Leading up to the big day we had lots of fun with the Albrechts. Too much fun in fact.
This is how I look when I go to bed at 2 AM the night before and then have a million things to do the next day. Luckily I had tons of help getting everything ready for the baptism and the bbq after.
On Friday Jordan and Abby and their families came down to join the party. The boys were having lots of fun watching March Madness. They actually were quite helpful even though this picture would suggest otherwise:)
When Skyler arrived we had the trio of spideys running amuck.
Here they were trying out their flying abilities.
Luckily, everyone calmed down and managed to be quite reverent for the main event. Rylynn was so excited that her baptism day had finally arrived. She has been counting down for over 3 months. Literally. Every day! It was really neat for me when I was braiding Rylynn's hair into a crown braid because I still vividly remember my Mom doing the same thing for me on my baptism day.
These are all the wonderful friends that came to support Rylynn. Annie and Elisabeth Vaughan, Angelie Lundhall, Sara and Brinley Harr, and my cousin Sara's daughter Alethia. She felt very loved and supported.
Our little family! We were all so proud of Rylynn. She set such a great example for her little brothers.
Aunt Abby gave the talk on baptism and then Garrett performed the baptism. Uncle Jordan and Aric were the witnesses. Luckily Uncle Jordan spotted the little toe that poked up out of the water so Rylynn got to be dunked twice! I will never forget Rylynn's face as I went back to help her change. She looked at me with so much excitement in her eyes like she was about to cry and said, "Mom! I just got baptized!" She said she felt so happy and she looked so bright and beautiful.
After Rylynn changed we had all the kids sing "When I am Baptized". Rylynn wanted all her cousins, brothers, and a few of her friends to sing with her. Annie and Elisabeth and Angelie all sang too. The kids all did a great job. Rylynn's piano teacher, sister Stuart played the piano for us.
Aunt Danielle gave the talk on the Holy Ghost and then during the confirmation Beckett decided he had had enough excitement for one weekend. He actually fell asleep sitting up but we laid him down so he would be a little more comfortable. The members of the circle were Garrett, Jordan, Aric, Bishop Carter, and Brother Harr. Garrett gave Rylynn such a sweet blessing and talked about the example she was setting for her brothers as well as those members of our extended family who are not members of our church. It talked about how special of a daughter of Heavenly Father that she is and how much good she will do in the world around her throughout her life and what a great missionary she will be.
This is the beautiful quilt that Nana made for Rylynn. She makes these for all her grandchildren and Rylynn couldn't wait to get hers. If you look closely you can see the Rod of Iron leading to the tree. The fruit glows in the dark and the back of the quilt is super soft white fabric to remind her of the gift of the comforter. We were so sad Nana couldn't be there to give the holy ghost talk and present Rylynn her blanket, but having it on display made us think of her. We actually skyped my parents in so they could see the whole baptism. No one knew since we just stealthily set up the lap top on a chair and had the computer on mute so you couldn't hear them or see them. It was a bit of a miracle that they were able to see the whole thing since I really wasn't able to spend more than a few seconds setting up the computer. They saw and heard everything though. I'm so glad they were able to be a part of this amazing event in Rylynn's life.
This was the little table with the programs as you walk into the room. I had to put tulips on the table since they are Rylynn's favorite flowers. The programs have a picture of a garden gate on the front of them. Rylynn picked these programs because her theme she kept saying leading up to the baptism was, "number 8, open the gate!" We had been talking for months about how baptism was like opening the gate onto the path back to eternal life so when she saw these programs she got so excited:)
Here is all my wonderful extended family who were in attendance. My cousin Sara and her kids, my Grandma Allred, Abby, Danielle and Jordan and their cute kids. We were so lucky to have family living close by for this special event.
This was the back table where we had notecards set out for people to write a message or testimony for Rylynn while she was changing. She got some really sweet messages that she will treasure forever.
Great Grandma and the baptism girl
The Albrechts. We are so glad they live close enough to come!
After the baptism we went over to the park near our house and had a bbq while the kids played. We had yummy pulled pork sandwiches, coleslaw, frog eye salad, chips, and the kids favorite part, soda! You can tell that my kids never drink soda because they kind of go crazy when it is around. We also had costco cake and cookies for dessert.
Garrett brought the baseball equipment so the adults had some fun too.
It was such a great day and we are so proud of Rylynn for following the example of the Savior and being baptized.
