Plowman Family Dinner/October 2020

We met up for monthly family dinner Sunday at Mike's and Jana's home in Layton. Soups were on the menu, along with salad, rolls, and other goodies.

This happy kid's third birthday happened to be that very day:

We celebrated his birthday, along with the other five October birthdays (Kira, Jana, Steve, Ben, and yours truly). JB baked two delicious cakes (cookies and cream, and funfetti).

10/10, would definitely recommend.

Our Baking Day with Kate

Our five-year-old niece Kate has a birthday in March. For birthdays, we give our niblings the option of us getting them a gift, or us doing an activity with them/taking them somewhere fun to do something fun. Because Fun Aunt and Uncle.

Kate chose the latter, but covid got in the way this year. We postponed our birthday outing with her until this past weekend, when she had a baking day at our house, with JB leading the way making brownies with her. (I am always available to help sample the wares, so don't think I'm not involved, as well.)

After they finished baking, Kate introduced us to the very funny (and very good!) kids show "Bluey" on Disney+. We liked it a lot.

We had a lot of fun, all told. A few other birthday outings got postponed earlier this year, so we'll work on those at some point in the near future.

Wind Storm

On September 7 and 8, we experienced one of the strongest wind storms in recent memory. Gusts reached as high as 100 mph in some places along the Wasatch Front. Here in Bountiful, the storm downed many trees throughout the city and knocked out electrical power for a number of days in a few parts. (Mom stayed with us for a few days while power was restored to her home.)

Here at our house, we lost a few sections of fence and some slats:

One of the joys of being part of an HOA is waiting on the board to approve repairs. But I get it. Landscaping and cleanup companies have been hard at work dealing with the damage in the weeks since then. Our yard will be looking like new again soonish.

Are You Ready for Some Tee Ball?!

Last week, we went up to the baseball fields at Mueller Park Jr. High to watch Kate and Graham play tee ball with their team. Because why not? This is the kind of thing your resident Fun Aunt and Uncle do with regularity.

Kate's and Graham's team just happens to be the Cubs---an MLB franchise I've been a fan of for decades. I already had the team hat, so I wore it to the game. Also, it was wonderful to see any kind of live sports in person for the first time in months.

Did the Cubs win their game? I honestly don't know. I don't think score was kept. The kids hit and ran the bases a lot and didn't do too much fielding, but they had a great time playing. When you're four and five years old, I guess competition really isn't that big of a deal.

Surprise Birthday Party

I had another birthday this weekend. In spite of my best efforts, they keep happening each year. Such is life.

Anyhow, my wonderful wife organized a surprise party for me when I returned home from work Friday night. She had invited my mom and siblings and their spouses over for a karaoke party, something I've wanted to do since the Karaoke Cafe closed a few years ago (the place where my birthday parties used to be held, and also, not coincidentally, the site of JB's and my first date).

In addition to inviting the guests and providing the refreshments, JB also baked us a chocolate and peanut butter cake for everyone to enjoy together (one of my favorite creations of hers).

I got to spend the rest of the weekend being instructed by the living prophets, seers, and revelators of the Church at another amazing general conference. Earlier today, we went out to Grantsville to watch the Sunday afternoon session with JB's parents and some of her siblings/niblings, for which she made us even more cake.

I'm enormously blessed with great people in my life, and as cruddy as the year 2020 has been, I'm looking forward to what the next year may bring.