My Birthday Fun

 Ok, I can't deny it any more. I am almost 30! But not yet.  My 29th birthday was wonderful, everything I could ask for!

First of all, my wonderful husband took the weekend off work! That was the best gift since we don't have a day off together these days.  So I took Friday off and we had 3 whole days off together as a family.  The kids were so confused by it! They kept asking what day it was! So funny.

Friday we spent the day at Santa Barbara Zoo with Christina, Brian and Everett. It was so much fun. It gets more fun every time we go because the kids understand more, they love each other more, they want to stay and play and run around on the grass and hold each others hands.

Andy is so hard to photograph in front of the elephants. He loves them and doesn't stand still!

 

Sadie really liked the elephants too, she was looking at them and kept looking around to us and the big kids like she was asking if it was ok that there were huge wild animals right there!

 

Everett was just plain adorable.

Look Mom! I'm a giraffe!

Julie was kind of hard to get pictures of, she was so busy and had her own agenda. Shocking, I know.

That is a really big fish!  One of the fish flipped their tails and splashed at Julie.  She screamed and ran, so funny!

Cute family shot!

My two hams! Love these boys.

While reading the news Friday morning, I discovered that my birthday was also National Train Day!  They were having a special train ride from Grover Beach to San Luis and back again on the Amtrak.  We knew we had to do it because Andy is obsessed with trains. And Julie really likes them too, so we knew it was win-win.

We didn't tell the kids were we were going, but we did persuade his wardrobe a little.  When they found out we were going on a train (we were already at the station) and was in shock.  Then he got VERY excited.

Sadie liked the train too!

The kids were being goofballs while we were waiting to get on the train.  No, it was not moving in the picture.

They had a few little model trains set up. Andy thought they were pretty cool but they weren't the kind you could play with, so he decided to play trains the second we got home.

Julie had so many questions about the train. She had a great time.

The scenery was great. This is what John and I saw of them for most of the ride.

Julie shared her hat.

 When we got back there was yummy ice cream. What a great way to end a fun new adventure.

Yup, this is a happy boy!

I got some amazing gifts this year! I would love to share every one, but this blog is picture heavy as it is. But I couldn't resist showing this off. My beautiful, smart, amazing oldest daughter wrote this for me. She is 5 and not even in kindergarten yet. She amazes me every day.

Julie also decided that now that Sadie has a pony tail, she also needs a crown.  Sadie didn't seem to mind.

She also has a new trick! Look at her sit all on her own! She balances herself so well, she can sit for a long time.  She can't get herself into a sitting position yet, but once she is there, she can do it!

After the train ride, we all went home and had wonderful naps! Then we met Anne and Dave, my dad and Becki, Jus, Audrey and Lauren, Christina, Brian and Everett at Sylvester's for my free birthday burger! Dinner was so much fun! We were getting ready to head out and Christina had to mention the big hat.

Oh well, at least it made for a fun picture. Julie couldn't stop laughing long enough to take a picture with me.  Sadie's face is hysterical.

It was a wonderful birthday. So much fun with my great family and my wonderful friends.