SUN RIVER COMMUNITY - St. George, UT

We finally found our way out of our home state and on to the next leg of our adventure. 

WELCOME TO UTAH!    

Shiloh, Juliann, Choice, Ryder, and Tate

To say that the kids were restless and anxious to arrive at the next destination would be a gross understatement.  They must have intuitively known that the next donor visit would be kid friendly and loads of fun. 

SunRiver Community Center is a lovely development tucked into the beautiful mountains of St. George, Utah.  I must admit that the visualization I had in my mind of our anticipated visit to a 55+  community center was far more somber than it turned out to be.  In fact, the overall theme of this stop was FUN. The lessons I took away from today were necessary for the sanity of all involved on this voyage.  I learned the value of play.  I was reminded of the importance of allowing kids to wiggle and be silly. 

Residents of SunRiver, Choice, Juliann, Shiloh, Ryder, Tate, Board Member, Brian, Staff of SunRiver

We were greeted at the community center by Brian, representing the staff of SunRiver.  He introduced us to members of the board for the community center who played a large part in putting together the fundraiser that prompted our visit.  The staff, the board of directors, and the residents of SunRiver worked together to put on a choir concert to raise money for the families affected by the Yarnell Hill fire.  They had a pianist playing prelude music, a choir who performed, and an audience of 200 being mystified by the musical talent.  They worked together to bless the lives of families whom they had never met.  That is, until today.

Choice, Ryder, Brian, Tate, with SunRiver Staff and Residents

We were blessed to share a wonderful lunch with several members of the SunRiver staff and board.  The patio overlooked the golf course where the discussion of play first began.  Brian, being a father of four young children himself, knew just how to entertain my four energetic youngsters.  He and Ryder discussed the intricacies of building the most flight efficient paper airplane.  Brian even cut up a gift bag from the gift shop so Ryder would have a stronger material from which to construct his perfect plane.  No one minded as Ryder began to fly his plane around the patio of the restaurant.  In fact, the kids were also shown how to carefully open a straw so that one end of the wrapper could be blown and launched at someone across the table.  Even their mother who was wound a little too tight, smiled at the joy being displayed by the kids and the staff members. 

  

Ryder, Brian, Tate, Shiloh, and Choice

They gave each of us a Sun River Golf Club hat to take home.  What a wonderful souvenir!

Choice, Juliann, Shiloh, Ryder, Morghen, and Tate

After lunch, we ventured over to the Community Center where we had another wonderful surprise awaiting us.  There were several residents of the community, who had also been involved in the fundraiser, ready to play with the kiddos and teach them the newly popular game of Pickleball. (For those of you like me who don't know what that is...it is very similar to tennis but with a whiffle ball and a shorter net).   The kids were overcome with excitement and raced to the court for their turn to take a swing at the pickleball.  It was quite a special sight to see each of the kids (3-7 years old) pair up with a resident of the senior community (55+) and learn the game.  Despite the difference in their age, the expressions of joy and sheer bliss on their faces were the same.

TATE AND CARL...

Tate and Carl




Tate and Carl

 

Bob, Tate, and Carl



SHILOH AND BOB...

Bob and Shiloh

Shiloh

Shiloh and Bob

 RYDER AND MARY...



Shiloh, Ryder, Bob, and Mary



Ryder

Ryder

 

 CHOICE AND BRIAN... 

 

Ryder, Choice, and Brian



Choice and Tate



THEY EVEN GOT ME OUT THERE...



Tate and Juliann



Tate and Juliann



Shiloh, Mary, Choice, Tate, Juliann, Ryder, and Bob 

I was blown away by their youthful spirits and incredible energy and commitment.  They were so skilled in the game and were gentle and patient while teaching my kids the rules and fundamentals. I was so inspired by their coaching techniques, perhaps I should recruit them to teach Choice how to go potty on the toilet!




Shiloh and Monique (Puppy)

Mary asked me midway through the Pickleball game if my kids liked dogs.  I answered with a resounding YES because Shiloh is headed to becoming a veterinarian...or a crazy cat lady.  Just as I suspected, when Mary returned with her puppy (Monique) Shiloh immediately abandoned her racquet and ran to scoop up the dog.  The puppy took a liking to Shy as well and gave her an early bath with puppy kisses. 


Ryder and Monique (Puppy)
 

All of the kids fell in love with Monique the puppy.  I witnessed sheer heartbreak when I explained to them that Monique was NOT a gift for us to take home.  I imagine they'll be begging for a puppy for weeks to come.

Brian, Lisa, Shiloh, Kamarie, Choice, Tate, Sandy, and Heather

We left the incredible staff and residents at SunRiver Community with Be Better Bands, Spread the Better shirts, and some handmade cards from the kids. 

Brian, Tate, Shiloh, Ryder, Choice, Lisa, Kamarie, and Sandy

Brian had one last surprise for the kids before we hit the road.  During lunch, he and Ryder had a heart to heart about the movie Napoleon Dynamite.  In this comedy, in one scene Napoleon takes an action figure, ties him to the end of a long string of fishing line, and drags him behind the bus as it travels down the road.  You can imagine the look on Ryder's face when he opened the gift bag from Brian containing a new action figure, and a new roll of fishing line.  The lighthearted nature of this amazing group was contagious throughout the entire afternoon.  Their positive energy and fun nature sparked a desire in me to allow my kids to stop and play more often.  Laughing and enjoying life will keep us remembering the beauty in the little things and appreciating each day we are blessed with on this Earth.  Plus..it may keep me from wanting to string my kids to fishing line and drag them behind the bus.

The last activity of the afternoon was a race from the Pickleball Court to the end of the parking lot.  Brian got the kiddos lined up, nice and fair, at the starting line.

READY...

Choice, Ryder, Shiloh, Tate, and Brian

SET...

Brian, Choice, Shiloh, Tate, and Ryder

GO!!!

Tate, Shiloh, and Ryder

The fairness Brian exhibited at the starting line came to a crashing halt as he hoisted Choice up and rushed him to the finish line.  Choice, assisted by Brian, won the race!  Another unpredictable moment in our day at the Sun River Community Center.


Shiloh, Ryder, Choice, and Brian

There were many reasons that these amazing individuals felt called to reach out and serve the families of the GMIHC.  For Brian, it came from the memories of his grandfather who was a firefighter for 30 years in Sandy, Utah.  For several of the residents, it was their connection to the firefighting brotherhood from their service on volunteer fire departments.  Whatever the reason, I am so grateful that they acted upon the prompting they felt inside to reach out.  It is because of their willingness to Spread The Better that we were able to meet them today and take away these important lessons.  First, DON'T FORGET TO PLAY.  Laughter brings about healing. Second, TAKE JOY IN THE LITTLE THINGS.  Do not be so focused on the glaring issues and difficulties in your life that you forget to stop and smell the roses or lend a helping hand.  This meeting was proof that those little acts of service TRULY DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.