's and had Carina pick them up. Phew!

That night was a catered dinner for family members at a country club in Herriman. It was nice and gave us lots of opportunities to chat with everyone before the wedding. Unfortunately, the Hawaiian haystacks weren't great for Sakura so I just filled her up with rice and pineapple. She had lots of fun later and was happily giglling while playing with my cousins outside.

All weddings must have some drama of course. The bridesmaid dresses were ordered from a Chinese supplier weeks before the wedding and my mom was stressed they hadn't arrived the week before. She finally got a hold of them and on the Monday before the wedding when it was confirmed they were still in China, but would be sending them express. We all thought there was no way they would arrive in time, but to our surprise they showed up the day before the wedding. So, after the dinner all the bridesmaids showed up to try on their dresses. One dress had an odd bead work design right where the nipple area would be. That bridesmaid was able to get it removed and found there was a small white dot underneath that the company had likely tried to hide. Another bridesmaid needed alterations at the shoulder so my mom and I worked to alter it together that night while Serisa watched Sakura, and her maid of honor finished making Serisa's leather shoes for the wedding. It was chaos. I also had to spend the night at Serisa's so someone could watch and feed her cat Whisper.

Despite my late night, I was able to make it early to my mom's in the morning where Serisa was getting her makeup done. Carina had ordered french toast from Kneader's Bakery which was a great way to start the day! Serisa was having a hard time with rushing out the door to the temple - her hair wasn't completely done, we discovered she didn't have the right shoes or nylons for her outfit, and the makeup made her feel like she didn't look like herself. Well, what wedding goes perfectly to plan? I got my makeup done after Serisa left and the rest of us headed out to the temple. Carina stopped at the store on the way to get Serisa some shoes, nylons, and some silicone rings. The ring is a funny story - procrastination on the groom's part at its best. Luckily, we all made it in time.

The temple sealing took place at the Provo City Centre Temple. I don't know anything about it really, but apparently it is an old building converted to a temple. My main complaint was that there was NO parking! They have an outdoor section and an underground section and I had to go around multiple times until someone left. Due to spring break, hundreds of youth had gone to the temple that day so the parking area was not sufficient for the onslaught of people. Other than that, the building was beautiful and I was happy to see my sister get married and sealed to her eternal companion. She seemed happy and near tears. I'm so happy for her.

lds.org

After the sealing we got pictures on the temple grounds with family. I hadn't time to do my hair so I was just glad that my hair still looked ok from when I braided it two days before. My mom and siblings stayed the whole time while Serisa had more pictures taken and then all went to Brick Oven for lunch. It was a great place! To our surprise my dad and all of his family were eating there as well! I guess we could have coordinated that more, but I think it was a spur of the moment decision for everyone. They arrived a lot earlier than us as well.

 

Next up was the wedding reception! The location was magnificent. It is called Wadley Farms and the venue is basically a castle. It was so beautiful I could understand why Serisa was determined to do her reception there. Two grand staircases lead up to the second floor where there is a large open room and a large room on each side for the groom and bride to get ready. The rooms were spacious enough for all the bridesmaids to get ready so it worked out perfectly. And it was nice that there was a huge upstairs space for people to wait until it was time to come down the stairs in dramatic fashion.

We headed straight there to set up and get ready. I handed off Sakura in her pram to Chuck to walk her around so I could help. Time flew by! I went to set up the guest book and Polaroid camera and before I was done people were arriving! I had to just take charge and had one of Serisa's friends looking up what table people were on and I took polaroids of the people for the guest book. I still feel bad I didn't do it right. I didn't know the polaroids were stickers on the back so I just started stacking them up in the order they signed the guest book and figured they would have to be coordinated later. The poor guy doing the tables also mixed up our alphabetical list so that didn't work out as well. Destin took over with the camera so I could help out with the bride and other things. During the night the guest book had the page order mixed up as well so in the end Serisa and Gavin will have to play a game of matching the photo to the name. Oh well.

There was drama with the playlist, drama with the bridesmaid dress we altered that still needed altering (thank you safety pins), drama with the Polaroid camera, drama with flowers and more that I probably wasn't aware of. Finally, with everyone seated and watching, the bridal party came down the stairs and lined up in front of everyone where Serisa and Gavin gave a short speech to start off the night. (Side note...this is where Sakura decided to wake up from her nap during all the preparation). Next we all went outside where we chatted until Gavin's friends showed off his favourite sport, armored combat. Just imagine two nights in full armour batting at each other with weapons. It was impressive and went perfectly with the castle setting. Next we got food from the caterers. With around 180 people in attendance the line for food was very long and I was one of the very last because Sakura was not going to handle the line. The food was worth it and Sakura really enjoyed her freshly carved meats. I got to eat in peace because my dad and Liliana watched her for me and they had already eaten. It seemed the night was winding down, but then the dance party started! This was my favourite part of the night because Sakura really got in the groove. To me, she was the highlight. She was jumping, twirling, moving her hips, and having the best time. We were one of the last to stay and clean up and Sakura happily pushed around her pram until we had to leave. It was a long day and I was glad to stay at Serisa's that night because it was so much closer.

