Kansas City Trip: Day 10

 The Day After

The day after the wedding we all slept in and had a fairly leisurely morning at the hotel. It was wonderful. We were planning to meet up with my family for brunch down on the Country Club Plaza. The weather was gorgeous. The sun was shining and the humidity was very low. Somehow we lucked out the whole time in KC and had hardly any humidity. Very unlike last summer when I thought I was going to keel over.

We met up with Kirk and Meki at Brio's Tuscan Grille. It was delicious!! It was fun to be able to relax and enjoy one another with all of the wedding preparations over and done. The food was great and company even better. I love my brother. He makes me laugh harder than anyone else on the planet and I miss him like crazy. We went ahead and ordered because the rest of the family was late due to drama the likes of which no one need ever know!! Am I right? :) Let's just say we were very glad to have stayed the past few days in a hotel. When we were finishing up with brunch my mom, Ken, Stacey, Kelley, River and Elle arrived. Unfortunately it was nearly time for Kirk and Meki to head to the airport. Darn it. So after a quick visit with the rest of the family it was time for them to say good-bye. I hate good-byes. I always cry like a baby and this time was no different...restaurant onlookers and all. I just really need Kirk and Jordi et al to move up here. I hate that they live so far away.

After Kirk and Meki left, Tyler and the kids and I left to spend a day on the plaza. We had an AWESOME time!! First stop...the Art Museum. I have a deep love of museums especially art museums. It stems from living in Springville, Utah for a few years during elementary school. In the summer, Stacey and I, would ride our bikes to the art museum and wander around for hours. My favorite painting was the one of the mother with two daughters. One daughter had blue eyes and one daughter had brown eyes and the mother had two different colored eyes. So cool. We loved it there!! My love was further solidified when I was 13 and my mom and I traveled to Washington DC and spent days at the Smithsonian. I was in heaven. Spokane has a very small art museum which I usually find sub par so anytime we travel and I have the opportunity to show great works of art to my children I jump on it. I want just want them to soak it up when they get the chance.

I love the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art!! I truly do. I have many fond memories of the place. I was giddy with excitement to go there. By the way...I was the only one. But oh well. I love the green lawn where we would listen to the symphony and have gourmet picnics in the summer. I actually went there on several dates with a particularly cultured boy named Matt who also took me to polo matches. Poor Matt ...I had to put an end to it though when we would constantly run into my parents...heaven forbid. Too many shared interests and run- ins with my parents was the kiss of death.

Anyway...

I LOVE the big badminton shuttlecock sculptures that are scattered on the grounds. They are so cool. We are big badminton fans and had to get up close and touch these amazing things. Word to the wise...don't do that. A voice came out of nowhere saying "Please do not touch the art...please step away from the sculptures". Bummer.

 Just soaking it all in...

Basking in the sunshine on a beautiful day

Inside was awesome. I could have stayed there for days and it truly would take days to see everything. We went to the Worlds Fair exhibit which was cool and then we wandered from room to room looking at the priceless paintings. It surprised our kids how often stories from the Bible were depicted in art and unlike me at that age they have excellent scripture knowledge of even some of the more obscure stories that were depicted in gorgeous paintings. I loved that and it gave them a vivid image to go along with the scriptures they know so well.

My favorite moment was when Ailey and I were walking around together and we stood gazing at a picture of the Crucifixion. It showed Christ in agony, nailed to the cross, bleeding...suffering. Ailey just stared at it wide-eyed. She couldn't take her eyes away. I just watched her, wondering what she was thinking, when she suddenly looked up at me and in a little voice choked with emotion said "He did that for me?"

What a beautiful moment to share with her, as my own eyes filled with tears, and I said "Yes, He did Ailey. That's how much He loves you." We could have packed up and gone home right then. Golden moment. Our children don't often see these brutal crucifixion pictures that are more common in other Christian faiths. Sometimes it is important that they do and that they "get" it...in all it's horror and violence...what the Savior suffered for them...for us.

Then after much too short a time for me and much too long a time for my children it was time to go. Tyler has promised me a nice long...adults only...visit when we come out for Jordin's graduation from Nursing School. I am going to hold him to that!!

Back on the plaza we soaked up the sun, the people, the sights and the gorgeous fountains. This is one of my very favorites. The J.C. Nichols Memorial Fountain. My friends and I were always posing for pictures in front of this one in high school.

You will have to kindly ignore that fact that my garments are hanging out. I should have Tyler photo shop them out but I am too lazy. Oh well.

