Our crazy week of being at home as little as possible and not doing any housework or gardening was followed by three frantic days of trying to catch up and get ahead enough that we could leave for a two week road trip to Colorado. I had a Dr's appointment to fit in, and I am also the bread lady for our food-buying co-op and had to fit in a trip to the bread store to get bread for everyone.
Since Caspian and I have such odd food sensitivities I generally try to pack all of our food for while we are on the road so we don't have to eat out very much. That cuts down on the likelyhood of us being sick the whole time. I'm not sure what in the world led me to believe that I could get all of this done in three days and still sleep an adequate amount so I wouldn't be too tired to drive. It was a crazy balancing act that ended up basically blowing up in my face. Both boys ended up getting terribly sick that week. I will be the first to tell you that I have been very blessed by healthy kids. Neither of them have really been sick much beyond a runny nose and cough for any length of time. Even the runny nose generally subsides in just a few days. I take full responsibility because I was the one running them ragged for a week, giving them "special treats" and taking them out to eat more than I should have. (Food sensitivities are basically an immune system issue, so by compromising on those foods you lower the immune system in general.) Koa got sick but was still pretty normal and so excited to go on our trip that he could barely sleep. Caspian, however, was a wreck! He was much more sick and could barely function much less sleep.
Wes and Jessi were SO helpful that week. Wes came over and watched the boys so I could go to the dr and do my bread run a little more efficiently. Jessi came over one night and helped me make quite a lot of the food we needed to take with us. Wes also finished putting twine on the trellisses I had built for my peas. I had saved that as one of the last tasks because it was the first clear day we had had in about a week. I thought I would get the car all packed and then string the twine and be done. However, it started raining right as I headed out to do it. Wes and I got the first couple done as the rain started to come down heavier and heavier and then he offered to just come back later and finish. I was so grateful!
With all of the set-backs we got away A LOT later on Wednesday than I thought we would. Several times I doubted that we should even leave that day. Caspian was so miserable that I couldn't decide if it would be better for him to be strapped in a carseat where he might be likely to sleep more or if we should just stay home for another night and let him try to sleep in his own bed. At one point we all just sat down by the door and cried because that seemed like the only thing we could do at that point. Then we pulled ourselves together and loaded up the car and decided we could at least make it a little ways up the gorge and we would stay in nice, comfy beds and at least we would be started down the road. The way I figured it we could split the other two days equally and still make it in three (two and a half) days to my parents' house in Bayfield.
Well, that was wishful thinking. We made it to Pendleton that night, but the three hour drive to Pendleton took us like 5 hours. After all that food Jessi and I made, we ended up stopping for dinner because I REALLY had to go to the bathroom, there was no place for a picnic because it was pouring rain and Caspian was a wreck in his car chair. The afternoon before we left he came down with diareah and got the worst diaper rash! So, he soon figured out that all he had to do to get me to stop the car was yell, "Poop!" and I would pull over to change his pants--which were always totally dry!
We finally made it to Pendelton, OR and basically went straight to bed. I let Caspian sleep with a naked bottom to hopefully heal up the rash and we got up, played in the pool and had breakfast in the morning and hit the road a little later than I would have liked, but still with the idea that we could get in around seven hours of driving with stops and breaks. HA! We made it to Boise...three hours away. Caspian was still so upset and acting SO uncomfortable in his car seat and he couldn't sleep because of the plethora of snot that was stored and pouring from his head. We were still having to stop all the time to change his pants and make sure his diaper rash wasn't getting any worse. Koa still wasn't feeling well either, so he wasn't tolerating sitting next to his uncomfortable little brother very well.
We stopped to have lunch in a park and see if running around would cheer everyone's spirits enough that we could tolerate the car a bit longer. The second we got to the park it started pouring rain. So, I decided maybe if we took some time to play in the pool and wear them out if they got a really good nap and general rest time maybe the next two days would be smoother sailing. Also, by this point I was wondering if we were ever going to make it to Colorado or if our vacation was just going to be the excitement of hotel swimming pools. So, I thought we better make the best of it.
