For the kids' Fall Break this year we decided to go visit Lindsey and Rick in Washington! Zach had a business trip over the break and, when I first found out about it, I thought we'd have to cancel our Washington plans. After thinking about it further, however, I realized that his business trip gave us even more of a reason to go! I knew that if we stayed home we would waste the days away- and, with Zach out of town, those would have been very long days! But, there was also no way I was making a 12 hour road trip with three kids by myself. Who would get them snacks and drinks and change out the DVDs? And more importantly, who would keep me sane?! Enter my awesome sister Anne. :)
Anne is in a Master's Program right now and her Fall Break just happened to be the same week as ours! It was meant to be. So Anne saved the day (and the trip!) and agreed to go to Washington with us! By the end of our trip we affectionately referred to her as the "Road Trip Master".
I pulled Ryan out of school at noon on Tuesday and we set out toward Boise where we spent the night in a hotel before making the rest of the drive to Lindsey's house the next day. The boys did awesome in the car and we only had to stop twice in the 6 hour drive to Boise. One of our stops ended up being at a place called, "The Middle of Nowhere"*. And it was. It was a funny little gas station with ridiculously overpriced gas and a full on petting zoo out front. There was a sheep and llamas and some donkeys.
It felt good to stretch our legs and the boys enjoyed looking at the animals while I filled the tank. Unfortunately, we left one of the sliding doors of the van open during our little rest stop and by the time we got back to the car there were dozens of flies inside the car! Whoops! Luckily we were able to drive with the windows down until we got back on the highway and all but 5 or 6 flies got out. (Those 5 or 6 flies sure were annoying though!) *Stay tuned...
With only two stops, we were able to make it to Boise in time for dinner. The boys got Wendy's kids' meals while Anne and I had Smashburger. We were super hungry by the time we arrived and I swear a burger has never tasted so good in my life! I was excited to get to the hotel with a few hours left before bedtime. We got to swim in the hotel pool and the boys had a blast! We were so noisy and crazy that no one else came to swim while we were there so we had the whole place to ourselves!
Camden is more obsessed with swimming than any 2 year old I have ever known! He asks me every few days if we can go swimming, so he was in heaven!
After a fun time at the pool we all took showers/baths and settled in for some hotel TV time. It's times like these that I am so grateful that we don't have cable TV at home. The kids were fascinated with all the Disney channel and Nickelodeon shows! I wasn't quite sure how to do bedtime with everyone sleeping in one room so I just let the boys watch TV until we were all ready for lights out. Anne was so cute. As we were getting ready to turn in for the night she asked if we needed to set an alarm so as to not miss the 9am cut off for breakfast. I assured her that we had three fully functional alarms sleeping in the bed next to us. ;)
Sure enough we were up bright and early at 7am- in plenty of time for breakfast! We got ready for the day and packed up a few of our things before heading down to the lobby for an impressively stocked hot breakfast provided by the hotel. Wednesday was mine and Zach's 10 year wedding anniversary. It was a little strange to wake up on our 10th anniversary in a hotel room.... sleeping next to my sister and our three boys. Ha! (Thank goodness we took that cruise earlier this year!) We took this family selfie to send to Zach first thing in the morning to wish him a happy anniversary!
Shortly after finishing breakfast we cleared everything out of the hotel room and loaded up the car for day 2 of our road trip adventure. We sent Lindsey this picture from the hotel parking lot to let her know we were on our way!
The drive from Utah to Washington is very straight forward and very easy. It's pretty much open highway the whole way there. The hardest part of the whole drive was when we crossed over from an 80 mph speed limit in Idaho to a 65(!) mph speed limit in Oregon. It felt like we were crawling! The boys had another fantastic time in the car the second day. I really don't know how we got so lucky. Don't get me wrong, they kept Anne plenty busy dispersing snacks and handing out activities and changing DVDs but there was no fighting or crying or complaining the whole way. About halfway through the drive and right around lunch time it became clear that we needed to stop for a bathroom break. It ended up being perfect timing. We were driving through a beautiful part of Oregon and ended up stopping at a National Park right off the Highway. There were nice bathrooms for us to use, space for the boys to run and play and even picnic tables for us to make PB&J sandwiches and eat in peace.
