a baptism and a blessing - Anna and Zoe

this was one of the most amazing weekends for our family.  it started by welcoming our family into town with a fun family bbq and swim party.  our sweet Anna was baptized by her dad on Saturday.

 these cousins clearly had a a fun friday night, they had to be carried out of the church.  

 of course there was more partying with our friends and cousins. 

 this sweet little baby is either sleeping, or screaming.  i love to catch her while she's sleeping.  

 Sunday was a beautiful day, the blessing of our sweet youngest child. 

these bookends are just an adorable pair.  so lovely to have them both in their sweet white gowns.  

happy, happy birthday Anna dear! - 8 is Great!

birthdays are special.  so we like to give each child a chance to plan their special day.  since we already partied it up with friends back in May.  Anna chose a to spend her day taking a break from swim team, eating german pancakes for breakfast, lunch with Grandma Colleen, and french toast for dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Beardsley at home.  

she wished for a baby sister born on her birthday, and contractions were making it seem like she might get her wish.  but alas, she had to settle for a mani-pedi from Aunt Tara, loads of spoiling from the grandparents, and some sweet treats from sisters and brother.

Dear Anna,

you are just as sweet as pie.  dad and i could not have dreamed up a more perfect first born.  you are eager to learn at home, school, sports and church.  you love to know the rules so you can be sure to follow them.  you love your siblings with your whole heart, and show it through kindness and sharing. when conflicts do arise, i can count on you to try and be a peacemaker.  we are so proud of the decisions that you make and look forward to sharing your special decision to be baptized.  it seems like just yesterday you were a babe in my arms, and though sometimes a yearn to hold you like that again, i am so excited to continue watching you grow into a beautiful and sweet young lady.  thank you for all that you are.

love,
mom and dad

the baptism

the reason for our trip was that my sweet nephew turned eight and chose to be baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

as if Washington couldn't impress us anymore.  the church is located on a big green property growing wildflowers and wild berries.  

 um, how cute is this baby?

 Charlie is a daredevil.  he loves to jump off everything he can.  

 if you don't keep your eye on him, he'll jump anyway, and you'll be tackled.  

Anna came up to me looking like she had a sliced jugular.  but we soon found the culprit of this mess. 

remember those black berry bushes, well there were also blueberry bushes as well,  

 the kids were in heaven picking and eating the deliciousness right off the bushes. 

 i have two cousins that live in Oregon and drove up for the day to celebrate and visit with us.  it was so fun to see them and hang out with their sweet families.  

 here's the whole group of family that was there, my parents, 5 of their children, one spouse 6 of 8 grandchildren, and 2 nephews and their families.  looks like a pretty big crew right.  keep in mind were missing 1 brother, 4 spouses, 2 grand daughters, 19 nieces and nephews and their families.  yeah, i have a pretty big family!  it's pretty awesome!

Beardsleys, thank you for hosting us.  we have missed you terribly since you moved.  but since you chose such a gorgeous spot, we'll have to visit more! 

Henry, 

we are so proud of the decision you made to be baptized.  you are such a smart and nice boy, and an incredible example to your siblings and your cousins.  there'a a reason Heavenly Father chose you to be the first cousin.  he knew you would make great decisions and be a leader in our family.  

love, Aunt Britty 

i took some kids to Washington

in order to witness and celebrate Henry's baptism, i loaded up Anna and Colin and we headed to Washington.  we met Aunt Corby at the airport and headed to Olympia.  it was kind of a fun challenge coordinating my travel plans with Corbynn from Chicago.  without her, i could not have gotten to Olympia, so thanks Corb.  i got to get about 5 minutes of driving in, since Corb is not 25, I drove from the rental agency to the road.  bahahaha!  freedom!

the trip was short, but sweet so we made the most of our cousin time hitting the parks big time.  Charlie and Colin are so adorable together, i can't wait to watch them grow!

i caught this ruthless pirate forcing these damsels to walk the plank.  

the kids and i could not get over the beauty of the nature in Washington.  Anna is dying to move there, and Colin could not stop pointing and saying, "tree, tree."  and i couldn't stop snapping photos of all the GREEN and foliage. 

Colin is 9 months younger than Charlie and 9 months older than Violet.  it's so cute watching him float between hanging with the big boy and playing with the baby.  

since Barrett works for the US government.  he gets every other friday off.  lucky for us. 

have i mentioned my sister in law is the cutest, most well dressed mom.  i can't say i'm not jealous of her postpartom body. 

do you think these kids were in heaven with cousins and grandparents too!  i love how the girls are running to the park, and Charlie is running to grandpa.  

Laine was so happy to have Anna there, they just girl-ed it up all weekend, doing all things pony, littlest pet shop, make up, hair and fashion.  

i need to call Barrett and ask where we were here, but it was somewhere on the Olympic peninsula, and it was amazingly gorgeous. 

i wish Madeline and Avery were here for this cousin shot!  

i think these boys could have thrown rocks all day.  Colin thinks Charlie is about the greatest guy ever, so he matched him rock for rock.  

Anna had a blast combing the beach for treasures and exploring with Henry.  

she found these blackberries and  was so excited.  Barrett told us that they grow everywhere and there's a hotline you can call to have the "weeds" removed.  i was wishing they could just have them relocated to my garden.  i would gladly prune these weeds.  

these are some great men and boys,  

and how cute are these ladies.  

cuties!

this is where my love affair with nature came to a pause.  hmm, not so excited about the prospect of poison oak.  

on Friday we hit Seattle and Bainbridge island.  it was a quick little trip since we had to get Austin from the airport,  but we packed in plenty of sights to see.  

this was delicious ice cream.  and a terrific bribe for keeping the kids going all day. 

so long to Seattle.  it was kind of a bummer not being able to drive, because i was at the mercy of everyone else's schedule.  i definitely need to bring the family back.