UEA "vacation"

So Nathan decided since it was UEA last week that is was his "vacation" so we had to do fun things the whole time. So on Thursday we decided to go to Hogle Zoo with Tawnia and the girls!
Emersyn was so proud of herself climbing on the crocodile that she ended with a roar of her own!
The kids love the oversized see saw----they were all giggling so hard it was really fun to watch!

Daniel and emersyn were not too sure of the carousel ride though!

Daniel did not like it when the elephant decided to make noise while he was sitting on it!

Marti and Joey were the map holders and took their job very seriously telling us where to go next and what animal to look for.

Ok nathan and joey are definetly my weird pcicture takers!!!
Joey and Marti choose the easy ride on the carousel!!

Surprise Party!

This is what we woke up to on Sunday morning Oct 12th. It was a nice surprise and speaking of surprises I sure got one when I thought i was going out to my moms just for dinner! Surprise!!!!
Jef, Lynn, and my mom had planned a surprise 30th bday party at her house. I had no idea---that doesnt happen to often! So kudos to the party planners!
The kids had a great time helping me open presents- I think daniel was more excited about it then me. Oh to be 3 again with all that energy from just opening a box!
Jeff finally got the camera taken from him so he could be in a picture! Ha ha ha
Thanks to lynn for all her hard work planning the party! Here she is taking a break reading books to Staci and Kiana! How sweet! :) Thanks everybody for coming out to my moms house even though some of us were worried about the amount of snow up north! It was nice to see all of you there! Yes Donny and Kory even you two!!!

Happy Birthday to ME!!!!!

So today is my 30th birthday! I am having mixed emotions not really due to my number age but more to do with what I have done thus far in my life! I am thrilled to be able to say that I am happily and eternally married to a wonderful man for ten years now and that I have three great boys in my life to raise. I have good relationships with my family and jeffs family so that is another positive thing. Where my mixed emotions are coming from is the fact that I feel like I should be more and know more! Soooo my goal for the next year is to read more good books(and when I say that I do not mean romances or sci fi or gaggy books) and learn more skills (i.e. cooking, organizing, canning, communication, PTA, volunteering) I wish I could go back to college like my mother who is awesome and going after something that she loves to do! But time and children at home does not allow that so maybe in ten years or so I can become a teacher and do what I love to do. However, my faith in my savior is still growing stronger so that gives me much needed hope for the future. My life to this point has not been perfect or easy by any means but somehow I have made it this far and still have my sanity. I loved the counsel we were given by our dear Prophet Monson " Enjoy the journey.....NOW! " I needed that reminder to enjoy my life as it is today not just hoping for the future to get better. Enjoying the simple time I have with my children and Jeff should be the memories I need to make a great future! Sorry its my birthday and I think that lets me vent what I am thinking........So lets all Enjoy our journeys NOW!!!!!