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Last weekend, we went up to Washington for Will’s baptism. It was such a special day, Tim getting to baptize and confirm his son and then spending the rest of the day hanging out with all the kids. Definitely a long day, but also a very fun day.
Driving to Washington
The baptism was at 10am, which meant we had to leave around 6am to get up there, find the church, change into our church clothes, and be ready to go by 9:45. We aimed to leave at 6am and got out of the house about 6:15. We picked up Tim’s mom and then hit the road.
Tim drove during the first part of the drive and I was able to take a picture of the sunrise. There weren’t any clouds, but there were some very lovely colors. After the sun came up, I took over driving while Tim and his mom napped.
Baptism Tradition
One of the fun traditions for the kids’ baptisms comes from their Japanese heritage, which they get through Tim’s mom, who is half Japanese. She makes kimonos for all the kids to wear after being baptized. For each baptism, the older children wear their kimonos for the entire service and the child we got baptized wear’s their after the baptism. Anna and Emily have outgrown their handmade kimonos, so their mom bought them new kimonos online. Leah’s baptism was a year and a half ago, so hers still fits. They were all so adorable.
Tim doesn’t have a kimono for himself, but his mom has a collection of kimonos that she lets us wear at the baptisms. Miki has always been very welcoming towards me and offered one to me at Leah’s baptism. It made me feel very welcome and part of the family. Will’s baptism was no different. Miki had kimonos for both me and Tim to wear and it was such a special experience.
Miki and I changed into our kimonos while Tim and Will changed into their baptism outfits. Emily and Anna wanted me to sit with them while we were waiting for the boys to get finished and I took a picture of us together. Of course.
Cuteness Alert
When Tim and Will made it to the chapel, the row we were in was pretty full. Tim knelt down next to the row so Will could sit on the bench next to Cutie Pie (that’s what the kids call Tim’s mom). Will, sweetheart of a child, decided he was going to sit on Tim’s lap, so as soon as Tim squatted down, he slipped onto Tim’s lap and curled up into him. It was seriously the cutest thing ever.
I am so ashamed to say that I did not take a picture because I was worried about other family members and relatives of the kids judging me harshly for taking a picture after the service had started. Tim doesn’t normally ask about specific pictures, but I was so sad later that day when Tim asked if I got a picture of that moment. He said Will climbing into his lap in that moment made his heart so happy. I really, really, REALLY wish I’d taken that picture.
The Baptism
Will’s baptism was pretty standard for the most part. There were multiple kids being baptized, so there was an initial opening song, opening prayer, and a couple super short talks. Will’s stepdad, Steve, gave one of the talks. It was very sweet and touching.
After that, each ward took turns doing their baptism and then going into separate rooms for the confirmations. When it was Will’s turn to be baptized, we all went into the relief society room for the ordinance. Will’s mom, Mary, asked Tim’s mom and Steve’s mom to be the witnesses for the baptism while she handled the zoom video.
The zoom video ended up being a bit of a problem because someone shared the baptism link publicly on Facebook. Some random people joined in and were yelling about Tim drowning Will while he was performing the ordinance. It was so unfortunate. Tim and I only shared the link through text to his sister and stepdad as well as my parents and siblings. None of them were able to see the full ordinance because Mary had to run out of the room and shut off the zoom meeting because of all the yelling from the randos.
Aside from the zoom link drama, things went mostly smooth. Will wasn’t prepared for being baptized because nobody has practiced with him and also because he can’t swim, so he panicked when he was put underwater. He kicked his feet out of the water and had to be baptized again. lol. I had to be baptized twice, too. But not because of my feet. My dad didn’t put me far enough underwater and part of my hair stayed dry. lol.
The Confirmation
After the baptism, we went back to the chapel for Will to be confirmed. A confirmation is when priesthood holders put their hands on the individual’s head and confers upon them the Gift of the Holy Ghost. Basically, blessing the individual to have the Holy Ghost as a constant presence and companion for the rest of their life. It’s pretty special. Tim confirmed Will and was surrounded by various other male family members Mary had asked to be part of the confirmation. A new zoom meeting was created for the confirmation, so there were no further intrusions. I was able to text the link to mine and Tim’s families so they could be part of the ceremony. It was very nice and there was such a sweet spirit there.
Pictures!
And then we all went outside to do pictures. lol. We got a whole bunch of really cute photos. First up was the photo with Tim, Cutie Pie, and the kids. Will was so adorable. I asked him why so serious and he said he was being formal.
Emily insisted we have a family photo with me in it, so I popped in for a photo. Emily latched onto me and kept saying “I’m kidnapping you.” It was so funny. I asked her if she was trying to kidnap me from the photo and she said yes. I was trying so hard to smile like a normal person and not laugh my head off. And then Leah pushed Anna right when Emily was doing an “I’m kidnapping you” pull on my arm and I almost fell over.
