Road Tripping

 So here's the thing I have learned in my 4+ years about vacationing with kids, one of them is going to be sick, pissed off, bored, or want to go on that ride 101x. One of them is going to have to pee every 5 minutes, need to nurse, get sick of my singing and surely need more changes of clothes than we have. We are going to pack everything but the kitchen sink and still forget something of importance. Its still worth traveling with kids....why...because it is!

 

This trip started at 12:03 AM at our house with a crying Mason who had a 103 degree temp and couldn't swallow. We snuggled his hot body into our crammed bed and tried to get some shut eye hoping when we woke it would be a bad dream.

 

It wasn't.

 

At 8:00 am sharp I was on the phone with the Pediatrician getting Mason in for a Strep test. By 9:30 Matt was on his way home with a prescription of Antibiotics and a positive confirmation of strep and strict orders for no swimming that day.

 

By noon we were on the road and headed west.

By 12:30 Mason got really quiet and by 12:35 asked me for a bag because he was going to throw up.

Look Mason Big horn sheep...yack yack!

Roadside stop at 12:37 to clean up the fun and Mason says he feels like a million bucks. Don't we always after getting sick? So we trekked on...

 

Hours two to three were the best. Max cried or should I say screamed because he was over the car seat.  Mason thought he might be sick again but on ward we went through winding canyons and mountain passes. To our first stop of the road trip.

Awww the healing waters of the Yampa.

 

But first we needed to eat. This is where Matt and I are up for parents of the year. Greasy 50's drive thru (someone had recommended the joint) and a throwing up four year old with strep. Lets do it!!!

 

Doesn't a greasy onion ring and hot dog sound delish?

Well he ate the bun and drank some 7-up.

 

He was a new kid, ready to play some putt putt. 

 

 

But of course putt putt was closed so we did the next most logical thing. Disobey the doctor's orders and took them swimming. We are such rebels.

 

We slept well that night and were excited to wake to see Mason back to his usual self. Grandma and Papa had arrived late and we were excited for them to join us for our next adventure.

 

 Glenwood Adventure Park. This place is thrill seeking meets the wild west and is perched 1,400-feet above Glenwood on Iron Mountain. It's supposedly owned by a Mines Alumni.

Superhero's a go!

 

The Gondola ride up was scenic and helped affirm my ever lasting love of Colorado.

The town of Glenwood.

Now I may not have expressed this in prior posts but my Mason boy is a thrill seeker to the core. This was his first ride of four on the Alpine Slide. The last ride Matt didn't touch the brakes. 

 Isn't my Dad cute too?

It was a little early in the season and very windy which means you get to go on the pint size roller coaster all by yourself like 101 times. The wind was a little much while perched on the top of this dusty mountain. A lot of the rides were closed but lucky for me the Cliffhanger was not. And lucky for me my sweet Husband wanted to go on it. Good thing I had my big girl panties on.

I stole this photo off a little search engine. I am just getting sweaty looking at this.

 

But the real highlight of the Adventure Park was when we found out the Gondola had been shut down due to high winds and we would be bussed down in a school bus. With wind blown hair and sand in our teeth we climbed on the school bus with 50 strangers and headed down the switch backs of Iron Mountain. Its been a long time since I have been on a school bus. I am bigger and my legs don't fit well. I also nursed a baby, something I have not done on a school bus.

 

While back at the lodge some weekend travelers arrived. My husband was green with envy when this bad boy pulled up and an actual family with kids got out. I was pissed because they are obviously parents of the year but its only June we can still out shine them.

There was actual turf on this back deck. To me its like house boat meets RV...pretty epic.

 

Dinner at the Pullman. Interesting menu, worth a stop if you are in Glenwood. Farm to table type dinning.

Local brews.

Or Martinis with one olive, shaken not stirred.

Dessert, kisses from Grandma and butterscotch pudding.

 

After the long day we headed to the hot springs for a full moon soak.  The libations may have had some of us doing cannonballs while our voice of reason (my Mom) quietly snuggled her youngest grandson in the healing waters of the Yampa while singing "Grandma loves her baby boy" and he dozed off in the nook of her neck. Just a little memory forever etched in both of our hearts.

 

 

The real reason for this little road trip was to attend the 60 Birthday of a close friend of the family. They live in Crawford, Colorado on a ranch. About a two hour drive from Glenwood.

The drive past Mt. Sopris, through Redcliff, and over McClure Pass was breath taking. Not sure the kids felt the same.

 

  After a quick stop at the Kraii Ranch to assemble a dip and collect the eggs from the chicken coup we were ready to go camping. Linda and Gary have property up on the Black Mesa that has been in his family since the late 1800's.

Pit stop...again! The geology in this area is impressive to say the least.

 

 

Mason was thrilled to be out of the car. Ready to get his camp on.

Making new friends with Gary and Linda's grand kids. Cade and Chloe (twins). They had a blast knocking over dead trees and going on dirt bike rides with their dad.

I love Linda and Gary's friends. Huge animal lovers, go with the flow kind of folk.

 

We meet some very nice people.

and fury kids too.

