What a great weekend!!!

Well we had great weekend here. It was a special time in our house as Ryan our third child turned eight years old and was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. We are so proud of his decision to be baptized. It was a great service. Tiffany gave a talk about baptism and I gave a talk about the Holy Ghost. We were joined by several of our friends and family. Many of our family members who live far away were not able to be here with us and they were deeply missed. Here are a couple of pictures of Ryan on his special day.

This is my dad, Kay and Ryan just before the baptism. Doesn't he look sharp?

It was a also a special weekend because my dad came to be here for Ryan's baptism. He brought his fiance, Kay and we had a great opportunity to get to know her better. I had thought that it might feel a little bit awkward or weird to have my dad here with another woman, but it was wonderfully comfortable. I hope Kay felt it as we did. Kay fits in with our family quite nicely. I was amazed to see how fun the relationship is between her and my father. When I was growing up, my father was always very playful...he would pick on me and tease me a bit. It was always in fun. It is interesting to watch him and Kay and how that playfulness plays between them. It is wonderful to see her dish it right back at him. One thing is for sure, he won't get away with much between them. She is quick witted and funny and will keep him in check.

On Thursday evening when my dad and Kay first arrived at our house, they were greeted at the door by Jacob. He looked at Kay and said "I hear you're going to be my grandma." It was so cute and made me smile. I am so glad that even though my mom is gone, my children will have someone to help fill that void. Thank you Kay for adopting us.

On Friday morning we, Dad, Kay, Kyle and I, went for a walk in the sculpture garden across the street from our house. The other kids were all in school. It was a relaxed walk and we enjoyed the sculptures throughout the park. Kyle was hilarious though. He wanted his picture taken with almost every statue. Here are some cute pics.

On Friday afternoon we took a drive up into the mountains. We had a nice walk through town looking at the shops, then drove as far as we could up the mountains. The roads were closed beyond due to snow. We enjoyed the views and the company. We made it back into town just in time for the kids to get home from school.

Friday Night Kyle decided it was his turn to be up sick. I don't know if it was all the junk he ate while we were in the car in Friday afternoon or if the stomach bug the rest of us had on Monday finally got to him, but he was up most of the night (and I with him). I made a bed for him out of blankets on the master bedroom floor. Since his bedroom is upstairs and the master is on the main floor, I thought it would be better to have him not only close to me, but also close to the toilet and on a tile floor was a bonus. He was still feeling a bit ill early on Saturday, but perked up by evening.

Saturday morning we celebrated Ryan's birthday with a big breakfast and presents. He was ecstatic to receive his Nintendo DS, a game, and some clothes. For his extra special day for his baptism, he also got a set of scriptures from his Sims Grandparents, and a really nice towel with his name and baptism date embroidered on it from Kay. It amazes me that he is 8 years old. His baptism was held in the afternoon and we went out to dinner after. We had a large group for dinner as Pete and Mel and their kids joined us as well. We went to Red Robin and Ryan was thrilled when the servers came and sang Happy Birthday to him. After our dinner we went back to the house for cake and ice cream and Kari (Mike's sister) joined us for that too.

After our cake, the kids went off to play and the adults visited and laughed and laughed and laughed. It was a great time telling stories about our families, reminiscing, and even poking fun of each other. All in fun of course. I feel like over this weekend I got to know Kay and her family quite well. I look forward to meeting the rest of her family next month. One big bonus that comes from dad getting married to Kay. I will be getting a step brother and 4 step sisters. I always wanted more sisters(and another brother is okay too)!!! I know it may not be the same as if we were all young and living in the same home, but I do look forward to the chance to make some new friends. Having met 2 of Kay's daughters a few months ago, I certainly look forward to meeting the rest.

Well, I suppose this post is getting really long, so I will close here...until next time.