Bryn's Baptism
Before my grandma passed away and all of the events that surrounded that...we celebrated Bryn's Baptism. That was an exciting and special day not only for Bryn but for our family. I love that she has made the decision to follow Jesus Christ and to take His name upon her. She loves her Savior. Being baptized will be such a huge blessing in her life just like it has been in mine. It brings me such peace and joy.
We had family come to town for her baptism. Reilly flew in for five days which was awesome. I love that being there for Bryn's big day was important enough for her to not only take the time off of work but to buy her own plane ticket to come. She said that there was no way that she was going to miss it. That was such a parent payday. It is wonderful to see our children love and support one another in the gospel. It is a beautiful thing. Tyler's mom and step-dad also came up from Utah. Judie and Joel arrived on Friday during the day and we got to hang out with them that afternoon and then had dinner with them that night. Unfortunately Kameron had to work that night so he didn't get to come and Reilly flew in late.
Judie and Joel always travel via their big enormous trailer and like to stay at a local RV park. We met up with them there and visited, played games, and had dinner together. Grandpa Joel made us a fun new lawn game. It's called Kubb and it is a Swedish game that is kind of a cross between horse shoes and bowling but with blocks of wood. It was really fun! We loved it!
Bryn, Ailey, and Grandpa setting up the game after dinner.
It was Scotland vs Norway aka the McKinnons vs the Johnsons!! I think I've mentioned on the blog that I am actually related to Joel even though he is Tyler's step-dad. Joel and I are both McKinnons. My Great-Grandpa and his Grandpa were brothers. So we are cousins and I think that has always given us a special bond!! Joel painted our Kubb set with the Scottish flag on one side and the Norwegian flag on the other side for Tyler's heritage. We loved that!!
The Scots
The Norwegians
Brynnie with her game face ON!!
That big viking plays dirty and talks a lot of smack!!
He must have learned it from his mother!! She took Ailey out with one of the blocks. Ha ha!! Grandma Judie was in it to win it!!
Our team was calm but calculating...especially Grandpa Joel. He is awesome and kicked butt!!
We had so much fun. The Scots won one round and the Norwegians won one round. We are looking forward to a rematch for all the bragging rights the next time we are all together!!
Then Kameron got off of work, Reilly's plane arrived, and the Johnsons were together again!!
We still had a lot to do to get ready for Bryn's baptism the next morning so it was a super late night of getting last minute details taken care of, hanging out, and having fun.
Tyler and Bryn tried on their baptismal clothes.
Reilly tried a few different hair styles on Bryn for her big day. All of that gorgeous hair of hers needed to be contained. She also got a manicure and pedicure from me and Ailey.
We ended up going with this hairstyle that we called "The Fiona" after one of my cute young women who used to be in our ward and likes to wear her hair this way. :)
We found this little cutie sound asleep while she was letting her fingernails and toenails dry. Good thing that toilet had just been freshly scrubbed!
The next morning dawned bright and early...and with some bad news. Grandma Judie was sick with a bad stomach bug and the grandparents weren't going to be able to make it to Bryn's baptism. We were pretty bummed. Especially since they are our only LDS family members and had come all the way from Utah. Grandpa Joel was also supposed to be one of the witnesses and Grandma Judie was playing the piano and was also supposed to accompanying Ailey and her friend Cami on the piano for their musical number. That put things into a bit of a frenzy as we scrambled trying to get all of our bases covered an hour before we were supposed to be at the church.
It ended up working out...despite my near nervous breakdown that morning. Turns out Kameron was old enough to be our other witness. That ended up being such a special moment from the day. Watching Kameron honorably perform his priesthood duties and bear record of his little sister's baptism while she was being baptized by her dad truly had me in tears.
Bryn was baptized along with her friend Rylynn from our ward. I love Rylynn's baptism dress. It was one that her mom and her aunts had all worn along with her big sister Cami. I love traditions like that!!
Cami ended up playing the piano...whew... and then we found another pianist for when Cami and Ailey sang their musical number. I got to do double duty at the baptism. I was there not only as Bryn's mom but I was also representing the Primary Presidency (I am the first counselor) and got to give a talk on the Holy Ghost. The day turned out great despite all of the crazy things that occurred. Our special spiritual days are ALWAYS like that. Something big usually goes awry but then things usually work out in the end.
Kelley, Elle, and my mom came to support Bryn.
It also amazed us to see all the people from our ward and stake who mean so much to us who were there and took the time to watch Bryn make these special covenants and to wish her well. Our church family is very special and we are blessed.
After Bryn's baptism we checked in with Judie and Joel. Judie still wasn't feeling at all well so we took my mom out for brunch as a Mother's Day gift. This weekend was also Mother's Day weekend which made it extra special.
We went to our favorite restaurant Chaps and got to see my lovely friend Celeste. Chaps was festive and fun. The food was amazing and as usual we were well taken care of and we got to celebrate my mom.
After brunch we spent a great day together as a family. It is always so nice to have Reilly home!!
The next morning Judie and Joel were supposed to meet us at church. Bryn was being recognized and had to say her favorite article of faith. She was also...along with the Primary...singing to all mothers on Mother's Day. Unfortunately Judie was still not well. We had several very teary phone calls from her. It was too bad everything turned out that way.
Still it was fun to have all of the Johnsons at church together and filling up our pew again...even if I found quite a few pictures like this on my phone:
Then after church Reilly did a little photo shoot at the temple with Bryn that turned out so cute!
Congratulations Bryn!!
We love you very much. XOXO
