Aubrey's Baby Blessing

On April 13, 2014 Aubrey Marie Duffy was blessed as it is said in Mark 10:16, "He took them up into his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them." As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints we believe that every child born into the church are to receive a blessing. This is where worthy priesthood holders stand in a circle, lay their hands upon the baby in the name of Jesus Christ and present the infant to their Heavenly Father, to give her a name and a blessing. It was a very special day for us to have Aubrey blessed and to have family and friends there to support us!

Aubrey wore my blessing dress that my mother made me 23 years ago. She looked like a little angel! 

We are Proud Parents! We love you Aubrey!

3 Generations!

Mimi and Papa

My two brothers and their sweet families came up for the special day!

Cousin Quinn, Aunt McKensie and Uncle Jeremy

Cousin Zoey, Uncle Kenny and Aunt Jerah

Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Carmen drove up early Sunday morning after a long night of wedding festivities! 

Annie and Shae were so excited to meet their new cousin Aubrey! They were so cute with her!!

Aubrey is going to love having Girl Cousins!!

We were so lucky that Nicole and Nathan's family could come up too! Rexburg was the pit stop from Utah, before they had to head back to Seattle for Nathan to go to work the next morning! They used to live in Rexburg when going to school! We have missed living so close to them!

Baby Grant and Aubrey are exactly a month apart! He was so fascinated by her! 

Brad's Cousin Emily and her Husband Jake who also live in Rexburg came! Jake just finished his last semester and Emily is finishing her second year of teaching 2nd grade! 

Tom and Brenna came too! Tom and Brad served their missions together in Tijuana! He just got accepted to PT school and will be going to Virginia to attend at Murphy Dening College of Health Science this Fall! Brenna is graduating in July in Graphic Design. We are so excited for them! 

My co-worker Ruth, who I have been working at the Health Center with, and her Granddaughter Taelor were so thoughtful to come and support us! 

After church we said our goodbyes to family! Don, Heather and Carmen had to had back to Couer d'Alene for Carmen to go to school the next morning while Nathan and Nicole were on their long trek back to Seattle. 

The Assmus side of the family headed back to the hotel to have a lunch before my Brothers and their families had to head back to Utah. 

I love this picture of Aubrey and my dad! It looks like she is saying "Look at my Papa!!"

Aubrey loves her Mimi!

Mckensie and Quinn

Quinn is learning how to take care of a Baby! She will get lots of practice soon!

Mimi and Papa brought Quinn and Zoey Easter presents! 

Zoey was so cute in her Sunday Best with her drawing board! She now can identify the whole Alphabet! She is such a smart girl!!

It is impossible to get a picture of the three of them! Aubrey did great sleeping there but Quinn and Zoey are pretty busy! 

These crack me up!

Zoey was more interested with Papa's Keys and I'm not sure what Quinn is doing to Aubrey's head! 

Hugs and kisses for Aubrey!

Overall it was such a great day! Aubrey is as precious as ever! We are so glad so many family members could come for Aubrey's Blessing. I am so grateful for the Priesthood and that Brad could give Aubrey a beautiful blessing. I am thankful for the men that were able to stand in the circle as well and for the example they bring to us as a family. We will forever remember this day and I can't wait to share these memories with Aubrey when she is older. For those who couldn't be there on this special day we felt your love! Thank you for all of your support!

Love, 

The Duffy's

Tess and Brian's Wedding

The morning after graduation, Brad and I got into the car at 4:00 am and drove down to Utah to attend the sealing of Brad's brother Brian and his sweet bride Tess. We ended up having Aubrey stay in Rexburg with my family for the day, one of the hardest decisions I have had to make. It was very difficult to be away from her but it would have been a very long day for a 2 month old who was still had a low grade fever from her shots, and we wanted to have a happy baby for her baby blessing the next morning (stay tuned for the next post).

The weather was perfect and we arrived in to American Fork at about 8 am. When we pulled into town we stopped at a gas station to use the restroom and get a snack. We ran into Brian, the groom, filling his vehicle up with gas. It was so fun to see him and wish him luck for his big day! 

We changed our clothes and arrived early to the Mount Timpanogos temple. I had never seen this temple up close so I was so excited to attend and go inside. The temple was beautiful with awesome stained glass and the grounds were starting to bloom with tulips!  It couldn't have been more perfect!

The sealing/wedding for Brian and Tess was so wonderful. The spirit was so strong and it was so great to be there and support them. 

When we walked down to the waiting room where all of the nieces, nephews, and young cousins were at, Brad and I were so excited to see them. We hadn't seen our nieces and nephews since July/September. We walked in the room and little Shae ran up to me with her arms wide open yelling, "Katelyn" I just began to cry as I picked her up to hug her. We love this sweet girl!! 

Annie was very excited to see us too and was sure to inform us that she was going to be 5 years old in FIVE days!! She is so cute!!

It was so great to catch up and see Brad's sisters, Megan, Nicole and Carmen. We are so excited to have Tess join us in the family!! 

And then it was time for Brian and Tess to make their grand entrance as Husband and Wife! 

Mr. and Mrs. Duffy, Est. April 12, 2014

They are so cute together and so in Love! 

Tess's dress was so gorgeous!! It was once her grandmother's, then her mom wore it, and now it was her turn! A few pictures were taken at the temple grounds and then we headed to the luncheon!

The Duffy's had organized the luncheon at a beautiful Art Center in Alpine, Utah. 

