Baptism Afternoon

After the Baptism we came home for a wonderful crepe lunch and a little rest. I caught my dad totally asleep on the couch and couldn't help but get a quick picture. The girls enjoyed making necklaces, being silly with Grandpa Al and jumping on the trampoline with Grandma Ann. Andrew was happy to play the Wii with his cousins and open up some gifts from his cousins and Grandpa Al. He got two cool CD's and some games from his cousins and a cool personal journal and baptism journal from Grandpa Al.

For dinner we drove to Bainbridge Island to eat at a great Mexican restaurant called San Carlos. Eating at San Carlos has kind of become a tradition in the Wilhelm Family. My first Thanksgiving with Mike was spent in Seattle visiting his brother and sister and their spouses. We took the ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island and ate at San Carlos. Being in Seattle, riding the ferry, and eating at San Carlos were all first times for me. Since then we have enjoyed going back to Bainbridge Island by the ferry just to eat at San Carlos. This time, though, we decided to drive to the Island and then take the ferry home. All I can say is YUMMY, YUMMY food! The kids enjoyed watching the fish in the big fish tank as they ate and then enjoyed the wall of diverse licenese plates that adorned the outside of the restaurant wall. While we were waiting for the ferry we walked down to the water and played at a cool park. All of the kids actually fit on the tire like swing and got spun around by Mike. As were heading back to catch our ferry we realized that the ferry was already there and so everyone ran hard to make it back to the cars because we were the first ones in line and didn't want to hold up the ferry line. We made it just in time. Riding the ferry is always so much fun for our kids. It doesn't even matter that they have already been on a couple this summer because every ride is like they are riding it for the first time. We had the most gorgeous sunset on the way into Seattle and although it was a bit overcast the skyline was still as beautiful as ever. This was a great way to end our special and fun filled day!

Baptism Morning

We all woke up with anticipation of Andrew's big day. Mike left early to go and fill the baptismal font. The rest of us got ready quickly so that we could be to the church early to take pictures. The cousins enjoyed being together and didn't complain too much about getting their picturs taken. Don't look too closely at our family picture as Peter is not happy to be in them...the little stinker doesn't enjoy family pictures. Oh well, they get posted anyways! Oh and gotta love the LONG ties. I do know how to tie their ties but in the rush I forget to double it...hence, the super long dorky looking ties. Oh mercy!

After playing for a little bit outside we headed inside to get Andrew changed and to get everything situated. Things just couldn't have gone smoother with Andrew's baptism. He had both grandparents, some of his cousins, Aunt Kim and Uncle Brooks, some of his closest friends and of course his own family at his baptism. It was a small crowd which was perfect and since there weren't too many small children we could all feel the reverence and peace of being part of such a great ordinance. Grandpa Al gave a talk on Baptism which was excellent. Andrew was super focused and I could tell that our little lecture about being reverent and not silly was paying off. After Andrew was baptized Grandma Ann gave a talk on The Holy Ghost which was also excellent. The spirit was definitely strong and I was so grateful for that. I hope that Andrew will always remember the spirit that he felt on his Baptism Day. His cousin Jacob closed the baptism by playing his own rendition of "I am a Child of God" on the piano. He did a great job and we were grateful that so many of our family could participate.

Andrew's Birthday Celebration

Andrew's 8th birthday called for a really special celebration so we postponed the festivities until all of the family arrived the day before the Baptism. We gave Andrew his present on his actual birthday. He was really excited by his first set of personalized scriptures. He immediately opened them up and admired the new golden tabs and his name written across the front cover. Mike and I were so pleased that he appreciated how special they were.

My mom and dad arrived a couple of days before everyone else to spend some time with all of us before the craziness started. Andrew could hardly contain himself as he opened up his new Indiana Jones lego set by Grandma and Grandpa Kelsch. Andrew and Peter went straight to work putting it together.

Andrew, Peter, Emma, Grandma and even Mike pitched in the day before to decorate the really cool Mario cupcakes. I enlisted Mike to do the Mario cupcake because he is the artistic one in the family. Andrew was really happy with the way they turned out (I am not going to lie...I was too!)

The boys started out the party with a fun water balloon fight. Everyone outside was free game so I stayed inside and watched. Poor Grandpa got nailed by Andrew and luckily his camera was not ruined. He was such a good sport about it. Then Mike and all the kids got in line so Andrew could crawl through the traditional "spanking machine." The best thing about the party was the fact that Andrew got to celebrate with both of his grandparents and some of his cousins. It has been many years since we have had family around to celebrate one of our kids birthdays. My hope is that Andrew will remember how loved he was on this special birthday.