The 24th and the 25th of July

In Utah, the 24th of July is a big deal. It is almost like another Independence Day. Our town had a big parade down main street, a fireworks show, a 5K/Half marathon, and carnival games in the park. We were really good and did all those things. The kids had a ball, but by Saturday afternoon they had stayed up late watching fireworks the night before and woke up early that morning to watch Daddy finish the 5K and they were beat! We still drug them to the park to play and they had a good time.
My favorite part of the 24th of July was standing on my deck, seeing at least five different fireworks shows all through the valley. It was breathtaking!

On to the 25th. We did most of the celebrating for my birthday on the 27th, a Friday. However, the day of, Neil bought us breakfast a Kneaders (yum!) and we ate ice cream after dinner that night. On Friday, I got a FREE birthday meal at Rodizio's Brazilian Grill. I reserved tickets for a comedy show nearby, but once we got in, we realized it was a restaurant and they required us to buy food. After eating at an all-you-can-eat Brazilian grill, NO ONE has an appetite for even another glass of water, thus, we got our money back and toured around Temple Square in Salt Lake City. It is so beautiful in the Summertime! After all that walking, we had enough of an appetite for frozen yogurt, and I had a gift certificate, so we made room. All said, I got exactly what I wanted (and will probably always want from here on out) for my birthday: dinner I didn't have to cook and a night out with Neil all to myself.


However, I did get some pretty beautiful bedroom furniture as a birthday gift. Neil was looking on the ksl.com classifieds for a bunk bed for the kids. Instead he found a gorgeous, solid pine king-size bed that came with matching night stands, a table and a dresser for $500. When he told them we didn't want the mattress or bedding that came with it, they took $100 off the price. What a steal! We just couldn't pass this one up and it looks so good in our newly painted bedroom (it was green and grey with forest green baseboards when we moved in.) The catch on ksl.com is typically that the items have some wear and tear, so for people like Neil who are OK with doing a little sanding and re-staining, you can really get some great buys. And that is just what he did. Grace even stayed up late one night to help him out. I would have helped, but I am trying to stay away from harmful fumes like that. Have I mentioned yet that I am expecting?