Southwest Vacations: An iguana bike ride, a too-late discovery and farewell (Cancun Day 4)

February 13, 2015 By

Just tuning in? Be sure to first read:

Southwest Vacations: When Getting There is Half the Fun (Cancun Day 1)
Southwest Vacations: The Flowrider’s Hilarity and Beach Bumming (Cancun Day 2)
Southwest Vacations: A Snorkeling Adventure Within a Misadventure (Cancun Day 3)

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Biking Explorations

A three-night trip with Southwest Vacations wasn’t nearly enough time to explore the Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort. But thankfully our direct Southwest Airlines flight home didn’t leave until 2 p.m. so we had an entire morning to explore. Since our previous three days had been dedicated to the beach, we opted to check-out some bikes and explore the property’s 55 acres of lush tropical foliage.

Moon Palace implements a wildlife monitoring system that has classified 29 reptile species, 112 bird species and 15 mammal species that live and breed in the resort’s natural areas. We were ecstatic when we spotted a white-nosed coati lurking in the jungle and my daughter almost ran over an iguana (chalk those up to things that never happen in Colorado.)

 

While at the resort, we spent every moment together but my kids were counting down the years until they’d be old enough for the state-of-the-art Wired Teens Lounge. That is, until we stumbled upon the Playroom during our bike ride, a veritable kid’s wonderland geared to potty-trained kids up to age 12.

From various game rooms, an American Ninja-warrior-style play area, outdoor playground, mini-spa, fashion runway to practice the catwalk, a movie theater, arcade, toddler area, Xbox room…the Playroom had it all. What we had intended to be a 5-minute stop turned into an hour and we had to practically drag them out.

For once in their lives, the kids were begging for us to ditch them and we were frustrated we didn’t have enough time before our flight home for them to be ditched.

That is what I call a lose-lose situation.

Our Sad Farewells

Twenty-four hours prior to departure, Lomas Travel called our room to confirm our pick-up time for the airport (usually I’m the one trying to track them down tour operators confirmation).  They were right on schedule, we easily navigated Cancun International Airport and boarded our Southwest Airlines flight to Denver. As we were taking off, I turned around to see this girl of mine.

Sun-kissed. Hair braided. Personalized bracelet. In just four days, she had turned into a Mexican Senorita as she marveled at the wonderland below she had been fortunate to experience.

And so had we all.

It’s a Wrap

Southwest Vacations Shuttle Bus Friends

We arrived in Denver to a cold, snowy night. We collected our luggage, bundled up and loaded the shuttle bus to our car in long-term parking. There were two other couples sitting near us and we started talking.

“I’m so bummed to be home.”

“Me, too. We just got back from Cancun.”

“So did we!”

“Us, three!”

Coincidentally, we had all booked our trips through Southwest Vacations and had been on the same return flight. When I asked about their experience, the younger couple replied, “We had some problems with our hotel the first night. We called Southwest Vacations and they switched us to a different resort with no problems at all.”

The other couple echoed their approval, raving what a smooth trip they’d experienced.

I chuckled. Sure, we’d had some minor bumps in the road due to our own ignorance but it was one of our least stressful vacations ever thanks to being able to pre-book our flights, excursion, resort and transportation.

And finding ourselves in the back of that shuttle bus with those couples was just a reminder of what a small world it is with Southwest Vacations, and that they truly bring the world to you.

Filed Under: biking, Bode, Family travel, Hadley, Humor, outdoors, travel Tagged With:

Southwest Vacations: A Snorkeling Adventure Within a Misadventure (Cancun Day 3)

February 12, 2015 By

Just tuning in? Be sure to first read:

Southwest Vacations: When Getting There is Half the Fun (Cancun Day 1)
Southwest Vacations: The Flowrider’s Hilarity and Beach Bumming (Cancun Day 2)

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Booking our direct flight, ground transportation to and from the airport and our hotel was simple on SouthwestVacations.com. Tougher was narrowing down their excursions because Cancun has a plethora of options such as these:

Camel Safari & Reef Snorkeling Adventure * Selvatica Extreme Canopy Adventure * Chichen Itza Plus Cancun * Xcaret eco-archaeological park full-day tour of ruins and activities * Xel-Ha All Inclusive Eco-Aquatic Park Tour (the Zip Bike looks amazing) *Swim with the Dolphins at Wet ‘N Wild.

