Road Trip USA: Bullard

My kids were really looking forward to visiting my aunt and uncle in East Texas; not only would they get another opportunity to see Heather's kids, but they also knew that Rick and Nancy had a pool and they could not wait to swim. Of course, when we arrived Saturday afternoon (after having to make a slight detour when GPS took us to closed road-that-is-currently-a-river), there was rain and thunder and lightning.

No worries though. They made themselves right at home with the known cousins (Heather's kids) and the new cousins (Paul's kids). When the lightning and thunder stopped, the boys disappeared outside to swing by the beaver pond, hunt for grubs, jump on the trampoline, and generally get muddy.

Fifteen kids at dinner was an adventure!

After dinner the 7-and-under crowd put on an impromptu talent show. They spent most of the time arguing about who was dancing where and what music should be playing, but it was certainly, uh, entertaining. There is something appealing about young kids with absolutely no qualms or inhibitions about performing to a crowd.

After the performances, Uncle Rick fired up the outside fire-pit for the first time this year so the kids (and adults) could have s'mores. What a treat!

Nellie is getting used to this whole "grandpa" thing, and Uncle Rick was super patient with her sticky hands getting on his pants.

 Thane sure does love a good fire. He also loves food. You can imagine how much he likes s'mores.

See the barn in the back of this picture? The upstairs is a full apartment with two big bedrooms. That's where we got to stay while in Bullard. When we walked in the first night, Bryce asked, "Can we just live here!?"

There were plenty of sleeping spaces, but Thane spied this alcove/bench in one of the bedrooms and begged to be able to sleep there. Sure kid, whatever floats your boat.

Sunday morning was Mother's Day. It was such a treat to be able to spend the day with my kids and with extended family who were kind of like extra parents and siblings growing up. 

Church started at 9 am, and we miraculously managed to get all these people there on time! All the kids except Bryce had a cousin or two with whom to attend class (and Aunt Nancy taught Bryce's class). The Relief Society lesson consisted of a medley of videos about the importance of motherhood. I bawled through most of them, but they really made me stop and ponder my feelings about being a mother. Later that night I posted some of my thoughts on Facebook:

"Being a mother is heart-filling and heart-wrenching. It breaks me and builds me. It exposes and lays bear all my weaknesses, and opens my eyes to reservoirs of strength and courage. It's exhausting and exhilarating. It brings me to my knees and reminds me of my constant need for grace and forgiveness. Motherhood is hard, wonderful, messy, exciting, tedious, and rewarding. 
For the past two weeks, as we've been road tripping and staying with a variety of family and friends, one thing that has really stood out to me is how we're all in this together. We're navigating this thing called life and parenting; we struggle, we make mistakes, we have triumphs, we celebrate successes, we cry, we worry, and we laugh. We are so much more similar than we are different.
I'm beyond grateful for the opportunity to be a mother to these five fantastic children. I'm also grateful for all those who support and lift me on this journey.
To friends and family everywhere, I say "Thank You." Your influence is noticed, appreciated, and treasured."

 After church, we changed quickly, and the kids picked right up where they'd left off on Saturday night. Thane, Taytum, and Hudson became the three amigos and were always out wandering and exploring.

I was surprised, grateful, and humbled to get a few Mother's Day gifts. Nancy, Carly, and Heather each had a small gift for me, and Heather went above and beyond by coordinating with my kids to help them get me a gift.

We were even more spoiled by the dinner that the men cooked: mashed potatoes and Prime Tri-tip. They even made lava cake for dessert! It was not fun, however, when it was time for Christie and Heather and her family to leave. Those long-term good-byes really stink.

 Monday morning, this was our view from our apartment lodgings. The kids knew this was finally the day for swimming.

I pulled my mean-mom card, however, and made them practice their instruments before they were allowed to swim. The boys got to practice on a baby grand piano! Not too shabby!

 Soon they'd completed their tasks and were ready for sunscreen and water. After applying their sunscreen, Aunt Nancy gave them popsicles while they waited for the sunscreen to take effect.

