Surprise Birthday Dinner

After school Owen had an appointment at the Orthodontist. When his appointment was over we were going to go out to dinner for my birthday. I wasn't sure where I wanted to go, so I asked Ben to come up with some ideas of places we could go. All I knew was I wanted a really good stake. All I could think of were place in Ogden that they didn't have close to Provo. 

When I got home I was surprised to find visitors in my front room. Brandon, Christy, and their family came down to join us for my birthday. I couldn't believe it. That's a long way to come just for dinner, but it meant a lot.

We decided to go to Ruby River. I had never been there before. I was just hoping that they had good stakes. When we got there they put us in a back room because of the size of our group. It was nice to be back where no one was when they all decided to break out into song. I went completely red when they started singing "Happy Birthday." It was sweet and embarrassing all at the same time. 

Dinner was great, but all good things must come to an end. They had to head out and the kids had to get to bed. 

Birthday surprise

I was spoiled today like no other. I special surprise this morning and one after the kids got out of school. The kids and I were cleaning up after getting out of school and getting their homework done and I heard a knock on the door. I wasn't expecting anyone and had no idea who it could be. I went and opened the door and saw Christy. I couldn't believe it as she came in, gave me a hug, and then they all yelled "Happy Birthday." 

I asked her what she was doing, and she said that they were there to celebrate with me. Even though we lived miles apart, it wasn't going to stop her from celebrating with me. I asked her what we were doing then, and she said that she and Ben had planned to go to dinner at Ruby River. I had never been there before and couldn't wait to go and celebrate with my family and close friends. 

When we got to the restaurant, they took us to a table in the back that was big enough to seat us all. We ordered our food and while we waited, we caught up. It hasn't really been that long since we have seen them, but it felt like it had. When our food got there, everyone chowed down, and then the next thing I knew, waiters and waitresses came in and started to sing. I was embarrassed, but it was still a lot of fun.

When dinner was over, I thanked them for coming all this way and said good night. It was a great day.

Special Gift

When I got up to get the kids going, Ben was already gone for the day. When I came out to the kitchen, I saw a little box on the counter waiting for me. I opened the box and found a sweet birthday present from Ben. It was a bracelet with hearts on it. It had a sweet poem regarding the meaning of the bracelet. I sent him a text to say thank you and he told me the reason why he chose what he did. It was very sweet to hear how he saw who I was and what make me me. The Poem put it so nicely and I had a smile on my face. It was a great way to start off my day.

Faith in God

3 1/2 years of hard work have finally paid off. Gabbi was awarded her Faith in God award during primary today. It was bittersweet because she started this program in North Ogden with some pretty great leaders. Luckily, she had more great leaders when we moved in with Mom and Dad and they were able to help her cross the finish line. They also made it possible for her to get it today since we are currently living in Provo. It truly does take a village. 

After opening exercises, Bishop walked into the primary room. Once in front, he talked about the program and how important it was to help the kids progress and strengthen their testimonies of Jesus Christ and his teachings. He then had Gabbi come up to the front with him and told everyone of all the hard work that she had been doing to earn her award. One of them is to memorize the Articles of Faith. He then asked her to recite her favorite and share her testimony about it. She had a very nervous look on her faith but did a great job and was able to share a sweet testimony with all the kids that were there. When she was done, he handed her a certificate and a necklace that she could wear to celebrate a great achievement.

After church, they had an ice cream celebration for all the activity day girls. It wasn't to celebrate Gabbi's achievement, but a "YAY" to school starting. She could easily take it as a celebration to her, she was congratulated over and over again by her friends and peers. It also just so happened to be our last official day in the ward. It was a hard day all around, but it was a nice high to end on.

Box Elder Fair

When we were done at the park, we got cleaned up and then headed to Garland. We were meeting Nelson and Deann at the fair like we do every year. We stopped and grabbed a bite to eat and then headed to the fairgrounds. When we got there, they weren't there yet, so we walked around looking at all the animals. I think besides the dancing, the animals are the kids' favorite part of the fair. 

After walking through all the exhibits, stables, and stalls we got a text letting us know that they were in the main pavilion and had saved some seats for when the music starts to play. I told the kids and asked them if they still wanted to walk around or head over to the pavilion. To no surprise, we walked towards the pavilion to find Nelson and Deann. We found them in the front row where we have sat for the last few years. It has been a great spot to see everything and join in on some of the fun.

We joined them on the bench and waited for things to get started. As soon as Rough Stock came out the kids jumped up and started cheering. When the music started to play, they were dancing all around the floor. When the slow songs came up, Deann and Nelson joined them. They all had big smiles on their faces and looked like they were having a lot of fun. 

Halfway through their performance, they took a breather, and the dance school came out to perform. Every year as a type of halftime show, the local Tap Dance school comes out and shows off what they have been working on. They have different groups all divided by age. I have to admit, even the youngest kids did a fantastic job with their routines. Gabbi really seemed to enjoy watching all the routines and I loved hearing their shoes on the cement as they danced.

