Man Am I Getting Old!!

So on September 14 I turned the big 3 - 5. Oh my, that seems so old, especially when I feel like I'm still in my 20's!! Ha ha! I woke up with a super big headache. Not the best way to start my birthday. I was getting the girls ready for school (it was a Friday), when Richard came into the kitchen. He said to me, "I'm only going to say this once, then I'm turning around and walking out the door." I looked at him and said, "Oooooookay!". Then Richard said, "Pack up and get the kids ready we are leaving in 1 1/2hrs to go to the zoo for the day!" Then he walked out of the house (to do a few jobs quickly). I was shocked!! So the kids were excited and we got all ready.

So we got ready and when Richard got back we were off. The ride there was just a little CRAZY! I was beginning to question our decision. The kids were so excited and bouncing off the windows. DJ was screaming I mean singing his heart out. We stopped and got some lunch in Vulcan and I about bit the lady's head off. Some people make me mad. Then to top everything off, some ladies yelled out to me, "Good luck!" Probably because they watched us put all the kids back into the burb and pass out food, drinks etc. Anyways, I wasn't impressed at all. Didn't help that was in a very grumpy mood (because of the pounding headache). I ate my food, took some drugs, grabbed my pillow and slept the rest of the way. When I woke up I felt 100% better. Good thing, because we were at the zoo!

We decided to just hit the animals that all the kids were dying to see. Of course, we saw the ones in between but we didn't try to see ALL the animals. It made it alot more enjoyable. The first animals we saw was the penguins. The girls have been dying to see them all summer long. We got there and there was a bit of a line up. We looked closer and there were 2 people stuck in the rotating doors. They couldn't get out or in. This door usually moves around automatically. There were no workers around. So Richard walked up and forced the doors open and got the people out and we got in!! Ha ha! Then they shut the exhibit down for a bit so they could fix the door. We were in though. So it wasn't very crowded. The kids loved watching the penguins. Actually, I did too! They are funny mammals to watch.

Brianna, Cadence, Abbi and DJ standing in front of the penguin exhibit outside. You can see a few penguins behind them.

The kids were so fascinated with the penguins!

The very cool looking penguins!

Then we headed over to the elephants. On the way we saw the flamingo's. DJ thought the pink birds with one leg were funny! The elephants were all out and walking around. It's fun to see them move around. They kept flinging dirt up on their backs. DJ thought it was so funny! We sat there for a while and watched the elephants.

DJ showing me the pink flamingo's. You can see his cool Tiger hat we got him.

Cadence showing off her balance skills and standing like a flamingo!

Brianna showing us the elephants!

Everyone was hot and decided to take a seat, have a drink and watch the elephants.

Abbi, Cadence and Brianna watching the elephants walking around. There was a worker at the far side of the building randomly spraying water from a water hose and the elephants would walk into the spray and stand there...they were hot too!

The kids playing on the elephants statue and Richard watching the elephants! Ha ha!

Of course we had to get a picture of the pregnant elephant!! My 3 cute little girls, cooling down with a Popsicle!

DJ wanted to see the tiger. He kept talking about them, and we even bought him a "tiger" hat, because we forgot his hat at home. It was warm out and we didn't want him to get a sunburn. He kept asking about the tigers. We got there and the tiger was pacing back and forth in front of the cage. DJ kept following it back and forth. It was really cool. He loved it.

Brianna and Cadence watching the Tiger pace back and forth.

DJ and Cadence running after the Tiger!

Of course, we had to go to the butterfly gardens next. All my kids love going there. Me, not so much, because it's way too hot and stuffy in there. But we went in and walked around. They loved all the butterflies flying everywhere.

Me and my girls in the butterfly gardens!

Then off to see the hippo and giraffes. My kids thought it was hilarious that all they could see of the hippo was his big butt. He was sleeping and that was the view we saw! Of course, the kids loved seeing the giraffe too. And we saw the lions. It was right at feeding time, so it was kind of cool to watch that.

DJ and Abbi loved looking at the big fish in the hippo tank!

DJ actually looked at me when I took a picture of him!

DJ climbing the fence to get a closer look at the Zebra's!

Cadence, Abbi and Brianna watching the Giraffe eat from the tree!

By this time the kids were all complaining that they were hot and tired. We did see a lot of other animals in between the others. I just didn't get pictures of them all. We decided to go back to the penguins one last time. It was at the perfect time too. They were feeding the penguins too. So fun to watch. There was a lady in with the penguins talking to us and explaining more about the penguins. It was fun to watch and listen too.

We saw this lion statue and the kids wanted on. So I took a picture!

Love this picture of all 4 of my kids on the lion's back!

Listening to the lady talk to us about the penguins while she randomly threw a handful of fish into the water. The penguins went crazy every time she did! Funny to watch!

Could watch the penguins all day! So funny!

Cadence got a kick of the penguins swimming under the walkway to the other tank. It was a pretty cool set-up for the penguins!

We then stopped at the gift shop where the kids were able to each pick out a stuffed animal. They were all excited about that. Of course, DJ picked a tiger. He loved it. All the kids loved their animals. It was the perfect note to end on. So we left!

Here's the girls with their newly purchased stuffed animals! Brianna with an owl, Cadence with a penguin and Abbi with a snow leopard. DJ refused to be in the picture with his tiger! Oh well!

We drove to downtown Calgary and the kids were able to see the big buildings. Richard had the bright idea to take them up to the Calgary tower. We found a parking garage and started up. Then he slammed on his brakes when he realized that that we weren't going to fit under the bar. We had cars behind us, so we had to back up on the wrong side of the lane. It was kind of funny! So much for that idea. So we went to find someplace to eat.

Richard took us to Red Lobster. First time of ever going and it was delicious. Loved the whole experience. It was a fancier restaurant then what we normally take our kids too. But they did so good. They loved the experience too. I had lobster, of course, and it was so good. Then our dessert came and they sung happy birthday to me! The kids thought that that was great. It was a fun and yummy dinner. We were getting ready to leave when this lady came up behind me and asked to speak to us. She told us that she just wanted to tell us how good our kids are. She was very impressed and wanted to let us know that we have a very cute family and our kids are so well behaved! Good thing she didn't see them earlier that day!! ha ha! But it was the nicest thing to say and made me very proud to be the mother of my awesome kids!

Me on my birthday with my delicious birthday dessert!

Yummy is all I got to say!

We then took off for home. It was a fun filled day and everyone was tired. We got home around 9pm. I loved my birthday. My birthday present was the ski that I bought earlier in the month. I was totally fine with that. I loved spending my birthday with my family. So much fun!