For Arthur’s twelfth birthday, we had a bit of a last minute adventure to Twin Falls to celebrate him and all the special new things in his life.

Because Arthur was turning twelve, it meant that he would be ordained a Deacon in Aaronic Priesthood, and that he would also be able to attend the temple.  We had planned on having him ordained before Lily left for college and we left for Hawaii, so we could all be together for it, but because of an oversight, it didn’t work out.  We really wanted Lily to be with us, and so Kevin came up with a plan that would have her with us, and for his parents and my mom to get to participate as well.  And so on Friday after work/school, the four of us were in the car and driving to the Austin airport.  We found some dinner, and even better, we found Amy’s ice cream to enjoy while we waited to fly out.

We had a layover in Denver, and the snow was coming down.  It delayed our flight a bit, which wasn’t great, but oh well. 

We were still on the plane at midnight, and so Arthur turned twelve on the flight from Denver to Boise.  He thought that was pretty awesome :).

When we landed in Boise, we got all our luggage, found our rental car in the Arctic temperatures, and drove to Twin Falls.  We didn’t get to my mom’s house until around 2:30am (3:30 am our body time) and we were wiped out.

But Saturday made all the crazy travel worth it.  We slept in as much as we could, and then we got cleaned up, and Kevin’s parents came over.  We called our bishop, Bishop Groberg, and then Arthur had his priesthood ordination.  It was such a special experience, and Arthur was so happy.  It filled my heart to see Kevin, Derek, and Dennis put their hands on Arthur’s head and ordain him.  So special.

And having his grandparents there was a very special birthday gift to our boy.

But the very best part, was that Lily drove from Rexburg and was there with us for this very special family experience.

After the ordination, we sat together, and Dennis taught Arthur a little more about what it means to be a holder of the priesthood.

Later on in the afternoon, we all headed to the Twin Falls Temple so that Arthur could have his first experience performing vicarious works for his ancestors.  The youth of the church are able to receive a limited use recommend to do baptisms for their deceased ancestors – the baptisms for the dead which is spoken of in the New Testament.  He was so excited, and so were we all!!  If it hadn’t been so crazy cold, I would have gotten a picture of our whole group in front of the temple, just know that it was our whole family – Kevin, myself, Lily, Derek and Arthur – Kevin’s parents, and my mother.  And I am sure that my daddy was there with us in spirit.

After the temple, we all went to Chick-fil-A for an early birthday dinner for Arthur.  It is one of his very favorite places, and so we were happy to oblige.

When we got back home and changed our clothes, it was time for playing games with Grandma Lynn, a very favorite passtime.

And then, finally, it was opening presents time.  Part of the reason we had to bring luggage with us on this very quick trip, was the fact that we needed to bring Arthur’s birthday gifts with us.  Luckily, they were all smallish ;).  He was so delighted with every single gift, and was especially excited about his big present – that he gets to attend the Keith Urban concert with his brother.  So fun!

Arthur was born on my sister Heather’s birthday, and since they are birthday twins and she lives in Twin Falls, we decided to have a big family celebration together.  I made a buttermilk chocolate cake (Heather’s favorite, and Arthur loves all things chocolate), and we all came together to sing and celebrate.

Arthur had twelve candles, and Heather five and five to represent 55.  Good times!  It was the perfect way to finish off what had been a truly wonderful day for all of us, but especially Arthur.

On Sunday, we went to church with my mama, and then came home and had Come Follow Me study all together in the same room!!  It was so much fun, since my mom and Lily are usually joining us via technology.  Later on, I made dinner, we played another game, talked, and just loved spending time together.  And of course, Arthur had to read a book or two with Grandma Lynn.  We also went over to Dennis and Valerie’s house to spend some time with Kevin’s parents.  Since Valerie is really limiting travel now, and my mom can’t travel, every bit of time we get to spend together is a gift.

Before we knew it, it was early Monday morning, and chaos and exhaustion of a full travel day lay ahead of us.  The worst part, however, was saying goodbye to my mother.

We started off with a two hour drive to the Boise airport, where our flight kept getting delayed, and so we had extra time in the airport.  I was feeling especially anxious because I was not fully planned for the coming school week.  I had barely been home from Hawaii, when we left town again, and so much of my time at school the week before had been playing catch-up, and so I had linked slideshows in the plans to slideshows that were still blank.  I was using every precious moment at the airport to get those fixed.  It was as we were sitting in Boise, still waiting for our plane to arrive, when a tender mercy from the Lord came my way.  Because of impending winter weather, school was canceled for Tuesday.  It was a gift, and the whole rest of the trip, I still worked hard, but I felt at peace.

When we finally got to Denver for our layover, we still had a four hour layover – so lame – and so Arthur and I went exploring.  Denver has a train underground that takes you to the different terminals, and so we went for a ride and then explored the other terminals, deciding that the one we were in was best.

Around 10:30pm, we landed in Austin, and still had over 1 1/2 hours of driving until we were finally home.  We got home around 1am, but blessedly, we knew we could all sleep in, since there was no school, no work, and no seminary on Tuesday.  And wow, the relief of finally being in my bed was huge.  It was a sacrifice to do what we did for this weekend, but it was an amazing experience that made it worth it all.