Steph's Cake Creations made the BEST German Chocolate Cake
(even the Wadley Farms staff agreed)

More photos to come once someone sends me copies...

When I got up I tried to clean their apartment the best I could so it would be ready for them when they return from their honeymoon in Midway, UT. To my surprise they showed up! Lacking in warm clothes and not having money to do much they just came to get some things, including their Nintendo Switch. I informed my family and we all pitched in to help them have a fancy dinner and go horseback riding to enjoy their honeymoon.

That afternoon my dad watched Sakura while Carina and I got a wonderful massage at her chiropractor clinic. I think it was the best massage I've ever had so thank you Carina! Later that night my dad watched Sakura again while I went with Carina, Janea, and her friends to the Old Spaghetti Factory and a comedy show. It was nice that I could eat and not have to worry about eating something Sakura couldn't have. The best part was the Wiseguys Comedy Show in Taylorsville. Everything is clean so no swearing or crude humour. I believe in this show all of the comedians were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints so there was definitely some Utah humour in there. The main comedian of the night is someone that Janea's friend goes to church with. Our favourite was when he said the reason he became a comedian was because of "open mic Sunday." That's one term for a fast and testimony meeting I doubt I'll forget. It was so good to laugh so hard your face and sides hurt.

The following day we dropped off the wedding gifts to Serisa's apartment before she got back. On the way I got to visit my grandparent's graves. It was odd. I feel like because I know their spirits aren't there, it just felt weird visiting where their bodies lay. Still, I'm glad I could visit. Unfortunately, upon leaving Carina and I were swinging Sakura and somehow her wrist or hand got hurt. She would barely move it for hours. Carina felt so bad, but I knew it wasn't broken and we would just have to wait and see if it got better. To everyone's relief she seemed fine by night time when my mom was babysitting.

That night was our much awaited Instant Pot dinner with Destin! It was Destin, Janea, Carina, and I. We played video games while Destin prepared his meatloaf dinner complete with steamed vegetables and roasted potatoes. After dinner we watched a cheesy, low budget, fantasy film called Mythica. It was a great night.

I did Janea's hair too!

The best part of that night though was that I finally found my bank card! The night of the bridal shower I noticed I didn't have my bank card. I thought when I was at Smith's and Sakura was playing with the stuff in my wallet it must have fallen out. We checked with Smith's and it was nowhere to be found. I tried to note it as lost via my bank website, but it wouldn't let me because I had to verify my identity by mobile number. I gave up. Now I feel like I was prevented from marking it as lost because God knew I would find it again. I love it when things work out like that!

Sunday April 7th I got up early to pick up Janea so we could attend General Conference in downtown Salt Lake City. It was a lot of fun being there, but I'm sad to say my heart wasn't in it. I hadn't been sleeping well and sitting for such a long time was hard for me. I took notes, but only half-heartedly listened and spent most of my time drawing up dress patterns for outfits I had seen.

Afterwards we walked around temple square. I was so hungry and we couldn't find an open place to eat so I ended up getting Arby's. The mozzarella sticks were still yummy. When I got home, my mom, Carina and I packed up Sakura and lots of warm clothing to play in the snow up the canyon. Sakura loved it!! I was so glad I finished making her beanie for the occasion.

That night was our first family dinner and games night with the newlyweds! My original plan was to do breakfast for dinner, but apparently the last few times Gavin had been there they had eaten pancakes. So, thank to Carina's supplies we had sweet and sour chicken. After dinner we played five crowns and, to no one's surprise, I lost miserably.

The following day was Janea's last day. I hung out with her and my aunt Cherrin in the morning running errands. I decided we would eat healthy this time so I found a restaurant that served acai bowls. I was glad that they had lots of other options so everyone was able to get something they liked. I now know Pulp Lifestyle Kitchen exists and after seeing their menu I think I might make it on my list of places to visit whenever I am in Utah.

After saying goodbye to Janea, Cherrin and I met up with my mom and Carina at the Loveland Aquarium. Sakura didn't seem very excited about the animals at the beginning. She was more interested in pushing her pram. Eventually, we finally got to see her classic "Wow!" She had a great time.

The next morning I went to the temple with my mom. I had brought two Japanese names from a missionary back home. I forgot they hadn't done the initiatory ordinance yet so my mom managed to do that while I got clothes for the endowment ordinance. It worked out perfectly and I loved sitting in the Celestial room with my mom afterwards.

