Fun Park City Saturday

This story begins with Wayne and Daniel needing new shoes.  We are huge fans of Nike shoes.  Of course, if you want extra cool Nikes at a discount, the best place to buy them is the Nike Outlet in Park City.  And if you are going all the way to Park City, you might as well make it into an event.

We started by eating at the "Classic Pizza Hut" in Heber City.  Daniel has a particular preference for Pizza Huts in the hut-style buildings.  He ate at one in Idaho during our trip to see my grandparents back in June, and he always talks about it.  This is Daniel at his second favorite Pizza Hut:

You really can't go to Park City and not do something recreational.  We decided to take the boys down the Alpine Slide.  We try to go to the Alpine Slide once per year, and something always goes awry.  Like kids getting carsick going up the canyon or huge thunderstorms spontaneously erupting.  Benjamin had been to the Alpine Slide a few times, but he had never actually gone down the slide before.  We made it this time!

 

 

 

Afterward, Wayne and Daniel got their Nikes, and not to be left out, I got some, too.  Benjamin didn't want any because he "only likes shoes that light up and have straps (velcro)."  We also went to the OshKosh store.  It's a great place to get clothes for boys.  They are cute and wear well.

One of the best parts about going this weekend was the beautiful fall scenery up the canyon.  This is Deer Creek Reservoir: 

And another shot going up the canyon:

We were glad to enjoy this last bit of "summer," especially because the weather is supposed to change soon.

Harvest Moon Hurrah

This past weekend, we went to the Harvest Moon Hurrah!  It's a tradition.  There are fun crafts, treats, and entertainers.  The kids loved watching Drew Briney juggle.  He is a lawyer and champion juggler.  What an unusual combination of interests.  We also loved the caramel apples and the hay ride.

And anyone who knows us knows that we can't resist a playground.  Even Wayne was swinging.  He jumped off the swing.  I only wish I had taken the picture a few seconds earlier.

I need to mention that a very sweet family friend, Alyssa, came along.  I can't believe I didn't get a picture of her!  Next time.  She is a babysitter extraordinaire.  She spent most of Saturday with us because she babysat in the morning for us.  Benjamin asked afterwards if she could be his permanant big sister.  I reminded him that she already has her own younger brothers and probably doesn't need more.  But we are happy to borrow her whenever we can (thanks Jeanice!).

Benjamin's Parties!

I haven't blogged for a while because we aren't doing anything terribly interesting right now.  Well, we're doing stuff that's fun for us, but it's probably not that interesting to read about.  The kids go to school, we come home and read and do homework.  Throw in some piano, and soccer 4 nights a week, and that's what we do.

But we took a break from that to celebrate Benjamin's birthday all weekend!  We started on Friday with a party in his kindergarten class.  The kids love him, and they were very excited to celebrate with him.  We brought cupcakes and juice boxes, so the kids are going to love me when I come in to help in his classroom from now on.  At least, I hope they will, even when I don't bring treats.

On Saturday, Wayne made Benjamin some breakfast in bed.  Later, we went to Chuck E Cheese with Mike (my brother) and Rebecca and their 3 boys.  Brandon (another brother) came, too.  The boys had a great time playing all the games and collecting tickets.  And I mean all of the boys, including the adults.  Surprisingly, Chuck E. Cheese was clean and most of the games worked!  But the pizza still tasted like cardboard.  It's a place that only a six year old can truly love.

 

After that, we went to see Grandpa and Grandma and did a pinata in their backyard.   As could be expected, the pinata is a soccer ball.  We had a yummy dinner and cupcakes, too.

On Sunday, the other Grandpa and Grandma (Wayne's parents) came by.  Daryl, Denece, Taryn, Tyler, and Great Grandma came, too.

It was a great weekend, and it was fun to celebrate with so many family members.  Thank you all for your love for our Benjamin!

Do you want to help with our adoption?

No, we aren't asking for money.  Actually, we just received our order for 1000 adoption pass along cards!  We ordered them through a website called www.spacesforfaces.com.  The ladies that run it have awesome customer service.  They do all sorts of custom print jobs.  I was just searching online for ways to make adoption cards when I came across them.   Pretty much I sent them a picture and the information, and  they designed the card.  Well, I did request the butterflies and the purple!

This is what our cards look like, except they are front and back:

So, what are we going to do with 1000 cards?  We are using them to promote our adoption, of course.  We are going to put them on bulletin boards, give them to people who ask about our adoption, etc.  And you can have your very own copy!  Seriously, if you have a bulletin board at work, the gym, etc. where you could put some, let me know.  I will send you some of these cards, at a minimum of 3, and up to 20 at a time.  You can put up some and hang on to one or two to pass out to someone.  We hope this will help us find our birth mom, but we also hope it will just get people thinking about adoption!    

A bit of advice for anyone considering adoption

I know at least a couple of you who read my blog are considering adoption at some time for your families, so I thought I would offer a little advice.  I mean, we all know the obvious stuff--save your money, take care of your health, etc.  But here is something you might not be thinking of:

Take lots of pictures!  And a huge variety of pictures!  And not of your kids!  But don't take them with your cell phone--they need to be high quality. 

One of the challenges of putting together a paper profile and an online profile is that you have to use different pictures for both, and they need to focus mainly on you as a couple.  They also need to be current (like less than two years old).  You also want both studio pictures and informal pictures.  When you get professional pictures, get the copyright!  Otherwise, there are lots of limitations on how you can use them. 

I have taken tons more pictures this year than I ever did in years past.  And I make Wayne take pictures of me, too.  So, be warned, if you hang out with us, you may be in our pictures, whether for our blog or our profile.  And we might ask you to take our picture.  Even Benjamin is getting quite adept at using my camera.