Haylie tagged me!
Thanks a lot Haylie.
Ok, here's what i'm supposed to do:
list 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 surprising facts and then tag 5 other people. leave a comment for the people you tag so they know they have been tagged.
joys
1. spending time with my kids
2. spending time away from my kids
3. being with my friends
fears
1. laundry (it is alive and is breeding)
2. earthquakes
3. loosing all my digital pictures
current obsessions
1. it's a secret and I'm not telling
2. my computer
3. baking bread
facts
1. i married Scott almost four months after our first date.
2. i have been making babies for 11 years. I am really quite tired.
3. i really need a pedicure.
now i have to tag five people:
1. Sandy
2. Anjuli
3. Janie
4. Heather
5. Mindy Sorry Mindy but you really need to blog.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Happy Birthday Mariah
It is so great that today Mariah gets to have a birthday. She loves birthdays. I know everyone loves their birthday but Mariah loves all birthdays. When it's anyone's birthday in our family she follows them around grinning at them. I am so excited that today it is hers. She was the first one to rise this morning which is not a normal thing. She climbed into bed with me with a grin from ear to ear. We let her open up one present this morning and was so excited to have a scooter like Jaden and Hayley.
Today she is seven years old. After years of being a "kitty girl" she has moved on to "doggy girl". For a few months she was really into Chihuahuas but now has switched to Golden retrievers. Her best friends are Addie and Chessa. She loves to plan parties. She likes to pretend she is a boy whenever they play. She still likes dolls. She loves to laugh. She hates kisses. She is a black dragon in Tae Kwon Do. She has to pick out her own clothes. She doesn't care if it doesn't match. She likes to play on the computer. She still has those adorable cheeks and she won't let me kiss them. She likes to use tape and lots of it. She is the youngest in her class and also one of the tallest. She loves her brother Gabe and always sits right next to him at dinner. Grandma Judy is her most favorite person in the world. She has two new front teeth and can make herself look like a rabbit. She is adorable and we love her. Happy Birthday Mariah!
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Shhh...don't tell Hayley, Jaden and Mariah
I had so much swimming last week that I just had to go again. I felt a little guilty going while most of my kids were in school but I got over it rather quickly. The one bad thing about going when the kids are in school is that I have to go home to get them. Gabe and Bella love to swim in my parents pool and the water is just the right temp. Shalynn came with me and brought Jared. Janie and her friend Mary were there too. Gabe was ready to go and sat in the kiddie pool before I could even get him changed. My parents have a zip line that goes into their pool and my dad thought it would be fun to take Gabe. I have never seen him look so terrified in all his life. The good thing about Gabe is that he doesn't let trauma get in his way. If he falls off a chair he gets right back on. He still wanted to play in the water and is still as fearless as ever. My dad wanted to see if Gabe would let him take him again. He climbed up the ladder and Gabe didn't even blink. However, we didn't want to push our luck so he didn't go again. Bella however is one who learns from others. When my dad asked if she wanted to go she very quickly ran the other way.
Monday, July 28, 2008
1st day of school
Today my three oldest started a brand-new school year. Mariah is in 2nd grade, Jaden is in 4th grade, and even though I would like to pretend it isn't so, Hayley is in 6th grade. They are all really excited for their new teachers. Hayley has Mr. Burdik who she says is very funny. Jaden has Mrs.Trevino who he says is great because she gives prizes. Mariah has Mrs. Swannack and is very excited that it is the same teacher Jaden had for second grade. Hopefully their love of their teachers will endure the year.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
one thing kids are good for
Tonight Janie and Ryan came over for dinner. Janie had taken her dog out to do her business and found snails all over my walk way. They had to be gathered up and I didn't want to do it. Janie didn't either. That is when I had a brilliant idea and told the kids to get a bag and come out side. They were delighted. They spend the next half an hour hunting for snails and filling their bags. Hayley said we should do it all the time. Bella loved picking up the baby ones. They ended up cleaning out all my flower beds. It's nice to find one more thing that kids are good for.
