the beauty of an early morning text message

So last Thursday I got a text from my husband at about 6:15 AM (he works the sunrise shift for UPS) that said, "Do you want to go on a trip?" There is a small chance that my reply included an inappropriate word to emphasize my excitement, but let's just say my response was, "Heck yes." So a spontaneous get-away was in the works, and by late morning we were on the road, headed south. I adore road trips with my husband, mostly because of the uninterrupted hours of conversation we can have. Okay, so maybe there were a few interruptions (we do have a toddler and an infant), but still, it was so fun to just be in the car together with our babies strapped in behind us. I wondered how Pear girl would do-- staring at the seat of a car for hours on end really cannot be very thrilling-- but she really was so awesome. We tried to stop and get her out of her seat every couple of hours to nurse and stretch and that seemed to do the trick. She was a happy little baby the whole way.

Here she is stretching out on the seat at one of our stops.

After a brief drive through beautiful Capitol Reef our babies let us know that they were pretty hungry and ready to be out of the car. We stopped to get a little dinner and then loaded back up into the car to go find a spot to set up camp for the night.

I like this picture of G at the diner because I can see the exhaustion written all over his face, but he was so excited to be camping that he was being such a trooper while we kept him up way too late.

I only feel slightly concerned for my life when my husband drives down a secluded dirt road, then pulls off into the middle of nowhere and declares it to be the spot that we will be sleeping for the night. It really is probably quite safe since no one should ever be able to find you in such a place, but that very fact is what makes it somewhat alarming to me.

G perked right up when we got out of the car to start setting up camp.

I was thinking I should win an award for being willing to sleep in a tent with my toddler and tiny baby, but the reality is that they both did so great. G slept all night and Pea baby slept just as well as she does at home (waking up to eat twice between about 9 PM and 8 AM). I was pretty impressed with my happy campers and I guess it is a good thing that they did so well because like it or not, we are a camping kind of family. Might as well start young, right?

After breaking down camp the next morning we made our way up to Posey Lake in the Boulder Mountain. One of my husband's favorite places on this earth is the Boulder Mountain, and though he is very familiar with many of the lakes, Posey was one that he hadn't been to yet so we (okay mostly he) wanted to scout it out. After a long and windy drive on a dirt road both babies were asleep again, so I stayed in the car with them for a bit while J went out fishing.

Pearlie woke up so I sat her in my lap and stared at her,


while her big brother slept soundly in the back.

When G woke up we all went out to the lake. (Of course we were the only people there.)

This is where the adventure started to get exciting. J wanted to hike around to the other side of the lake to fish at a specific spot. No big deal-- I had baby girl strapped to me in the Bjorn, and J could hold G if he needed to. What we didn't account for was the beaver dam we would have to cross. Oh you guys, I wish you could've seen us. J had to put G on his shoulders as he precariously balanced on all the little twigs and sticks that the nice beavers had stacked up to keep the water in. If we lost our balance and fell, one way would've landed us in the deep waters of the beaver dam, and the other way was about a 4 foot drop down to a muddy marsh. My feet slipped a couple of times and got all muddy, and G kept trying to cast his fishing pole into the water from atop his daddy's head resulting in a very difficult time for J to stay balanced, but we managed to make it across without any serious casualties. I was laughing my head off though-- it was most entertaining.

I took this right after we had made it across safely (As you might notice, by this point J had made the wise decision to hold G's little fishing pole himself.). You can kind of see the beaver dam in the background, but you cannot at all tell how precarious it really was.

Once we made it to the other side, I decided to start being a responsible parent and opted to let J got down on top of the beaver huts to fish while I stayed up a little higher with the kiddos. J made his way along the treacherous shores of the lake while I tried to stay parallel to him up on the trail. Unfortunately no one told me that there would be places along the trail that would be covered in a few feet of snow that I would have to try to not only negotiate myself (with the baby strapped to me and in Chacos, no less), but also drag a two year old through.

