14

Tanis has been on this earth for 14 years now. That seems so crazy for me to think about. Those years really seemed to fly by and I can hardly believe that he could be out of the house in as little as four years. When and how did that happen?

For his actual birthday all he really wanted to do was go to Golden Corral. He talked about it for weeks before his birthday. So we made sure to do all that we could to make that happen for him. Jace had been feeling a little sick, so I worried how his temperament might be, but he was okay.

Because Eric was at work, I waited to give Tanis his gift until we were at the restaurant. He had a rough time waiting, but he made it.

Dinner went pretty good. The kids all ate a few things and then headed straight for the dessert bar. Because Jace wasn't feeling great, he puked all over the place which was a little embarrassing and I felt bad for my baby. 

I was still trying to finish my meal, but we could tell Jace needed to get home - so Eric took a few of the kids and headed home, while I finished my meal and then took the other kids home. Along the way home we stopped to get some batteries so that we had enough for 4 people to play Tanis' new game.

We spent the rest of the night battling it out and Tanis is really talented playing Mario Kart games. He beat everyone but his Dad.

Because his birthday is two days before Pioneer Day, we chose to have his party the day after Pioneer Day, the 25th. He chose a Harry Potter theme and we got the invites out a few days before his birthday.

I took a letterhead paper and cut it out after it printed off. Then I glued a skewer to the paper so I could roll it up like a scroll. It didn't occur to me until after I had glued the skewers on that I should've put them on the back.

We lucked out at the party store and found just a few Harry Potter things to make the decor just right.

For his cookies I cut out witch hats and used a Starburst cut into the lightning bolt shape. His cupcakes were supposed to be the different house colors.

And because it's just a bunch of teenage boys hanging around, they just played video games all night and were completely happy. They played Plants Vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare as well as Mario Kart 8. At the beginning of the party, Tanis and his friends watched a few episodes from Studio C.

Then we also did all the regular party stuff. Gifts and cake and ice cream. Jace really enjoyed his first taste of cupcake.

What Happens Next...

That Other July Holiday

A few weeks before Pioneer Day, Eric's brother had been talking to us and asking us about going to a game on Pioneer Day. We didn't say yay or nay and just let time pass.

The Sunday before Pioneer Day we were at Eric's mom's house and she asked about plans for Pioneer Day. She mentioned that Greg had wanted to go the game, but she didn't really want to. She would go if it's what we all decided on, but she really doesn't enjoy them.

Eric wasn't sure what he wanted to do. He wasn't really in the mood to go the game, either and so he told his mom he'd think of a few ideas and let her know the next day. The next day he sent an email to us both with his ideas. They were a movie, going to the new children's museum out by us and something else.

I told him the museum would be fun, but I was worried about crowds and so I thought a movie might be a better route. Eric and his mom talked a little bit more through the next few days and decided on going to the new children's museum.

I had heard this place was crowded every day since it opened, so I tried to prepare myself for the crowds accordingly. We walked in and were greeted with a semi-short line, which really surprised me. But then we actually got into the museum and there was a good number of people there.

We made the most of it though, and the kids had a lot of fun.

The first thing we ended up needing to do was to buy Shaylyn a new pair of shoes. (Thankfully the gift shop had some - weird) Shaylyn had crafted herself a pair of sandals using her rubber band loom, cardboard and duct tape. While we gave her props for her creativity - Eric told her to grab a real pair of shoes or something for her feet before we left. She forgot and within minutes in the museum her 'sandals' were broken.

One of the first things our kids found was the Library. It was a small room with a lot of books, some old some new, just on some bookshelves, but it was still kind of fun. My favorite part of the Library was the bust of Mark Twain - so I got Ailey and Nate to pose with one of my favorite authors.

We then wanted to make sure our hearts were still beating and none of us were dead.

Next came the bank vault. I'm a little concerned about how happy my kids look 'breaking' into safety deposit boxes.

The kids had a chance to be a train conductor in some form of the work. The museum had train sets set up along the ceiling and these little 'trains' moved the actual trains around the track. The train the kits sit in has a monitor and they can see where they're driving the trains. Pretty cool, actually.

We then made our way to the tv/movie studio. This was our kids' chance to be on TV!

The kids had a chance to be vets.

A couple of our kids think they should be part of a circus.

Then it was time for an impromtu dance class.

The art room could become a favorite, but because of the crowds and a problem with supply and demand - we didn't stay in the art room very long.

The kids then played a bit with the wind.

I was kind of surprised to see a rock wall in the museum. Nate and Ailey both took a turn climbing it and I loved the way Nate found his way down.

And because our kids are somewhat obsessed with all things Lego-like, they built structures with pieces of wood.

About this time we were all getting tired and hungry. The crowds weren't getting sny smaller and so we decided we'd head to lunch/dinner. We chose Chick Fil A and spent a lot of time there. The kids enjoyed playing on the playground and Eric and I enjoyed visiting with his mom. We were thinking about getting ice cream, but thought the prices at Chick Fil A were a bit high for ice cream. But after realizing that I wanted to go to a party store across the way to get stuff for Tanis' party the next day, Eric and his mom just decided to do ice cream at that moment, while Tanis and I went to the party store.

Tanis and I got back and had our ice cream and then we decided we should all head home. Eric's mom wanted to get home before it got too dark and Eric was pretty tired.

When we got home, because it was so hot - the kids and I got in the pool. It was fun to play with the kids and Lex and I outlasted anyone else.

We headed outside when it started to get dark to get fireworks going. While Eric prepped the show, the kids went wild.

Eric let the older kids light the flower fireworks that we had.

When we got the fireworks going, Ailey got a little scared and really didn't like the noise.

Nate thought he should copy his little sister and had is pillow and blanket outside as well.

We had a wonderful show and really enjoyed our day/night - even though it was pretty packed full. We even got a wonderful picture of a few UFO's. 

What Happens Next...