Lila's Blessing

So, remember when I told you that my side of the family was in town recently? About a week later, my in-laws came to see us from Virginia. We hadn't seen them since Christmas break, so it felt really good to see them again. Since my brother-in-law Miles is getting married in August, they were in town to meet their future daughter-in-law Mikaela and her family. We were very fortunate to spend time with them while they were in town for almost a week. They treated us to dinner at Brick Oven Pizza the day that they came into town. Here is a picture from that night of Collin and I.

On Fast Sunday, Collin's family came to our ward. After church, we prepared a break the fast meal together. Collin and I made fruit salad and his mom made a delicious pot roast dinner. I had never eaten so much in my entire life! I think I had about 3 helpings! We went on a family walk after dinner until it got dark.

Later that week, we went to a Mexican restaurant and had game nights. We spent as much time together as we could until it was time for Collin's family to depart to Fort Collins, Colorado which would be our next journey ahead.

Last Friday, we drove down to Fort Collins for our niece Lila's blessing. It was a sweet feeling knowing that we were going to meet our first niece. When we arrived, we met the Heinzen family. They are one of the kindest families I have ever met. My brother-in-law Paul's parents flew from Hawaii to be at Lila's blessing. His brother and sister-in-law traveled from ironically Provo with their new son, Esra (Lila's cousin). He is just the cutest!

   The picture I took of Esra smiling at me. :) He is so social! 

The following day, we stopped by the Heinzen's house before going to Downtown Fort Collins. That's when I got to hold Lila for the first time.

Such a precious baby! I fell in love with her instantly. :)

We left to go Downtown with the family. There was so much to do there. We even got to watch street magicians perform magic for us. I took home a  card as a souvenir. :) 

 I was being sneaky. ;)

Later that day, we spent time with family and I got to help care for Lila. We had a bbq dinner and swimming shortly after. Lila went on her first swim! It was so neat to see and she didn't cry once. Her mom was so proud! :)

Mother's Day was a big day for the Heinzens. It was Lila's blessing day! We took pictures right before going to church.

 The Proud Parents of Lila Jane Heinzen

Three Generation Photo

Paul with his parents

Joce with her parents 

 Taking a quick pic after Sacrament Meeting

The blessing was so sweet and special. Paul literally had tears in his eyes when he blessed his baby daughter. We are so glad that she became a part of our lives.

Not only was it a big day for the Heinzens, but also a snow day in Colorado! We knew we had to try to get on the road as soon as possible so we attempted to leave shortly after Sacrament Meeting.

We came to discover that all the roads were closed outside of Fort Collins. We came back to Joce and Paul's house to figure out what we had to do. Because the weather was crazy, we had to stay another night in Colorado. They were so kind and let us stay at their house since we were already checked out of our hotel. On the bright side, we got to have more bonding time with little Lila. :) I absolutely love holding her. She is just so peaceful and sweet. I felt like the more I spent time with her, the more I felt her love for me, even though she was still an infant. It was a good feeling. :)

Collin and I missed a day of work, but it was worth it to be with those we loved. We managed to drive home safely to Provo the next day. We took the scenic route which was so breathtaking! I had never seen mountains so beautiful in all my life. Now it's back to reality. Collin is already at midterms for the spring semester at BYU! It's crazy!! 

It was truly a memorable trip to Fort Collins. I treasured every moment I was with our family and most of all, with baby Lila. I can't wait until the day I see her again.

Easter and Snowden Graduation

It has been a busy time for the Wheelers these last few weeks, in a good way of course. :) Easter was a very memorable time. I love Easter. When I was little, I loved going Easter egg hunting at my Uncle's house and receiving yummy treats. Now that I am an adult, I love to spend with family and remembering the Savior's resurrection on Easter. He has done so much for us and I am forever grateful for His sacrifice to save us from sin.

After church, we celebrated it with my sister and brother-in-law. We decided to do a potluck for Easter Sunday. Kelsey and Jordan made barbeque chicken while we made salad and colored deviled eggs. We had fun coloring the egg whites in Easter colors. After we ate dinner, we colored Easter eggs and played random Easter games.

 

Our dinner. Kelsey couldn't wait to dig in. :)

 

Before we knew it, classes at BYU were over and finals were complete!! We later had family come in town for Kelsey and Jordan's graduation!! :) Graduation was split up into two days: commencement on Thursday and convocation on Friday. We cleaned our apartment and got ready for company to come over. My mom and family friend (who is like an aunt to me) stayed with us during the time of their graduation. They came in town just in time for their commencement ceremony. We barely made it, but I was glad I could get them in despite the fact that I don't know my way around the BYU campus. Here are some pictures after the commencement ceremony.

The BYU Graduates 2014

Jordan, Aunt Diana, Mom, Kelsey, and Me after the commencement ceremony

Patty, Me, Dad, Jordan, Kelsey, Mom, Aunt Diana, and Carolyn all together for the Snowdens' Graduation! :)

Later that night, the whole family gathered together for a barbeque to celebrate Kelsey and Jordan's accomplishments. Kelsey earned her Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Jordan earned his Bachelor of Science in Recreation Management.

 

We also had a gender reveal party for the Snowden baby. We had an idea of making balloons come out of a box to announce the gender. I made this box to help reveal if Baby Snowden is a boy or a girl.

We were all so excited and couldn't wait to hear the news! Sure enough, balloons came out of the box say "baby GIRL" on them. Which means.... we're getting ANOTHER niece!! (girls seem to run in our family. :) ) I seriously was convinced it was a boy, but I am so excited for my sister on getting a girl. She really wanted one and her wish came true! I look forward to playing dress up with this little girl. :)

Gender Announcement

The next day, Jordan and Kelsey took everyone on a tour of the BYU campus. It was a great feeling to teach the family about how this wonderful university came to be. Here is a picture of the family on the spiral staircase in JFSB building.

Mom, Aunt Diana, Carolyn, Collin, Me, Jordan, Kelsey, Dad, and Patty.

Later that night, we went to Kelsey and Jordan's convocation ceremony where they received their diplomas! We were so excited when both their names were read aloud. I still think it's surreal that they graduated together. :) When it was all over, we went outside to discover that it was windy AND raining outside! We barely had time for pictures. Here is one of them:

We took a quick snapshot of the gang together, Andrea and Ian joined in on the fun too. :)

At the end of the night, we had the family over for pizza at our place and a game to follow after. We haven't had that much fun like that in a long time. Everyone was bonding so well. I was glad that they could all make it down for this special moment for Kelsey and Jordan.

On Saturday, we woke up early to help the Snowden's pack and clean out their apartment. It slowly hit me that they were moving out real soon. We spent the rest of the day eating lunch at Zupas and watching a movie. 

On Sunday, we did some last minute cleaning and packing for the Snowdens. When everything was all set, it was time to say goodbye. I couldn't believe that this is the day that my sister would be leaving Provo and starting a new life in Northern California. I cried shortly after they left. As we lived close together, we would hang out a lot. I feel like our relationship grew stronger as well. I love my sister so much. She and her husband have done so much for us. We have so many great memories with them and will miss them. Good times may come and go, but our memories still live on. We truly wish them the best of luck with all good things that are to come.