It's Great to be 8!

Last week was a big fun filled week. We had so many adventures! The best part was Benjamin's baptism. He was baptised on April 9 at 1:00. He was so sweet about it. Nana and Papa (Mike and Alison Christensen) and Grandma and Grandpa Glemser came up to celebrate with us and support Ben in this decision. I was talking to Ben a few days before his baptism and I basically asked him if he was sure he wanted to do this (take this step and this responsibility). He looked at me and said "wait, I have a choice?" I laughed, but then it led to a great discussion about what it means to be baptised and how "yes, this had to be his choice." He decided he really believes the church is true and that he wanted to be baptised. I am so proud of him for making that choice. I know this is not the happiest face, but he really was so happy to be baptised. I thought he looked so handsome in his new suit (even if it is a little big :). There is a cool story behind this suit. We had wanted to get him a new suit for his baptism but for many reasons hadn't yet. Well about a week and a half before his baptism I got a sweet call from my sweet neighbor Dawn (she lives 3 doors down and she and her husband are from South Africa and have the best accents :). She called me up and said she had 2 brand new suits for little boys one was a size 8 and one a size 12. She knew our church had "big milestones"-that's how she put it-and wondered if we could use these suits. I was so excited and so grateful! Both suits were so nice and I was so excited to be able to give him something so great on this special day. The Lord truly does bless us through others.

Two of the best looking guys I know!

I want to say thank you so much to our sweet parents who journeyed so far to be with us. We love you all so much!

After his baptism we went out to eat at one of our favorite pizza joints Old Chicago. We splurged and got all our favorite appetizers. We had a very fun and yummy night.

Joelle has been asking to go here for a few months so she was in heaven.

I love watching people eat pizza. It just looks so yummy! (Are you hungry yet?)

On Wednesday (April 6), Ben had his first Pinewood Derby. He has wanted to participate in his own Derby for years (he went with David once while David was a scout leader and has been itching to do his own car since). He actually had his car done a few months before he even turned 8. It was so cute.

He came in 4th out of 10 which isn't bad. He also one a prize for "coolest design." Which was pretty special since he actually did design it. David helped him make it but he chose exactly how he wanted it shaped, and painted and he picked out the decals. He was pretty dang proud of himself (David was a pretty proud Dad).

You can't really see his car in this picture, but it is the second one from the left.

Most of the pictures taken in this post came from Alison. For some reason I kept forgetting to take my camera whenever we went out. Thankfully she had hers. We took the kids down to the temple and the bookstore. They loved getting to see the temple again. It was only their second time. I think Alison got some great shots. I love this Temple. It is beautiful. The inside still has a lot of the white marble like on the outside, but it also has a lot of very pretty dark wood. I am so happy to be able to live by a temple.

I think these doors are so cool.

We took a little trip to Tillamook with Nana and Papa. Our family loves going to Tillamook and visiting the cheese factory. This first little shop is called the Blue Heron Cheese company. They make and sell the best Brie. This shop is definitely more geared toward adults, and I love it! If you can't tell this is Jacob inside the donkey face. He loves these kinds of things, even if we are not taking pictures :).

This one is Emma, what a cutie!

And of course ... little Missy with her classic smile. I wonder if she knows how to smile a normal smile?

I think this has to be one of Nana's best pictures. I have to say when this picture is enlarged their eyes look pretty creepy. The little shop sells food so you can come out and feed the animals. That is Joelle's favorite part. It was pretty chilly this time so some of the younger kiddos really didn't care to feed the animals. Oh well, more for us Adults that way :).

This is a picture of the inside of the Tillamook Cheese Factory. This picture comes from upstairs. It is really cool to watch. They make so much cheese, and I love their cheese (and ice cream - my kids love to do the hour and 20 min. drive just to get a little ice cream cone from this place).

The best part is the cheese tasting isle. On a good day when there aren't a ton of people we will go down the isle probably 10 times. We think it is great fun. I love the pepper jack, Jacob loves the squeaky cheese (that is it's actual name and it really squeaks), Joelle likes the medium cheddar, and Emma likes the extra sharp cheddar. Dave, Katie and Ben like them all. It is one of our favorite places to take visitors.

Cape Mears is the closest light house to Tillamook. David's parents wanted to check out our ocean to see how different it was from theirs. They loved it but admitted that it was a lot colder and windier than their part of the country.

I love this little lighthouse.

This is the view from one of the lookouts by the lighthouse.

This is the view from down on the beach. It was definitely chilly that afternoon, but you can't beat the beauty of it! Alison got some AMAZING pictures of the beach. I love the ocean!

That is me out their with the kiddos. (I have rainboots on by the way, no way I would do that in my barefeet - Although Papa was totally brave and got in barefoot and all. Gotta love that guy!)

We had so much fun with Mike and Alison and can't wait till we can see them agian. I love family and I thank the Lord every day that I have been blessed with so many wonderful people in my life. Where would we be without family? Family really is everything. I love you all!!!