The Adventure Before the Adventure

We ultimately decided since we were only in Cancun three days, less was more and we would spend as much time in the sand and surf as possible with the Snorkeling Tour and Lunch. Little did we know our adventure would start before we even left the Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort.

Our Southwest Vacations confirmation told us we needed to meet our Lomas Travel transportation outside of the Grand section at the resort. Ever the planners, we decided since that was about a 15 minute walk, we would take the shuttle and leisurely eat breakfast there before leaving. All was going according to plan when, just 5 minutes before we were supposed to meet our guide, I had a sinking feeling something was wrong. I approached the concierge.

“Is this the Grand?”

“No, this is the Sunrise section. Grand is on the other side of the resort.”

The other side, meaning where our room was located. We had erroneously assumed that since Sunrise was the “grandest” of the buildings with the most activities, that was the Grand. Turns out Sunrise is Grand. Are you as confused as we were?

We panicked, knowing there was no way we could make it back in time to meet our transport and we had just missed the resort shuttle bus. We would occasionally see golf carts weaving in-and-out of people on the ocean-side trail and I wondered what one needed to do to hitch a ride. Turns out you need to be an idiot.

“Get in the golf cart and we’ll take you!” the bellhop generously offered.

Golf ride for idiots

The Official Adventure

He raced us back just in time to meet our transport and we cruised down the coast on a saltwater breeze to Playa Maroma in the Riviera Maya, just 10 minutes north of Playa del Carmen.

Playa Maroma

Following a brief introduction from our snorkeling guide, we boarded our catamaran, were fitted with snorkeling gear and sailed away on waters so blue they can’t be found on any color chart.

My cerulean reverie was interrupted by my daughter.

“Mom, you look like a dork,” referring to my snorkeling mask, to which I responded to her mirror image as “the pot calling the kettle a dork.”

There was nothing geeky about our two different stops at reefs teaming with marine life. Though the coral wasn’t overly colorful, the iridescent schools of fish were. We squealed as we swam through a jelly fish field, feeling tiny pin-pricks on our skin, and lazily floated above the reef to the slow-motion balletic pulse of the water.

When we weren’t snorkeling, we were munching on chips and water provided by the friendly staff and diving off the back of the boat.

“Hey, Mom. Check-out my pencil dive,” Bode called out.

I’m not sure what happened but his pencil looked more like an ink blot when he unceremoniously plopped into the water.

“Hey Bode,” I joked back. “Why don’t we just call that one an ‘eraser dive’ so we can forget about it?”

Once back on shore, an open-air buffet lunch was included in our incursion where we were serenaded by a mariachi band.

Bode brought down the house with the very unforgettable Mexican “Chicken Dance.”

We spent our final hour frolicking on Maroma Beach’s wide open transparent water, convinced we had landed in a world of movie-set perfection.

Unintended Adventure No. 2

Though my husband and I hadn’t had an optimal first experience along the hotel strip years ago, we wanted the kids to experience at least a taste of Cancun so we had our driver drop us off downtown. However, something got lost in translation and instead of delivering us to an outdoor, touristy market like we requested, he left us at a mall–something I despise in the U.S. and appreciate even less in a foreign country. We realized this just as he was driving away with all our snorkeling gear, and the instructions to return in 1.5 hours.

I tracked down an older American couple and they pointed us in the correct direction, several miles down the road. Then we had our second misadventure of the day: We hopped on a Cancun public bus, prayed for the best (it turned out to be perfectly fine) and we eventually found a gloriously tacky tourist market.

