My birthday weekend held quite the celbration this year! Tony and Justin had spring break a week apart and were both planning to come to Idaho and we had 1 whole day that would overlap that we all could be together. We decided we would celebrate all the April birthdays, take family pictures since we were all together and do an Easter egg hunt. Tony was also coming down so Roman could be baptized with family around. We planned well so we could pack everything into 1 day!
But first, I got my fav dessert at Leatherbys to celebrate turning 41!
We ended up needing to take 2 cars because our burb needed some work done. So Mollie got to drive us some of the way there and get some driving hours.
On the way there, we made a pit stop at Lava Hot Springs! A birthday soak was just what I needed for the busy weekend we had ahead of us!
It was so exciting to see family arrive one by one! We haven't seen Tony in a few years since they moved and we haven't seen Justin for a year. So it was really exciting to all be together.
Me and my dad.
Ashton is a full grown man! And Monse is as beautiful as ever. We are so glad they are doing so well in California. We chatted through the evening, opened a few gifts here and there and ate pizza.
The next morning, we gathered in the mountains for a big family photo shoot. We were quite the crew! The timing was a bit off for the lighting to be good, and I knew they wouldn't turn out super great, but we have the memory captured now and that was what we wanted.
Me and Mol and Me and Haidyn, the birthday girls!
Next up was an Easter egg hunt and lunch at the park! Grandma put a lot of effort into organizing it and the kids all had fun. My big kids still enjoy it too even though they are getting older.
Lots of loot, as always.
After that we celebrated birthdays and had cake and ice cream. We were celebrating Me, Haidyn, Roman, Wren, Ty and Jordan.
I'll forever love this picture of all of us blowing out the candles together!
After lunch and easter and birthday celebrations were done, we headed into the church for Roman's baptism! He is seriously the sweetest boy with the biggest heart. I don't know if any of the cousisns have been lucky enough to have all of their cousins at their baptism. So this was very special. I especially loved Tuck and Ivy so excited to peek into the font and watch.
All the Reed cousins!
When he came out and was dressed he was confirmed and given the holy ghost. When it was done, he was crying and sobbing so hard. He ran and hugged his mom and just cried and cried! Tony said he cried the whole time getting dressed too, and was just so over come by the spirit. What a sweet kid!
Ahhhh, this family squeeze. I didn't always love the Reed Family squeeze when I was growing up. And I never dreamed that it put me into tears some day when we were all gathered there. The kind man who was officiating the baptism saw us all hugging like we always do after prayer, and he hopped on a chair and captured this moment. All of us....all of our problems, hard times, differences put aside for just a minute to embrace each other in love. We have our hard times, but in this moment it was just happy and full of love. I am SO grateful for this family who loves and shows up and makes efforts to stay close. I love them all SO much. Family is where true love and joy reside.
From here, families started leaving 1 by one as our full day of fun came to an end. It felt different to me this time because I knew this could be the last time we are all together. Kids will start leaving home and blazing their own paths, and I knew moments like this would be fleeting. I hope we all can be together again, but until we do, I will carry you all in my heart!
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