Seattle

I didn't take any pictures while we were at my mom's house. D'oh! Since Zach & Sarah were there, it would have been a great opportunity, but instead I spent three days actually relaxing instead of running around doing things. After leaving my mom's and heading over the mountains to Olympia, we drove up to Bremerton to take the ferry to Seattle. I took a ton of Seattle pictures, so I may break them up into a couple different posts.

On the ferry, just after we left the dock in Bremerton:





Hard to get rid of backlighting when it's this bright outside! This is the rear outside deck on the second level.


Drew was really impressed with the Seattle Skyline.


After we unloaded the ferry, Zach & Sarah met us there, and we headed down the waterfront towards Pike Place. L-R: Half of Alex (nephew), Zach, Aly, Sarah, Aspen, my mom


This was almost everyone, just missing Jeff & two of my kids. L-R: Alex, Kendra, Zach, Levi, my mom, Aly, Sarah, Aspen, Jami, Isaiah, Jaden.



The aquarium windows were interesting, but we didn't go in.

Aspen & Aly were both happy to walk with Grandma. With us in Dallas and Aly in Michigan, neither gets to see Grandma enough!

Aspen really got attached to Sarah in the few days we spent with them. This was at Pike Place, the last time we'd see them, and Aspen was having a hard time smiling because she was so sad.

Sitting on Rachel, the Pike Place Market's famous pig. (Not that you can see her under my kids, though.) With that many people and the flying fish right behind us, I gave up on trying to get a shot of everyone looking the right direction!

Just outside of Westlake Center, home of the monorail, there's a waterfall fountain. The water is thick enough that when the kids walked in between the two sides, the pictures were indecipherable, so I went into the waterfall instead.

Leaving Yellowstone...finally!

I know, I know. Slowest. blogger. ever. Heavens, I have so much free time on my hands I just can't understand why I'm not finished with all of these pictures yet! :D

So without further ado, here is our last morning in Yellowstone:

On our way out, we drove to Fishing Bridge. Kind of ironic, since fishing's been prohibited for fifty years or so! If you've not been there, Fishing Bridge spans the Yellowstone River where it leaves Lake Yellowstone. This one has the kids facing the lake, the camera facing the river:

There are stairs going down from the bridge so you can walk along the riverbanks, but the water was too high while we were there. It covered the bottom three steps.

Jeff stayed on the bridge with Lily--we were a little worried she might decide to go for a swim!

We had to pry the kids off of the steps. I think they would have been happy to sit there for an hour! What were they so fascinated with? Fish! These fish were maybe 1½-2" long, not very big at all. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that there were probably a hundred thousand of them--they extended up & down both banks as far as we could see.

From Colorado to Yellowstone

I'm a bit late posting these, as I uploaded them to my facebook page a couple of days ago. The upside to that, though, is that I'm posting pictures from my new laptop now instead of having to sit at the computer! Not that owning a laptop gives me more time to post or accomplish anything, but at least I can take it with me and steal an extra minute or five here and there. My last laptop gave up the ghost several months ago, so I am thrilled to pieces to have this really cool new one. It was Jeff's 10-year anniversary present to me. Love you, sweetie!

And now I'll try to ignore the guilt that is building since I got an awesome computer and I didn't get anything for him...on our anniversary, we were in the middle of vacation, after all...

So, without further ado, here are the pictures from our 1½-day drive from Colorado Springs to Yellowstone. We drove through the night, so no camp pictures.


On our way out of Colorado Springs, we stopped at Seven Falls (I think). Jeff and the kids made the short hike up to the bridge and beyond, while Lily and I stayed at the bottom. She was out of her stroller, and I was in a boot, so we didn't even attempt to keep up with them.

We did eventually climb up the rock stairway, though. This is the view from the same bridge, looking further up the falls.

A couple of hours later, all of the kids had fallen asleep, so we stopped at a rock store, for lack of a better word. They do landscaping and sell huge rocks and fountains, and in the front of the building is a gorgeous rock garden that's open to passersby. Perfect for them to run around & wake up!

The boys decided we needed a a rock like this. That would be one heck of a game of marbles.

I may just have to find Jeff a chair like this one!

Well, we can't very well travel to England, so here's our Stonehenge substitute:

After driving/napping all night, we stopped at a picnic area just outside the Tetons to wake up the kids, get dressed, and eat breakfast. The hitch platform made a great breakfast table.

An hour or so later, we finally made it! (In case you're wondering, no, Lily did not take the picture. ;) She was asleep in her carseat just out of your sight, but not out of ours.)

I don't remember if this was just before we got to Yellowstone, or just after, but as I was driving and starting to get a little sleepy, I saw a marker for another set of waterfalls. Perfect timing! Kids can stretch their legs, Mom can wake up so she doesn't kill anyone.

We did finally make it to Old Faithful. We ate a picnic lunch and then headed to the viewing area. Thankfully, and quite accidentally, we timed our arrival just right and only had to wait about 30-35 minutes to see the eruption!

Day 28...The Aftermath

LOTS of mail to go through. Lots of bags to unpack. Sand in my van that needs to be swept out. Even more bags to unpack. I'll be gone today from 1pm to midnight, working my semiannual shift at the Divine Consign Arlington sale, so I don't think much will get done, unfortunately!

I've started uploading pictures, but there are quite a few of them. Posting all of them at once would leave me without sleep and my friends & family bored to tears, so I'll post just a few at a time. One state or location per day seems much more manageable!

With that said, here are a few from our first stop in Colorado:

My little happy camper. Actually, she was so happy to be out of the car that she didn't care where we were.

Our campsite & tent setup. Thankfully, the tent can be completely set up in twenty minutes with two adults. With one adult and four children, as we usually ended up with, it can take up to an hour!

Lily was less than pleased that she couldn't climb up this rock.

The sunset was incredible. You can even see our lovely pit toilet just to the right of center, if you look closely.

Our attempts to cook breakfast, complete with sun-in-my-eyes squinting from everyone!

No zoom on this picture! He was quite curious about my camera.

Lily did nothing but watch the "puppies" all morning.

This was where we went on our first official vacation hike, around Eleven Mile Reservoir.

Aspen was impressed with the fact that obviously, someone knew she was coming!

The kids found a rock cave, open on both ends, and decided it'd be a great place to eat our snack of raisins & cereal bars. Oddly enough, Jeff and I decided not to join them.

Lily was happy to stay in the carrier about half the time. We either got to see this angelic face, or hear her screams of protest. I much prefer this one...

This was the highest point of our hike. You can't tell from the picture, but there is a good 75-100 foot dropoff behind this rock. I was a wee bit nervous to have Levi running around up there.

Lily, of course, was oblivious to the scenery around her.

Not quite so oblivious to her brother, though. She's running away from him.

After our hike, and after we packed up camp, we went to pick up Andrew. This is the closing ceremonies at Camp Alexander, Colorado. This was our troop's first visit there, and during that week, our boys were one of six troops (of ten total, I think) from the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

If you know where to look, you can find Drew in the above picture. I almost didn't recognize him when the troop walked up! It's amazing how much he grew up in just a week.

Day 27

Somehow, when I posted my Day 28 message, my blog managed to eat my Day 27 post, and it's nowhere to be found. It's now 4am and I have no desire to rewrite it.

Suffice it to say that we left Tucumcari at 9am New Mexico time, got home at 8pm Dallas time, and actually had a good day in the car. We stopped and grilled hot dogs for lunch, had an adventure trying to pick up Jeff's car from the shop (it was stuck between two cars, we ended up leaving it there), and ordered Chili's on the way home so we wouldn't have to cook. Jeff has to go back to work on Wednesday morning, and I am more than a bit worried about how I'm going to get the van cleaned out and the house cleaned up!

Total miles today: 464.

Day 26

I wasn’t sure we were ever going to get the kids in bed last night. We started off with a big spaghetti dinner, followed by hours of playing. Andrew and Jaden played Legos and Toontown with Todd and Spencer, Kendra and Rachel did I-don’t-even-know-what, Aspen and Bridger disappeared and were inseparable all night, Levi ran around the house like the Energizer Bunny, and Lily wandered around doing whatever she wanted to do, since Alyssa is only five months old and can’t play much. Just before bedtime, Nicole pulled two pans of brownies out of the oven, and they lasted all of fifteen minutes. Eventually, everyone settled down, and by 10:00 even Levi was asleep.