Ignore the garments here too. Clearly the sun has some kind of über-strength in the Midwest since we poor Pacific Northwesterners can't seem to take a picture outside and look normal with our overly sensitive eyes. Good grief. Clearly, we aren't used to that much sunshine!!

Then it was time to shop!!

Reilly's 1st Stop

A multi-level Forever 21. I have to admit it was pretty awesome. Luckily for Reilly she has a very generous daddy who bought her several cute things for school. It was fun to spoil her a bit and watch her running around like a kid in a candy store.


We had a great fun-filled day as we strolled the plaza together. Then it was back to the hotel for a little rest and relaxation...and to pack...so that we could leave the next day. The day ended with a party at the Bubblemart which is a laundromat. Tyler and I met my mom there who was doing about 40 loads of laundry. We were later joined by Jordin, Ramon, Jaylah, and RJ. The party eventually moved to a bench outside the Bubblemart as we laughed and laughed until it got late. Who knew you could have so much fun at the laundromat?

Lately


We have been activity crazy lately. So much going on for all FOUR kids. But things are starting to wind down and I am loving it!!

Here is the latest:

I.) This past weekend was Homecoming. Fun and not so fun. There was definitely some weeping and wailing going on around here as Reilly turns 16 is just a few weeks...and got asked to Homecoming...and had to say no. It just wasn't easy being an LDS teen at our house and even worse being an LDS parent. Good grief. Luckily being on the dance team kept her busy.

  (Reilly is in the 2nd row from the back... third one over)

For the first time since I WAS in high school I attended a high school football game. It was a lot of fun!! We donned our high school's colors and Saxon t-shirts and headed to the game to lend our support to the football team and to Reilly who was performing at half time. It was so fun to see all these kids that we have watched grow up. We sat near our friends the DeMilles and the Hollands. Kameron ditched us rather quickly to go hang out with some of his buddies from school; that left me and Tyler trying to enjoy the game with Ailey and Bryn. Oh boy. That was NOT FUN. They are not football fans and after consuming vast quantities of pop, cotton candy, and popcorn got bored, whiny and cold rather quickly.

Not a happy camper

Don't let that smile fool you. By this point Bryn had fallen down, whacked her head on the bleachers, eaten everything she cared to eat, watched Reilly perform, put on her ski coat, thrown a huge fit, and was DONE!! Luckily the Saxons were kicking butt and in no danger of losing so we packed up and headed home. All in all, it was fun to sit with the parents and cheer on these cute kids who have grown up overnight. That said...it also made me so grateful that I am not in high school anymore.

II.) Bryn is LOVING preschool!! No doubt about it. She can't wait to go and gets dressed at the speed of light on a school day. She loves her teachers, her big buddies, and all her friends. The cherry on top occurred on Friday. Because her preschool is located in the high school they get to go on "field trips" inside the school. On Friday they got to attend the Homecoming Pep Rally and Bryn was in HEAVEN!! Even better...guess who was performing? Her big sister!!

Reilly...back row center

Apparently she was screaming to everyone "THAT'S MY BIG SISTER!! THAT'S MY BIG SISTER!!" Reilly was a wonderful big sister who really showed her the love!! She gave Brynnie a big hug and introduced her to her teammates and generally made a big deal of her...even the cheerleaders gave her a pink lei and she thought that was just about the best day of her entire life!! She still has not stopped talking about it.


III.) Kameron is just growing like a weed. It seems like nearly every week he is taller...growing out of pants and shoes. He is really maturing into a wonderful young man.

This picture was taken right before school started and it doesn't even look like him anymore. He looks babyish here, where now, he really is heading towards being a teenager. Tyler and I were watching him at the football game and marveling at how much he has grown up in a short amount of time. Last night we attended his Priesthood Preview and I just can't believe we are already here...being a deacon and passing the Sacrament...attending Young Mens. Wow. I could cry. It is a little easier with the girls because as Reilly grows and matures there are two other little sisters yet to hit these milestones but with Kameron they are the first and the last. Bittersweet.

