1000 Miles

As we packed up the car, for our 1000 mile road trip to St. Louis, my stomach was in knots.  Having never attempted to drive back to STL with the kids... I imagined the worst.  Stopping every 45 minutes, fighting, whining, "are we there yet?" a thousand times.  I, obviously, had no idea what to expect and quite frankly... I calmed myself by packing the car full of a bunch of "just in cases".  It's better to be over prepared than underprepared, right?!  Needless to say, I was beyond over prepared with a bag full of snacks (from the healthy cashews to bubble gum and chocolate covered pretzels).  Lots of games and more movies than I care to admit.

Usually, the kids have to take a bathroom break 20 minutes into the trip... but this time... we made it all the way past Raleigh (over 2 hours) before the kids even mentioned it!!  The kids were absolutely AMAZING!  We only watched 2 movies (Cats & Dogs and Transformers 2), and we played lots of games, including Road Trip Bingo.  Another game we played was Rubberneckers.  To play the game... there are cards with things you have to do to get points, such as: find someone picking their nose, find a bus, etc. And then there were others called "share the road" with things like give someone the peace sign or get a trucker to blow his horn.  We chose "wave to someone and see if they'll wave back."  When I was a kid, this would've been easy.... but it really was hard to do.  We found SO many people to be on their cell phones.  Chase was absolutely embarrassed, Claire gave up... and Henri and I... with perseverance.... finally waved at a guy AND he waved back.  I was 100% reminded how much fun road trips can be.

After about 15 1/2 hours in the car, kids sound asleep in their sleeping bags... we arrived in STL at 4:30am  CST.  It was such a LONG drive and I'm horribly tired... but I am SO happy that we didn't fly.  We had such a great time... saw things-- mountains, tunnels, firework stands, you name it-- that we would've never seen had we flown.  So now that I'm over the fear... I know the trip home will be even more fun.

Words of Henri: Fancy Girl

Henri was sitting on my lap and as my hair was down, he naturally started playing with it.

As he touches my hair, he says, "You look like fancy girl."

Completely flattered and surprised, I say, "A fancy girl."

He tells me again... and I love it.  It absolutely makes me smile.  Me fancy.  Then, I say, "I'm a fancy girl?"

He then replies, "Noooo, you just a mom."

Same Scenario, Different Boy

4 years ago, Chase came to me in despair.  While trying to get the balls out of a toy, he got his arm stuck in the plastic tube.  I, of course, felt bad for him... but could not stop laughing.  Rolling with laughter, we thought we would never be able to free his arm.  I took the following picture.  And I'm so glad I did, because today I heard Henri's footsteps and as he come around the corner... I couldn't believe my eyes.  I immediately started giggling.  The same toy that Chase had gotten stuck on his arm, 4 years ago, was now on Henri's.  He had the exact same look of desperation and I had the same feeling of trying to hold in my laughter while prying the plastic from his arm.

Now, we wonder why Claire never did this?  Maybe girls are just smarter.  I'd like to think so :)

Missing

For the past few weeks, Bell Tate-- our Weimariner rescue-- reverted to the dog we adopted over a year ago. She began tearing up things... and even going so far as to eat a loaf of bread and bag of chips off of the counter. Of course, she did all of the damage while we would be gone and every time we would come home to a house torn apart. So we started putting her in the backyard when we would leave. What would she do? She'd jump the fence (4 ft in that section)...even with her underground fence collar on. No matter what we did, she kept jumping. The other night, as we were turning into our neighborhood, Aaron noticed a sign: Female Weimariner. Underground Fence Collar. We put her in the back yard. We drove down to get her... and there she was standing behind a chain link fence. Why she didn't jump? I suppose we'll never know. When we got home, Aaron took her down to where she jumps and reminded her of the underground fence.

So yesterday, we had a few hours of errands to run. We put her in the backyard. But when we came home... she wasn't there. We called for her and Aaron drove to surrounding neighborhoods and asked neighbors if they had seen her. Nobody had. It's strange, because as much as I love her... I have said to myself, "It is what it is." Maybe because she used to do this all of the time and I would get so worked up...and then she'd show up... and I just can't do it anymore. Chase went to bed last night bummed. She's his cuddle buddy.

