Deacon's Baptism

 Deacon's Baptism was on Feb.25, 2024. He was baptized and confirmed by his Dad, with a room full of family and friends there to support him, including the Fox's and Nielson grandparents on Facetime. Rick and Ann were very sad to miss it, and even tried to find a flight home, but the timing just didn't work out. It turned out great  and I was so thankful to our family who was in town for being so willing to participate and show up for him. We had Melanie and Don give talks, Jordan play the piano, Tamara and Brent say prayers, Lee and Don be witnesses, and Brother Meldrum from the bishopric give a message and conduct. Besides immediate family, we had Paul and Renata's family, the Lockings, Aluel's family, the Engens (Deacon's class friend Vander), and Amanda Olsen (the primary president). 

We had a table to display a picture of Deacon, the programs, and a baptism book, where people could write him a little message. Besides a little hiccup of trying to get facetime working and starting a bit late, everything went great. Deacon was thrilled to be baptized and receive so much attention. Melanie brought cotton candy for everyone, and I had little bags of rainbow candy too. We had just family over to our house afterward for dinner and dessert. We had pulled pork on a bun, and lots of sides. Deacon requested an Italian Soda Bar, so we had lots of Torani flavors, club soda and other sodas, creams (hazelnut or plain), whipped cream, and ice. It was a lot of fun! I really liked the salted caramel flavor with club soda and hazelnut cream, but it was fun for the kids to experiment different flavors. We also had a little brownie dessert bar. It had bite brownies, ice cream, strawberries, chocolate and caramel sauce, sprinkles, and mini m&ms. He also got spoiled with gifts from family! Lots of Kit Kat's, CTR rings, and a scripture case that Grandma had made and sent to him that matched the camo spine on his scriptures we got for him. Bentley also used her own money to buy him a gift, which was so nice of her. 

Deacon is such a good kid and it was important to me to make this day really special for him. I think we succeeded! He had a really great experience. The week after his baptism was Fast Sunday. We woke up to Deacon coming into our room saying "Happy Fast Sunday!" He was already dressed in his suit, ready for church, and telling us he was going to fast today. Then at church he decided to bare his testimony and did that on his own so bravely. I am constantly amazed by Deacon and his testimony and obedience to the gospel. I've seen him many times taking a moment in the middle of the day to say a prayer, and he tells us all the time that things happen because he prayed for it. He sure is a special boy! I don't know what we did to deserve him, but we feel so blessed, and are so proud of him. 

February

 February was a great month! The -40 temps were gone and it actually warmed up quite a bit. With it being love month, we were actually able to go on lots of dates! Brett and Haley Layton had a little Valentine's party where we brought food and hung out. We even got our picture taken with a Polaroid camera. One weekend we went to the Candlelight Tribute to Coldplay with Steve and Abby Richards, which was a lot of fun. We ate dinner beforehand at "The Banquet" in Mahogany, which was really delicious. That weekend we also went to The Rec Room for Trevor Locking's birthday. We had Ryley babysit and the kids gave us a "heart attack" on our bedroom door, which was the cutest thing to come home to. After she babysat, Bentley decided she really wanted to babysit herself. She is 10 now, and quite responsible, so we decided to give it a try. We went out to dinner close by a few times, and Bentley's done a great job! She gets the younger kids to bed great. Deacon doesn't love that she is in charge, since he isn't too much younger, so sometimes that can be an issue. Ultimately, though, we are hitting a big milestone where we don't need a babysitter anymore. It's super exciting how much freedom that gives us!

On Valentine's Day, I made heart shaped banana pancakes, and put them on heart plates. I also gave the kids a new book and treat that morning. 

Other random things this month include Leo starting a music class put on by Breanne Gallop. They sing and play instruments and he loves going because his buddy, Gus, is in the class too. Jeff brought home some cool farmers eggs from a client that were green and brown, and I also have a photo of Boston in his favorite vest that is sized 18 months, but he won't let go. It barely zips up it's so small, but he sure love it. That and his Christmas sweater that he wants to wear every day. 

On Family day, we decided to go to Banff. We knew there would be crowds, but decided to risk it anyway because we really wanted to do something fun together as a family. We did drop Boston off at Don and Cindy's, though, because he was too little for the things we were doing. He ended up having a great time with his grandparents! First stop for us was Mt. Norquay for tubing. We went down as a group the first time and were shocked at how fast the hill was! Bentley was a little nervous, but we realized having that much weight together was why we went so fast. Afterwards, the kids went on their own and the speed was perfect for them. The line wasn't too bad, and honestly kind of a welcome rest each time. We stayed there for a few hours and had a great time! The weather was perfect, in the pluses, but still enough snow for us. After that we decided to grab some beavertails! How can you not do this when in Banff? The line was long, but actually went pretty fast, and t was fun to pick the flavors we wanted. Also kind of fun for the kids to feel the energy of Banff. After that we headed to the hotsprings. The line for this was insane, and we almost bailed. They were letting people in as others left. But then suddenly it went really fast and we were in. The kids thought it was neat and had a good time, although probably would've liked a regular pool with a waterslide better! It was a great end to the day, though, and I was glad we braved it and had a good day together.

The kids had the whole week off school after that. We filled it with play dates, appointments, and their regular activities that were still running since our school has different days off than most. I got my hair colored, and also had Stefanie cut Bentley's hair. She had finally started complaining about how hard it was to manage, so it was time for a cut. She cut off a good chunk, but still left it nice and long. Anders' mom took Deacon to the Flying Squirrel with them, after I had asked for a play date, which was so nice of her! Deacon gets along with him really well and they are both such nice boys. They also both have activity days now that Deacon is 8. Bentley went sledding that week, while Deacon played mini golf and other games at the church. They also still had basketball and karate, so the week flew by. 

At the end of February, Deacon was baptized, which I will post about in a separate post, along with his adorable temple photos.