Did I mention that it was beautiful?
Our little picnic stop in Oregon ended up being one of the highlights of our whole trip!
The best part was that we were only 2 and a half hours away from Lindsey's house at that point! We were on the final stretch! With full bellies and most of our wiggles out we pushed on for the last couple hours on the road.
We got to Lindsey's house at about 3:30 and felt pretty lucky to get to see Rick before he headed off to class at 4. Rick had a big test the following Monday so he had a lot of studying to do. He left every morning at 7:30am and would come home after 10pm every night (with an occasional dinner break here and there). He was so nice to let us come at such a busy time for him! #medschoolisnojoke!
After we sent Rick off to class, we walked to a fun playground just down the street from Lindsey's house (they are renting a cute little duplex) and then we went to Panda Express for dinner (after careful consideration of the 3 places there are to eat in Yakima! Haha. But for reals.) We were all pretty wiped out from the two days in the car (why does that happen? It's not like you're expending energy sitting in the car all day?!) so bedtime was easy and we all slept well.
The next morning (Thursday) Lindsey went to work (she worked half days while we were there) while Anne, the boys and I got ready for the day. The boys and I went to Walmart for groceries for the few days we would be there and for some food for a picnic lunch later that afternoon. It all timed out perfectly and we were ready to go meet Rick for lunch on campus when Lindsey got back from work around noon. Lunch with Rick was one of the boys' favorite things about the whole trip. He was so nice to make time for us and to be seen with us. (We were not your typical medical school students.) We ate out back behind the university where they had picnic tables and basketball hoops with balls and frisbees overlooking a wide open field.
The kids finished their lunches quickly and were thrilled to get to play basketball with Rick for a few minutes before he had to go back to class. Camden spent most of his time chasing a frisbee in the open field. He's got quite an arm!
This picture makes me so happy. We have missed Lindsey and Rick so much since they moved in August. I love how genuine every smile is in this picture. The boys were so excited to visit Lindsey and Rick and it was so cute to see them reunited at last!
After lunch we drove to a nice paved trail that runs along the Yakima River. It was a beautiful day and a gorgeous walk to the most awesome park I have ever seen. We had the place to ourselves for a while and it was so fun to explore all the neat things the park had to offer. The tire swing was a fan favorite by the end.
The little boys were worn out after a busy morning and were both asleep in the stroller by the time we made it back to the car. They transferred easily to their beds when we arrived at Lindsey's house and both took good naps. Lindsey and Anne ran some errands while Ryan had some fun solo time on the iPad and I was able to sneak in a little nap myself. #winning!
Once everyone was awake and while dinner was cooking, Lindsey pulled out these cute little pumpkins she got from work. (She works at a kid's gymnastics gym/daycare center) The kids had a blast painting their pumpkins!
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| No surprise here. Ryan painted his to be a Pokeball. :) |
Lindsey had a longer schedule on Friday and had to stay at work until 12:30 so Anne and I did a little Google searching for something fun to do with the boys in the morning while Lindsey was gone. We settled on a little town called Granger, WA about a half hour away. It was a cute little town with life-sized dinosaur statues everywhere (so random!) I guess someone built the first statue in 1994 and they just kept adding more and more as the years went by. Today there are over 30 dinosaurs sprinkled throughout the town (there's one in front of the elementary school, the post office and the bank- it's really quite charming.)
They have an awesome park for kids with lots of dinos that you can climb on. And an awesome old school style slide that Camden could not get enough of!
Down the hill from the park was a man-made lake with a Loch Ness monster-like dinosaur in the water. We decided to go get a closer look and were thrilled to find a little path that went all the way around the lake! It was perfect!
There were cattails within reach and the boys had so much fun exploring and playing with them.
There was even a dinosaur on the opposite side of the lake from the park!
