Cade's 40th Birthday Trip!

 

The big 4-0!! Crazy! We celebrated his big day by opening gifts and breaking open a Yoda piñata. We had made a photo book of pictures of Penny. It made him tear up...she had a huge part of his heart. 

At work the guys brought in Arby's because years and years ago that was one of his favorites and it became an inside joke at Fishbowl. 

For his big birthday celebration, we decided to go to San Francisco for Cade's 40th bday and it was a great choice! It had been over 3 years since we had a trip just he and I and it was so wonderful to spend time together. 

The first thing we did when we got there was a ferry over to Alcatraz Island. Cade and I both love history and it was fascinating learned from a tour guide and the audio tour in the prison. 

After that we walked around Pier 33 and ate lunch and walked around shops. My favorite was the fresh fruit stands :). Then we drove by the "Full House" house- a show I watched every single day after school for about 3 years. Then we went back to the Bed and Breakfast to rest before our evening show!

We went to see "The Cursed Child" and it was AMAZING!!! It is a 3 1/2 hour play and we loved every minute of it. Emma was very jealous- hopefully someday she can go! The magic in it was incredible and left you open-mouthed and wondering how in the world they did the things they did. I would see it again in a heart-beat. 

On day two we went to an awesome look-out of the Golden Gate Bridge and afterwards went to the "Walt Disney Family Museum". Both were so fun! But my absolute favorite part of our trip was being able to walk through Muir Woods. The trees were AMAZING!!! I love trees so much. It was so fun and filled my heart with so much joy. I always feel closer to God when I am surrounded by nature and His beautiful creations. And then last, but not least (for Cade) was a Giants Game at the worlds coolest spot for a baseball game to be held. The views were beautiful. It got pretty cold so at the bottom of the 8th inning we decided to leave and of course in the 9th inning everything happened and we missed it :). I'm pretty sure Cade was a little disappointed but he was a good sport and laughed about it. 

Day three was more relaxed but still wonderful. We woke up and after we ate breakfast and packed up, we drove to Oakland and went to do dealings and a session at the Oakland Temple. The views there were absolutely amazing. You could see the whole view of the entire Bay Area. We enjoyed quiet, spiritual time in the Lord's house. Always a wonderful way to spend time together. 

Then we met Cade's previous CEO, John, and his wife and daughter for lunch and headed back to the airport for an evening flight. We had an amazing time and were excited to see our kiddos again. They all did great for Grandma Close. We love how much she is willing to spend time with her grandkids and allow us to have some time together. 

Some things I learned on our trip:

1. "Masks hurt your butt"

2. Cade REALLY does need sunscreen

3. Alcatraz is infested with a crazy amount of birds and flies

4. Self-driving cars look really freaky

5. You Can't survive there with a big family- only tiny vehicles allowed

6. The Oakland Temple is the only temple with a roof-top garden

7. Bidets have a heavenly seat-warmer

8. All residents and most businesses have locked security doors 

9. Do not leave possessions in your car...EVER. 

Young’s Visit & Ballroom Camp

Emma, Reese, Ashur and Taft got to go to a Ballroom camp at BYU. Tara had mentioned this camp literally when Emma and Reese were 4 and 2 years old! She kept saying "When they're old enough we should send them to this camp together. The 4 of them had the BEST time of their life. They loved the time together as cousins, the classes and being able to be away from parents :). I think they're favorite part though was the all you can eat lunchroom! My friend Laurel is the main person over this camp and it was so fun to see her! The performance at the end of the week was so fun to watch. It was fun to see how much they learned and also watching the professional ballroom dancers that were invited to teach at the camp. They were INCREDIBLE. 

I hope the kids get to do something like this again. They had a blast. 

 

In the meantime, the rest of us were having a great week playing too! We went to parks and splash pads and ate yummy food. We also went to ice cream shops and the puppy store. We also took the older kids to see "Singing in the Rain" at the Hale theater in Sandy and to the swimming pool at the AF pool. Nora and Shep and Lucy had a great time at the rock climbing place. 

We loved having cousins come visit. Always a good time!