Right now Kameron is very passionate about politics. He lives and breaths it. We may have a future Poly-Sci major on our hands. He loves watching the news and being up on current events. He is so knowledgeable and well-versed it just amazes me. He has gleefully watched all the televised debates both national and local. He just loves it!! Tyler and I were talking about how fun it is to see how into the presidential election Kameron is and how it is just like "last time". We were laughing about it and then we just stopped in our tracks when we realized that "last time" Kameron was in 2nd grade!! So crazy!! (Ailey is in third grade and would be completely clueless if it weren't for Mitt Romney running and even with that fact she is still 99.9% clueless and Reilly is bored by it all.) So it really is interesting that Kameron finds it all so fascinating. He even bit the bullet and ran for ASB (student government) this year. He lost by one vote...DANG IT!! But we are so proud of him for trying. It is incredibly fun to see the talents, traits and interests that get passed down through the generations. Kam is taking after his Grandpa Johnson who died before he was born. Tyler's dad was also passionate about politics...had a poly-sci degree and ran for City Council. It is so sweet and tender to see these connections made with a Grandpa that he has never even known. It has been fun to share memories of Grandpa Johnson with him.


IV.) Ailey

This girl is really coming out of her shy and timid shell. So much so we have nicknamed her "the chihuahua". She maybe small and dainty but she is one tough cookie. When the school year started we had the kids pick a motto for themselves for the year. We poured over all kinds of quotes and the kids each picked one out. We had a hard time finding one for Ailey. Then I found this quote by Shakespeare and we all agreed that it fits her to a tee:

Fierce is the word...both positively and negatively. This year she has really become so much more confident. She is working so hard in school, ballet and piano. She just started Activity Days and is in 7th heaven over that!! She has good and kind friends. The negative part of the "fierce" is that she is hitting that stage where the drama is kicking in full force!! It has been fun to see her come into her own.

V.) This past week we've had all kinds of things going on. I helped make tarts for and then we attended my friend's son's wedding reception. It was back-to-school night for the high school. Both Tyler and I were very impressed with all of Reilly's classes and teachers. Kameron qualified for the All-City cross-country meet with his elementary school team. We got our family pictures taken. I attended a fantastic Power of Moms retreat all about being a deliberate mother. It was fantastic and I will do a post about that later. Our ward got a new bishop on Sunday and we are so excited!! We got Reilly's Seminary situation all figured out which was a nightmare. Woohoo.

So yeah...that's what's been happening lately.

Kansas City Trip Day 9: The Wedding

Finally!! You might be saying...we've been checking this blog to see pictures from Jordin's wedding and you've strung us along through 10 plus posts.

Well here you go:

After very little sleep due to our late night out with the family the morning arrived very early. Tyler and I, Kirk, Meki, Mom and Ken, Stacey and Kelley and a couple of Jordin's friends headed to the venue to decorate. This was the worst part of the whole deal. We couldn't get in to decorate until the DAY OF THE WEDDING!! To say that it was stressful was the world's biggest understatement. Decorating for a wedding takes a lot of time (if you only knew how long it takes us to set up our Sisters Creed booth...and this was a freakin' wedding!!)

We moved chairs and tables, stocked refrigerators, puffed pom-poms and paper lanterns, set up the alter area, set up the kids area, put all the tablecloths and decorations on most of the tables, started setting out flowers etc. when suddenly we realized it was nearly noon. At that point...nearly all of us girls had to head back to get our hair done. Dianna was coming to do our hair at noon.

Unfortunately that left Mom, Ken, Meki, Kirk and a couple of Jordin's friends (briefly) to do all the rest. I have to say that Mom, Meki, and Kirk did the lionshare of the decorating. Wow. Truly impressive. I was worried sick the whole time as I dashed to the hotel to jump in the shower and to run Reilly and I over to Jordin's to get our hair done. There was so much work left to do and we had no choice but to leave. Poor Meki. She just met the family for the first time and jumped right in with a glue gun and got right to work. Did I mention that she is awesome? Poor Mom was slaving away until right before the wedding began!! Note to self...no decorating the day of the wedding again!!

Meanwhile back at Jordin's she was getting beautified...

The Blushing Bride

And she wasn't the only one...

 Ringlets galore...thank goodness for Reilly. She did all the little girls hair!!

Here is an up close picture of our updos. I liked how Dianna did our hair. I wish I could do it myself (minus the flower) for church or something...yeah...not happening.

Tyler and Kameron stopped by Jordin's house briefly to drop off some food for us. We were STARVING and then it was back to the wedding venue.

When we got back we couldn't believe how absolutely gorgeous everything looked. So beautiful!! We had to shimmy right into our dresses because it was time for pictures. This was another stressful part...trying to get all the wedding party pictures done before the guests started to arrive and in between a few rain showers!!

I wish I had more pictures to show you but I am still waiting on them from Jordin. When I get more I will post them. So I guess you only get to see the "after" pictures!!

