It was Black Friday today. And we decided to take the kids to the Planetarium in Salt Lake for the afternoon for our adventure out for the day. Jake and I shake our heads we had not thought to take Kate their sooner. Most kids change their minds from at least year to year about what they want to be when they grow up, but not Kate. When she was two she decided to be an astronaut, and has stuck with that decision- only briefly adding math teacher for a few months, to her desires. We didn't tell the kids where we were going. In the car Kate kept asking "when we get there will you tell us" I kept telling her she would see, and that I picked out today's special adventure just for her.
We arrived at the Clark Planetarium. I was surprised to find that he museum was free- we only had to pay to see a movie in the Dome Theatre Which we did. After running around "the moon" and "mars" for a little while, and looking at some models of space shuttles, astronauts and planets we headed into the Dome Theatre They showed a little movie for kids that lasted about 40 minutes about an alien family who goes on vacation to each of the planets in our solar system. It was pretty cool even for an adult, with stars all around you. The kids thought it was awesome. Kate sitting next to me kept touching my back at certain parts, and then saying things like "look how beautiful" Sam asked if we were in a space ship. Marianne was completely delighted and may have enjoyed it more than anyone. She has recently been on a dance kick and loves to dance to music, and the movie had music. She was literally squealing in delight, grabbing for the astroids in front of her and clapping.... until she was done . And then she was done. That was the kids favorite thing up to that point. We saw some more exhibits, then they changed their mind to the cloud maker- which they kept calling the smoke thing.
After we had seen all we could we walked outside to the shops and restaurants. The Planetarium is right in the middle of the Gateway- and part of Salt Lake with lots of shops and places to eat. We picked Rumbi's for dinner. We had never eaten there. The kids were elated. The kids menu had both chinese chicken- for Kate, and noodles for Sam. I'm not sure if they were just worn out from the museum, but they were perfectly behaved and ate almost every bite of their meals. Marianne too seemed famished and ate more than usual and was also hilarious, as she often is during meals. She was even licking her bowl. Part of her happiness comes from her newly perfectly skill of eating with a real fork. She is very proud. I guess we will be eating there again. On the way back to the car, we passed Santa's workshop, with Santa inside, welcoming children to come and see him. So we did. Kate and Sam a little weary with my help had a conversation with him. He told them his reindeer were up near us having a vacation before Christmas visiting their deer friends- when we got home, Sam kept reminding us to look for the deer and let him see the dear. They both reported a gift they were interested in. But before Kate told Santa her request, she put in a request for her little sister- for a doll. I thought that was so sweet. Marianne walked up with the kids to Santa, and then started screaming at the top of her lungs. The attendants said that happens all the time, but we were still surprised. M will often go to strangers at church and usually flirts with everyone- just minutes before she kept saying hello to a man at the planetarium. It was sad, and funny. She cheered up when as we left Santa's helpers gave us candy canes, bear hats, and cookies. Did I mention there was no wait and we were the only ones seeing Santa. It was free, but there were picture packages to buy. And we couldn't take any pictures with Santa if we didn't buy the package. Even still, I think we will be visiting Santa at the Gateway in the future. In fact, an afternoon trip to the Gateway on Black Friday may be a new tradition. We didn't even step foot in any of the shops advertising deals, ride the free trolley or go ice skating- for which we also got coupons for from Santa but didn't use, or go to the Children's Museum that is also there. Nor did we drive around the newly lite Temple Square just around the corner.
That is it. It is settled. I choose to repeat this day after Thanksgiving as often as possible. It was delightful.
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