This morning, my kids woke up, ate pancakes, and settled in like they’d been here all their lives. Besides the similar ages, my oldest four are boy-boy-girl-girl, and hers are boy-boy-girl-boy, and they all get along great. Aspen has been asking since day one of vacation, “Are we going to Bridger’s house yet?” Actually, since the day we left Snowflake last summer to head back home, it’s been a “Can we go back to Bridger’s house?” on a regular basis.

After lunch, we herded the cats kids into the van. Levi, again, wanted desperately to stay and play with his cousins. He howled in protest as we buckled him in his carseat, and two minutes later Lily joined him in chorus as we put her in too. I feel a little bit guilty, because I do wish we could stay for another day. Todd is being ordained a deacon at church today, and that’s an important occasion. We have to be home Monday night, though, and it’s fourteen hours of driving from here to Dallas, and if we don’t leave now then tomorrow will be absolutely miserable.

At the moment, we’re almost to Tucumcari, where we’re staying in a hotel, and we’ve only had to stop three times so far. Gas and bathroom stop, then a park in Albuquerque for dinner, and a rest stop after that. The number one complaint my kids have had in the car is being thirsty and needing more water, so we have several Nalgene and Camelbak bottles with us. You’d think after nearly four weeks that we’d remember to fill them up every time we stop, but we forgot today. When we stopped at the park and pulled out the stove to make macaroni and cheese, we had barely enough water to cook with, and that left none to drink. There were no drinking fountains at the park, so we had to drive another 20 minutes after dinner to find a rest stop to fill up our water. Fiddlesticks!

I’m glad we’re going to be in a hotel tonight, both for time-saving purposes (2hrs tonight to set up the tent, 2hrs tomorrow to pack it back up) and because we’ve been watching thunderstorms all around us as we’ve been driving. We haven’t hit any, but the road is wet, and the lightning has given us quite a show. Not the weather I want to be tenting in!

Day 25

Boy, I could get used to this sleeping-in-a-bed thing!

My aunt and uncle came back over to the house this morning to spend a couple more hours with us before we had to leave. My uncle is the same age as my dad, so Aspen has decided that he’s another Grandpa and is as happy as a clam to have him here again. She’s also very snuggly with Linda, my cousin. This trip has been really good for Aspen; she’s incredibly shy, bordering on selective mutism, and never speaks to anyone she doesn’t know—and frequently not even people she does know. Of course, she’s always more comfortable around her siblings and parents, and every time we’ve stayed at someone’s house, she’s been able to relax more easily since we’re around all the time. Four weeks means a lot of new situations, and by the time we got here, she’s warming up more quickly than she did when we started our vacation.

Last night, Aspen was sitting on Linda’s lap, and Linda was asking her what her name was. “Is it Bob?” Each time Linda came up with a silly name, Aspen would shake her head no. Finally she ran off, and Linda thought that Aspen had just gone to play. She came back just a few minutes later, though. Aspen had looked around the house until she found a Magnadoodle. She wrote “Aspen Rose” on the screen, brought it back to Linda, and held it up for her to see. It may not be talking, but it’s definitely communication!

We let the kids play for a while, and after lunch we packed up to go. Hugs, kisses, almost-tearful, reluctant goodbyes, and we drove off. Levi kept yelling “We don’t hafta leave! We can stay here!” We got as far as the gas station a mile down the road when I got a call from Auntie Reen letting me know we’d forgotten the food she and Linda had packed for us. Since we were filing up, they hopped in the car and brought it to us. More hugs and kisses, and we left again. Fifteen minutes later, I realized I’d left my wedding ring there. The one and only time I’d taken it off this entire vacation, and it’s sitting in the guest room! I called, Linda found it, and we turned around. Two minutes later the phone rang again. My aunt and uncle were heading back to their house and were bringing me my ring, so we found a halfway spot and met them there. More hugs and kisses again, and then we were really on our way. Whew! Quite the production.

We drove from Phoenix to Snowflake, and the scenery (and how much it changed) was incredible. We started out with desert landscape and lots of saguaro cacti. Within an hour or so, we were still in the mountains but surrounded by tall pine trees, which covered hills and peaks as far as you could see. An hour after that, it was mostly flat, with a few rolling hills, spotted with short, round, scrubby brush trees and slashes of dry orangey-red washes.

Made it to my sister’s house around 4pm. She has 6 kids too, 3 girls & 3 boys. The oldest is only 9mos older than Andrew, and the youngest is a year younger than Lily. My kids love it here, adore their cousins, and the next 24 hours are going to be crazy-fun!

Total miles today: 177

Day 24

I do NOT like sleeping in the car.

It’s great to get where we’re going faster, and it’s the only way we could have made a stop in Phoenix, but it’s not something I want to do much. Levi, Lily, Jaden, and Kendra are all pretty well-rested, because they slept nine or ten hours straight, but Aspen, Andrew, Jeff, and I are all somewhat groggy and out of it. I actually woke up three or four times, and each time I tried to keep driving. After 20-30 minutes (or even less), I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore and had to stop again.

We made it to Phoenix at about 1:30-ish and went to a mall to eat and let the kids run around. We’ve been trying to fix our own meals and buy food from the grocery store rather than eat fast food all the time, but it’s hard. Since we’re not at a campsite, we were going to head to a park and make sandwiches or mac & cheese, but it’s already 94 degrees outside, so fast food it is.

Once we got to my cousin’s house, the kids ran around in circles and had fun playing with Dakota and Bandit the dog. The house was packed, although that happens everywhere we go: Linda, her husband Dennis, Dakota, my Uncle Bruce and Auntie Reen, my dad, my stepmom, plus the eight of us and the dog. The kids all played on Dakota’s blow-up waterslide for what seemed like hours and had a blast. We had a wonderful dinner, including my aunt’s delish potato salad that I haven’t had in forever, topped it off with chocolate cake with homemade buttercream frosting, and then just sat and visited. As with every family member we’ve visited, I wish we could stay longer and visit more often!

Wasn’t hard to get the kids to go to sleep tonight. They’re worn out. I’m glad, since they spent so much time in the car yesterday. Total miles between last night and this morning: 717.

Day 23

Alert the media: we made it out of our campsite by 9am again! It was cooooolllllldddd, and I really didn’t want to get out of my sleeping bag, but we had somewhere to be.

The aquarium has summer diving activities for kids 8-13. We’d tried to get the kids in yesterday, but they were booked, and today (Thurs) there were two slots at two different times, so Drew has to be there by 9:30 and Jaden at 11. The kids get to put on dry suits and SCUBA gear and go surface SCUBAing in the aquarium’s bay area. Because of Andrew’s Aspergers, they assigned him a one-on-one instructor, and he did great and had a really good dive. He would have been fine with the 3 kids/1 instructor ratio, but it's always nice to have more attention for him just in case. Jaden said he “had fun but it wasn’t an ‘Oh WOW hurray yeah!’ thing.” Me, I got plenty of pictures and some video and was mildly jealous that my 9- and 11-yo sons have been SCUBA diving, and I’m 33 and have never been. Hrmph.

Left the aquarium, took over a Laundromat, and used almost all available washers and dryers to get laundry done. Jeff actually had most of it done while the boys went diving, and then all of us folded and sorted and repacked everything. We have a lot of dang clothes on this trip.

After that, though, we got to go to Dennis the Menace park to play. My cousin Micheal and her two little boys, 7 & 9 years old, drove down from Gilroy to play with us for a couple of hours. I grew up in the same town as Micheal and was the flower girl in her wedding forever ago, but I haven’t seen her in probably thirteen years, so we sat and talked nonstop the entire time. I was enormously pleased to see her, and the kids had fun playing with Gabriel and Seth.

Dinnertime came much too soon, and they had to leave, so we piled in the car too. After stopping at Costco for pizza and hot dogs, we are back in the car driving. The plan is to drive straight through tonight to get to Phoenix. I know we’ll have to stop for a nap or two, but it’s twelve hours of driving, so I think we can make it by around lunch or between lunch and dinner. Another cousin, Micheal’s sister Linda, lives in the Phoenix area, along with my aunt & uncle (Micheal & Linda’s parents) whom I haven’t seen in a while. And oh yeah, my dad too. Linda has invited us all to spend the night with her, which will be fun. I don’t think she’s met Jeff or any of the kids before. (I did say to her, when she offered her house, “You know there are eight of us, right?”)

