I have a couple oooooold posts I've been meaning to write. The goal was to get them up before the new year, so at least they'd be in the correct calendar year, but remember the whole vacation-plans-not-realized thing? Yeah.
Last July my baby sister, Lauren, graduated from BYU-I, so we made a road-trip out to be with her for her big day. Granted, July was a long time ago, so most of the details of the trip are erased from memory. Good thing I have oodles of pictures to help jog my memory.
We started our long drive with an overnight stop at our favorite farm. As always, the kids had a great time playing with their friends and were reluctant to leave, despite the allure of an exciting vacation before them.
Ashlee and Tyler have a huge beanbag in their living room. All the kids love to run and launch off the two-step platform and land in the squishy wonderfulness of the bag. Somehow Thane got it into his head that he needed to protect his neck when he jumped, so he would run to the steps, then stop and grab his neck before finishing his jump. Super cute.
Once we pried our kids away from their friends, we headed off towards our next destination, a hotel in Butte, Montana. We packed lots of food, and stopped for a much-needed lunch and playground break in Spokane.
Once we hit Montana, we began to see what would become a recurring theme on our trip - forest fires.
It was a long day in the car, but as far as I can recall, the kids handled it extremely well. They kept themselves focused on the promised reward at the end of the trip - a swim in the hotel pool. Once we got checked in at the hotel, they quickly and eagerly changed into their suits. It was only then that I realized the hotel didn't actually have a pool. Major Mommy Fail. Tears all around.
We couldn't have been happier to arrive at our friends', the Teeples', home. Matt and Sarah were one of the first couples we met when we moved to Washington. Call them what you will - Kindred Spirits, Celestial Friends, of the race that knows Joseph - we became friends immediately. Unfortunately, they then up and moved away! While it was a good move for their family, we miss their friendship and look forward to the rare opportunities to see each other.
Bryce and Evan spent almost the whole time we were there downstairs in the train room playing with Geo Trax. Both of the boys are regular Geo Trax experts, so they came up with some pretty excellent layouts (though they were sad when we had to put all the tracks away to have room to sleep that night!).
Thane wisely took advantage of the sand box. Shovels, and sand, and diggers? He was in little boy heaven (and dirty. sooooo dirty!).
We enjoyed the perfect weather with a backyard dinner BBQ. Thane thought cute Ayla was quite nice.
Sarah and I talked and talked and talked and (well, you get the idea). I love her mind and her perspectives and thoughts. Wish they still lived close. Just like last time we visited them, the kids had a great time playing in the sprinklers.
Our (not-so-little-anymore) family shared a spacious room on the main floor (though cuddly Bryce had the privilege of sharing a room with Grandma upstairs).
Renting a home is so much nicer than a hotel for so many reasons, but my favorite is that when the kids go to bed we adults can still spend time together. I love being with my family!
In the middle of the night, despite Graham being tucked in on one side of me, and Mark lying on the other side, I woke up shivering uncontrollably. "It's so cold in here," I thought. But when I couldn't warm up, and the shivering intensified, I knew something was wrong. I woke Mark up, and handed him my phone. "I c-can't stop sh-shivering," I told him, "and my n-neck hurts. Find out what's wrong with me."
Which, of course, was a stupid exercise. Within moments, Google had informed him that it could be something as simple as a common cold, but could also be meningitis or cancer. Eventually I noticed that my left breast had an incredibly tender area, and (considering the alternatives) was relieved to determine that I probably had mastitis.
I passed a miserable, nauseated, fevered, chilled night. The next morning I felt slightly better, but exhausted. I put in a call to my midwives, who agreed with my analysis, prescribed antibiotics, and insisted that it was important that I rest and not do anything taxing or strenuous for up to a week (hahahahahahahahahaha).
In the meantime, my mom and siblings had taken Aubree and gone to Rexburg for the day. Mark, the boys, and I joined up with them around lunchtime at an excellent park in the middle of Rexburg. The kids pulled out their swimsuits and spent a happy hour playing in the splash park.
Mark took over primary child tending duties while I curled in a weak ball under the shade of Kira's umbrella.
Graham kept me company (and all my great siblings too).
When they were done getting wet, they hurriedly dried off to ride the carousel.
The teenage worker in charge of running the carousel was more attentive to her friends and her phone than to the ride, so the kids got an extra long ride.
The next stop took our crew to the BYU-Idaho campus for a walking tour. I made it...just past the parking lot. Then poor, nap-less Graham and I found a cool, comfortable, corner chair to wait while everyone else trekked across (what I hear was) a very beautiful university.
By this point, everyone was hungry, so we headed to the restaurant Lauren had pre-selected hoping that it would be the least busy of all the graduation-heavy restaurant crowds. Sure enough, we were excited to see that the restaurant was able to get our large group in immediately. Maybe that should have been a warning sign.
It was, hands down, one of our worst restaurant experiences ever (and I'm not just saying that because I felt miserable). Everything was S.L.O.W. Twenty minutes after Kira had ordered her meal, for example, the waiter came out to tell her it wasn't available. It took an hour to get our food. The food was wrong. The kids were crazy. Even the nicest among us were aggravated.
By the end of the meal, I had no energy left. As much as I wanted to go to Lauren's graduation (which began at 8pm), I just couldn't. Mark and I took our kids (and Tyson) back to the rental home and I crashed into a deep sleep. I heard that Lauren's graduation was awesome, and major kudos to her for her big achievement!
By the next morning, with the help of some wonderful antibiotics, I felt much better. We spent a relaxing morning at home playing with cousins and grandma.
Eventually, we loaded up to see the sights in Idaho Falls. Our first stop took us to the beautiful Idaho Falls Temple overlooking (bet'cha can't guess...) the Idaho Falls.
The kids were pretty patient with our constant stopping to take pictures.
This picture was a good idea in theory, but really just resulted in everyone getting wet bums.
The late afternoon afforded more opportunity to play. While exploring the spacious backyard that morning, a wasp found Thane's arm. Another wasp found Bryce's back that afternoon. The baking soda paste helped a ton, but neither boy was overly anxious to go back outside after that.
The following morning was our time to pack up and start our return trip, but not before a little creative, edible play, courtesy of Grandma. Aubree carefully made designs.
Getting in the car to drive home never seems quite as appealing, especially when you're leaving a house full of cousins, aunts, uncles, and a grandma.
Eventually, we were on the road again, with a long drive ahead of us, and a goal to reach Spokane by early evening.
Despite leaving with plenty of cushion time, the good travel fortunes were not with us. Two minutes after every rest stop we passed, Thane would call out, "me have to go potty!" Soon, poor Aubree got carsick, and despite a dose of Dramamine, she joined in the "pullover quick!" chorus. Overall, we averaged a 10 minute stop for every 30 minutes of driving. Aaauuuggghhhh!
We finally made it to our destination for the evening - Mark's cousin Rob's home, where we were eternally grateful to be out of the car and even more grateful for the delicious meal they provided. It was neat to be able to spend the evening catching up with them.
We stayed the night in a hotel in Spokane. This time we made sure it actually had a pool! The next morning, we stopped to visit Mark's aunt Kathy at an RV park where she was camping. We all enjoyed visiting and exploring the campground.
All too soon, though, we knew we had to get back in the dreaded car for the final 4-hour leg of our trip. Thankfully, all the kids fell asleep almost immediately, and it ended up being a quiet, almost uninterrupted drive. Lovely.
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| Enjoying Popsicles with Ethan (our kids' second cousin) |
1 comment:
Boo for mastitis. I'm amazed that you keep such a positive outlook and keep traveling after so many challenges!
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