Life after the Break

Thanks G.G. for the money to buy a special book! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for all the fun games and for the great time together...Thank you Aunty Lyndal for the tank tops...To my entire family, especially my amazing mom, for stepping right in as Ryan and I rushed to the hospital and taking care of the other two kids (including Donovan) while still camping for two days. Thank you for my dad who did a trip to the hospital late at night to bring Josiah his blanket, for the care package Terra put together (and more recently Terra for helping me set up my classroom and helping with the kiddos!) Thank you to Andrea and Joey for sitting with us when Josiah was in surgery and for bringing Donovan and Kaila to visit...

...amazingly, his broken bone will be fully healed just 4 weeks from the day he broke it. This little blue cast will come off in perfect timing...my first day back to teaching.  I "get" to drive down to Santa Barbara after I teach my first day to get it cut off.Thankfully I work on the block so I can at least spend the night down there and not drive back late at night. 

Maybe I'll go camping ; )

Which one of these things does not belong?...Beach Camp 2015

Camping in San Onofre, three days of almost my perfect dream vacation. Amazing, warm surf with my hubby, good food and margaritas, campfires on the sand, family everywhere, fun runs...Each day was perfect in it's own way...until Monday evening. 

Like the little song, Which one of these things does not belong?

 

 

 The kids slept with my mom and dad in their tent trailer...

 Morning coffee and hot chocolates from our campsite...

 paella, Thanks mom and dad!!

 A bunch of my extended family drove up to visit...Love them!!

 

 Eda Jean stories with Tata around the campfire...

 ...and then this happened. The monkey bars. ( Actually, Josiah would correct me and say it was the bar next to the monkey bar. His hands slipped and his feet caught.)  

 One surgery, two days and three pins later he was wheeled out...

 

 Recovered one night at the campsite with the family (see Josiah in the stroller?) He was in so much pain, he was so brave and such a trooper. The nurses said he was "the toughest kid they'd ever seen."

 

Ryan took Josiah home a day early and Grandma and Grandpa from Chico got to spend some quality time with him. I spent Thursday finishing off day at the beach and then drove back Friday with the other two kiddos.

If nothing else, Beach Camp 2015 was a memorable one. At least we were in a great area with awesome hospitals and Josiah's break was a standard, common break for kids. I have my hopes high for a better trip next year!

Liggle Eyes, Big Wonders; Part 3

Zion National Park

Favorite Moment-  I think I can speak for both of is when we say that our favorite thing about Zion was just. slowing. down. Up till now we had been staying for about a day and a half in each place we were at. When we hit Zion, we got to park, use the public shuttles and just relax. The kids did better with a little more routine, and we did better with a few more slow mornings exploring local restaurants and coffee shops. We hung out in the warm river and campsites with the kids and our newfound camp-ground friends Karmen and Eric (hello Karmen!...if you ever found us!)

For me, this was a time of re-connecting with my loves. I re-connected with my sense of adventure and nature by going out alone on long runs in new places and hiking the Narrows. I reconnected with my independance and stregnth by running some tough trails by myself and feeling great as I was doing it, then being rewarded with the awesome sights Zion has to offer. Ryan got to re-connect with his younger, stronger, river romping self by hiking far up into the Narrows at the break of dawn by himself. He was alone in the canyon and was able to hike fast over the river rocks carrying only his backpack and a light jacket. He enjoyed relaxing at the campsite and scored some great views on a few bike rides up and out of Zion Canyon.

Least Favorite Moment:  By far, my least favorite moment was precidented by the fact that we did not make reservations in Zion National Park ahead of time. We arrived in Zion mid-day and aggressively (sprinting from the car to the front desk in front of other campers pulling in the parking lot), snagged the last tent spot in a terrible campground that resembled a dirt parking lot with about 5 feet of "camping space." Fortunately Zion has a "first come first serve" campground, so I got out at the break of dawn, biked in and patrolled the campground for an open spot like a shark circling a wounded seal. It was crazy. I was crazy. They were crazy.

Competing campers avoided eye contact as they scoped out potential spots. One car nearly ran me off the road. I stalked the poor college kids who were innocently sleeping under the stars because their campsite tag said they were leaving that day.  

 I can't say I'm proud of my aggressive transformation but oh well. It worked. We got an awesome spot close to the river with perfect access to the bike trail and shuttle. Even Ryan said it was worth it.

Dance Party in the car on our LONG drive home. 

