Friday we woke up and attacked my house with every mop, cleaning product, and rag possible. The guys also did an amazing job on the back yard. When we were tired of cleaning, we took a break and did some shopping. Marion was preparing a list for the grocery store so he could get the things he needed to make homemade ice cream. He asked me if we had vanilla. I replied that I had no idea owing to the fact that I have not cooked anything in my kitchen since May. Marion went with my Dad to home depot and the grocery store. Then my dad went with me and Diana to Sam's club. We were successful in getting lots of yummy things for people to eat all weekend long. This was especially important as to the fact that I have not really been to the grocery store all summer long either. In the afternoon, Diana insisted that I cut her hair. We have been talking about cutting it all summer long and have not had time. I was a bit nervous to do it. I think she had heard stories of people having their long hair come up when they were baptized. Anyway as you can see from the picture below, I cut about 5 inches off. I think it looks really cute and it will be so much easier to take care of, but it is still a big change.
Finally it was about 8 o'clock on Friday night. The one thing that was not done, that I really wanted to do was to get Diana a white dress. So the two of us took off to the mall. Talk about leaving things to the last minute. Sheesh! On the way I called a friend and asked if she had purchased her daughters dress at Penny's. She told me that she did, but that it was a catalog return and not something they normally carry all the time. Yikes, maybe my plan was not going to work after all. We went to Penny's, of course the children's department has to be up the escalator and all the way in the back. We wondered around for a few minutes during which time Diana found about 20 outfits she wished she could get, none of them being a white dress. Finally I asked a sales associate and was told that no they did not carry any white dresses. I had to practically drag Diana away as we raced out of Penny's in search of somewhere else that could help us. By now it was 8:30 and the mall was closing in 30 minutes. I said a silent prayer in my heart. I know that it is possible to get baptized without a white dress to wear, but this was my only girl and I really wanted the fun on finding something special so she could look her best on her special day. We raced frantically down the mall. The next big store was Dillards. I asked where the kids department was, and guess what it wasn't even upstairs but was just a few yards away. I asked about a white dress and was shown a rack of beautiful dress much to my joy. Then I looked at the price tag, much to my dismay it was $120, and my happiness bubble was burst. Then I realized that those dresses were too big and we went over to the smaller ones. Imagine my happiness to find the smaller white dresses were only $60. Of course if I had seen the smaller ones first I would not have been so relieved to pay $60, but since it was our only choice I clapped my hands for joy. Next we took a few dresses in and tried them on. The one that fit the best was a bit itchy. We went back out and looked for some alternative. There was none. Diana did find a cute shirt on the clearance rack which she tried on also. In the end we got the itchy dress and the shirt. One problem with the dress was that it was sleeveless. I figured that I could so something to make sleeves and so we headed home, triumphant. We stopped at a friends house to borrow a long table, and I was telling her about the dress. She said she had the perfect little short sweater to go over such a dress. They let us borrow it and yeah problem solved much easier than me staying up half the night altering a dress. Sometime life doesn't have to be hard, especially with a little help from your friends.
Friday night Marion's mom, brother, sister-in-law, and two nephews arrived about 11:30. We helped them get settled and visited for awhile. It made for bit of a late night and I was glad when I finally got to fall into bed.
Saturday morning we got up and got everyone breakfast. Marion needed a haircut and so I gave him one. Finally it was time to go and we headed to the church about 9:30. We took all the pictures we needed. Diana was so excited, I thought she might explode. She also felt rather nervous about not letting her feet come up so she would have to get baptized a second time. Another of Marion's brothers and his wife and son got there just in time. A friend in our ward gave a wonderful talk on baptism and then there was a talk on the Holy Ghost. Then we all went into the relief society room. There were two other boys baptized first, and then it was Diana's turn. There really are not words to describe the joy one feels when your children choose to make covenants with the Lord. There was a very special spirit there. After the baptism, I went and helped Diana get dressed. She was very relieved and happy that she and Dad got it right and only had to be baptized one time. After she was dressed, we went back to the chapel for the confirmations. Diana was last again. Marion gave her a wonderful blessing. And just like when she was blessed as a baby, he talked about how special she is and how she has a gift for loving others. I have seen this many times throughout her life. Everyone seems to love her as I do. It is a special gift and it will be interesting to see how the Lord will choose to use her as an instrument to bless other's lives. After the confirmation we took some more pictures and headed home.
Next we had a fun filled afternoon visiting with friends and family. We had Hoagie sandwiches, past salad, green salad, veggie tray and chips. After lunch there was homemade ice cream for dessert. We made both vanilla and rocky road. Here is a picture of what the food looked like.
Here is a cute picture of Diana in her new dress.
Here are the proud Grandparents.
Here is everyone.
Here is the whole family.
Later Saturday afternoon, another of Marion's brothers arrived with his wife and 4 children. We had a fun filled afternoon. The kids swam, jumped on the trampoline, and played. The adults visited. I got out my many scrapbooks and we had fun looking back at some of the memories from the past. It was truly a wonderful day not to be soon forgotten. I had made some sloppy joes the night before, so we got that out for dinner along with all the left overs from lunch. It was happy to have such an easy meal at the end of a long day. So we ended up with 13 extra people sleeping here Saturday night. I was surprised at how easily everyone fit. I thought my house might be too small for so much company.
Sunday we got up and surprisingly manage to all get to nine o'clock church on time. No breakfast preparations because of fast Sunday. We had a wonderful time at church. And came home and fed everyone haystacks. The Arizona people all packed up and headed home at about 2:00 o'clock. Later that afternoon, I took my Mom and Dad down to see where I work. The kids came too and now they will have some idea of where I am when I am gone working.
I took my parents to the airport at 7 this morning. I came home and went back to bed. I got up and hosted swim day for my ward. Only 2 people came so it was nice and small. After everyone left at noon, I actually took another nap. I don't know if I will ever feel rested again. When I woke up Diana and I went to Sam's club and got my pictures developed. The rest of week looks pretty easy, yeah.
A big thanks to everyone who made the effort to come and helped while they were here.
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