Vacation?

(Not complaining..)

 

One of the perks of being married to the GM of a new hotel is that time, especially time spent relaxing, is non-existent.

(Especially at hours when people should typically be sleeping.)

Vacations are an extinct species around these parts.

We so need one!

(Again, not complaining.)

Merrill has planned for time off, but it has never actually happened, yet.

(Crossing my fingers, toes, and eyes.)

He has been the lucky guy to fill in for midnight shifts (after working a whole day’s worth) for people who get sick, or who just don’t show up, only to turn around and work the following shift as well.

Glamorous, I know.

(Not whining.)

This last Friday, he planned to take off, ya know, so WE could have fun.  Guess what?  Yup.  He had to work it.

(Not grumpy about it.)

So he plotted  to take a couple of days off this week.

Sunday he got to work one of those fabulous midnight shifts because someone quit a half hour before their scheduled shift, and he enjoyed (?) sleeping most of the day away on Sunday.

(Church by myself wasn’t so bad..)

So we thought that nothing would get in the way of our day off on Monday.

But then something did.

And he had to (like REALLY had to) spend half the day Monday catching up on more sleep.

(I am really not complaining.  I promise.)

We still managed to have fun, while it was not the fun we planned, it was still fun.  We were together after all..

It would just be nice to actually have some real time off to really play and do what we planned to do this summer.

(Just sayin’…)

Weekend in review..

Some of the more notable happenings of our weekend:

- Levi turned 3.

- Hallie turned 12, and made us feel our age.

- The hotel turned 1!!

- We had an actual date. (Post to come.)

- We submitted (yet again) to daylight savings time..  how have Hawaii and Arizona not fallen apart all these years without messing with their clocks?  (In other words: what a pain!)

- Taught my lesson a week early and it went so well!  There was great discussion and no tears (that fell anyway) from my eyes.  That is a rarity as I weep over just about everything!

- Enjoyed our Sunday together as a family, all snuggled in our bed eating snacks and watching movies and our weekly Simpson’s (of course), which left me with Cheez-It crumbs in my side of the bed.

Goodbye 2009...

We spent our New Year's Eve partying it up with Merrill's family.
Merrill, Brooke and I were rockstars playing Rockband..  I won't begin to share our scores, they might make you feel badly next time you play and score less than our average 93%...  Merrill was our guitarist, Brooke was awesome on drums, and I..  I saaaanggggg!
It was a lot of fun..  we even debuted as a family gig, Merrill and the girls and I, but sadly I have no pictorial proof of our awesomeness.
We ate too much yummy food, although I could have eaten more crab legs now that I think about it...
Merrill put himself to work the 12-8 shift so his employees could party it up in their own realms..  so we spent the night at the hotel.
We were hoping to swim, but due to our encore ;), when we got to the hotel, it was a tad too late.
So we goofed off a bit in the room..

Some silliness..

Lynnie, Peyton, me, Ashley, and Sparkle Belle Beauty Snowflake Gracie Sally

(The doll's name changes everyday..  at least.)

Pretending to sleep.

Throwing up silly signs..

And Peyton took note of all the happenings..

We slept incredibly..  so incredibly, that we missed breakfast, but thanks to the awesome general manager there, we were able to get some cereal and juice.
While Merrill slept a little in that awesome bed, the kids and I went and swam for a bit.  I sat in the hot tub, trying to get my shoulders to feel better after shoveling that snow the other day..  I tell you, it was tough work!

Musical dates..

While packing, taking care of the everyday, and dreaming, we have also been on a carousel with our closing date.
At first, as stated in our contract, it was the 22nd. Due to a surgery, it got bumped to the 24th.
Then we had to sign that we were okay with the 24th, but that addendum stated the 25th or sooner..
OR..
That one word kills me.
So we have been living in our cardboard box jungle, waiting for solid word, hoping it is the 24th.
Then there is today..
Elbow deep in the cardboard mayhem, I get a call from a title company.
Being nosy, I ask how soon this will all be signed on, and they say...
"Early next week."
EARLY NEXT WEEK!?!?!
Ask anyone present, I was calm, polite, I didn't even say a thing..
I called their agent though.
It was all a misunderstanding, it wasn't even the title company we are closing through for our new house, aka the one I care about.
I am hosting a baby shower next Tuesday.. time is of the essence!!
On top of all of that, Merrill got his 24 hour notice today that his RSM (Regional Service Manager also known as the guy to make things PERFECT FOR OR ELSE..) would be coming TONIGHT.
Seriously?
We also had my cousin's wedding dinner tonight..
Until Lynn got sick.
And I had to take her to the doctor.
So fun.
But life s good, and soon we'll be THERE!! :)