 Thane, Graham, and Nellie chose the prime seats from which to eat.

And then they swam and swam. Bryce didn't swim as long as the other kids. Ever since we got to Texas, allergies have been kicking his booty. It's tough for him to be outside for long. Poor kid.

They took a break for lunch, then Rheagan, Porter, and Crew joined the swim party, they swam more. Nellie loved "taking care" of Crew. She's such a baby lover. Thane was really nervous about going down the water slide, but by the end of the day was sliding without hesitation. 

They ended the day exhausted, a little sun burnt, and oh-so-happy. It didn't hurt that they had pizza and banana cake for dinner. Every kid was in bed by 7:30, and the younger three were all asleep by 7:40.

Thursday morning we got up, packed up, had breakfast and said sad good-byes. Seriously, the good-byes are one of the hardest parts of these visits.

This good-bye was extra hard for a few reasons. One of which is that I grew up with these people. For the first 18 years of my life, I saw them almost constantly. Since then, I've seen them only rarely. That's a hard reality. 

One of the things I loved about our visit to Bullard was reconnecting with my cousin Paul. We went to Kindergarten through 12th grade together, so we have a lot of shared history. Paul has a brilliant mind. You know I love a good discussion/debate, and Paul can "discuss" with the best of them. Honestly, he can completely cream me in almost any subject, but it's intellectually invigorating to talk with him. More than anything though, I enjoyed seeing how much he loves and cares for his four kids. 

Road Trip USA: Frisco

It was only a 2 hour drive from Stephenville to Frisco, but, as a sign of just how on-the-go we've been, Nellie conked out immediately. Blessedly, the car ran great!

We arrived in Frisco at my aunt's house just before her kids got home from school. You see, my Aunt Amanda is actually four years younger than me. She also has five kids, four of which match up perfectly with my kids. Nellie and Emmie are only 4 days apart! And speaking of "actually," it's actually both Emmie and Nellie's favorite word.

I adore Amanda. I've been trying to convince her to move to Seattle for years. Two years ago, however, her parents (my grandparents) moved right next to her, so my plans were thwarted. While that stinks for me, it made our visit extra special; not only did I get to spend time with Amanda and have my kids connect with her kids, we also got to spend a few days with Grandpa Bunker and Grandma 'Lis.

 That night, Grandpa and Grandma treated us all to an authentic Texas BBQ dinner.

The place was incredibly noisy (not necessarily a bad place to take 10 kids if you don't want to be a spectacle), and the food was fantastic.

 Nellie decided she was a big fan of Grandpa Bunker. She's a wise girl.

Of all my kids, Aubree was probably the biggest fan. She commented, "We've got to get one of these in Washington!" But all the kids agreed that their favorite part was the free desserts: soft serve ice cream, peach cobbler, and banana pudding. Triple yum! We were all so full afterwards that we pretty much rolled out.

Aubree spent the nights at Amanda's, but the rest of the kids and I stayed at Grandma and Grandpa's house. They had two beautiful guest rooms for us. With Aubree holding down the fort at Amanda's, the adults gathered after the kids went to bed to play games. Growing up, we always loved playing games with my grandparents, so it was wonderful to walk that path again.

Thursday morning we all gathered for a big breakfast of eggs and bacon.

Then Amanda and I loaded up our ten kids and drove to downtown Dallas to visit the Perot Museum of Nature and Science. 

The museum was incredible! So many of their exhibits were hands-on, meaningful, and engaging. Everyone really enjoyed the interactive topographical map. As they moved the sand around, it immediately changed to topography colors. Super cool!

When they built the museum, you could tell they really tried to maximize the space and impact. For example, these stairs were musical!

 Amanda brought her stroller, and Nellie decided that was the #1 place she wanted to be. She's hop out briefly to participate in an activity, but then would scurry back to find a place in the stroller. Funny little bunny.

