15

Yesterday Tanner turned 15. I asked him if he wanted a party this year and he said, "Nah." So I decided to make him have a party by throwing him a surprise party. I had Michael and Daniel come over first because they come over regularly and he wouldn't suspect. They just rang the doorbell and brought him some ice cream, very natural. Then another boy came over and then two boys not from the neighborhood which I thought would for sure give it away. But it didn't. He had a great time hanging out with his friends eating cake and playing Xbox.


HAPPY BIRTHDAY TANNER!

Getting some culture

Last week we went to the art museum on B.Y.U.'s campus to see the Carl Bloch exhibit. Right when we walked in it showed a picture of Christ that looked so vibrant and almost 3-D. I haven't been exposed to a lot of art in my life and it was a great experience. Tanner and Maddie were very impressed also. Max was patient and Seth kept asking how long we were going to stay and what time would we eat dinner. After the Carl Bloch exhibit we browsed the rest of the museum. Maddie loves drawing so she thought the sketches were amazing and got some ideas of things she wanted to draw. We were very lucky that so many churches loaned the art to BYU so we could see it and not have to go to Denmark, although that would be fun too.

Canyon hike

I have a great friend, Heidi that was my roommate at BYU. She had six kids and I had four so we didn't see each other for a while there. Then, three years ago we started taking our youngest (her twins and my Seth) on mini field trips to the farm or museum and everyone really liked it. Then our kids started kindergarten half day and it was too hard. Now, all of our kids are in school all day and we never see each other which doesn't make sense, she lives 5 minutes down the road. Anyway, she called the other day and asked if I wanted to go hiking with her in the canyon. To me that sounded a little crazy in the winter, but I really wanted to catch up with her and exercise is good for me, so I keep telling myself. It ended up being a really pretty day and it was beautiful to hike through the canyon. I didn't feel cold at all because we were going at a pretty good pace. Right when I got home, I got into the bath because I could already feel my legs getting sore. I was glad I went.

Jumpin' Fools

One Saturday after we finished cleaning the whole house, Maddie asked if we could go to Jump On It. I didn't think the kids really liked that place anymore but when she said it Max and Seth really wanted to go too. We got there right when it opened at 10 so hardly anyone was there. When we left an hour later it was pretty packed and not as fun. Tanner had a hike that Saturday but I thought he wouldn't have been interested anyway. But he did say "The minute I'm gone you guys go and do something fun like Jump on It." I asked if he was sad for real and he said, "Nah." I did notice older boys were there doing flips and terrorizing kids, so he may have liked it.

Carpool=Survival

Today I had a neighbor call and ask if she could pick up my son for Cub Scouts and I could drive next month when she has her baby. It made me really appreciate carpools. I'm in a lot of them. Seth has play practice every Tuesday this month and luckily he had a friend in our neighborhood. I called her right away to see if she wanted to go in together and of course she did. Then there's karate two times a week that I would get soooo tired of driving to. Fortunately we have four drivers for karate so I only have to pick up (four stinky boys) once a week. We also have a soccer carpool for Maddie and a "going to school" carpool for Max and Seth (The bus comes at 7:12 and they don't have to be to school until 8 so we take turns taking them at 7:50 and have a more relaxing morning). I think I'm pretty lucky to live close to so many helpful people.