Here Comes the Bride - Part 1

Finally… I am getting around to Kristy’s wedding blog! I know most of you could probably care less at this point. You probably assume that Kristy and Trevor have 3 kids by now. Well, I know it seems like it’s been 3 years, but it has only been 3 months so the blog statute of limitations has not run out! Let me just start out by saying what some of you probably already know - having a wedding around Christmas is no picnic! That is a lot of details to attend to and I have to say that Christmas got the short end of the stick. (Sorry kids!!)

Kristy married Trevor Lacey on December 30^th. They had a beautiful destination wedding just like the celebrities do!!! Except instead of a warm, tropical, exotic locale… they were married in cold, snowy Salt Lake City. And instead of a week’s worth of scuba diving, golfing, deep sea fishing, and spa treatments for all of the wedding guests… we took a train ride through Heber. And instead of wild and crazy bachelor and bachelorette parties… we went to the temple. And instead of having Napoleon and Tabitha choreograph our “Rock the Reception” dance… we had Courtney do it. Other than that, it was exactly the same!

We arrived in Salt Lake on Sunday, Dec. 27^th. We stayed downtown. Our family was split between the Marriott and the Kimball. We were utilizing Kristy’s sweet Marriott employee discount and other friends and family had given us the use of two rooms at the Kimball – many thanks. Even though we were split, we were all quite comfortable! We took a walk on temple square. It is so beautiful during the Christmas season because all of the trees are covered in lights. It is just spectacular… cold but spectacular!

Monday was spent picking up tuxedos and a bouquet and other last minute errands. We also took a walk around the temple grounds. On Tuesday, we did a temple session in the Salt Lake Temple with all of our kids who are eligible – Kacey, Jon, Kristy and Brad. It truly is the best feeling in the world to be in the temple with your kids! I loved every minute of it. Trevor was not able to go with us which did not score him too many points with his new family but, luckily, he had extra credit in that category so it was okay! Funny side note: Brad did not have church clothes with him to wear to the temple and he didn’t want to run back to Provo just to get them and the stores were closed and we were going first thing in the morning. It looked like he was going to have to wear jeans and we would just have to beg for them to let him in. Then I remembered that he had his tux! So he wore his tux pants with his shirt with the tuxedo collar and his tux shoes. He looked like a best man who had partied all night and was still wearing his tux the next morning. It was pretty funny and embarrassing but they let him in!

Later on Tuesday, we all went for a ride on the Heber Creeper! It’s now called The Heber Valley Railroad but Utahns and BYU students know it better as the Heber Creeper. Maybe it’s always been called that and the Heber Creeper is just a nickname? What do I know? Trevor’s Dad, Craig Lacey, is the manager of the train and he had arranged for us to take a ride in a private car through the wintry landscape. It was beautiful and we had a great time. In December, the train runs a Polar Express ride that is very popular with the kids. Craig knows a lot about trains and he gave us a great tour. What a fun time! We wish more of our family could have enjoyed that with us because it was a lot of fun.

[Note: Jeff and Becky’s daughter, Kelsey, married Jon Edwards on Dec. 22^nd in the Columbia River Temple (WA) so between the two weddings in two different states and other family holiday obligations, the relatives had to sort of choose between which events they could make it to. It was unfortunate to have to divide the relatives up because… ain’t no party like an Earl party! We really missed the ones that couldn’t be there but truly appreciated the ones who did. Thank you!]

Before we get to the big day, let's back up a little...

The Dress!

Courtney is the one who gets credit for picking the dress out! I saw it on the rack and thought the dress was gorgeous but it just didn’t seem like Kristy’s style and Kristy agreed. Courtney is the one who insisted that she at least try it on. She put it on and it was just beautiful, and I think we all realized that this dress was made for Kristy. You have to have just the right build for this dress and Kristy had it. It was more than Kristy finding the right dress, it was like the dress found the right owner! It only needed a little altering in the shoulder seams around the neckline and that was it. It was a little scary to have such a fitted dress because there was definitely no room to gain weight! Kristy is lucky enough to be naturally thin (go ahead - feel free to hate her) so it was all good.

[Wedding tip #1: For those in the market for a dress - We got Kristy’s dress at Abella Bridal in Provo (River Bottoms). They have beautiful dresses and they have one of the better selections with sleeves. They have a sister store in Sandy called Bridal Expressions which is even bigger than their Provo store. The dresses aren’t cheap but they aren’t too expensive either. I think most were between $600-$1200. For the quality of the dresses, the pricing seemed fair compared to what we had seen in other stores (obviously, it’s all relative!) There are other good bridal stores in the Salt Lake/Provo area but I would definitely recommend checking these out. ]

Note: Ashley (Earl) Boice’s husband, Cortney, did Kristy’s engagement, bridal and wedding photography. He has a real gift for photography and my hunch is that he has only begun to scratch the surface. He has an amazing eye. He doesn’t do it for a living but I bet he could. He is really good. Wedding photography is not really his thing but he was nice enough to do it for us and we really appreciated it. I am hoping that it becomes his thing! Shhh… don’t tell him.