We were able to sit by Grandpa Duffy and Nicole's sweet family! 

Shae was so darling and picked up the fork at the table setting and started brushing her hair. I turned and asked her what she was doing and she responded with no hesitation, "I'm Ariel." She definitely has the red hair to be Ariel!! 

Brad and I were able to meet our new nephew Grant! He was born on January 4th making him and Aubrey exactly one month a part! 

After we ate a delicious cordon bleu meal and ice cream sundae dessert, we were able to snag Tess and get a picture with all the sisters!! 

Everything was perfect for this lovely spring wedding, just look at the beautiful trees in bloom!! 

We have loved to getting to know Tess this last semester and see their relationship "bloom" as well. We are very sad we are leaving Rexburg and will be far from them! We love you guys so much! 

A few hours after the luncheon we went to the reception location, Wadley Farms, to take family pictures! (My brother and sister in-law, Jeremy and McKensie had their wedding reception there!) We got to visit more with family and take a few more pictures before Brad and I headed back home to Rexburg. 

I was able to have some Grant time!! 

Carmen and I had to get a selfie together! It is now a tradition to do so at weddings. We started this a couple years ago at their cousin Tara's wedding. 

We also got a picture with our sweet niece and nephew, Maci and Brexton. I couldn't believe how much they have grown since we saw them at Disneyland this last fall! They are going to have a new brother or sister join them in September! We are so excited for them!! 

Brad and I soon left after getting some treats at the reception. We were so excited to come home to our happy baby girl! My sister in-law Mckensie captured this picture while we were gone! Aubrey was in a swimsuit that Mimi and Papa had bought her. She got to watch her other two cousins, Quinn and Zoey, have fun in the pool at the hotel they were all staying at. 

Overall it was such a great day! So glad my parents could watch Aubrey so we could attend the wedding. We are so excited for Tess and Brian to start this new chapter in their lives. We can't wait to build new memories with the both of them!

College Graduates

After 9 semesters of classes, a full time two year mission in Tijuana, participation in collegiate dance teams intramural sports, a WEDDING, two construction internships for Brad, a public health internship for me, working at the record and registration office/electrical shop/student health center, moving three times, and having a baby, April 11, 2014 finally arrived where Brad and I completed our Bachelors degree at BYU-Idaho!!! It has been a long road but we did it and are so excited to be done with this part of our education. 

Thursday evening my parents came into town to prepare for our exciting weekend! They couldn't believe how much Aubrey had grown in just two short months. When my parents come into town one thing we can count on is lots of picture taking! I am so grateful for this so we can capture so many great memories. So for all of those who couldn't be here, these pictures will almost make it feel like you were here in the windy ole Rexburg celebrating this exciting event! 

Friday morning before graduation, Brad went to work at the electrical shop for the last time. Aubrey and my parents ran some errands and relaxed at home with Aubrey. She was still recovering from her shots and was happy to get lots of snuggle time.

Aubrey and I were able to take some pictures before we got ready to head to dinner. Some of you may recognize this onesie Aubrey is wearing from this post when we announced we were pregnant. It finally fit, just in time for graduation! 

Brad's parents arrived Friday afternoon and helped Brian, to move out of his apartment before he headed down to Utah to get married the next morning! (more to come on that event in the next post) We all then got ready to go to dinner in Idaho Falls. We went to Jakers and enjoyed our favorite prime rib sandwiches! 

Mimi and Aubrey all ready for Graduation Dinner!

After dinner Brad and I got dressed in our caps and gowns to take pictures before convocation started. It was a brilliant idea since there were so many people in attendance that we wouldn't have gotten the pictures that we had wanted to if we had waited until later. Also by arriving early, our parents were able to get awesome seats.

Brad and I were so blessed to have both of our parents in attendance! We couldn't have done the past 4 1/2 years without their love and support! 

I love my sweet family of three! 

These flowers were gorgeous! 

The graduates! 

Love you Momma! 

My Dad doesn't usually get to be in a lot of pictures since he is the one usually behind the camera!

My Dad is always scoping out the best places to take pictures. We went right outside of the Taylor building to fight the wind to get these great shots.

While all the pictures were being taken outside, Grandpa was busy getting some "Aubrey Time". 

Is it just me or does Aubrey look like she is 3 years old in this picture? She is growing up so fast!

Such a silly little girl taking everything in! 

I love her so much!! 

Then all of a sudden the Taylor Chapel started to fill up and it was time to take our seats! When we applied for graduation I was able to apply to walk with Brad's college so we could walk together. We were one of 71 married couples that graduated together that semester. It was so fun to be able to sit next to each other and enjoy this exciting event together. 

Right before convocation started! 

and we happened to take a "selfie" with Brad's phone! 

After a couple of speakers, it was time to walk the stage! 

Bradley Jame Duffy- Construction Management

Katelyn Marie Duffy- Health Science

We did it!! 

Aubrey was so proud! 

3 generations! 

"Papa why is this camera always in my face?"

More pictures!! 

My Idaho Boy!!!

It is so hard to reflect on everything that I have learned and experienced in the last 4 and 1/2 years but I am so glad that I spent it here at BYU-Idaho and the majority of it next to this Man. 

BYU-Idaho has been such a great blessing in both of our lives. We have been so blessed to receive our degrees and have all the opportunities that we have had here. We couldn't be happier! We have really seen the hand of the Lord in our lives and couldn't have done it without Him. Thank you to all of you who have shown us your love and support! We love you all! 

Love, 

The Duffy's