50 years in the making

Back in June of 2009 my sister Debbie and I took a last minuet road trip to Salt Lake a ten hour drive, it was then that we started planning our parents 50th anniversary party. We discussed things like classy 50's decorations, a family program, a dinner, music and so on. Then in March of 2011 my family was in Utah again for my uncles funeral and I got the chance to be in the car with my aunt Earlene for half an hour and I peppered her with questions about my parents wedding reception. Part of that first conversation we had was this is going to come fast we need to be prepared how happy I am that we lots of ideas before hand to choose from.
One thing that Debbie wanted was hand drawn invites and a map, unfortunately she did not have time between her own children's birthdays and her church calling so I had to do it. I have never really been one for New Years resolutions but in 2012 I decided that I wanted to draw and paint more which wasn't really hard but to share it more, which is the hard part for me (I did talk about this here). I am glad I had taken this challenge otherwise I am not sure I would have done the invites.

Both of my parents were born in Arizona my dad in Florence and my mom in Benson but both families ended up in Welton a very small town down by Yuma. My dad was friends with my mothers older brother who set them up in a hey Mike needs a date kind of way. My mom was 15 my dad 17 they continued to date through out high school. Once when visiting Welton, my mom was showing us the church  as we walked down the hall she stopped and gave a soft gasp as I looked at her she had tears in her eyes. She pointed to the phone on the wall and told us about how when she was at the church on a weeknight after teaching her primary class she called my dad who was up at ASU or working in New Mexico (I can't really remember which one) at the time and tried to break up with him. You see my dad was not a Mormon and she knew she wanted to marry someone who shared her beliefs. *Edit I guess I was wrong my mom set me straight Oh dear, do I have to be honest and reply that it was him who was thinking we should break up? I guess I do. It was him. I'm sure glad he changed his mind by that weekend. :) I remember thinking that if I broke up with him, he would join the church eventually, and someone else would get to marry him. All the emotions of that phone call had come flooding back to her. How glad I am that my dad decided to take the missionary lessons in secret while living in New Mexico, you will never hear anyone talk about Gallop New Mexico with more love than my father. Every time I read this in the Book of Mormon I think of my dad "...how beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there came to the knowledge of their Redeemer; yea, and how blessed are they, for they shall ^bsing to his praise forever."  
Needless to say my mom trying to break up with my dad did not stick and soon they were together again both attending ASU. My dad told her they were going to go to some sporting event, something they did a lot of and back and then women wore dresses to sporting events. But instead they pulled up in front of a church were two missionaries were standing outside, that is how my dad told her he was getting baptized. Soon after they got engaged while sitting on a bench on campus at ASU. They were married in that little church down in Welton and a year later sealed in the Mesa Arizona Temple. Now you know why I drew the little church in Welton, ASU and the Mesa Temple. I also drew the house us kids grew up in and the church we attended, it also where we held the reception. My dads parents retired to Heber a small town in the pines, my parents also lived there one winter. Debbie did not draw the invites but she did help me out with feedback and ideas, it was definitely a joint effort.