A Special Trip Thanks to a Special Man/ The Living Planet Aquarium

This is a really cool story.  Waaaaay back almost a year ago, Zac was reading the Deseret News.  DN had an article that claimed if you live in Utah or have ever lived in Utah, you should check with a government website to see if you have any unclaimed funds just sitting around in a bank waiting to be claimed.  Well, we DID live in Utah, so Zac checked to make sure we didn't leave any surprise money behind and sadly, we didn't BUT his Grandpa Albert, who also lived in Utah apparently did.  Coincidentally, it just so happens to be coming up on the 10 year anniversary of Grandpa's passing.  But because he had passed away, it was quite the feat getting the money out of the bank.  We had to round up about 10 different documents proving his death, marriages, children, etc., etc., and a signed affidavit from each of Albert's children saying we have permission to claim this money.  And you can guess who was left to do all of this round up of documents and calling myutah.gov every week (me) until we finally FINALLY got the money mailed to us a couple of weeks before Christmas... and how much was it?  A cool $1,000!  Now what to do with it?  Zac and I prayed and counseled together and with Zac's aunts and dad.  We wanted to spend it in a way that would be meaningful to Grandpa, as we felt he had a guiding hand in this process.  We came up with a plan that I think Grandpa intended for us.  Recently, the Provo City Center Temple was completed and an open house to see it began in January and runs through mid-March.  Grandpa just so happened to live just miles away from this temple for a large portion of his life.  Grandpa was also a die hard BYU fan and the BYU Men's basketball team just so happened to be having a few home games that coincided with the temple open house.  We decided to use that money to split between any Aunts, Uncles, and cousins that could get to those events and we also arranged for a family reunion, something that has never happened with the Fillmores in the 15 years since I have been married to Zac.  He had/ has cousins that I have never met.  It was set and everyone was excited and we even rounded up a group of 50 of us ranging from Walla Walla Washington, Boise, and all over Utah and Idaho.  We all made the trip to honor Grandpa.  Days before the trip took place, Zac and I remembered that we had interviewed Grandpa on cassette tape and we were able to play that for the family at the reunion.  It was so sweet to hear his voice again and listen to his stories.  It was such a wonderful weekend with lots of memories shared and very nostalgic for Zac and I as we were able to remember those early years of our marriage as we strolled around BYU campus together.

We started our trip with our individual family at the Living Planet Aquarium.  We have kids who are so fascinated by ocean life that our kids were absolutely enthralled.

You could climb up into a bubble under this tank and have a look around.

This was pretty much the coolest room EVER.  It was a large corridor with a huge tank arching over our heads.  That thing was full of sharks and large fish and turtles.  We could have sat there for hours taking it all in. 

This little almost 2-year old decided that strollers were just way to prohibitive and insisted on walking everywhere herself, refusing to hold hands with anyone and taking every opportunity to strike out on her own.  At one point I was helping Bronson with something and turned around and realized she was gone.  And she had booked it as fast as she could up to the second story (we were on the first) and made her way to the penguins before I caught her. 

There was a great rope bridge in the South America section. 

And we just had to get some pictures of the birds.  We were laughing at Tanner because he had asked before we got there if there would be monkeys and we mocked him saying, "It's an AQUARIUM Tanner, monkeys don't swim."  AND he was quick to point out to us when we got to the South American corridor that macaws and parrots also don't swim... 

Creepy Eels, Alligator, Turtles, And Sting Rays you could actually pet! 

It was an amazing aquarium and an experience I don't think the kids will be soon to forget.  A great start to an epic trip.