Since this year we went with giving experiences for a gift, here is a shot from our aquarium visit.

Checking out the dolphins

My fault we stayed walking around the craft store for so long – we got to the aquarium too late to see any of the events, the dolphin training or bird show. But now that we know when the shows are we are planning on a trip back already. Jake hasn’t decided what he wants to do for his birthday so a stop then is still up in the air. We did get to walk around and see everything, I think, and grabbed a few pictures of the kids with the dolphins and a few of the other animals.

Hurry Mom, it’s hot

There are a couple of statues around that you can stand by or sit by, the kids wanted to sit on this one. It was very windy out (as usual around here) and we had a good time. On one hand I’m slightly disappointed because if we did see everything it means the place is small – on other hand it’s small so easy to stop in and check it all out again. I have a few homeschool plans that will be centered around the aquarium. It looks like we are going to be a very busy family during our time here!

Today my baby turned seven. Seven! I’ve mentioned before that I take a picture of them on their birthdays so today started out with a trip to the portrait studio. Unlike a few years ago when she refused to smile, today’s session went great. She is such a cute kid. Since we live in a really small area I didn’t think about having to make an appointment at the studio and after a few minutes of talking her into it, the girl working there scheduled us for first thing today. I thought ahead for Jake and schedule his appointment while we were there. Alice picked the pictures we bought and made a quick list of who to send them to.

We walked around the mall, stopping to buy perfume for me (and scored a free gift – which I think I’ll send to a friend of mine) and giving the kids a ride on the carousel that is inside the mall. For some reason I thought it would be at least five bucks a kid (I think the only other carousel like this I’ve seen in San Francisco – so I was definitely expecting a high price) so when it was $1.75 each, I was pleasantly surprised. Other then my baby growing up, today was a first for Jake too. He rode the carousel by himself. Sure he’s almost five and very athletic and handles himself well, but Mom was reluctant to let go until today. He was inches above the ‘you have to be this tall’ sign so I let him go alone.

I need a new digital camera – though this picture looks pretty dang awesome!

And what a great time he had! With no Mom or Dad standing up next to him just in case. He did have a belt on so I felt better, though I didn’t notice that and it was the woman in charge who put it on him.

Alice looked alternately like she was having a great time and looking bored. She opted to sit in a chair, she sat facing backward – she had a view of Jake and the whole thing rocked so she had fun. She’s definitely the more cautious kid.

Slightly Bored

Hanging on because man this thing goes fast

Okay it’s cool

They loved the carousel and we definitely plan on doing it again. I was surprised at how busy it was considering the mall just opened within an hour of us being there.

The rule in our family is your birthday = you get to pick what we do, where we eat, what we eat, etc. We started the day with pictures and a carousel ride, moved on to shopping and the aquarium and ended with a movie. We did buy a few things at the craft store and grabbed something from the aquarium, but technically no gifts were given. We are doing experiences this year and Alice declared that today was “the best” so mission accomplished.

I feel like I’m at the moment in my life where I am questioning everything. I turned 30 this past June and for a moment I was thinking “have I done enough so far?” I’ve always had goals – I had a well laid out plan of what my 20s were going to be like: college, grad school, what I wanted to do. Then I veered major off course and got married, had kids and moved a handful of times.

I still haven’t finished college and I really want to. I still want to go to grad school. I still want the things I wanted when I was 16 and had my life planned out.

So what is it going to take to get there? One thing that holds me back from finishing college is algebra. Yep, one lousy algebra class! I’ve never loved math so I took the math classes I figured I would need back when I first started college. Then I transferred to the Univ of Wyoming and they wouldn’t accept the credits which meant I had to take algebra. Nevermind that I also took other math classes at UW – algebra seemed to be holding me back. I ignored that for the two years I was there and took other classes that did count. Well that and going to school online, that holds me back too. That’s tough for me since it is just way too easy to get distracted. But I can’t imagine what it would be like to be in a class!

So then I transferred again – and I still needed algebra. I still need algebra. I’m looking to take it independent study so I can just get it out of the way – not from the school I will graduate from but from a community college, to save on cash. Yep, paying out of pocket for college does change things! Once I get that class done I will get back to school and just do it. We are moving again in the spring so I could be left in the dark and not be able to get started until the summer but at this point I’m going to try to start in the spring.

Plus my brother is going through lots of life changes and he’s going back to school. He’s two years younger then me and the program he’s going to do will have him done in two years. He’s excited and school for him starts in a few weeks. And I’m so close to being done I’ve already said I need to graduate before him.

And working online is changing for me. I have some decisions to make and need to be consistent now that one big problem has been knocked out of the water. It’s amazing how one thing can trip you up so bad for so long!

I hung up all of our family pictures yesterday. I it made me smile to wake up and see familiar faces staring back at me. Today feels like one of those days when you say “once this is done, then I’ll do that” – when really, “that” is what should be done first and it’s just avoidance.

I’m going to hang one more thing and get to work. The “that” needs to be taken care of today.