Ellie's Baby Blessing

When Ellie was born we knew we would be having the Bangerter Family Reunion in June so we pushed her baby blessing back so that the majority of both our families could be there. It was also very sweet have it at my house where I grew up. It is very surreal taking your child to the place where you were once a child and have so many memories.

Andrew gave Ellie a super sweet blessing. It was so special to hear him bless her and then look around the room of all the people that support her. Afterwards we took some pictures and then my Dad asked that Andrew & I share our testimonies. Andrew was holding Ellie and when I was bearing my testimony Ellie just started laughing. She had just barely learned how to laugh a few days earlier but this was the first time no one was even trying to make her laugh. It was a really sweet moment!

It was a special day that we will hold close to our heart. Thanks to both of her Grandmas for providing the beautiful outfit. Ellie wore my blessing dress all day then changed into one that Mom Bangerter had and had she added lace to it. She also wore my blessing shoes, had a sweet bracelet from my mom, and her headband was made from a flower from my wedding dress. She just looked adorable and so grown up!

4th of July

A few days before the fourth we headed down to finally meet up with Andrew's cousins who also live in Florida. They live just a little over an hour away from us and he works at Deseret Ranch...the Church owned Ranch. They were having a BBQ and a mini rodeo. I feel like holidays are the hardest when you don't live close to family but it was great to know we still had family that we could spend the holiday with. They had some great fireworks that they shot off right in front of us. Ellie LOVED them. She just kept staring and jumping every time one went off. I may or may not have cried while she was watching the fireworks. It is the best being a mom and watching your child experience something for the first time.

On the actual fourth we braved going to Disney. We thought it was going to be packed but it wasn't too bad. It is so fun to be able to go and ride a few rides and then head home. We ended the night with a little BBQ with just the two of us. 

Utah Trip

Not too long after we moved to Florida we headed to Utah. The main reason for our visit was for a Bangerter family reunion before Andrew's parents and little brother Steven headed out on their mission to Brazil. I was so nervous for Ellie's first flight but she rocked it. She was not even phased that she was on an airplane.

A few hours later we headed to Salt Lake for Andrew's parents to be set apart as Mission Presidents. Andrew has some wonderful aunts and cousins who baby sat all the kids while we all went to the Church Office Building. Elder Oaks and Elder Soares set Andrew's parents apart. It was fun to just sit in the office of Elder Oaks. He was so warm and personable. He of course had to turn around his BYU pillow since we all went to BYU. It was a very neat experience and something I will never forget.

We then headed up to Bear Lake to start the week long family reunion. Unfortunately, we had a little bug that spread through EVERYONE the whole time we were there but we still had a lot of fun. We of course went to Juanito Bandito and the beach. Ellie also enjoyed meeting all her cousins. She is one lucky girl. She has four cousins all right by her on the Bangerter side and then two on the King side. But the most important event of the reunion was the Masters Croquet Tournament that the Bangerters have every year. Our brother-in-laws parents made us all homemade croquet sticks for each member of the family. We each got to decorate our sticks with different color electrical tape. It was also a big deal because it was the first year of the womens tournament. As usual it was intense. The girls definitely took a lot LONGER than the boys did. I have never played croquet until I married into the Bangerter family so I was expecting to get out in the first round. Turns out I actually won!! After our game finished the boys started. Andrew came in second last year to Seth in a intense close shot. This year Andrew won! It was so crazy that we both won! It is such a fun tradition that will have to be put on hold for 3 years but I can't wait for the next one because it is going to be a blood bath... :)

Andrew had to be an adult and go back to work but he let me stay for a few more weeks to spend time with my family. It was very surreal taking my daughter to my house where I grew up. I had so much fun with my mom and dad. Also, my mom got to have all her grandchildren under one roof for the first time. We all enjoyed the splash pad and playing at parks.  My mom was nice enough to take me to a great breakfast place in Logan called Herms. I did gain such a great appreciation for all that my parents do. My dad is so busy with work and his Stake President duties and my mom is part of so many volunteer groups. They are such great examples to me of hard work but also having fun at the same time. My mom was sweet and scheduled to have Ellie's pictures taken from a family friend. They turned out pretty cute and Ellie looks adorable in EVERY picture. :)

After a week with my family I headed back down to American Fork to spend a little bit more time with Andrew's family. He had three cousins all get married in one week. It was fun to get to go to multiple wedding events to celebrate his cousins. It was great to see lots of his extended family and Ellie got to meet all of them. I also took Ellie to BYU. That was really crazy to me. I took her to the exact spot where Andrew and I met. I can still clearly see the day Andrew walked through the doors of the library and I talked to him for the first time. Then to have our daughter in the exact same spot four years later was a sweet moment. One night I had dinner with my BYU roommate Dani. I hadn't seen her since she got home from her mission and it was perfect chatting with her for a few hours. . She was a lifesaver and took Ellie and I to the airport.

So while I was gone, Andrew decided to take advantage of having lots of free time and went to the parks about every night. On Saturday he also went on 24 rides in 11 hours. His goal was to hit all the big rides in every park. He did that plus more. He would send me pictures throughout his day of where he was at.

The time then finally came for me to say goodbye to Andrew's parents. Andrew said goodbye to them when they dropped him off at the airport. It was a hard experience for him so I was not looking forward to my time. It was sweet to watch them grow that whole week they were at the Mission President Seminar. They are going to do wonderful things in Brazil and help a lot of people along the way. We can't wait to hear stories every week and hopefully visit them soon.

One of the biggest tender mercies was the flight home. I was really nervous to do it by myself and I had been praying that I would sit by some really nice people who wouldn't care if Ellie had a melt down. Well, the Lord answered my prayers plus some more. I will be eternally grateful to Kathy, Alice, and Kaitlyn from Canada. The second they sat down next to me Kathy turned to me and said "I hope you have to go to the bathroom a lot so I can hold your adorable baby." She was so sweet and even  helped me all the way until we met up with Andrew at baggage claim. I seriously cried on the drive home for how grateful I was to them. Ellie did great on the flight but it was just nice knowing that there were people there to help me. The flight attendants were also SUPER nice. They kept coming over and looking at Ellie. One even brought her phone to me to show me her grandchild. We talked for about 15 minutes about her. It was all such a blessing and a great way to end my month long trip. Andrew was a good sport to let me go for so long but I was glad to be home with him in Florida.

Phew...that was a long post but it was a long trip where wonderful memories were made.