Last summer Kacy had mentioned several times how much fun her kiddos had at (what I know it as) Classic Skating. Maybe they just call it 'Classic' now. Anyways, Mykenna is having her birthday party up there tomorrow so Tami suggested we take the boys, meet up with Kacy, and check it out. Sure! We're always up for fun :)
We got there (it's in Sandy) and it was crazy busy...and loud. Kacy, being the pro, brought Kneaders sandwiches for the mommas and we ordered pizza for the little ones. Rylan likes going to Jumpin Jacks and playing on the bouncy slides so I thought he'd have fun doing the same here. There was also a "jungle" for them to climb in, cross bridges, a mini zip line, balls to jump into, a little swing...
Okay, so while Tami helped Kacy

Happy Birthday to Us!

Okay, so first off, I have to say I was a bad party hostess and completely forgot to take pictures! I realized it just after everyone left and I'm still kicking myself about it. I'm so sad that I may just have to invite the girls back for another party so we can get some photos!! I did however, take a few pictures before the party. Pictures of a party before the party? I know, lame!

The half wall blocks my wall hanging I got for my birthday. Our walls really are pretty bare but I promise you, there's something hanging up there!

February is a super good month for me. It's my birthday month and I do everything I can to celebrate my birthday..."Kevin, I really need this new outfit. Can I get it for my birthday?" "Kev, this picture would look so good on our wall. Let's buy it for my birthday!" "Hey husband, will you massage my back for my birthday?". Yeah, I take advantage :) Anyways, last year I noticed there were some really cool girls in the ward who also have February birthdays. So I had a birthday party at my house and invited all of them so we could celebrate together. I had so much fun that I just HAD to do it again this year. And again, I had so much FUN!

Last night there were 6 of us beautiful birthday girls (since I didn't take pictures you'll just have to trust me that we're all beautiful :)!!) It was: Jen Ethington, Cory Marsigli, Allison Chase, Jessica McShinksy, Jana Gasaway (who is not in our ward but she used to live in the neighborhood. She'll always be part of the birthday group!) and myself. We had a delicious dinner of Quiznos sandwiches and caesar salad with some lemon water. We had a lemon creme cake for dessert. We talked, played 'Funglish', laughed, and partied the night away. Thanks ladies for such a fun night! Why do we only party it up in February? I think I'm gonna have to find a reason to have another party...and soon :)

The party gift was a little box of chocolates. I'm so not a creative/crafty person, but every once in awhile it's good to do something we're not good at, right? So Kacy (my crafty, creative sis) suggested I make my own boxes. I'm sure she had something more extravagant in mind, but we came up with these origami boxes that I was pleased with. My talented hubby worked something up in photoshop for me to create the cute Happy Birthday box tops.

This shout out really should not be a side note in small text. It should be a shout out in all caps and bolded.
I have to admit that I could never throw a party on my own. As previously mentioned, I'm not creative, so I enlisted the help of others. For party planning, my lil sis Kacy was the brains behind it all. I would hire her to throw a party for me. But since she's my sister I don't pay her...I just say "I'm having party" and she gets going on it!
Also: my parents + Quiznos= a delicious dinner!
And of course, my hubby who's willing to help me cross items off of my 'to do list'. He's a champ :)

Another Year Older

I celebrated my 31st birthday this year! And seriously, from the moment I woke up until the moment I fell asleep, the day was fantastic! So this is how my day went...
I woke up at 7:00 like every other day, to get Kevin off to work. With bleary eyes I made my way downstairs and to my surprise, there were balloons!! Kevin had decorated the downstairs and immediately I felt special. I walked into the kitchen and found a note that said "I have the day off. Let's go to IHOP". Tears came to my eyes...partly because I had preschool at my house that day and I still had things to get ready so I wouldn't have time to go to breakfast, but mostly because my husband loves me. He took the day off for my birthday? Really? Yeah, he knows what I like! He also had my birthday present sitting there--a Gold's Gym membership--wahoo!! I had to look away so he wouldn't see me crying :)
Ok, now, if you know me, I love celebrating my birthday. Usually I have things planned for the entire week, sometimes throughout the entire month! But for some reason I was a bit saddened by this birthday. Last year when I turned 30, I remember thinking 'I never knew 30 would feel so young.' So why am I suddenly feeling so old this year? So this year I didn't even have anything planned for my birthday. And here comes my husband, saving the day at 7:00 am--a time of day when I'm usually wishing I was still in bed sleeping :)
With a smile on my face I got to work on my preschool stuff. We were learning a little bit about the human heart and doing some Valentine's crafts. And I had made cupcakes so they could sing 'Happy Birthday' to me!! Kevin was home but he was still on the computer (I wonder if he could be away from the computer for a full 24 hours?--not that I was expecting him to, just wondering!). He was working on a side job and had a little hiccup he needed to fix. I tried to pretend he was at work and just went about my morning trying to let him do his thing. After it was all fixed, he was a great help so I could have things ready by 10:00 for preschool.
So preschool time. Jessica brought me some cookie dough brownies--Happy Birthday to ME! Preschool went well with the usual chaos and cute boys. The kids ate cupcakes while the moms dined on the brownies Jessica brought. I gotta get that recipe--they seriously were yummy!
Lunch time and time for Asher to take a nap. I felt a little panic since Kevin was home and I could get out and do something kid free. I just didn't know what to do! Lock myself in my room to read a book and take a nap? Go get a pedicure? Do some shopping? Ahhhhh!!! I decided to go to Rod Works (because I never want to go there with the boys) and after moving our tv downstairs I needed something to hang on a wall. Boy am I glad I went! I found a butterfly tile that I am very excited about--and it was free!! (I love gift cards!) I ran a few errands around town on my way home.
Amy agreed to watch our boys while Kevin and I went to the movie. We dropped the boys off at 3:00, got a tour of the downstairs in their cute new house, and were on our way to see Sherlock Holmes. Kevin and I both really liked it! I like Robert Downey Jr. And I don't know, maybe it's not like the original Sherlock Holmes mysteries. I've never read any of those. So I could sit there and thoroughly enjoy the movie! And guess what? We didn't get popcorn...I didn't even want popcorn. Why? Because we were going to get big fat juicy burgers later. It's easier to pass up popcorn when you know something so yummy is in the near future. So after the movie we went and picked up the boys and headed to Red Robin. If you sign up for their email list, you get a coupon for a free burger on your birthday! I'll take it! And let me tell you, it did not disappoint. Mmmm :)
So now it was bed time for the boys and since it was Tuesday that meant American Idol. Nothing completes a birthday like AI, right? Oh, and of course Kevin and I indulged in the leftover white cake (from the cupcakes for preschool) frosted with chocolate frosting.
Yeah, I like my birthday :)