We piled a few essentials into the car and headed down to Boone the weekend of April 4^th to celebrate Robert's Baptism at Saint Luke's Church (where David's parents are active). It took us a while to drive down and the benefit of Robert getting us up early was offset by the need to pack for 3 rather than 2. We have always had a hard time getting on the road early...

After a lovely dinner Friday night at David's parent's house, we headed into town to meet up with Steve, Helen and Aaron (his brother and family), and Hank and Sally (Robert's godparents who came down from Falls Church for the big event). We did a little window shopping then headed to Steve, Helen and Aaron's house for lunch and to enjoy a visit. Steve and Robert got along quite well, as you can see. And the godparents, grandparents and aunts and uncles were good about sharing Robert.

After lunch (which followed card house building), We met with Cyndi Banks, the Saint Luke's priest, and she explained the meaning behind the ceremony and gave us some stage direction -- who would hold Robert when, etc. Her explanations were great, and her emphasis on real life values made for a richer event for all envolved.

It started snowing in the afternoon; We dined at David's folks house as the storm become more impressive. It was snowing pretty hard after dinner and we were wondering about getting to the church the next day.

The next morning was gloriously clear and and white snow and blue skys were gorgeous. As often happens in that neck of the woods, altitude makes all the difference in the world. As we dropped down from the ski/golf resort of Seven Devils toward Boone, the roads got better and the snow accumulation less. There was no problem getting the church, where our Baptism party assembled.

Sally's smile being one of the biggest.

After the service, David's folks invited the Baptismal party and several folks from the church to lunch. Robert got a chance to meet Julia (Cyndi and Jim's daughter -- just about a year older than Robert).

Julia proceeded to help Robert with his crawling technique (but her preferred mode of transportation is walking -- she was just being helpful).

And Aaron didn't mind sharing his mom a bit more with Robert.