A little wedding story

Eric and Susan were married 13 years ago. I just couldn't resist sharing one of the family stories including pictures.

Nathan not only greeted the happy couple as they exited the Portland Temple but he also hid under balloons in the back seat of the honeymoon car. Several minutes later the new couple returned him to his parents.

Now on to the story.


Susan grew up in the Columbia River Gorge on the Washington side of the river. Glen reserved accommodations for our immediate family in Hood River on the Oregon side for the wedding weekend. It turned out to be more spacious than we had expected with an extra bedroom. Glen explained to Susan that since we had the extra room, she and Eric could just use it instead of going somewhere else for their honeymoon. That way they could save some money. Susan, being the good sport that she always is, went along with it without stamping her feet or any other such behavior.

While having their pictures taken outside the temple, Eric decided it was a good time to make her day even better.

He pulled a paper from his wallet

. . .and showed her the receipt for accommodations at the Lodge in Stevenson, Washington, one of her favorite places.

This made her very happy.


Congratulations on 13 great years, four wonderful children, and for putting up with Glen & Nate and their jokes.

Eric's wedding was the first of all the Ostler grandchildren. All of the "Ostler Women" were in attendance for this great occasion.


Of course that meant that Susan and Eric were presented with a going away outfit at their wedding luncheon!

You know what they say; you don't just marry your spouse but also their family!

Quotes and informational nuggets from Education Week

BYU Education Week is always my favorite place to be in August. Here is a quick list of things that I learned or loved this year. Ask me if your interested in hearing more. I've got lots of notes!

Teaching Adults by Kevin R. Miller:
- Adult learners need to be actively engaged in the first 2-3 minutes.
- Adult learners have life experiences to share.
- "We hope that in your educational pursuits you will learn wisdom . . .Wisdom is not just learning, but intelligent application of learning." President Ezra Taft Benson
(Our Sunday school lesson today from Proverbs discussed the meaning of wisdom as well.)

From series about Abraham Lincoln by Ron L. Andersen:
- "Some legal rights are moral wrongs." Abraham Lincoln
- November 1861, Lincoln checks out several books from the Library of Congress, one being the Book of Mormon. Returned it 8 months later.
- Of eleven proclamations given as president, nine called for a day of fasting and prayer.

From Devotional with Elder Snow:
- "Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world." Nelson Mendela
- Seekers of truth never stop learning.

From education director of the MOA, Rita Wright:
- Regarding symbolism; it is important to teach children the value of symbols, both literary and visual. The teaching we receive in the temple is symbolic.
- Part of the brain atrophies if not feed by higher things such as art, music, and literature.
- 1 Nephi 11:21 "And the angel said unto me: Behold the ^aLamb of God, yea, even the ^bSon of the Eternal ^cFather!" Beholding involves considering, contemplating, and understanding.
- "Ponder them in your heart. . ." Luke 2:19
- "rest upon our minds" D&C 43:34
- "The pure soul of the child must be considered sacred."

Joseph Smith Translation of the Bible by David LeFevre:
- Joseph Smith called it the "New Translation." NT didn't work when they were footnoting the new cross referenced quad in the 1970's (New Testament - NT) so Robert Matthews suggested JST.
- To learn about Robert Matthews and the relationship he formed with the RLDS or Community of Christ, see BYU Studies, Vol. 49, Number 2, 2010 (I have a copy.) It was through this relationship that the church was able to get permission to include the JST verses in our current scriptures.
-Worked on the translation from June 1830 - February 1833
- In 1830, "Mormon Doctrine" could have been a pamphlet. By the end of the translation, all the doctrine was in place. The JST is directly tied into the D&C as Joseph studied, pondered and asked.
- Joseph Smith had a daily revelatory experience during the translation while reading the Bible. As we read our scriptures, so can we!

-LaFevre also explained that when Martin Harris lost the 116 pages of the Book of Mormon, Joseph and Oliver started again at what was Mosiah 3. It is now Mosiah 1 and you will notice that there are no introductory notes for the book of Mosiah. They continued until Moroni and then went back and translated the small plates (1 & 2 Nephi, etc. to Mosiah.)
- Now that there is once again access to the original manuscripts of Joseph Smith through the Community of Christ (Emma kept these in her possession when the Saints left Nauvoo) it is known that the chapter markings were part of the translation from the plates.

A Book of Commandments and Revelations, BCR, by Grant Underwood:
- Background information can be found in BYU Studies, Volume 48, Number 3, 2009 (I have a copy.) The BCR has been published as part of the Joseph Smith Papers with very high resolution pictures of each page. BCR is in very fragile condition, now can be studied without handling the original.
- Commandments = Revelations. Today we might title the D&C, "Book of Revelations."
- When Joseph Smith started his journal in 1832, there were already over 70 sections or revelations.
- Lends great insight into the early history of the church.