 

Quote of the Day

Kaila- Outside crying in what sounds like pain. She's obviously been hit/bit or had something unjustly stolen from her.  .."AAAAAHHHHHH, AAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHH, AAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

Josiah-Ignores her, a sure sign of guilt. He is holding a toy and rides a small bike past the back door where I am sitting,  pretending like nothing's happening. There's no screaming 3 1/2 year old in the backyard.  Sideways glance at me, eyes downcast..."uuuuu, Kaila?..."

Kaila- "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH, uuuuuuuuggggghhhhhhh, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH" Still sobbing uncontrollably with a hint of defiant anger against her brother.

Josiah- Glances nervously at me..."UUUm Kaila, Kaila, pretend you are crying because you love me so much..."

Kaila- "NO!!! AAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH....." begins to near the door where I am sitting.

Josiah- "Kaila! You want this toy now!?"

Kaila- Tears miraculously stop flowing immediately. She stops in her tracks. "Yes."

Life goes on.

Little Eyes, Big Wonders; Part 2

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Favorite Moment: 
The art galleries and the lively plaza were unforgettable, as was seeing the countries oldest building and church. I don't now though, all those things were right up there with an awesome chillie-powder infused Mexican Mocha I ordered from a little local coffee shop. I'm telling you, it was unforgettable...I'm drooling now.

Least Favorite Moment: 
Driving from Sedona to Santa Fe,  the world ended, I mean a semi overturned on the freeway and everything came to a halt. (We were just 30 minutes away from Albuquerque, with about 4 hours behind us!!)The only way around was a 6 hour+ detour through the mountains (glad we asked about that before we headed out for the "short cut" on the map). Semis and cars were pulled over on the side of the freeway, blatently ignoring the livid police who were driving by and yelling at them to "Turn around and drive 50 miles back to the nearest Indian casino and spend the night"  or go backwards to get in the equally long line on the frontage road.  

Not a favorite moment. However, the kids and I unbuckled, stretched and played games in the van, Ryan almost started making Brinner (Breakfast for Dinner) on the side of the road, and the rain made for a fun change of scene and cooled everyone off. All and all, we chalked it up to the stuff Adventures are made of.

 The Plaza

 The Country's Oldest church.

One more Favorite Moment: 

When we were out to dinner Josiah discovered that he LOVES drinking both rootbeer and water at the same time. He likes putting a straw from each cup in his mouth at the same time then drinking them together. With homemade rootbeer, how could you go wrong?! 

One more Least Favorite Moment: 

I'll tell you how you could go wrong. We discovered that we were really, really glad we had put a precautionary towel down on the kid's beds at the rental house we were staying in. Then we got to spend some quality time at the laundry mat the next morning.

Arches National Park

Favorite Moment: 

No need to explain, the arches were awesome! I particularly loved the double arch and the entire drive through the park was beautiful. Moab itself was also a really cool town.

Least Favorite Moment: 

 This was our first unreserved night. I wish we would have had a campspot in Arches. Instead we went to a private camping spot. It was pretty nice, and it had free, unlimited-time hot showers so I'm not complaining. 

My kids however complained/screamed/cried/sobbed loudly the entire time when I tried to take all three of them in the shower at once. Donovan was cranky, poopy and slippery as a greased pig when he was wet. Kaila took one step in the shower, slipped and fell hard flat on her back, whacking her head on the ground.  Josiah couldn't seem to take a step without tracking every ounce of clothing he had in the puddles of nasty-public-shower-water that were rapidly accumulating all over the floor. 

Not to mention that no-one had flip flops so I was grimacing at the athlete's foot we were sure to bring home (none so far, glad to report). But with about a full week of camping to come and no showers in sight, it had to be done.

We were all getting soaped up, scrubbed down, hair washed, 

...and I was going to shave,  dammit!!!

So there it is. Dont judge me for swearing. Sometimes that's the type of gumption that'll get you through to the cozy pjs and book by the fire at the end without breaking into tears. 

  

Mesa Verde National Park

Favorite Moment: 
We did the Cliff House tour. We had to walk along ledges, climb ladders and carry the two little kids in backpacks, but we did it! They did great! 

Our tour guide ranger took his job seriously. He gave the tour in a David Attenborough-inspired voice. He told us the history of the pueblo people and the cliff house in the form of a traditional Native American Story, complete with the "Spirit of the Wind" talking to us and everything.

Least Favorite Moment:  
Well, this was the coldest part of our trip. The nights were in the 30's and it drizzled and rained off and on almost the entire time. We switched campspots about three times trying to find a sheltered spot. The van worked out great though. Turns out merely reparking your car  to "move campspots" isn't that bad. Plus we cranked the car heater before bed and we were all cozy as can be.