Then we did a series of parent and Will photos. Little dude was a little pictured out by the time we were done. lol
Playing Around
After the baptism, we all went back to Mary and Steve’s house for a little luncheon and quality time. Everyone ate sandwiches and then Tim and I went upstairs to play with the kids. Tim played stuffed animals with Emily, Leah, and one of their cousins for a bit. They had this whole thing where Tabor (pink stuffie) stole Leah’s ring, claiming it as her Ring of Power, and then everyone tried to come up a ring to swap for it. It was hilarious.
Moo Lessons
After that, Emily gave us a Moo lesson. For the uninitiated, Moo is a giant blue beanie boo who is a Moo Queen. Tim is the Great God of Mooses and I’m the Great Moo Goddess. Citizens of Moo are called the Mooselites and their language is Moo. Emily gives us lessons in the Moo language periodically and also quizzes us on what we remember from last time. We got her a cute little mini leather notebook that is Moo-sized for her to write down the Moo language in. It’s so fun.
Tackle Daddy!
After that, Will and Leah engaged in one of their favorite pastimes: tackle daddy and snuggle daddy while also playing and showing him stuff.
Attack of the Witch Fingers!
Will and Emily decided I needed some fun, too, and did a witch finger attack!
Emily’s Salon
And then Emily wanted to braid my hair and paint my nails. One of our things is that we try out different braids on each other. She really likes to do scarf braids or ponytail braids. She does really well and I’m so excited to learn more braids with her. The nails also turned out really well. She did one hand with glitter and the other with dark blue and glitter.
Gettin Lei’d
While we were hanging out with the kids, Will brought up some colorful flower leis and gave them to us. He put one around our necks and another he positioned as hats. lol. He’s so creative.
Gifts
Before we left to go play at the park, we gave Will his baptism present and gave Anna a new phone case for her phone. We got Will a red scripture case, a tie pin, and a multi-color scripture marking pen. My parents sent him a picture of Jesus with kids. Mary and Steve got him a new set of scriptures.
For Anna, we’d previously found a phone case for her at Goodwill, but recently a brand new one on clearance at Walmart. It was a super pretty shimmery purple blue color, so we figured she’d probably like it.
Playing at the Park
Zipline
After that was a trip to the park. The first thing the kids wanted to do was ride this super cool zipline. They all wanted Tim to send them down the line. Except Anna. Poor Anna. She’s too tall for the zipline. But she had a lot of fun pulling the littles down the line.
Leah was okay after falling. I thought she wouldn’t want to go again, but she rode several more times and asked Tim to go faster each time. He made sure she was holding on tighter before each ride.
Playing Around
We did a lot of stuff at the park. The kids rode the zipline, I swung on the swings with Anna, we climbed through this rope net thing and climbed on some ropes. Tim swung from the net to the climbing rope and I tried to copy him. It did not work as well. lol. I landed on the edge of the plastic disc and slipped off, whacking my knee pretty hard. I’ve got two goose eggs and three bruises from that. lol. Anna, Emily, and Will had zero issues climbing the ropes.
Emily wanted me to watch her slide, so I walked over to the slide. There were two slides coming out of the place where she went up and I didn’t see which one she went down. Of course, I was sitting by the one she wasn’t going down. lol. She had me stand in front of the correct one and told me not to move while she went down again.
Merry Go Round
At one point, Emily asked me to spin the merry go round thing. It was fun. After a couple minutes, a whole bunch of kids came over to have a ride. Every free space was taken up after a while and I got quite the workout pushing it. I was running while pushing and would then give it a giant heave before letting it spin itself out. And then there were the times when the kids would ask me to stop it so someone else could get on or they could switch spots. I’d have to grab it and plant my feet. It was fun.
Tim took secret pictures of me playing with all of them. And he got pictures of Anna and Emily pushing me when I told them I was too tired to do it anymore. All the kids split and I had it to myself for a little while. lol
Soccer
The kids had fun playing soccer with their dad for a while. I love that they’re all so active together.
Quiet Walk
I was pretty people’d out, so I took a little walk over by the river for a little while. A guy was very excited by the ducks and insisted I take photos of them, so I did. lol. They were cute. It was a very pretty and peaceful place.
End of the Day
About the time I got back over to the park, someone came over to say it was time to leave. Mary and Steve were going to take the kids out to dinner with Tim’s sister and brother in law. It was late and we had a long drive back to Salem. We’d been up super early and were pretty tired. Tim’s mom had left her purse at Mary’s house, so two of the kids rode back with us and then we did our hugs and goodbyes. It’s always sad to leave them, but we had to go. The drive back was fairly uneventful and we got home around 10pm. It was a very long day, but it was also a very good day. We’re very glad we went and we all had a wonderful time.