When the dancers were done, Rough Stock came back out on the stage. They played a few more numbers. The last song we stayed to listen to was "Chicken Dance." I have no idea if that was the actual name of the song, but all the kids have called it that for as long as I can remember. The kids love it and were all over the place dancing along with everyone else. When the song ended, we had them say goodnight to Nelson and Deann and headed back to the van to head home.

Hall Summer party

This year the Hall summer party was at the park and splash pad in Riverdale. Apparently, the one we always go to was booked. We met at the park at noon, and everyone was supposed to bring their own lunch. We picked up McDonald's to make it simpler. When we got there, we found the pavilion that they had reserved. A few of my aunts and uncles were already there along with Grandma and Grandpa Hall. We said our hello's and then sat down to eat our lunch before it got cold. When we were done the kids ran off to play and we visited with my aunts, uncles, and cousins as they started showing up.

After a while, I was done sitting and went and watched the kids play. Papa had run over to play with them at the playground. He was in and all over that jungle gym, it was hilarious. At one point he even went down one of the slides and once he hit the bottom, he said that that was probably a bad idea. Even though he was hurting a little bit from that hard landing off the slide, he still ran around and played with the kids.

They were getting bored of the playground and asked if they could go over and play at the splash pad. I told them yes and followed them that way. Papa again joined them to play in the water. He wasn't dressed to play in the water, but he didn't really let that stop him, however, he didn't really get in it like the kids were. He was initiating a water fight with the boys and some of the other cousins. It was so much fun to watch them play, run, and chase each other all over the splash pad. 

First day of school

I have never understood why the kindergartners couldn't start at the same time as the other grades, but that being said, today was William's first day of school. He had his outfit picked out and ready to go last night and couldn't wait. He got up this morning with no issues and went about getting ready for school. When he was dressed, he asked me to help him do his hair, he wanted to look his best. Once everyone was ready, we loaded up in the van and headed to the drop-off spot.

I pulled up next to the curb and asked him if he was ready. With a big smile on his face and a thumbs up, he said yes. The three of them got out of the van as I reminded them to stick together till the teachers came out to line them up to go to class. Gabbi assured me that they would be fine and that she would make sure that William got to where he needed to. I was kind of bummed that he didn't want me to wait with him but was also proud of his independence. I told them I'd see them after school and watched them walk to the blacktop.

Just before lunchtime, I headed to the school to pick William up. I made sure to leave early because I wanted a spot to park. Instead of parking in the back of the school, we could pull up in the teacher parking lot by the kindergarten door. When I got there, there was a handful of cars already, but I was still in a good enough spot to see him as he came out the door. When they finally did, William stopped and held the door for the entire class. He looked so happy and proud to be helping with the door. When he was done, he told his teacher that I was there, and came running. He gave me a big hug and said that he had had the best day ever. 

On the way to a special celebratory lunch at McDonald's (celebrating the first day of school), he told me all about his day. They got to write their names, share a little about themselves, had a snack, storytime, and playtime/recess. He told me that his favorite part was sitting on the alphabet rug and listening to a story. He also said he couldn't wait until tomorrow because that meant he got to go to school. I loved his excitement and enthusiasm.

Smart Start

Provost was hosting a back-to-school night. It wasn't your typical back-to-school night, but more of a "school starting, let's celebrate" kind of night. The kids of course wanted to go after hearing all about it at school and since we didn't have anything going on, the kids and I planned to go.

When we got there, they had teachers greeting everyone as they came in. They first directed us to the gym where the grand show was about to start. I wasn't sure what they were talking about, but the kids and I headed to the gym. The kids found a seat up front while I went and found a seat in a chair along the wall. When it was time, the principal came out and welcomed us there. He then introduced the PTA President so she could introduce the special guest. The kids were screaming and cheering when they hear that they were going to be entertained by a magician.

The kids haven't seen too many magic shows, so they were pretty excited. I could tell by the looks on their faces. When the magician came out, he talked to all the kids about school and some of the things that they might learn this year. In all his talking he had slide-of-hand tricks here and there. He also threw in some pretty big ones. Whenever he asked for a volunteer, I saw all three of our kids' hands shoot up hoping to get picked. None of them were, but they still were able to enjoy the show. 

When the show was done, we were able to walk around the school and see where each of the kids' classes and desks were as well as get a refreshment and take a few fun pictures to start the year off. It was a pretty fun night and not like one we have done before as a back-to-school night. 

On our way home the thought occurred to me that this will be the one and only year that all three of them are in the same school. It overwhelmed me but excited me for the upcoming school year and the things that they would all get to experience together.

Fort

Our kids have always found a fascination with building all kinds of forts. It doesn't matter the materials or where it's at, they just love a good fort. Today William made one on the couch. You could obviously tell them this was a quick put-together, but he loved it and wanted me to take a picture of him in it. 

