Annual camping trip

Right after the kids got out of school for the summer, we went on our annual camping trip with our friends. I love camping, but man, it's a lot of work for one Mama with two kids. 

Finn was doing some math flash cards while I was setting up camp. He has been really interested in numbers lately.

His shirt could not be more fitting to his personality...this one keeps me on my toes.

Fox didn't want to go this year. He told me that it would be ok, if it was in a cabin (which there weren't any), but he didn't want to sleep in a tent, and he doesn't like to be outside. Which is SO HIM. I contemplated to leave him at home with Katie, and just take Finn, but after talking to her and some other people about it, I decided that sometimes you just have to suck it up and go have fun, even if it's not your favorite. I brought about 100 blankets and sleeping bags to make it as cozy and comfortable as I could for him, plus the temperatures were dipping into the low 40's at night, so I wanted to be prepared. He ended up admitting, that the tent was pretty cozy.

Once his friend got there, things started to look up for him.

The weather was absolutely perfect during the day, and a nice change from the 100 degrees we were already experiencing in Phoenix.

We shared a camp site with my friend Tilly, but unfortunately the rest of the group was a five minute walk away, so we didn't hang out with them as much as I would've liked to, because I had two kids to keep track of.

Having a hot chocolate at our neighbor's camp!

 Nature walk with some of the kids!

On our second day there, the group decided to venture out to find a creek, which ended up being a really bad decision...haha. One of the trucks got stuck in the mud for a little while, and driving my old car over a bunch of rocks in the middle of the woods scared me, and I got really lucky that nothing ended up being broken, because I bottomed out so many times. And unfortunately we never found water.

This kid hasn't napped in ages, but took two car seat naps during camping.

We played a lot of Uno!

I think Fox ended up having more fun than he anticipated. All the kids were hunting for lizards, explored the woods, found themselves some "headquarters", and I loved seeing them play outside.

Finn was a little less independent, and I had to be with him at all times (not just for safety, but because he didn't want to leave my side), but it's definitely gotten better over the last few years, and I think we are getting there. Maybe next year I will get to sit down for longer than five minutes and have a conversation with my friends during camping...ha!

All the moms!

One family brought a Can-am and took all the kids for a ride. Fox said it was okay, and Finn absolutely hated it.

I had to hold his hand the entire time (I was in the front seat), and he kept asking how much longer.

The lizard crew! Fox begged me to let him take one of the lizards home. That didn't happen.

We already booked a campsite for next year, and while it is sooooo much work, I can't wait!

Fox's 9th Birthday

Nine years of being a mom to this awesome kid...it's hard to believe! Halfway to adulthood...I'm not ok!

Katie and I asked Fox for months what he wanted to do for his birthday. Have a party? Go somewhere special with just one friend? We threw so many ideas at him, but he couldn't decide. All he knew was that he wanted to have a sleepover with his best friend.

His actual birthday fell on Mother's Day this year, and Katie offered to host a family BBQ to celebrate him.

I guess this is a Jones family tradition, but Fox didn't see it coming. Fortunately he was a good sport about it.

I had found a Harry Potter escape room, and suggested it for Fox to do as an activity with his friends. He invited his two best classmates, and Katie, Christina, and I took the boys...we figured that we definitely needed some adults to escape...let's just say Christina and I carried the team haha!

And we did, with just a couple of minutes to spare. They all had a blast, including Finn! After the escape room, Fox got to have his special sleepover with his friend, just like he wanted, and I heard they stayed up until 3am. 

Next year we are hitting double digits...I'm not ready!

Happy Birthday Fox!

Fox's 9th Birthday Interview

And just like that...he's 9!

I’ve asked Fox the same questions for his birthday since he was three, and I told him he’d have to endure this until he’s 18, so here we go…

1. How old are you? I’m 9

2. Who is your best friend? My best friend? Uh…Lucas!

3. What is your favorite thing to do? Play Roblox with Lucas

4. What is your favorite color? Dark blue

5. What is your favorite food? Costco pizza

6. What do you like to do with your family? Have date nights

7. What is your favorite toy? My ipad…does that count?

8. What do you want to be when you grow up? A game inventor

9. What makes you happy? When my whole family plays with me

10. What makes you sad? When Finn is mean to me

11. What is your favorite Show to watch? Lanky box

12. What is your favorite book? Harry Potter…by far!

13. What do you love to learn about? I love to learn about Roblox secrets.

14. What was the best part of your birthday? Staying up as late as I want with Lucas.

15. What was your favorite birthday present? Probably the Harry Potter spell book thing.

16. Who is your teacher? Why do you want to know…Miss Lindsay.

17. Where do you like to go? Home

18. What is your favorite treat? Cake

19. What do you think about before you fall asleep? Yay

20. What does love mean? That you really like someone.

21. What is your favorite song? I don’t have one.

Easter Weekend at Universal Studios

Fox has loved Harry Potter for over a year now. He has read the books many times, and watched all of the movies, so I've really been wanting to take him to Harry Potter world at Universal Studios. We invited Katie, her fiancee Christina, and my friend Allison to join us as well.

I think he bought three of these "liquid luck potions", he couldn't get enough.

We went into Ollivanders to purchase a wand for the boys, and Fox got picked during the want fitting demonstration, which was really cool. The wizard asked him to try different wands, but every time he did, something bad happened, thunder went off, things were flying off the shelves, the lights flickered...but eventually the right wand chose him, and I loved seeing Fox still believe in the whole thing. 

After the demonstration, Fox helped his brother to pick out a wand as well.

They have a lot of stations throughout the park where the kids can activate certain things by using their wand, and all of the staff members were so helpful and sweet.

My favorite part about Universal Studios is the Studio tour, and Finn looks exactly how he was feeling about it...he hated it. He still talks about it to this day.

Obligatory blended family picture...oh how far we've come!

Even at dinner, he couldn't stop reading!

After dinner, the other adults took Finn back to the hotel, so Fox and I could have a special night.

All he wanted to do was to go back to Harry Potter world, we rode some rides, and it was such a special time together.

Back to Honeydukes for more candy!

The next day was Easter, and we did a little Easter egg hunt in the hotel room.

Finn really wanted to go to the beach, he had talked about it for months, so even though it was freezing, we went for a little bit before driving home, and he was so happy.

And Fox is still wearing his robes!

It was a quick trip, but I absolutely loved seeing Fox have so much fun. I'd really like to take him to Universal Studios in Florida next, but I might have to save up for that trip first!