Celebration

Ryker turned 13 on Friday.

Burke turns 55 tomorrow.

We've been doing some celebrating!

Hudson came over Thursday for some Papa and Gigi time.

This boy is just so fun.

He helped Papa get the bird food ready.

He helped Papa do some laundry.

He helped Papa do some dishes.

He talked about a whole lot.

He's so fun!

That night, we went to Tepanyaki for dinner.

It was Ryker's choice.

He nailed it.

Yummy food!

The boys ate up!

They even got sung to by the entire restaurant!

Sunday, the entire family came over.

We did our family dinner for the month mixed with celebrating!

Notes:

Aria and Kehlani are bestest cousins.

They love being together and it's the cutest.

Delilah and Hendrix get along SO good!

The sharing thing is rough for the four youngest grand babies (they're one and two).

But they are so fun to watch.

The grownups played card games.

The grand babies did whatever they wanted!

These pictures were taken right before Melanie Rose colored ALL OVER herself and the couch with marker.

It was pure magic!

KFC for the win!

RiRi made a delicious cake.

She's so great at that!

I love my family so big!

 

Ryker Is 13!

Do you believe that 13 is an unlucky number?

I don't think I believe any of that stuff, but I SWEAR that every time I've had a child who is 13 it's been a hard age.

It's the first year of junior high.

Maybe that's it.

Ryker started 7th grade this school year.

Voices change (I've only ever had boys), smells change, they grow like a LOT of inches taller...

Girls are either great or they suck.

There's a lot going on with 13 year-old boys.

And, Ryker is 13 today.

He is still a baseball lover, football lover, phone lover, video game lover, friend lover...

He still likes tolerates his parents.

But he isn't as cuddly and cute as he was a year ago!!!!

He still has the same group of good friends, thank goodness.

He is taller than me now. Shocking.

He still rolls his eyes at us when we ask if he has homework. Not impressed.

He still climbs in bed with me, but it's with his phone now. Lame.

He still can't seem to get his laundry INto the clothes hamper. Typical.

But, man, do we love him.

He's our last one to ever be turning 13... that's lucky, right??

 

Nights

When we got home from Mexico, I decided that I need to actively work on being more present.

I tend to look forward to big events: trips to Mexico, family dinners, etc.

I realized that I was living for future events.

I don't want to do that anymore!

I believe I can find joy in my every single day.

I am taking baby steps.

I work nine hours a day outside of my home, I have a home to take care of, a family to continue raising, etc.

But my first baby step is this:

When I get home from work, I change into my comfy clothes, grab my book, go out in my backyard and read two chapters.

Currently, I am doing so whilst elevating and icing my knee (no clue what happened but it is not well).

Only after I read a couple of chapters in the sunshine and fresh air do I then get dinner ready, load or unload the dishwasher, start laundry, vacuum and mop... you know, the regular!

 

Birthday Breakfast

We came home to a couple of sickies.

Ryker stayed home from school Friday.

I had so much to do that I was in and out, but when I got home from a Sam's Club run, he was OUT.

We started him on antibiotics Saturday morning.

Cooper was just getting over whatever it is.

Saturday morning, I took my mom to breakfast to celebrate her 70th birthday (Sunday).

I'm really enjoying our monthly dates.

We love Jim's Restaurant in Sandy.

We are able to visit and eat yummy food.

It's perfect.

We brought her back a bottle of vanilla.

There is something different about the Mexican vanilla.

It's amazzzzzing.

We also brought her a porcelain turtle to add to her collection.

Sunday, I had my first workout in over a week.

My watch continued to tell me that I wasn't exercising while we were in Mexico.

NO KIDDING, Watch! Mama is on vacation!!

It was good to move my body again... besides walking on a beach and floating in the pool!

Ryker was still not feeling great Sunday night.

We had four tickets to the Mammoth game and dinner.

I had Burke ask Bubba and Suzanne if they wanted to go with he and Cooper.

They had a blast.

We love the Mammoth games!

 

Day 5 & 6 - PV

Wednesday, we walked to the outdoor mall we visit everyday.

My favorite part is the turtle ponds.

We also grab souvenirs and antibiotics for the year.

Then we went back for pool time.

The rest of the day, much like the entire trip, was spent relaxing.

 

Day six was a travel day.

We got home to some sick kids.

A messy house.

No groceries and mountains of dirty clothes.

A full heart and rested spirit.

Until next year, PV❤️

Day Four - PV

Tuesday was spa day.

Gorgeous.

Relaxing.

Bonding.

We love doing this every year.

Pool time.

Asian food.

Watched the baseball classic final.

Perfect.