Austin Baptism

Austin made the choice to be baptized and we are so proud of him. He has such a wonderful spirit and fills our home with kindness. We took him to the under construction Saratoga Springs temple for a few pictures.  

A year ago, Austin said that he wanted to read the Book of Mormon before he got baptized. He certainly would have noticed that Lydia did that as well, but I love that he wanted that goal too. Austin was diligent in reminding us many nights all year that we needed to read the scriptures. Some of it we did reading with him, but he also would listen to the Book of Mormon at night on the phone. I was always so impressed that he remembered and had that on the top of his mind. With Lydia Shantel had to really push at the end to make it all the way though, but Austin had mostly stayed on schedule. 

Austin was so excited to get baptized. In the month leading up he talked about how excited he was for his baptism day and could not wait for it. That morning he said he wanted to go over early and help her with stake baptisms before his own baptism. So he and Shantel went over to the church at 7 am and got to help 3-4 other kids with their baptisms first. Austin loved it so much. When I got there about 30 minutes before his baptism time, he was just glowing. He loved getting to see how the whole process worked beforehand and have a special role as Assistant Helper. 

I am grateful to have had the opportunity to baptize Austin. I am also grateful we could have our family there. My parents were able to come which was wonderful, plus the Renchers, Amy and Kevin. Shantel's parents were there, plus the Haderlies, Melissa and Jake. Plus Grandma Knowles as well. 

We had a testimony before the baptism and then went back to go to the font. The thing that I will most remember is we went into the font and got all set up with hands in the right positions. Then I looked down at him and asked him if he was ready. He was looking back up at me and confidently said yes. The look in his eyes were of total and complete trust. I'm grateful that he trusts me and has faith in Heavenly Father. Austin is always so quick to pray whenever he needs anything. Usually it is when he (or one of his siblings) is looking for a lost item. He always thinks to pray first and has complete confidence in Heavenly Father. Austin requested that Shantel give a talk and so she gave a talk before we confirmed him a member and he received the Holy Ghost. The other part of the program I loved was we had our 4 kids, plus the oldest 3 Haderlies sing a son together. I am grateful Austin made the choice to be baptized. 

After the baptism everyone came over to the house and we did a lunch and just enjoyed spending time with everyone. We did not do much for pictures, but I did grab this picture of Lucy and Sadie playing a game together. 

Sisters Trip - Cancun, Mexico

I had the incredible opportunity to go on a Sister's Trip for my littlest sister's 30th birthday. We have each been saving for years (since Melissa and I flew to Jenna's house in Iowa for her 30th birthday). We talked about a lot of places - everywhere from Italy to Costa Rica. In the end, we decided to go to Cancun and it was fab.u.lous. I wasn't exactly sure what to expect but I loved it SO much. I loved the people, the culture, and the Spanish language. Everything about it was just so incredible.

As soon as we got to the airport we realized that our flight was going to be delayed. We were already worried about missing our connecting flight and the delay would make us miss it for sure. We were incredibly blessed to speak with a man who was willing to help us before his working hours officially started, which led his manager to help us get on a different flight. If he hadn't been willing to help us at that point, we never would have made it and their best flight option was to go home and come back in 2 days for a different flight. Miraculously, the manager was able to book us onto a direct flight leaving that morning. (At one point, she was going to be able to get Jenna and Melissa on that flight but I was going to go on a different flight with a transfer to Mexico City. It's really just incredible that they were willing and able to help us. (We bought chocolates for the entire Delta service team at the airport to say thank you, ha.) One short flight, with a viewing of the new "Cinderella" which had us delightedly laughing in our seats.. and we were in Cancun! 

The first night and the last night we stayed in a hotel right by the airport and took an Uber/Taxi to the local beaches (Dolphin Beach and Puerto Moreles). The rest of the time we stayed in the best all-inclusive resort. When I say the best, I mean, we looked at lots of different resorts and even though this one was more expensive it was truly incredible. Unfortunately, it may have ruined us for resorts because nothing will ever be able to compare to it's amazingness - but we knew that going into it and it did not disappoint in ANY regard. 

It's hard to really explain how incredible the Xcaret Arte resort was - but here are a few highlights of why we loved it so much. 

-The food was incredible. I think every meal I finished by saying "This was the best ___ I've ever eaten." (Except for the fish tacos served on a fried fish skeleton - that was too much for me, ha.) 

-They were so accommodating when we said we didn't drink alcohol and made us incredible, non-al custom house drinks which I loved. (So much pineapple and fresh yummy flavors!) Even when we stayed up to find the hidden speakeasy (bar) because it was fun - the bartender was super willing to mix us up some non-al fun drinks and we really enjoyed it. I felt safe and comfortable the whole time. 

-There were so many things to do at the resort, pools and rivers where there were people willing to bring you a pina colada while you relaxed, classes in each of the casas (we went to a pottery painting one), kayaking along the river, photo opportunities, the most incredible spa I will probably every go to. 

-Did I mention that I felt safe and comfortable the whole time? One of the reasons we went to a resort was because three girls traveling alone made us a little nervous -but I was comfortable enoguh to leave the room in the morning while the sisters were still sleeping and walk by myself to the top of the spiral to the church at the peak and watch the sunset. It was an incredible experience and I felt so safe. 

-Did I also mention that the food was amazing? I don't think I did it justice. I'm still dreaming of the french toast, tacos, hot chocolate, house drinks, and more...  

The other reason that we chose this resort is that it has several parks associated with it and you can go for free (and free food) as a guest at the hotel. They are  "natural amusement parks" that are full of culture, history, adventure, and the natural beauty of Mexico. There were so many options of places to go, but we chose two parks close Xcaret and Xplor. Xcaret was beautiful. We snorkeled, got rained on, swam down a beautiful river, and attended a cultural presentation performance that was outstanding. Xplor had ziplines, underwater cave river systems, and ATV driving. 

The parks were amazing, but one cool thing about them is that they had "photo ops" everywhere. We would scan our hotel bracelet and 3 seconds later a camera would flash. We didn't have to worry about taking our phones with us to take pictures because the photos were automatically loaded onto our guest account at the hotel and would play on our screen when we got back. We got some great pictures that we wouldn't have been able to get otherwise and that was really fun.

The food, the ocean, the luxury - it was all amazing, but I just loved this trip so much because it was an opportunity to connect with my sisters. I love them both so much and I am so grateful for them in my life. We had such a beautiful time and I am so grateful that I was able to go. (Both the financial ability and the effort David put in to taking off working and making it possible for me to go.) 

(The pictures below may be my very favorite from the whole trip because it makes me laugh so hard. Jenna said "Do you want me to take a picture of you?" and I said yes, and proceeded to tell her that I wanted a picture of "all of this" meaning the pool and chair and restaurant - just something that could capture how incredible it was to be sitting in lounge chair IN a pool, next to a restaurant with the ocean in front of us reading my book without a care in the world. She understood the assignment and started backing up to get a better shot. Neither of us realized that the pool, which was only about 12-18" deep by the pool chairs but dropped to about 3-4 feet. Jenna backed right off the dropoff, so she was there taking a picture of me and then suddenly she was completely submerged in the water except her hand holding my cell phone that was still sticking out above the surface of the water.  (What dedication to keeping my phone safe! She's such a good sister.) We both were laughing so hard that we couldn't breathe and I love that memory so much. 

A beautiful trip with my beautiful sisters. I love them and love love loved Mexico.