Kristy just happens to be very photogenic. She has one of those faces that the camera just loves. We went out with Cortney to do a little bridal shoot of Kristy in her dress in early November. The weather had been warm and beautiful, but the day we were taking those pictures the temperature had dropped suddenly from about 68 degrees to 48 degrees. We learned two things that day. Number one – Kristy is not so photogenic when she’s cold! Number two – We were going to need warm accessories to go with her dress!

Here is Kristy, right before we are headed outside to take pictures...



Here is Kristy after about 3 mins. in the cold. She has lost the ability to smile and her hand is purple.



She tried to be a good sport but her smile just isn't the same when she's freezing!

I am really so grateful that the temperature dropped that day because when you’re warm and you think about cold weather, it’s easy to rationalize that you will be “fine” and that you can stand anything for a short amount of time. This photo shoot reminded all of us that being cold = being miserable. So we started looking for wedding boots and wedding gloves and wedding long johns and some sort of cape or jacket. Not that it’s a contest… but Kristy was definitely the best dressed and most prepared bride that day! (It’s not just my opinion - lots of people stopped us to tell us that it was their favorite dress of the day. Isn’t that funny? One middle aged man stopped me to tell me how impressed he was with all of our bridal party fashion choices. It was really nice but very odd, especially if you could have seen this guy. He did not look like anyone that would care about fashion.)

I love this picture. For some reason it reminds me of Vermeer's painting, "Girl with a Pearl Earring" except she's not wearing any earrings.



Stay tuned for part 2...

Pictures and videos from state!

We're number 1!



What a great team!! Along with being talented and beautiful (which is obvious), you would be amazed if you knew that these girls are also the nicest, kindest, smartest, well-mannered, well-rounded girls with the highest moral standards. They truly are an inspiration and they prove that nice girls can finish first!!!



Action shots! Kylie:







Kendall:









The next picture represents two things: First (and most importantly) our awesome coach arranged for a charter bus and the school paid for it - Yay! and Thank you!! Secondly, this picture can also be considered the "before" picture ("before" make-up and false eyelashes.) These girls are naturally a BEAUTIFUL group of girls but the make-up helps bring their features out from far away!



The following picture represents revenge. Last year at state, this was the move that the team did in hip hop that got us a safety deduction! Boys are allowed to rip each other apart on the football field, but girls aren't allowed to be upside down without supporting their own weight. Someone explain that? This is Kylie & Caitlynn and Kenzie & Mattie saying, "Ha ha! Look no hands. We're doing it again!!" It was closure.



The captains and lieutenants wearing their superhero capes and tutus of course!

L-R Karlee, Kylie, Kenzie, Mattie, Caitlynn


Kendall and Dayna Bergeson celebrate with a hug!



Before they start the award ceremony and the parade of captains, they turn out all the lights and teams glow. Moses Lake has done their fair share of dominating in the past but never in the glow category! This year we did much better. That's our team glowing mostly purple there. They were armed with Barbie princess wands, flashing scepters and flashing tiaras. Suffice it to say, it was just a good day all around!!!



We had the biggest crowd we have ever had at state! So many parents and friends and former Molahiettes and school administrators and boyfriends and boyfriend wannabes (I could be wrong - but I doubt it!) It was an awesome show of support. Although, when the lights went out our tea was glowing spectacularly but our cheering section was pretty dark. (Note to self: parents need glow stuff next year.)





Caitlynn, Kenzie, Lauren and Kylie



The parade of captains. Hey, Lewis & Clark, get out of our way!



The captains and lieutenants running back and forth to accept their awards. Who knew they would have to run a half-marathon! So exciting!!









1st place kick:



1st place military:



1st place dance:



It is going to be so, so, so, so sad to say goodbye to this amazing group of seniors and our coach who is graduating with them. We might as well start crying now and get it all out before the banquet. Pass me some Kleenex!



What a fun year!! Lori deserves most of the credit so THANK YOU for everything! This amazing year was also made possible by hard working girls who never lost sight of their goal, and lots of wonderful parents who supported them in their goals and also sewed, cook, drove and encouraged. It truly does take a village to raise a child and we have an awesome village right here in Moses Lake!!!

Shhh... don't tell anyone, though. We never want to get so big that we have to split the high school so mum's the word!

Triple crown!

This has been quite a year for the Moses Lake drill team! Kylie (senior) and Kendall (sophomore) are both on the team. To start off with, the team has never competed so many numbers before in the same year. The first two competitions they took four numbers: a pom, a kick, a military and a dance number. They received all 1st places in all 4 numbers at both of those first competitions.

