Birthday Gifts

I'm learning new things tonight. Namely how to include pictures in my post. Hopefully this will work without too much frustration.

When I finished my post about my birthday yesterday I hadn't received my gifts. So, I wanted to post what I received. Let's see if I can get this to work......

Let's start with Jared. Jared had to work so before he left he came skipping into my room, waving this flag and singing "Rise and Shout the Cougars are out...." My first thought was "Where'd you get that? I want one!" Before I could voice my thoughts he gave me the flag and said "Happy Birthday!" I am a happy camper. Just wait 'til game day. I'll be the dork flying the flag on my van all around town!!!
Next there's Tyler. He gave me these pink fuzzy cozy socks. They are yummy. Gotta love some yummy socks for cold feet. (Tyler was not a happy camper because he got in trouble with his dad right before this. He was trying really hard not to smile!)

Parker was so cute. At the beginning of the day Parker brought me this vase of red roses to start me off. Eric said when they were shopping he insisted that Mommy needs some flowers for her birthday. It was totally his idea. (He's going to be such a great romantic when he grows up!!!) He also gave me a pink pen because he knows Mommy loves pink!

Zachary gave me a comfy microfiber fleece blanket. Can you tell I'm into comfy cozy stuff? I'm in love!

Mikaela took Eric all over town to find chocolate covered gummy bears because she just knew I would love them. She was right! What a cutie! (I look like a total dork in this picture. You are welcome to ignore!) And last but not least.....Eric took me to dinner at LoneStar because I had a coupon for a free birthday meal. Can't beat that! He was worried through dinner that it was taking too long. (I didn't really think so. I was enjoying the meal and the company). I knew he had something up his sleeve but wasn't quite sure so I just went along with it. After dinner we went to the mall. It was 8:50 pm and the mall closes at 9:00 pm. He took me straight to the jewelry store and asked me if we should buy my new wedding ring. (We had looked last year and he knew what I wanted and exactly where to go.) The saleslady was closing up shop when we walked in but was very willing to help us. She showed us the ring but I didn't like the diamond that was already set in it. She showed me a different diamond and told me she could set it in that ring for the same price. It is a better diamond and a bit bigger. SOLD! The transaction went very smooth. She gave us all kinds of discounts that we couldn't resist. She was the best saleslady we had encountered in a long time!

I am a happy camper that I get to finally have a real ring on my finger again. (My original ring was about to lose the diamond so we decided a couple years ago that I would get an upgrade instead of fixing the old. It's been in the jewelry box since then.) The only disappointment is that I had to leave the ring there to get sized and have the diamond switched out. I get to pick it up on Friday. I can't wait!!!! Here's a picture of it. I'll be taking a picture of it on my finger when it is actually there.

All in all I had a great day. No complaints here!

Halloween

I have never liked Halloween much. It is so spooky and dark. As a child was so scared. I still don't like all that dark stuff but I'm starting to appreciate the holiday a bit.

The kids didn't have school because it was "end of term" teacher prep day. We ended up staying home, cleaning up and taking it easy most of the day. It was really nice. I tried to have dinner ready before the festivities began but didn't quite get done in time so I worked in the kitchen while running back and forth to the door. I made Broccoli Cheese Soup and Pumpkin Crunch for dessert, yummy festive food!!!

We had lots of fun trick or treaters. They were all dressed up so cute. I have found that I really love greeting them all. I actually told Eric and the kids they weren't allowed to hand out candy because I wanted to see them all!!! Hee hee!!!

Here's how we celebrated:

*Eric took Mikaela, Parker and Mitzi (the dog) trick or treating.

*Zachary still didn't feel well so he stayed home. I was so sad for him. He had so many fun plans for the day!

*Tyler went to a party with kids from Rhapsody (his show choir group).

*Jared had his friend Amber come down from Brigham City. They took Tyler to his party and dropped by Mrs. Nelson's (the science teacher at the Jr. High) to say Hi. (She loves it when her students and previous students stop in to visit her.) They then came home to watch a movie while I did trick or treat duty.

*I enjoyed greeting everyone who came to the door!!!

It's time to be done with this post now. Eric is taking me out to dinner!!! Yeah!!!

My Birthday!!

Today marks 41 years since my birth. I am starting to feel old as I watch my kids grow. I can't believe Jared is 18 years old. I remember when I was 18. It was just a little while ago. I remember it like it was yesterday. It was a fun time of my life. There's so much that has happened since then, including getting married, going to school and graduating from BYU, being pregnant and giving birth to 5 children, getting through each of their 1st years (those were some hard years), moving into our home, and now having them all in full-time school and working. I'm feeling so much happier and content now but am struggling to adjust to the changes. I guess life is no more busy than it has always been, just different.

Everyone has been great today. I was able to sleep in a bit this morning and Eric made french toast for breakfast along with the traditional candle in each. Since we had such a busy week, our house was a mess. We had a huge mountain of clothes that needed folding in our room and another huge mountain waiting to be cleaned along with stuff strewn everywhere, dishes that needed to be done, dirty floors, etc. Usually our tradition is that the birthday person gets a day off. Well, that was not a very good expectation since my greatest wish is a clean house. So, I told everyone this morning that I would really like to have peace today and everyone's help getting things cleaned up. We worked hard this morning. I folded all the laundry and helped pick up while the rest of them did their parts. The house looks so much better. Now Eric and the kids are outside doing yard clean-up (mowing for the last time, cleaning out the garden, etc.) while I continue to keep the laundry going and resting in-between. I'm a happy camper.

We haven't done any gifts or the like yet. I'll have to report on that later, I guess.