For the Love of Dinosaurs

Our vacation was awesomely wonderful!  But like all good things, it had to come to an end.  So on the 30th of December, we rolled out super early and headed back home.  

About halfway between Twin Falls, ID and Albuquerque, NM there is a little place called Price, UT.  In Price, there is a dinosaur museum.  For us, it seemed to be the perfect place to stop and let the little ones stretch their legs and get out their wiggles.  And it was.   

The kids were in their jammies, but we didn't care.

We got to dig in a cool sand pit.  I found a nickel.

There was archaeology, as well as paleontology.  (Orry said his favorite part was "the killer man".)

And there were some dinosaurs that we had never seen before.  Like the Gastonia (shown above) and the Chasmosaurus (shown below).

We completed the first leg of the return journey and made it to Albuquerque by 11pm that same day.  We stayed up late, playing with the cousins.  In the morning, we played some more before heading out of town.  Now, with the remaining 14 hours to Houston, we decided to take it slower and go the distance over the course of 2 days.  The 31st was a pretty good driving day.  We made it to a hotel in Childress, TX by 9pm and spent the last few hours of the year watching movies and resting up.  We had a great night in a comfortable, quiet room.  Little did we know that we would need that good rest and comfort to help us get through the first 7 hours of our journey home.  In the end, our 7 hour leg took us 12 hours...

When Isaac woke up that morning, he wasn't feeling that hot.  He complained of belly ache and nausea.  Sometimes these symptoms are common with people with UC, so we chalked it up to that.  Once he felt okay enough to travel, we headed out.  It was 9:30am.  Before leaving, we decided to stop in Glen Rose, TX, home of Dinosaur Valley State Park and Dinosaur World.  It would extend our trip by an hour, but we thought it was worth the effort.  But a couple of hours into our trip we started to hit some "road bumps".  

First off, Isaac threw up a couple of times after eating some of those yummy clementine oranges.  So we nixed the oranges and kept on truckin'.  Then Orry had to go.  I mean, he really had to GO.  Now, if you've ever had the pleasure of traveling through Texas, you would know that sometimes rest areas and towns are hard to come by.  So it was with this part of our trip.  We ended up pulling over twice to let him go.  He felt better, so we moved along, but all the stopping was starting to wear on our nerves.  Then it happened.  Annie was crying about having to poop.  And so began Poopapalooza.  Annie couldn't hold it.  A mess was made.  Lucky for us, we were one mile from an exit at this point.  We pulled into a Burger King and I had the honor of taking her to the bathroom to clean her up.  15 minutes later, she's clean and we go out to the car to find out that Orry had to go again.  So we waited, all the time wondering what could have made our kids feel so lousy.  Then it happened again.  That distinct cry from Annie signaling that another mess was made.  Yep, round two.  So as Orry comes out the bathroom, Annie and I go back in.  20 minutes later, we're back on the road, worse for the wear.  

Now that would be fine if that was the end of it.  But it wasn't.  Three miles down the road, Annie had to go again.  Hello, CVS.  Meet Annie.  We ran to the bathroom, this time she was going to make it in time.  Yes.  No.  She didn't have to go.  False alarm?  I don't know.  Sometimes with babies you just don't know.  So we walked around the store for two minutes.  In hindsight it was two minutes too long and there was another accident and more crying.  Now, here's a side note.  When they tell you that bathroom floors are dirty, they are right.  They are dirty because of people like Annie and me.  Poop was everywhere.  It was the worst yet.  It took about 40 minutes to get it all cleaned up and for Annie to sit long enough to rule out there being any more trouble.  I wised up, finally.  I got some diapers (which we didn't need to use, thank goodness)  and we hit the road.  

We had planned on getting to Dinosaur World around 1pm.  We arrived at 4:15.  The park closed at 5.  Dinosaur World is a mile circuit of "life sized" dinosaurs.  We ran.  Literally.

Half of our pictures look like this because of the running.

Was it worth it?

I'll let you be the judge of that.  

But, with 100% certainty, I can say that it's so good to be home.  

Over the River...

I hope you enjoy our Christmas in pictures as much as we enjoyed our Christmas.

We made it home safe and sound, but not without a few stories to tell.  More later, my friends.

Losing Track

Our Christmas vacation has begun!  And so has our holiday road trip!  For the past four days we've been trekking across the country with Idaho as our final destination.

