Jen and Daniel's Excellent Adventures: The Rest Of The Week

Wednesday, even though I had off work, I dropped Daniel off at daycare so I could get some errands run that I needed, that are simply easier to do without my kiddo in tow. I got everything I needed to done, and then went over and visited with my mom for a bit, before I went and picked up Daniel from daycare. When I got there, his teacher, Miss E informed me what classroom they were in, and when I went to get him, I found him twirling around in a play Cinderella dress he put on! Priceless! When we got home, Eric's Aunt Susan brought us a beautiful fruit bouquet and Daniel and I went with her to the cemetery, and then she graciously took us to dinner at McDonald's by our house, and Daniel and her kids had a fun time playing in the fun play place. It ended up being a pretty fun night! Thursday....was The Day I have been dreading all week. It marks the one year anniversary of Eric's passing. I dropped Daniel off at the daycare that morning (I didn't really want to throw off his routine anymore than it had been that week) and then I came home and got some stuff done. About 1:30 a good friend of mine (and widow herself) came and picked me up and we went to lunch. We ate and talked and cried and we were there for nearly 2 hours, then she brought me home and we talked in the car for another hour, before it was time for me to go get Daniel. It was healing, though the waiter didn't know what to think about the two ladies sitting at a table, eating dessert while crying. I was glad to be able to visit with her. I received some very sweet notes throughout the day from various people as well, which was so thoughtful and appreciated! It helped make a hard day, a little easier. After I picked up Daniel, we came home and he half watched some Elmo before we met up with my in-laws at the Bountiful Cemetery. We put some new flowers in , the kiddos had fun running around, and pretty much lined up in concert for a picture. After my brother in law got there, we took a few more pictures, then we went to El Matador for dinner. When Eric and I were living in our apartment, that was one of our favorite places to go, as it was very conveniently situated across the street. It was nice, though Daniel got a little loud and trying toward the end, but I am so blessed to have married into and be a part of such a wonderful family. I love both my families very much! And Daniel sure loves his Nana and Papa, and his Uncle Tony, Aunt Jess, and his cousins! It was a good evening, and a nice way to remember Eric.
Friday morning, I loaded Daniel and our stuff into the car and we drove to Melinda's, and once we had the three car seats (and kids) situated we hit the road! We made a quick stop by Ikea and I ran in real quick and didn't find what I was looking for, but I did pick up a couple more washable sleeved bibs (I love them) and I found a fun new chair for Daniel! Since his old one, well, has seen better days. After that, we drove to the Provo City Library and got there a few minutes before their story time started. Which Was Awesome! Daniel sat by me and was entranced through the whole thing. Their main focus and was the letter Q, and they read a book about a knight going on a quest, and while one of the librarians read it, the other was projecting it onto a big screen so the kiddos could see it. After that they did a fun puppet show, that Daniel was totally into! He was doing what they asked, roaring, and just having a blast! After that, we went and got lunch a little Mexican place that Melinda likes, which was really good (and cheap) food! After lunch, we drove to the BYU Campus and went to the Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum and looked at all the fun (stuffed) animals. They also had a fun slide in a little play area for the kiddos, that was a hit! After a while, though, the kiddos were done, so we loaded them back into the car and hit the road for home. The kids slept pretty much the entire way home, when we got to Melinda's I loaded Daniel up into our car and we came home and he continued to nap for about another 45 minutes. While he was napping, I managed to put together his fun, new chair all by myself! (Yes, I am proud of myself for that). Saturday morning Daniel and I did our grocery shopping for the next couple weeks and after we got home and unloaded, we headed up to Clearfield for a fun Mardi Gras Celebration that Linda put on. It was lots of fun! Daniel wasn't too keen on wearing the mask or hat provided, but he loved wearing the beads..and decorating every doorknob with one. It was a fun afternoon! After that we came home and we played outside for a while until it was time to come in and he "helped" me make dinner. He was super tired though, and made it not even halfway through the meal before he started crying. I asked him what was wrong, and he just laid his little head down, looked at me with his big beautiful eyes and told me softly, "I'm to tired to eat, Mommy". So I took him upstairs and gave him a quick bath and let him go to bed. He must have been tired because Sunday he didn't wake up until almost 10! And Daniel survived through Sacrament meeting (mainly because some of our sweet neighbors sat with us AND brought Daniel a fun little re-usable stickers book that he loved!) After church, we met with our home teachers and then went up to Clearfield and had a nice "bowl dinner" and watched part of the Super Bowl. Daniel and I left before it was over because he was getting tired and it showed, but it was a fun night!

Pics from the Cemetery on Thursday