What a Couple of Days...

We have had some hail damage to our roof for quite some time. After deciding to put the house up for sale, we figured it was time to actually file the insurance claim and get it replaced. We jumped through all the hoops of inspectors and finding a roofing company and it all came down to this weekend. The plan was to have the roofers here a full day on Saturday and half day on Sunday.

It would be loud and they would work until daylight ran out, meaning no possibility of naps or our normal 7pm bedtime. So, since we had just used all out Hilton points to book a 9 night stay in California for Christmas (for free!), we called Grandma to see if she had any extra points. Turns out she did and booked us a free room at the Embassy Suites not too far from home.

How cool are the giant swans that live in the atrium of the hotel...the boys loved stopping to say 'hi' and 'bye' every time they could.

We got up Saturday morning, packed the car and headed to the hotel. We were prepared with the boys PeaPods, and more stuff than you can imagine! We got to the hotel just in time to feed the boys a quick lunch and put them down for a rather successful 2 hour nap.

We got the boys some new magnadoodle toys, hoping they would entertain them at least a little. They were interested in them for about 3 minutes...they really wanted to eat the pencils :)

After playing for a bit, we ran a few errands and then hit the indoor pool. Had we checked it out before, we probably would have passed. The room reeked of chlorine and the concentration was so bad that it faded Seth's black shorts...yuck!

After swimming we went back to the room, changed clothes and headed to dinner. The boys were so sleepy, they were saying 'night, night' and laying their heads down at 5pm. We ate quickly and got them back to the hotel and in bed by 6. As much as I keep waiting for them to be ready for 1 nap, it's the 1 nap days that remind me how much they still need 2.

They slept so well! We were all in 1 room and it was amazing to us how very much they move around when they sleep. Jaxson was even talking in his sleep...something about a 'kit-kit' (his blanket). They woke up at 7am on the dot and since Seth and I made the decision to hit the hay at 9, we were all well rested and in great moods.

We put the boys in bed with us and for the first time ever, turned on some cartoons and just vegged (we don't have a TV in our bedroom). Seth and I got dressed and we all headed down to the wonderful breakfast buffet. The boy ate well and then we took them back up to the 6th floor and let them just run the halls. They loved being able to run and having 1 parent to shadow each of them was perfect.
Once they had ran and ran, we put them down for an unsuccessful nap. After about an hour of talking and singing we decided to get them up and head home. We were excited to have our house back and get home in time for the boys to have a good afternoon nap. We made a stop at Costco and everything seemed to be going well.

A very sleepy Jaxson surrounded by our score of diapers...we took advantage of the Texas Sales Tax Holiday!

Poor sleepy Turner! It is such a rare occurrence that the boys sleep in the car...I must have taken 15 photos of this cutie!

Just as we were leaving Costco, we got a call that the roofers decided not to show up. They had some excuse about car trouble, but who knows. Apparently, they needed about 4 more hours to finish and they wanted to inconvenience us as little as possible, so they needed to know our availability. I reluctantly told them they could have 7am to 11am Monday morning.

By arriving at 7am, it meant that I would have to give the boys only 1 nap again, but by lunch time they would be finished. I decided I could handle that. It wouldn't be pretty, but I could do it. However, as 8am approached this morning and no one was here, I was about to tell them to take a hike.

They finally arrived at 8:15. Just wanting it to be done, I let them work. However, when it became VERY apparent at 10:40 that they would be much more than 4 hours, I called our contractor and told him I was checking into a hotel, on their dime, so my children could have a nap. While it may seem like a luxury, being outnumbered in a hotel room is a lot of work!

Even just entering the hotel was rough. I had a back pack, purse, 2 PeaPods (or as the boys call them 'tents'), our lunch, Jaxson in a stroller and Turner on my hip. I checked us in and headed up to the room. Once in the room, it gets crazy. I don't have any photos from today's experience, but here are a few from Saturdays stay to give you an idea...

Jaxson on the coffee table

Turner in the TV stand

I fed them a quick lunch, then it was bed time....for a whole hour! Oh man! $134 for an hour nap! I will say that it was an hour more than they would have gotten at home. After their short nap, we packed up and headed home. I would have been nice to hit the pool, but with 2 babies and 1 mama, it wasn't happening.

Once we got home, the roofers were still hard at work (did I meantion there were only 3 of them today as compared to the 7 that were here Sat?). I made the boys some smoothies, we watched some Signing Time and played for a bit. Then it was early dinner and in bed by 5:30. They missed out on seeing daddy at all today, which totally sucks and as daddy arrived home, the roofers were just leaving (so much for 4 hours...uggh!).

It has been a rough few days and I am beat. I am so ready for it to be Friday and for a relaxing family weekend. The roof is done (although, they may have to come fix a part) and we are all clear until the new gutters are installed on Thursday. Please, Jesus, let that go smoothly!

It has been and adventure and quite the experience, but if it's taught us one thing, it's that our boys are amazing! They have been such troopers and we couldn't be more proud of them. Hopefully next time we get to check into a hotel or use our 'tents' out of necessity, it will be for something a bit more fun!