Pioneer Weekend 2008
I love it when a holiday is near the end of a the week. That way it turns into a weekend long event. We started off our celebrations by going to my in-laws cabin. We spent the day there riding the ATV's, reading and swinging on the swing. We also got to look at the little baby birdies right outside the back door. Unfortunately this was the only picture I look while we were there. I guess I was too busy having fun and relaxing to really bother with taking pictures. We spend the night and the next day after lunch we headed out to my Grandma Taintor's cabin. Gabe could not wait to get wet and found a sprinkler to play with. I decided we might as well all get in our suits and play in the river. It was very cold but this did not keep Gabriel from wanting to jump in. He kept saying "cowd, cowd" while pulling me into the water. His favorite thing was to throw rocks in. I grew up playing in that river. It was fun to see my kids playing like I used to. Jaden and Mariah were even brave enough to go down the river on a tube. I think the best part of the trip for Mariah was my cousin showing up with four chihuahuas. Even though they are not her # 1 favorite dog any more she made sure to tell me that they were definitely #2. We spend the evening sitting around the campfire roasting marshmallows and eating smores. We spent the night and the next morning headed to my parents house for Ryan's birthday. Happy Birthday Ryan! Happy Pioneer Day too.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
swimming
One of my favorite things to do during the summer is to go swimming at my parents pool. July is the best time to do it. They don't have a pool heater and depend on a solar cover to warm the water. Right now it is the perfect temperature. That is one thing that I don't like about year round school. We have three weeks in the summer to do our family trip with the in-laws, celebrate the 4th and the 24th and go swimming. We finally made it over to my parents before our summer was over. It has become sort of a tradition with Shalynn and me. Sometimes we are able to convince other friends of mine to come out with us. Usually though it is just Shalynn and me. This time my sister came over to join us with Elizabeth.
Our kids are getting older and it's getting easier for them to be on their own in the pool. Gabe and Bella would like to be on their own but still lack the necessary skills. We were only hit with a couple light showers. Nothing too bad considering that while we were gone West Jordan was hit with a huge storm that flattened my perennial garden. Now because of the storms it was a bit cold at times. I could tell when it was too cold because all of the kids would get out and hop into our warm filled kiddie pool. I had so much fun I think that after the kids start school Shalynn and I will go without the older kids. Shhh, don't tell.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Again?
Today Gabe hopped up on the couch and began making an unmistakable sound with his mouth. I quickly grabbed my camera and this is what I captured.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Alaska
We just got back from a most amazing trip to Alaska. My in-laws took us on a 7 day cruise aboard Royal Carribean. They take us on a trip every year but this was a big one. We were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. Go ahead, call me spoiled, I don't mind. Seven days + 12 people x 2 camera's worth of pictures = a bucket load of pictures. I won't feel bad if those that read my blog don't take the time to look at every last picture. This is more for my benefit than anyone else's.
Day 1
-I am so glad our flight was only 1 1/2 hours. I am also glad we brought the nintendos.
-Waiting around is much easier with an umbrella stroller and previously mentioned nintendos.
-We got on the ship by 11:30 a.m. This gave us plenty of time to eat and unpack before the boat left port. I think I should also mention that I am a bit of magician. I fit the clothing for seven people into one room. This may sound unimpressive to those of you that have not cruised before. Let me assure you that this is not an easy feat and that I am quite amazing. Ok so I cheated a little bit. I filled two small drawers in my in-laws room as well as two hangers. I still think it was a miracle it all fit.
-Gabe had to explore every last inch of our room. His favorite was the shower.
-We learned a very important lesson. There is a smoking side and a non smoking side out side. Lunch was a little smokey.
-After having our muster station drill it was bon voyage and we were off.
-The first night we spent eating, getting registered for Adventure Ocean (the kid camp, and getting the kids faces painted. We then went happily off to bed.