I am already a little tired, so I think I need a nap…

Day 22

Wow, it’s nice to leave in the morning and not have to pick up camp! This has definitely been a learning experience for us. We’ve decided that in the future, we will either take road trips or go camping, but probably not both. Camping is a lot of fun, and I honestly don’t mind getting dirty or sleeping in a tent with all of the kids. I actually enjoy cooking on a propane stove and living out of a suitcase. Trying to do all of that and sleep in a different place every night, though, is hard, especially when you aren’t just packing for yourself but for six small people who can’t really do everything for themselves. On future vacations, if we want to see things and go to different places every day, we will probably stay in cheap hotels. If we want to camp, we’ll drive somewhere and then stay there for a week. We don’t need anything fancy, and even a Motel 6 is fine, we just need beds at the end of the day and a place to put our clothes.

We bought a membership to the Monterey Bay Aquarium and spent the day there. The kids loved the touch pools, the outer bay exhibit, the otters, heck, we probably could have spent a week there and not gotten bored. Levi and Aspen really liked the octopi, the rockfish and leopard sharks in the kelp forest, the jellies, and the outer bay exhibit. Levi, especially, talked nonstop at the Outer Bay. “Where’s the stingray? Oh! You see that shark? That’s a head hammer shark! Hey look! It’s a bigger bigger tuna! Where’s the stingray? WOW!” Andrew and Kendra watched the otters for almost an hour, and Andrew and Jaden played a game that gave them “gold medals” for finding different species. Lily touched several different animals in the touch pools and, when we stood in front of any of the exhibits, giggled like crazy whenever a fish swam directly in front of her face.

While the kids went to the gift shop, I went to security to have them help us find Andrew. He’s started wandering off the past couple of months. Drives us crazy because he’s eleven, so he’s old enough that we don’t panic when he’s out of our line of sight, but he’s there and then all of a sudden he’s gone and he could have gone anywhere. It’s maddening to have to spend time looking for him, and at the same time I’m trying not to worry because 11 is old enough to (mostly sometimes) take care of himself. He’s always apologetic and says “I’m sorry, I got distracted,” but then it happens again. ARGH!He finally appeared, and the kids took their stuffed animals—Kendra and Aspen got a pink dolphin and pink seal; honestly, who comes up with these things?—and we grabbed some Jamba Juices. One failed search for a Laundromat later, went back to our campsite. Grilled hot dogs and went to bed. Tired!

Day 21, more

We made it to Monterey just in time to feed starving children. Me, I wasn’t too hungry, because I drove and *ahem* ate all my jelly beans. Oops. All of the Fisherman’s Wharf restaurants have awesome clam chowder, but we always eat at Old Fisherman’s Grotto when we’re in Monterey, so we headed there. It’s not exactly a family-friendly restaurant, and on the kids’ menu it specifically states that if your child is crying or causing a disturbance, you need to take the child outside or you’ll be asked to leave. Yikes! There were more than a few raised eyebrows when the eight of us filed in and sat down. Thankfully, the kids did great. We even got compliments on how well-behaved they were. We try hard to make sure our family, and our children, aren’t “that bunch of kids” that cause grumbling, dirty looks, and muttered comments, so to hear that someone is impressed by the kids’ behavior is always gratifying.

(Especially when they were non-stop blurs of motion the entire time we were at Lake Berryessa and Jelly Belly.)

We started to look at souvenirs along the wharf, and while the older kids and I were browsing, Jeff took the younger kids to look at the water. While looking over the railing, Levi turned his head just right, and the wind blew his hat in. Yep, his rainbow-colored, spinning-propeller, just-purchased Jelly Belly hat. Levi was immediately hysterical, and not only was he crying non-stop, Aspen started to cry too. Jeff talked to a couple of people to try & find out how he could get down to the water, and the third person he talked to was a woman just a few feet away in the office of a whale-watching boat. Since the boat was tied up right there, she went down onboard the boat and pulled out a long stick with a hook on the end. It took a few tries, because the boat was moving a few feet back and forth with the waves, but she was able to snag the hat with her hook and return it to a very grateful little boy. Pheee-ew! Poor guy had a tear-stained face for the rest of the night, but he was sooooo happy to have his hat back. He wanted to wear it back to the car, but I vetoed that because it was sopping wet, and the wind was chilly.

At that point, we realized we’d be setting up camp in the dark, so we headed towards Carmel to the Saddle Mountain RV Resort. The GPS showed that we’d arrived there about half a mile before we actually had, so we drove clueless for a few minutes before finding it tucked onto a hillside at the end of a one-land road. Seriously, tucked into a hillside. The driveway felt like it was at a 40-degree angle, and the dirt road to get to the tent sites was a short series of switchbacks with flat spots carved out on the sides for tents. I would have never found this place on my own in a million years, but despite the hills and the difficulty in driving the van up here, it’s a great park. I’d love to come back here and stay for a week!

Total miles today: 172

Day 21

It’s amazing how much better our mornings are when the kids are asleep by 9:30. I realize that’s a Captain Obvious moment, but with this kind of a schedule, that hasn’t happened a whole lot. Woke up today, ate cold cereal, and packed up again. It wasn’t hard to motivate the kids this morning at all; even Levi remembered where we were planning to be today. As soon as he woke up, I said, “Hey Levi, jellybeans!” He popped up out of his sleeping bag and yelled “Jelly Belly factowy!” We wanted to be at the factory by 11am, and we made it to Fairfield by 10:30. Hurrah!

Nik and RJ met us there, and they, along with Jeff, Andrew, Aspen, Levi, and Lily, went on the free tour. Kendra, Jaden, and I all went on a private on-the-floor tour that was pretty dang cool. We left the building and went to the employee entrance. Once inside, we had to put on hairnets, long white pants, lab coats, shoe covers, and gloves. Jaden wasn't impressed with the hairnet; he thought it was much too hot and itchy! Ruby, our tour guide, took the three of us through the factory where we could get up close to all of the equipment. We got to taste jellybeans at every stage of production, see and smell flavors that aren’t yet being sold, take a look at colors that are still being worked on. Did you know, for example, that the candymakers experiment with color until the colors are just right, and then decide what the flavor will be? The batches of colored beans (unflavored) that didn’t work out just right, along with all of the candy swept from the floor, are sold to local farmers as pig feed. We spent about 90 minutes in the factory, and it went by fast.

We met up with the rest of the group in the café, where we ate jellybean-shaped pizza. Jeff bought two cases of Sport Beans, Drew & Jeff both bought Jelly Belly shirts, all of the kids picked out some bulk jellybeans, and Levi & Aspen picked out cute hats. Levi’s has a beanie propeller on top that spins when he runs, and he’s pretty happy with it. It seems to fit his personality, and it makes me laugh to see him running around in it.

Eating lunch and souvenir-shopping took a total of about two hours, and I don’t know who was more worn-out by the end—the kids, or Nik, RJ, Jeff, and I. I’m sad that we only got two days with them, although the kids were active enough that Nik & RJ may have gotten their fill in two days! The older boys really enjoyed wrestling and playing with RJ, Kendra and Aspen think that Nik is the coolest ever, and Levi would be happy to adopt Nik as his second mom. After we loaded up in the car and had said our goodbyes, Levi jumped out and (with me following) ran across the parking lot to give both Nik and RJ one more hug and kiss.

Whew. Busy morning! We are headed straight to Monterey now. I’m hoping we’ll get there by dinner.

Day 20

Always check the late arrival policies! In many campgrounds, if you arrive after the office is closed, you can go and set up at a site, then register & pay in the morning. At Lake Solano Campground, the gate is locked at 7:30pm, and you are out of luck until they open at 8am. We arrived at 11:30, so we ended up sleeping in the van parked by the side of the road. Not terribly comfortable.

Once we were able to get in, set up, and eat breakfast, we got everyone into swimsuits and headed for Lake Berryessa, 45 minutes away. This is the first night in over a week where we’ve been away from the coast, and it’s much hotter here! Perfect for swimming. My friend Nik’s husband RJ is a park ranger out at Berryessa, so we met them at the swimming area, ate lunch, and played in the water for a couple of hours. The lake is a gorgeous shade of blue-green, and the water felt great. There are a couple of islands not far from the swimming buoys, and RJ is a lifeguard, so he and Nik swam with Drew, Jace, and Kendra out to one of the islands. The kids were pretty happy, and I managed to get a couple pictures of them climbing to the top of the island. I thought about going out with them, but I’m not a strong distance swimmer, and the three life jackets were being used by the kids, so I stayed on the shore with the Aspen, Levi, and Lily.

