Carnival

We spent Saturday morning at a carnival for UDSF (Utah Down Syndrome Foundation) at a middle school downtown. I'm not usually very excited about going to these things, meaning blow up slides, bounce houses, face painting, etc. with Morgan because she has such a difficult time waiting in line and it is a constant battle trying to get her to stay with me. This one was very different and made it sooooo worth going! A youth group from the Huntington Beach North Stake hosted the carnival as part of their EFY trip and so when we got to the carnival they gave my kids two buddies (Karissa and Nick) that stayed and played with them for 2 1/2 hours! It was pure heaven! I seriously don't think I have been able to relax at an outdoor event with my children since Morgan was 2--so almost 4 years! It was so nice to be able to hang out with some other moms, swap stories and advice, feel really guilty for waiting so long to try to potty train Morgan, and just sit in the shade and play with Mia. I even saw a little girl running around that I recognized from a blog I started following a few months ago. So I approached her mom and asked her if her daughter was "4 of 5" (that is how she refers to her on the blog) and she said yes and that she had seen "Ryan" up on the hill. This blogging thing is too funny! You really do feel like you know people without having ever met! Anyway, a HUGE thank you to Nick and Karissa and all the other youth that hosted this event. The leader of their group told me that they did this two years ago in Provo and at their testimony meeting all of the youth commented on the Down syndrome carnival being the highlight of EFY -- beating out horseback riding, river rafting, and other great adventures.

Here is Ryan, Hadley, Morgan and Griffin with their 'buddies'

Morgan had the BEST time! Look at that big ol' smile!

Ryan & Morgan in the bounce house

And here I am with Mia just relaxing!! It's about time!