Adventures To Be Continued...

Coffee Anyone?

Too much coffee, two spontaneous dreamers, and a sledge hammer make for a bad combination...

or maybe good one, we'll see.

(Love you Ryan!)

Little Eyes, Big Wonders; Part 1

For those of you who are new to our blog, Ryan and I have always loved our adventures (see our super old posts). We have backpacked in the backcountry, and did urban backpacking around europe, mexico, central America, the US...

Since then, we've upscaled a bit. Our two bodies have multiplied into 5. Our little backpacks have been exchanged for a van. This was the first year we have been able to pull off a legit adventure since the kiddos have come into this world. We spent 2 weeks camping and living out of our converted van (with the exception of a few VRBO nights for the cities etc) as we traveled around and experienced some of the most amazing National Parks and cities our country has to offer. 

I began by cautiously, prepping myself mentally to be happy going however slow we needed to, trying not to get my expectations too high for what we would "accomplish" on the trip. After all, our little ones are 4 1/2, 3 1/2, our baby is only 7 months old. We would all be sleeping in the van with predicted temperatures in the 30s and rain...We would be keeping track of kiddos in cities, there would be long traveling days and unpredictable travel "road bumps," the second week of our trip was completely unreserved...etc, etc. the list of doubts goes on and on.

But after spending months in advance creating our little van-home, we were off! First stop? The Grand Canyon.

To keep it short, I'm putting my "favorite" and "least favorite" moments under each area. Some of the least favorite moments actually were miserable, and some were just "bad" things that are really kinda funny, especially in retrospect.

After a quick night in Tehapeau (thanks Rhiannon), we got on the road early, drove and then pulled off somewhere in the middle of the desert for a pit stop and some breakfast. As we hunkerd down on the side of the road eating our hard boiled eggs, yogurt and granola, I couldn't help but admire how our kiddos don't even question the wierdness of all this. Yesterday you ate breakfast at the breakfast table like a normal person, today you're squatting on the side of Interstate 40 in the middle of the Mojave Desert. Obviously. Cuz that's life, right?

 First Stop:

Grand Canyon

 

Favorite Moments: 

For myself, I went on a run along the canyon rim early each morning, by myself. It was so, so beautiful, I practically cried in awe of the hugeness of it all. 

For the fam, the kids really did love it. We were following a "fossil walk" ranger-led tour when it started to rain pretty hard. I stacked Josiah and Kaila on top of eachother in the stroller for warmth and sprinted to our waiting, warm van.  Our family huddled in the van, turned the heater on, listened to music, ate a sweet little lunch and watched the storm roll in over the canyon from our front row parking spot. It was a sweet time together.

Least Favorite Moment:

As we sprinted back after the fossil walk with the stroller in the rain, (kicking myself for not bringing their big jackets), the big kids started saying "my hands are blooded" (now repeat... 500 times). Apparently blooded means "freezing cold and turning numb" pretty accurate right? Dont worry, Donovan was cozy warm taking a nap back with Ryan.

 

Tuba City-Dinosaur Footprints

Favorite Moments:

We got to put our hands and feet in real dinosaur foot prints and see where the dinosaurs actually walked. It stirred the awe I had for dinosaurs since I was a kid and reminded me of how my dad shared his love of science, geology and the earth, with me, when I was a little girl. 

Least Favorite Moment:

I hate to say this, but there's a good chance our Native American "guide" was a bit stoned. Don't get me wrong, there were other guides that were super knowledgable and had awesome information and experience. If you go, just try and get one of those ones. : )

Bell Rock-Sedona, AZ

Favorite Moments: 

This hike may be one of my hands down favorite hikes we did the whole trip. Thie kids, Ryan and I had to scramble up and then back down huge rocks to hike up this rock. We were traversing ledges, sliding on our bellies and bums, and using cracks and crevaces to ascend the rock. 

Least Favorite Moment: 

We had just finished telling the kids to watch out for rattle snakes and how they can be really dangerous and you'd have to go to the hospital. The words had literally just finished coming out of Ryan's mouth, when Josiah's eyes got huge, he screamed, literally lept backwards, and Kaila pretty much lept 4 verticle feet up into Ryan's arms, Josiah yells in terror "A RATTLE SNAKE!!!!"

He has a great eye, it was a mid-sized gopher snake about 3 1/2 feet away from him under the bushes. 

 (and...end of day 4, more to come!)