Jagoda Family

My sweet sister, Emily and her family are one good looking bunch.  

We had so much fun together capturing these moments. 

 Emily and Nate's baby girl, Hanna is very loved and  has the best belly laugh I've ever heard.  

I sure wish we didn't live so far away, but I'm grateful for 

all of the quality time we had in New York. 

Sheldon and Karen Hallstrom Family 2015

Our family had the opportunity to fly to New York and gather with all of these beautiful people, my family.  

Jenny, Seth, and her family and my younger brother, Mark were unable to come.

We live all over the country, PA, MN, UT, MA, CO, so it's a big deal when we gather.

 Things can get a little crazy having 21 people under one roof for a few days.  

 My parents with 8 of their 12 grandkids.

Thank you, Mom and Dad for having all of us come over and bombard your house.

Thanks for feeding us so well and planning fun activities to do as a family.

Thank you for letting us borrow your vehicles.

Thank you for watching your grandkids so Sam and I could go out.

I love and admire my parents so much.  They brought 8 children into the world.

They raised their children to love one another, to be service oriented, 

to be self reliant, and much more. 

After practically 35 years of parenting, my parents are now empty nesters.

My youngest brother, Ryan is now at the MTC learning Russian and preparing to serve as a missionary in Russia.  Mom and Dad are beginning a new chapter in their lives.

I am excited for them.

Auntie Em & Uncle Nate's Visit

Emily and Nate came to visit us all the way from Minnesota.  We had so much fun with them.  The last time we saw these two was their wedding day.  It was great to get to know Nate better and see the kids bond with their aunt and uncle.  So, in no particular order, here are the pictures from their time with us.

Tradition shared: Swing by Smith's for donuts and eat them at Ninja Warrior Park

Bye, Auntie Em! See you after preschool!

Grandma won this Happy Spring Easter Bunny.

Auntie Em and Uncle Nate came to the park with us #kidslovetoshowoff

Fed ducks with Uncle Nate

Trying dessert at Kneaders.

Julia had lots of bonding time with her Auntie Em.

Half of the Hallstrom kids #wishwewerealltogether

Favorite Instagram Photos by Me

Instagram sure is fun!  Follow my feed if you'd like @wardlisa

Emily and Nate's Wedding Story!

We always wanted Emily to find her own Mr. Wonderful.

 And she sure did.

Emily's friend, Amy told her that she needed to get to know this Nate Jagoda guy.

Problem was that Emily lived in New York and Nate lived in Minnesota.

So Emily was brave and started sending Nate emails.  

The emails led to frequent phone calls, which then lead to Nate sending Emily several bouquets of these:

After several months of "phone dating," Nate hopped on a plane to New York to finally meet Emily in person.
They had a great time.
Soon after Nate's trip, Emily flew to Minnesota to meet his family.

Emily and Nate fell in love.  

They decided to get married in the Palmyra New York Temple 

of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

 

Bright and early on the morning of February 11th, 2012...

my older sister, Emily eagerly awoke to prepare for one of the happiest days of her life... 

HER WEDDING DAY!

Emily's parents LOVED her first...

and so did her protective brothers and sisters.

(Sidenote: My baby bro is STILL taller than my baby sis in her sassy black 4 inch heels! Wowzers!)

Nate Jagoda LOVES Emily too!

Their wedding ceremony in the Palmyra Temple was just beautiful.  

Brother Tanner, from the Elmira Ward, was their sealer.

There was an overwhelming feeling of happiness that day.

Check out those sweet burgundy shoes and Emily's amazing dress!

It was a cold, windy, snowy February day at the Palmyra Temple.

That evening, there was an lovely Open House for the newlyweds. 

It was fun to see so many people from the area I grew up.  

I must say it was a challenge to be social while also being on mommy duty and photo duty.  

Lucky for me, Emily's friend, Ashley was the main photographer of the day. 

 My brother, Mike.

First Daddy Daughter Dance for Katie!

 I know that these photos don't prove that there were many people in attendance,
but let me assure you that the house was full of well wishers... around 125 people.

 The wedding cake was amazing.  

The cake lady claimed this was the first wedding cake she'd ever made that was adorned with real flowers.

Check out the intricate details including a single jewel in the center of each rose.  Gorgeous!

Congratulations to Emily and Nate!

Together Forever!