Mom's Night Off

I'd been having a pretty crazy month and for some reason it all seemed to catch up with me at once. Even Jason saw that something had to give and that's saying a lot since guys are not typically known for their ability to read a woman's emotional status. In fact, it was him that suggested that I take a night off. So he booked a hotel room at the Red Lion Hotel next to the river on priceline.com last Thursday night since he had Friday off. So Thursday, he got home at around 5:30 pm and I was off duty. I drove over to the hotel to check in and I was given a room in a little building next to the tower that wraps around the outdoor pool. I was on the 2nd floor and there was no elevator to get up there so I assume that the 2nd floor is not "all access" friendly. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big advocate of taking the stairs when I can but the point was that I didn't even get a choice. Oh well, not a big deal. So I finally found the stairs and then my room. My door and window were facing the oh so gorgeous roof of the hotel restaurant. I figured, "What could I really expect getting the cheapest room we could off of priceline?" But I was determined to have a good time anyway. After all, I was still off duty and that was the point of the whole thing. I walked in the room and the shades were drawn so I couldn't see much of anything but I was instantly overcome by the smell. Now this wasn't your typical musty hotel smell, this was a the-first-thought-that-comes-to-mind-was-I've-got-to-get-a-window-open-asap smell. It smelled a lot like cigarette smoke, but I had called the hotel previously to ensure a non-smoking room and they informed me that it was a non-smoking facility. So I second guessed myself until I went over to the nightstand and turned on a lamp and saw an ashtray sitting there with residual soot in it. Ok, so there was a time in my life that I would have just sucked it up and not said anything in the name of not bothering anyone, but that ship has sailed. (That can be good or bad....depending on the situation, I suppose) I called up the front desk and informed them of the incriminating evidence and smell. They told me that they were "so sorry and that we will see about getting a new room." Well, I ended up being upgraded to the top floor of the tower in one of their deluxe rooms. Not what I was looking for, but hey, I wasn't going to refuse it. I find my new room (and yes, this time there were elevators...and I took one because I wasn't going to climb up 8 floors of stairs) and open the door and wah-laa.....beautiful! I couldn't stop the huge grin that was creeping across my entire face. The room had two queen size beds (not that I could use both of them, but it was cool nonetheless) and a balcony, a flat screen TV, a microwave and fridge, and granite counter tops in the bathrooms. Nice. Not to mention that the shampoo, conditioner and soaps were yummy smelly ones from Bath & Body Works. Bada bang I hit the mother load and I didn't even have to try! I must admit that for the first little while I had to keep chasing away the thought that they might change their minds and kick me out of that room and put me back in the other one claiming that perhaps it didn't stink that bad and I was just being picky. (For the record, it did stink that bad.) Once I got over that I used an entire bed to plop all my stuff on and then headed out to Wendy's for a Mandarin Chicken Salad, which was really good, I'd recommend it, without having to harp on two kids to stop dinking around and start eating. I'm sure I might have looked kind of peculiar sitting there by myself. I must admit, it felt slightly peculiar, but I rather enjoyed it. I didn't have to talk to anyone. I got to listen to conversations around me. One older couple, in particular, was quite entertaining and I even chuckled out loud a couple of times. As I went to leave, sadly, one of them tipped their drink over and it spilled all over the lady. Sad but perversely funny. Anyway....

I then took a nice leisurely walk on the greenbelt. Once again, not having to holler at kids to "Get back over here!" or "Don't pick up the goose poop!" I walked down by the Shilo Inn and started back just as I realized the sun was about to set, so I picked up the pace a bit and got up to my room and rolled a chair from the desk in there onto the balcony just in time to watch the sunset. Aaahh, this is living! After the sun sunk below where I could see it, I called Chili's and ordered a Molten Chocolate Cake for take out to pick up later. So I got on my swimming suit and headed down to relax in the big whirlpool. And as luck would have it, I was the only one in there, so I got a cold cup of water and even got to turn the lights off so I didn't feel like I was in a fish bowl. It was really nice. After that, I picked up my dessert and went back upstairs to succumb to chocolate bliss and late night TV. I had to get a little creative to warm up the molten cake since I didn't have a plate handy and they give it to you cold. But it's all good.

