Dean's Batism

Here are the photos of Dean's baptism. He was excited, and so glad to see everyone there!

Dean & Dad at Stake Center

Maris boys in their whites

Then I got a picture of Dean in the font with Doane - aren't they cute? Wish this picture was as cool as the one I took of Patrick and Doane...

And we took a couple pictures of everybody that came to the baptism. The first pictures was taken by Bishop Bergeson, and the next one was taken by Brother Jones. Unfortunately, the other member of the bishopric, Brother Ivory, was out of town on Dean's baptism day. But they were there in spirit!

After the baptism, we came back to our house for some dinner and cake. Doane, being the talented guy he is, made this "baptism" cake for Dean. He should open up his own cake decorating business!

Hope you've enjoyed our baptismal experience!

Our FHE about baptism!

I know, I know - two posts in a week's time - I must be coming down with something! :) But I thought I should post some pics of our Family Home Evening lesson yesterday. It was a very special one, as we are preparing for our youngest's baptism this Saturday. We talked about baptism - who gets baptized, why we get baptized, and the importance of keeping the covenants we made. The example that was set for us was by Jesus Christ, being baptized in the river Jordan. We need to enter the waters of baptism, too.

Then we must be fully submerged into the water, cleansing us of our old sins, and rising clean again.

It was a simple lesson, but it was great to talk about it, and read in John 3:5 - "And Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." I had Dean read the final quote, from Dwan J. Young, in the Ensign, Nov 1984: "Baptism is the beginning of a new life for each one of us, a life of purpose." We are very proud of Dean for making the decision to be baptized, and look forward to having some family come from far away to celebrate with us!

2012 Activities

I know, it's been a LONG while since my last post.....sorry! I'll just give you a run-down of the last few months. First of all, our two oldest boys are doing pigs for fair this year. they each have one, and we're keeping them out at our friends' house. So here are some pics of our boys going out to try to walk their pigs....

There are many more of these, but until I get a few pics of them trying to ride them, I'll forebear. So this is Patrick's nasty cavity tooth the dentist had to pull - no wonder his tooth ached so much!

It was so gross, we had to bag it up for the tooth fairy to take it away! Next up, I finished painting our fence with a couple of our Sister Missionaries, and they enjoyed finishing the afternoon off by painting my shirt!

As I posted in February of 2011, we lost our dog when she got out of her kennel and was hit and killed. The day after Mother's Day, we went and got another girl. In an effort to hopefully keep her from running away, I convinced Doane to get her a companion. We tried out this dog for a week:

But as you can see, our Boda (on the left) didn't really care for him!

So then we got a cute little bugger, and they like each other. Meet Boda and Teal'c (and for you Stargate fans out there, yes, he is named after the Jafa Teal'c)

And to round off my photo montage, I have created some patriotic eggs for a Relief Society activity tonight. Some hard-boiled eggs and some deviled eggs. I gotta luv me sum red, white and blue! Aren't I a cute crafter?

Before the devilling

After the devilling

Thank you for joining me on my trip down this mini memory lane. I'll try to be more regular on my postings, but I make no promises! Ciao!

2011 Mardis Family Reunion

Here are some pics from our first annual Mardis Family Reunion, held in Idaho Falls, ID on July 1st through the 5th. Enjoy!
These first three are of our backyard tent campground. There were a few of us there!



Here we're getting ready for one of our many craft projects.

The kids had fun shooting tiny marshmellows at each other - and they shot a LOT!!

Pretty little Boda Belle chillin in the shade of her tree.

While younger brother Steve looks on, Doane "instructs" Jacob on the art of grilling....or something like that...

And yes, the marshmellow wars are STILL going on!

Here's Marylou and Regan, strategizing their plans for decorating their shirts.

Brittni and Jacob finished their shirts - where's everybody else's?

The aftermath of our marshmellow wars....and believe it or not, they were all cleaned up!

Lots more shirts and another tent. Sure wish I woulda had my camera handy to capture everybody wearing their shirts - they were cool!!

Patrick getting ready to share his talent of telling jokes.

Dean just LOVES to show off his toothless grin!

Here's Addie and Aubree's shirts - they are stylishly designed!

The Mardis Brothers, from youngest to oldest:
Nik, Aaron, Chester, Steven, Isaac, Doane, and Russ

The audience enjoing the talent show.

Grandma Susan introducing various acts for the talent show.

Angie, Lou and my feet - aren't they pretty? :)


The M.A.R.D.I.S. C.L.A.N (minus the L)
Marylou, Angie, Russ, Doane, Isaac, Steven, Chester, Aaron, and Nik - what a crew!!


We had a great time at the reunion, and look forward to our next one in 2 years!!