The suite life of Kylie and Jayden (and Maddox. and Ryder. and Mom. and Dad)

I have a love/hate relationship with Jason's job. I feel like PWC is the other woman in Jason's life, we are both constantly competing for his attention.  His mistress whisks him away to exotic locations like New York, Boston, San Francisco and Provo, Utah.  She wines and dines him at Ruth's Chris while all I have to offer is a casserole served on Ikea plates. She's his sugar mama, but I can't complain too much when she funds my Target and Costa Vida habit.  She does make him work hard for her affection, though, and between you and me I think he's just using her for her money. Throughout this ongoing relationshhip she's treated us to some pretty nice hotels, but this one takes the cake, it's the bee's knees, the cream of the crop.  We stay here everytime we come to Tucson, but this time they hooked us up with a huge suite.  We're talking huge like 5 balconies-a bed for each kid-2 baths-4 thermostats-a kitchen and 8 person dining table-and four seperate entrances-huge.  The 9 pillow beds and chocolates wrapped up like little pats of butter were a nice touch too.  The kids were ready to pack up and move in for good.  After their failed attempt to convince us of that, Jayden said, "well, the good news is, this is just the beginning!" And it was.  It was the beginning of a perfectly relaxed and perfectly needed getaway.  After back to back to back parties (didn't plan that one too good, did I?), we were all ready to just chill so when Jason had to go to Tucson for the week I didn't hesistate to yank the kids out of school and tag along for a few days (darn CTA and their academic excellence, I wish we could have stayed the whole week).  Usually there's nothing to do but watch TV in hotels, but with so much space the kids played games involving forts, 5 star restraunts, mansions and Maddox calling everyone "sweetheart" and "your highness".  And then we watched lots of TV. We also spent much of the day (and night) in the pools and went on an outing to our favorite zoo.

The private rooftop balcony the size of half our back yard was my favorite part.  We ate every meal out there while watching the sunset and pretending we were at a fancy restraunt.

those lips are quite the phenomenon...

I only let them jump on the beds for a picture (wink, wink)

Ryder's baby blessing

What a special day for our little/big boy.  It started out hectic since our ward changed to 8:00 that day and I set my alarm wrong, so we were frantic to get out the door on time.  Once we all got settled into the last bench seat, the spirit was really strong.  Jason gave a beautiful prayer (except the times Maddox would randomly yell out "poop!").  I felt the pressure to bear my testimony (I'm pretty sure it was pressure not inspiration), but I'm glad that I did.  I'm glad I noticed the 3 buttons that had come undone on my blouse before I went up there.  I'm glad I didn't trip on my tall heels during the walk up.  I'm glad I didn't slip and say "boob" or something because I have this fear that my words will get mixed up and I'll accidentally say a bad word and so then my mind is filled with bad words that I'm trying to repress, and it's just a vicious cycle.  I'm not glad that I ended up crying like a baby, it did not do wonders for the post-blessing photo shoot.  But I am glad for the spirit that got me all choked up.  During the sacrament Maddox climbed on my lap and told me that Jesus is his best friend and then asked me if we could go to heaven together to play with him.  I am so grateful for the gospel and the knowledge that one day we will be able to play together as a family in heaven (this is what I was trying to share in my testimony but I'm sure it came out as a blubbering mess).  I'm just so grateful for each of my kids that help to make our family and my life complete.  And Jason's kind of nice to have around too :).  Here are some notes from his blessing: "your family is happy to have you in our home...your family will be here for you for advice and assistance...you are blessed with a desire to choose the right...you will be able to take what you learn and make righteous choices...you are blessed to grow and develop properly...you have a love for your savior and will grow to understand the atonement and draw closer to him...you will have a desire to preach and share the gospel both as a missionary and to those around you."

We missed having "real" family around for the event (although we consider our friends our family now), but my mom was so sweet and knit this beautiful blanket so that she could still be a part of his big day.  She started it when she came down for his birth and I couldn't believe how time consuming it was, it makes me appreciate it even more knowing all the love that went into each stitch.  Thank you mom!!

 

Seven

I usually spend my birthday getting ready for Jayden's birthday but since I was too busy being a diva it was total crunch time on Jayden's big day. I scrounged through the pantry to find pancake mix for his birthday breakfast and was glad I happened to have enough juice left too.  Kylie reminded me that we had decorated the kitchen for her birthday so I had to quick scramble to hang a banner, streamers and balloons while Jayden patiently (and not so patiently) was waiting in his bed for his breakfast to be delivered.  The sad thing is, I didn't even wrap his presents. He didn't care because he already knew what they were since he picked them out himself.  He was just excited to finally be able to put the lego sets together before heading off to school.  Jason took the day off so he took donuts to the class and McDonald's for lunch while I tried to throw together his party for after school.  The idea of 11 boys running through the house gave me anxiety, but it turned out to be such a fun party.  Totally low key, swimming, water fights, sprinklers on the tramp, pizza and about a hundred water balloons.  Such cute boys and such a fun day.  I'm glad Jayden didn't notice that I had slacked off, that's one thing I love about this kid.  He doesn't expect much and is easily pleased.  It's so fun having him get older and see his personality shine through.  I'm so proud of his hard work and determination and admire his confidence.  I can tell he's going to accomplish alot in his life and I'm excited to be a part of it.  Happy birthday, Jayden, we love you!!

you know this could only end one way....

Happy birthday to ME!

I told myself that I wasn't going to be a bratt on my birthday, like I usually always am. I tried not to be bitter when Jason was out of town leaving me to the 6 AM shift and to fend for myself for breakfast. Instead I wore my favorite jeans, spritzed on a little date night perfume and cranked "Superbass" while we got through the morning routine. I liked getting serenaded by Jason over the phone and only accused Kylie once of ruining my birthday because birthdays do not allow for 9 year olds to complain about bracelets not matching.  I loved the kid sized birthday loves and wishes then scooted them out the door so I could drop off the little guys at my friend Melissa's house and treat myself to a little shopping. This is where the real fun comes in, because I no longer had to TRY to not be a bratt because my friends totally surprised me with a birthday lunch and I got the kind of birthday I always wish for.  They went all out and spoiled me like they always do, I don't know how I got so lucky to have such great friends! Thankyou, thankyou, girls!! It was the perfect way to spend the afternoon, great food and lots of laughing. Then after slaving away all morning to put together my party, Melissa still insisted on watching my kids while I went shopping all afternoon.  It was quite lovely.  Jason was able to come back in time for dinner and we had a fun evening with the family at Joe's farm grill. Jason totally got off the hook, he didn't have to do a thing and I still felt like a queen all day. We were both happy.  Then on Saturday we went with some couples out to dinner and a comedy club, such a fun night and such a fun birthday! Thirty-one, bring it on.