I yelled for backup, but still had to make it a little way to meet up with J. He snapped this lovely photo of us heading toward him in all our glory.

I passed G off to J, but the best part of the trail was still to come. Lots and lots of snow. Even though J tried to pave the way by stomping holes in the snow for me to step into I still managed to collect an impressive amount of the snow between my foot and my sandal that would just stay there until I ripped of the sandals and pounded the snow off. My poor sandaled feet were fah-reezing. The kind of cold that gives you a headache. It was too funny not to laugh about though. We win the responsible parents of the year award for sure.

Here is a little visual, though it must be noted that there were times when the snow really was up to my knees.

After all that excitement we figured we should head somewhere a little warmer. We made our way into Bryce National Park for a little bit and had fun showing G all of the incredible red rock formations.

It really is breathtaking.

We then kept driving a little further and got to Zion National Park. We spent the rest of the night playing and hiking there and it was so beautiful. We decided we wanted to hike up to the Emerald Pools, so we parked the car and waited for the bus that would take us to the trailhead.

Waiting for the bus.

Here we are at the base of the trail. We are teeny tiny compared to the majestic rock formations behind us.

At first we didn't know how far we would make it on the hike with tired babies (there are lower, middle, and upper pools), so we set out with the intention of at least getting to the lower pools.

Here is G playing in a little rock on the trail, and then our family at the lower pools.

The lower pools were so not impressive enough, so we kept going.

G playing in the water at the middle pools.


The two babes (though you can only see one) and me at the middle pools.

We weren't satisfied there either, so we kept going for the upper pools. It was funny because people kept looking at us like we were crazy for hauling two kids (G was on his daddy's shoulders the whole time) up that far (though it really is only a couple of miles), and some people even made comments in passing about us being "brave." Clearly "brave" was code for "irresponsible," and I was glad none of them were there to see us earlier that day scaling beaver dams and wading through snow with our two kids in tow. The upper pools were totally worth it though (and it really isn't a bad hike at all). We were up there all by ourselves and it was so serene and picturesque.

The family with the emerald pool behind us.


G had so much fun hurling sand into the pool-- he was entertained by that for the entire 20 minutes or so that we hung out up there.


Baby girl needed a little dinner before we headed down, so I nursed her on a rock while watching G throw sand. (Katrina, I was wishing you were there to photograph this.)

We were flirting with dusk turning dark and knew it would be bad news if we missed the last bus back to our car, so we headed down. My most favorite moment on the hike happened at this point. We were hiking down moderately fast, baby girl strapped to me, and G on J's shoulders. It was pretty evident to me that G was making his daddy pretty uncomfortable (aside from being a 35 pound load he was also shoving his dad's head forward and then pulling back on his neck with his hands), but J didn't say anything. Then out of the blue little G said, "Dad, you are choking my legs," in about as annoyed of a tone as I've ever heard him use. J and I both started laughing so hard. Oh really, little boy? Daddy is choking you? So funny.

Here were all are on the way down.

After a very full day, we rolled into J's grandparents' home in St. George for the night. We were so pleasantly surprised to find that they were home (they were supposed to be out of town) and awake (it was almost 11:00 PM). Of course they insisted on feeding us a little food, and then we all went to bed. The next day we hung out with Grandma and Grandpa at home for a bit, and then went out around town to play.

Pearl with her Great-Grandma W.

Grandma and Grandpa took us to go see the statues of some of J's ancestors that are displayed in Washington City for their influence in the founding and preservation of the city.

The boys with the statue of one of J's ancestors.

Then we headed to a little water play area in the community to let G splash around.

He loved it.

Baby sister was asleep at first,

but soon woke up. She was still tired, as you can see.

So I held and cuddled her for a bit.

Right before we left I taught G how to lay on the hot cement to get his little wet body warm-- one of my favorite summer tricks.

