Pioneer Day

 My kids really look forward to our Stake's annual "Pioneer Day" celebration every year.  This year they were talking about it for weeks.  On the way there, Abby was talking and singing to herself, as she usually does.  She was saying:  "a celebration....  We're going to a celebration!..."  It was so sweet and innocent and helped to to think of life from her perspective.  For me, this was a "make sure everyone is dressed, hair done, and in the car on time" type evening.  For her, it was a mysterious, much-anticipated, and exciting event that she had heard her siblings talking about. 

 Our stake provides hundreds of sack lunches, drinks, watermelons, and fruit for everyone. 

 Zach and Andrew had talked with much bravado about how they were going to sit in the dunking booth and get soaking wet.  When it came down to it, they just watched in awe, only getting brave enough to throw the baseball at the target a few times. 

 Spencer, however, got dunked multiple times

Jace signed up to participate in the "pie-eating contest".  They chose other people, and he didn't get in, so he went and ate three large sub sandwiches, four little bags of chips, three cans of root beer, two pieces of watermelon, and 3 cookies.  (That sounds like a page out of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar")

After completely stuffing himself in this manner, he was shocked to hear that they were calling his name out of the audience for the last round of the pie eating contest!!

They had another opening for the "adult" round, and they looked over the list, and just happened to choose his name.  Here he is, eyeing his pie, thinking "I am so stuffed, bleah."

 Get ready,

 get set,

 GO!!!

and the winner was....

Jace!!!

And the prize...a boxed pie from Frontier Pies.  He didn't touch it that night.

And the next morning, he even willingly shared it with the whole family.  I think that for the first time in his life, Jace reached his capacity for food.