Peter's Baptism Day

 

I love that Heavenly Father invites us to make covenants with him before we are completely capable of understanding the full meaning of that relationship.  It is that very relationship with Him that gives us the power to understand and become.  So at the age of 8, Peter was baptized and confirmed a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  In the words of Cannon, who gave the talk, "Today, Peter you will put on the jersey and officially joins the Lord's team."

We loved having the who family together....

...at least virtually we had everyone there!  Bethany was able to zoom in live and share a beautiful testimony with Peter and all of us.

She was a ray of sunshine!

It was wonderful to have so many dear friends and family there to support Peter and our family.

Peter is a powerful person.  Sometimes it's a challenge to keep up with him.  I love that he so earnestly wants to do good.

Peter and his best buddy Eric.  Greta in the background-- ha ha ha!

We enjoyed a pasta bar lunch back at our house afterward.  

The weather could not have been lovelier.

We enjoyed watching the slideshow video of Peter's life that Abe put together.

It was a truly wonderful day!

Peter's Eight Date and General Conference

 

A few weeks ago Abe and I (finally) took Peter on his Eight Date.  He turned eight back in August, but life has been... well... life!  We had a wonderful time with Peter.  We still went downtown to Temple Square, like we had with the other kids, but it wasn't quite the same.   With the massive renovations of the temple and the visitors' centers, so many of our traditional visits were closed.

That is the temple (with all the scaffolding) in the background.

Instead of the Garden Restaurant, we were disappointed to settle for The Nauvoo on the first floor of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.  That being said, their berry salad was SO GOOD and plentiful!!! I would happily go back for that!

We enjoyed walking around the Tabernacle-- which was still open.

Peter got his first set of scriptures with his name on them.

It's been so interesting to do these Eight Dates with all the kids and see their personalities so strongly.  As expected, Peter was happy to take the lead and had plenty to say the whole time:)

Abe and Peter and Keith and Kate went to the Sunday morning session of General Conference.  

These two!  They have been friends since they were so little and somehow they seem to understand and appreciate one another.  They are also taekwondo buddies.

Upon leaving home, Camille requested that Keith take some pictures.  He laughed and responded that he was going with Abe-- he'd take plenty of pictures!  Truth.

Here they are with Phil-- Abe's younger brother who we all agree has the most interesting job!  He is a top audio/visual guy for the church.  He gets to travel all over the world and interact with the brethren.  The rest of the Fox family is pretty envious!  Now look here----

He can now add "Prophet's Seat Placer" to his list of official responsibilities.  He was the one who placed and removed the prophet's stool.  How cool is that!?

It was such a wonderful conference!  

This was such a beautiful moment-- this cute sister missionary was serving as an usher and was helping our people find their seats.  She noticed Abe's Texas flag pin and asked if he was from Texas.  Of course, he responded that his daughter was serving there.  She replied that she was from Fort Worth.  He said,"My daughter is serving in the Arlington 1st Ward".  She excitedly responded, "That's my HOME WARD!  My dad is the bishop!"  Coincidence?  I think not:)

Thursday Outings

Introducing the Butterfly Boy!
Early on Thursday mornings. George, Peter, Greta, and I head down to Lehi for Greta's violin lessons.  Then we drop George off at Thanksgiving Point for his Maker Space class.  So then Peter, Greta, and I go play for two hours until it's time to pick George up.  We've been having a marvelous time on our Thursday outings! 

Our first Thursday was the Butterfly Biosphere.  It's been a favorite of Peter's for several years.  Something about it soothes his intense little soul.

In hindsight, I wish we'd have combed his hair that day-- but he's a sweetheart.

Another week it was the "Dinosaur Museum".  It's so fun to hang out with just these two.  I watch the young moms juggling and chasing the babies and toddlers and I must admit-- going around with an 8-year-old and a 6-year-old is a far cry from what they are doing.  It's pretty cushy.  I mean, don't misunderstand me--- I HAVE EARNED THIS TIME!  And I am loving it!

And I really appreciate that these two get along very well and quite enjoy each other.

Classic!

This past week was the Scarecrow Festival at Ashton Gardens.  That was really fun-- a perfect fall day and 72 scarecrow displays.  This was my favorite!

Ha ha ha!  Gru!

I also really liked the Sasquatch scarecrow.  People are so clever:)

I had to pose by my fellow Queen Elizabeth.  

This one, entitled "Grandma Melba" made me smile and think of Bethany's alter ego-- Grandma Lou.  I snapped a picture to send to her.

Abe had a little outing with the kiddos this week as well.  They went to Gardner Village to see the witches.

The American flag wall makes for a great patriotic photo.

George got a headstart on pumpkin carving.  He took one of our small decorative ones and made the first little jack-o-lantern of the season.

Happy Little Moments

Cannon masters Pac-Man at the orthodontist's office.

A little while back Greta and Peter had a sleepover at Elinor and Brandon's apartment and then went to church with them.

Meeting up with some of Grover's doggie friends (and my dear friends) on a Sunday afternoon walk.  

The purple girls playing on a Saturday afternoon.

A late night with neighborhood friends

Going to the temple with Bethany's dear mission companion-- Sister Aimee Tibbits.  This girl is a GEM!  Seriously a beautiful soul!

Friday morning temple time with Dad and kids.

The final BBQ of the season with the Schramm Fam-- some of our very favorite humans:)

A Baby Yoda birthday party for Greta's bestie cousin, Jules.

Remember when these two little cuties were the "Love Doctors"?-- giving love advice to Faith's older siblings and neighborhood teens?  Hard to believe they are now 16 and 17 themselves and likely in need of Love Doctors themselves:)  They are as adorable as ever!

My best find at Costco lately. SO DELICIOUS!  Run to your nearest Costco and buy at least two bags.