After we swam, Nik and RJ took us back to the dorms where park rangers live, and we got to use their shower. Hallelujah! I hadn’t showered in three days, and some of the kids had gone a week, so it was a very welcome sight. RJ and Jeff grilled burgers, we had a delicious dinner, and then my kids proceeded to burn up all of the energy that they’ve been storing after being stuck in the car for two days.

We also went down to the visitor’s center, where the kids got to see some of the local wildlife that’s been stuffed, and learned more about the Bureau of Reclamation, which owns and manages the lake and dam. It may sound less than thrilling, but it’s always fascinating to me to see pictures and read about the towns that existed in the valley, which are now under 200 feet of water.Once the kids had run themselves—and Nik and RJ—ragged, we loaded back up and drove back to our campsite. It was 9:00, so the gates were locked, and we had to walk to our site. Thankfully, it was less than a half-mile and only two of the kids were asleep!

Total miles today: 65

Day 19

I’m gaining a true appreciation for modern conveniences on this trip. Last night, after the kids were in bed, I did two loads of laundry in large buckets. I had to heat up three big pots of water, and once I got everything washed, I started on the daunting task of wringing out twelve pairs of jeans, four shirts, and a jacket by hand. Holy cow, that is hard. Jeff came back when I had about half of them clothespinned to a line; he had gone on a walk looking for the bathrooms, and found that there was a tiny laundry building hidden among the cabins at the front. UGH! Oh well, it was a learning experience anyway. We finished hanging the clothes on the clothesline, and took everything to the dryers in the morning.

Drove north again to Redwoods National Park. Oh. My. Gosh. Big trees! And banana slugs. We walked around a little bit, had a picnic, and back on the road south towards Napa. It’s about five hours of driving, plus an hour or two for dinner, so we won’t get there until probably 10pm or later.

We drove through some construction up in the mountains and saw the oddest orange sign: KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE ROAD. Jeff and I looked at each other and said, “Well, duh!” A mile later, though, we saw the reason for the sign. The road runs along the edge of a 200-foot cliff, and in the middle of the valley is a bridge that’s being constructed. It looks like it rises out of the middle of nowhere and it towers over the river below. It’s quite a sight! (This is another topic that’s much more effective with a picture. Sigh—someday I’ll get to upload!

It’s almost dark now, and for the last thirty minutes or so we’ve been mostly out of the mountains and driving through wine country. It’s quite pretty here, zipping past acres and acres of vineyards as far as you can see. Levi keeps yelling, “I wanna stop and eat da grapes!” The concept that these grapes are not for eating is one that he can’t quite grasp.

Total miles today: 357

Day 18, continued

Agate Beach was suggested to us by the RV park owner, but it wasn’t until we got there that I found out it’s at the bottom of 160-foot cliffs. Not exactly what we expected, but it was already 6:30 and I was concerned that if we drove around looking for another beach, it would get dark. I grabbed a couple flashlights, Jeff carried Lily, and the kids brought their buckets and shovels, and we started off down the trail.

Once we got to the bottom, we were surprised to find that the sand, which looked dark gray from the top of the cliff, was actually not sand at all. Instead, the entire beach was billions of tiny rocks, pounded smooth by the waves. The rocks themselves were fascinating: about half were dark gray, but the rest were brilliant shades of red, green, yellow, orange, brown, and pure white. Quite a few of the larger rocks were flat and round, the perfect skipping stones. I don’t know what it is about rocks that makes them so interesting, but in all reality, I could have spent all day there and not gotten bored!

The beach is also very steeply angled, going from ankle-deep to knee-deep in just four or five steps. That causes the waves to break and crash very close to the shore. It’s not safe for swimming, but Jaden waded in just a little ways and was very quickly soaked to his waist. It was freezing water, but once your feet get numb it’s not so bad!

We saw several seals playing in the water. One even came right up almost to the shore and stuck its head out of the water right in front of Jeff and the kids. Jeff yelled at me to look, but I didn’t hear him, so he shouted louder. I turned to see what he was hollering about and saw a head disappear below the waves. My first thought was that it was one of the kids, and it took about ten seconds for my brain to register that it had been a seal. Ten seconds may not seem like very long, but it was long enough for me to be scared out of my mind, and I started to cry. I can’t remember the last time I was terrified like that, and it’s not a feeling I want to repeat anytime soon.

Jaden filled his orange pail about ¾ full of rocks, so he had a long, hard climb back up the trail. He was still soaked and shoeless, and the rocky path was not a fun thing for him at all. About halfway up I took a look at his rocks and realized that he’d also filled the pail with seawater, so I helped him drain that out, and that helped a little. He cried the whole way up the cliff, though. Poor guy!

He was cheered up immensely when we got back to the campsite. The restorative powers of chocolate frosting are truly amazing.

Total miles today: 316

Day 18

It rained most of last night, but there’s a big difference between soft coastal rain and Dallas rain, thank goodness. Even though it was constant, there aren’t any puddles, and under the largest trees, the pine needles and moss on the ground are still dry. It was damp enough, though, that we didn’t want the kids playing in the dirt, so we got them all dressed and carried them to the car. The six of them sat and watched Pink Panther (and stayed clean!) while we packed up the sleeping bags and the tent.

We’ve followed the Oregon coastline on Highway 101 pretty much the whole day. The southern half of the coast is more mountainous, the coastal towns and tourist shops much more spread out and the views of the ocean even more breathtaking. Too many times to count, we’ve been driving up a winding road surrounded by trees, when suddenly the road breaks to the left, revealing a 300-foot drop to a gorgeous blue sea. We’ve had hardly any cell coverage for the past couple of days, and it’s nearly nonexistent here. So peaceful!

After a stop at Dairy Queen for Blizzards, we crossed the state line into California. Almost immediately, the evergreen trees were bigger. I’ve never seen redwoods in person, and Drew, Jace, and Kendra were pretty impressed with trees that are half as long as our (very long) van. There are highway signs every few miles that say “ELK,” but you never really get to see the, right? Maybe a glimpse of a tail end as one crosses the road, I figured, but that’s about it. Wrong! Not once, but twice, we drove past a large herd of elk grazing next to the road. The first time, we stopped to take pictures. There were 29 or 30 of them, just munching contentedly in someone’s front yard! I was amazed, but even more surprised when we drove by another large herd just five miles later. That was about five times the number of elk we saw in Yellowstone, just in a five-minute drive.

We are almost to Trinidad, CA, where we’re staying overnight in an RV park across the street from a state park beach. I think we’ll go to the beach after we eat dinner. The kids are so ready to get out—the road has been so curvy, winding up and down mountains, that all of us are feeling a little carsick. A little sea air will be good for all of us!

Oh, I almost forgot to mention it, but today is Jaden's 9th birthday. We sang to him this morning, but he isn't expecting much since we're on vacation. He doesn't know it yet, but when we stopped at Fred Meyer an hour ago, I bought a chocolate cake and candles. I know he'll be surprised, and I can't wait to see his face!

Day 17, dark

I was starting to get worried as we drove past many of the Oregon State Parks with “No Vacancy” signs out. Highway 101, the Oregon Coast road, seems to have a state park every five miles, and most of them fill quickly. Thankfully, we made it to Honeyman in time to get a tent spot. Within an hour, the campground was full. Whew! I cooked dinner while Jeff set up the tent, and we were all cleaned up by 6:30. Most other nights we’ve not been set up until 10:30 or later, so it was nice to not have to rush.

The dunes are awesome. I know I need to find a new word, but they really are. There’s a lake in the middle, and when it’s hot outside, you can grab a snow coaster and ride it down the hill, through the sand, right into the lake. It’s a little chilly for that today, though.

The kids found a hole that someone had started, and Jaden & Jeff enlarged it. When it was big enough for all of the kids to fit in, we got a quick picture, and then we started walking. Jeff found a snow coaster that someone had left behind, so Drew & Jace took it and hiked about ten minutes away until they found a steep hill. I mean really steep, like a 75 or 80 degree slope. In order to climb it, they had to almost crawl. Jeff and I finally made it up the hill (boy, what a workout that was!), and we each slid down on one of the sleds. I managed to make it back up so I could run down the hill. I can almost still feel the sense of weightlessness, almost like flying, when you leap off the edge of a hill and you don’t come down until you land four feet out and ten feet further down than you were before. We played on the hill for about an hour, but we could have spent all day there and not gotten bored. I tell you, tonight those kids are going to sleep like the dead. Aspen climbed the hill four or five times on her own, the older kids climbed back up at least ten times, and even Levi made it up probably three times.

