Yeah for Pioneer Day!!

For the first time in a long time Ben actually had Pioneer's Day as a paid holiday!! Of course we were going to fill the day with fun, right? We had promised the kids a parade but weren't sure which parade to go to-the Spanish Fork with some friends or the big one in SLC? We literally decided as we got on the freeway and decided to head north to the Days of '47 Parade. We were totally late and expecting to not find anywhere to sit but totally lucked out finding a great parking place and a spot that was not too shabby and even had a little bit of shade! We had a good time at the parade and got to see some cool floats and all. It was great to see President Eyring and remember that the day was all about our pioneer heritage and the sacrifices they made to come to Utah and establish this great state of ours!!
















After the parade, we were trying to decide what to do with the rest of our day. I remembered that we had been wanting to visit the Eccles Dinosaur Park in Ogden and figured we were half way there so it would be a great day to go. We grabbed some lunch and then made a quick stop in Layton to see the Hanamaikai's beautiful new house and invite them along with us on our impromptu adventure. We headed off to the dinosaur park and they joined us soon after.





















That place is so cool!! The museum part is not very big but still has tons to see, including a skeleton of a Wooly Mammoth and a Wooly Rhino! There are a lot of cool dinosaur sculptures all over outsde, a cool dinosaur themed playground, and even an animatronix T-Rex and Triceratops thing. It was so much fun that I decided to upgrade our entrance for the day into an annual membership because even if we went even one more time, it'd pay for itself, and we definitely want to go back!!

















Our kids were wasted after the Dinosaur Park and took great naps on the drive home. We made a speedy stop at home for dinner and then headed out to the ballgame! It was the most crowded Owlz game ever! We were so far out in Center field that we really couldn't hear anything or even see the score so we were pretty clueless the whole game but apparently the Owlz won. My brother, Jerry, and his kids, Dylan & Katie, joined us which was really fun! The Hanamaikais actually showed up right in time to watch the amazing fireworks after the game. I guess the fireworks were pretty inspirational to Alexis because she decided to pull herself up to standing for the first time right in the middle of them! I was so glad I had the camera out! We had such a great Pioneer Day together as a family! I'm so thankful for the pioneers that sacrificed so much to come to Utah and find a place where they could live without fear of prosecution. I still wish they would've kept on going to California though! Ha ha.