Baby girl fell asleep again right before we left to go, and her big brother wasn't far behind her as soon as we got on the road. They were tired little troopers.

Already looking forward to the next early morning text message that will prompt another spontaneous road trip :). I love the anticipation of a planned vacation, but I gotta tell you, some of my most favorite memories ever have been of these little last-minute get-a-ways. I'm so glad I have a husband that likes them too, and doubly glad for the sweet little babes we get to take along with us.

knickety knack i call my seat back

Remember when I said I went on an impromptu road-trip with my family back in July? Yes well, I did and I am now (finally) ready to post about it. Baby G and I had just left J for The Farm a couple of weeks earlier, so I had decided not to join my family (including, of course, the T-bo fam) on this vacation. I called my mom the morning they were supposed to have left to ask her where they were and she said they hadn't even left yet. My husband had just informed me that his plans for the next five days included nothing but eating and studying for finals, and I was feeling lonely just thinking about it. So imagine my jittery excitement when I learn that my family hadn't left yet! I threw some stuff in a couple of bags for the baby and me and we met up with the motorhome in a parking lot and crammed in. Some people (names not mentioned) weren't pleased to have to share the already cramped quarters with two more people (there were 9 adult sized people and 4 child sized ones), but whatever. I knew they'd be glad to have us in the long run :).

We headed west toward Nevada first. Baby G was most helpful in driving the motorhome.

He was also pretty happy about taking showers and baths whenever he wanted. This picture makes me laugh because he looks like a tiny adult taking a shower and washing himself.

Our first main stop was Lake Tahoe. 

The little kids had so much fun playing in the water, throwing sand and rocks. I can't get over how universally appealing things like that are to kids. Baby G loved the water and demanded that his shorts be removed as soon as he got wet.

Most of the crew rented bikes and went for a ride around the lake. There wasn't a bike carriage for Baby G so a few of us stayed behind. The bikes were fun, I'm sure, but the highlight of our time in Lake Tahoe was definitely when Josh impaled himself (mostly just his shins) on a sharp cinder block wall and my mom got the whole thing on camera. It was so painful to watch-- we actually had to stop watching because our horrified reactions made my tender little boy just sob.

Next stop was Yosemite. We were only there long enough to see some of the main sites (most of us had been fairly recently), but we figured since we were so close we should at least drive through. 

This picture is a good representation of the trip for me. It is so nice to travel with people who take care of your baby like he is theirs. Baby G has SO many people that love him and want him. With the exception of nights, I really didn't even feel like I had a baby-- he was always with someone else having fun and being cared for. I never had to ask, someone just always took him.

Two pretty girls in a pretty place.

The real adults in front of El Capitan.

After a glorious night in a hotel (our only non-camping night of the trip), we drove into San Francisco. We were greeted by some lovely fog and some not so lovely nudity (let's just say that driving in a motorhome provides you with a helicopter view into the privacy of dirty men alone in their cars--my poor little sisters). 

Love the fog.

You know we had to go get a hot fudge sundae.

The whole group except me 'cause I'm always the responsible one who brings her camera.

Jake and my boy with Alcatraz in the background. Jake and Baby G were best friends.

Baby G working the equipment on a U.S. submarine from WWII (I think).

Oh, this picture is funny. Josh bough some "Fart Bombs" in China Town and decided to break one open right as we were getting into an elevator. He threw it outside, but the smell was seriously so, SO bad. This poor Chinese woman entered the elevator on the next floor, and oh my gosh, her reaction was the most hysterical thing ever. We were all laughing so hard we couldn't breathe and she was dying trying not to inhale and covering her face with her hands. Poor thing, we are bad people.

Then we headed north and stopped in some forests to see the giant Redwoods.

Those forests are so incredible because they are thick and lush, and then the size of some of the trunks just blows you away.

Baby G playing in a rotted out tree trunk hole.

A bunch of the kids.

Jake balancing on a fallen trunk. Our family got lots of mileage out of this particular trunk. We played on it for a good thirty minutes.