Open House fun..

** DISCLAIMER!!! ALL PHOTO CREDIT GOES TO JACLYN.. I neglected to bring my own camera.. then went and got it, and left it in my purse the rest of the day :) So.. THANK YOU JACLYN!!!!***

Such a long day yesterday, but thanks to Diet Coke, lots of cookies, Tylenol (extra strength), my Vitamin B12 super complex, a Monster energy drink, good company, and many, many laughs.. I made it!
It was fun spending a whole day with Merrill at work, socializing, and giving tours (and did I mention eating cookies.. lots of cookies.). I even got my own snazzy name tag..I didn't want to look like the uber-friendly traveler that just happened to be staying there, greeting everyone and offering tours..
I think I should have done a bed-making demo.. or maybe a towel folding seminar.. ;)
I would have needed additional expert help... (you know who you are..)

There was a ribbon-cutting ceremony with The Chamber of Commerce..MiKell and her gi-hugant scissors..

Dixon and the Mayor of Uintah..

Kitty and our little certificate that I now get to hang :)

..then a dinner (mmmm.. catered by Sandy's) after the open house. I met many, many people. Each would look at my name tag and ask what my "job" was..
"I am the general manager's wife."
The simple sentence that in not too many words says: I wash his shirts, iron when they need it (Downy wrinkle release is AWESOME!!), go to the dry cleaners (the girls at Hoffman's and I are getting pretty tight.), make sure his house is cleaned, ensure the children are happy, and he has a meal on the table at the end of the day.. not to mention errands :D
No, really, I love it!!
I did not make a cake.. Sam's donated one.. and I cannot in any way compete with their whipped frosting, you know, that whipped-creamy kind.. yummm.. Jaclyn and I fought over the corner pieces until we realized there were two corners with frosting balloons (a.k.a. a couple slices of heaven).Jaclyn took some random photos... check me out.. that is my tongue sticking out.. Merrill is all serious-like.
Then Merrill realized something was up.. I thought it was funny, so did Gene (my new best friend who was across from us watching it all.. chuckling.).
Isn't he great?
Kaitlyn who is the best sandwich maker,who also happens to have an awesome and very current food handler's permit :) We enjoyed watching her little Lakette legs allll day long.. and we whistled at her to keep the morale high.
The focus of this pic is supposed to be me and my new BF Gene.. he's one of the Suits from Best Western. A real affable fellow. But there's David behind the front desk.. he's the one that Ashley thinks I am going to marry one day.. remember this post?
And here's "George", the buffalo. When George was "hung", Ashley asked: "Where's him butt and legs?"
We told her they were in a guest room somewhere on the second floor :D
My feet (being on them all day in heels) and hands (helloooo.. I washed I dunno how many dishes...) are recovering nicely..
(Thanks to my pals who came to see me! :D)

Come on down!!

Consider this your invite, if you didn't get one, or don't take the paper...

P.S.

Merrill says I am "brilliant" for not picking up on the stay at the hotel idea... "Where were you on that one Min?.."
In other news..
At 4 pm, Merrill wasn't here, but the rain was :)
The rain was still here when he arrived at 4:45.
After dinner, when the rain was gone, he changed and climbed on top of the roof..
There were no indoor rainstorms or sprinklers going off..
We will be cool tonight, and not need the hotel.
Blessings. I'll take all I can get!

Humor..