The moment we stopped off the bus, I kid you not, an overzealous man almost crossed the street in an attempt to lure us into his store. “What is he doing?” Hadley asked, ready to get back on the bus. “Don’t worry, it’s just the way it’s done here,” I soothed, which was the only calming moment of the experience.

But our extra effort was worth it. I loved watching my kids haggle with the locals. Hadley got her hair braided and a personalized bracelet while Bode got a fair price for a shark T-shirt.

We were ecstatic when we arrived back at the resort and I asked Hadley, “So, what did you think of the market?”

She thought long and hard and then equated it to our favorite card game: “It was just like the chaos of playing Pit.”

Welcome to Cancun.

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Stay tuned tomorrow for Southwest Vacations: An iguana bike ride, a too-late discovery and farewell (Cancun Day 4).

Filed Under: Bode, Family travel, Hadley, Humor, Jamie, travel

Southwest Vacations: The Flowrider’s Hilarity and Beach Bumming (Cancun Day 2)

February 10, 2015 By

Just tuning in? Be sure to first read Southwest Vacations: When Getting There is Half the Fun (Cancun Day 1).

When you have only three nights in Cancun with Southwest Vacations, you can either try to cram it all in or take it easy. We took one look at at the Moon Palace Golf & Spa resort’s staggering amount of activities and decreed we needed to spend an entire day at the resort doing nothing…and everything.

One of my favorite travel traditions is to go for an early-morning run upon arrival. There’s something untainted and magnificent about watching the sun wake up your new world and I was entranced by what I saw on property. From a curious field of sunflowers overlooking the ocean,

to a tranquil beach,

to a preview of the resort’s seven outdoors pools that are among the largest lagoon-style pools in Mexico.

Sand and Surf

Following a delicious buffet whereupon we discovered the best thing ever to happen to breakfast–sweetened condensed milk on pancakes and waffles–we hit the pools. We were among the first in line to test our surfing skills on the Flowrider where thousands of gallons of water create two lanes of endless waves. Eager beavers? More like we arrived early to avoid witnesses to our inevitable humiliation. We had a couple of options: We could bodyboard on the FlowRider or attempt the standup flow boards. As newbies, we opted for the former and after the initial fear of  dropping into the bowl,  we felt pure exhilaration as we rode the unbroken waves, carved turns and cut back and forth.

As it turns, face-plants are the norm there so we were in good company.

We settled onto the beach where we played volleyball, glided through the Caribbean waters in kayaks to watch the on-site Dolphin Discovery program, built sand castles and strolled the surf.

Conditions were cloudy yet still warm, likely scaring off the crowds. I settled back to read a book in the temperate weather while the kids played. 

I think some people call it relaxing. It was a first for me but won’t be my last.

The All-Inclusive Obsession

This was my children’s first all-inclusive resort experience and they whole-heartedly embraced it. I gave them some freedom but not as much as Hadley would have preferred. “Mom, I think you need to just let us explore. I mean, set boundaries, of course, but we’ve got it from here.”

By “here,” she meant bouncing between the pool, beach and the Sweets and Coffee shop where we downed about 20,000 calories of mini-cheesecakes (but who’s counting, we didn’t!)

We also became virgin Piña Colada and Miami Vice addicts (the drink, not the tacky 1980s show).

I knew we had a problem when we had to prematurely cut Bode off to rush to make a reservation. Our normally low-maintenance son lashed out, “This is the second time today I have been denied my pina colada.”

His reentry into the real world wasn’t pretty.

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 Tune in tomorrow for “Southwest Vacations: A Snorkeling Adventure Within a Misadventure (Cancun Day 3).”

 

 

 

Filed Under: Bode, Family travel, Hadley, Jamie, travel Tagged With:

Southwest Vacations: When Getting There is Half the Fun (Cancun Day 1)

February 8, 2015 By

Shortly before Christmas, I was perusing through my  spam folder when I happened upon an email entitled “Southwest Vacations – Mexico Vacation Opportunity.”

