Tragedy and Triumph: Adam and Morgan’s wedding was the BEST! 5/29/2022

On Sunday, 5/29/2022, my son Joel and my husband Dan and I attended the wedding of Adam and Morgan Pennington. It was the best wedding I’ve ever attended!

I am so glad we went to the wedding and I’m so happy that Adam invited us to his wedding. We even had the honor of sitting at the same table as Adam’s parents and sisters during the celebration after the ceremony. What a special day it was!

The Pennington Family 5/29/2022

Adam (and now Morgan) and their families hold a special place in my heart.

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Here’s how we connected:

In August of 2019, my son Joel and I and my dad met Adam Pennington at The Cellar restaurant/bar in Ketchum-Sun Valley. Adam gave me his business card and told us he was a fly fishing guide.

Joel’s birthday was coming up so I bought him a fly fishing trip with Adam. It was a fun day and afterwards we all went out to eat at The Pioneer Saloon.

Fly Fishing With Adam

Adam picked us up in his beloved car to take us fly fishing

We kept in touch and I began to follow Adam’s fly fishing adventures on Facebook and YouTube.

He decided to stay in Sun Valley for the winter and got a winter job on the mountain.

My son Joel bought a studio condo in Elkhorn Village in Sun Valley in early February of 2020. I went to Sun Valley to decorate and furnish Joel’s condo. I realized I was going to need help, so I asked Adam if he had time to work for me and help me build furniture, hang things on the wall, and do whatever was needed to turn Joel’s condo in to a home.

Joel bought a flipped condo in perfect condition on February 7, 2020

So…every day after working on the mountain, Adam would come over to Joel’s condo and do whatever needed to be done. He put together dressers, shelves, nightstands, put up a ski rack and coat rack and mirrors, replaced doorknobs, hung things up, etc. Little by little Joel’s little condo turned into a home with Adam’s help.

Joel’s condo is complete thanks to Adam!

We took a break from all the work one day and Adam and I went cross country skate skiing together. I got him going on a black trail that day and he was great at cross country skate skiing. We took Adam out to dinner a few times too.

My dad enjoyed Joel’s condo

Adam leaves with his tools after doing so much work on Joel’s condo

At the end of a month of working on Joel’s condo, my dad and I gave Adam a hug goodbye, but something else happened just as that month ended that changed my life:

One day, Adam called me and told me another studio condo was for sale just a couple doors away from Joel’s. I checked it out and guess what? It was a fixer upper and Dan and I bought it. The closing date was Friday, March 13, 2020…the day the world changed and the pandemic lockdown and craziness began.

Our fixer-upper condo

I told Adam he could stay in my condo since I was not there and he picked up the keys on that Friday the 13th and moved out of the employee dorms.

About a week later, I received a note from Adam via text saying “You are now my only employer.” Sun Valley’s guest operations closed down and he and others were out of a job. I hired Adam to remodel my condo while he was living in it and that turned out to be the only way construction work in the Wood River Valley was allowed. Only those who lived on a property could do work on it.

Adam began tearing out the old carpet, taking out the old countertops, and he even removed the hearth on the fireplace. He took out the old sinks. Together we’d talk or text about ideas for the remodel.

When he finally was able to get to a paint store (all the stores closed) he painted the old pink walls white.

He slept on an air mattress on the floor. He covered the window with a blanket since the existing shade was broken. He used the tub for his source of water.

In the middle of all the work Adam did for me, he came down with COVID! I remember him telling me via text he could not taste or smell.

As things began to open up, Adam took a trip to Twin Falls and purchased new sinks and picked up the butcher block countertops I wanted. He was able to buy a beautiful piece of granite to rebuild the fireplace hearth.

It took some time, but eventually the luxury vinyl plank floor I ordered arrived and Adam laid the new floor. He said it was a nice luxury to no longer have a concrete floor!

He picked out the baseboard edging at a local lumber store and stained the edging. One of his final projects was installing the baseboards.

We ordered an up-down window shade from Amazon which finally arrived after a pandemic delay and Adam put up the shade and no longer had to use the blanket to cover the window for privacy.

Together we figured out how to furnish the condo. We had many discussions over text on whether I should have a loft bed or a Murphy bed, but finally decided on a plain bed. When it arrived, Adam was there and unfortunately the bed’s box spring was broken, so he sent back the broken box spring and slept on the mattress which he covered with a quilt made for him by his grandmother.

One day he called me and said, “You did it!” He let me know that my idea of putting a certain futon in one of the corners of the condo would fit and would actually work.

In the middle of all the work he was doing for me he was still doing some things related to fly fishing and I recall he made a few fly fishing videos in the condo.

Adam came up with the idea of wood outlet covers and suggested I get a wood dresser and fireplace mantle. He suggested places for me to put up paintings or photos.

Finally the sinks and new plumbing fixtures were installed. Adam finished the butcher block counter tops. He put up a really nice wood shelf and towel hangers in the bathroom.

My fixer-upper condo became a home!

In September of 2020, I finally got to see Adam’s amazing work when my son Joel and I came out to Sun Valley to enjoy our condos. We were both delighted.

A lot of stuff went wrong in the fixer upper process. Adam and I laugh about some of the mishaps now. We had a bit of a flood when the ice maker broke. I replaced that old refrigerator after that. We had to get a new water heater. Adam had to get help installing the combo lock for the front door since the first one I ordered, according to Adam, looked like a cheap airline bathroom door knob. It took a while to get a complete and comfortable bed.

In 2020-21, Joel taught skiing in Sun Valley and I spent the winter in my condo. Adam worked the mountain again and we’d get to ski together once in awhile.

Every morning when I woke up in my cute little cabin-condo I’d see Adam’s amazing handiwork. Every detail had been carefully thought out. Adam even installed a new microwave and stove for me. There were just a few things he didn’t do like the installation of the ceiling fan and kitchen lighting which was done by an electrician.

Our beautiful condo - thanks to Adam!

When I was out of town, Adam even took care of my car. His sister Caitlin, a PT Cruiser lover, got to drive it too!

Adam’s sister Caitlin enjoyed our PT Cruiser!

When we had a flat tire in March of 2021, Adam and his friend Matt helped us change the tire and drove me to Les Schwab tires in Hailey to pick up the car.

Adam told me somewhere in early 2021 that he had a girlfriend and I got to meet Morgan and her family on Dollar Mountain while I was skiing one day. It was so good to meet them!

When Adam told me that he was leaving Sun Valley for Wyoming I was sad to see him go, but realized Cheyenne is not that far from Colorado. In early 2022, we took a couple trips from Sun Valley to Colorado and stopped to see Adam on the way. On one of the trips, Adam and Morgan got me on a horse and then we got to see their house and new trailer and Adam’s new boat. That afternoon we learned they were going to Rocky Mountain National Park for engagement photos. We got to meet their cute and very pregnant dog too!

It is hard to believe an encounter at a restaurant in Ketchum, Idaho made it possible for so much good to happen. Thank you Adam and Morgan for being a part of our lives and we wish you a wonderful life together!