The Lion King

This year for our birthdays, Michelle's parents bought us tickets to see Disney's The Lion King at the Capital Theater in down town Salt Lake.  Glenn was able to get over thirty tickets that he shared with friends, family, and co-workers.  Not all of Michelle's family were able to use their tickets, but we had a wonderful evening and enjoyed the show very much. 

The music was just like in the Disney movie, but with a few extra songs which I think were very good.  The costumes were above all the best part of the show.  For the most part it is more like a puppet show with the performers wearing these animal costumes that extended out from the performer to give them their animal shape.  At the beginning during the Circle of Life song all the animals come out to welcome the new future king and near the end of the song a huge elephant with a baby elephant attached comes onto the stage taking up most of the room.  It was only part of the show for a minute or two, but it was amazing to see.  Later while reading the program we learned that they had to modify the stage, even removing a wall, just to make space for the huge elephant that was only seen once.  It amazes me how much work goes into these productions.  The night was wonderful and we thank Mom and Dad Martin for the great gift.

Visit from Becky and Her Family

Becky's husband Brian's Family was having a little reunion in Bountiful over the Labor Day weekend so Becky decided she would fly up a few days early with Dean and Julia to spend some time with Rachael, Michelle, Drew, and I.  After the airport we were able to visit Rachael at her work and see her own cubicle with a window view.  Michelle had told me once how quiet it was and she wasn't kidding.  I don't think I could ever work in that quiet of an environment.  We then headed back to my place to let the kids try and rest  and hang out.  Michelle had been having lunch with some old roommates and friends so when she got back we headed to the park to let Dean get some of his energy out.

On Thursday I took Becky and the kids down town to see temple square and the church history art museum.  After a quick bite to eat we headed down to Liberty Park so Dean could once again have some fun.  While he played Becky and I sat in the shade with the babies.  This was the first time in a while that Drew and Julia had seen each other.  Julia definitely has a few pounds on Drew, but I think his head might be as big if not bigger than hers.  They played very well together and even shared toys with one another.

Dean had a fun time playing in the water and then it was time to try and get the kids to take afternoon naps.

That night we had a BBQ over at Michelle's Grandparent's house.  They are always kind enough to let us borrow their grill especially when we feed them what we cook.  Rachael and Steve were able to join us and then our cousin Amy was also able to join in on  the fun.  We sat outside for hours just talking about the old days and the things we and other of our relatives use to do when we were young.  So as to not get anyone in trouble I will move away from that subject.  We had a great evening together.  On Friday morning Brian and Noah flew in a came and picked up Becky and the kids for their reunion.

Since Brian and Becky weren't flying back until 6pm we got together at the park across from Rachael's apartment.  We let Dean play on the playground for a little while and when we decided we were hungry we decided to get something to eat.  Becky was in the mood for a milk shake and hamburger, but I wasn't so we decided on a location that had something for all of us.  Michelle, Rachael, and I got Pei Wei while the others went to Five Guys Burgers.  The unfortunate part was Five Guys doesn't serve milkshakes.  Crazy, I know, but we solved it by taking a trip to Iceburg on our way back to Rachael's place.

After a quick rest we said goodbye to Becky, Brian, and the kids.  We had a really fun time with them and hope they can come visit again soon. 

A Martin "Extended" Family Reunion

Every year the whole Martin side of the family gets together at Murray Park for a bring your own food and something to share gathering.  They are always very casual about it and often times will just tell you the date a few weeks before and not even mention a starting time, but regardless of how the word gets out a ton of people always show up.  Not all of Michelle's family could make it this year because of distance or work, but we had a good time visiting with some of the relatives we only see about once a year. 

Unfortunately I don't remember most of the names of these people, but I recognize most faces.  I asked Michelle if she could give me an explanation on how everyone was related and a quick run through the family tree.  She tried, but got confused so we asked one of the great aunts to help out.  Even she got a little confused, so needless to say I'm not too ashamed of my lack of knowledge when it comes to the Martin Extended Family Tree.

It was another successful year of lots of food, family, and catching up on the past years events.  Thanks all you Martin relatives for making it a great day in the park.

P.S. -  Isn't Drew just the cutest kid you've ever seen.  I thought so.

Drew’s Six Month Stats

Drew finally had his six month appointment today and got his third round of shots.  We made sure to plan his appointment on a Wednesday at the beginning of my week off so both Michelle and I could be at the appointment and I would be able to watch him over the next week without having to send him to the baby-sitter's house since he tends to be fussy the first few days after he gets his shots.  The doctor says everything looks good.  Drew has slowed down in his growth, but he is still a lot bigger than he use to be.

His 6 Month Stats are:

Height: 25.75 in (19%)

Weight: 15 lbs 6 oz (10%)

Head: 44.4 cm (63%)

Just so you can see how much he has grown over the past few months here is a photo comparison .  The picture on the right was taken just a few days after coming home from the hospital and the one on the left was taken today.

These last two pictures were taken during a party that we had for the Cardiology Transplant Team to welcome the new cardiologist to PCMC.  He looked so cute in his new shirt and I couldn’t believe how much he was laughing when I started pushing him.