I don’t know about you but I’m regularly “winning” the lottery and dream vacations so I almost automatically deleted it but I’m so glad I didn’t.  The email explained that Southwest Vacations® recently launched service to Mexico and the Caribbean and they were wondering if my entire family would consider taking a trip from Denver (one of their top departure cities) to Cancun.

View from the Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort

Though I was obviously familiar with Southwest Airlines®, I had never heard of Southwest Vacations and a bit of research revealed they are directly affiliated with the affordable airline and offer complete vacation packages to Las Vegas, Disney World, Disneyland, Florida, California, New Orleans, Phoenix and other top US destinations.

Low-cost vacation packages that you do not have to plan yourself? Sign me up!

The process was embarrassingly easy, given the amount of research that usually goes into planning a trip and it was a comfort to know that all the services had already been vetted. At SouthwestVacations.com, I booked our direct flights, transfer information to-and-from the airport, hotel, excursions and paid my international taxes…all with a few simple clicks.

We surprised the kids with the news of our Cancun vacation on Christmas and they were thrilled. I usually spend the final weeks leading up to a major vacation stressing and planning but I literally had nothing to do because everything had already been confirmed. I started stressing over my lack of stress, which made me realize that maybe I have a problem with needing to feel stressed.

And then I got over it really quickly and decided for once, I would find out what it was like to have a stress-free Southwest Vacation.

The Flight

I checked our family into Southwest Airlines 24 hours before our flight to ensure an optimal boarding assignment. We have flown a number of times but have never had an international direct flight and it was a game-changer. Instead of wasting essentially two days to get there with our usual layovers, we gained an entire day to enjoy Cancun during our quick 3-night trip.

Say “yes” to Southwest’s direct flight from Denver to Cancun!

Our 3.5-hour flight went smoothly and upon arriving at the Cancun International Airport, we were greeted with a madhouse (apparently we weren’t the only ones who had opted for a long-weekend getaway during Martin Luther King Jr. Day). We eventually made it through Customs without a hitch…until we were randomly selected to have our bags searched. Seeing the wad of small bills for tips in my purse, the officer queried, “Ma’am, does this exceed $10,000?” I tried to stifle a laugh–it was like he totally knew me.

The instructions on our Southwest Vacations confirmation were to walk directly from Customs and not stop to talk to the multitude who was trying to sell timeshares. We quickly spotted our Lomas Travel representative and were mercifully whisked away in an air-conditioned shuttle.

The Resort

I had only been to Cancun once before on a brief stopover during a cruise and my first impression was not favorable. Though the Caribbean waters were undeniably beautiful, the hotel zone seemed like non-stop revelries and for a non-partier who craves outdoor adventure, I couldn’t figure out the allure.

When my family pulled up to the Moon Palace Golf & Spa Resort–a short drive from the airport but seemingly worlds away (40 minutes) from Cancun’s populous hotel zone–I caught a glimpse. A doting staff presented us with flowers, cool washcloths and we gratefully devoured a spread of snacks in the lobby during while singing, “I think I’m gonna like it here.”

Moon Palace is a sprawling all-inclusive resort, boasting 2,446 luxurious marble décor rooms and private balconies with three distinctive sections. We stayed at the more secluded and quiet Grand section, the expansive Sunrise is replete with activities and pools while the Nizuc section has exclusive concierge service with shuttles connecting them all. I love that despite the size (which seemed overwhelming at times), each area had its own personality and the cozy feel of the Grand perfectly suited us. We had one of their most basic rooms and it was anything but basic.

