I can’t believe I’m 30….

So, I turned 30 on Thursday and I had almost a month long celebration.  It started out with Dinner with my dad, Michele, Dave, and the kids at BJ’s almost 3 weeks ago, since Thomas and Michele were going to be gone on my actual birthday.  The service was less than great but the food was good.  When we got home I was shocked by the awesome presents.  Be still my soul…. Dave got me this beautiful Cuisinart!!  Oh, tomato bisque here I come!!!!

Dad, Michele, Troy, and Julie went in on this Wii Fit.  Are they trying to tell me something? Just kidding, I totally asked for it.

Last but not least, Michele made me these  amazing scrapbooks filled with memories from my childhood all the way up to nursing school and the births of Thomas and Noelle.  They are beautiful.  Have I mentioned how blessed I am to have her for a sister?

My actual birthday was spent at home with Dave and Noelle.  Dave made a delicious surf and turf dinner and then we went and got frozen yogurt at Nubi. 

The next day was lunch out with friends from work.  We went to Chili’s, where I hadn’t been in forever.  Here is Noelle enjoying chips and dip..surprise!

 

Finally, yesterday Dave and I enjoyed a day in San Francisco while Noelle was staying with his mom.

We went and saw Grease at Golden Gate Theater.  It was a good show and Taylor Hicks plays Teen Angel, it was fun to see an “American Idol”.

 

 

 

After the show we headed over to Pier 39 to do some window shopping and have dinner.  We had a scrumptious seafood dinner at Neptune’s Palace and had fun just strolling around.

All in all I had a fun birthday month and turning 30 wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.  With all the craziness that life brings I have been kind of down on myself lately.  This birthday has given me the opportunity to reflect on my life and I have realized that I have much to be thankful for.  If you know me than you know that I love lists, so in honor of my 30th…

Things I am Thankful for…

1.  A nice home for my family, I just wished I owned fewer homes..

2.  A good job which not only helps me provide for my family but also provides me with learning opportunities, comic relief, and friendship.

3.  A wonderful, supportive family.

4.  Two beautiful children, who make everything worth the hard work.

5.  A loving and kind boyfriend.

Goals that I have for my 30th year…

1.  Get in shape.  Notice that I didn’t say loose weight.  I have come to the conclusion that I am a terrible dieter and that will never work for me.  What will work is a change in lifestyle.  I want to be a healthier, more confident me, not the skinniest girl in the room.  I think that is very “grown up” of me.

2.  Take up running.  I have always wanted to run a marathon.  I’m not promising that but I would like to be able to run a few miles without having an asthma attack or an MI.

3.  Get married.

4.  Continue going to church each Sunday on my weekend off.  It’s good for the kids and good for my soul.

5.  Have daily prayer and read the scriptures.  This has been hard for me, since my divorce I feel a little disconnected.  When my temple marriage ended less that 3 years after it began I didn’t  loose my belief I just felt unworthy.  I am trying to gat back where I need to be with my Heavenly Father.

Bon Voyage

 

Michele and Thomas left for San Diego yesterday.  They are going to be babysitting my brother’s little boy, Tyler, while he and his wife go to Mexico for a week.  I was so nervous to let him go but he was excited to ride on the airplane and he got a new Spiderman back pack for the trip so he was excited to wear it.

I took Thomas to get a hair cut before the trip and I wanted to do something different.  So, I got him a faux hawk.  I think he looks super cute!

After dropping Thomas and Michele at the airport Dave and I took Noelle to the Sacramento Zoo.  The weather was great and Noelle had a fabulous time. The flamingos were her favorite.

Daddy and Noelle having fun in the gift shop.

Noelle’s favorite part of the trip!! Pink popcorn and a purple orangutan cup!!

These are Noelle’s new shoes. I wouldn’t normally think  new velcro shoes were newsworthy but Noelle was so excited about them that she was actually talking to strangers to tell them about her new shoes.  For Noelle, this was a big accomplishment.  She doesn’t like to talk to anyone, even Grammy and Grandpa sometimes.  I was excited to see here coming out of her shell a little.