 This is the view from the top floor of the museum. Not too shabby!

 One of the kids' favorite spots was the robotics exhibit. The boys probably spent an hour driving and coding the robots.

While the boys were engaged in the robots, the big girls, Aubree, Grace, and Ruby, discovered a hands-on science lab. They completed two different labs, one about DNA and the other about bones. They looked pretty sharp in their lab coats, gloves, and goggles.

Emmie was most excited to play outside on the frogs, so when we were done inside, we spent a little bit of time hopping on the fun frogs. We would have spent longer, but it was a little chilly.

 I should note that not long after we arrived, Ruby decided she would be Aubree's special pal. She stuck right by Aubree's side the entire time we were there. 

We made it back in time to get ready for Taco Thursday. My Uncle Brian stopped by with his two kids in time for dessert (Texas sheet cake and Blue Bell ice-cream). His wife stayed home, but she gets a full pass because she was 10 days overdue with their 3rd child. Yiiiiikes! 

Graham and Faye became quick buddies. Nellie latched on to the idea of a brand new baby girl and kept wanting to go visit the new baby. Unfortunately, the baby didn't make her debut during our time in Frisco.

 When I put Nellie to bed on Thursday night, she was so, so sad (mostly a result of being overtired). "I just want to go home," she sobbed, "I want my daaaaaadyyyyyy!" I pulled out my phone to Facetime Mark hoping that might help, but as soon as his face appeared, her sobs only intensified. It was heart-breaking to hear her so upset. With cuddles and laughter, we got her to calm down, and once she put her head on her pillow, she was asleep in moments.

The next morning she woke up quite chipper, exclaiming, "I want to go see Emmie's Nana!" Phew.

Breakfast Friday morning was a special treat; Grandpa made an enormous batch of aebleskivvers. Yuuummmmyyyyy! 

We'd originally planned more adventures for Friday, but the kids really just wanted to play. So, we scrapped our original plans and let the kids spend the morning moving at their own pace and playing how they wished. I got loads of laundry done, Amanda's little guy got in a nap, and everyone seemed very happy.

In the afternoon, we visited Hope Park, which supposedly is one of the top 50 playgrounds in the USA. It really was pretty spectacular. We happened to hit Dallas on an unseasonably cool week (much better than the last time we were in Texas during a record hot week!), and the park was almost empty. Amanda explained, "This weather is too cold for Friscoans. Everyone is choosing indoor activities."

Nellie and Emmie played together for most of our time in the park, but Nellie, my little social butterfly, kept finding other little girls with whom to play. She's make a couple new friends, then try to introduce them to Emmie. Emmie wasn't interested in extra playmates. Amanda described her as a solitary cat. In that case, Nellie was definitely an excited, eager puppy.

The big kids played and made up a number of games (including "avoid the lava" and "sardines") and soon had most of the kids on the playground joining in with them. It was funny to see random kids running around yelling, "Have you seen Aubree!?"

Friday evening, the girls arranged a talent show. All the kids participated (some more willingly than others). The highlight of the show a big surprise: Aubree had spent the previous two days teaching Grace and Ruby to play the ukulele! Grace played "Riptide" and Ruby played "Hallelujah." Now both of those girls are begging for their own ukuleles.

Their performing efforts were rewarded with cupcakes and more ice cream. Have I mentioned yet how spoiled we've been by our dear friends and family on this trip?! We are overwhelmed with gratitude.

Our stop in Frisco was the longest of any of our stops thus far (and it really was lovely to not have to pack up and leave after just a day or two), but it still seemed far too short. None of us wanted to leave or say good-bye on Saturday morning. We kept trying to figure out ways to see them all again soon.

I can't adequately express how glad I am that I was able to spend those few days with my grandparents and with Amanda and her family. I really do wish they lived next door! There may have been a few tears shed when they gave us their traditional kick-off as we left.

