ya-hooooo SF zooooo!

we wanted to sneak in a quick little family vacay before caden started summer school. so we had daddy take a day off, headed to the San Francisco Zoo a first for us and stay in a hotel and swim (a must for caden, that's his definition of a summer vacation). then we had our first visit at raging waters and got our season passes their first usage.

oh my goodness the peacock!! what a crack up, the boys were so excited when it hopped right onto the sidewalk.  they got up close and personal with plenty of fun, stinky, but cool living things.

why does my sweet little ray ray have to love the huge cricket things and the tarantulas??? ewww

they loved every minute of every aspect of the zoo.  the train was a huge hit.  penguin island was brady's favorite, kendra loved everything, caden was in a constant state of jumping and humming,and raylee liked the cotton candy--what sillies, but i love em and it was a big BIG success for this family.

his baptism--brrrrrrr!

we've thought about and discussed this day for a long time now.  we didnt know how caden would respond to being baptised but he interviewed with the bishop and we just kept the process moving.  saturday june 4 it was.  one of the most perfect days EVER.

he picked out his white jumpsuit and scurried off to get dressed. the excitement level was building big time at this moment.

we were off setting up a little display table and a second table for everyone to sign in at.  grandma vofo and big papa flew in that morning and helped out with the festivities.

big sister showed him around and was quite excited herself. they have a special bond these two.  kendra's expertise with special needs kids has even rolled into her own classroom at school when an autistic boy got placed in there.  she explained things to classmates and yelled at them when they were laughing AT him. what a sweetheart huh?

after lots of lovin, his little hiney was too too adorable in that jumpsuit, so as soon as i could stop squeezin him we got things started.

he was so ready, he kept walking up to guests saying, "hello, welcome to my bath-tism".  absolutely the perfect host.

the program itself was simply, utterly, plainly PERFECT.  it started off with caden so sweetly singing "i am a child of god" and then my dad giving the opening prayer with the gentle spirit that he has.  yeah, i was already GONE at that point.  actually i was a bit nervous for what caden was going to say when he came out of the water, so my nerves kept my tears at a minimum. 

auntie heather gave the talk (we combined both topics to save on time and attention span) and she EXCEEDED my expectations.  i knew months ago that she was the one to give the talk, and she had cute cute caden come up and hold pictures (great visuals kept him listening--i think) while she beautifully taught both principles of baptism and  the Holy Ghost.  we had 3 nonmember friends attend so we were thrilled for them and know they were well taught.  at one point caden was still doing his job of holding the pictures but he decided he needed to add facial expressions. so for about 30-45 seconds his eyebrows were doing a little dancing.  we all giggled and just loved every minute of  it. 

so the moment came.  jared led him to the "secret door" as he called it.  daddy took him down into the water and on the third or fourth step caden let out a relieving "ahhhhhh".  i guess it was nice and warm.  when he came out of the water he let out a tongue rolling "brrrrrr".  so i guess he got cold suddenly.  the crowd chuckled. and i was grateful that he didnt demand for his popsicle, since he knew that was coming. 

the confirmation was tender and powerful.  the spirit was very strong and there was a lot of love in the room that rainy june day.  he got hungry and started to whine, "i dont wanna do all that!"  so i quickly got him a piece of gum so he could make it thru.  he did.  jared and i were holding it together quite well too UNTIL caden, with all his might, tried to sing every word of the closing song, "baptism".  and bishop's closing remarks reminded us that simple obedience brings the best kind of happiness. i was wiping jareds tears-- it was a marvelous marvelous day.  i turned around and just saw rows and rows of people i love.  it reminded me of the overwhelming feeling i had on my wedding day.  our sealing room was full of people who mean so much to me.  this was the same great feeling just 11 years later.   the gospel is such a blessing, to have wonderful brothers and sisters to share special moments with.

cadens refreshment of choice was popsicles so we licked and mingled and headed home.  he recieved fun gifts and the love just continued. friends and family are so very kind and generous. 

when everything settled down he needed some computer time and to have a little wrestling time with one of his buddies.  it was a great ending to a great day.

good job making a good choice buddy, you are SO VERY loved.