Day 2
-Started the day bright and early. Kids were at "Adventure Ocean" by 9 a.m. They spend most of their days at sea hanging out there. It was packed with activities for them to do. Bella's and Mariah's favorite was getting their faces painted.
-My father-in-law earned the gold medal in ping pong. Good job Paul.
-It was very cold and windy on the deck. It was kind of fun jogging on the track. The wind kept me from getting too hot.
-This was the roughest day at sea. It wasn't too bad unless I was trying to walk down the halls. It was very had to walk in a straight line. Scott was sitting in a chair with uneven legs and kept tipping back and forth.
-It was our first formal night. It was fun to get all dressed up. I loved eating our dinner in the dining room. We always had the same waiter. By the second night he already knew what our favorite drinks were and brought them without asking. I wish we could have taken him home with us.
Day 3
-We docked in Juneau at 11 a.m. This gave the kids a couple of hours in the morning at Adventure Ocean. Just time enough for Mariah and Bella to become puppies for the day.
-We took a tram ride up the mountain. There was a small hike that we took.
-We saw "bear scat". It had a little sign next to us informing us that it was two days old. Gabe posed for a picture with it.
-Alaska is a temperate rainforest and the greenery is amazing.
-We went to the visitors center and watched a movie about the native people of Alaska. We also had a group of kids preform native dances for us.
-I can see why people might want to live in Alaska. In the summer that is.
Day 4
-This was by far my favorite day. We spent the day in Skagway.
-We got out and did an excursion this day. We found a touring agency that would take all of us on a "hike-and-float". The cruise line offered the same excursion for ages 7 and up and charged twice as much.
-We went on an amazing hike along the Chilkoot trail.
-Bella fell in love with our guide Cody and tried to remain near to him for much of the hike.
-Cody told us that if we saw a bear the first thing to do was to take a picture. He said it didn't really change the outcome. Luckily we did not see a bear. We did however see where a bear had marked a tree with his claw.
-Skagway's population overflows in the summer. To support this growth there are overflow campgrounds. If you want to spend the summer in Skagway you'll have to pay $300 a month to live in a tent. $500 if you have a trailer. It is beautiful there.
-After our hike we pulled on our rubber boots, put on our life jackets and headed down the river. It was freezing cold. Gabe was not to happy and screamed until he finally fell asleep.
-After we got back on the boat we dropped the kids off at their camp to have dinner and headed to the dining room for a kid free meal (except Gabe). There were three nights that the kids could eat with the camp and we took full advantage of this. They loved it too.
-While we were waiting for our nightly show to begin the kids all came marching to the theatre. They had a short program to put on that had us all laughing. The next day I heard Hayley singing bits of it while she showered.
Day 5
-In the morning when I woke up and opened my window the first thing I saw was icebergs floating in the water. We were cruising up Endicott Arm Fjord to see the Dawes Glacier.
-We ate breakfast with the view of the glacier right out the window.
-We saw crew members going out to gather an iceberg for all of us to touch.
-There were no ports to stop at today but our view was amazing.
-This day was our second formal night. The head waiter came to our table and did fun little tricks for the kids.
Day 6
-On this day we went to our final port which was Prince Rupert Canada. If you ever want to go on a cruise to Alaska and this is listed as a port DO NOT GO. It is a very small town and could not support excursions for the whole boat. If you didn't have an excursion you were out of luck. The town was horrible. We had such a good experience in Skagway booking our excursion with an independent agency that we didn't book anything through the cruise line. When we got off the ship we discovered that the only excursions offered were those through the cruise. The few that were left had age limits on them and we couldn't all go.
-We spend a few hours walking around the town looking for something interesting. We finally ended up on the beach and tried to find crabs. We didn't find any and after a very disappointing visit we headed back to the ship.
-I did manage to get some cute pictures at the beach.
-The other saving grace was that there were bald eagles everywhere. In fact earlier that day one had flown into a transformer and blown half the cities power.
-That night at dinner Bella fell asleep before we even got our food. All the pointless walking in Prince Rupert had worn her out.
