another baptism picture

Here are a few more pictures from Bryant's baptism. I love them all. I am just sad that I don't have a picture of Bryant and I. Some have sad to recreate-- but it is just not the same. So I will have to enjoy the pictures of Jeff and Bryant.

This is my favorite picture of the whole day. You can't really see Bry's smile, but it is priceless.

Gone again-- Boston

Over Memorial Day Jeff and I took the boys to Boston. The end of May brings the end of Jeff's last month of research. So trying to take advantage of our last year on the east coast-- we headed out. We stayed with some friends the Colsons who have 4 boys. Doug finished his ENT residency as we moved into Syracuse. We didn't get to see them too much but are planning on meeting up again. Anyway we had a fabulous time despite getting lost a few times, 2 tickets and one huge bloody nose. One ticket was a parking and another one was a bogus red light. Total set up. Seth ran into a granite lamppost for the bloody nose. I'll spare you the other dirty details.

Boston is a very cool city. I loved reading about all the history. We hit the Science Museum and Children's Museum, a zoo. But my favorite parts were seeing Plymouth, MA and Freedom trail in Boston. It is amazing to read about dates that go back to 1600's. Plymouth is an adorable town. There is the Mayflower II, a replica. We also saw Plymouth Rock. Bryant got a camera for his birthday and loved taking pictures and little videos. There was a fun little walk up to a working Gris mill. I recommend Plymouth to anyone who can make it out there.

The freedom trail starts at Boston Common and ends at the Old North Church-- that is the "one if by land, two if by sea" church that Paul Revere rode to. We also saw "Old Ironsides" and Bunker Hill. There was tons we didn't see. We actually ran into some friends from Syracuse right in the middle of Boston Common. It was fun to see Abby and Laura. It also started to pour. It was raining harder then I've seen in a long time. We found a ledge to hide under until it passed. Then continued on to explore the freedom trail. Well worth it.

Living in the wild

I must live in the wild. I can frequently see birds- robins, cardinals, Red tailed hawks soar in the sky, crows can be seen on a regular basis as well. On almost any given morning in my backyard I can see squirrels, chipmunks (I don't like them), rabbits and woodchucks. I have also seen a skunk. Luckily that one was at night and he kept on moving. Deer have a nightly route through our side yard with their midnight snack in my flower bed. Grrrrr.

But the other day a saw an animal I've never seen before. I was driving home by the golf course, (for those of you who have been here you know that isn't far), when some animal ran across the road. In my mind I thought, "Deer no too big, fawn to short, dog no. Oh my heck (yes I am from Utah) that was a coyote!!! Boys did you see that!!" Of course they didn't see the coyote, but I did and was slightly unnerved by it. My friend says she can hear them at night. At first they sound like a child crying outside. This makes me thankful I have a fenced backyard, but also amazed that living right around me are all these amazing animals.

A perfect weekend for a baptism.

There are not many weekends that will fall into the category of perfect. It must be just the right combination of weather, activities, and company. While the weekend was jam packed-- it couldn't have gone better. Company started getting in Wednesday and Thursday-- including Grandma and Grandpa Jessop, Grandma and Grandpa Nelson, Brett and Tanner, Taylor and Melissa. Friday May 15 Bryant got baptized in the Susquehanna River. It is just over the PA border and the sight of the Aaronic priesthood restoration 180 years ago. It was beautiful. The sun was shining with no wind. It could not have been better.

Bryant was very nervous about how cold the water would be. But he (and Jeff) braved the water. As Bry got to where the water was deep enough. He looked up and said, "This isn't going to be pretty." I think he was referring to the silt he was stirring up. It was very cute. It was beautiful it see his smile and anticipation. Then the happiness after. His confirmation followed which was equally beautiful. I'll write another post about the rest of the weekend. This one is to tell Bryant how much I love him and am proud of him for making this choice.

Fun trip up North

A family shot in front of Parliament.

We decided to go to Canada before we needed passports for all the boys. So we headed off to Ottawa. It is a great city-- very family friendly, easy to navigate and tons to see. We hit lots of museums: The Agricultural Museum, The Canadian Mint, The Art Museum, The Tulip Festival, The World Civilizations Museum (the Best), The Natural History Museum, The War Museum, plus the Parliament Building to the top of the peace tower for a cool view. We also went swimming and hit church on Sunday. We really packed it in and didn't even see everything. I would have loved to bike or walk along the canal with the boys. Next time I would add a day. Well two days and spend some time in the Thousand Island area on the St. Lawrence River. That is a beautiful place. (It makes me think how fun it will be to create worlds someday.) Anyway Jeff loved speaking French. Half the city in the Provence of Quebec and officially french speaking. That is where our hotel was. I think Jeff didn't that on purpose. Here are a few of my favorite pictures. All of them are in a slide show to the side.

Bry chillin in the tractor

Oliver at the Parliament Building

Dane driving a bus

Seth driving

Alex's smile is worth a lot of money.