My Most Favorite Dessert:
Chocolate Molten Cake from Chili's

I got to sleep in until 8:30 and could leisurely get out of bed at my own pace. I got to eat breakfast without any shrieking or crying and I got to go exercise without any emergency breaking up of fights because Andrew was standing in front of the TV and Kate couldn't see the cartoons so she decided to tackle him. Yeah, none of that. I then got to take a shower without anyone banging on the door. I ate a little snack in front of the end of the movie What Lies Beneath and then I packed up and drove back into real life.

Now, don't get me wrong...I love my kids and my husband. I would actually probably start to miss the chaos and noise of my kids if it went away all together, but it was so, so, so, so, so, so, so nice to get a break. I know that I am so blessed and I really am so very thankful for a wonderful husband that is willing to let me have a night off to myself. What a sweetheart.

As I was leaving Thursday night to go to the hotel, Kate was whining that she wanted to go to and that she didn't want me to leave her. Jason summed it up pretty well for her. He said, "Mommy has to go and have some time to herself so she can be a better, happier mommy." Kate was ok with that explanation and she should have been because that is the total honest truth of it.

This building is to the north of the tower
My original room was in the closer circular part
right up against the back of the restaurant...lovely :)

Good Ol' Times

Memory Lane...I got this from a friend's blog. I thought it would be fun! I hope you will play along. Here are the directions:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses.

A Week in Park City

My mom had this time share thing in Park City this year and we went down there for a week. Everyone else in my family showed up Saturday and we didn't get there until Monday, thus the 3 bedrooms were taken and we got to sleep in the loft on a hide-a-bed. Not the most comfortable of things to sleep on. Luckily, that was pretty much the worst part of the whole thing. We got to go mountain biking, hiking, swimming, firework watching, parade watching (which, by the way, was like an Aberdeen parade only with exponentially more people to deal with and longer to sit through), golfing (for Jason...twice), Alpine sliding, Olympic Park visiting & shopping. All in all it was a pretty successful trip. There were a few bumpy moments (as there always are at prolonged family gatherings), but they thankfully worked themselves out and we all left actually still being friends. :)

Now, let me expound on some of the activities. Jase & I went mountain biking with Brit and Dan. We were able to leave the kids back at the condo with my mom and Heather given that the younger ones were down for naps. We took the gondola up the mountain with the bikes, so thankfully we didn't have to ride all the way up the mountain. We did, however, have a bit of a climb up to the gondola and that was tiring enough. On the mountain, the trail was beautiful. But it was pretty challenging...mostly level with relatively small ups and downs except for some nasty switch backs. It was really nice to get out and do an activity with adults and no kids. I, of course, forgot to bring the camera, so I didn't get a picture of this really pretty waterfall that went under a bridge on the trail...that's where we decided to turn around and head back. The water was super cold. I'd sit next to it and could just feel the cool air wafting toward me, which was very nice given I was really hot. We were all really sweaty and dirty when we got back, but this small trek has reawakened the desire in me to do that more. I realized just how much I miss that long trek I took with Joe before I was married to White rim for 4 days and 100 miles. I love the feel of being out on a bike...which is a bit faster than hiking and it doesn't kill your knees to go down hill. Jason & I would like to invest in some nicer, lighter, bikes in the future when we are able to go more often. Too bad there aren't any mountains really close here to ride on. But, I suppose, Island Park isn't too far away.

On the 3rd, the condos we were in did their own firework show and concert. Tons of people were flocking in and luckily for us, we could just stay put. We were getting back from the hike with the kids as things were filling up and took the people mover down. Our condo was too far back down the mountain to actually hear the concert, but I was able to watch the fireworks from the big hot tub. That was pretty sweet. Plus, I didn't have to fight the crowds afterwards, I just took the elevator to our room, showered and climbed into bed. The vacation was really fun, but, I must admit, I was certainly glad to come home and sleep in my own bed.

Andrew holding the Olympic Torch

Kate on the gondola

Andrew playing dress-up with the girls
(Jason's going to just love that I posted this one!)