Our Day Out with Tatum 2021

On Saturday, everyone's favorite Fun Aunt and Uncle went out on our latest nibling birthday outing. This time, we took eight-year-old Tatum (whose birthday was in September) to Nickelmania in West Jordan for fun and games. Mostly, this involved us playing games that awarded tickets, which we pooled together for prizes for the birthday kid at the end of the visit.

Our ticket-tallying effort was greatly boosted by Jana hitting the 1,000-ticket Monster Jackpot with a perfect spin on this "Price Is Right"-like wheel (honestly, we waited like five minutes for the tickets to be added to her card):

Tatum showed himself to be pretty darn skilled at a number of these games, in particular skee ball and the basketball shooting one. He also really liked the driving games, like the ones with racecars and this motorcycle-themed one:

On the way home, we stopped by Swig for treats. Thus concluded another successful day out with Fun Aunt and Uncle.

"The Scarlet Pimpernel"

Last night, we went to CenterPoint Legacy Theatre to see my brother Ben perform in their production of The Scarlet Pimpernel. This is JB's favorite musical, so expectations were high; fortunately, the cast delivered a great performance. My former Improvables castmate Ben Lowell knocked it out of the park in the title role.

Tatum's Baptism

Last week, our eight-year-old nephew Tatum was baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by his dad, Tyson, in a service held at their stake center in Bountiful. Afterward, Tyson also confirmed Tatum a member of the Church.

We love this kid and are proud of the young man he is becoming. He's also willing to play video games with me for hours on end, so that's an added bonus!

Birthday Card

In defiance of my wishes, I keep having birthdays. I turned another year older last week.

I had to share, in particular, this incredible birthday card that my six-year-old niece Kate brought over for me, because it demonstrates just what a thoughtful, good-hearted kid she is:

Her little brother, three-year-old Ike, helped out with some of the drawings. Her mom's (my sister, Biz) contribution to the effort was the portion inside the card. It was one of the best trolling moments I have ever witnessed:

Plowman Family Dinner/September 2021

On Sunday afternoon, we gathered for monthly Plowman (and Wood) family dinner at Biz's and Jeff's home in West Bountiful. Jeff grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, and the sides included chips and veggies.

Jackson brought and proudly showed off his Eagle Scout award, which he recently received at a Court of Honor for his troop in Kaysville:

So many of our little niblings look up to our RM Dallin and love playing games with him:

Danny showed off his Owlette costume (this is a character from a kids' TV show, I'm told):

We also celebrated Tanner's fourth birthday (his actual birthday is on the 27th):

The kids played "Pass the Parcel," an old family favorite and a staple at these dinners. Everyone gets a prize of one kind or another, and there are no "losers"!

Luke and Dallin also engaged in some old-fashioned rasslin':