It took us about twenty minutes to make it back to the car, and after we all brushed off, we headed back to the campsite for Jiffy Pop popcorn and hot chocolate. It started drizzling while we were eating, turned into real rain (albeit light), and it’s still quite drippy outside. I hope we can stay dry! I am typing this in the van in the dark, since all of the kids and Jeff are already in the tent asleep and I don’t want to get the computer wet. I’m half tempted, though, to find a sweater and just sleep in the car, since I know for sure that I won't get wet in here. My sleeping bag is warmer, though, and Jeff would most likely notice I was gone, so maybe not.

Total miles today: 77.

Day 17 morning

Left the hotel by 9:30. Yay! Much easier than packing up a tent. First stop was Depoe Bay, just a few miles down the road. My parents took me there when I was younger, and all I remember is the candy shop with the taffy-pulling machine in the window. We found out soon, though, that Depoe Bay is prime whale-watching territory. While walking on the rocks at the waterfront, we saw several blowspouts, arched backs in the water, and a couple of tail fins, all within two or three hundred yards of the shore. It was amazing! I’d never seen a whale like that before. I took a couple of family shots, and then Lily decided to take not just one, but two face-plants onto the sharp rocks. Poor baby girl had a scraped nose, cheek, and forehead now! Not exactly the souvenirs we wanted her to have.

When we crossed the street from the waterfront to the shops, a charter boat company asked if we’d like to go whale-watching. It wasn’t expensive per se, but eight people adds up, so I was interested but leaning towards a no. Then a man came out from the office, looked at all of our kids, and offered to let all of them go for free if we bought two adult tickets. Holy cow! How could we say no to that?

So we headed out on an hour-long cruise with about 12-13 other people. The water was fairly calm, so no seasickness issues at all. The three or four gray whales in the bay were very active, and we saw one break the surface probably every three or four minutes at least. It was awe-inspiring, truly remarkable, just beyond words. At one point, the whale was swimming at the surface just twenty or thirty yards away from the boat. It was, well, wow. Just wow. Today is our ten-year wedding anniversary, and I really think this was one of the best presents I’ve ever gotten.

After finding a whale magnet, we stopped at Devil’s Punchbowl, which is surprisingly tame at low tide. It’s geologically interesting, yes, but high tide is when the waves explode into the bowl and churn the water like a washing machine. Unfortunately, we didn’t have another four hours to wait until high tide, so the kids were unimpressed. Back into the car!

This time, we put in a movie, and we’ll drive until we get to Honeyman State Park just outside of Florence. There are sand dunes there that seem to go for miles, and I think the kids will have a lot of fun. All of the stress from earlier this week seems to have just melted away, and at this moment I am blissfully happy.

Day 16, p.m.

The cheese factory was fascinating. 40-pound blocks of cheese being chopped into smaller blocks, wrapped, spun around, and boxed, may sound totally mundane to some people, but I could have watched it for hours. Did you know that their cheddar cheese is aged for at least three months, and some of it for over a year? I had no idea cheese took that long! A trip to the gift shop yielded some oh-so-yummy squeaky cheese, a magnet for our ever-growing fridge collection, and ice cream for everyone. As good as Maggie Moo’s ice cream is, and as much as everyone in Texas thinks that Braum’s is the best ice cream, I’m sorry, but they are all wrong. Tillamook ice cream blows the competition away. Maybe it’s a good thing I don’t live here any more, because I would weigh 500 pounds if I could get my hands on more of this ice cream!

It’s drizzly right now, and no matter where we wanted to camp, we wouldn’t have the tent set up and ready until 11pm or later, so tonight will be our hotel night. That will allow us to drive further, since it will only take ten minutes to carry everyone inside instead of 45 minutes to get everyone into sleeping bags. So if you’re ever in Lincoln City, Oregon, I highly recommend the Econo Lodge there. Clean, decent rooms, low rates, and a continental breakfast of Costco muffins, toast, and orange juice, which is more than enough to keep my kids happy. Sooooo nice to have a bed and a hot shower!

Total miles today: only 110.

Day 16, a.m.

BRRRRR! It is just a wee bit chilly here. While making hot chocolate for the kids, I got a phone call from a number I didn’t recognize. I almost didn’t answer. SO glad I did! My sister Camille, her husband, and her 12- and 10-yo boys are here in Oregon too! Camille lives in the same city as Stephani, where we were staying, but her mother-in-law was visiting and things just didn’t work out for us to get together at all. But they’re here!

We got packed up and met them in Fort Stevens, and we all went to the beach. This was one of the most fun days we’ve had so far! Chandler and Draevin are well-mannered, sweet, just good kids, and my children were thrilled to see their cousins again. We spend two or three hours out at Shipwreck beach, digging in the sand, wading in the (freeeeeezing cold) water, collecting crab pincer claws from the Shells of Crab-mas Past, building sand castles, and looking for sand dollars. We collected probably forty or fifty pincer claws, all hollowed-out and dried, and they’ll make great necklaces or crafty things for the boys’ Scout troops at home. It was relaxing, gorgeous, and we had no time pressures whatsoever. It was really nice to not have to rush the kids anywhere, and I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with my sister and her family.

They headed home, and we ate a quick snack in the parking lot before heading south again. At this point, it’s rare for us to have more than one or two “real” meals a day. A sit-down restaurant takes us a minimum of 90 minutes, from getting out of the car to finishing eating, and after that we have to change a couple of diapers and send everyone to the restroom and get everyone settled again, which adds another 30 minutes. We had planned on making sandwiches or fixing our own meals for most stops, but the food is in the back of the van, blocked by the platform hitch that carries our tent, dishes, and sleeping bags, so we have to unpack and move all of that to get it. So we end up eating yogurts, Kashi granola bars, Zone bars, crackers, fruit, or snacks, making sure everyone gets enough to not be hungry for a couple of hours, and then we drive off again. Breakfast and a late dinner are about it for us.

We are coming up to the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Yum yum yum! More soon.

Day 15

Halfway mark already? Seems like we just left!

As usual, our leave-the-house-by-10 plans turned into trying to get out of the house by dark. We’ve been at Stephani’s house for four nights, and it’s time to move on. First, though, we have to finish laundry! Laundry is on my list of least-favorite things to do at home, and it’s no different at someone else’s house. Since we came with all of the kids’ clothes packed in gallon Ziplocs, before we can pack them back up we have to match each original outfit back together. I know I’ll be happier later in our trip to have one Ziploc per child, per day, but getting them all separated and organized is kind of a pain. We have enough clothes for eight days, so it’s important that we do laundry every chance we get. Doesn’t mean I like it any better, though.

Leaving late means skipping a visit to the town I grew up in, but I’ll live—it was semi-important to me, but I know the kids won’t care at all or miss it if we don’t go. Saying goodbye to Steph and Alex was hard; the kids have gotten pretty attached to my sister, and Alex is a cool kid who got along quite well with all of his little cousins. We are headed south to Astoria, Oregon. The plan is to go camping at Fort Stevens State Park, but according to the ranger station there are only a few tent spots left, and the odds are good that those are going to be gone by the time we get there. There is a KOA across the street, and we might find a spot there.

It’s pretty cool to drive by Mt. St. Helens again. I was five or six when it erupted, and I still remember it vividly. There’s a lot to see in this part of the state, but we have somewhere to be, so for now we’re just pointing things out to the kids through the windows. Drew wants to go up to St. Helens, but maybe next time. I’d love to go hiking up there and explore more of the blast area. Not today!

Total miles to Astoria/Warrenton: 145

Day 14

Due to the exhaustion from yesterday’s trip, we canceled our trip to the Point Defiance Zoo. After dropping off the Sprinter to get the oil changed, we headed to the mall to waste time. I found the most gorgeous diamond anniversary ring, but since it costs about 1½ times what we paid for the Sprinter, I don’t think I’ll be expecting it any time soon! We had the most incredibly delicious ice cream at Maggie Moo’s, and one of the first things I do when we get back to Dallas is find one close to my house. It was SO good!

