Finley's Baptism

Two days after Finley's birthday we were able to have his baptism! In our church, we wait until children are 8 years old to be baptized because they know the difference between right and wrong. 

We were so very blessed to have so many family members in town for the event!

Mimi gave a talk on Baptism, Pop Pop spoke about the Holy Ghost, Grammie & Abuelo said prayers, and Auntie Michelle led the music. 

David was able to baptize Finley because he holds the Melchizedek Priesthood. He also confirmed Finley a member of the church and gave him the gift of the Holy Ghost.

We are so proud that Finley made the decision to be baptized! He is now his own boss and also has the companionship of the Holy Ghost. 

Finley was also very grateful that so many of our friends and family could attend the event!

After the Baptism we were able to have a nice reception and visit with everyone that came. We feel truly blessed to be surrounded by so many friends and family that care about and love Finley. 

Congratulations buddy! We are so proud of you!

Finley turns 8!

Finley had some very specific demands for his birthday this year . . . his cousin got to skip school on her birthday so Finley was determined that he would not be left out! He insisted that he should not have to go to school, so we obliged! 

Unfortunately, I still had my class in the morning that day. So while I was in class Finley was left to his own devices around the house. Then after a quick lunch we headed out to the Greensboro Science Center. 

They have recently expanded their aquarium section and we loved seeing the new exhibits!

The big tank is always my favorite. I could sit there and watch the fish for hours.

After a fun afternoon we met up with David for dinner at none other than Taco Bell (Finley's choice) followed by desserts from Delicious Bakery. I can't believe my little boy is 8! Time has really flown by. 

Here are some of Finley's Favorites at age 8: 

Favorite thing about school: PE

Least favorite thing about school: I don't have one. 

Favorite sport: Soccer

Favorite athlete: Leo Messi

Favorite teams: Barcelona, Tar Heels, and the Celtics?!

Favorite things to do: play sports and electronics

Favorite game to play: soccer

Favorite song: Gaston (from Beauty and the Beast)

Favorite movie: The new Beauty and the Beast

Favorite book/series: Harry Potter series

Favorite food: Quesadillas

Favorite drink: Butter Beer

Favorite restaurant: Salsarita's

Favorite dessert: banana pudding ice cream

Best friends: Jake

What do you want to be when you grow up: An athlete. 

Something you are really good at: Soccer and Basketball

Something you need to work on: I don't know.

Goals for the coming year: Win the NBA title?! And earn MVP on my soccer team.

Favorite place to visit: home

Something you are looking forward to: NC State Fair and the beach.

Finley is an utter joy and blessing in our family. He is a happy go lucky kid and has a great attitude about life. He is very smart, loves reading, sports, the Tar Heels, and playing with his friends.

He makes good choices and is frequently a good example to others around him. He is kind, courteous, friendly, and respectful. 

He also loves to play soccer, tennis, and basketball. He is competitive and very confident in his abilities :). 

David and I count our blessings everyday for this sweet boy! We feel that Heavenly Father took the best parts of each of us and wrapped them up into one perfect package. We love you Finley man and are so proud to be your parents!

Easter 2017

With all the birthday and Baptism excitement in the air, Easter snuck up on us so we ended up having a low key day (please ignore the Christmas pjs!). The Easter bunny delivered a basket of fun things including the Beauty and the Beast soundtrack, a Messi book and mini soccer ball, and multiplication flash cards. 

He also delivered a ridiculous amount of Easter eggs hidden around the house. This was the only Easter egg hunt Finley got to participate in this year, so we filled and hid them all!

How many eggs can you spy in this picture?!

We made sure to count them beforehand so that no eggs were unaccounted for :). 

There is always one golden egg with money in it!

After church we spent the afternoon dying Easter eggs.

And went for a nice walk outside to enjoy the beautiful weather!

We didn't end up spending the day with family, so instead we hosted both sets of missionaries from our church for a nice Easter dinner!

We hope you had a Happy Easter too!

Soccer Birthday Party

Well, I'm way behind on blogging! Now that school is over for the semester it's time to catch up! 

Last month our little man turned 8 years old! Before the big day we had a fun soccer themed party with all of his closest friends.

For the party favors I found soccer gumballs, soccer chocolate balls, 

soccer pencils, 

and then put them all inside water bottles. My friend Kelly has a silhouette machine and graciously made all the soccer ball vinyl stickers to put on the water bottles. I think they turned out pretty cute! 

Because we never know if it's going to rain or not in April, we hosted the soccer party at an indoor Sportsplex.

For food we had your typical half-time snacks which included water, Gatorade, orange slices, cheese sticks, bags of goldfish and other sweet and salty treats, and of course cake and cupcakes! The cupcakes had grass looking icing and then were topped off with a soccer ball. The round cake was pretty easy to make look like a soccer ball and then I added some grass around the edges. 

The party started off with some drills and skills.

Finley of course wore his Messi uniform :). 

The kids took turns shooting. 

We played some dribbling relay games. 

And worked on some passing. 

Then the mayhem began! We divided the kids into two groups and let them scrimmage.

There was definitely a wide range of skill level among the group, but luckily no one got hurt! A few tears were shed when someone's team lost, but we quickly addressed the uneven teams and moved forward!

Here's the party crew!

After a few matches we took a break for snacks, cake, and presents.

Then the kids wanted back out there, but this time against the adults!

The children always have so much fun trying to beat the grown ups. 

Some parents weren't exactly prepared to jump into the game...

so they just played barefoot!

I think the kids ended up winning :). 

This is one of my favorite action shots of the kids and Kip pressed up against the glass wall. 

Finley had a super fun birthday party! We were so glad that so many of his friends could make it even though it was at the end of our spring break week. 

Happy Birthday little man!