The Blessing of Family

The past month of August has been a whirl wind of events. As mentioned in previous entries, my aunt Diane passed away and a week or so later my brother, Ben got married. During this time, I have come to a greater appreciation and love for my family. I will always be grateful to have a beautiful family who have a love for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The time spent together during these events have been special, and memories I will remember and cherish. We have each been blessed with a family unit whom we have the special privilege to spend this Earth life with, and hopefully Eternity, our ultimate goal. Yes, there are moments which will require patience and our personal time/energy to reach out and build lasting relationships with family members. Sometimes we may take for-granted or overlook the time given to spend with those we love; however, that does not mean we should not do our best today to love them even more. Take the time to listen, lend a helping hand when a sibling may be struggling, say a special prayer, play a game with a younger sibling, laugh at the cheesy jokes. These small moments add up and are worth every minute of what we make of them. Don't put off or neglect a relationship. The time to love and be a friend is now!

Below are some pictures I have taken this past month of moments shared with my family! 

{The Rexburg Temple} 

 

{Rexburg, Idaho Temple at night}

{Buffalo river in Island park. The Crabtree Cabin was originally built here 100 years ago}

{Cammie and Katie exploring the river!!}

{Playing on Snake Island}

{A beautiful afternoon}

{Crabtree tradition: pick yummy huckleberries!! We got a lot this year!}

{Mom and Dad picking oodles of berries!}

{Huckleberry patch}

{Delicious pizza at Pond's Lodge}

{Nature Walk}

{Me!!}

{Idaho clouds~My favorite!}

{Alyssa showing Cammie "Snap Dragon" flowers on the Rexburg temple grounds}

{Sunset in Idaho}

{Twin Falls, Idaho and Snake River}

{View of the Twin Falls Canyon}

{Cousin time! Left: Me, Megan, Alyssa, and Carlee}

{One of the sweetest families ever! Left front row: Shauna, Aubrei, Matt, and me. Left back row: Luke and Doug}

{If I had a car..I would choose the cute Teal car. Saw this in Fernley, Nevada and had to get a picture!} 

{Ben and Tessa's Wedding at the Salt Lake temple. Starting at the left: Tanner, Trevar, Addie, Alyssa, Meg, Tatia, Tessa, Ben, Me, Gina, Tailey, Haley, and Ian. Picture taken by Parker Bryant} 

{We had the chance to tour the Conference center at Temple Square}

{My mom's tall sunflowers~Taller than me!}

{Clouds, blue sky, sun, and tall trees}

<3 Breanna

Ben + Tessa, and A Wedding! Oh my!

Today my family and our sweet friend Susan will be taking a mini van and be driving across the beautiful state of Nevada. Woohoo! Yay for lots of tumble weeds, open sky, train tracks, road construction, bathroom stops, and semi trucks. Destination: Utah. The drive is not new for my family. We've taken it many times. This time, however, it is quite different and possibly one of the most exciting and happiest moments for my family to ever experience!

Tuesday, August 20th, 2013, my brother Ben and his beautiful fiancée, Tessa, will be sealing the deal and be married for time and all eternity in the Salt Lake City Temple. Wedding bells will be ringing and Mom and Dad get to see their first child begin a new chapter with a gorgeous addition to our family. You did a great job Ben! We look forward to having Tessa be part of the happy Crabtree clan! We got the wedding announcement this past week, (finally)! Loved every bit of it! It's all rushed down to the last stretch, the moment our family has been waiting for some time now. In fact, I was the first in the family to predict Ben would be proposing to Tessa way back in late February/March/Somewhere around there ;) My whole Summer has been spent counting down the weeks for this moment. As you can tell, I AM EXCITED! But boy, wedding planning sure can be stressful! (Even when you're not the one getting married) :P It's been a good learning experience for all of us though!

My mom has been putting her all into planning and putting together the wedding reception. She wants it to be beautiful, and not the run of the mill typical reception. So, she's had a lot on her plate lately, but it's all coming together. (Keep our fingers crossed). On several occasions I have heard my mom mention something which I think all family/friends should remember in the midst of a wedding, and that is: "All that really matters is the Temple". That's all we should be focused on as a top priority. All other worries need not control or dominate the greatest of them all: A beautiful temple marriage :)

{Happiness}

Today has been a ColdPlay day. Nice relaxing music.Anyways, the reason why I bring this up is Ben, throughout his teenage years, has sat down at the piano and plunked out the song, "The Scientist". Listening to it makes me think of Ben, and it brings a happy smile to my face. Listen and enjoy!
 http://youtu.be/7Z2wTU8PONg