General Conference

Every April and October we have the opportunity to hear from our prophet and apostles in General Conference. Since it is in Salt Lake we have always watched it over a satellite feed to the church, over TV or the internet. Even though I grew up near Salt Lake, I don't recall every going to a session in person. In April we had to opportunity to go to Salt Lake and take Landon and Mason to see a couple of sessions in person. It was a neat experience.

Temple Baptisms

Last March we took Landon and Mason to do baptisms in the Seattle Temple. They are eager to learn and participate in everything they know about the gospel. They had been looking forward to going inside the temple to perform baptisms on behalf of those who did not have the opportunity in this life.

Lydia's Baptism

Lydia was baptized last weekend. It was a wonderful weekend for her and our family. She had waited for this day for a long time and was so excited to officially become a member of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

A few weeks before her baptism, I took a few pictures of her in her white dress. Here are a few of our favorite pictures.

Our family the day after the baptism.   

 

Lydia with her Grandma Evans and Grandma and Grandpa McKinney

Lydia was baptized and confirmed by her father.    

Lydia was lucky to have many cousins and siblings there.

Lydia with her fellow 8 year old cousin buddy Jack. 

(Jack, Jacob, Landon, Izabel, Cameron, Quinn, Mason, Lydia, Ella, and Halle)

After we enjoyed refreshments in the park.  We were blessed with a beautiful sunny day.  

Lydia enjoying refreshments with her friends. 

Jacob with his buddies Sophie and Quinn.  Trying to keep his church clothes clean. 

A day Lydia will will remember always.  

Thank you to all those that shared this day with us.  

Snow Days

Winter arrived early this year. This week we've had a crazy amount of snow. It all started Sunday night, and since we didn't get any snow last year the kids were so excited that they hurried out because they weren't sure how long it would last.

Here are a few reasons we love snow days in Seattle:

Jumping on the Trampoline

"it's like being in an igloo"-Lydia

Our cul-de-sac becomes a sled hill and everyone on our street comes over to play!

Sledding with friends!

Sipping hot chocolate and cooling it off with snow.

Watching Jacob hike up and down the hill. He's a die hard sledder- he thinks he went down the hill 2000 times.
Landon and Mason took the responsibility of walking to the neighborhood grocery store for me. With a short shopping list, $20 and a cell phone they felt so grown up, and it helped me out.
Snow ball fights of coarse!

School being cancelled and hanging out with friends, laughing the whole time.

Playing so long Lydia's boot shoelaces freeze together, but it's so worth it!

Fall Soccer

Lydia had a great time playing soccer this fall. We thought she mostly wanted to spend time with friends, but we she seems to have a lot of fun with the sport as well.

Jostling for position

The downside of fall soccer (or maybe its just soccer in the Northwest) is that the fields get pretty sloshy by the end of the season. Lydia played goalie the final game and got to stand in a pile of mud.

And of course, her biggest fan.

Lower Lake Lena

In August Landon and Mason went on their first real camping trip. As 11 year old scouts they were invited to join the older scout troop on a backpacking trip to Lower Lake Lena (pdf), just inside the Olympic National Park.

Trailhead

The entire trail looked pretty much like this. Roughly 3.5 miles each way, but the first half is all uphill and feels more like 7 by itself.

We crossed a couple bridges, this one very tame. I wish I had a picture of the bridge/log we crossed while looking for a campsite. Bro. Curtis and I are still just grateful we all made it.

Finally made it to the top. Beautiful hike and picturesque lake!

The most notable part of the trip was that the few campgrounds were all taken. We hiked well into the evening hours looking for a place to setup tents and build a fire to cook our meals. We ended up settling for a rocky, stumpy and mossy hillside that was just clear enough to lay a few sleeping bags down. I'll leave it at that so Landon and Mason can add in all the folklore they feel necessary while telling you the story themselves.

Jacob turns 3!

We love this little boy! It's hard to believe but this past Sunday he turned 3! We gave him a new church shirt and tie for his birthday, which he proudly wore because it was just like what Landon and Mason wear. He offically went from toddler to little man! After church we had Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Matt over for dinner. We gave Jacob the head of the table for his special day!

Last year it was Elmo this year Jacob loves Mickey Mouse!
So a Mickey Mouse birthday cake it was.

The next day we had Jacob's first friend birthday party.

We had the birthday party after school so his best little playmate Lydia could join in on the fun however, it made for a long day for him to wait.

For fun, I made a Mickey Mouse clubhouse for Jacob's party out of a washer box.

Finally, the friends arrived! Jacob was so exicted to share his birthday with 6 little friends.

We played a few games, put on Mickey ears and danced the "Fancy Dance".Cake time!

Happy Birthday Jacob!

Favors!Ever since the party Lydia and Jacob have hardly left the clubhouse (washer box). On Friday night they even slept in it together. Who knew a box could be so much fun!