Their third competition they competed only the 3 numbers that they would be taking to state (because you can't compete more than 3 at state) which were kick, military and dance. They earned all 3 first places at this competition as well! So, 11 first place finishes to start the season. It was unprecedented!!

Pom number (Knock on Wood)


Kick number (Jai Ho)


Military number (Superman theme)


Dance number (Shango)


The next hurdle was districts which were held at West Valley in Yakima. The Molahiettes once again earned all 1st places! Wow... undefeated!! It was so exciting but also a little unnerving as we looked forward to state. Could a winning streak such as this possibly continue? Would it cause some prejudice among the judges? You never really know whether politics and prejudice are going to play a part in such a subjective judging system. Luckily, it didn't seem to!

The day started out with Kylie, Mattie, Lauren and Breanna singing the national anthem. All of the dancers at state are invited to send in an audition tape to be chosen to sing the national anthem and our girls were chosen! These girls are on jazz choir together. They did a great job!

Breanna, Lauren, Mattie and Kylie just about to sing



Warming up or goofing off?



Here is the national anthem! (Note that at the beginning of this video Kylie is checking her phone. No, she's not checking up on the NCAA progress! She was using a pitch app on her IPhone to hopefully start everyone on the right note. There's an app for everything, isn't there?)



There are 6 categories at state - kick, military, dance, pom, hip hop and show. In the past, the drill team has competed (and won) in kick, military, pom, and hip hop. This was our first time competing in the dance category. The Molahiettes performed all 3 of their routines really well. There were only a couple of minor mishaps but all in all they were stellar performances. There was a lot of tough competition, though. I think there were 16 dance numbers, 9 or 10 military numbers and 6 kick numbers.

It was beyond exciting when Moses Lake was called for 1st place in all of their categories! No other team has ever won 3 state titles in one year!! Wow. Lori has done an amazing job of coaching these girls. What a fun year it has been. Kylie has been one of the captains along with Kenzie Baker and Mattie Bergeson. The team is losing 11 talented seniors. This truly has been a dream team. We will really miss them.

Kendall and her cousin, McKayla



Team captains: Kylie, Kenzie, Mattie



Happy sisters!



Who's number 1?



I love my girls!



Parental pride!



Way to go Molahiettes!

Shall we dance?

I have been in Utah this weekend watching Courtney compete at the Dansport ballroom nationals competition. It was held in the Marriott Center and it ran Wed.-Fri. It was a huge competition with thousands of ballroom dancers of all ages.

Courtney competed in Novice Latin, Prechamp Latin, Novice Standard and Prechamp Standard. (These are all new terms to me but I am starting to get them figured out.) She and her partner, Tim, did a great job. They got to the semi-finals in almost all of their events which means that they were in the top 12 out of 75 couples or so. They had hoped to place in the top 6 in Novice Standard because they had previously won that category at a couple of earlier competitions, but they didn't. So that was a little disappointing but ballroom judging is very subjective and you never really know what to expect. It really is the craziest system. When the rounds first start and the floor is filled with couples, I don't know how the judges see anything. I guess they know what they are doing but it seems very chaotic to me.

Tim Colvin and Courtney in their latin costumes:




Here is one of their latin numbers:



I feel so bad that I didn't get a picture of Tim and Courtney in their standard costume. Courtney's red dress is so pretty and she looks gorgeous in it. The costumes for ballroom are just incredible!

Here is a little quickstep:



Here is Waltz:



I could seriously just sit and watch Courtney dance all day long. She is amazing. I am sure that I was just beaming. Cali and Ashley got to come and watch for a bit with Dougie and Henry. (Cali is watching Dougie while Justin and Angelique are in Hawaii and I am watching their house which I really appreciate!) It was so much fun to have Cali and Ashley's company and it was nice for Courtney to have a little cheering section.

One of the events they had that I really enjoyed where the formation team competition. There were high school teams and younger kids as well. This is the winning high school team who are the BYU Youth team. They are high school age and they were amazing. There were lots of fun routines in this category but this is the winning team:



Ballroom is huge in Utah and they have lots of elementary school programs. It is so cute. Here is a small clip of the elementary kids all dancing together:



There were some amazing ballroom dancers that competed. There are little tiny kids who are better than the college kids. It's crazy.

My personal favorite, though, was Courtney. I am so happy that I was able to be here. (I hated to have to miss watching Kylie and Kendall compete at drill team districts but they still won - yay! All first places all season long!! And plus I get to see them at state in just a couple of weeks.) I was just so happy watching Courtney dance. It was so worth the trip. I am so proud of her and I love spending time with her.

I also got to see Brad, though he spent most of the weekend in Vegas. He and some friends went to see BYU play in a tournament there. Unfortunately BYU lost to UNLV. Dang! I think I know why, though. Cosmo (aka Russian dance pro) seemed otherwise engaged...



It was a great weekend and I love seeing my BYU kids. I am one lucky mom!