Suffice it to say the wedding was GORGEOUS!! Jordin was GORGEOUS AND GLOWING!! Ramon was so HANDSOME!! Jordi had 9 bridesmaids and 9 groomsmen. There were basically 5 flowergirls (Jaylah, Bryn, Ailey, Elle and River) and 2 ushers (Kameron and Khalil) who all walked down the aisle and one RJ (carried by Khalil).

It was quite the family affair...the ceremony was performed by Jaylah's Uncle Ronny...Ramon's Uncle Ronnie sang (different guy)... Aaron (Jaylah's dad was the DJ)...Tyler walked Jordin down the aisle. All of these different families came together for a beautiful and joyous celebration. I did pretty well stifling all my tears until I saw Tyler and Jordin coming down the aisle and then then tears started flowing!! I am so happy for my little sister. She has married an incredible man who loves her unconditionally. He loves all of us and is a fantastic addition to our family. We couldn't be happier!!

The Hills: Ramon, RJ, Jordin and Jaylah

Ramon's Family: His mom Alice, Uncle Ronnie and his brother

The Hills with the mothers

Jordi and Mom

Jordi and Kirk

Our family

Me and Reilly

 The Wedding Reception was so much fun. Lots of dancing!! My favorite part was after the ceremony and as we were heading into the reception area where all the wedding guests were seated...the party music was turned up and all the wedding party was announced and we danced into the reception to cheers and applause. Seriously so fun.

Some of the wedding party...still dancing!!

When it was time for the bride and groom to dance on in to the reception with Jaylah and RJ, Bryn just couldn't control herself, and ran up to them, and joined the family in the dancing.

That girl loves to dance...all our kids do. We had to drag them off the dance floor at the end of the night!!

Kelley and Elle

Stacey giving a toast

We were excited that our Nana...who isn't in the best of health...was able to make the trip to Kansas City from Denver for the wedding.

Jordi and Nana

Kirk, Nana and Jordin

Kirk, Nana, Kris, Colin, Jordin and Marylee...Kirk's face kills me. Ha ha.

 Poor RJ didn't last too long. Thank goodness for Grandma Alice. The poor little guy was sacked out!!

The two cutest ushers you ever did see and some seriously good dancers. They were bustin' quite the moves on the dance floor.

Kameron and Khalil

 Jordin's friend Carissa (Khalil's mom) is the spitting image of Tyler's sister, Lori. We just loved her!! She is fun on her own but she really reminded us of Lori and we loved her even more!!

The reception was so much fun. It was great to hang out with family and friends. It was fun to see people that we haven't seen in awhile and to meet new people. 

Here we are  with the lovely and hard-working Meki

By the end of the night we were all exhausted...happy...but exhausted. As Jordin and Ramon headed off to their hotel we cleaned up the venue and packed up about some very sleepy kids. All in all, it was an absolutely wonderful day for the McClellans and the Hills!!

Blurry but hilarious

Congratulations Jordin and Ramon...

 We love you guys!!

**Can't wait to get the wedding CD from Jordi. There are some darling pictures. I will post them when I get them.

Bryn's First Day of Preschool

We interrupt the travelogue once again for something much more important and exciting!! Bryn started preschool!! The poor kid has been waiting and waiting to go to school. The preschool that she goes to is at Reilly's high school. She goes three days a week for close to two hours. The preschool starts late so that the kids that are enrolled in the Child Development class can get the preschool all set up and the lessons planned. Bryn just loves it!! She has multiple "big buddies"and a "walk-out buddy"...she just thinks it is fantastic. They all know Reilly and boy is Bryn proud of her big sister!!

On Friday it was Orientation and she had a great time and was super excited that several of her little church friends were in her class. I think the LDS church keeps this little preschool afloat...a constant rotation of LDS kids because it is a good little preschool, fantastic teacher, close, and CHEAP!! Currently there is a three year waiting list! Kameron never got in...Ailey was supposedly on the waiting list but somehow wasn't when the time came...Bryn is the first Johnson to actually get in. We called just a few days after she was born to put her on the list and we checked in regularly to make sure that she was still on the waiting list!! :)

Orientation

The big day finally arrived... I felt a little sad...not the euphoria I thought I might feel at having a little time to myself. Bryn is a really easy-going kid and self-entertaining so having her home is pretty great but I knew that she was ready to have a fun adventure this year.

Here she is laughing saying "Enough pictures!! I NEED TO GO TO SCHOOL!!"

Here she is marching on in.

