30 years old! Wow!

On October 16th I turned 30. Now, I was not going to blog about this, but this is kind of a journal for me and 30 is a huge milestone. So here we go. It really was a great day. My husband being the romantic that he is decided to spoil me. The morning of the 16th he sent me to a spa for a massage, facial and pedicure. He took over the kids and house, including Ryker, so that I would not worry at all. Of course I still called every hour, I know I'm a spaz. Anyway, when I got home he had Kelle take the girls and he was getting ready to leave with Ryker. I was a little shocked, you would think that after being with the kids all day he would be ready to run. Well when I walked into the bathroom to shower there was a note on the mirror. It read something like,"be ready and in the car at 5pm." So at 5 I went to the car where another note waited on the window. From there I was taken on a really fun treasure hunt. It took me to all the places I hung out as a teen. From my high school to my church to the place I used to work (outback steakhouse) and then some. Sometimes I was to ask for someone and sometimes balloons marked the spot, but at each place there was a clue, a gift and a red rose. I finally reached the end of my journey with this little note attached,"You're almost at the end of your fun quest for treasure, I hope you have found it a delight and a pleasure. Your journey is so close to being called complete, just one more stop to go before we hook up to eat. Go to the place where cool parents live and interior decoration is without flaw, and where they have adopted me as a super-cool son-in-law. They have Ryker so feed him if you need to, it's part of the deal, but meet me at 7 at Asian Star for you delicious birthday meal. I will be waiting for you there, I can't wait for us to meet, when you get there just ask Gary for your table and seat." There is more to the note and for my eyes only. Anyway, I went to Asian Star and he was there with 6 more red rose to add to the 6 I had received. It was an amazing day. I am so lucky to have such a great husband. I really don't know how he does it. I just love him!
I have had a lot of people ask, so how does it feel to be 30? It really feels great. I have accomplished so much in my last 30 years. I really don't regret anything and I feel truly blessed to be where I am. I have 4 beautiful kids and an awesome husband and really that is what matters most in life. I feel like I have learned a lot and I also have a lot to learn. There is more that I would like to accomplish in my life and I will in time. My goal this year is to slow down and have fun with my family. I think sometimes we get caught up in our day to day grind that we forget to enjoy life and those around us. Hopefully I can accomplish this goal. Here are few pics from my Birthday.

Dinner with the family to celebrate mine and Gabe's Birthday

My darling kids! My accomplishments!

Go UTES!

Rich has been getting tickets to the U of U games and taking one of the girls each time, since I can't go with Ryker. The last game was Macie's turn and apparently it was the best game in like 25 years. They rushed the field and had a really great daddy/daughter date. This time was Maddie's turn. She was so excited and just couldn't wait. The Utes ended up winning and they also got to rush the field. Next time it will be Mackenzie's turn, maybe. A 3 year old at a 3 hour football game might not go over well, we'll see.

Just hanging out

I love sharing pictures of the girls playing happily together and they love seeing themselves on the blog. So Enjoy!

They wanted to pretend sleep. Kenzie had a hard time keeping a straight face.

The school was holding a contest called "Reflections" and the theme was "WOW!". The kids had to submit a drawing, photograph, poem, etc.... to enter the contest. The girls had already entered a photograph, but wanted to enter a painting. I'm proud of them, they did a great job.
Maddie and her best friend, Karli, really let their artistic side shine through.

Even Mackenzie got into it.

What a HAM!

I really have so many pictures of Mackenzie. That is usually not typical for a 3rd child, but she is home with me most of the time and she always wants me to take her picture. So I do. Here are just a few for fun.

Kenzie's new hat

Halee and Kenzie eating lunch before preschool

Sofie and Kenzie after preschool

Sierra, Elle and Kenzie after preschool

Good Times......

My little niece turned 2 on Oct. 6. So we all met at the park for some birthday fun. The kids had a blast swinging with Papa. I just had to take some pics. It isn't often that I get my dad to pose for pictures, so lately I have been making it a point to take pictures.

Our Lazy Sunday

We had a very lazy Sunday and it was so great. Rich made crepes for breakfast and we watched General Conference. Then we got ready (kind of) and watched the 2nd session. However, in between sessions our friend Karen brought over the cutest gift. It was General Conference Bingo with treats and all. The girls really enjoyed watching this time and got treats whenever they got Bingo. Sorry, I forgot to take pictures but it was really fun. Thanks Karen! The rest of the day we just hung out. The pictures tell the rest of the story, what a great day.

Ryker had a very relaxing day, nothing out of the ordinary.

Ryker almost smiled

We harvested our tomato.

We found a preying mantis, Macie took this picture.

We read scriptures together.

And finally we had ice cream.

Family Home Evening

Our family home evening consisted of two jars and a little object lesson. The topic was "love at home". After an afternoon of the girls arguing and fighting me on their chores, I decided this would be a great lesson. So I got these jars and labeled them. Each day the girls choose 3 jobs and they have to get them done before they go out and play. So far it has worked out okay. As for the kind words jar, when I catch them talking nice to each other then they get to add a marble. When the marbles reach a certain line then we get to decide on a fun activity together. This is a big hit. Hopefully this will work out. If anyone has any tips on the subject, please let me know.

The pictures of Kenzie below is Kenzie doing her chore. She always wants to do the dishes, so this time I let her. The dishwasher was empty and she loaded all of my dishes in. Of course without my help. She had to do it herself and she was so proud of it. Her poses and the crazy outfit that she picked out just add to the cuteness. Enjoy!

Creepiest Bug Ever!

Last week we were eating dinner at my parents house and found this bug crawling across the back porch. Actually, Mackenzie found it and freaked out. Then all of us freaked out. It is ugly! It is a potato bug and they live on the back hill of their house. A few of us took a couple of days to get over it, it really freaked us out.