Some little girl drama/humor today..
We were driving home from picking up little Lynnie-Lou when Ashley starts to panic..
"Mom!! Boogers are sliding out of my nose!!"
That is Ashley speak for "I have a runny nose".
I calmly tell her that we'll be home in just a minute to chill out. Just as I finish that sentence, Lynn yells: "IT'S NOT BOOGERS!!!! IT"S BLOOD!!!! ASHLEY IS DYING!!!!!"
Sure enough, when I turn to look, it's blood. Not just a smear, but a steady stream, and a steady drip as it runs over her top lip.
I sped up.
She began panicking the rest of our way, "Am I really dying mom?"
Girls.. :D
In other news, we are online!!

So Much to Say....

So I will try to start where I left off.. not blogging daily (or multiple times a day..) is hard!! My fingers are out of practice when it comes to typing, and I am misspelling a lot..
Life has been quite busy, and it has definitely taken a toll on us.. we are trying to recover.. Peyton has trouble sleeping alone, Ashley is, well, Ashley.. and Lynnie-lou isn't feeling well and sleeping a lot.
I began to tear apart my craft room last week, thinking it would be quick.. not so. I have many things to get to many people, and I would, if I could find them in the mess that lies therein.. it is cute and will post pics when it is all the way completed.
Diamonds in the color of fudge (which make me very hungry by the way..) do exist on this wall now.
It was tricky, and not so quick, considering I was doing that while doing many other things, most of them at the hotel..
Friday I went snowboarding for the first time in seven years.. I remembered how to do it all, like I never stopped! My first crash came as I was goofing off.. I promised Merrill that I wouldn't venture off into the trees, and do crazy stuff. I did manage to return home with all appendages intact. It was a lot of fun, I think Christie and Julie had more fun..
Casey and I did go down the face for our last run on that foggy night.. there were multiple crashes there.. but that was the funnest run of the night!
The only sore spot on my whole body the next day, was my shoulder, the one with the arm that I use to steer myself as I fly down the mountain.
I was far more sore after cleaning the hotel...
I had to get a new phone.. my old one was like a gadget out of the 1900's.. "can you hear me Watson?"
It needed to be held by two hands to be remotely affective. Oh, and the antenna didn' t want to stay where it should. It also like to hang up on people just for the heck of it.
New one, much smaller, and it's a slider, not a flipper, not that "flippers" are bad.. (eh Juju and JFreeze ;D?!)
For our RS birthday social, I did a cake decorating demo (more pics on the other blog..) like I could think of three other women far more capable than I in this department... but it was fun.
After that, we went to the hotel, to bust our behinds some more, to prepare it for the QA (quality and assurance) walk through that took place the next day to ensure we were ready to open..
It was a miracle as Merrill would say..
So Friday, he wore his new accessory to his new job..
That's right, it says "General Manager".. I am so proud of him!!
There will be some more adjusting to come.. it's a 24/7 job.
Friday was also Hallie's 11th birthday!!!
Happy Birthday Hallie!!! (and Levi too!!)
..and because I had fondant to be used, I decorated a cake for her..
Last night, we enjoyed dinner, with Mer at the hotel.. then we enjoyed a swim. That spa.. oh my goodness.. I wanted to fall asleep right then and there..
The lights are turned on, and I have to admit, I got teared-up. It's been a road.. an emotional one these last couple of weeks. I am so thankful for such good friends and family to have helped us out so much!! Love you all!!!!

100%

Before Merrill and I got married, almost 9 years ago, my mom and dad gave us some awesome advice..
"You hear of 50/50 marriages.. make your a 100/100 marriage. That way, you both give all you can all the time, and when someone just can't quite make up their part, the other partner is still giving their 100, and you can make it."
See, awesome advice.
This has worked for us. When he's sick, I can fill in. When I am sick, or crazy busy, like I get a lot, he is there, doing what needs to be done.
This week is a 100% week for us..
The hotel is set to open next week. It's crazy busy, for both of us.
I have been down there every day this week. Either helping him with shipping (because he is still Warehouse manager..) or at the hotel.. me and my "cronies" (as Merrill calls us..) can make a king bed, to Best Western standards (mattress pad, fitted sheet, flat sheet with hospital corners, duvet, duvet cover, runner and four pillows; all placed per Best Western standards) in three minutes flat.. we are pretty awesome!
I do have awesome cronies.. ahem.. I mean friends :) We do have too much fun...Thanks, "sistas".. ;D
In all of this craziness, I don't mind it at all. I enjoy helping my husband.. increasing the love, teaching our kids what's important.
I have also learned that when you eat crap for three days, you feel like crap. McDonald's 3 days in a row.. bleh!!! How did that "Super Size Me" guy do it as long as he did?!
We all need foot soaks at the end of the day.. very long days..Caught Ashley checking herself out the other night...

