All dressed in white

July 2nd was special day. Natalie was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

For several weeks she practiced the Primary song "When I am Baptized" to play as a duet with her piano teacher, Samantha. It was beautiful and they played it perfectly.

We are very proud of her.

We are so glad to have shared this special day with Coleman and his family, our dear friends and neighbors who moved to Tennessee last summer, as he was baptized too!

These two were instant buddies when we moved in the neighborhood almost 5 years ago. I love this picture of them after raiding our closet with Coleman wearing Dennis' dress shoes and Natalie wearing my boots. Cute little couple, huh?!

We had a fun time taking these pictures the evening before the baptism. I just love Natalie's smile in this one.

It truly was a special day. As I helped her change into her pretty white dress, she said to me, "Mom, I loved how clean I felt as I came out of the water." That was a beautiful reminder for me as I explained to her that she can feel that way every Sunday as she goes to church and takes the sacrament.

We are so appreciative of the many (we are still in awe) ward members, whom we consider family, that came to support Natalie and our family. And many thanks for their contributions to the celebration at our home that evening. It was such a memorable day.

We are so proud of her decision to be baptized and feel so blessed to have her as a part of our family.

BYU and fishing

Last week Davis attended BYU Basketball with a friend and his older brother. The plan was to take and pick them up daily. His friend's aunt and uncle live right by BYU, so they were fortunate enough to stay with them during the week. And since our kids to not do sleepovers, Davis was thrilled.

Davis was very excited to get Jimmer Fredette's autograph on his bag and jersey! And to top off a great week, he and Matt (on the right) were able to be on the winning team for their division and played in the championship tournament at the end of the camp. He even got a CHAMPION t-shirt for proof!

A few weeks ago Davis and Dennis went on a camping/fishing trip with a couple other diehard flyfishermen in southern Utah. Apparently they did A LOT of hiking, but the scenery was well worth it.

Davis did prove himself a true flyfisherman as he caught his first fish on a flyrod while in a float tube! Way to go Davis!

And here is my handsome prince --

We sure love summertime! It's so great to be able to spend time doing things we enjoy without the real schedules, homework, etc. It's even better when we can do those things together.

And that's worth something when I can say that even with the amount of daily bickering among the troops. But we love them anyway!

Daddy-Daughter Pinwood Derby

Natalie and her dad were lucky enough to participate in the Daddy-Daughter Pinewood Derby a week before her 8th birthday. The activity day group is for girls 8 years and older, but our dear neighbor is the leader and knew that Natalie (and especially Dennis!) would be very happy to be a part of the event!

Natalie came up with the design and they jointly worked on the car. But the sweet paint job was professional (yes, done by a real bodyshop)!

Not quite sure exactly how the car did, but does that really matter anyway? They had a great time! She is very excited to officially be a part of Activity Days now that she is 8!

EIGHT

Our sweet Natalie had a birthday -- 8 years old! When we moved here she was just a toddler and now look at her. We've never lived anywhere long enough to watch our kids 'grow up' in the same house, same neighborhood. It's good. Really good to have those memories.

She requested an Oreo ice cream cake for her family birthday. We didn't have 8 candles (poor planning, mom), but did have a #4 and 4 candles. So we did a little math along with the singing! :) It worked.

A few days later we celebrated with her friends with cupcakes and a trip to the local rec center that has a fabulous pool! They all had a great time!

We had

6 friends + our 5 + 'helper' Katie + Dennis and me = one GREAT time!

Her friends were very generous with their gifts. Natalie even scored a new pet (preauthorized of course!) -- a beta fish named Mario. We hope you had a wonderful 8th birthday!

Thank you for being such a beautiful daughter, Natalie. We love you tons!