Headed up to Puyallup to my sister Cristi’s house for dinner. She was like my second mom growing up, and I hardly ever get to see her any more. She's never met Levi or Lily, and I don't know that she's seen Aspen either, so this will be a good visit. Her house has the most incredible view of Mt. Rainier from her windows, and Jeff and I spent quite a bit of time discussing the viability of selling our house and moving to Washington. It’s probably not going to happen, but hey, I can dream! The kids played hard and ran a lot. They’ll fall asleep on the way home again, I’m sure, and I know we tired Cris’s dog out too!

Actually, I’m going to have to wake them up when we get home, because they all need a shower. I love my sister dearly (really, no sarcasm at all), and her husband Dave is a good guy—salt of the earth, he & my sister run a construction company that does excellent work, I’ve known him since I was five—but I’d forgotten until we got there that he smokes like a chimney. I wouldn’t have changed the visit, because it’s been close to seven years since I got to see her, so a quick shower for all of the kids isn’t too bad of a trade-off.

Total miles today: 85

Day 13, continued

Finding a bus turned out to be harder than expected. First, we had to walk four more blocks uphill to find the bus stop. Normally not a big deal, yes, but Aspen isn’t exactly Speedy Gonzales, and even Levi slows down when he’s constantly having to run uphill. The first few buses were overcrowded, but we finally found one with enough room for all of us. Turned out our driver has an MBA from the University of Rude, but with the help of the other passengers, we figured out how to get where we needed to go.

I would have loved to go up to the Space Needle observation deck, but it’s not quite as small-children-friendly as the Pacific Science Center, so we went there instead. As is frequently the case, it’s cheaper for us to buy a year-long family membership than to buy individual tickets for everyone. This one also included five guest passes, so my sister/mom/two nephews all got in free as well.

I was also able to meet up there with Sarah, a friend I’ve known online for two or three years but never met in person. She brought her daughter, just four days younger than Lily, and the two girls played together (or at least side-by-side) in the kids’ play area. I really enjoyed talking to her, and I wish we’d had more time to chat without me having to chase toddlers or track down lost sisters/husband/nephews.

It was pretty stressful to try and keep track of everyone, since there is a lot to do and we had extra people. By the time the exhibits were closing, I was so beyond ready to leave. All of us, along with Sarah and her little girl (who is cute personified, by the way), headed out to eat, only to find that many of the restaurants there were closing just as we were walking up to order. Orange Julius had only one hot dog, Subway was out of meatballs, Sbarro had only cheese pizza. Seriously, what restaurant in their right mind closes at 6pm?

After briefly considering trying to get to a Mariners game, we finally decided to just head back to the ferry. I would have loved to go to the game, shop at the market, or browse the touristy stores along the waterfront, but the kids were tired. I am constantly reminded on this trip that I can make all the plans I want, and have a whole list of things that I want to do, but it isn’t about me. This isn’t MY vacation. This trip is about finding things that will keep our whole family happy and occupied, and what I want to do has to come second. Dang motherhood, making me be all unselfish.

The ferry ride home was gorgeous, as we watched the sun set and saw Mt. Rainier in the distance, along with the fading Seattle skyline. The kids are tired but happy, and I’m sure they will all crash pretty hard on the drive home.

Total miles driven: 150. Miles on the ferry: 30, I think. Walking: Probably 4. And uphill, too, so that should count for extra!

Day 13, part 1

Oh. My. Heck. If I ever decide to go on another all-day trip with my extended family, someone please shoot me in the head!

It’s about a 90-minute drive to Bremerton in Olympia. We got up early and were on the road by 7am. Shocking, eh? Besides our carload of eight, we were driving with my sister and Isaiah, my mom, and my nephew Alex. We made it to Bremerton just fine, but then spent 15 minutes trying to get to the ferry docks since the nearby streets were all closed due to construction. We made it onto the 9am ferry with just minutes to spare. Whew!

Levi and Aspen were very excited to be “on the big boat!” Levi couldn’t sit still, and he ran back and forth from our benches to the outside deck. When we pulled away from the dock, his grin just about split his face. “We’re moving! The boat is MOVING!” All of the kids were fascinated by the seagulls that follow the ferry, the jellyfish floating in the water, driftwood, enormous waterfront houses on the islands we passed, and the smaller sailboats and speedboats they saw going by. The Bremerton-Seattle ferry route is my favorite route to ride just for fun, because it’s a long crossing, but if you’re an excited small child or the parent of one, that sixty minutes goes by quickly!

At the ferry dock we met up with Zach, Sarah, Aly, and Josh. They came just to pick up Alex for the day, and we walked up to the bronze Pig in Pike Place Market to take pictures, give everyone hugs, and say our goodbyes, since we won’t see Zach and Sarah again for probably three or four years.

Trying to walk through Pike Place Market with a toddler, two preschoolers, and three grade-school-age children is an incredibly stressful experience that requires an insane amount of vigilance. The market is several floors of shops and booths, and my original plan was to start on the top floor and work our way down. After walking just the length of one block, though, I gave up. Too many people, too much to see, and too crowded for a stroller. We headed to Westlake Center, home to the Seattle Monorail. After a quick stop at some fountains and a delicious splurge-y snack at See’s Candies, we headed to the top of the mall, only to find out that the Monorail was closed because of maintenance issues. The Space Needle is a mile away, and I really wanted to go there, so now we have to figure out how to find a bus to take us. Four adults, eight kids, two strollers…um, yeah. This should be fun.

Day 12

Headed home (to my sister's) right now. Another not-too-taxing day, and you won't hear me complain.

Jeff and I got up at about 6:30, woke the kids up at 7-7:30, and got everyone ready in white shirts & ties or dresses. Off to church from 9-12. That may seem long to some people, but we're used to it! Aspen was a little hesitant when I left her in her Sunday School class, but she warmed up to her teacher and--get this--she even talked to her teacher and her classmates. Aspen is incredibly shy, to the point that she fits the criteria for selective mutism, so I was quite happy and surprised to hear that. Levi had a blast playing in the nursery, and the older kids enjoyed making new friends.

After church, we stopped back by my sister's house to change out of church clothes, and then headed off to Bothell, which is about 90 minutes to the north. My sister-in-law Sarah's parents live there, and her family all met to celebrate her birthday this afternoon. It was more of the same crazy (the good crazy, meaning a ton of relatives stuffed into a house): Zach & Sarah with Aly & Josh, Sarah's sister Janelle with her husband and 3yo Ella and 1yo Henry, Sarah's brother Grant, her parents and grandmother, Jeff & I plus our 6, my mom, my sister Stephani and her son Alex, Jami and Isaiah, and another teenage boy (family friend? cousin?).

Dinner was delicious, homemade deep-fried scones stuffed with taco fillings and then more scones with cream cheese and homemade raspberry jam, followed by a juicy strawberry pie and Key lime cheesecake for the birthday girl. I can't quite find the right words to express it, but it was so comforting to just sit around for a couple of hours and talk to my sisters & brother and let the kids have fun with their cousins. I know we do that every month with Jeff's family back in Dallas, but somehow this is different, better(for me at least), because this is MY mom and MY siblings and their kids. I'm very grateful to live close to Jeff's family, because I do want my kids to grow up with their cousins and be able to spend time with their grandparents & extended family. Things like this, though, still make me homesick and sad that I live so far away from my family. I'm happy that my children are getting to know their other cousins and at the same time heartbroken, knowing that in two or three days we'll leave and not see them again for another four or five years.

Tomorrow we're getting up early to drive to Bremerton, 70min away, and take a 60-minute ferry ride into downtown Seattle. I love riding the ferries, and I love the Seattle waterfront, and I think I am more excited than the kids! I don't know if Jeff really enjoys this too or if he's just tolerating it because of me. :) Just kidding, Jeff would be more than happy to voice his opinion if he didn't want to do something.

Anyway, we're almost back to my sister's house, and hallelujah: we have a car full of sleeping children. When they crash out in the car, we can pick them up & put them in bed and they stay asleep, so the long drive tonight has saved us a bit of work. Total miles today: 150.

Day 11

Slept in, got all the kids dressed up, drove to a wedding. My oldest nephew, who is 27, got married today to a beautiful girl who seems very nice. (Yes, for those of you wondering about the math, I’ve been an aunt since I was five.) It was a very pleasant wedding and reception, and I got to see my oldest sister Cris, who I’ve seen maybe twice in the last ten years. My dad drove up from Arizona, since four of his children and eleven of his grandkids were there. I don’t see him often either, so it was quite an enjoyable afternoon.