We started our journey by not starting at all.  We meant to leave early on the 17th, but ended up hanging around just long enough to pick up the new bike that Orry earned from his school as a result of good behavior and meeting all the academic objectives for the year.  He had a fun time riding it to the car.  Then we took the bike home and hit the road.  Sorry, kid.  Maybe next year.

We were headed for New Mexico to visit my brother and his family.  We made it by the 18th and I'm happy to say that we weren't worse for the wear.  Road tripping can be a fun experience.  Road tripping with three kids is like walking a very fine tightrope.  Too long in the car and everything will start to deteriorate.  Rapidly.  But we spaced our 14 hour leg of the trip quite nicely and everyone did a great job doing the best they could with what they had.

Our visit with the cousins was short but enjoyable nonetheless.  It's great to see how much the kids have changed as individuals and in relation to one another.  When you go a long time without seeing young kiddos, you are almost always impressed and surprised to see their growth.  It's as though, during your time away, nothing has changed.  But there you are, together again, and you can't believe that baby Jo Jo is walking and talking!

The kids had a great time.  Everyone got along!  We exchanged gifts and stories and got some much needed hugs to last us until next time.

From L to R: Elie, Jeana, Johann, Annie, Orry, Caamiell, and Isaac

But alas, we had to roll on.  So after carefully monitoring the weather and road closures, we set out for Idaho.  We've been lucky and have avoided icy road, so far.  Yesterday was the longest of our journey by far.  We traveled 11 hours!  But here we are, 3 hours from our destination!

We do love road trips.  And by we, I mean Troy and myself.  I'm not sure the kids have much of an opinion.  Maybe by the end of it all they will.  Maybe it will be a good one.  Maybe.  But Troy and I sure do love having hours of conversation.  We love hours of joking, too.  But one of our most favorite things is watching the landscape changed right before your very eyes.

We started out in the flat, lowlands of Houston and slowly watched the hills roll by.  The hills turned into mesas.  The grass turned into sage brush, the bushes into pine trees.  Mountains began to appear in northern NM and really became impressive in Colorado.  Patches of snow turned into fields of snow.  Frozen ponds.  Icy trees.

Another thing that's true of all vacations is forgetting what day it is.  I know what date when we left, so I can effectively count backwards and put all the events into place.   What I'm having a hard time keeping track of is what day of the week it is.  But isn't that what a great vacation can do for you?

But I have remembered today.  Today is our wedding anniversary.  And when I think back, I do believe that the majority of our anniversaries are spent travelling.  But that doesn't bother me.  I love that we love travelling, as a family, as adventurers.  So I raise my glass to six wonderful years past and 106 more wonderful years to come!

Now let's get on the road and finish this thing!

Full Circle

Recently I've been pushing shopping carts down aisle after aisle looking for dinosaurs.  Nothing like hectic Christmas shopping to remind you of that Christmas feeling...

While browsing, I came across a keyboard that's shaped like a cat's face.  Annie took to it immediately.  For heaven's sake, it meows the notes!  I immediately realized that I've come full circle.

One Christmas, I received a Casio keyboard.  Man, I loved that thing.  Strange because we had a real piano.  That small, white, noise machine was so awesome!  Well, to me it was.  To my mom, it was just a small, white, noise machine.  There was a demo song programmed on the keyboard.  You can listen to it here (at the 0:35 mark).  I loved jammin' to that song.  Twenty something years later, my mom can still hum that song.  Perfectly.  Poor Mom.

While mulling over the idea of buying such a wretchedly awesome thing, a fellow shopper commented on how annoying toys with batteries were for the parents.  I agreed.  Then she proceeded to say something to the effect of "Well, I had to put up with it.  Now it's their turn."  Yep.  Full circle.

Another full circle moment: Orry brought home the note announcing the arrival of Santa's Gift Shop at his school.  Yep.  I remember picking out one mallard shaped wooden box for my dad.  Part of the reason I remember it so well is because he still has it.  (This should be the part where I apologize to my parents and simultaneously thank them for all they put with.)  So I shelled out some bucks for Orry to go and have that experience that I so dearly remember.  I told him to only get a gift for Isaac and Annie.  He came back with a 2" walking baseball, a baby rattle, and a gift for himself.  Oh, pay back is a...

But it's the Christmas season, after all.  A time of giving.  A time to celebrate and revel in the happiness of children.  And a time to really appreciate all that our parents did for us.  Nothing like paying your dues to get you into that Christmas spirit...

Fresh Air

So far, this weekend has been one of sickness.  The kids are sniffling, coughing, and sneezing.  The grownups are behaving in a similar fashion.  So what do you think we did with ourselves?

