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| The lovers |
Regan was the daughter of one of my dad's mission companions. We didn't get to see each other very often--maybe once a year, if we were lucky--but we were so similar that it didn't matter how long it had been since we'd last seen each other, we still managed to chitchat and giggle like we'd hung out every single day. I don't remember a lot of the things we did when we were smaller, but I do remember some things...
For a time, Regan's family lived in a cabin near Deer Valley ski resort. They invited us to come there and go skiing with them one year for New Years'. That time, we made tiny clay animals and built homes for them inside of shoe boxes while watching "Gilligan's Island" and eating pieces of kiwi on fondue forks. I also remember, on that trip, we told our little sisters to make a cake for when the parents got back from skiing so they pulled out the cake mix and we told them that a secret ingredient, one they don't list on the box but one that makes the cake the most delicious, moist cake possible is vinegar. And they totally believed us! They asked us what kind of vinegar to use, and we told them they'd know it when they smelled it, and we spent the next half hour watching them sniff the different kinds of vinegar and laughing at the expressions on their faces! (Not to worry--we didn't actually let them add any to the cake mix.)
The next time we went to Lake Powell together on the houseboat that Regan's dad bought, complete with two jet-skis, a DVD player, and an Xbox 360, plus Rock Band. Regan, her cousin Owen, and I made a band together on Rock Band and played it all the time when the heat of the day was too much to be outside. That was also the year that Regan introduced me to one of my favorite toys of all time--the jet-ski. :) We took turns driving, and threw each other off of them several times--Regan with her speediness, and me with my crazy obsession of going over the biggest waves I could find.
Last summer, I saw Regan again at her family's cabin in Island Park. We had movie parties in the theater room, hung out in the hot tub, teased Owen for being so shy around me, rode the jet-skis, sunbathed on the boats, wakeboarded, surfed, and generally had a good time. And like girls do, we talked instead of slept at night. That was the trip I first heard about Andrew. I heard everything about him--his family life, the way he'd asked her to date him. Everything. And I knew then that she had every intention of marrying this man. I simply didn't know when.
But now I do. And I'm so happy for her! And I'm so grateful for all the things she taught me and showed me. Be well, Regan, I love you with all my heart, and I hope to see you again sometime!
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| the beautiful Regan, in her dress from Spain |
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| As per Regan's request, the women at the wedding dressed up in '70s costumes and danced to an ABBA medley. :) One of the funniest things I've ever seen! |
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| Rather than decorate the newlyweds' car, they decorated a jet-ski. :) Regan's favorite way of transportation. |