Isaiah, my sister’s 2-year-old, is right in the middle age-wise between Levi and Lily. He’s struggling, staying here with us, because he’s an only child who doesn’t ever really have to share, and he frequently wants cars or toys that my kids have. Levi is not good at sharing either and the two of them are frequently arguing over Lightning McQueen and Mater. As it turns out, Levi is also very protective of Lily. Just now, Isaiah was patting Lily and trying to be nice to her, but his patting got a little rough. Levi came over and put his hands on his hips and said sternly, “That’s MY little baby sister. You be nice or you be in timeout!” I’m glad to know he’ll be Lily’s protector!

Jeff and the boys are playing something called Kingdom Hearts with my nephew, Alex. I have no idea what it is, other than it’s Disney-related, but it’s rare that a game comes along that Jeff will actually sit and play for 30 minutes with the kids. Not my thing at all, but at least they’re enjoying themselves.

Total miles today: 70. Not terribly exciting, eh?

Day 10

Trying to get out of the house took longer than expected, but I suppose that’s expected at this point? This time, however, it was because we couldn’t find Andrew’s retainer. Losing his retainer isn’t new; those of you who know me know that he loses it all. the. dang. time. We finally gave up after coming to the conclusion that it had been thrown away in the trash. You may have heard a scream of frustration across the country; that would have been me. At this rate, in a year we will have spent more on new retainers than we did on his entire braces!

Before we left, we spent twenty minutes getting the kids sunscreened head to toe and putting swimsuits on everyone. We’re headed to Ellensburg to raft down the Yakima River: Jeff & I, and our 6 kids; my mom and her husband; my brother Zach, his wife Sarah, and their 2- & 4-yos; my sister Jami and her 2yo; and my stepbrother’s oldest, Benjamin, who’s a year older than Andrew. At least, that was the plan…but it started looking a bit chilly as we got closer, so I was less sure.

When we got there and found a place to put in at an RV park, after much debate and discussion, Jeff and I decided to just keep going across the mountains and not take the kids rafting. Andrew and Jaden were disappointed, especially since we were all ready to go. The wind is cool, though, and the water was icy. Aspen, Levi, and Lily would have been much too cold. Walter and Zach still really wanted to go, so we decided to take Alyson (the 4yo) with us, and Mom and Jami took Josh (2yo) in their car so that Zach, Sarah, Walter, and Benjamin could go, and then they’d catch up with us later.

I have to tell you, the Lord was watching over us in prompting that decision. Although the water is smooth, the four of them came to a logjam not long after putting in. Zachary was pulled under the logjam and separated from the others. They got out, heard him yelling further downstream, and put back in, assuming they’d catch up with him. Somehow, though, they missed each other, and when Zach couldn’t find anyone, he got out, found someone nearby, and called 911. He got to spend an hour and a half watching 40-50 Search and Rescue team members looking for his wife, stepdad, and nephew, thinking they were stuck somewhere and probably dead. The search team even had out 15-foot poles with hooks that were used to probe log jams, looking for bodies. The local news even came out to cover the story.

Sarah, Walter, and Benjamin were found safe and sound, but as it turns out, the logjam Zach was pulled under is in the same place that another family we know nearly lost a couple people to drowning as well. This news article quotes a woman who says she told us that the river wasn’t safe and that she wouldn’t go tubing there, but she is lying through her teeth! She originally wanted to charge us $10 per person to leave a car there and go, and then changed it to $10 per car when Zach said we’d rather find another spot than pay that much. She actually told him it was a great spot to put in and that we’d be fine tubing there. Zach is pretty angry that she’s changed her story for the news, but what can you do? I hope karma comes around and bites her in the a$$.

Anyway, we're at my sister Stephani's house now. We'll be sleeping here for the next four nights or so and making day trips around this part of the state. Total miles today: 245, Othello to Olympia.

Day 9

Thursday

Today really was, well, uneventful. Boring probably isn’t the right word, because we did have fun, but we didn’t do a whole lot. The kids played outside, I got to sleep in, and then we visited one of my best friends from high school who also happened to be home visiting her mom. We haven’t seen each other for fifteen years, but as soon as she opened the door, we picked right up where we left off and it seemed more like we were catching up after just a couple of weeks away instead of a decade and a half. (Yikes! That makes me feel old.) We had a great visit that was way too short, catching up on each other’s lives and talking about where old friends were. My kids all played on her parents’ trampoline, and then when they got hungry, we headed back home to the farm. The kids are alternating between playing outside and playing video games.

We were originally going to head over the mountains to Olympia tonight, but that’s changed, and Zach and Walter want to float down the Yakima River tomorrow in Ellensburg. They’re going to go and find rafts and life jackets for all of us. I’m a little bit hesitant about this, but I guess it could be fun. I love water and rafting, but taking six kids with us, that part I’m not so sure about. This should be interesting…

Total miles traveled: 25. My mom’s farm really isn’t close to anything, so even visiting friends means 30 minutes in the car.

Day 8

Since we left the grocery store last night in Ennis, Montana, we’ve driven another 524 miles. The kids mostly slept well in the car, which makes sense because they’re exhausted. Levi, though, tends to toss and turn when he’s asleep, so being strapped into a carseat is hard on him. Poor boy cries in his sleep without waking up. Stopping to take him out isn’t really an option, because we need to get to where we’re going so he can get out and stay out, but I feel terrible for the little guy. That really is a very long time to be sitting in one spot!

I drove until I couldn’t keep my eyes open any more, and then I woke up Jeff. He took over and managed to make it to Spokane, where he found a grocery store, parked, and was out like a light. I woke up at about 4:30 and started driving, but like a couple of days ago, realized after about 45 minutes that I really wasn’t awake enough to drive safely. It was frustrating to stop again; we were only about an hour away from my mom’s farm, and I just wanted to get there and be done, but it’s better to get there alive (minor details, you know). A 30-minute nap on the side of the road and I was good to go. We pulled into the driveway at about 6:15 this morning.
All of the kids were thrilled to see Grandma, and even Lily, who hasn’t seen my mom in months, reached out for her. We unpacked all of our laundry and started the first of about ten or twelve loads, while my mom painted the girls’ toenails sparkly pink, much to their delight. Having a day to unwind and not have to be somewhere, doing something, is a much-needed break. My brother, his wife, and their two kids arrived from Michigan just an hour after we got here, so it’s been happy chaos here all day.

Today was also the perfect opportunity to clean out our van. Holy cow, there is a ton of stuff in there! After a week on the road, this was a great time to reassess what we’ve brought and what we really need, versus what did we throw in the van that we haven’t used and probably won’t at all. Jeff came up with an entire Army duffel bag of extraneous things, and we’re packing it up to ship back to our house from here. I’m going to box it and probably print the shipping label online, and then have my mom send it in a couple of weeks so it doesn’t sit on our front porch the whole time. Things we’re sending back include:
· Extra backpack child carrier (the hope was that Jeff could carry Levi on long walks, and I could carry Lily, but with a boot on my balance is off, so it’s just not safe. There’s no point in continuing to hope that that plan will work.)
· Andrew’s Scout uniform and some of his extra clothes from camp
· Books I brought to read that I’ve already finished
· Electronics, such as the boys’ cellphones, that we’re not using. We’ve been in so many places without cell coverage that we’re just using walkie-talkies.
· All 15-20 of our rechargeable batteries. At home, yes, we can recharge them. On the road it’s just not worth the time and hassle, and we can get 48 AAs, Kirkland Signature brand (Costco), for just ten bucks.

One of the ways we’re trying to keep the van clean is by having each child keep their things in a box. Before we left Dallas, I found containers that are just bigger than a notebook, maybe 10”x14-15”, and about 4-5” high. The lids are attached, so they open like a book. I bought one for each of the kids, labeled them with permanent marker, and told them that anything they wanted to take had to fit in that box. Aspen brought books and a couple of toys, Levi loaded his with board books and lots of cars, Kendra brought a story tablet, pencils, and books, along with Bananas the Monkey, and Jaden brought a Calvin & Hobbes book or two. Two or three times a day, at different stopping points, the kids spend two minutes getting things back into their boxes before we get out of the car. It’s really helped keep the mess to a manageable level.

Mom and Walter, my stepdad, took us all out for dinner and then bought the kids ice-cream cones at Mickey D’s. Since the farm is quite a ways from town, we’ve still logged over 100 miles today. Total including the drive here, 625 miles.