Our room’s private balcony overlooking the jungle

A double jacuzzi for one fully-clothed boy

A helpful concierge helped us narrow down their 13 restaurant choices and made us dinner reservations at the Brazillian steakhouse, Arrecifes. As we were walking the ocean-side path to dinner, we caught our first view of the water. My daughter begged, “The ocean is calling and I must go” (or something like unto it) but her killjoy parents’ stomachs were calling even louder so we forced dinner upon her. As she stuffed her face with delectable Bolinhos de arroz, acaraje, and empadinhas de palmito, we learned two things about the Moon Palace: 1) We were going to eat well and 2) We were going to eat a lot.

Following dinner, we hit the abandoned beach. Still in our dinner clothes, my husband and I initially cautioned them to merely walk in the sand. But of course, the kids needed to at least touch the water! And then you can’t expect them to merely wade! Before long, they were vacillating between being fully submerged and building sandcastles.

Jamie and I settled back on the beach and watched as the full moon burned down and Cancun glistened with silver lights like a galaxy of fallen stars.

Hadley looked at the horizon, that long line that cuts the world in two, and flung some sand toward it.

“Did you see that?” she squealed as she launched another handful. When it hit the dark ocean, the moon’s reflection lit up each grain of sand like a bioluminescent bay, a befitting touch of lunar magic in the hauntingly beautiful Moon Palace.

Just when we thought our trip to Southwest Vacations couldn’t get any better, it did just that.

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Stay tuned for tomorrow for Southwest Vacations: The Flowrider’s Hilarity and Beach Bumming (Cancun Day 2).

 

Filed Under: Bode, Family, Family travel, Favorite Posts, Hadley, Humor, Jamie, travel Tagged With: ,

A few (good and bad) happenings

February 4, 2015 By

We’ve been home from Mexico for two weeks and I’ve decided I’d really like to go back and sip virgin Miami Vices all day. I felt crummy and sore all last week and realized I have zero creative juices when I don’t feel well. Happily, I turned the corner on Saturday and was able to crank out really fun articles about our experience that I’ll post next week!

The Bad

  • Mom is the hospital. Again. So much to be said about this but truly, there are no words about the amount of suffering she has endured since she was first diagnosed with MS 25 years ago. I’m really grateful for an opportunity with Travel Alberta to combine a ski trip to Banff in March with visiting her in Calgary. Our annual July visit seemed just too far away.
  • I’ve hinted at frustrations with Hadley’s teacher and school administration since the governing council ousted the previous principal last summer. I had open enrolled her at another school but I’ve been doubting my decision-making lately so have been praying like crazy that whatever the answer, it would be glaringly obvious. I thought all the signs were pointing to switching schools as her friends’ parents have been un-enrolling their kids like crazy. But I just called the new school and she’s #22 on the wait list–it would take a miracle for her to be accepted. So, that leaves us with a lot of stress as we try to work out a resolution with the governing council and the clueless interim principal in a charter school that we had loved before this disastrous year.

The Good

Thankfully, there’s more good than bad but unfortunately, the bad just happens to be really bad. Here are a few of our silver linings:

  • I received a story assignment from The Broadmoor Magazine so we’re going to The Broadmooor a.k.a. one of my favorite places on earth for our 12th wedding anniversary. Glorious brunch buffet: you’re all mostly mine (carb-addict Hadley never makes it past the bread/pastries table).
  • Bode and Jamie worked hard on building a car for Bode’s first Pinewood Derby. He won some heats, came in second and third in others, and won “Best in Show” (whatever that means) but overall, we deemed it a success! I mean, there was pizza–how can you go wrong?

The cheerleaders

  • Denver’s weather has been schizophrenic. It is snowing today and the forecast for the rest of the week is for 65+ degrees. I’m fine so long as there is some snow in the mix.

    Last week’s Junior Ranger hot dog roast and hike at Lookout Mountain

  • We bought the kids archery sets for Christmas and they have LOVED using them. Hadley, in particular has an aptitude for archery and I’ve asked my friend Debbie to give them some professional tips. In the interim, they’re having fun figuring it all out. Mostly.

On her first day using her new bow, Hadley raced inside to find me.

“Slight problem, Mom…but don’t worry, we didn’t kill anything.”