I mentioned earlier that it was a man-made lake and it was beautiful from a distance. Up close, however, it was a little smelly and the water was covered in muck and algae. There was no water flow and the water was stagnant. I thought this sign was funny. Mostly I thought it was funny that there was "NO swimming" due to the fact that there was "no lifeguard on duty"- forget the fact that the water was disgusting and I'm sure you would contract no less than 7 diseases immediately upon entering the water. Swimming in it hadn't even crossed my mind. :)
Despite the nasty water, the views were beautiful and I couldn't stop taking pictures.
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| I spy Nessie! |
The loop around the lake was just the right distance. It was long enough to feel like we got a little work out in but not so long that the little ones couldn't make it. After circling around the lake we walked across the street from the first park to discover another awesome park with, you guessed it, more dinosaurs!
Anne thought it would be funny to pose with the velociraptor (spoiler alert: it was). But it was almost more entertaining watching Camden try to recreate it.
And then Ryan wanted to take a shot.
Oh, and the Pokemon needed their own photo shoot as well. Watching Ryan take these pictures was like looking into a mirror. He adores his little Pokemon stuffed animals and you could tell he was very pleased with how the pictures were coming out (He took at least 16 different pictures). I'm sure I look no different when taking pictures of my kids.
The T-rex was our last stop. Ryan's poses are awesome.
The two little boys were tired when it was time to leave and once again fell asleep on the car ride home. They took great naps when we got home and Ryan, Anne, Lindsey and I enjoyed a quiet lunch together while they slept. Once they woke up and ate something we headed out to the Arboretum a few minutes away from Lindsey's house. It was basically a huge park with lots of interesting and different trees. And lots of squirrels. You can't underestimate the entertainment value of squirrels- especially for kids who don't see them very often!
There was a K-Mart on the way home so we stopped in to buy some shoes I had been looking for. While shopping we stumbled across the Halloween costumes that were all 50% off. I still hadn't decided what Camden would be this year so I was thrilled when he agreed to wear this cute fish costume I picked out. We can't wait for Halloween!
That evening, after a little dinner fiasco, my sisters and I rented the new Cinderella movie and watched it together. And by "watched" I mean to say I was super sick (I hate you, "morning sickness") on the couch and fell asleep with 45 minutes left to go. That's pretty much how I watch movies these days. #pregoprobs
Saturday was the day we had all been waiting for! The two things the boys wanted to do when we went to Washington were go to a pumpkin patch and to pick apples at an apple orchard. We hit the jackpot by going to a pumpkin patch AT an apple orchard! Lindsey didn't have to work and Rick generously sacrificed study hours to come along. We tried to get there early as to avoid the crowds. What I didn't anticipate, however, was how cold it can be in the morning! I only packed shorts and t-shirts for my kids. For the first half hour or so they were playing alongside kids in parka coats! Oops! Total mom fail. They never once complained though and, once the sun came out all the way, it warmed up quite nicely.
Our first order of business was apple picking! (After admiring the cute pigs we saw on the way to the orchard of course.)
It was so much fun. I felt like the kids really got an authentic Washington experience.
Ryan only likes green apples so he got comfortable in front of the Granny Smith Trees.
They had just about every type of apple at this orchard and Brady set out to get one of each kind.
We paid for the apples and sent Rick to go put them in the car. Camden and Brady wanted to eat one of their apples on the spot so we let them keep one to munch on while we explored the rest of the farm.
There was a kid's area where you could have ball races while pumping water into the troughs.
There were rustic teeter totters as well.
The highlight, however, was panning for gems. They had little sacks for sale filled with sand with stones and shells mixed in that you could take over to a mining station where you could use a pan to separate the "gems" out from the sand. Ryan was in heaven.
They loved it! It was worth every penny.
After spending a long time in the Kid's Area, it was time for them to shoot off the pumpkin cannon. It was as awesome as it sounds.
Immediately following the pumpkin cannon we headed back over to those cute little piggies to watch the pig races. It was adorable. I think Anne got it on video. I need to get a copy.
Finally, it was time to head to the pumpkin patch!
Don't be deceived. This is not Brady's pumpkin. I had to laugh because I told the boys they could pick out any pumpkin they wanted and Brady came out with a small decorative gourd. I questioned him several times about his choice, but he was sure that that little squash is what he wanted.
