2009 End of Year Celebrations

Tuesday, December 29, was Frances’ birthday. We usually go out to dinner as a family, but because of the girls, Frances’ work schedule, and money, we altered the plans a little bit. Rara, Papa, Ryan, and I tended Alice & Claire most of the day so that Marc & Frances could go out to lunch and a movie together. When they came to pick up the girls, Frances opened presents and we had an ice cream cake that Rara made. MMMMmmmmm!!!!!On Wednesday, December 30, Ryan and I met Kristin & Abby, and Laurel (in town visiting from Colorado Springs) at the Woods Cross FrontRunner station, and we rode into Salt Lake. We had lunch together at Jason’s deli, and then enjoyed talking and getting caught up on things. Ryan and Abby were very patient while the mommies talked. The picture didn’t turn out very well, so I’ll check with Kristin to see if hers turned out any better.This year, instead of a one-night “First Night” celebration, Salt Lake had a 3-day “3VE” celebration. Laurel left after lunch to rejoin her family, and Kristin, Abby, Ryan, and I stayed downtown for the festivities. We started at the Clark Planetarium with a cool movie called “Black Holes” in the dome theater. Ryan and Abby chose to stick around the planetarium for a while to explore the “moon” and other exhibits.After the planetarium, we went to the Discovery Gateway museum where they had a really neat lesson and activity about old books. They had a treasure chest filled with real books and replicas of books from other civilizations. One was even estimated to be 2000 years old! The kids put on archival gloves and were able to handle the books.Once they learned about the different kinds of books on display, they were able to choose one to make themselves. Ryan has had a fascination with all things Egypt, so he chose to make the Egyptian Heiroglyphs on real papyrus!We took Trax to the Gallivan Center, and arrived just before the 6:00 pm newscast began. There is a window behind the anchor desk where people gather to wave and hold signs. There was not a soul there, so Ryan and Abby were thrilled to stand there and wave (and, I admit, do other crazy kid things) during the newscast. There was a large screen above the window where they could watch what the cameras saw. They kept looking up to make sure they were being seen, while Kristin & I suggested which direction they move each time the camera angle changed. Here they are behind Mark Koelbel as he did the news.It was difficult to beat that excitement, but we did. We strolled onto the plaza and watched the firedancers for a few minutes. As we were watching, Mark Koelbel and Christina Flores came out to do a story about “3VE.” The kids were thrilled to be just a couple of feet away from the newscasters they had just seen on TV!We walked through Gallivan Plaza, and admired the artistic sculptures made from recycled materials. There was a chicken wire/Christmas lights/bubble wrap tunnel, a beer bottle bench, and very cool HUGE kaleidoscopes made from large cardboard boxes and Ziploc bags of colored water.We headed for the Gallivan skating rink, where Ryan and Abby enjoyed skating. Even though it was snowing, and extremely cold (my hair actually turned into long icicles of hair!), they were disappointed when it was time to go. Kristin & I had fun watching them, as well as the “Rail Jam” snowboarders just on the other side of the skating rink.We took Trax to the Temple Square stop, and enjoyed walking around Temple Square and looking at the lights. The snow was softly falling in big flakes by this point, so it felt like we were in a giant, beautiful snow globe. We had to hurry to catch the train home, so we weren’t able to stay for very long to enjoy the musical groups there. But we enjoyed our quiet, relaxing walk. It was the perfect way to end the evening. Instead of going back into the “3VE” activities on the 31st, we chose to help Rara & Papa tend Alice & Claire again while Marc & Frances went out to celebrate New Year’s Eve. We had a lot of fun playing with the girls. Once they went to bed, we played “Ticket to Ride” for about THREE HOURS, and then welcomed in the New Year.Copper & I went home, and Ryan stayed at Rara & Papa’s for the 1st annual grandkids sleepover. (We’ll see if there’s a second annual one.) It was a fun way to end 2009!