There are always so many classes from which to pick. I also attended classes by Brent L. Top and David Ridges and spent time in the Museum of Art enjoying the exhibit "James Tissot: The Life of Christ." More about Rita Wright's class and the MOA exhibits of paintings of Christ in another post.

Every day as I came up out of the basement of the Joseph Fielding Smith Building looking east, the view of the mountains just took my breath away! What a blessing it is to spend time on this beautiful campus every year.

Good and bad this week

First of all the bad; the two bougainvillea trees that Glen has been nurturing and trimming to tree form for almost five years were blown over by the big storm we experienced on Tuesday evening. He's in mourning. He ordered tiny plants from a company in Louisiana with this particular shade of pink and white so that he might have the bougainvillea trees he envisioned. (It's not unusual for the door bell to ring and as I watch the delivery truck drive away, I find a cardboard container marked "live plant material".) He has trimmed the trees back to trunks and is hoping for a rebirth.

Now for the good; this little sweetheart was born in July. I was gone for much of August, so made a special visit to spend some time with Mabel Ann yesterday afternoon. While her mother and sisters went on a play date, we spent some time bonding. She even gave me a smile. I look forward to watching her grow and seeing how her personality emerges. I love her blue eyes. I'm glad that the blessing dress I am working on has blue floss in its smocking design.

More good; my nephew, Matthew, received his Eagle Award at an Eagle Court of Honor last night. He is the son of my sister, Janis, and her husband, Monty.

It was delight to see him so honored for his hard work and tenacity.

His parents were very proud of him and Matthew later expressed his appreciation for the support of his parents as he worked toward this goal.

Members of the Mormon Battalion Association were in attendance to give their own special award for additional efforts in hiking the Mormon Battalion trail.

They challenged the new Eagle Scouts to also be as faithful and courageous.


They presented them with special scarf ties in memory of the Battalion of which some orginal members were Matthew's ancestors.

My son, Eric, sitting top center watches from the Eagles Nest where all Eagle Scouts in attendance were invited to sit. I had the privilege of sitting with my grandsons, TJ and Toby.

Matthew showed great poise as he delivered his closing thoughts. He was both humorous and poignant as he shared his feelings and honored his parents.

Congratulations Matthew!

Glen's Utah office

We've just returned from a working vacation, family wedding, and week of learning. It will take more than one post to cover it all. With our annual pass to Thanksgiving Point Gardens, Glen can choose to conduct his business calls in a beautiful setting. This time we didn't save much as it was a "Two Dollar Tuesday." We learned that this is what they do during August to draw in the locals. Great idea! We saw many young families taking advantage of this opportunity.

We love to go in the early morning or evening when the light takes on a special glow.


Every time we go, something else has become the star.

This visit, it was the rudbeckia.

The flower beds lining the stream bed were especially beautiful.

As we walked back up the hill, the sun began to sink in the west.


The sprinkler had left behind water droplets.

Glen's unique profile at the bottom of the hill.

The same hill from the top. I'm so glad that the founders of Word Perfect decided to share their wealth with the community by creating this beautiful place.

Brittany's Bridal Shower (Ostler style)

The Friday morning before the wedding Aunt Janis hosted a traditional "Ostler style" shower for Brittany. Most of the friends and family had arrived in town and the female members joined together at the townhouse for a yummy brunch. Both mothers were in attendance, Lynette and Kennedy, and that is Carmen, Dane's sister holding the gift bag. Brittany is wearing the apron I had made for her.

My traditional shower gift is an apron and a cookbook of easy meals (the best kind for busy students.) I don't always make the apron, but this time I had a special one in mind for Britt.

We had a fun crowd of friends and family. Most ohhed and ahhed over present was Lisa's bikini made of latex rubber gloves. Such talent! (That is Dane's other sister, Claire, in the hat.)

Aunt Becky's crew also gave Britt matching pajama pants for she and Dane.

Janis and Jenny out did themselves assembling and purchasing the perfect "going away outfit" at a thrift store. This is an Ostler tradition which thankfully began after my marriage. Brittany's had a special flair appropriate for her Costa Rican honeymoon. I offered her $100 if she could show me proof (picture) of her wearing it in a public place in Costa Rica.

The Ostler aunts join Brittany in showing off her bounty.

Here are the cousins and cousins-in-law who were there to show their support.

Janis had taken time to interview Dane by phone will he was in still in Washington, D. C. We found that Brittany knew him fairly well and we also learned all about their special love story. Britt loves sunflowers and Dane had sent a bunch with his mother for his bride to be. True love!

Brittany's and Dane's Wedding Day

We had the special privilege of being involved in the wedding festivities for Brittany & Dane while in Utah.

They were married in the Mt. Timpanogos Temple for time and all eternity.

Relatives and friends came from all over to help them celebrate this special time.