-Every night after dinner the kids would go back to hang out at Adventure Ocean. They had an different theme every night and the kids loved to be there. Bella was the only one who was a little hesitant. I think she was worried we would never come get her. Once we told her we would for sure come and get her she was fine.
Day 7
-In the morning the kids had a talent show at Adventure Ocean. They did a musical number called "the mysterious ticking noise". We found it a couple of months ago on youtube and there was enough parts for each kid to participate. They all received a gold medal for participating.
-We finally went swimming on this day. Swimming at the outdoor pool is cold and the indoor one is only open to kids a few hours a day. Gabe couldn't join in because he has to wear swim diapers so him and I sat out.
-We spent the rest of the day hanging around the ship and enjoying the views.
-We also spend a couple of hours packing up.
-Gabe loved his ice cream every night. He also loved to stick things in his mouth. This night it was a cob of corn. He was a bit of a celebrity on the cruise. There are not that many kids under two years old. Wherever we went people would tell us how cute he was. He was especially popular among the staff. I am sure with them spending months away from their own families he was a welcome sight. One night while at one of the shows we ordered virgin piña coladas. We were giving Gabe sips of our drink. The next day a couple commented how cute Gabe was and how they had seen him drinking our drink. They wondered if he slept well after this. Scott didn't even bother to tell them that it was non-alcoholic.
Going Home
-The last day we got up early and headed out to breakfast. We had to pack up the night before and leave the bulk of our luggage outside our door for pick-up. So all that was left to do was getting ourselves up and out the door.
-We ate breakfast in the dining room and then headed to the theatre to await our disembark time. They really do have quite the system to make sure this is a smooth process.
-Before long we were on our way and coming home. It was a great trip and I am very grateful to my in-laws for taking us.
Day 1
-I am so glad our flight was only 1 1/2 hours. I am also glad we brought the nintendos.
-Waiting around is much easier with an umbrella stroller and previously mentioned nintendos.
-We got on the ship by 11:30 a.m. This gave us plenty of time to eat and unpack before the boat left port. I think I should also mention that I am a bit of magician. I fit the clothing for seven people into one room. This may sound unimpressive to those of you that have not cruised before. Let me assure you that this is not an easy feat and that I am quite amazing. Ok so I cheated a little bit. I filled two small drawers in my in-laws room as well as two hangers. I still think it was a miracle it all fit.
-Gabe had to explore every last inch of our room. His favorite was the shower.
-We learned a very important lesson. There is a smoking side and a non smoking side out side. Lunch was a little smokey.
-After having our muster station drill it was bon voyage and we were off.
-The first night we spent eating, getting registered for Adventure Ocean (the kid camp, and getting the kids faces painted. We then went happily off to bed.
Day 2
-Started the day bright and early. Kids were at "Adventure Ocean" by 9 a.m. They spend most of their days at sea hanging out there. It was packed with activities for them to do. Bella's and Mariah's favorite was getting their faces painted.
-My father-in-law earned the gold medal in ping pong. Good job Paul.
-It was very cold and windy on the deck. It was kind of fun jogging on the track. The wind kept me from getting too hot.
-This was the roughest day at sea. It wasn't too bad unless I was trying to walk down the halls. It was very had to walk in a straight line. Scott was sitting in a chair with uneven legs and kept tipping back and forth.
-It was our first formal night. It was fun to get all dressed up. I loved eating our dinner in the dining room. We always had the same waiter. By the second night he already knew what our favorite drinks were and brought them without asking. I wish we could have taken him home with us.
Day 3
-We docked in Juneau at 11 a.m. This gave the kids a couple of hours in the morning at Adventure Ocean. Just time enough for Mariah and Bella to become puppies for the day.
-We took a tram ride up the mountain. There was a small hike that we took.
-We saw "bear scat". It had a little sign next to us informing us that it was two days old. Gabe posed for a picture with it.
-Alaska is a temperate rainforest and the greenery is amazing.