 

 

We camped in luxury this trip in Gary and Linda's trailer that is on the property. They are in the middle of building a cabin (forgot to get pics). Max making sure no one is getting out of control.

 

 Some of their friends own a local winery and have a band. Love live music around a campfire. One of the gals is an auditory specialist and signed and sang most of the songs.  

They had loads of instruments for the kids to get in on the action too!

 

The wine was flowing, the music pumping, and I finally got my big break. Singing backup. Someone forgot to get pictures! Matt totally knows that when we are old I am joining a wine drinking band and he can go fish.

Happy 60th Birthday Gary!

 

Dad was ready to jam too! It must be an Armstead thing because he and I were ready to sing the night away. Max not so much.

Just another Grandma loving on those sweet cheeks.

Grandma was content doing what my Mom does best being Grandma. She snuggled kids and told scary stories. She made food, bandaged boo boos, and kicked some strange lady out of our bed. That's the thing about camping with a large group of people, someone will drink too much and scamper off into your huge sleeping bag bed. That's when mamma bear nicely asks strange woman to leave and when strange woman doesn't want to Grandma bear makes her.

 

It was a full moon night. We all slept like babies (even the baby) and woke dreaming of our next camping trip. We might even buy a camper one of these days.

 

Oh ya if you are ever in Hotchkiss, Colorado you must eat at Zach's BBQ, home cooked goodness!

 

So all in all the road trip was a success. Full of stories and memories. We sure do love to travel (even with kids) and though far off destinations will always be fun some of the best trips are in our backyard. 

A little bit of the Mom funk

Every now and than I escape for 15 minutes or so and drive to pick up dinner or go and get my hair cut (that's a few hour escape) and I feel like I find a little piece of a girl that I use to know. The girl before I had kids. Trust me I love being a Mom, best job I've ever had but I would be lying if I said driving down the road with the windows rolled down and my stereo turned up didn't make me miss a part of my life I use to have. The freedom, the go go go, the independence and selfishness.

Really though when I think about it, that girl doesn't exists anymore. That girl left. That selfish part of me grieved in the first weeks of bringing Mason home and was no where to be seen by the time Max came home.

Most days I feel like a strong confident woman.

But every now and than I get a bit of the Mom funk. That I am sick of wearing my hair in a braid or a bun, the minimal makeup if any, the attempt at putting on clothes that don't make me look like a slob.


I think I need to find a little bit of that girl from my 20's again and the main reason is my weight. I've never been the skinny girl but I have been thin. I have been healthy and before I got pregnant with Max I felt that little bit of me coming back.  I have had the hardest time loosing the baby weight this time. I am breastfeeding exclusively, haven't even used my pump in months. I am hungry. I am making good food decisions, I am making too many of them. I am carrying a 20-lb baby around everyday and trying to take walks and do weight lifting when I can find 30 minutes. The scale is not budging. I am frustrated.  Every camp has a different message. Do Atkins, Don't diet while breastfeeding, Do Paleo, Weight watchers, just work out...and than there's all the beautiful mothers I know who are stick skinny and can't eat enough to keep weight on. When did I become the fat girl?

Its summer and its time to figure this thing out.

The golden months of babyhood: months six and seven

Life is moving along at a brisk but enjoyable pace. Max just began his eighth month but for record purposes here is a little re-cap of months six and seven. 

 

Month six.

Mastering sitting opens your world up to more adventure. Your big brother pushing you in a swing is just that, an adventure.

 

I'm pretty sure you have outgrown all of the clothing items in this picture.

Your first Easter.

Your mesmerized by your big brother. I often am too. That kids a kick.

You love to "tell a good story" lots of BA BA BA's and Da Da Da's with an occasional Ma.

Your interest in the world opens daily but you still like the warmth of a familiar lap.

or the arms of a special Aunt.

 

Seven Months.

I am able to leave you on the floor with some toys and your brother. This last about 20+ minutes and gives my back a break from your nearly 20lbs.

I am not sure what I would do without our ergo. We love that thing.

This is us with the flu. We managed to miss most of flu season but it finally caught us. You spent quite a few days in the ergo. You are not much of a crier but those days you were. I hurt and knew you hurt which made me hurt more. Do you follow?

But with lots of sleep we are back to our usual. You are a sleeper.  Here's the thing; you have never slept in your crib. OK maybe once for five minutes because you were so tired your eyes forced themselves shut. Your sleep comes via my arms or the ergo and I love it. I get a lot of flack about this but I know this phase too shall pass. If he is still in my arms at 17 than things got weird and people should feel free to intervene.

We have been spending a lot of time outside as the weather warms up. You love it. You also like to eat grass so we have to keep a close eye on you. 

You are getting close to crawling. There is constant rocking and yoga moves in order to get to the toys we have strategically placed just out of reach. Dad has you in "crawling boot camp" to try and offset my attachment parenting. It seems to be working.

While I cook or clean, you manage to get across our kitchen and into the cupboards. You love to remove all the contents and throw them around. Its the best kind of noise.

I would describe your personality as "quite the ham!"

 

Good gravy we are so in love with you.

Eight months old and starting to pull your self up on anything you can. Oh we remember what that leads too. Looks like its going to be a busy summer, I better get some new tennis shoes.