Lil' Smokey and Friends

What a wonderful weekend this has been! It all started with a Manti adventure with Emily on Friday. Our friends, Rob and Kaitlin got married! Holy cow, that was such a crazy (but good) day. I got up, showered and had the directions printed out with a little map and even wrote the day's forecast on it. I was hoping for a flawless day but should have guessed things would not go as smoothly as planned when a fire started in our kitchen. There was a frying pan with oil that someone had left warming up and unfortunately it caught on fire and there was smoke EVERYWHERE! I swear my lungs are still aching from it. I took the pan off the burner, turned the stove off and set the pan outside and went crazy with a towel to try to extinguish the 3 foot tall flames while I yelled for help. In retrospect, I probably looked like a maniac. My makeup not done, wearing over sized pajamas, my hair all poofy because I hadn't straightened it yet...and there I was, frantically waving a Christmas kitchen towel, slapping the life out of the flames I was sure could have consumed my kitchen cabinets. I was clearly sleep deprived because now that I think about it, other than the smoke, there was no other real threat. Poor little Demitri, (my roommate's hamster) he was probably suffocating and I didn't remember him til after the fact. Thank goodness my roommate and her fiance walked in and started opening all the windows and doors and tuned a fan on.
Anyway, after that little shin dig, I kept getting ready for my friend's wedding. I was a little behind schedule but I wasn't concerned. I had printed out directions after all. But surprise, surprise, Emily and I got lost in Provo. Provo! Of all places. It took us about 20 minutes to get to the right freeway! We finally got to the freeway, exited on the road Google map said to and headed the right direction in the middle of nowhere, Utah. This road just kept going and going. The further south we went, the brighter the day became and the harder it was to see because the sunlight reflected on all the smog surrounding the valley. Gross, I tell you. We called the temple to make sure we were still going the right way and they assured us that there was civilization on this road, we just had to drive a bit further. The speed limit was 65 and I was going 65, maybe a tiny bit over. Suddenly, a quaint little town appeared in the distance, we passed the Walmart we had been promised came a couple miles before we got to the temple and I could taste success! The little Volvo in front of us moved out our way even,and pulled over so we could pass...or did they? No, my heart sunk as I realized that a cop was right behind us. He had his lights on. I was sure he was going to arrest me because at this point I realize "Oh shoot, we are in the middle of a town. The speed limit is not 65 anymore...it's 35". As I said my goodbye's to Emily and apologized for this embarrassment, the cop walked over to the driver's side window. I handed him my license and registration, explained that I hadn't realized the speed limit change, we had driven from Provo, we were on our way to our friend's wedding and were so late but we still wanted to make it, would he please tell us if we were almost there after he ran my info? I could barely control my shaky voice and hands as he walked away to his car. I turned to Emily who was trying to comfort me telling me I was not going to get arrested, that she would help me pay for my ticket, of course she wouldn't tell anyone if I ended up in jail, Rob and Kaitlin would understand...and then the officer was walking towards my car again. It was about 32 degrees outside but I felt like I was in a furnace. (Oh dear, is he reaching for handcuffs?) The officer handed me my MD license and registration and then spoke the kindest words I have ever heard a cop say, "You won't do anyone any favors if you get there dead. First thing you gotta do is slow down. Here's your warning (warning! did i hear that right? of course I didn't, i was getting arrested), you are on the right road so just keep heading south (oh my word, i wasn't getting arrested! cops are people too!). It's the big, white building on the left. You can't miss it. You have fun now". I think I thanked him, shook his hand, checked the paper he handed me to make sure it was a warning, sighed and turned to Emily who was holding in laughter. I am slightly ridiculous but in my defense, it had been a rough morning. I drove away and about 7 minutes later pulled in to the temple parking lot where we discovered the bride and groom had already headed for the reception. Blast, we missed them. But I wasn't going to risk speeding now. And thank goodness I didn't because just as I pulled away I saw the same cop passing us and going the opposite direction.
The day does have a happy ending. We made it to the reception. The beautiful bride and handsome groom greeted us, we shared our tragedy and asked all about their ceremony, we ate lunch, missed the bouquet but caught a crystal attachment from it, we stuffed ourselves with dessert and headed out, happy to see our friends together, married for time and all eternity! After the luncheon, Emily and I actually headed back to the temple to take a couple pictures before we returned to Provo. What a beautiful building! I might even prefer it to the D.C. temple. White, classic, romantic Victorian architecture, surrounded by mountains and hills! There was a couple getting their wedding portraits taken and their photographers took a picture of us and got the whole temple behind us! Emily needs to email me those pictures, but I assure you they are awesome! Then we headed home. Poor Emily still had to take a final and I went for a night out with some friends on Center Street to eat pupusas and oooh and aaah at the beautiful lights, some of which were timed to music! Super pretty!

My weekend since then has been all sorts of great! Susie's sister is in town and yesterday we went to the BYU vs Baylor basketball game (such a close game!) and Cocoa Bean for some frappes. Then we went with some friends to watch the new Sherlock Holmes at the Riverwoods! Great movie. Now I just have to see the first one :). Church was great today (the whole stake was combined). We had a breakfast feast for lunch consisting of fluffy biscuits and creamy gravy, scrambled eggs and yummy fruit juice! I just took some biscotti out of the oven and we'll partake of those a bit later (after we build our blanket fort) while we sip on hot cocoa and watch black and white Christmas movies. Life is great my friends, and if it weren't for all those stressful moments of panic, we could never appreciate the small and simple things that make a rich and happy life!