The month of July was busy, busy, busy for us. The real busy-ness started when we made a trip to Portland, Oregon for Andrew and Madelynn's sealing. We stayed at the Ramada Inn with my parents. The reviews were bad. We weren't expecting much. But the rooms ended up being totally fine. Annie got to share a room with Aunt Abbie and Aunt Kathleen. She
loved staying up late and chatting with the ladies. Scotty slept in a sleeping bad on the floor which didn't bother him at all.
Annie trying out a new fashion with Grandma's neck pillow.
Portland was lovely--partly cloudy and in the mid-70s all weekend. It was so nice to escape the Utah heat for a while. Aaron and I really love the Pacific Northwest. This was the third time we've been out there together. It was such a treat to see the Portland Temple (where Andrew and Madelynn were sealed). It is incredible! It's completely surrounded by these huge, gorgeous trees. You drive into them and them, bam! There it is like an Elven citadel, a white stone building shooting up into the sky. So cool! Being from Provo, I'm not one to shame an unattractive temple, but Andrew and Madelynn's pictures are going to look really great with
this temple in the background. This picture doesn't do the temple justice, but I think we look cute.
All of my siblings were there in the sealing room together. It was an awesome moment. Being second youngest, I'd never been to any of my siblings' sealing ceremonies. So it was cool to be able to see Andrew and Madelynn seal the deal. They are a great couple. The look on Andrew's face as he watched Madelynn was awesome to see. My little brother is all grown up!
Waiting outside gave us siblings the perfect opportunity to chat. I can't describe how great it was. My brothers and sisters are truly amazing people.
Here are the two Spencers.
Cousins! Trees!
The lovely bride.
The reception involved food, food, and more food. My parents bought Olive Garden for a meal after the sealing. We ended up with way too much which means we ate lasagna and alfredo for the next four meals. It was delicious. It will be a while, though, before I visit Olive Garden again. The wedding dinner was also delicious. My mom might have set a table cloth on fire. From this experience, I have discovered that I am useless in an emergency.
Andrew and Madelynn hired a bagpipe player for their reception and ring ceremony. How cool was that?! Is it just me, or do Mormons have a thing for bagpipes? And the McCombses have Scottish heritage--we go back to William Wallace. I was just so proud of this wonderful life decision--hiring a bagpiper. And Andrew wore a kilt thus taking the coolness to a whole new level.
Can you see the wee bagpiper?
The ring ceremony was lovely. And the food. It's worth mentioning again that it was really good. I also wanted to say that Madelynn was hoping to have a signs by the beer and root beer that said "Norms" and "Morms" respectively. Apparently, her mom wasn't sure the "Morms" would find that funny.
The next morning, Andrew and Madelynn took us to church (literally) and then hung out with us at our hotel and a park. Lovely to have some extra chatting time with the bride and groom.
We stopped at Multnomah Falls on the way home. Again, Lord of the Rings was invoked.
It was quite the trip--lots of good memories. We are so glad Madelynn joined the church and our family. Good choice, Andrew!