-We went to the visitors center and watched a movie about the native people of Alaska. We also had a group of kids preform native dances for us.
-I can see why people might want to live in Alaska. In the summer that is.
Day 4
-This was by far my favorite day. We spent the day in Skagway.
-We got out and did an excursion this day. We found a touring agency that would take all of us on a "hike-and-float". The cruise line offered the same excursion for ages 7 and up and charged twice as much.
-We went on an amazing hike along the Chilkoot trail.
-Bella fell in love with our guide Cody and tried to remain near to him for much of the hike.
-Cody told us that if we saw a bear the first thing to do was to take a picture. He said it didn't really change the outcome. Luckily we did not see a bear. We did however see where a bear had marked a tree with his claw.
-Skagway's population overflows in the summer. To support this growth there are overflow campgrounds. If you want to spend the summer in Skagway you'll have to pay $300 a month to live in a tent. $500 if you have a trailer. It is beautiful there.
-After our hike we pulled on our rubber boots, put on our life jackets and headed down the river. It was freezing cold. Gabe was not to happy and screamed until he finally fell asleep.
-After we got back on the boat we dropped the kids off at their camp to have dinner and headed to the dining room for a kid free meal (except Gabe). There were three nights that the kids could eat with the camp and we took full advantage of this. They loved it too.
-While we were waiting for our nightly show to begin the kids all came marching to the theatre. They had a short program to put on that had us all laughing. The next day I heard Hayley singing bits of it while she showered.
Day 5
-In the morning when I woke up and opened my window the first thing I saw was icebergs floating in the water. We were cruising up Endicott Arm Fjord to see the Dawes Glacier.
-We ate breakfast with the view of the glacier right out the window.
-We saw crew members going out to gather an iceberg for all of us to touch.
-There were no ports to stop at today but our view was amazing.
-This day was our second formal night. The head waiter came to our table and did fun little tricks for the kids.
Day 6
-On this day we went to our final port which was Prince Rupert Canada. If you ever want to go on a cruise to Alaska and this is listed as a port DO NOT GO. It is a very small town and could not support excursions for the whole boat. If you didn't have an excursion you were out of luck. The town was horrible. We had such a good experience in Skagway booking our excursion with an independent agency that we didn't book anything through the cruise line. When we got off the ship we discovered that the only excursions offered were those through the cruise. The few that were left had age limits on them and we couldn't all go.
-We spend a few hours walking around the town looking for something interesting. We finally ended up on the beach and tried to find crabs. We didn't find any and after a very disappointing visit we headed back to the ship.
-I did manage to get some cute pictures at the beach.
-The other saving grace was that there were bald eagles everywhere. In fact earlier that day one had flown into a transformer and blown half the cities power.
-That night at dinner Bella fell asleep before we even got our food. All the pointless walking in Prince Rupert had worn her out.
-Every night after dinner the kids would go back to hang out at Adventure Ocean. They had an different theme every night and the kids loved to be there. Bella was the only one who was a little hesitant. I think she was worried we would never come get her. Once we told her we would for sure come and get her she was fine.
Day 7
-In the morning the kids had a talent show at Adventure Ocean. They did a musical number called "the mysterious ticking noise". We found it a couple of months ago on youtube and there was enough parts for each kid to participate. They all received a gold medal for participating.
-We finally went swimming on this day. Swimming at the outdoor pool is cold and the indoor one is only open to kids a few hours a day. Gabe couldn't join in because he has to wear swim diapers so him and I sat out.
-We spent the rest of the day hanging around the ship and enjoying the views.
-We also spend a couple of hours packing up.
-Gabe loved his ice cream every night. He also loved to stick things in his mouth. This night it was a cob of corn. He was a bit of a celebrity on the cruise. There are not that many kids under two years old. Wherever we went people would tell us how cute he was. He was especially popular among the staff. I am sure with them spending months away from their own families he was a welcome sight. One night while at one of the shows we ordered virgin piña coladas. We were giving Gabe sips of our drink. The next day a couple commented how cute Gabe was and how they had seen him drinking our drink. They wondered if he slept well after this. Scott didn't even bother to tell them that it was non-alcoholic.
