The Big 30!

Well.  Where to start.  So my hubby was scheduled to work in Tooele on my birthday.  I told him that's fine, we will celebrate it later and had plans to go to SLC over the weekend.  I figured we would do something then.  Also my sister came up for Sunday and decided to stay until my birthday on Wednesday and hang out with me since my hubby would be gone.  I was more than thrilled to hear this!  Also I was a little bummed/bugged about a church function that was the same evening as my birthday.  I am enrichment leader and we were invited by another ward to go, then uninvited, then invited and on top of that told to bring fruit kabobs and told how to make them.  Needless to say I opted to not go because it was my birthday and I'd rather not do something that bothered me.  Besides my friends said they would take me out that night.  Bonus!

So Stacy hung out with me Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.  It was so much fun having her around.  We played lots with the kids, and she even watched my kids for me while I went on a lunch date with friends.  We took our kids to story-time a couple different times.  It was a blast.  Well my birthday day came.  I had lots of Happy Birthday calls/facebook.  But my actual plans consisted of my getting my hair done, which I was so proud of my hubby who surprised me and made me an appointment.  Then I came back to my parents where Stacy was watching the kids and my mom brought us lunch.  It was a mellow chill, yet relaxing and enjoyable day.  Afterward my sister came over to my house to hang out until that evening.  My awesome enrichment committee took over making fruit kabobs so I didn't have to bother with that.  Stacy came over and hung out.  I had convinced her to go get pedicures with some friends who were taking me out that night.  She had been debating about going home early but decided to stay and get pedicures and hang out after.  I was so excited!  My mom said she was going to the church activity, but would stop by after.  I figured we'd go and get pedicures, then I would pick up pizzas after and come home and make shakes for dessert.  It sounded like a plan to me!

I knew Peter had been planning something for my birthday, but I truly didn't think anything would happen on my birthday, I thought it would be that weekend.  Well my mom came to watch the kids and I went in to get pedicures.  All seemed normal until afterward when we got in the car and I was blindfolded.  Not cool.  I wasn't a fan!  I don't like surprises but I played along and kept guessing (pretty correctly I might add)  where we were at driving.

Well they finally loose me driving.  A lot of things were going through my head, I thought it seemed like a surprise party, but I thought no way, Peter is in Tooele.  Well we "look for a place to park"  as Stephanie would say as she pulls into my driveway.  They walk me up to my house and it was when my shoulder nudged my wreath and I smelled my house when they opened the door that I knew I was home.  I told them while we were driving that I would be so mad if they blindfolded me just to bring me back home!

They take the blindfold off and there in front of me is 50+ people.  Family, friends, everyone that I love!  I was stunned.  I wasn't sure whether to cry or laugh. It was the most amazing thing to take in and see all these people were here for me!  I took a look around, and spotted my sneaky husband who had taken off work in Tooele and orchestrated this party, which was amazing and was a huge feat!  Then I spotted this object in the middle of my family room.  Was it a present?  NO.  What was it?  Then I spotted the lights, and I dawned on me.  It was a runway!!!  I immediately said NO WAY!  I am NOT going on a runway!

Then came the next surprise.  I was brought to my closed bedroom door.  They have me close my eyes again and I walk in to a room full of stunning clothes!  And there was Marcy.  So Peter said all these clothes were mine, and I had to try on outfits and model them.  I was beyond words and thoughts.  It was a crazy surreal experience.  I thought the only way I could have all these clothes was if Marcy brought them from Mexico, but Nope!  Peter had given money to friends and family to buy me clothes.  He said all I ever want is clothes.  So clothes is what I got.  I was thrilled, but more stunned than anything.  It was soooo much to take in.  Also, I was mortified to have to model them.  Talk about out of my comfort zone!  Afterward I asked Peter what could have possible possessed him to think I would be even slightly okay with this idea!  So even though I wanted to crawl in a hole I decided to just be silly and do the runway!

So I proceeded to try on clothes and be silly on the runway.  People were out there mingling and eating then I would be ready and they would kick on some music and dim the lights and I would come out on the runway.  It was actually a very fun evening.  What got me choked up in the end was the love and support of everyone.  Everytime I thought about it I would almost cry (or cry depending on the moment).  People are so thoughtful and to all come to support me.  And most of all my husband.  This took so much work and thought and kindness.  It was a night I will never ever forget!  So much for pizza and a shake!  Here is a slew of pictures to help paint the picture of the day I turned 30!

