Happy, Happy, Birthday Jaden Dear!!!!

Happy Birthday to my favorite 5 year old! He's so special that we had to do lots of celebrating.

Yesterday we did his cake with family and we gave him his new BIKE!!!! His old one was getting small & we wanted him to have a bigger bike in his favorite color. He was so excited & I was too....it will make it much easier for him to keep up with me on bike rides and I can barely pull him in the bike trailer anymore (my legs burn like crazy).

Today, his actual birthday, we had a bunch of little friends over to celebrate and it was a PERFECT day! Lots of swimming, games, a pinata, endless sno cones (some kids ate like 6, sorry moms) and lots of running made for a really fun party. Once Jaden opened his presents he was ready for everyone to go home so he could play with them but we reminded him that he had to wait until everyone went home. He's officially played with every single one...and he got alot!

We love you buddy! You are such a smart boy & you test my knowledge daily. I know you have any amazing future ahead of you & I'm grateful I get to be your mom as your enjoying it:)

Bribery

Jaden hates riding in the car. He whines about it & it can make for a very frustrating ride.

Unfortunately I've been doing a few dealership things this week that has required some driving. It makes me feel better as a mom if I'm including my children in my efforts then leaving them with a babysitter BUT today after another trip to Pocatello (took one late last night) Chris & I were feeling a little guilty. That's where bribery came in. We told Jaden that we'd go to Ross Park & go to his favorite McDonalds ever. They have a free basketball game that he loves!

As we were driving Chris & I were discussing the hope that the boys will reflect back on these experiences with fond memories. The dreamer in me conjured up an image of a dealership worths millions & the boys sharing memories of when there mom & dad were just starting (and making mistakes, but hopefully they don't remember that.)

So, I think we were forgiven for taking them on another road trip....at least their smiles say so. And the lazy river....loved it! It was relaxing! I think I'm a little lazy for wanting to stay there the whole time.

On the way home Chris & I were discussing another business venture we may be part of & we laughed about the massive amount of research we were going to need to do & the places we'd have to travel to get it. These places too would put a BIG smile on our boys faces...if they can get over the time that it takes to get there:)

Thank you Grandma Murphy!

Today Jaden got a package in the mail. He ran to the door & asked "who is it for"? When I had him read the label he was very excited.

After he opened the package I asked him who it was from. He said "I bet it's from Grandma Murphy".

Jaden celebrates his 5th birthday on Monday & is soooo excited to have the addition of this rocket at his Birthday Party. If you recall he fell in love with a similar rocket when we visited Washington.

He had to invite some friends over to celebrate his new present! Here's some pictures for your enjoyment!

for daddy!

I think that Chris is missing the boys a lot...and of course he's missing me a ton too:):):) Today he called several times asking us what we were doing....after several times of him asking if I was taking pictures I asked him if wanted me to post pictures:) I think he's my biggest blog fan!

So here's some of our fun today!

I had to head to Blackfoot to pick up a car at Auction & my friend Jenn came to bring back a car...thanks so much! We decided if we were going to drag the kids to blackfoot that we better make it fun so we took them to blackfoot lake. I thought the chilly breeze would keep them out of the water but they loved it! It took some bribery to get them to leave.

Yesterday I took the kids to tautphaus park & Jaden saw that they had the rides going. I told him we'd go sometime...I didn't realize that sometime better be soon or else he'd keep asking. So this afternoon I took them for some fun on the rides. Landon was so brave to go on them himself. It's so fun to watch them be independent, pay their tickets, & pick their ride...I just LOVE them!

Happy Fathers Day!!!!

Soon we are off to celebrate fathers day at my parents....good food, good company, & most of all, great family time with those we love!

I'm not good with mushy posts so I probably won't go there but wanted to thank my dad & Chris for being the great fathers that they are! We love you!

Shopping for these types of holidays isn't easy. For about 3 months Jaden has been rewarded with money from grandpa for good behavior! I decided that he may be in need of some additional cash flow with Jaden's good behavior (he...he) so here is the end result!

The boys got Chris some of his favorite items too! They don't really get these holidays yet....I'm sure next fathers day they'll wisk you away on a fun boys trip & be on perfect behavior:):):)

Guess where I am???

Can you guess???

In a spa suite celebrating mine & Chris's anniversary. For scheduling reasons we couldn't find a time to get away for our anniversary so I joined Chris in Twin for the night...he's working right now so I have a couple hours of pure relaxation without little ones needing something.

Last night for dinner we planned to go to a really nice restaurant but first wanted to get "burnt lemonade" at this cute little restuarant/fast food place. The food smelled so good we decided to use my fast food point & eat there....it was good, greasy BUT good! Not the best picture of us but the only one we got:)

Thanks mom for watching my little ones! We had a much needed getaway!

What motivates you????

Motivation is an interesting thing.....

Jaden finished preschool a week ago & I wanted him to have a week off before I put him on a structured summer schedule. I wanted him to have responsibilities & continue to work on reading...my goal is that he can read before he starts kindergarten....he's really close.

Last night as he went to bed I laid down with him & showed him his chart of things to complete every day. For each item he completed he'd get a point & each point would give him a certain amount of computer time.

Jaden LOVES computer time....too much! It's actually a battle to get him off!

Yesterday I couldn't talk. I've been losing my voice. I haven't been sick so it's been a little bazaar. I decided...maybe it's allergies so I took some allergy medicine yesterday that made me really sleepy!

This morning....Jaden is up before 7 am, runs to my room, I can hardly move & he announces he's going to clean the toy room. I should mention that he does a really good job! Then run & makes his bed, then runs outside to clean the backyard only to run back in telling me it's too cold. That was ok with me since I'm wanting him to slow down.

Long story, short, computer time is in the afternoon at our home. I like it to be the quiet time during that day & something Jaden looks forward too! Since I had a lot to get done this morning & head over to my sister-in-laws to help her move in (yay...they are here), I didn't have time to sit down with Jaden to work on reading so we came in the middle, he could play on the computer but only hooked on phonics until we needed to go.

Tonight I debate, allergy medicine or not? My voice is a little better so I think it's helping! If Jaden is as motivated as today I'm not sure I'll be able to keep up with allergy medicine in my system:):):)