She did great and when I got her all situated she said "Bye Mom!! See you later." No tears or pleading with me to stay. That is 4 for 4. I must be a REALLY boring mom because they have all been very happy to go to school. Not one cryer.

 

We Don't Even Have To Try...It's Always a Good Time!!

Grainy...but I love it!

 Kansas City Trip Day 8:

By Friday all the McClellans were in town. This momentous event...having all the McClellan Kids in Kansas City at the same time hasn't occurred in about 22 years. Seriously. We have all been back...but not all together. It was quite the event!!

The day started off wonderfully getting pampered at the fanciest nail salon. We pretty much took over the place and it was quite the PAR-TAY!  All the girls got mani-pedis. Even the little flower girls. It was heavenly and I wish we had an awesome and luxurious nail salon like that here in Spokane. My usual salon isn't très fabulous like that one. I wish it were.

Ailey, Jaylah and Bryn

The little girls were SO EXCITED to get their nails done. They were absolutely adorable. Ailey has been begging for this to happen for quite sometime. They were all so good and held still and let the professionals go to work. Jordin's wedding colors were black and white with teal as the accent color  so all the little girls got glittery teal fingernails and toenails. So cute!!

Ailey in her element

Ailey has always loved getting her fingernails and toenails painted. Even as a teeny tiny girl she would hold super still and wait patiently for them to dry. Bryn is the same way. Reilly, on the other hand, was an absolute tornado!! She couldn't sit still if her life depended on it. So after many smeared toes and fingernails and nail polish on everything I gave up!!

Bryn and Elle

Reilly, Kelley, Me and Stac

Aaahhh... relaxation. It is crazy that Reilly is looking more like one of the sisters than one of the kids?

The Bride...multi-tasking...making all those many wedding related phone calls.

Even the Groom...got groomed. :)

Tyler was great to sit and wait for all of us. He has accepted that this is a part of his life...with three daughters and a wife...he has made peace with the nail salon. Kameron, on the other hand, ditched us all as soon as possible to run around with Uncle Kirk.


Trying to get some pictures outside didn't go so well...

 The sun was in everyone's eyes. I am looking puzzled and perplexed. I am also without my little girl on my lap. Tyler had all our girls contained in the car by that point!!



Then it was off to meet up with everyone to have a big family lunch. We met up for sushi at the delicious Juns. The kids were all so excited to eat Japanese style. What a fun meal!! We had the whole back area to ourselves. It was so fun. There is just something so special that occurs when we are all together. When Kirk walked in I just got all teary-eyed and he said that when he saw all of us he did too.We all get together fairly regularly but we rarely have everyone there at the same time and when that does happen it is a beautiful thing.

 We got to meet Kirk's girlfriend, Meki. She is absolutely fantastic!!  We all love her. She was so much fun and fit right in. It was great to see Kirk so happy after a couple of very rough years.

After the most delicious lunch we split up in many different directions for more wedding prep. Tyler and the kids and I moved out of Jordin and Ramon's house and into the Doubletree hotel not far away. After our wedding tasks...we headed to our hotel for some relaxation.

Later that night we all headed back over to Jordi's house for her Bachelorette party and Ramon's Bachelor Party. But before all the partying occurred we took a few crazy pictures...like the one at the top of this post...it most accurately represents us all anyway!!

The McClellan Kids all Grown-Up...Jordin (looking extra glam), Kris, Kirk, Kelley and Stacey

Tyler and Kirk left with Ramon and his friends. We dropped all our kids off with Mom who was babysitting at Jordi's. Then all the girls jumped on the party bus for downtown KC. Jordi has a fun group of friends and they were all so excited to help her celebrate becoming Mrs. Hill. It was fun for me, Stacey, and Kelley to be there for her too. We went to the Power and Light District which is a really cool area of downtown KC.

 It is a big covered area that has multiple clubs, restaurants, etc. Jordin had reserved a VIP room so we got to have a nice area to hang out in. 

In the VIP Lounge

Can a 40 year old Mormon mother have a good time in a happen' club? Why yes. It was fun to dance and laugh and people watch most of all. But I have to say the best part was when we were joined by the guys after a night of pool and roaming the Country Club Plaza and Westport.

See how happy I am? Yeah...no worries that the party life is for me. I'll take the crazies in the mini-van any day!!

We got home in the wee hours of the morning...but it was well worth it to spend the night hanging out with my siblings and their significant others. I had a great time and laughed until I was hoarse. Then we rescued Mom and packed 4 sleeping kids into the car and headed back to the hotel...only to have to get up a few short hours later for...

The Wedding!!