THE BIG DAY!

Oct 8, 2016 couldn't get here soon enough in Carter's mind! He was up early and ready to get to the church. We found Chad a nice suit too (the first one since we've been married!) and off to the stake center they went in their matching suits. I so wish I would have gotten a good picture of them in their whites, but this is as good as it got. I was glad the stake leaders took this one. 

 He had so many family members come to support him on his big day including both sets of grandparents.

 He was baptized with his good friend  from school Teralyn Murray.

 The baptism went well and he only got dunked once. He requested that his uncles Adam and Jordan were his witnesses. I love the bond he feels with those two. My mom snapped some awesome pictures of him right before and after he got the holy ghost and I'm glad she did!

Chad gave a beautiful blessing and I'm so grateful for his worthy example and the priesthood he holds to bless our children. I love them both so much! 

And believe it or not I kept it together pretty well. I felt so proud of  him and felt like he really understood what he was doing (after several talks!)

The newest members of Tooele 8th ward!

Others who came to support him included Adam and Brittney and Taylor and Jordan. 

Family friends the Robinsons, Haley from next door. And Aspyn a friend from school.

 The Eash and Unsworth families were there too and his favorite primary teacher and her husband the Huffmans! She had breast cancer surgery just a few days before and she still came and supported him! We feel so blessed to know them and we were so happy they came!

Then the festivities got underway! We had a big BBQ in the back yard at Carters request. Complete with his favorites of fresh fruits and veggies. He got showered with a few gifts which included scriptures, a CTR ring and a white towel from grandma. A few birthday gifts for Carter and Mollie were also present. 

 When it was over I felt happiness and peace and lots of love. We have wonderful family members who drive far distances to come be with us! Me and Ad had similar shirts on both with stains from the BBQ!

 Mollie got a new camp chair and lots of craft supplies from G Reed. She was in heaven checking it all out.

 Trying to take a nice picture with my mom and got photo bombed!!!

 To finish up the meal we had an ice cream bar with lots of toppings! The weather turned out perfect and all in all it was a perfect day.

The cherry on top of his day though was Adam taking the time to build his new rollercoaster set which took alot of time and patience! He was so happy when it was done and I'm sure Adam was too! 

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Carter, when you are older and look back on this day, I hope you remember how you felt and know that you made the right choice. Always stay close to your Heavenly Father and try to follow Christ's example and you will always be happy. Use the Holy Ghost to help guide you through life. He can stay close to you if you will let him. And know you are loved SO SO Much! Your parents are so proud of your amazing choice to be baptized. 

Mollie's SIX!

I have a six year old!!...going on 16! She is such a blessing to me and she also requested doughnuts for her birthday breakfast! I think it was torture a bit to have to go to school on her birthday and wait till dad was home to open presents but she did so happily. 

She woke up extra early and so there was a little extra time to ride her new scooter in the kitchen . Before I knew it we had a whole scooter derby going on in the kitchen. They did not want to stop to go off to school!

 When dad finally made it home after school she got to open presents. Some of her favorite things were shopkins slippers and diary!

 She requested the place with yummy soup and chocolate dipped strawberries for dinner. So off to ZUPAS we went!

 Ry fell in love with the strawberries and soup as well.

 Me and my girls.

 A few days later we threw her a shopkin party! I'm starting to get the hang of simplifying. It was a much simpler themed party than before and everyone still seemed happy and had fun. Including me!

 A shopkin for each girl to take home topped each cupcake.

 And we made "poppy corn and Polly polish" snacks to go along with it.

 Here's the crew of her birthday friends! She's been blessed with lots of good ones.

Mollie has so much energy and is so smart! She is good at anything she tries and never forgets a thing! It has been so fun to watch her excell in all day kindergarten and while she sometimes gets a little bored, she is always happy and excited about what she is learning. She's my biggest helper and my most independent and responsible child. I get tons of compliments from her teachers and church leaders of what a joy she is to have in class. I'm proud of the strong happy girl she is becoming physically and spiritually. She has such a strong spirit! We love you Mol-O and hope you know how special you are to us!

A small note..

I just want to say.....PRAY FOR ME. This has been awful for all of us.

General conf, football and priesthood session

Carter had his last football game on the saturday of general conference. We went to the game in between sessions and then learned his play off game would follow. He learned so much and improved greatly over the season. They didn't win many games but the lessons that were taught were more valuable and we were so proud of him! 

 The boys had planned to go to the priesthood session for the evening and now we were worried it would ruin those plans. We let him decide and it took him a while which one he would pick to go to. He was really worried about it and went into his room. When he emerged he told us he had said a prayer to help him decide and had decided to go to his game. We could tell he was still really disappointed so we tried to arrange our plans so we could go to both. Here's my fierce boy. Fierce on the field. Fierce in his testimony. 

 We jetted off the field and into SLC where they arrived just in time to run into the session...sort of. I knew it would be busy but I didn't know HOW busy. Nannette and I were going to do some shopping and go for cheesecake while the guys went to the session. Turns out many people had the same idea! But it was still fun and I was humbled to see how packed the roads were of men flocking to hear the prophet and his apostles. How special. I couldn't help but feel a little more patient in the crazy traffic jam I was in!

I was glad the boys could go and Carter could experience the joy of seeing and hearing the prophet in person. We live in a very blessed place with the conference center at our fingertips. I love conference!