We finished the day by having dinner at Dave mom and step dad’s (Daddy’s Nana and Papa Lynn’s) house in Elk Grove.  It was a good chance to visit and a great meal.

On a side note-  Today is my 30th birthday.  I want to thank everyone for their birthday wishes and the great gifts.  More on my birthday to come…

Meet the Characters

I got to thinking that I haven’t spoken with many of the people that might be reading this blog in a while, so I thought I would introduce our family.

This is me, Kelly.  I am a mommy and a Registered Nurse in the Emergency Department at San Joaquin General Hospital.  It’s crazy trying to do both but I love it.  In my “spare” time I love taking day trips with the kids, reading, watching reality TV shows and experimenting in the kitchen.

 

This is Dave.  Dave is a daddy and also a Registered Nurse in the ED at San Joaquin General.  We both work the night shift.  Dave loves to work in the yard, camping, fishing, playing outside with the kids, crosswords, and reading.

 

This is Thomas.  He is 4 years old.  he is proud to say that he is a sunbeam and also a prekindergarten student (that’s what they call them at Snell’s).  He loves to play “army guys”, ride his scooter, listen to music, read books, and hang out with his Auntie, and grandma and grandpa. 

   This is Noelle.  she is 1 1/2 years old.  She is so sweet and fun.  She loves animals, eating, babies (pretend and real), taking a walk, eating, dancing, and then eating some more.

This is Garrett (11) with Andrew(7), and Adam (7).  The boys love to play video games, ride their quad, and play baseball.  After living with us full time for a few years the boys decided to spend this school year with their mom in Visalia, Ca.

This is my sister, Michele.  Around here she just goes by “auntie”.  She is my best friend and the kids love her so much.  She watches the kids at night when Dave and I have to work.  We would be lost without her.

Okay, now you know everybody.  I have to admit that this post took me like an hour to do.  I hope it’s not always this hard!!

New Beginnings

I have been thinking about starting a blog for a while now but have never actually taken the time to do it.  I have finally realized that there is no time like the present, so here I am.  This seems like the perfect time since our family is having a lot of new beginnings.  We have just moved back to Stockton after living in Escalon for a little over a year and are enjoying all the “new” things that moving brings.  I thought I would start out with a few thoughts about the things that we are going to miss about Escalon and the things we are looking forward to/and or are already enjoying about our new home in Stockton.

Things we are going to miss about Escalon:

1.  Miss Laura’s Day Care-  By far, Miss Laura is going to be what I miss most about Escalon.  She was loving and fun and I never felt worried about leaving the kids there.

2.  Being so close to La Estrella-  the world’s best Mexican restaurant!!!!

3.  Playing at Jacob Meyers Park in Riverbank.

4.  Long walks in the orchards near our house.

5.  Impromptu visits with the Metzler family.

6.  Walking to the Ace Hardware-  Dave’s favorite!!!

7.  Storytime at the Escalon Public Library.

8.  Breakfast at Hula’s-  Dave was always great at confusing their crazy waitresses!!

9.  Our beautiful home.

10.  Visiting the ponds across the street from our house.

Things we are looking forward to or are already loving in Stockton:

1.  Not having to drive 45 minutes “past the cows” to go anywhere, and all the money I hope to save on gas.

2.  Living close to family.

3.  Miss Tami’s daycare-  Thanks Melissa for the awesome recommendation!!

4.  Thomas going to preschool at Snell’s.   I went to the same school 26 years ago!!

5.  Playing in our new court with all the neighbor kids.  Thomas has already been playing with Andrew almost everyday.

6.  A MUCH smaller mortgage payment!!!

7.  Hopefully convincing Dave to let us have a dog.

8.   Living closer to Target for the too frequent trips to buy anything and everything.

9.  Being in the Valley Oaks ward again and Thomas starting Sunbeams.

10.  A great new house!!