Time to Celebrate!

We celebrated a few things this past week. Not only was it Pioneer Day but I turned another year older.

It was one of the best Birthdays I had. Matt really knows how to spoil me so my Birthdays are always great because of him. The morning of my birthday I woke up to Matt giving me cards from both him and the boys. Evan wished me a Happy Birthday with a hug and kiss and Alex gave me lots of smiles and coo's that morning. Matt's card had cash in it and he told me I was going on a shopping spree child free after we have lunch together. In the afternoon, Leanna came over after Matt's Dad to watch the boys for me so I can meet Matt to have lunch at Tucanos. It was very delicious!
Going shopping was fun. I scored some great deals in Shade and other places. I didn't want to be gone too long from my boys so I came home as fast as I could but I went back out with Leanna. My Mother In Law met up with us and she entertained Evan so I didn't have to worry about him. It was just a great day. Friday I got a surprise visit from Joseph and Ericka with presents. They were so thoughtful and generous! Joseph got me a really cute dress that fits me perfectly and Ericka got shoes to match, lotion and comfy socks from Bath and Body Works. With Pioneer Day the following day we shot off personal fireworks. Usually we do them on my birthday but Matt had a meeting that night but it was fun to extend the fun to Friday as well. My mom and youngest sister came over to watch. Nathan and Elizabeth came out with their camera and got some really nice pictures of Evan. They have a great eye. This was taken by Nathan

The rest are from Elizabeth. She really captured how much Evan loves sparklers.



There were many times where I thought Evan would burn himself because he would put the sparkler so close to his face. Thank goodness he never touched it. I don't want him to be afraid of them because they're so fun.
Pioneer Day we woke up and headed down to Spanish Fork to see the parade. Evan was more interested in the play area at a day care than what was happening on the street so we had to take turns keeping him from going over there or wondering to other places. Needless to say, we didn't stay till the end. Alex was really good though. We went to the carnival again this year. He rode only one ride.


He looked like he enjoyed it but he kept saying "Too scared" when we went to the other rides. I guess we wont be going to Lagoon in the fall if he's "too scared".
We spent $19 on tickets and they were non-refundable. Luckily a guy standing in line to buy tickets bought them from me. I only made him pay $10 for them but it's better than nothing.
Later that evening our families and close friends got together for a BBQ. It was a joint celebration for me and Pioneer Day. Matt surprised me with a 410 Shotgun :). Can't wait to try it out! I love shooting clay pigeons but his shotgun has a hard kick and it literally knocks me off my feet. Plus it's very heavy. Matt says the 410 is like a 22 rifle so there's no kick. Other presents I got from family are, Julia Childs Mastering the Art of French Cooking Cook Book, Worldwide Ward Cook Book, Mary Poppins and Babysitting Coupons. I love to cook new recipes so I'm very excited with the books I got. I already tried some from the Worldwide Ward Book and I love it so far. Julia Childs is advanced so it will be a while before I have confidence to try them so I'm just reading and studying them right now.
Everyone stayed late to watch the big firework show with us. We passed the time by playing games and talking. The show was so good! It made up for the 4th. Evan actually watched them. I look forward to next year!