The last weekend in June we finally got Audrey Baptized! It took us forever to find a church that didn't require us to give our right arm. Our church had so many hoops for the Godparents-to-be to go through, there was no way we could even get her Baptized and I'm not exaggerating. Bapitsms are only performed once a month AND the Godparents had to take a class AND must have gotten married in a church (if they're a couple) AND have a letter from their priest saying they were in good standing (aka donate money). Bill and I know a ton of Catholics but of them, very few have gotten married in the church and even fewer actually attend mass. I'm not condoning it, I'm just saying. It would have been easier for me to find someone walking down the street to be a Godparent than anyone I actually know. So, enter the University of Iowa Newman Center. Their requirements? One Godparent must be Catholic. Period. No proof, no class to take and it could occur anytime on our schedule...or so we thought. Since it's summer and the students are gone, the priests party. No, just kidding, although I'm sure they have to be secretly happy like the rest of us in town. They go to summer hours so it came down to one weekend that would work so we took it.
We asked my brother Sean to be Audrey's Godfather and Bill's cousin Jay to be her Godmother (or Ninang) and got busy planning the weekend.
My parents were already in town because they were watching Audrey while we went and stuffed ourselves silly in Chicago. My brother and sister-in-law Dawn came in on Friday and Bill's parents and cousin and her husband Dane came in on Saturday. I was super excited because my brother has never come out here before so I was anxious for him to see our house and the town.
Friday night we all walked around downtown and had a lot of fun. Iowa City's downtown is full of shops, restaurants, bars and people. Lots and lots of people. We ate dinner at one of our favorite restaurants and then took a leisurely stroll around town. Every Friday night a band plays in a pedestrian mall so we listened to them for quite awhile while eating gelato. We turned in somewhat early to get Audrey home.
On Saturday, while Bill waited with Audrey for his parents to arrive, I drove Sean and Dawn around to show them the sights. I made sure to pass by the Iowa Hawkeye's football stadium - Sean went to Penn State and Iowa has a way of screwing up their season EVERY year. I also wanted to point out all of the areas that got flooded in 2008 and hit by the tornado in 2006. There are buildings that still have the flood water line and it's a little freaky to see how much above the car they are. After driving down a one-way street the wrong way for the first time in my life, we thought the driving tour should end because I was obviously talking too much! No surprise there. :)
That night after everyone got in we hosted a BBQ cookout. I think we all had a great time sitting around late into the night chatting. We lit the torches, ate ice cream, played a little bit of corn hole (aka baggo, bean toss, other names I'm sure), and the men smoked cigars. I loved looking around watching everyone immersed in their conversations around the yard/house. (I highly recommend that by the way. The next time you're with a big group of your friends or family, take a second to look around and watch what's unfolding. I breathe it in and truly enjoy the sights and sounds.)
The next morning we were at church by 10:00 am for mass and the Baptism was immediately following. Audrey was the only one being Baptized but another couple and their baby stayed to watch. Audrey was a champ. Didn't cry once and seemed more interested in the priest's facial hair than anything! The ceremony was very nice and lasted about 15 minutes.
Afterwards we walked a few blocks to our favorite brunch in town at The Motely Cow Cafe.
The afternoon was spent taking tours around downtown and taking Audrey into her first big person's pool at the hotel. She clung to me like she's never done before but she went under water like a big girl, although I'm not so sure she liked it.
That night after Jay and Dane were on their way back to California (such a short, quick trip) :( we had everyone over to our house again for burgers and to say our goodbyes. Overall it was a fantastic weekend and I wish we could hang out with our family so much more than we do.
We're heading to Okoboji Lake in NW Iowa this weekend and we're so excited. Friends of ours have a house there and a boat so look for pics soon of Audrey's first lake dip and boat ride!!
No comments:
Post a Comment