See?

This is the game we were playing. We were all jumping and the trunk was moving up and down and Ken was pushing on it trying to get us to lose our balance and fall.

Baby G wanted in on the action, too.

See Ken pushing? It was harder to stay on than it looks.

We kept heading further north to the Oregon Coast. We camped at a few cool places near beaches and had fun playing in the sand and water. 

Rach wouldn't have actually gotten this far in on her own, I don't think (the water is COLD!). A wave took her down though, and she was all smiles.

Baby G is so much braver around the ocean now than he was at the beach this past Christmas. He loved getting wet and didn't mind the freezing temperatures.

I love his cute little body in this one, exploring the feel of the wet sand on his feet, hand up in the air for balance.

Let me just say that sleeping in a tent with a two-year old by myself every night (not to mention setting up and taking down the tent daily) was not my favorite part of the trip. We did, however, get to go to so many beautiful places and spend time with people we love so it was worth it. Next time I'll be bringing my husband, though. Here are some pictures from the various campground adventures.

Baby G is quite the marshmallow roaster. Check out how he is totally focused on trying to blow the flame out.

Nothing like a good s'more to end the evening with. I think Baby G ate at least two every night.

Ken doing what he does best-- wielding an ax.

Many hot dogs were roasted and consumed.

And isn't this the quintessential camping picture? S'more in one hand, can of root beer in the other, face covered in combination of dirt and sticky marshmallows, undone hair, and the filthiest hands in the history of earth.

These brave ones slept out under the stars one night. Ken couldn't quite muster the gumption to do it again even though the girls were game.

When I was in high school my family took this same road trip. One of the highlights for us all was going on the Mail Boats up the Rogue River in Oregon, so we made sure to get there again this time. 

Some of the kids on the boat.

We loved it again this time, and even saw a black bear again!

Towards the upper sections of the river you get to go through some rapids and get wet, so life jackets are required. At first Baby G wasn't pleased about his life jacket, but as soon as we started spinning around and getting splashed with water he was in heaven. He loves getting wet.

Our last day before we started the long drive home we went back down to the coast. It was unbelievably windy, but so beautiful.

Baby G kept grabbing my legs and holding on to me for dear life because the wind was so strong. I'm so glad I thought to hold the camera out and get this picture because I love it.

We pretty much had the beach and tide pools to ourselves. Maybe because no one else was dumb enough to be out in the whipping wind.

We found lots of starfish.

Rach and Emma trying to get warm in their towels. 

Baby G wasn't wanting to get wet this day because it was so cold. He would run down to the edge of the water and then run back up as fast as he could when the waves would come in.

Walking back towards the campsite. Baby G was unsuccessful in one of his attempts to avoid the waves and again, demanded his wet shorts be removed.

You know the prayer you say before you leave on a big road-trip about being safe and the car running well? We said that prayer. And it was answered. Right at the end of the trip (the last day, I believe) we pulled into our campsite. We hadn't even been stopped for a minute when we heard a loud bang (sounded like a gunshot, actually), and we went out to discover a back tire had blown out. A man from AAA came to fix it and discovered that both right back tires had blown out. Can you even imagine how dangerous that could have been if we would've been driving when it happened? We feel very grateful that we were blessed with safety. 

Here is the man (who brought his pet wolf along) and my dad fixing the tire.

The drive home wasn't as long or miserable as you might expect. Ice cream and movies always help to pass the time quickly :).

P.S. About the subject... the WHOLE dang trip was filled with an incessant chorus of "knickety knack I call my seat back!" that could be heard at any given time. I don't know which of the kids came up with it, but EVERYONE started saying it to claim their spot back when they would get up (and in a motorhome with 13 people you better bet than when anyone moved someone was looking for a more comfortable seat). We started saying it just to say it, and by the end we were all pretty sick of hearing it. I won't be sad if I never hear/say it again.