Sharktacular

We've never been to Thanksgiving Point, but we drive past it every time we drive home from Ogden. You can't miss the giant dinosaur on the side of one of their buildings either. The boys have asked so many times if we can go. I kept pushing it off until I saw an advertisement for Sharktacular. They were bringing a special shark exhibit to their Museum of Ancient Life. The boys love sharks as much as they do dinosaurs, so it seemed like a good investment. Ben wouldn't be able to come because he was staying with his mom, but I went ahead and got the tickets for the kids and myself.

The boys had no idea where we were going when we got on the freeway. We have been back and forth all summer watching the summer movies with Taycina and her kids. They instantly asked if that was what we were doing. I told them no and followed the GPS. Luckily it didn't say our end destination until I pulled into the parking lot. When the boys saw where we were going, they started cheering. Gabbi wasn't as excited, I just hoped that she would have fun once we were there. 

Once inside we first came to a giant balloon display. You could use any of the props and take pictures to commemorate the event. The kids thought the balloon wall was pretty cool. I have to admit, I was amazed by the wall. I can't imagine the time that it would have taken to put it together. It was impressive. The kids had a lot of fun using the props and taking a few pictures.

After we were done taking pictures we went inside the exhibit. We first walked through their original exhibit Ancient Life. The kids came across a few activities that you could do that made them feel like a dinosaur. The first was walking around with feet as big as a dinosaur and the second was being able to fly like a Pterodactyl or Pteranodon. After watching them come back to the flying activity over and over again, I would dare say that they like it the best.

When they were done "flying" we walked to the next activity. We had to walk through a maze that went through the different time periods of the dinosaurs. Occasionally we would come to a corner that had an activity in it. They had puzzles, color scratch pages, and trivia questions. The kids stopped and participated in each activity. Their favorite one was the puzzle. They found pieces of dinosaurs and they had to put them together. 

When we got out of the maze the kids came to the rock wall. It wasn't one that they had seen before. They tried tall rock walls, but this one was short and long. So instead of climbing up, they climbed across (sideways). The kids had a hard time transitioning to across climbing vs up climbing. It was fun to watch them try over and over to figure out the best path to complete the climb.

The next activity they got to do was to dig. It wasn't digging in sand like they have done before, it was small black rocks. They were bigger than sand, but not as big as pebbles; It almost reminded me of the rocks that you can put in fish tanks. They found all sorts of bones, but not what Owen was expecting. Owen thought he'd find all the bones to build a complete dinosaur. That wasn't exactly the case. Needless to say, they didn't stay digging for very long.

We moved on and came to the actual museum portion of the exhibits. The first exhibit we came to was the lab. It was the lab where the paleontologists did their work. They even saw one paleontologist working on excavating a large jawbone from a rock. The boys were mesmerized. They stayed there watching while Gabbi moved on. She wasn't as intrigued as they were.

When they were finally done watching him work, we moved on to the rest of the exhibits. We saw all sorts of dinosaurs, complete skeletons. The kids quickly recognized their favorites and rushed to check them out. It still amazes me how big some of these dinosaurs were. The movies don't really do them justice. 

After walking through the main dinosaur exhibits, the kids stopped at a play table. It had sand and water, and the kids could play and make different scenes that you might find when dinosaurs walked the earth. As I watched them, I crossed my fingers that it wouldn't end up in a water or sand fight. I can only imagine how many kids try to throw a little while playing.

Our next activity was a doozy. We've heard a lot about virtual reality and have only seen or used one, shortly, once. This virtual reality was a trip under the ocean. I didn't have the guts to give it a try, but by their reactions, I'm glad I didn't. Every few seconds they would jump, at one point some of them even gave a little gasp. When they were done, they told me that they saw nothing but open ocean. Then as they moved around, they came across different underwater animals, some of which scared them. It made me laugh to hear about their experience. 

The virtual reality activity was the gateway to the next exhibit, the main reason we were there. We walked into the next room and saw nothing but blue. Walking further into the exhibit we saw all sorts of skeletons from underwater creatures of animals that ruled the oceans when dinosaurs ruled the land. As we further walked through the water exhibits, we walked through time to our day seeing the animals that we can find in the oceans all over the world today.

When we got to the ocean animals of today, the boys were spitting out all sorts of facts about the different sharks. They enjoyed seeing the different types of sharks and even their teeth. At one point we turned around the corner and found a table. I was confused by it, but they had different activities to go with their shark exhibits. They got a trivia page, they got to make a shark tooth necklace, played small carnival games, and even got to check out a real shark. They of course weren't alive, but the kids got to be hands-on as they checked out the small reef sharks. Watching the kids touch and explore a dead shark was unnerving, but they thought it was pretty cool.

Last, but certainly not least, the kids got to see a Megalodon. Not a real one of course, but they got to stand next to a replica. I couldn't believe how big it was. They even had a Great White close to it for a size comparison. After taking a picture next to the Megalodon, to no surprise, Owen told us all about it.

We finished off our trip to the museum with some other animal skeletons that live long ago before finding their last activity, a dig pit. This one was full of sand and the kids each had little brushes to find all sorts of things buried in the sand.