Funny one on Tanner

(Warning... long story for family history documentation purposes) So yesterday was our primary program. I was sitting up behind the Sacrament table with my class, and Tanner was sitting in the pews with his class. His teachers were sitting behind him and there was an 11 year old girl sitting next to him. If I leaned over as far as I could, I could catch a glimpse of his face as I tried not to squish the man I was sitting next to. It was a long hour and a half. No crayons, no games, no treats. The kids were bored. I would check on Tanner here and there, and every time I did, he seemed to be doing ok -- sometimes he was turned around facing the congregation, but I figured that's better than talking to his neighbor. About half way through the program, I glanced at the side pews in front of me and noticed that about the 6th pew back, these people were wiping tears from their eyes. I glanced at their daughter wondering if she had said something tender/special/heart warming, but that didn't seem to be the case. All the adults on the 6th pew were not only wiping the tears, they were laughing hilariously hard. What could be so funny I thought? We finally got through the remainder of the forever long program and rushed the kiddos off to primary to sit for another 2 hours! As I proceeded down the isle to get to the primary room, a mom coming towards me says, your son is hilarious -- we couldn't help but laugh at all the crazy faces he was making during the program! I'm thinking who Gabe or Tanner? Oh your middle one! Really, I didn't even see him. Oh yeah, she says....he had a couple of rows laughing. Oh man, I thought. I didn't even see him doing anything. Had I known......

So we get to primary and Tanner tells me that he got a pocket full of candy and some gum from the 11 yr old girl he was sitting by. She supposedly bribed him with the loot if he behaved well. At this point I'm thinking behaved well??? Was she even watching him?

As I proceed out of primary another mom makes another comment to me about how funny Tanner was. All the silly faces he was pulling, the cross eyes, the bubble blowing. Bubble blowing? He had gum DURING Sacrament meeting? Oh great! Yeah, she said, he would blow a big bubble and cross his eyes and hold it as long as he could -- it was hillarious. Oh man... had I only known.

As Adam and I got in the car, we compared comments with each other as to what he and I had heard from other people. Adam just laughed. I didn't know what to think. We pull up to the red stop light and the van next to us rolls their window down and tells us how funny Tanner was during Sacrament meeting and that he should sign up for the upcoming primary talent show! Lovely.

My visiting teachers show up this morning and one of them asks me if I had heard about Tanner's little show yesterday! (she's a counselor in the primary) Her daughter and friend sitting on the 4th side pew and couldn't stop laughing either. The mom (my vt) said, where were his teachers? The daughter replied, Oh mom, he wasn't being bad, he was just bored!!

So this morning I emailed the friend whose row was crying and laughing and I apologized to her for the disruption Tanner caused. She wrote me back saying, really, it was actually great because we had some non-member and inactive family members with us that usually don't like to go to church, but after we left church yesterday, they said it was awesome and so worth coming!! So I guess I have to hand it to Tanner for helping them feel welcome and enjoying their Sacrament services yesterday. Now, if I only had a picture of that bubblegum, crossed-eyed face!!