A Free Day at Thankgiving Point--Could it be true?

Early last week I got an email in my inbox reminding me to RSVP for the special Mommy Bloggers' Day at Thanksgiving Point. I scrolled to the bottom of the email and discovered that my children and I had been invited to spend the day touring the various venues at Thanksgiving Point for free. Shocked, I realized that I had deleted the first email the week earlier without even looking at it! I can't believe we almost missed this awesome opportunity to visit Thanksgiving Point. I talked to my husband and tried to convince him to take the day off work and join me. It was too late for him to take the entire day but he was able to arrange to meet me for dinner at the end of the day. I quickly returned the RSVP. We would of course LOVE to attend.

As soon as I sent the RSVP, I started fretting about how I would be able to attend this event with all five of my young children--BY MYSELF! I admit, I am terrified of taking all five in public without additional adult support. Seriously, just the idea of walking into the grocery store (any store) with all of them is enough to make be break out in a sweat. And, really they're not even that bad. I don't think any of them have ever sprawled themselves out on the floor and thrown a screaming fit, which I've seen other kids actually do. (Oh, I hope I don't jinx myself. I better knock on wood or just delete that last part.) Really, I'm most afraid that they will scatter in opposite directions and I won't be able to chase them all and lose one or two. This fear is the main reason that I shop at Costco--I can put three kids in one cart. Of course, there isn't any room left in the cart for the big box of diapers but . . .

I spent the week trying to figure out the best arrangement. The oldest three can walk pretty well on their own so I just needed to figure out what to do with the littlest two girls. I could put just-turned-two-years-old Lilly* in the stroller and carry four-month-old Molly in the Snugli. But I needed to be able to take pictures and it's nearly impossible to have a baby in the Snugli and my big camera around my neck at the same time. I could dust off the double jogging stroller for both babies. But that thing is a beast and I think the front tire is flat. I could hire one of my Beehives to come along and hold the baby. I could probably even talk one of them into coming for free but then I remembered that they were all away at Girls' Camp. I could invite my mother-in-law to join us, but she likes to wander off to enjoy things in her own special way and I didn't want to lose her too.

I finally decided that, even though I knew Lilly would love Farm Country, the easiest thing to do was to leave her with her doting grandparents for the day. Fortunately, they were willing and delighted to spend the day with her. So, yesterday morning, we got up extra early to drive Lilly to Salt Lake and return to Thanksgiving Point for our awesome day.

My oldest two children have both been to the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point but I had never been there for anything. Wait, I take that back, my husband and I once ate dinner at the original restaurant right after Thanksgiving Point opened in 1996. We had just gotten married and could still go out to dinner alone. Anyway, that was a long time ago and Thanksgiving Point has really grown up and I have missed out. So, I was very excited to spend the day there with the majority of my kids.

I'll be writing more about our awesome adventures at Thanksgiving Point all week, so check back to read about how much fun we had discovering The Gardens, Farm Country, Museum of Ancient Life, the Emporium and Harvest Restaurant.

And because I just can't wait to announce it, Thanksgiving Point also gave us a lovely, amazing gift to give to one lucky reader of this blog. So, be sure to check again for details about how to win the special Thanksgiving Point give-away. You really won't want to miss it.

And guess what! Two-Buck Tuesdays are back during the month of August at Thanksgiving Point. So, if you're on a budget (like me) then here's your chance to enjoy the venues at Thanksgiving Point for just $2.

* These are not the real names of my children, but they are ones that we liked and were the "runner-up" to their real names.