the one about a surprise visit from Brynn and some other B's

Monday night, Brett and I took Quayd to the rec center to swim. He had been begging all weekend so we finally gave in. I actually don't know why we don't go more often. We have a family pass and we always enjoy it when we go, we are just lazy I guess. And actually, I don't just LOVE swimming there. I would rather walk or something. ANYTHING rather than swim. But Quayd really wanted both of us to swim with him and I couldn't say no. I get the heebie jeebies in the pool with all of the nasty dirty people. I know, that is so rude, but it seriously freaks me out. I can't stand the thought of dirty little kids feet touching me. The only dirty little feet I like are Quayd's. And even his stress me out a bit. Next time he wants me to swim, I will have to break his heart and say no because I only lasted about 15 minutes and I was miserable the whole time. He will have to swim while I work out or something.

ANYWAY.... (sorry about the rant there...) When we got home, I wanted to take a nice long bath. I lit a candle, poured some epsom salts and got all relaxed. Then the phone rang. Brett answered it and it was Brynn. She was driving around with her boys and Beau'D wanted to play with Quayd. She called to tell us they were coming over. I went ahead and finished my bath then went to the front room. I got to hold Brycen while Quayd and Beau'D played. Brett, Brynn and I watched Dancing with the Stars. Brycen was so cute and sweet. He even fell asleep in my arms. Ahhhhhhhhh, gotta love that. When they were getting ready to leave, Brynn took him from me and put him in his car seat. He is so cute and he totally sucks his little thumb. Beau'D was totally loving Quayd's room. He climbed up on Quayd's bed and didn't want to get down. He said he was spending the night, until his mom said she was leaving. Then he was ready to come down!
It was such a nice surprise to have then stop by. We had so much fun watching Dancing with the Stars we decided we might have to make it a weekly event! Brynn is so sweet and I am so glad she is my sister-in-law. And she has the cutest little boys!!!

Isn't it weird that Brett and I both have a Brother named Brandon, they both have 2 sons and no daughters, and they both did the "B" thing with their boys' names? Plus Cory has a son with a "B" name. So we have 2 Brandons and 5 nephews; Brayden, Brennen, Beau'D, Branson and Brycen. Plus Brett, Brynn, my maiden name is Brooks, Grandparents name is Burton, and I have a cousin Brooke. Phewwwwwwww..... It can get confusing!

the one about Quayd's 6th Birthday

I feel like the most terrible mother in the world because I haven't blogged about Quayd's Birthday yet. It was a great day, but I have just been super busy lately. Oh, who am I kidding. It was a terrible day, but we made the best of it. Quayd's Birthday happened to be the same day as my Great-Grandma's funeral. Luckily, I had planned his Birthday party for the day before. But unluckily, the party was a total fiasco! Allow me to explain...

So, I had made arrangements for Quayd's party to be a swimming party at the Rec. Center. He loves swimming there and that is what he wanted to do. I booked and paid for the thing clear back in June. Well about two weeks before the party, I was making the invitations (which turned out ADORABLE, by the way) and decided I better double check on the time and make sure everything was still good to go.


They assured me that everything was fine. I finished up the invites and we delivered them. Quayd and I worked so hard creating, finding addresses, delivering and spreading the word to all of his friends. So, as I mentioned before, my Great Grandma passed away the day before the party, and her funeral was the day after the party and on his actual Birthday. Not only that, but the day of the party was the one year anniversary of the passing of Brett's dad. I was working EXTRA hard to make his party be NORMAL and to focus only on Quayd! It wasn't hard, because he is such a great kid and he was SO UNDERSTANDING, considering the circumstances. Anyway, we got to the Rec. Center about 25 minutes early. Brayden, Brennen, Amelia, and Kasen rode with us. They were so excited! They helped me get everything inside and we got everything loaded in the party room. Kids were starting to arrive and I noticed that nobody was in the pool. I asked our "party consultant" if we got the pool to ourselves or what. She was like, "I'm not sure. I will go check." Well, I walked back outside, leaving the kids in the room, and the lady stopped me at the front desk. She said, "Ummmm.... You do know that the pool is closed, right?" I just stared at her. I said, "Well, no. This is a swimming party and I booked it months ago, so no. Obviously I was not aware that the pool was closed." Well, our conversation goes on and basically, they changed the hours of the pool and nobody noticed that I had a party booked at that time. I even brought up how irritating it was that I had double checked just about 2 weeks earlier. She was very apologetic and they offered to do this big inflatable obstacle course in the gym, free of charge. (Yah, no duh. Free of charge!) They ended up refunding part of the cost and they did what they could to make it right. Even as MAD as I was at the time, I have to admit now that they handled it all pretty well. It was sucky and frustrating, but oh well. The kids LOVED the obstacle course. I even asked Quayd later what he thought of his party, and he thought it was wonderful. My biggest gripe is that I worked so hard making the invitations, cupcakes and party favors, which were fish themed. So it seemed stupid that they didn't go with the party. Yes, I know. I am a freak. But this is the hell that I live in. If you know me at all, you know how freaked out I get when things don't go exactly as planned. I try to be accommodating and relaxed, but I am just not. I notice that I get better with age, but I am still not perfect. I have to say this though. Thank goodness for Holly. She decided to come with her boys to the party and she stayed with me the whole time. I couldn't have made it without her. She visited with me and it totally calmed my nerves so I didn't have a complete meltdown during the ordeal. Let me share a few pictures.







When the party was over, and the parents were picking the kids up, Brett challenged GJ to a race on the obstacle course. It was so funny, and the kids LOVED watching.


Ok, enough of the party. Moving on.... So of course, we had a funeral on the morning of Quayd's Birthday, but for that night, I had made arrangements with my boss for us to be able to stay at the hotel. I thought it would be cool for Quayd to be able to invite a friend to stay, and of course, he wanted Brennen. Well, Brayden felt bad, so I let him come too. I went to the room early and decorated it. I put Quayd's gift in there and bought tons of treats.

We ordered Pizza for dinner, swam in the pool and watched movies. Quayd and Brayd slept in one bed, Brett and I in the other, and we made Brennen a bed on the floor.

They have a yummy breakfast every morning so we ate, showered and came home. Quayd and Brennen showered together and they had so much fun!!! We could hear them giggling clear down the hall!



It was really a pretty good Birthday, all things considered. I just can't believe that my baby is 6. I usually get so emotional around his Birthday. It brings back so many memories of the whole event. Getting him here was so difficult and I am reminded of the miracle every August 30th. He is such an amazing kid and I love him so much. I often wonder why I was chosen to be his mother. I can see so much potential in him and I know he will grow up to be AMAZING! I just hope I don't totally screw him up before he reaches his goals. He told Brett and I just today that when he gets a little bigger, he would like to play soccer in the Olympics. I hope he can. And I hope he never quits dreaming about it. I love you my little Quayd-er-ade!! Happy Birthday!!!