It’s all a matter of perspective.

Filed Under: Bode, Hadley Tagged With:

Ying and Yang Do Homework

January 27, 2015 By

One of my recent Facebook posts:

“Fact: I hate homework and school waaaay more now than I ever did as a kid.”

True story and we’re not even at the really tough school years yet. My personal opinion is it’s ridiculous to force a kid to sit through seven hours of school, only to require them to do several more when they get home. What happened to kids being kids?

I’d be an advocate for unschooling if I wasn’t so darn freaked out they’d end up illiterate and would limit my kids’ options for college and beyond.

Homeschooling is out of the question. I’m barely surviving an hour of homework.

And so here we are enduring the endless, uninspired barrage of worksheets.

Hadley does everything she can to procrastinate them as long as possible and I can hardly blame her for avoiding such drudgery.

But Bode is wired differently and tries to get them out of the way ASAP. He wisely sees them as a means to an end and that end is a glorious world where he has no homework.

Halfway through a recent session, I brought out some popcorn. The three of us took a 10 minute break to stuff our faces. Hadley was hoping I’d forget about the “H” word and took her sweet time.

Bode, on the other hand, pulled me aside and whispered, “You need to take the popcorn away. It is keeping us from staying on task.”

At least someone is here to whip the rest of us into shape.

 

 

Filed Under: Bode, Hadley, Humor

Who has it better or worse?

January 20, 2015 By

One morning, we were all snuggling in bed. After Jamie left, Hadley assumed his position and announced “I am Dad!” After a funny role play, I ask the kids, in all seriousness, which was better: being a boy or a girl?

My kids make me laugh every single day. Their responses were a cut out of our family life.

Hadley: “Being a girl is SO. MUCH. BETTER.”

Bode: “Oh yeah, well you have to give birth.”

Hadley: “Oh yeah, well you have to work on the computer all day while I go have adventures with the children.”

Bode: “If I didn’t work you wouldn’t have a house over your head.”

Filed Under: Bode, Hadley, Humor

Holiday Happenings: In Pictures

January 14, 2015 By

I know we’re well into January but I realized I barely touched upon the holidays. I had my doubts about staying in Denver but we ended up having the perfect mix of playtime and downtime. Here are a few of my favorite things:

The kids’ piano recital. Hadley played “Away in a Manger” while Bode Rocked around the Christmas Tree. As usual, Hadley made me pray for a Christmas miracle because she could barely make it through the song during practice but it finally clicked a few days prior and they both did great!

My solo afterward was the hallelujah shout.

Our ward party is always a blast filled with awesome friends, delicious food, Santa and a live band that featured…Elvis?

Who says Mormons don’t know how to party?!!!!

One night, we opted to watch The Hobbit downtown so we could see the Christmas lights and stroll through the charming Denver Christkindl Market.

Christkindl Photobomb!

I thought the STIHL-sponsored photobooth with the chainsaw cutting off Bode’s head was a particularly nice touch.

We also discovered quite possibly the best present ever: The “NO” pen. Click the link below for our quick video to watch my demonstration.

IMG_5111

It has since gone missing. I suspect The Children may have had something to do with it.

I had a blast appearing on 9News’ ugly sweater segment.

And an even bigger blast when about 50 friends showed up for our sledding party!

On another day, we skated Evergreen Lake, followed by Country Road Cafe.

We did a lot of baking and played a lot of games…

Making cinnamon rolls

…in our PJs.

We made a point to do some service and volunteered at the Santa House to distribute gifts to low-income kiddos. My good friend Sam was about 45 weeks pregnant so we invited her three young kids over for the afternoon for “Elf Camp” with games and snacks. Hadley and her friend Alex were the entertainment committee and they did marvelously…until it came time to change Zoe’s diaper. It would appear we have some work to do before they’re ready to start babysitting.

Though New Year’s Eve day was a bust with our ski trip,we had a fun New Year’s Eve ringing in 2015 with our friends, the Carrolls.