That's right.  We're a bunch of crazies that decided to go out and get some fresh air at the Mercer Botanical Gardens.  Originally, we set out to go on a Bird Walk which started around 8:30am.  Yeah right.  That didn't happen.  But we did manage to make it there for 9:30 and we brought our binoculars just in case.

It was so nice to be outside.  The sun was warm.  The shade was on the warmer side of cold.  The sky was clear.  Hardly any birds in sight.  The kids loved running around the paved walkways.  We enjoyed watching them in their silly ways.  

All in all it was better than sitting at home and wiping noses.  Instead we got there and enjoyed nature, while wiping noses.  I hope that you and yours are happy and healthy!  

Holiday Sweetness

As far as family traditions go, we have few.  Actually, I think we really only have two.  And they both have to do with building.  Funny.

This weekend we built our annual gingerbread house.  We meant to build it during the Thanksgiving holiday, but didn't managed to squeeze it in.  I finally got around to making the dough and the templates for the house.  We had a nice assortment of candies to choose from.  The kids were so eager to decorate it.

We started with snow caps on the roof.  Annie ate a few instead of putting them on the roof.  She also licked a few and stuck them on there...

Gumdrops adorn the lawn with gummy bears acting as garden gnomes.  The door and windows are lining with M&M's.  (Funny side note: Orry made sure that all the "M"s faced up and were oriented correctly.)  Isaac insisted that there be a wicked witch looking out the window.  I don't know who told him the tale of Hansel and Gretel, but he seems to be in the know.  Here's our end product:

The kids had a fun time making it and today they had a great time eating it.  I'm not placing any bets on how long the house will last, but my guess is that with Troy around, it won't be for long.  

(If anyone is interested in making their own gingerbread house, I strongly encourage you to do so!  No need for a store bought kit.  I found an easy gingerbread recipe in a holiday cookie book that I have.  The recipe makes 4 dozen cookies or so and there was plenty for our small house.  Making the templates can be easy too.  You can get them online or draw them up yourself.   Be sure to bake the pieces and little longer to make sure they are hard and will make a sturdier house. This year we took a short cut and bought ready made icing.  And if you want to get fancy, you can make actual windows in your house by using broken up hard candies that melt to make the window panes.)

All About Isaac

Peek-a-boo

This morning was another morning spent in the doctor's office.  We went over the results of the latest biopsies, talked about how good Isaac was for his procedure (no tears), and discussed future treatments.  And I'm sure that some of you would like hear all about it.  Well, truth be told, I'm tired of talking about.

There's a lot more to Isaac than his UC.  I admit that sometimes I get wrapped up in what he ate, how many times he went to the bathroom, and whether or not he got all his doses for the day.  But today we set out to change that.  We packed our picnic lunch and decided to go to the zoo after his appointment.  I made it a point not to rush the kids and to let them decide what we would see and when we would see it.  Of all the animals at the zoo, Isaac requested to see the rhinos, ostriches, flamingos, and reptiles.  And so we spent 3 hours at the zoo, leaving only because we had to be home in time to get brother from the bus stop.  

And so, to continue celebrating Isaac, I'll share a few more tidbits about him and what he's been doing lately.

He's been going to preschool now for 3 months now.  He loves to go and carry his "jet pack" all by himself.  I'm quite pleased with the things he's learning.  His speech has improved and he's identifying and writing the letters of the alphabet.  One of the most impressive things he has pick up on is understanding what it means to be frustrated and to verbalize that he's feeling that way.  And recently he's started to draw things other than scribbles and dots.  Here's a look:

Yep, that's a stegosaurus.  

Isaac is super excited about Christmas.  He's got that holiday spirit.  The other night I took him shopping for things to make a Christmas wreath and some yard decorations.  Whenever he sees Christmas lights or a Santa Claus he exclaims, "Look, Mommy!  It's Christmas!".  I don't mind so much because I know that he's learning about Advent in school and he knows that we're waiting for the birth of baby Jesus.  

At home he's been solving online jigsaw puzzles of dinosaurs, making tons of funny faces, and helping out with laundry and various other chores.  He's learning to play the Wii (which is a little bit hilarious).  He's learning to tattle (not so hilarious).  He's learning that he likes to beat me when we race to do simple tasks, like buckling our seat belts.  And he's learning to tell better jokes.  They're not great, but they're better.  And they're hilarious nonetheless.  

Thanks for all the prayers for our little man.  They certainly have helped.  We have been blessed with a wonderful kid.  Wonderful just the way he is!