Day 7

Tuesday

Like the park in Colorado, our camping area in Yellowstone has one centrally located shower building. Since this is the Camp of Ever-Present, All-Invasive Dirt, I was more than happy to take a shower this morning. At least, I was happy until the shower itself. Have you ever had to take a shower that is coin-operated? First bit of advice: don’t plan to enjoy it. The showerhead was an instrument of torture designed by sadists, and I can honestly say this was the most painful shower I’ve taken in my life. The water felt like a hundred needles hammering into my skin, and the water came out so fast that I couldn’t even catch any in my hands to splash on my face—it blasted into my cupped hands so fast that it immediately splashed out. Forget actually putting my face in the water; that would have left visible bruises, I’m sure. The temperature varied from ice water to scalding, which certainly didn’t add much to the ambiance.
Second piece of advice: count your quarters very, very carefully! The shower cost $2.00, quarters only, for six minutes of hot water. After the allotted six minutes, the water reverted to its previous arctic temperatures, and more quarters were required. Since I was not speedy enough to finish rinsing off in less than 6 minutes, and since I didn’t want to spend the day with my hair covered in conditioner, I had to walk three steps back to the changing stall to insert more quarters. Lo and behold, after I put all my remaining quarters in the slot, I was 25¢ short. I could think of no other option than to open my stall door three inches and try to get the attention of someone passing by to help me. I stood there for probably five minutes, dripping and shivering, before I caught the eye of a woman walking by. I quickly explained my dilemma and asked if she’d please run my dollar bill to the change machine just a few feet away so that I could finish my shower. Apparently my face was more pathetic than I realized, because she smiled, handed me back my dollar, and gave me a quarter. I don’t know that I’ve ever been more grateful for 25 cents!

I left the shower building clean, feeling human again, and very, very glad that I’d decided not to bring Kendra and Aspen with me to take showers as well. They would have hated me for years for that experience.

After such an auspicious beginning, though, the day could only go up from there. We were packed and ready to leave by about 10:30, and headed towards the Fishing Bridge (from which, ironically enough, there is no fishing allowed). We were delayed for about ten or fifteen minutes due to construction traffic, and while we were sitting and talking to the kids, Aspen asked for a piece of black licorice. I said no, it’s a treat for later, and we don’t eat in the car. Jeff added that we would eat it when we were stopped. Aspen gave him her Captain Obvious look and said, “Um, Daddy? We ARE stopped.” He had no response to that, mostly because he was laughing too hard. Can’t argue with the truth!

After walking around the Fishing Bridge for a while, and seeing thousands of minnows but no big fish (Jeff saw one, but I didn’t), we hopped back in the car and drove for a little while, stopping in Canyon City for lunch and souvenirs. For this trip, the kids each have their own souvenir budget, and they can choose how to spend it. We’ve talked with them about the amount they have, the number of places we’re going, and we won’t tell them how to spend it or how little or how much they can put on any one item. I did have to specify for the older boys, though, that The Parents reserve the right to veto any purchases of knives or other weaponry. Cue chorus of “Awww, man!” It was interesting to see what each one chose to buy. Both Andrew and Jaden bought bear claw necklaces for themselves, but each of them also purchased a gift for a grandma or a friend. Levi at first picked out a hat—very appropriate, I thought, since we are wearing hats almost every time we’re outside—but the hat lost out to the yellow Pull-Back Action Ranger Truck. Kendra is the proud owner of a pillow featuring a 3D stuffed wolf, and Aspen is carrying around her white bison that she’s dubbed Princess Buffalo.

We finally made it out of Yellowstone at about 4pm. It’s roughly another ten hours of driving to my mom’s house in eastern Washington, and we really didn’t want to drive for another three hours just to unpack the tent and all of our stuff and then have to pack everything back up in the morning, so we’re just going to drive through the night tonight. Stopping at a grocery store in Montana for dinner gave the kids a chance to stretch their legs, and they picked out cheese, crackers, sliced turkey, and Levi decided that we absolutely must have Lighthouse sugar cookies for dessert.

We’re not far from I-90 now, and once we hit that it’ll be a looong ways into Washington. Probably have to stop one more time for gas and a root beer.

Total wildlife spotted in Yellowstone today: 9 bison, one coyote, a pelican, and five elk. I was slightly disappointed that we didn’t see another bear, but I guess you get what you get. Total miles so far today: 150, but we’re not done yet!

Day 6

Monday

Whew! I think we plowed through two or three days’ worth of activities today. This is the first time we’ve stayed in one spot for two nights in a row, so we didn’t have to take down the tent and pack up this morning. However, between sleeping in, cranky & uncooperative kids, a poopy diaper explosion all over a sleeping bag and Jeff’s shirt, and having to wash dishes three campsites away (the food-y water attracts bears, so there’s a sink in a closed room), we didn’t make it out of the campsite until after 11am. Note to self: Don’t ever assume we can “get up quick and get out” of anywhere, even if there’s no packing involved!

We headed out towards Mammoth Hot Springs. It didn’t look very far distance-wise, but we forgot to take into account that the average speed limit in the park is 35mph. The hot springs were interesting, and we had a nice long walk, but I don’t know if it was worth the two hours it took to get there! The hike wasn’t more than a mile or two distance-wise, but lots of elevation changes, and after the first twenty minutes or so Aspen was less than impressed with climbing hills and stairs. At one point, Levi sat down in the middle of the trail halfway up a hill, stuck his lip out, and said “I’m staying wight hewe!” Jaden, bless his heart, gave piggy-back rides to Aspen and then Levi. We let the littler kids set our pace, carried them when we needed to, and made a conscious effort not to worry about speed.

The orange color of the rocks in the hot springs is caused by a thermal microorganism that only lives in hot water, so all of the dry, dormant springs are white. Kendra had me take a picture of one cliff that is entirely white except for one orange spot in the middle; she says it looks like a black-and-white movie that someone splashed a drop of paint on. (I know it doesn’t sound that exciting, but the picture turned out really well, so I’ll post it when I can.)

The walk and the drive took a lot longer than we’d planned, but silly us decided to keep going around the outer loop of Yellowstone’s main road. The drive across the northern side of the park was incredible. I know I mentioned the forest fires before, but the damage is so much more evident in this half of the park. Huge areas of forest stand bare of leaves and branches, the skeletons of thousands upon thousands of trees poking sharply at the sky in stark contrast to the green undergrowth beginning to show underneath. In some areas the remaining trunks are weathered and brown, stripped of their bark and looking like a gathering of all the world’s telephone poles. In other areas, the black, charred coating remains, giving the forest the appearance of last night’s campfire. The sweeping hills illustrate the vast size of the fire; many, if not most, are bare and scarred, and a few others remain strikingly green.

We stopped for dinner in a picnic spot that was surrounded by incredible wildflowers. Pink, yellow, and purple covered the entire hillside like an artist’s paintbrush spatter. Jeff grilled burgers and hotdogs that tasted twice as good as they normally do. We mostly ate frequent snacks during our walking around, so that was our first substantial meal since breakfast.

After eating, we headed on the long drive home, stopping at the brink of the Upper Falls in the canyon area. I’ve never been to Niagara Falls, or any other significant waterfall, but the sheer volume and speed of the water as it poured into the basin below was at the same time fascinating and terrifying. The overlook is directly over the main drop of the falls, a plunging, plummeting dive that appears to be at least 100 feet. It was beautiful, but I couldn’t stop my heart from racing, especially as Levi and Kendra tried to climb up the railings and rocks to see better. Yikes would be an understatement! We stayed long enough for a picture with the river in the background—but not the falls, because I could just see the kids leaning back to be funny, and slipping off—and then I was ready to go back to the car.

Total wildlife spotted today: Two buck deer, five elk, two moose, one coyote, a buffalo (bison?), and one adorable (from a distance!) black bear, which we spotted eating fireweed about fifty yards from the road. The buffalo, like the coyote, crossed the road right in front of our car, and the others we spotted in fields next to the road. I did see another bear in a meadow about half a mile down the valley, but no one else saw it, and I couldn’t get a picture at that distance anyway.
Total miles driven: 152. Time spent in the car: at least six, maybe seven hours. It’s 10:20 and we’re not back to the campsite yet. We definitely tried to do too much today and go too far. Lesson learned, hopefully!