Ryan's Baptism

I had wanted Ryan's baptism to be a memorable experience for him, and I can honestly say that I don't think he will ever forget it! I don't think most of our extended family will forget that weekend either. He was baptized on Sat. Oct 11th in Rupert. We drove down Friday evening and had nice dry roads the entire way. Not too long after we left, it started snowing in Boise. Enough to stick on the grass, but not on the road. We were a little worried the weather would follow us and make driving a little challenging for people coming to the baptism, but we had NO idea. We woke up Saturday morning to 3 inches of snow on the ground in Rupert. Talk about fun and exciting for the kids. We had packed a good amount of snow clothes for the boys for hunting, so they were right out there shoveling and having a blast. Stephen checked the weather and called his family to tell them it was supposed to be letting up. But it didn't. It snowed and snowed and snowed. By the time we were leaving for the baptism at 5:00, there was about 8 inches on the ground, and it snowed another 3 inches during the baptism.

To make it even more memorable, there were problems with the pump to bring water into the baptismal font, so they had to run a hose in from outside, across the snow into the church to fill the font. so the water was COLD! The baptism itself was really nice, with great talks by grandmas, music by Ryan's aunts, and a very excited boy. Afterwards we had root beer floats for refreshments-- a little ironic considering the weather-- but it had been 92 degrees a week and a half earlier.

Stephen's family was debating which way to go to get back to Utah, but the main freeway was closed, so their only option was to go through Pocatello. It took them 2 hours to get to American Falls, normally a 45 minute drive, but once they made it past Pocatello, the roads were fine.

The storm just hung out over Rupert and kept piling up. By Sunday, we ended up with 15 inches-- all of church was canceled except Sacrament meeting. In the middle of October! It was crazy!!!! And memorable!!!

Here are some pictures of the snow.

Ryan is 8!!!!

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I cannot believe how fast time flies. It seems like just yesterday that we were waiting for Ryan to make his appearance, hauling him to classes, and cheering for him to reach each little milestone. He was born at 10:38 pm on Sept 7, 2000 after a long day of walking and walking and more walking. But then he was so perfect and little and amazing. Stephen and I were both going to school and he just went along with us to class. I was working on my Masters in Family Relations and Child Development, so most of my professors were fine with having him in class. There were even a couple who would give us a group assignment just to have an excuse to hold the baby for the hour. He was a total trooper and hardly ever cried.

Fast forward to today: Ryan is a very independent, determined, smart kid. He excells at his school subjects and is usually in the middle of at least 3 books at a time!!! When he turned 7, he used his birthday money to buy himself scriptures and set a goal to read the entire Book of Mormon before his 8th birthday. We read part as a family, but he spent a lot of time on his own listening to and reading along with the CD. And he did it!!! I'm amazed at how well he remembers the scripture stories and how comfortable he is with the language of the scriptures-- he even loved the Isaiah chapters.

He is a fun kid to be around and a good helper. We've been canning peaches and tomatoes this past week and he has skinned them, cut them, and put them in the bottles. He is excited to be able to start mowing the lawn now that he is 8. He is also excited about his baptism and starting scouts!

We love you Ryan!!!!!