There is Sunshine in my Soul Today

I don't know why it is, but whenever I think about playing the piano, I always think about that hymn, "There is Sunshine in my Soul Today." The funny thing is that I don't even particularly like that hymn, nor do I have any desire to play it. Maybe this thought stems from an ill-fated piano lesson assignment? Anyway, there is sunshine, or at least music, in my soul today because we have this beauty in our living room:



Yes, we finally found a piano! It is used (as you can see if you enlarge the picture), and needs a tune, but it's in good condition and plays well. We're mostly excited for Thomas to begin his lessons next week at the Utah Youth Conservatory, but I've been surprised at how much I enjoy sitting down to play a bit myself. And I love hearing the funny little songs Thomas makes up all day. I try not to brag about my kids too much, but I do have to say that Thomas has an amazing natural musical talent. I think these lessons will be just perfect for him and will hopefully develop that talent into something he can cherish. I'll definitely post some video of him playing in the next few weeks!

Happy Birthday to Thomas... on August 12th...

It's pretty bad that not only have I still not made a birthday card for my own child, but also that I'm just barely posting about his birthday celebration now-- two weeks late! Well, he doesn't read this blog (mostly) and honestly, the rest of you probably don't care all that much. I'm mostly just catching up now for journaling purposes!

Well, it's true: I am the mother of a seven-year-old boy! SEVEN! I remember seven!! I can't believe my tiny little boy is growing up so fast, but he sure is turning into such a fun kid. Those of you who know Thomas know that he is very smart, a bit sensitive, quirky, but most of all, a sweetheart to the core. We love having him in our family!

We started the day off right with tasty homemade waffles, complete with a birthday candle. Thomas had to make sure we had a cake planned for later-- he didn't want to waste his candle-blowing ceremony on breakfast!


And of course, there was cake! I spent a good amount of time decorating the rainbow-sprinkle flavored sheetcake into a MarioKart speedway, complete with the requested "7" and twisty candles. I was pretty impressed with myself, as was Gord. Tom, who at his age is apparently a bit harder to please, said, "Mom, that's a really funny cake." Funny? How about fantastic?!


The rest of the birthday day was pretty low key-- it helps when the birthday boy requests a "special birthday dinner" of Mac & Cheese! Ah, to be seven!

The real party was on Saturday, the 16th, when the four of us went to Cherry Hill, in Layton. I had been to Cherry Hill a few times as a teenager, but I had almost completely forgotten everything about it. We had a complete blast-- it was the perfect place to spend the day, and we enjoyed it so much that we're planning a DeArton family reunion there next year. The water park is set up perfectly for kids-- there is a shallow (but nice and chilly) Pirate Cove for little kids, then a lazy river and water slides for the bigger kids and adults. There were a lot of people there, but it wasn't overkill like Lagoon can be, and the price was really reasonable. Plus, the lazy river moved nice and fast, and Chris and Thomas had a great time "lapping" Gordon and me in the tube.





We had an absolutely wonderful time, and even enjoyed pie and ice cream before heading home. Happy Birthday to our wonderful boy!!