Scenes From a Spring Afternoon

It's Spring around here.  So we thought it only fitting to spend an afternoon at our favorite place:  Blue Knob State Park.  We  brought a frisbee and a picnic.  That's all we needed for an amazing afternoon.

Joely's Baptism

Joel turned 8 a few weeks ago.  In Joel's world (and pretty much every other Mormon kid's), 8 means baptism.  He was super excited to receive his brand new set of scriptures.  But he was also really nervous about his interview with the Bishop.  What questions would he ask?  What could he expect?  Matt sat Joel down and went through the entire process with him in preparation.  And Joel wrote meticulous notes.  All of his notes were in the form of the answers, the "right" answers he should be giving the Bishop.  His list said things like, "I do believe in God the Eternal Father", "I do believe in the Book of Mormon", etc.  I can't tell you how sweet and heartwarming it was to find that list inside of Joel's scripture case one day.  And I can't tell you how heartbreaking it was to realize that I can't find it!  It's lost!  I wanted to scan it and put it in this post for all posterity to read, but, I'm afraid that's not gonna happen.

Needless to say, Joel did great in his interview with the Bishop.  The baptism was last Saturday.  It was a beautiful service, attended by most of the extended Malone family.  I made these CTR cookies as refreshments.  Joel's response was, "Mom, why do you always cheat by stealing other peoples' ideas off the internet?"  I still love them, though I will definitely find myself a cookie cutter for next time.

Matt baptized Joel.  I'm so glad I'm married to someone who can do that for our children.  It makes it so special.

And I gave the talk on baptism.  I bawled through the whole thing.  I would love to say that my crying was because of how much I love Joel and how special and sacred the ordinance of baptism is to me, but I am pretty sure it's just a matter of being pregnant.

Either way, we got our boy baptized.  We are so proud of him and love him so very much!  Congratulations, Joely!

Whitney's White White Wedding

My sister, Whitney, got married last weekend.

Whitney chose an all white theme.  Which went great with the snow and freezing cold in Manti, Utah.  Why do all of my siblings get married in the freezing months of the year?  I guess I'm no better.  We got married in February.

Here I am with my Mom and all of my sisters except Whitney.

I have a lot of sisters.  Which one do you think I look the most like?  I vote Cassidy (the youngest in green).  Sometimes I look a lot like Heather, but that's only when my hair is blonde or hers is brown.  And when neither of us is gigantic.

Last fall Heather told us that she was pregnant.  We were all shocked.  I knew that Ashley, Haley, Bethany and I were all hoping to become pregnant as well, and then I realized that all 5 married sisters would be pregnant together, if we could just manage to all get pregnant before Heather had her baby.  What would be cooler than that?  I'll tell you what--I would be having my 5th, Heather her 4th, Bethany her 3rd, Ashley her 2nd and Haley her 1st baby!  Well, we cut it pretty close, but Bethany announced she was pregnant the night before Whitney's wedding.  For the next month or so we'll all be pregnant together!

And as an added bonus--everyone who knows what she's having (the first 4) is having a girl!

In the top picture we're standing in 5,4,3,2,1 order.  In the bottom we're standing in order of when we're due.  Look at all those fat bellies!

We had a great time with all the siblings (except Derek and Dillon who are both on missions).  We always have a good time.

And all the while, my mother-in-law was home tending Matt and the kids.  Thanks, Mom!  I had a great time!

P.S.  Someone please tell my why all my pictures look blurry.  What the heck?