Tom Turns 30!

Tom's 30th birthday was on Saturday the 24th and the kids and I decided to surprise him with a huge party with all his friends and family. The kids did awesome and kept the secret for weeks as we prepared for the big day. On Saturday, two of Tom's brothers took him out for the afternoon to golf 9 holes while we frantically cleaned, picked up the food, and decorated the backyard. One side note...the weather gave us MASSIVE stress because it was raining and freezing all week long. I didn't know what I was going to do if it rained on Saturday...I would have had to stuff 50 people in the house! Thankfully the weather held on and it was dry and warm!

Everyone arrived at 5:30 and parked in the church parking lot next door and walked over. We all gathered in the backyard and when Tom pulled up I ran out and told him he needed to run to the back because the kids turned on the hose and it was leaking and I couldn't get it turned off. (This has actually happened before so I knew it would get him running into the backyard!) When he came around the corner everyone yelled "SURPRISE" and Tom was totally shocked. It was awesome. We then ate dinner catered from Tom's favorite place, Matiki Island BBQ, had cake and opened presents. It was such a fun night and we were so amazed at all the people who came to help Tom celebrate being "old"!Tom's first reaction when he saw the packed backyard.

Dax giving Tom a birthday hug.

Delicious Costco cake

Erin and Lisa

My cousin Rich and his wife Karyn and baby Elsie

Tom's work peeps: Bart Strong, John Tracy, Traci and baby Kennedy McKinney, McKay and Nikki Pinegar with their youngest Oakley, and Hailey and Brandon McKinney.

Good friend Mary Mortensen with her fiance Pat and girls

Mom and Dad Bringhurst

Tom getting ready to blow out the candles with his parents and sister Erin in the background

Tom opening his present from me and the kids after the party ended...it was a BYU football that was signed by the entire team! I was working with the athletics department there because of a fundraiser my work was putting on and when I went to pick up the items for that I mentioned to the director how much my husband wanted a signed football and he said that they stopped signing stuff for the public but because he had been working with me on the fundraiser if I wanted to go to the bookstore and buy a football he would get it signed by the team for me. I was so excited! It's always so hard to think of a present for Tom that is unique and has meaning.

Oh, and here is the slideshow I made for his birthday that was running during the party...it's 30 years of Tom in 10 minutes! :)

Ballroom Fun

Gage is just finishing up the 4th grade and he has been heavily involved with the ballroom after school program this year at Provost Elementary. He absolutely loves it and he is quite good at the dances they have learned. He knows the Cha Cha, Swing, Foxtrot, Waltz, and the Tango. He was even invited to compete at the junior ballroom dance competition at BYU. Here are some pictures from the end-of-year ballroom assembly.

Frozen Tulips

Last weekend was a very busy weekend, not unlike most around our house. On Friday afternoon the kids' school had their annual fundraising festival which is a huge event consisting of bounce houses, carnival games, food stands, hair styling by Paul Mitchell girls, rocket launching, and an auction. Tom and I manned the hot dog booth again with the Wall's which is always fun. The kids had a great time and it was only slightly chilly this year!

Saturday morning Hailey and I went to my work's Family Fun Day while Tom took the boys to Little League practice. For those of you who don't know, I work at the Family Support & Treatment Center in Orem as their grant writer. It's a non-profit agency that treats children who have been victims of child abuse or neglect. They also do many other things, prevention, crisis respite nursery, shelter care...but it would take a long time to describe everything! I LOVE my job and the people I work with...it is an amazing place that does incredible things for people in our community. April was child abuse prevention month so our agency had a family fun day with a bouncy slide, popcorn, art crafts, fishing pond and what-not. Hailey and I helped with developing the pictures of the families so they could put the pictures in the frames made at the art table. We both had a great time and it was a good turnout.

Later that afternoon we decided to take the kids to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point since it was the last day it was running. It was COLD and the kids weren't thrilled with walking through the gardens, looking at flower beds, and freezing. It was almost comical how not interested they were. I did manage to get some pictures though...

By the waterfalls, it was so windy and notice the boys in their Jazz jerseys...there was a game that night (which they won, barely!) so the boys wanted to show their support!

Dax was enjoying being a six year-old younger brother by running through every shot of his siblings. We also have shots of a random arm or half a face in other pictures.

Finally, a shot without any part of Dax in it!

Because of the cold winter, the tulips really struggled this year. By the end of the show the tulips were still only 50% in bloom. Oh well, we can always try again next year!