We headed home just in time for lunch. During naps, I was able to sneak away to run a few errands for our big car ride the next day. Ryan made it very clear that he would enjoy unwrapping little gifts periodically during the trip like we did when we drove to Arkansas, so I headed to the Dollar Store to find a few little prizes, wrapping paper, tape and some snacks. Anne cooked everyone dinner so while she was cooking, Lindsey and Rick took Ryan and Brady to the Middle School football field to toss around the football. The boys loved it! Lindsey got some really great pictures that I will have to get copies of. While everyone was occupied, I wrapped the presents and got organized for the trip home (I couldn't believe our trip was almost over all ready!)
We decided to drive the full 735 miles home in one day on the way back. We hit the road at about 7am (UT time, 6am WA time). My goal was to make it to Boise before stopping for lunch and we did it. In fact we made it all the way through Boise and to a nice rest stop just outside the city before stopping to eat the picnic lunch we packed.
The boys got these little pop guns as one of their prizes and had so much fun playing with them at the rest stop. They did more playing than eating, but I figured they had 6 more hours to eat in the car so running and playing was the priority at the moment. We let them play for a good hour before loading up and heading out again.
But stop. Look at Camden. Haha.
Feeling pretty good about the great time we were making and the fun lunch/bathroom/exercise break we just had, we hit the road in good spirits- encouraged that we were halfway there! A couple hours down the road, however, I looked down at my gas gauge and it was on empty. Like light on, totally empty. My heart sank. I was worried because I wasn't sure how long the light had been on. We were in Idaho on a pretty deserted stretch of highway. I tried not to openly freak out, but I was FREAKING OUT! I told Anne to GPS where the next gas station was pronto! By some miracle we were only 4 and a half miles away from a gas stop, which was surprising because we were literally in the middle of nowhere. We said some pretty intense prayers during the next three minutes before cruising off the exit and parking in front of a heaven sent gas station with a little sign that read, "Welcome to the Middle of Nowhere"* All we could do was laugh.
And kiss that friendly little sheep out front.
I have never felt so grateful to pay such a ridiculous amount for gas in my whole life!
As we were getting off the exit we passed a sign that said, "No Services for the next 35 miles." Thank goodness I noticed the gas gauge when I did! It was a truly a miracle.
After the excitement of almost being stranded with no gas in the middle of nowhere Idaho with three kids and no husband, a boring, uneventful drive home is just what we needed. We stopped on the way at Kylene's house in Ogden to pick up Roxy (Thank you Brooks family for letting Roxy crash your Fall Break!) and then again to drop Anne off at her apartment.
The drive from Anne's house to home was the most intense and difficult part of the whole trip for me. It was dark and raining and the kids had lost their personal snack-getter/toy-fixer/movie-changer and we were all getting very hungry. Throw in some I-15 construction and it made for the longest 40 minutes of the whole drive. We were so happy to finally pull into the garage safe and sound... 12 hours and 15 minutes after we set off from Lindsey's house that morning. :)
We all crashed quickly that night and slept well in our own beds. Monday was still a break for the kids and it was so nice to have a day to decompress and get geared up for the coming week. It was such a treat to visit Lindsey and see where she and Rick are living. It was so kind of them to welcome us into their home. Looking back it all feels like a dream. I am so glad we made the trip and am so grateful to Anne for coming along for the crazy adventure. The boys also made it possible by being awesome little road trippers. This is not a trip we will soon forget!
3 comments:
So fun!!! I loved reading every word! You are seriously amazing for not only attempting, but totally succeeding at this trip!! What a wonderful, fun, amazing mom you are. And P.S. I'm SO sad and sorry that I forgot it was your anniversary! I would have texted you some fun cruise picture or something. ;)
I loved reading this so much. What a fun brothers (your kids) and sisters adventure! You really packed a lot of fun into a short time. Sounds like you are a road trip master yourself. Job well done. And SO glad for that little middle of nowhere gas station!
Cutest little fish ever!
I'm SO glad you didn't run out of gas!! Thank you wonderful fly ridden gas station!
How fun that you got to go on a road trip with your sister to see your sister! Jealous. :)
You are like a road trip master. What a good idea with wrapping little presents for them have something to look forward to.
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