That night was the much awaited Texas Roadhouse dinner with my siblings, including my new brother in law, and my dad and Liliana. It was a lot of fun. Sakura got to meet her first black guy (I think). Carina told me the whole story, but I could see she liked him because he came to visit our table after finishing his shift and I saw the smile she gave him. We used menus to block her view of the rolls and things she couldn't eat. Carina was the real hero because she took Sakura out and about while the rest of us finished eating.

We planned to do games after the dinner but only Destin and Carina were available and Sakura was very tired. So we opted to play a game at Mom's house in the basement so Sakura could watch a show and we could play Evolution. It was fun. Moments like that make me wish I was closer to family, but I still love living in Australia and I'm happy with where I am.

My final day I had a big breakfast with Serisa and Carina at Penny Ann's cafe. It was a nice meal, but I think it was too much food. It was my final big meal before leaving though so might as well go out with a bang.

I was really stressed about my flight back to Australia with Sakura. During my time with family she had three teeth pop out and I could see two more. We had a lot of really rough nights even after she was over her sickness. I packed as much food as I could and just hoped for the best. Luckily, my mom was there when I checked in and I was happy to discover all my checked bags would go all the way to Brisbane. So, I headed to security with Sakura in the pram, diaper bag on my roller carry-on, and my backpack.

The first flight to LAX was so full she had to be on my lap the whole time. Unfortunately, the lady next to me must not have liked kids because she ignored Sakura. When the woman first sat down Sakura was happily eating cheerios and then she tried to say hello to the lady. This woman refused to look at her. Sakura was fascinated with this woman's pants and was stroking her fuzzy pants, still no reaction. I tried to just not let Sakura interact or touch her. Upon take off and landing was the worst. She was over sitting and did not want to be held for anything. No food was sufficient. During landing I'm pretty sure her ears were hurting too.

The LAX airport wasn't too bad and I had four hours to kill. I had to take a bus to the right terminal which was difficult with the pram and all my stuff. Once we got to the kids play area though things were great. She loved playing on everything and then spent some time pushing her pram around. I wasn't sure the time so I packed her up and headed to the gate. I managed to have them change me to a better seat that had a spare seat next to it. She fell asleep in the pram shortly after that and I just waited till boarding. I realised on the plane I had a bassinet seat which I don't like because you have no foot storage. It turns out it was a blessing. The lady next to us was lovely and told me not to worry if Sakura kept her up. To my surprise she fussed for only a few minutes and then I put her to sleep in the bassinet. This allowed me to rest laying down using the spare seat next to me. She got up crying a few times but quickly went back to sleep. She got up around 5:30am Utah time and someone had to tap me on the head to wake me up. I was surprised she was awake and happy. Total we both got something like 5 hours of sleep so we were fine. We watched movies and walked around the rest of the time. The landing was again her fussiest time, but I survived! I was so grateful for all the help and that we both had slept well.

Matt didn't have work for the few days on my return so we could take things easy getting back into a normal schedule. Saturday and Sunday we watched General Conference. Again, I really struggled to focus on the messages so I think I will have to really focus and read the talks as part of my regular personal study. My favourite was how Sakura got so tired she suddenly laid down and fell asleep. On Sunday we took a break before the afternoon session and went to Lake Eden in North Lakes. It was so awesome just walking around and talking about things I think we might make it a regular thing.

Sunday night we decided to play Yoshi's World. Sakura was mesmerised and happily watched while we played. Monday Matt still didn't have work. I started my search for an instant pot only to find it doesn't exist in Australia. My main motivation for getting one is the following: easier, quicker meals that I could start and walk away from, I hate my rice cooker, we need to have yogurt maker to make our own yogurt to help Sakura's digestive issues. My options were: 1. Buy from Amazon.co.uk and have it sent to Australia, 2. Buy in US, ship to Australia, and buy a transformer for the voltage difference, 3. Buy and alternative all in one cooker in Australia, 4. Buy just a yogurt maker. We decided to just get the yogurt maker for now, but after spending some time at the shops we gave up on that and decided to get an all in one cooker, oh and a waffle maker so I could use my paleo waffle mix I brought from Utah. Yumm! My Philips All in One Cooker just arrived so I'll have to update on how that goes next time. I'm hoping it is worth it!

 

Last night I convinced Matt to be productive and we finally installed our garage door opener. There were several complications that required some creativity on Matt's part. Apparently our house just wasn't designed the same as the DIY videos and so it was far from a simple installation. We did it though and it works!

Something else Matt and I started was the Wim Hof Method. This was what he wanted for his birthday so we waited until I got back to do it together. I'm not going into details about it, but it is a special breathing technique that helps alkalize the body and part of it involves taking cold showers. I'll update more as we go. It's so good to be back and have a normal schedule again!

I made a video of her entire trip, but it's too big to post so I made it an unlisted YouTube video as it seemed the best solution.