Road Trip USA: Stephenville

Tuesday morning's unwanted wake-up call came at 4:47 am when a monster truck parked in front of our hotel window fired up and revved its engine. I'd had terrible dreams all night long, which wasn't too surprising considering my state of mind as I fell asleep. In some ways, the nightmares helped, because when I woke up and realized they weren't real, the real life stresses seemed pale in comparison. 

Our opinions of our ghetto hotel weren't improved by the morning's breakfast. They had muffins, two kinds of cereal, old Red Delicious apples, waffles, and Tang. Thane kept commenting loudly, "This is not a good breakfast!" Finally I had to have a whispered chat with him, "You're right; this is not a good breakfast, but the owner is right over there and can hear everything you're saying, so please keep it down." On the up-side, it didn't take us long to eat. 

We packed up and headed out to a different mechanic in town to get a second opinion on the car. This mechanic seemed much more competent. He looked things over and said, "It looks like the problem just happened once. I think you're safe to continue on. We will clear the code, and if it happens again, that's when you can find another mechanic. With that encouragement and the stressful yellow warning light gone, we started on our way through west Texas. 

I'd heard horror stories of West Texas and had prepped the kids by telling them, "This will be one of the most boring legs of our trip." I expected it to be similar to the desolate desert landscape you'd find in Arizona and New Mexico. Imagine my surprise when, not long after crossing into Texas, we the scenery quickly became verdant and filled with wildflowers! Sure, we encountered occasional, minor dust-storms, but for the most parts, it was lovely! 

We stopped briefly in Abilene to visit the Storybook Museum. We were disappointed to find that it was really just a big room with framed picture-book illustrations on the walls. 

 They had a small bookstore connected as well. Somewhere, there should be a real book museum.  The possibilities for fun, interactive exhibits are endless!

Unfortunately, when we turned the car back on in Abilene, the check engine light came back on. Blast it all! We weren't too far from Stephenville, so we pressed on to our final destination, my cousin Heather's home. I grew up on a 40-acre ranch. On our ranch, my family had a home, my grandparents had a home, and my aunt and uncle had a home. So, we grew up with our cousins who, in some aspects, were more like siblings. They all moved to Texas about five years after I graduated high school, and since then we don't get to see them very often.

Heather and Greg have six kids and live on seven animal-filled acres. Hudson, who is just a little older than Thane, met our car as we pulled in. He and Thane quickly disappeared outside to be adventurous little boys. 

 Graham joined them for a while chasing butterflies and other insects, but was soon distracted by the horse and the donkey.

 The chickens were another huge attraction. At one point, they accidentally let them all out, then set about herding them all back into the coop. They were so proud of themselves once they had them all wrangled.

Bryce drifted back and forth from inside to outside. When he was inside, he and Harper bonded on the piano.

Nellie made a good buddy in her second cousin Kinley. They played long and hard on the outside swing set, then continued with the inside toys. When it was bath time, they were thrilled to be able to play in there together as well.

Heather has two older girls, Bailey and Morgan, just around Aubree's age. When she found out that they played the ukulele, they became instant friends. 

 All of our kids together make for quite a crew!

After we got the kids to bed, Greg checked out my car. He cleaned off the spark plugs and checked a few other things, but wasn't able to figure out the cause of the trouble.

Heather and I stayed up ridiculously late talking and catching up. My brain kept trying to switch back into seeing her as the teenager she was when I left home so very many years ago, rather than the capable adult that she has become. The late night was especially hard for Heather because her household is up and going well before 6 am every morning. 

My kids woke up after their kids went to school. A huge thunderstorm had moved in during the early morning hours. As we ate doughnuts and eggs for breakfast, a blinding flash of lightning hit nearby and the power went out. That slowed us down for a while, but the power company soon came out and got everything up and going again. 

 Heather watched my kids while Nellie and I took the car into a trusted mechanic. This place was able to figure out the problem - the car was out of oil. They fixed the immediate issue, but, considering I got the oil changed just 3 weeks ago, I will need to watch for other underlying issues (leaking oil or burning oil) as we continue on our trip. Regardless, hallelujah for the moment for having the van run well again!

