Happy Birthday Jon!!

I really enjoy running with Jon.  Pushing our girls in the stroller together is definitely a good time, and that's how we started his big day- with a family run over to the Junior High and around the field a few times.  He was really good to me and let me push Sophie along in the stroller while Lydia ran (at her request) or walked, depending on how she was feeling, by Jon's side.  When we finished circling our half mile over and over and over again, we headed home and I struggled to keep up with Jon as he sped back to our house, hoping to get the garbage out before the garbage man arrived.  Something that completely caught us by surprise.  Yes, it was Thursday, but it was also a holiday.  And yes, garbage is still collected on Pioneer Day.

In the afternoon we headed to the Living Planet Aquarium.  Apparently everyone in Utah decided to beat the heat and spend the day there as well, but despite that we had a really good time.  It was so fun to see Sophie get so giddy excited at the sight of every fish, especially when they swam close to where she stood watching.  More than once both little ladies started as huge fish swam up and caught them by surprise.  Lydia was determined to find the sharks.  She tolerated the jelly fish, put up with the penguins, barely noticed the octopus, and through it all kept asking to see the sharks.  And when we finally got there I think she was expecting to see much larger sharks, but she seemed pretty happy anyway.  We sat, ate goldfish crackers and enjoyed the ocean life.  Jon got to see a turtle that didn't stick around for long, and perhaps had it known that it was his birthday and that he wanted him to swim back, the turtle might have accommodated him, but he didn't know and he didn't return.  At least not while we were there.  At the very end we went to the South American section.  I loved watching the girls gawk at the ducks.  They'd eat, jump in the water for a quick swim, wand go back to eating and Sophie especially was fascinated!  I can't get enough of that girl!  I love the squeals as she takes in her world.

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We raced home, picked up Jon's carrot cake and headed up to Mom and Dad Fraziers where we enjoyed a BBQ and watched the kids play in the kiddie pool.  Our girls love the water!  Aunt Stacey even stepped inside and held Soph's hands to keep her safe.  Lydia swam and swam and didn't want to get out.  And then it was time for cake.  Sophie found some fantastic Happy Birthday candles and Jon lit them up.  After we sang to him, he cut his cake too.  He said he didn't mind, but I wish I'd stepped in and done those things for him.....after all, who should have to do that on their birthday?!

And once we'd filled up on cake we walked three houses over and joined the Pynes for fireworks.  It started with Snakes, something I don't remember doing as a kid, but which quickly became very exciting for the cousins.  It was so much fun watching those things expand all over the gravel.  Jon became Mr. Fireworks and lit up the sky.  The kids loved picking which firework would come next and Jon would do his magic.  Lydia fell in love with sparklers, and returned to Uncle Lance again and again and again and each time was rewarded with another one.  She was so  mesmerized with the lights that with every new one she'd bring it closer and closer to her face and I started to wonder if she wasn't going to light her hair on fire.  She dropped one or two in the grass a few times and we rushed to pick it before something unfortunate happened.  My favorite part was hearing her tell Uncle Lance thank you.  He seriously must have lit 20 sparklers for her.  And she enjoyed every one!  At the same time Lydia was lost in her sparklers, Sophie kept running to Jon every chance she got.  She'd escape me and run to him expecting to be picked up.  She did this over and over and crazily enough she wore herself out just as Jon lit up some pretty loud fireworks.  She decided she was tired and fell asleep without much of a fight.  I couldn't believe the explosions she was sleeping through!  She slept in Grandma Frazier's arms while Jon lit a few more fireworks and I packed up our chairs.  She kept sleeping when we got her into the car to head home, and she even slept through the transfer from car seat to crib.  What's more than that is that she made it peacefully though the night.  It must have been a fun and exhausting day.  Jon slept pretty well through the night too.  I have it on good authority that it was a good day for him too!