Going Home
-The last day we got up early and headed out to breakfast. We had to pack up the night before and leave the bulk of our luggage outside our door for pick-up. So all that was left to do was getting ourselves up and out the door.
-We ate breakfast in the dining room and then headed to the theatre to await our disembark time. They really do have quite the system to make sure this is a smooth process.
-Before long we were on our way and coming home. It was a great trip and I am very grateful to my in-laws for taking us.
Monday, July 7, 2008
tough little cookies
My little warriors are coming right along. They had their belt testing again and all three passed with flying colors. Mariah is now a Black Dragon and Hayley and Jaden earned their high green belts. At Mariah's next testing she will graduate from the little dragons and move to a yellow belt.
It is amazing to me that my kids can wield a nunchuck and I can't even spell it right without looking it up. It is also cool to watch my kids break boards with their heels. I've got three very tough cookies living in my house.
The sad thing about this belt testing is that it marked the end of Tae Kwon Do for Mariah's two friends Addie and Chessa. One of my favorite things about belt testing has been taking pictures of the three of them afterwards.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
red.white.blue.2008
This year as always we took a few of days to celebrate Independence day. We really know how to celebrate a birthday, especially when it's the birthday of my most favorite country in the world.
We stared off with our annual BBQ and fireworks at my in-laws. It has become quite the event. We used to trek from their house over to Eaglewood Gold course where there fireworks are held. A few years ago we came back to my in-laws dinner club friends hanging out on their front lawn. Apparently the view was great from their own front yard. Ever since then we have stayed put and avoided the mobs of people. The food was great and the fireworks amazing. One of the nicest things is that when we're all done we clean up and sleep over. No fighting the huge traffic jam that always follows. Scott's cousin Erin and her husband Joe were also staying over. They had come up from Arizona to visit Grandma and Grandpa Hilton and were staying with Judy. Erin and Joe have five kids age 5 and under. They are simply amazing. So with our five kids, Erin and Joe's five kids and Lisa's two we had quite a houseful. The best part of the evening for me came after all the kids were in bed and we sat around watching old home movies of Judy's childhood. Scott had spend many late nights putting it all together on a DVD.
The next morning we arose bright and early to head over to our next party. My in-laws ward has a big breakfast at the church every 4th of July. Pancakes, sausage, bacon and fruit. Yum yum. Mariah also had a great time after decorating papa with her glow in the dark bracelets.
We then headed back to Turners to have a lunch with all of Scott's family. A second BBQ is a great way to get rid of left-overs. It was great to visit with family and watch the old home movies together.
We next headed out for Stadium of Fire. My parents watched the two little ones and Scott, Hayley, Jaden, Mariah and I all headed South to Provo. When Scott bought the tickets back in April we ran into a tiny snag. While he was preparing to check-out with seats right where we wanted them he got kicked off. It said that he had ran out of time even though there was still time on the timer. Bummer. So he quickly got back online and scrambled for the best seats he could get. Unfortunately the only seats left were four rows from the top at the opposite side from the stage. I am surprised we didn't get nosebleeds. Before we went into the stadium we first visited the parking lot which was full of sponsors giving away free stuff. We walked away with free hotdogs, drinks, balloons, pens, bracelets and stuffed dogs.
The show was amazing. Glenn Beck did a great job of hosting. The entertainment was awesome. It included men parachuting onto the field, 1,300 "Stadium of Fire" Dancers, Blue Man Group and Miley Cyrus. Even though we couldn't hear very well it was still fun.
They brought in family members of servicemen who are in Iraq to watch the show. There was a huge spot on the field where the dancers had preformed so they got primo seats for the show. They even hooked it up so that three of the men serving could say hello to their families. I don't think their was a dry eye in the stadium.
The best part of the night was the fireworks. Our seats went from being the worst in the house to the best. We had the most amazing view of the fireworks. We got to watch them straight on. We also avoided the ash that fell on everyone else.
