Eric's Wedding

This is my dear friend Eric and his lovely new wife, Elizabeth. If you couldn't tell from their attire they just got married, yay! Eric was one of my best friends in high school. He, Sarah and I were the three amigos and beyond sharing a love of hiking in sandals and listening to music way too late into the night, Eric was a big part of Sarah and my spiritual journey. Eric was our Peter, the solid, faithful rock for these crazy, manic uprooted girls while we tried to find our own testimonies of the Savior. I've mentioned before several times how much Sarah means to me, but I just wanted to make sure I've also got a small record of this other wonderful person who has helped shape my life.

At some point Eric and I figured out that I was going to be in Provo on his wedding date so I would actually be able to attend him wedding! I rarely get to make it to my friends' weddings so I was very excited to be able to share in his special day. He and Elizabeth got married in the Timpanogos temple on a Friday so Sarah was my date, since Mark was working. It's always weird to go to the temple without Mark and it was especially weird to go to a sealing without him. It makes me feel keenly aware that I am half of an eternal whole and sort of...incomplete without Mark. Enough about me though, the sealing was so beautiful. Sarah's mission President actually officiated it (totally not planned) which was a fun surprise. I never got to meet missionary Sarah so it was cool to meet someone who sees her through that lens.

It's funny too, I would never in a million years be able to picture the right person for Eric, but seeing him and Elizabeth together it was like, oh duh! Of course, that's her, she's perfect for him! I think almost every person on Eric's side of sealing room expressed the same feeling (I mean that in the most loving way of course :)

One of our other dear friends/adopted moms, Eric's mom, Michelle. She is also one of the funniest people you'll ever meet. This picture makes me laugh. The photographer wanted a picture of the bride with all her friends (after doing a picture of the bride and groom with their collective friends). The photographer assumed we, as girls, were friends of the bride, not the groom and even after we explained, she still wanted us to be in this picture. Sarah and I did a really awesome sneaky, fade away out of the pictures, hiding behind a column, figuring that Elizabeth would probably want some pictures of her with just her nearest and dearest without these two strange girls from Alaska messing it up.

Sarah and I with Eric's youngest sisters, Megan and Emily. These girls were 2 and 4 when we first met them and they were half the reason we came over to the Chases' house so often. I can't believe how grown up they are now! Sigh...I'm old...
Me, Jessica, Heather, Leticia and Sarah, all Valdez alumni.
Sarah and I with the bride and groom.

Congrats again Eric and Elizabeth!