Avery Mae Got Baptized!

*I've been sitting on this blog for over two months. I've finished Avery's pictures and I'm too tired (read lazy) to rewrite the whole thing so you're just going to have to excuse the errors in timing and just pretend that I wrote this two months ago (which, technically, I did)!*

Yes, Avery Mae was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on May 5, which gives me a pretty dang good reason to jump on an airplane and fly to the promised land. Trevor and I really want to impress upon our kids and our nieces and nephews, just how important the ordinance of baptism is to us. That's why we try to represent at each one (I'll refrain from throwing gang signs here). So far, we're 11 for 12 and the only reason I missed Jackson's (the FIRST one!) was because my jeep broke down in the backwoods of Cedar City!

It happened to be really perfect/terrible timing for Avery's baptism. Terrible because my brother (Avery's daddy) tried to die via his appendix 3 weeks ago. He has a gnarly 12 inch scar down his belly as a result of all that drama and we didn't even know if he would be well enough or strong enough to perform her baptism. He was and we are all really, Really, REALLY grateful! It was perfect timing because my brother tried to die via his appendix 3 weeks ago and I already had this ticket so I got to see him and maybe help out Courtney a little. And by little, I mean, LITTLE. But it was nice to visit with all my peeps and of course (you're crazy if you didn't see this coming), record the whole sha-bang with my trusty Nikon.




~I hope Avery knows how lucky she is to have such a talented mama!~

~All the peeps that love Avery and support this awesome decision!~



~My favorite shot of the weekend!~

~See what I mean about Avery's super talented mama? Everything she touches is ADORABLE!~

We took some time out from all the craziness to do a little photoshoot. I love this time of year when all the apple orchards are in bloom!

Congratulations Avery! I love you and I'm so proud of you!

Reese Got Baptized!

And you know I was there to capture every moment with my camera! Chelsea did ask me to record the day mind you, so I was, at least, less crazy to some around me. I was also honored to take some "before" shots a few weeks prior to the big day. Reese is so beautiful! Must take after her auntie (because I'm so beautiful you don't even have to be a blood relative for it to spill...wow...even I can't finish that sentence)!

Right before and right after...I always get the best seat in the house. I love Chelsea's teary eyes. I felt the same way with both my boys. It's such a phenomenally spiritual experience to see your children make their own baptismal covenants.

My most favoritest thing about our Reese is what a tomboy she is. You've already seen how drop dead gorgeous she is but this girl likes to get dirty and play ball. She's the star on her baseball team (not to brag or anything) so it was no surprise that her party theme was baseball, complete with Cracker Jacks, cotton candy, hot dogs, and peanuts. So fun!



My ballers were there too. In fact, they were the subjects of the majority of my 400+ pictures. I can't help it! It's an illness. And just to keep the peace in the family, we split the difference in team loyalty.

I originally wanted to put these pictures on first. I had. Then, I wanted to make them all big and pretty. Blogger did not want them all big and pretty and deleted them all. So I had to start over. Grrrrrr blogger.

Congratulations Reesie! We are so proud of you sweetheart!

Carson Is 8...Now Watch Me Hyperventilate!

~Photography by Jamilia Jean (Jamie does it again! She's amazing!)~

Our favorite second child turned 8 on October 16th. I don't understand. I swear I've been around most of his life and I just can't come to grips with the fact that he's actually 8. I remember feeling really weirded out when he turned 1 and 4 and 6. Those were hard to wrap my head around. He will always be my sweet 2 year old, despite the fact that I have another sweet 2 year old in the house.

Carson and I have always had a special bond. I can't explain it. It's just between the two of us. He was always a mama's boy and I could always count on my little shadow not being too far away from me. Speaking of sweet 2 year olds, that's where he was when I was pregnant with Abby. When 5:00pm hit, Carson was done with the day. And I mean done! Tantrums, crying and the whining, oh the whining!!! It was epic. Only I knew how to calm and comfort him. I would play "Bad Day" on our little CD player in the kitchen and lift him on top of my huge belly and sing in his ear while we danced. It was the only way I would ever get dinner ready.



Carson is my most unique child. Looking back now, I think that's why I've always been drawn to him. His quirkiness made me want to be around him, so I didn't miss a laugh but to protect him as well. Blogging this down is creating an epiphany about my relationship with him. I've always felt that need to watch over him. Without realizing what was wrong or why I felt that way or that I was even doing it, I was always there to defend him or to pacify him or just stand back and watch. He was never very far from me.

I love all my children, they are awesome. But the other 3 are naturally more independent. Trevor and I both knew Carson was going to force us to hone our parenting skills. Over the past year, we've seen dramatic changes in him, both at school and at home. I'll credit fabulous teachers with the school end and credit Carson with his success at both ends. He's matured. He still gets frustrated and flustered but it comes without anger now. He's more nurturing to Abby and William and has decided to rise up to the calling of "big brother". That's another thing about Carson. Life has always been on his schedule. From when to walk (which he could have done several weeks earlier than he did, he just didn't want to), to riding a bike (which he could have done several months earlier, he just didn't want to), to having a conversation with his grandparents (which he could have done several years earlier, he just didn't want to). He moves at his own pace, like it or not. Patience has never been my virtue, but Carson has taught it to me.



Turning 8 is a big deal in our family. This is the age that we have the opportunity to be baptized members into our church. Being baptized is one of the biggest decisions to make, and one that has to be Carson's and not ours. I know many people think that the only reason children are baptized is because of the influence of their parents. I can honestly say that this is not the case with Carson. It wasn't with Preston either, but that's another story for another day (that, let's be honest, it's a story I probably won't ever write about). In his own words, he wants to get baptized, "because it'll be so fun". I thought that was pretty Carson-esque, but pried further. "I want to get baptized because I can swim in the water...and feel the Holy Ghost." Ok. I guess I don't feel like all our Family Home Evenings have been a complete waste. He knows that along with getting baptized he'll receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. It fills my heart with so much joy to hear the testimony of such a small little man.

