I'm going to blog about the past two weeks and be caught up. Yay!
My birthday was last Tuesday. It was a pretty low key day- I practiced a song with Cyndi for a funeral we were singing at, and I got some calls and messages from friends and family wishing me a happy day. After Justin got home, my sister watched the kids and we went out to eat at an Italian restaurant in Broomfield called Scalzotto's. It was super yummy and a fun way to celebrate.
Thursday morning we sang at the funeral. It was a family friend of Cyndi's in the Arvada Stake, so I was not acquainted with the deceased or his family. It was a very nice service though and we sang an arrangement of "Amazing Grace" that I had been unfamiliar with but ended up really liking. That evening our family went to the circus at the Denver Coliseum. I have been to the circus several times throughout my life, but this was nothing like the circus I remembered. It was a FANTASTIC show! Justin and I were both blown away by how high quality of a production it was. They had the expected circus acts, like trapeze artists, tightrope walkers, a lion/tiger trainer, horses running around the ring, an animal show, and motorcycles in a metal cage, but they took it to a new level with the outer space theme "Out of This World." The tightrope walkers were dressed as astronauts and they walked on a revolving figure-8 type shape, there were contortionists in spheres hanging from the ceiling which were supposed to be planets, there was a live band playing all the music, and there were ice skaters! I know it's not cool in some circles to like the circus, but they put on a first-rate show. Definitely worth saving up for next year, in case we don't get free tickets again.
Saturday we bought a new minivan! We found a 2004 Toyota Sienna that fit with our needs and our budget. It's a pretty sweet ride, with all the upgrades of our previous minivan (except stow-and-go seats and the six CD changer... I do miss that), and even has some features the other one didn't have, like video backup assist, heated seats, a drop-down TV screen, and self-adjusting cruise control. It's been a blessing to find a van so comparable to our Town & Country, may it rest in peace/piece. Later we went to Benihana's for a birthday meal with my family, but unfortunately my mom and grandparents were not there because Grandpa Herb fell while playing tennis that morning and broke his femur up near the ball. He had surgery that afternoon to set it. We went to visit him the next day, Sunday. His surgery had gone well and he was feeling as well as could be expected.
One thing that has been going on for the past three or so weeks is that Emmie is potty training. She is doing great with it-- we stayed home a lot of the first week but were able to get out and about after that with her wearing undies. It's definitely gone better with her than it did with either of the boys... whether because she's a girl or because she's a little older, I don't know.
Wednesday Emmie and I went to a birthday brunch for my teaching partner in Primary, Elizabeth Runyan. She turned 50 so a few of us got together to celebrate her special day.
After that we went to the museum with Cyndi and Joey.
Thursday we had parent teacher conferences. Both boys' teachers said they are doing great in school. We talked about Eli's projects he is working on and Benjy's teacher said he is doing great in both math and reading/letters. We are thinking about having him GT tested in the spring, but we'll see how he's doing. The test is quite long and we may wait until he's a little older to do it.
Friday the boys had no school, so we spent some time at the park. Both boys climbed up in some trees and I told them they reminded me of the Von Trapp children.
That day we also went to visit Grandpa Herb. He was transferred to rehab on Wednesday evening and is expected to spend 10-14 days there. He had some cracking when he tried to put weight on his broken leg, so they have slowed down the pace of his physical therapy and put him on toe touch weight bearing. He seemed in much better shape than when we saw him Sunday.
Friday night we went to the pumpkin patch. We picked out our carving pumpkins and went through a corn maze (not haunted).
Saturday Justin taught an SPHR class in the morning and I took the kiddos to violin. That afternoon we picked up Brad and drove up to Fort Collins for the temple cultural celebration. We were lucky enough to get tickets for the event, and it was an awesome experience. The youth from the temple district did an amazing job of performing in the various dances and choreographed movements out on the field. The songs were beautiful and it was a wonderful, uplifting experience.
Sunday Justin and I got to attend the temple dedication. It was really neat to attend the dedication live in the temple. President Uchtdorf was there to dedicate it, and Elder Rasband was also there. Elder Uchtdorf was in a different room so we watched the speakers broadcast to us, but he came in personally before the session started and said hello to everyone. It was a great experience to be present in the temple for the dedication and to feel the Spirit there.
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