Unlike our missing chicken... I really thought that I would wake up this morning and she'd be here... but she's not. Hopefully, she'll turn up as the day goes on... otherwise... this could prove to be a pretty rough week.

Flying a la Henri

As Henri stood on the edge of my bed looking at the floor beneath him, he said, "I think I want to jump." I told him to go ahead and then he said, "But I think I sceered."

"Ok, not a big deal, you don't have to jump."

Then he said, "But it looks like so much fun." With that he spread his "wings" and said "These will help me fly."

Mom Gave Names to All Her Children

I've always said it, "Bob Dylan is an amazing song writer, but I just can't listen to him sing." Claire's new favorite song is "Man Gave Names to all the Animals," of course, redone by Jason Mraz. If you don't know what I'm talking about check it out here.

So yesterday, Claire was taking an after school nap on her floor. Trying desperately to wake her up after about an hour, I started singing a new version.... which of course, she thought was funny and drove her mad at the same time. So here it is...

"Mom saw a girl laying on the floor

She slept so much, that she started to snore.

Couldn't see much, just a lot of hair.

She said, 'I...... I think I'll call her Claire.

Mom saw a boy sitting on the ground,

had so many toys that he couldn't be found.

She tried to get him to look her in the face.

She said, 'I..... I think I'll call him Chase.

Mom saw a boy that was super cute.

He liked to eat vegies and lots fruit.

And on his backpack was Bumble Bee.

She said, 'I....I'm gonna call that one Henri."

Camping: Sparta, VA

Early Friday morning, Aaron woke Claire up for school. Even though we were going camping, she had been insistent about going since she has Music class-- her fav-- on Friday. She had been back and forth the night before, but as soon as she opened her eyes... she had her heart set on packing her backpack with all of her "camping necessities". The kids all got around and by the time we got everything packed... we were out the door and on the road around 10:15. Then stopping for the kids to go potty only 20 miles into the trip. Mid-way through the drive, Chase was wiggling his loose tooth... then before we knew it... there he held it high in his hand! Lost tooth count: 5

Now camping isn't anything that I ever saw myself doing, but it seems like we've been going a lot lately. And strangely enough... it's growing on me. This time we went camping in Sparta, VA for MAR (Mid-Atlantic Rally)... it's a Rover thing. Anyway, Aaron and the kids LOVE it. Our Friday, was spent setting up the tent and me cooking dinner. Typical, of the kids... as soon as the tent is up... they become little tent monsters. Jumping, spinning... you name it... in the tent. One day, I just know that the tent will collapse. Until then, they'll keep doing what they do.

After a long night (thanks to some trashy 23 year old yapping until 4 am), the kids woke up around 8! YAY! I make pancakes and sausage for breakfast... AND they were SO good. I'm totally throwing out (ok, donating) my non-stick griddle in favor of my cast iron griddle. After breakfast, we took the kids up to look around at all the different Rovers and visit with friends. Their buddy, Big Mark, brought his 9 year old daughter-- Bailey-- and the kids had so much fun. We went on a brief 4-wheeling trip... just long enough to see the result of a D-90 that rolled and another Rover get stuck-- a highlight for the kids!

While I made lunch, the kids hung out with Bailey in her tent. She dolled the kids all up... lip-gloss and had the boys smelling like cheap hookers! We kept telling Chase that Bailey thought he was cute and wanted to marry him... I've never seen him so embarrassed. It was hilarious watching him blush ;) As I was getting dinner ready, the kids were still playing with Bailey. Aaron went to get them for dinner and he discovered the most amazing thing. Henri must have gotten tired and was on Big Mark's lap. He was falling asleep as Mark rubbed his back. Luckily, Aaron got there before he was completely asleep. Later that evening, we took the kids on a night 4-wheeling trip... only to come across Rovers that had been stuck for hours. Aaron had to back up in the dark... no reverse lights... and find his way out of the forest with no map. It was adventurous and I wasn't worried. My 2 sleepy heads were in their PJ's... Henri's sleeping head held up by me as we bumped and jumped around on the trails. And, in case you're wondering... yes, we made it out.... and quickly, too. Aaron has some kind of super power when it comes to knowing where he is and which direction he needs to go.

Sunday, we woke up to a very cold day and very dewy outside. Luckily, it wasn't raining. We packed up and the kids said their good-byes to their new friend. It was a great weekend... of no TV, no computers... just family and friends.