Looking back I realize Stacy knew all along and really wasn't going to go home that night, in fact pedicures was just something to get me out of the house, but at last minute Nicki scheduled them to give my hubby more time to set up.  Stacy didn't realize she would actually get a pedicure until we walked in the doors.  My mom really wasn't going to the church function, Nathan and Paige really didn't have class that night.  Stacy was really talking to my husband earlier that day on the phone when I thought it was Jeremy, she even said  "bye love you" and I thought she was talking to Jeremy, and she was sitting right by me!  While Stacy was talking to my mom she "verified" with me that I had the stuff for shakes. Peter had come home and didn't disturb a thing while I was gone getting my hair done so he could get a couple things for that night.  Also that night Lisa had texted me saying she would get pizzas for dinner when really it was just a ploy so that I wouldn't insist on picking up pizzas after pedicures!  Anyway.  It was a fun night and fun to see all the style of clothes people picked out for me.  It took me awhile to be okay with the fact that all the clothes were mine and that that was okay.  I got emotional many times thinking about all the support and people that came.  It was a fun 30th birthday!  Thank you everyone!

Magic Carpet Days Begin...and so does my Birthday Week

The beginning of Magic Carpet days has begun...I guess spring really is here if the carpet is out!  Miss Brielle's first time on the carpet she didn't mind until Casey jumped on and scared her...so Paige rescued her.

 My Grandma's Birthday is on the 17th (St. Patrick's Day), and my birthday is on the 19th so we combined them the Sunday before and got together with family and had cake and ice-cream.  Kent and Dan were up as well and Stacy and her family.

Awards

Wellsville Elementary puts on an event every year called Evening of the Arts.  This year Brooke submitted an Art Project in the paint category and placed 3rd in the school.  She was pretty excited.  It was called Fireworks all around the world.

 Casey did an amazing job playing Junior Jazz basketball.  He did really well.

Brielle gets the award for messiest baby :)  Every time she is done with a meal she plays in her food, puts it in her hair and swirls it, throws it on the floor...

Also a fun side note:  Brooke has come up with a new word: Crack-a-noodles.  If something goes wrong she says, "Oh Crackanoodles!"  I have no idea where she came up with that!

Family Pictures from 2013

I printed my blog book off from 2013.  As I was looking through it I realized I never put our family pictures in that we took in the fall.  So here are our favorites:

Weekend at Stacy's

So Peter had to work this past Friday and Saturday in Tooele.  My parents were in St. George, and the kids had the day off of school on Friday.  It wasn't even the weekend and I was already bored thinking about it. So I called up my sister to see if I could come hang out at her place Friday and stay the night until Saturday.  So I took the kids to Midvale Friday.  Stacy and I had a brilliant (sarcastic) idea to do a craft in our spare time over the weekend.  So we went shopping with 6 kids to make that happen.  Ya, I was already tired and we hadn't even gotten to the fun part yet!  Anyway we bought some of our materials and then headed to Hollywood Connection with our pass of all passes.  The kids had a blast playing there and frankly I did to.  The kids could do whatever they wanted, as much as they wanted, without waiting in line.  They had a carousel, 3 different rides, bumper cars, arcades, skating, and minature golf.  We didn't make it to some of them simply because the kids were having too much fun on everything else.  But we have plans to go back.  Well our first ride was the Merry Go Round.  Brielle wasn't so Merry, in fact, she was terrified!  It was kinda cute and hilarious!

 We spend hours at Hollywood Connection, then went and grabbed pizza and a red box and headed back to Stacy's.  We ate and then got cleaned up because Stacy and I were headed to a fireside with John Bytheway while her awesome husband stayed home with 6 kids.  John Bytheway was amazing and I had many ah-ha moments.  Plus he was super hilarious.  Here is a snippet of what he talked about.

He did an amazing job. His theme for the night was "are we coming or going?"  and then said, "it's not about distance, its about direction."  Meaning are we coming to Christ or are we going away?  We can be far gone but then turn in the right direction to come to Christ.  So then it's the direction that matters not the distance.  He then related this to the sacrament.  Christ doesn't expect us to be perfect before we meet him, but to become perfect IN HIM.  This is where the sacrament and atonement comes in.  He said look at the sacrament table.  It's not something on wheels that is wheeled in for special occasions.  It is bolted down.  It is Christ saying come back, try again, keep trying every week, become clean every week, but keep coming back because he knows we will make mistakes.  So weather we are the prodigal son who was far gone, yet came back, or weather we come to church every week but still make mistakes, as long as we are facing the right direction (toward Christ) we can become perfected in him through his atonement and the sacrament that he provides us every week.

It filled my bucket and as my sister said, "gave me a reason to want to get up in the morning!" haha.  Saturday we spent more time buying/exchanging crafts at stores/wanting to quit crafting and we hadn't even started/lets just suck it up and do it.  So we get home and eat lunch (food always helps)  and felt rejuvenated to start our craft.  It ended up being a lot of fun, easy,cheap, and I loved it!

The weekend was just what the doctor ordered and I came back ready to keep going.  It helped that the kids had a blast at Hollywood Connection, went to the park with Stacy, the candy store with Jeremy, watch a redbox, slept out on an air mattress, and played with new toys.  Fun weekend for all!