In all honesty, I am proud of his choices. He does his best. He works hard...ish. He's a good boy. He's my boy.

Zoe's Baptism

I got to take a quickie trip to Washington this past weekend. Will was invited too, but only because he is still under the dreaded age of 2, and therefore, can still fly free. My marvelous sisters (aka R-Unit and C-Baby) picked me up at the airport and we spent the afternoon being super productive. Productive by (deep breath) going to the beauty supply store, going to Old Navy, having lunch with Melly and Reed (love those two), shopping at Crazy 8, and Macy's, hitting up Target, Cash and Carry, Costco, the Party Supply store and my dad's meat guy, Sammy. Sammy is located in a sketchy part of town. We are so brave. Then we went back to the airport to pick up the rest of the "formerly Andersen" girls. The sisterly gang was complete. I was in heaven.

Friday was your basic day in Royal and a trip to Royal isn't complete without a trip to "town". We had a girls day and did lunch, shopped, and didn't count the calories of the Blizzards we got on the way home.

Saturday was the day we were all there for. Zoe Ciel was baptized! I am so proud of her and was so excited (cough) to speak and not bitter about it at all. My goal was to keep it under two minutes and give as little false doctrine as possible. I still don't understand how the twins and Courtney got dibs on leading the music and saying the prayers, but whatever.



Zoe looked beautiful in the dress that Grandma Louise pretended to make for her and there were so many people there to support her.

~It feels weird to write "Bishop Allred" since we graduated together. But to be honest, we all saw it coming.~

~Zoe's buddies.~

~The whole fam damily.~

We had a great luncheon afterward and the food and company were fabulous. We even had enough time in the day to take a sibling walk down to Harvest Foods. FYI Matt and Heather speed walk racing is classic comedy and a real bladder buster...not that I would have first hand knowledge of that.


~I have to note here that Holly was FREEZING COLD the entire trip (except for the time that she was sure that the house was 100 degrees inside). Here she is warming her hands on a cookie sheet that had just come out of the oven. Heather is showing us what we were all thinking...unbeknownst to Holly.~



Sunday dawned too soon (and not just because William was up all night with a 104.5 degree temperature). It was such a perfect little trip and I was sorry to see it end, but after seeing all my buddies, I got over it in a hurry.

We Went To Utah

And Braxton was baptized. It was awesome...




...until Sunday. Let me briefly explain. I left Thursday night, a day earlier that expected. I loaded all four of my chitlin's into the Corolla (yes that's right, the Corolla-the mini-van was having surgery). We made it to Vegas in good time and all got settled down to bed. Will, having had a nice 3 hour nap in the car didn't get settled down...until 2:30am. Everyone was up at 6:30am, ready to hit the road again, which I refused to do until 8am. That decision put the older boys into a fit of dismay, but really, it was their well-being I was concerned about. My goal was not only to stay awake at the wheel, but also to have enough patience in that little car not to purposely careen it off an embankment along our way. It all ended well and we made it to Eagle Mountain in decent time. The boys jumped right in with the cousin routine (in fact they didn't leave Eagle Mountain until it was time to go back to California). We had suprized the Bergholm family with our day early arrival. Tricks like that are always fun to dole out.




~Dexter and Carson have no problems jumping right in. I love it.~

Saturday went off beautifully. Brax was baptized and confirmed a member and it was a beautiful experience with an unnecessary amount of food. Tell the truth Heather, you're still eating left-overs aren't you?



~The whole family group, the big Berghom group, the small Bergholm group (this shot cost me $5...I bribed Dexter to smile and then Wes didn't) the whole group, friends and all.~

The mom/sister/girly types hit the mall afterward (to all of us over 18's displeasure). Shopping in a mall isn't as fun and wonderful as it used to be. We left the hard-core mallsters and went to Old Navy instead. Much more my speed. Then, it was off to the Distribution Center and Deseret Book to finish getting Braxton all his baptism gifts. Holly and I scored big Braxton points (the more points you get the more Braxton likes you...I'm pretty sure Holly and I are now his favorite aunts) with a leather soccer scripture case. It's freakin' rad and the second we walked into the store it screamed Braxton's name to us. It's true. We heard it all the way across the store.

~The mom/sister/girly types.~

I digress. After that, my tummy started feeling, um, not right. That yucky feel ended up lasting two days. I was up all night...doing a little soul searching...on the porceilan throne. That's all I'll say. Also up that night was Brett. Flu-ish symptoms. That morning Wesley and Dexter and Heather felt it. That afternoon, Braxton and Holly joined our fun. It wasn't really fun. Dexter projectile vomited on me and Heather. This is where I'll enter my "I told you so" to Heather. I saw it coming but she insisted that he wasn't pale like he had been when he had tossed his cookies earlier. Pale schmale.

My great buddy Ashly braved the quarantined area to come visit me Sunday night. I miss her. We laugh a lot together. She introduced me to my husband so I'll love her forever even if I didn't like her so much.

The good news is that my kids escaped from Utah unscathed, or at least with all their cookies un-tossed. Our Monday ride home was uneventful, unless you want to count the constant rain/snow all the way to Cedar City. We made it. We're whole and next time only half my kids are invited.

Raegan Got Baptized

And her Mama asked me to take pictures, so I did.

I took pictures of family...

And gifts...

And some details...

of Abby admiring Rae's dress...and a hot guy I saw there. I'm pretty sure that with a haircut and shave, he'd clean up nice.

We are so proud of you Raegan! Thanks for letting us share in one of the most important days of your life! We love you!