The Big Four

We used to go out with our friends quite a bit, but as all our kids have gotten older it has become even more difficult to get together so I had to document our dinner with friends on Feb 1st.

Adam was at the head of the table and wasn't in the picture, so I took a quick one just of him. As you can see, he really appreciated my efforts.

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One of our topics of conversation was the changing of ward boundaries that will most likely take place in the near future. A few wards in our stake have gotten so big that it is only a matter of time before they realign boundaries and possibly create a new ward. Although we don't have a lot of information, we figure this is one of the reasons that Adam is still Bishop.  He reached his 5 year mark in November, but because there are so many things still up the air they haven't released him and haven't given him any information about when they will. When it comes to big changes like this people assume that the Bishop knows everything, but the opposite it true, Adam knows absolutely nothing.  We are all in a "wait and see" holding pattern so he just carries on like normal.

On Feb 2nd, (Grandma P's 70th Birthday) I went with Jenna to the Dancesport ballroom dance competition at Thanksgiving Point.  Her team didn't do a team event, but they did do syllabus events as individual couples.  In years past Jenna has never advanced through the rounds at this competition because they don't divide the couples into divisions based on their experience and ability, they just throw everyone together whether they have been dancing for 2 months or 10 years.  She competed in the Waltz and the Samba and made it to the Semi-finals in the Waltz (3 rounds) and to the Quarter-finals in the Samba (2 rounds). She was thrilled.  She and her partner were the only couple in the company to make it to a semi-final round so she was happy with it. 

Jenna and a few teammates paying Scum while waiting for their next event. I only have video of her dancing so no still shots to post here.

Jenna reading to AJ.  AJ is VERY attached to Jenna. She is pretty much his 2nd Mom around the house.

Grandma P was in Argentina for her 70th Birthday, but we went over to her house and put up some birthday decorations the night before they returned from their big trip to Antarctica.

AJ has been waiting for 364 days for February 6th to roll around.  The anticipation for his Birthday was almost more than he could bear.  He talked about it constantly for months before his big day.

It's my Birthday!

Adam took him to McDonald's for his birthday breakfast and he said  AJ walked in the doors and yelled out, "It's my Birthday!" for everyone to hear. That is so AJ, it's just how he rolls.

Presents!

He loved decorating cupcakes and opening presents and getting a lot of attention on his big day. He is now 4 years old and has grown so much in the year and a half that he has been home.  When he came home he was wearing size 18 month clothes and wasn't even on the growth charts for his age, now he is wearing 4T clothes and is right in the middle of the growth charts.  He is completely caught up to his peers when it comes to language even though he didn't hear a word of English until he was 2.5 years old. It's amazing, really, to see how far he has come in such a short amount of time. Now the wait for next year's Birthday begins . . . 

For Christmas Britton, Jenna and Korinne each got a ticket to Wicked.  Yesterday the day of the show finally arrived and we traveled for the matinee performance in SLC.  

Jenna sat down and being the Broadway fan that she is, opened the program and immediately recognized the name of the actress playing Glinda. "Oh my goodness! It's Kara Lindsey! She played Katherine Plummer in the Newsies with Jeremy Jordan. I'm totally fangirling!" And yes, she was incredible and really nailed the part.

There is nothing like seeing an actual Broadway play with a real Broadway cast.  They were AMAZING and during the intermission we were all a little giddy with how awesome the show was.

Being a part of the musical at the high school Britton has a newfound appreciation for how difficult it is to do what these cast members were doing.  He could identify ever bit of technique he had learned about and was blown away by the performance.  We kind of loved and he loved it so much. He almost didn't come because it was the same day as the Sweethearts dance that he had been asked to, but his date was a Broadway fan herself so she understood the dilemma and planned to do the day portion of the date the night before so he could go to Wicked the day of. We rushed home after the performance and he left for his date at 6:30 p.m. (Pictures are coming)

Adam stayed home with the boys and they had fun at Pizza Pie Cafe and watching a movie from Redbox.  They also each spent a little bit of time with Grandma and Grandpa P.