When the show ended at 10:45 we still were a long way away from getting home. The longest wait was the 45 minutes we spent trying to leave the parking lot. It gave us a chance to all listen to our Harry Potter books on CD. We arrived home at 12:45 and crawled into bed.
You would think this would be enough celebrating for us. Almost done. Saturday night we got to have a BBQ at my parents house. My Aunt Becky was in town from Seattle so she came to party with us. Her daughters Havala and Sierra also came along with Havala's husband Brigg. We had a great time eating hamburgers and watermelon. Very American.
I am so grateful for this great land in which we live. Happy Birthday America. You're swell.
We stared off with our annual BBQ and fireworks at my in-laws. It has become quite the event. We used to trek from their house over to Eaglewood Gold course where there fireworks are held. A few years ago we came back to my in-laws dinner club friends hanging out on their front lawn. Apparently the view was great from their own front yard. Ever since then we have stayed put and avoided the mobs of people. The food was great and the fireworks amazing. One of the nicest things is that when we're all done we clean up and sleep over. No fighting the huge traffic jam that always follows. Scott's cousin Erin and her husband Joe were also staying over. They had come up from Arizona to visit Grandma and Grandpa Hilton and were staying with Judy. Erin and Joe have five kids age 5 and under. They are simply amazing. So with our five kids, Erin and Joe's five kids and Lisa's two we had quite a houseful. The best part of the evening for me came after all the kids were in bed and we sat around watching old home movies of Judy's childhood. Scott had spend many late nights putting it all together on a DVD.
The next morning we arose bright and early to head over to our next party. My in-laws ward has a big breakfast at the church every 4th of July. Pancakes, sausage, bacon and fruit. Yum yum. Mariah also had a great time after decorating papa with her glow in the dark bracelets.
We then headed back to Turners to have a lunch with all of Scott's family. A second BBQ is a great way to get rid of left-overs. It was great to visit with family and watch the old home movies together.
We next headed out for Stadium of Fire. My parents watched the two little ones and Scott, Hayley, Jaden, Mariah and I all headed South to Provo. When Scott bought the tickets back in April we ran into a tiny snag. While he was preparing to check-out with seats right where we wanted them he got kicked off. It said that he had ran out of time even though there was still time on the timer. Bummer. So he quickly got back online and scrambled for the best seats he could get. Unfortunately the only seats left were four rows from the top at the opposite side from the stage. I am surprised we didn't get nosebleeds. Before we went into the stadium we first visited the parking lot which was full of sponsors giving away free stuff. We walked away with free hotdogs, drinks, balloons, pens, bracelets and stuffed dogs.
The show was amazing. Glenn Beck did a great job of hosting. The entertainment was awesome. It included men parachuting onto the field, 1,300 "Stadium of Fire" Dancers, Blue Man Group and Miley Cyrus. Even though we couldn't hear very well it was still fun.
They brought in family members of servicemen who are in Iraq to watch the show. There was a huge spot on the field where the dancers had preformed so they got primo seats for the show. They even hooked it up so that three of the men serving could say hello to their families. I don't think their was a dry eye in the stadium.
The best part of the night was the fireworks. Our seats went from being the worst in the house to the best. We had the most amazing view of the fireworks. We got to watch them straight on. We also avoided the ash that fell on everyone else.
When the show ended at 10:45 we still were a long way away from getting home. The longest wait was the 45 minutes we spent trying to leave the parking lot. It gave us a chance to all listen to our Harry Potter books on CD. We arrived home at 12:45 and crawled into bed.
You would think this would be enough celebrating for us. Almost done. Saturday night we got to have a BBQ at my parents house. My Aunt Becky was in town from Seattle so she came to party with us. Her daughters Havala and Sierra also came along with Havala's husband Brigg. We had a great time eating hamburgers and watermelon. Very American.
I am so grateful for this great land in which we live. Happy Birthday America. You're swell.
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