Ben's Baptism and Things

Last week was a busy week and I am now properly pooped. I wish I could say I am recovering today but really I am just trying to catch up on things. 

On Tuesday I went and registered the kids in their new school district. I got to bring their birth certificates, immunization records and things to the District Office and get them scanned in. I figured while I was at the District Office I would ask about subbing for their district. I am still on the fence about subbing next year but decided I might as well ask while I was there. Well, this asking ended with me getting an impromptu interview. It was super awkward, and I was certainly grateful that I was wearing jeans and not leggings and that I my hair was not still wet from my shower. Penny got to eat graham crackers and color while the guy asked me why I want to sub. I gave a cliche answer and I guess he checked the box that I had been interviewed. So I think I am now ok to sub in the district, I don't know. It was all very weird.

On Wednesday we picked up Grams from the Airport and she showered us with goodies. The kids all got new jammies so we had to take a picture of them wearing them. They are all super happy to have her and request daily to sleep over in her room.  

Thursday the temperatures hit the 70's so we had to take advantage of that. After school we picked up pizza and went to the Milford Park. The boys found a random group of kids to play a game with and it was so nice to see them having fun doing something that wasn't video games. The girls stuck together most of the time and I got these fun pictures of them climbing a tree. I really, really want these warm temperature to come and STAY.

Friday night Poppy Hatch flew in and he stopped by before heading to his hotel. Grams Hatch ended up not coming because Keshia hadn't had her baby yet and she didn't want to risk missing it. When Poppy arrived, Penny immediately took a liking to him which was surprising because she is usually so shy. When I asked her why she liked him she told me it was because he was so fun. I'm glad they bonded together quickly since he was only here for short period of time.

Saturday the boys spent the morning finishing up their Pinewood Derby cars and then we went to the Pinewood Derby that afternoon. Tyler is always so last minute about helping the boys do their cars and it always stresses me out. But at least they got done and the cars worked. They weren't the fastest but they weren't last place either- Steven got 5th place and Ben got 9th. Ben didn't seem to mind, he was just super happy that he had made a Pikachu car (he is so obsessed with Pokemon now). Steven, on the other hand was super bummed that he didn't win anything- probably because he has won prizes at all the ones he's been to- and he refused to smile for the pictures afterwards. I hope this encourages him to try a little harder and not be so last minute next year. It's hard to believe that next year will be his last year at the Pinewood Derby.

The Pinewood Derby ended at 3pm and the baptism was at 4pm. It made for such a long day. I hope to never have to do that again. I was a little stressed with things because the person we were combining with was very particular about things and she wanted to have a nice display of treats when I was just fine to serve them in the serving area. It was her last kid to get baptized so I think that partially explains the difference in expectations. She even wanted a color scheme, which she only told me about the day before so I had to go buy new cupcake liners *sigh* In the end though, it was a really nice baptism. Poppy Hatch gave a really nice talk on the importance of baptism and Piper's Aunt gave a good talk on the Holy Ghost and how it guided her when she had lost Piper once. One of the counselors in the Primary Presidency also got up to welcome them to the ward. Serving with her, I know how nervous she gets so it made me feel extra special to have her get up there. She bore such a good testimony and there was such a good strong spirit throughout the whole program. The only crummy part was that the water in the font was icy cold (due to some poor planning on my hubby's part) and Ben had a meltdown about getting in it (crying and refusing to get in). Thankfully he was able to bear through and he gave a good old spit and shake when he got lifted out. I am sure Ben will never forget his baptism ;)

After the baptism we went to Little Daddy's in West Bloomfield for dinner. Tyler loves this place- it has Greek and American food. I think the food is good but the place itself smells a little funny. Since the kids had hogged down doughnuts and cupcakes at the baptism they didn't eat much but us adults were definitely hungry after a long afternoon. We got lots of compliments at the restaurant about what a good looking family we were. Tyler thinks they must be trained to give compliments because we got so many.

The restaurant is super close to the Detroit Temple so we made a stop there since the Grandparents had never seen it. It was an extremely cold day so I tortured the kids by taking a lot of pictures- when they complained I got in their faces and took more pictures, they super appreciated that ;)

Sunday we planned to only go to sacrament meeting so we could spend some time with Tyler's dad before he left early Monday morning. Well we got lucky because they ended up cancelling the last two hours of church so we didn't have to feel guilty about ditching. I'm not entirely sure why they cancelled, the roads were a little icy that morning but not bad after sacrament. But there were A LOT of people gone so maybe they cancelled for low attendance?

After we got home, we ate lunch and then took the Grandparents to the Ann Arbor Hands On Museum. Once again, it was crowded, there were like 3 birthday parties going on there and one birthday party group was super rowdy. I didn't enjoy the chaos but everyone else seemed to have a good time. Tyler and his dad got nerdy about all the cool exhibits. The kids did some of their favorites again and did some building (and destroying) at the end. Ben was especially working hard to make buildings but they kept getting knocked down by random passer-byers so he decided to just give in and destroy them at the end.

After the museum we went back to our house and said our good byes to Tyler's dad. He had a 5am flight so he needed to take off and get some rest before it. We were glad we got him, even if it was just for a little bit. Penny will sure miss her fun buddy.