Kaitlyn got glasses

When Kaitlyn was in Kindergarten, she told me that she wanted glasses.  Her friend Lily had glasses, and since Christopher and I have glasses, she just wanted to have them, too.  The optometrist told us that she (and Tyler) were both a little far sighted, but that since both parents are near sighted, that would likely change slowly.  Tyler still seems to be fine, but halfway through 2nd grade Kaitlyn told us that she couldn't see the board very well.  Sure enough, it was time for glasses.  The doctor told her not to wear them all the time, but just when she needed them.

Obviously she didn't know what she was getting into when she wanted glasses - a lifetime of not seeing well without help is not fun - but I am glad that she was excited about getting her first pair.

Bryce Canyon

I'm very behind in my blogging again, but I'm hoping that I can catch up slowly.

A couple of weeks after Kaitlyn's baptism, we took a trip to Bryce Canyon.  I felt so guilty about not having Christopher with us when we went to Bryce the year before.  That winter was a really warm one with almost no snow, but the kids and I managed to go down the weekend of a blizzard that knocked out the power.  Since this year was a really snowy one, we thought it would be fun to repeat the trip with Daddy this time.

There wasn't much snow this time, of course.  It was a warm weekend instead.  We made the most if it.

2015:

2016:

Just a bit different.

I think the kids were happier NOT tromping around in that much fresh powder, though.

Kaitlyn told me she was tired and just wanted to rest by this tree.  She looked so cute there I had to take a picture.

And Daddy just had to interrupt. :)

The next morning, Tyler and I headed out early to see the sunrise and take some pictures.  None of the pictures turned out quite as good as I hoped, but it was still a fun morning with my little guy.

And later we explored some spot that I hadn't the year before.  This lookout point was incredibly high up!

Christopher was drawn to the solar panel system they installed since the last time I was there.  It was a good idea, since the last time I was in that ranger station, they were all standing in the dark with no power.  My husband gets pretty geeky about solar panels and LED lights.

And we had fun in the hotel pool again, of course.  The first time we went there were over 50 people in that pool, and the echoing noise was just too much.  There was a big family reunion and a large scout troop.  But once those cleared out, we had a lot more fun.

Kaitlyn's baptism

Kaitlyn was so excited to get baptized!  I felt like it still snuck up on me, though, in part because she never let me take pictures of her.  My intention was to take pictures of her in her white dress to put on the invitations, but she was very insistent that she didn't want to do that.  She told me that taking pictures was boring, but perhaps she felt uncomfortable about it in some way.  So invitations never went out.

Grandma and Grandpa Jones flew out for the weekend, though, which was wonderful.  Grandpa even got to come with us to Kaitlyn's gymnastics show, since it was the night before her baptism.

Kaitlyn's class were birds in a little Mary Poppins show.

The next morning, we had an early lunch at our house for everyone before heading over for the baptism.  Her scheduled time was 1 pm, so that just made more sense.  I didn't take any pictures, but my Dad did.

We made sure to have sweet potato soup, since that is Kaitlyn's favorite food.

My little snuggler.

She never did let me do my mini photo shoot with her in her white dress, but she let me take this one at least.  The dress has actually been hanging in her closet for about two years.  I happened to find a huge rack of size 7 white dresses on clearance one day, and let her pick this one out years in advance.  I actually liked that she had that dress in her closet, waiting for her to grow into it someday.

After the baptism, I managed to get us all tickets to go through the open house for the new Provo City Center Temple.  That wasn't easy - Saturdays were booked solid within minutes of when the opened the tickets up.  I imagined that it would be like the Nauvoo open house Christopher and I went through when we were dating, where you were put into a tour group with a guide that told you all about it as you went through.  Instead, we got there to find ourselves in the longest line I've ever seen.

We were in line for two hours before we got to see a little movie, and then walk quietly through the temple in a slow, constant stream with hundreds of other people.  I was glad we got to see it, and it was still a good thing to do with family after a baptism, but it certainly wasn't what I was hoping for.

We all still had a wonderful weekend, though!