We went back to Heather's to load up the car, but thankfully only had to say "see you soon" instead of good-bye because we will be seeing them again in just a few more days.

Road Trip USA: Carlsbad Caverns

This post was written Monday night, I just couldn't get WiFi to cooperate until now...

This part of the trip works better in my mind when I break it into parts.

Part 1 - Roswell. After leaving Albuquerque we made our way three hours down the road to Roswell. While Roswell and ABQ seem like nice cities, most of the rest of the towns we passed through in New Mexico were dilapidated and sad. We arrived at our Roswell hotel well past regular bedtime, and I was eager to throw children into their beds. The first room they gave us, however, only had one king bed. Ha! Can you imagine all six of us trying to manage that situation? We got that mostly remedied, but still only had two queen beds and no pull-out sofa. It was a, uh, cozy night.

At 5:55 am the next morning the alarm went off. Seriously?! Is there a conspiracy somewhere to keep me from sleeping in even a little? Breakfast was excellent. Aubree and Bryce want to keep a tally of which hotels on our trip have the best breakfasts. So far Roswell’s Hampton Inn is in the lead (but there hasn’t been much competition yet).

Before leaving Roswell, we decided to spend a little bit of time exploring. We stopped by the UFO museum. It was pretty lame; we only stayed for about 20 minutes. We ended up spending more time in the gift shop than the actual museum. Thane’s goal for the trip was to add to his key chain collection (which currently stands at 2). He was pleased to find his first new addition.

Part 2 - Carlsbad Caverns. These Caverns are seriously in the middle of nowhere. I’d debated whether or not to scratch them from our trip, but I am so glad we didn’t because they are amazing! The entrance to the Caves is unreal. It is also quite stinky from all the birds that nest in the entrance rocks.

We took the Natural Entrance down into the Big Cavern. This hike consists of about 1.5 miles of steep switch-backs leading straight down. It was 95 degrees outside, but the caves remain a fairly constant 56 degrees. A totally down-hill, cool hike? Bryce said he could hike like that all day long. Even Nellie never complained.

When we got to the Big Cavern, I knew it would be a large room, but I was totally unprepared for the scale of the place. We hiked an additional 1.3 mile loop just to see the whole thing! From parts of this area, we could see down to the lower caves. That’s even more mind bending! There we were, hundreds and hundreds of feet underground, and there were even more caves beneath our feet.

Thankfully, we were able to take the elevator back up from the Big Cavern. I’m definitely not in good enough shape to have been able to hike back up the way we came down. From there, the kids worked on their Jr. Ranger booklets. To finish them off, we watched the Carlsbad Caverns movie. This one was, by far, the best of the three we’ve seen.

The kids were sworn in again as Jr Rangers and got their badges. We unanimously agree that Carlsbad Caverns was awesome.

Part 3 - Carlsbad. Today, we put the “bad” in Carlsbad. Not long after leaving the Caverns, the check engine light in my van came on. Ugh! One of my biggest fears was having car trouble during a time I was by myself in the middle of nowhere. I looked up a mechanic in Carlsbad and we arrived around 4:45 pm. I pleaded my case long enough to get one of the employees to do a diagnostic check, but it just came up as a general piston misfire. I spoke with Mr. Boss-man of the shop and he said, “Carlsbad is the worst place to break down. It’s grown so much, that everyone is months behind. If you haven’t noticed your car running badly, I suggest you drive to the next town to find a mechanic to help you.” Of course, the “next town” isn’t anywhere close to here. Double ugh.

We had dinner at Burger King, because it was late, and I was stressed and that was the first place we passed. Then we made our way to our hotel and found that it’s pretty ghetto. Triple Ugh.

Tomorrow morning I’m going to try a different mechanic’s shop. Hopefully they will be able to help us because we’re supposed to have 6 hours of driving to our next destination.

To be continued… (and hopefully it continues in a positive way).