Dane had just finished an internship in Washington, D. C. and Brittany had spent two weeks of her summer in Haiti helping develop small business plans, but now it was their day. It was a beautiful summer day with the Wasatch Mountains in the background.

Brittany's bridesmaids, two friends and two cousins, waited to greet them along with other friends and family as they exited the temple.

High school friends from Centennial near Denver, flew in to spend time with Brittany during this special week before heading back to school in far flung places including Shanghai. They were known as the "smart" ones.

Dane received congratulations,too. His groomsmen were friends from high school in Orem and roommates from BYU.

Brittany's cousin Emily is also Dane's cousin, and thus they met! Emily is a Thorley, but her mother is a Bunker. That's Emily looking down at her flowers as Dane looks on. Her other cousin, Stephanie, is at far left. Stephanie, Emily, and Brittany were roommates their first year at BYU. Dane served a mission to Korea before meeting Brittany.

Lowell greets his beautiful and only daughter.

She was a stunning bride!

Lynette had fun joining her daughter in the hunt for the perfect dress. This was their absolute favorite. I love the bodice shirring, asymmetrical front, and beading.

The only grandparent in attendance was Lowell's mother, Rosalie. That is her peeking over Lowell's shoulder. I'm sure that the rest of them were there with us in spirit.

Younger brother, Logan, and proud mama, Lynette.

Brittany made all the hair ornaments for herself and her bridesmaids. I loved the special details on her dress including the beautifully detailed back.

After the Noon marriage sealing and pictures, family and friends meet at Mimi's Cafe at a luncheon hosted by Dane's parents Kennedy and Steven. It was a delightful meal with special remarks including the reading of a poem composed by Brittany's brother, Elder Jason Bunker currently serving a mission in the Vancouver, British Columbia Mission.

After the luncheon, we raced back to the townhouse to gather food and supplies for the evening reception. Tables and chairs had been set up the night before. Now it was time for table cloths, flowers, and food.

Guests were greeted at the garden gate of a beautiful home in the foothills of Mt. Timpanogos in Orem not far from that of Dane's parents. The backyard of this home was the perfect setting for the reception.

The guests signed the guest book where a favor bag filled with Brittany's favorite snack, white chocolate covered pretzels, awaited them.


Part of my early arrival time was spent helping to tie the ribbons.

Brittany's colors were navy blue and copper. The tables were simply decorated with lanterns and sprigs of flowers.

The bouquet.

The cake was red velvet and was served to guests.

The backyard was in two levels. The line stood on the patio.

And the refreshments and more seating were up above. The round roofed patio included an outdoor kitchen where I spent most of my time.

The bride maids and groomsmen line up just below the infinity edged pool.

The guests included: (did not get pictures of all the family:( Sorry!)

Olds cousins, Amber, Stephanie, Erin

Uncle Steven Olds and Aunt Margaret (Lowell's sister)

Brother Kyle who is writing a note to Jason about the day. Lynette had prepared note paper as well as an addressed stamped envelope for family to share with Elder Jason Bunker their own thoughts about this special day.

Kyle had flown in from Washington, D.C. where he had just completed his first week of medical school at Georgetown University.

Cousin Lisa holding her niece, Emma; Cousin Sarah; friend Lizzy; Aunt Becky

Uncle Steve and Aunt Jolene

All of my siblings were able to be in attendance. I did not get pictures of Janis and Farrell.

Cousin Rick's arm and Cousin Karl

Brother Gary, who is on his way to Indiana next week to start pharmacy school at Butler University.

Uncle Glen and again, Brother Gary

Groom and Bride with Sarah, Emma, and Lizzy

The patio is also where the cutting of the cake and the dancing occurred.


I did not see the dancing and the cake cutting because I spent the evening here in the outdoor kitchen. That is Becky in the background cutting cake. We served fresh fruit, cake, cream puffs, and in the foreground, the famous homemade ice cream sandwiches. Under each platter is a glass cake pan full of dry ice.

Brittany's biggest food wish was for homemade ice cream sandwiches. Earlier in the week, both ovens at the townhouse were used to make hundreds of vanilla, lemon, and almond shortbread cookies edged with raw sugar crystals. Then they were assembled the next day in the house next door then stored in the basement freezer of the gracious host and hostess. Lisa and Sarah took turns running the stairs from basement to upstairs kitchen to deliver the frozen treats a few at a time. They were delish!

Final flavors were vanilla with strawberry ice cream, lemon with vanilla bean ice cream, and almond with peach ice cream. Guess which kind was most favored! Almond peach, followed by vanilla strawberry. The only kind left in the townhouse freezer for Britt and Dane are lemon with vanilla.

How, you may ask, did I get these lovely pictures if I spent all my time in the kitchen? Special thanks to the beautiful Ashley, wife of my nephew Mark, for borrowing my camera.

Great job Ashley!

And Glen's job? Keeper of the flames!