Sydney had her eighth birthday this past September. For those of you who don't know, we are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and turning eight is a very special day. After you are eight years old, you can be baptized and become an official member of the church. Sydney chose to be baptized and was actually able to be baptized on her birthday. We were so proud of her and her decision, she was able to invite family and friends to celebrate with her on her special day. Her Grandma and Grandpa (Nielson) were able to come up to Gainesville, along with Aunt Tracy, Josh, Carlin, Jackson and Uncle Brent. Several of our lifelong friends from Clermont were able to come up as well as some of our new friends that we have made here in Gainesville. Sydney helped us to fill the spaces in the program: she chose Angela Haddock to give a talk on "Baptism." Angela was one of her teachers at church. Mary Grandma gave the other talk on the "Gift of the Holy Ghost." Michael was able to baptize her and her Grandpa and several other special friends were able to participate in the confirmation. We had a light lunch afterwards before we had to say good-bye to our family and friends who had to travel back home. Sydney looked especially beautiful on this day.
Later that evening we went out to celebrate as a family. We ended up at a place called "Skate Station" so we could go drive some go-karts. Skate Station has a little bit of everything, it is basically Chuck E Disease, ummm errr, Chuck E Cheese on steroids. Indoors it has a play area, skating rink, game room, and then when you go outside there is go-kart racing, put put golf, and batting cages. All of us, except Kaden, took turns driving against each other in the go-kart's, Kaden was too little to ride so he had to hang out on the sidelines but he was a really good boy. This was the kid's first time driving their own cars on a real track without any type of bumpers. Michael, Noah and I were able to drive the bigger go-karts...not sure if that was a good idea for Noah. It was an interesting first drive/ride for Noah. I wish I had my video camera because we totally would've won $1 million on AFV. He has since learned the importance of not just reading the rules,posted signs and signals when you are trying something new, but also the importance of ensuring his understanding of those rules, posted signs and signals. I'm just glad we still have 5 more years until he will actually be able to legally drive on the road. All and all, I think it was a very enjoyable day for everyone.