FHE..

NOT the FHE you are thinking..
Family HOTEL Evening!!
We went down to see the latest developments.. well, within the last week anyway..
So many exciting things!!
The automatic doors are running.. the girls thought that was exciting.. Ashley especially..

Here's the lights all hung in the entryway.. gorgeous!! I love so many elements about this building.. I asked Merrill if we could just move in for a while :)
Fireplace.. another reason to make it my temporary home..
The pool area is lookin' good.. which is good because the girls are living in their swimsuits, hoping that will help summer to get here faster.. I could live with this too...
Here's Merrill and the two older girls.. making their way down the second floor hallway.. taking us the long way to the most awaited thing yet.. a (just about) finished room!! See the carpet?
So, you walk in the room, and here's the floor.. I want this dark floor. Can you believe it's vinyl?!? Looks sooo good..
And of course, the bathroom is what you see first.. Peyton loved seeing all the mirrors lined up against the walls, outside the rooms in the hallway last week while they were hanging them.. I think she loved seeing herself repeatedly as she walked down the hall..
And here's the room...
TVs and fridges aren't there yet.. close Merrill says..
But I can see myself reading, right here..

What a SWEET day...

To start the day off with these two...
Peyton is saying a few things.. most of them deciphered by super mom or super sisters...
- "whas dis" (what's this?)
- "hieee" (hi)
- and the newest, what made the beginning of this sweet day sweet...
"Ash"..
Her sister's nickname..
It made Ashley's day!
I had to explain to Lynn that it will probably be a while.. "L" sounds are very hard to say this early.. she'll probably call her "inn"..
Merrill has been a wee stressed with all of his responsibilities.. managing the warehouse, still has shipping to do, he has awesome brothers who step in and help where they can, but he has the hotel now too, in all of it's winding-down glory..
So, I, being the most awesome and wifely wife ever, ditched the kids on Grammy, went to the hotel, and helped him out.. some of the tasks at hand:
- vacuuming (gotta love the Dyson!!) the third floor.. 3 vacuums do make a difference..
- getting lamps and lampshades to the proper rooms
- getting garbage picked up
- and I even helped him with shipping! (My white shirt isn't so white anymore..)
He was proud that I spotted a 15 foot round safety pad that was labeled as a 13 foot round pad.. I am awesome!!
I think it's safe to say that I have been in every room of that hotel, now..
Ashley and Peyton more than enjoyed their day with Grammy.. Ashley even brought her baby and well-packed diaper bag..
Being a mom is so wonderful!
Lynn got her report card.. she is doing so well! I was glad to see she got 33 out of 36 of her sight words correct.. and apparently, she exercises self control.. at school at least. She is doing so well!
Finished the day off with some YO-ga!! and sweet, sticky, syrup :)

Hotel update..

We went down to the hotel last night.. a lot is getting done.. SO CLOSE!!
Here's the lobby fireplace.. I wish it were mine..
"Welcome to Best Western Canyon Pines..."
Front desk..
Scrapbook space #1.. conference room.. Merrill says that the banquet area is better.. he'll give that to us first :)
Banquet area fireplace..
Breakfast is served.. or will be..
And after breakfast.. we go and work it off. This is the fitness room. Brooke has plans for this area :)
Merrill's office!
Our room... the bed isn't the best part, just one of them..
Ahhh... this tub... I wish it were really mine..
The girls always have fun going there and checking out all the new developments.
We were there just a week ago.. so much has been done!