Though they may not say the same thing.

I’ll likely be banned from bringing silly string in the future.

On New Year’s Day, we were invited over to the Huntleys for a PJ/Ebelskiver party!
We didn’t even bother getting dressed for our fondue dinner that night. Things got a bit blurry…


Because of this wild ‘n crazy Martinelli’s kid.

But nothing says Welcome to 2015 quite like lazy gluttony.

It’s gonna be a good year.

Filed Under: Bode, Hadley, holidays, Humor

When the children become the mother

January 8, 2015 By

Sometimes I really wonder if I’m getting through to my kids. Will they remember to say please and thank you? Are they learning to work hard? Are they grateful?

In the past couple of weeks, I’ve seen visions of myself through my children.

I am anti-procrastination and if there’s a project, I get it done right away so it’s not hanging over my head. When I do laundry, I do everything–washing, drying, folding, putting away–on the same day. I try to respond to emails within an hour of receiving them (you people who rarely check their inbox drive. Me. Nuts). And when I have a writing project, I always finish well before the deadline.

Bode had a project at school that was due mid-December. In essence, they were creating a mini-marketplace where they had to create at least 15 items to buy and sell with fake money. His teacher notified us a few weeks ago but in a rare move, I put it on the backburner because I assumed she would mention it again before the due date. She didn’t and I forgot about it.

So, Bode came home from school freaking out, “My project is due tomorrow, we have to get it done!”

He decided to make little monster page corner bookmarks like these. Fortunately, the only crafty one in the family was home sick from school that day so Hadley valiantly volunteered to cut out the paper triangles and once Bode got home from school, he could tape everything together and draw faces on them. The problem was she wasn’t feeling well (remember the sick thing?) so after about an hour, she brought them into the office for me to finish.

Here’s the thing the kids don’t understand about parents who work from home: we actually work. I was in the middle of finalizing some projects so told her I’d try to finish them off but never got to them. So Bode arrived home, finished his homework and after dinner I announced we’d start on the project. I began cutting out the triangles but we were way behind and Hadley let me know it. Over and over and over again.

“Well, if MOM did what I asked her to we wouldn’t be in this situation.”

“Don’t ask me what MOM was doing all day. I told her to take of this.”

It was like she was looking through a magnifying glass and seeing my life with them every single day.

The roles were reserved the week before that. Hadley had her final volleyball game while Bode and I had Cub Scouts. We arrived home about 20 minutes earlier so I had Bode help me with a quick dinner. He grilled the sandwiches, warmed the ravioli and apparently it was a lot of work . Because the moment Hadley and Jamie walked in the door, he exasperatingly announced:

“I’ve been cooking for you people and the least you can do is set the table.”

They’re gonna be the best moms ever.

Filed Under: Bode, Hadley, Humor

A sledding party!

December 31, 2014 By

On Christmas, we received a glorious dump of snow. That night, I emailed a bunch of friends from church to see who wanted to go sledding the next day and almost all of them came–40+ people. Chalk that up to how you know you have the coolest friends ever!

My friend Eva suggested we sled at the hill behind her school, which was perfect because we had it entirely to ourselves.  I brought hot chocolate to warm everyone up and we played for hours.

Bode photobombing the Phillips

Snowman photobomb

Sledding train!

The lowlight: Some of the dads were egging me on to tube down the hill at warp speeds. It was early in the day so the fluffy snow was not yet compacted. I took a running leap onto the tube, it completely stuck to the snow while I flew forward, face-planting in the powder. Jon took a picture and after years to exploiting everyone else’s humiliations, I totally deserved it.

The highlight: Earlier that day when I crawled up the ladder in our garage to retrieve our sled from the overhead storage, I asked Bode if he’d catch me if I fell.

“No way, Mom. You weigh like 100 pounds!”

Filed Under: Bode, Colorado, Hadley, Humor, LDS, outdoors
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