We used the hotel toaster to toast our pizza pockets (lovingly made by Jessi) from our cooler which the boys devoured and then headed to the pool. We played for quite a while and I can't be totally sure, but I think this is where Caspian actually walked into the pool by himself. The day before when we were playing in the pool he swam "by himself" using floaties, so I don't know if he was under the illusion that he could float unassisted or what. That particular day he hadn't wanted to come in the pool all the way. He was perfectly content to stay on the steps, so I was staying with him and Koa was swimming with the floaties. At one point Koa started freaking out because he was "stuck" and couldn't go anywhere, so I turned and took like one large step to offer him my hand and when I turned back around Caspian was floating along the end with only his little curls sticking out of the water. He was frantically kicking and I kind of wonder if I had left him alone if he would have been able to surface. Of course, I didn't wait to see. I quickly grabbed him and he coughed and gagged a little but he was totally fine. I kept him in the water with me after that until he was smiling again and starting to feel comfortable in the water because I didn't want him to be terrified of the water hence forth (apparently I don't really know my child...this is not how his brain works!)
After the pool there were naps and then we got up and went to a park nearby and it was not raining this time. There were some other kids to play with and a baby puppy to love on. Koa and I played a little tennis and then we headed back for dinner and bedtime. I thought the kids were sufficiently worn out and it would be a peaceful night. I would get a few things done on the computer after they went to bed and all would be well. Or not. Koa didn't like Caspian sleeping in his bed and I couldn't blame him because Caspian is definitely a kicker! So, I put him in my bed and layed down with him for a spell. He had been wanting to cuddle a lot lately, so I thought this would help him fall asleep. That's when the crying and kicking and screaming began. He would try to sleep on top of me and then he would get upset and move to another position and kick his little legs like something was hurting him terribly. We tried diaper off and diaper on; change of clothes; pillows, no pillows; drinks, snuggles, nothing seemed to help. I started becoming convinced it was something internal because of the way he was kicking. I had never seen him act this way and he just seemed SO miserable! Finally, at 1:30 AM I decided to call the doctor on call at our clinic and see if they had any recommendations or if maybe I needed to take him to the emergency room. The virus he had was something that had been going around Portland, so I knew if this was a typical symptom they would know about it. I left the room to make the phone call. I left a message for her and by the time I returned Caspian was sound asleep and slept for the rest of the night. Apparently he just had a really bad case of I-don't-want-to-share-this-bed! When he would stir in the night he would kick at me again, so I eventually just surrounded him with pillows and went and got in bed with Koa.
In the morning we got up and got our breakfast and as I was thinking about the day ahead I said to myself, "Today we are not stopping unless someone is bleeding." I got out the cutting board and knife, cut up an apple and as I was putting the knife away I cut my hand. Funny! Maybe I should have taken that as a sign, but I did not. We pressed on anyway and that day we actually made some really good head way. We made it all the way to Salt Lake City before we even stopped the car. At that point we had to get gas, and the kids were VERY antsy. So, we went to a favorite stop--The Children's Museum. Since we have a membership to OMSI we get to visit this particular museum for free. We just pay a dollar for parking and then we can play to our hearts' content or they close whichever comes first. While we were there I was talking with one of the workers and she recommended a little local, organic cafe, Vasuvio's and we decided to give it a try. I wasn't sure if we would eat there or get it to go, but they were playing Hawai'ian music when we walked in and I was coaxed into sitting down. One of the owners ended up being our server and she treated us like royalty. Koa still asks if we can go there for lunch sometimes. We left them some of our homemade granola and my card with an invitation to come visit us in Portland sometime. They filled my coffee mug and we hit the road again in hopes of making it to Grand Junction that night. I figured since the boys had full tummies and it was late maybe they would sleep and we would make it all the way that night. The next day was the first time we would have the opportunity to Skype with Zak. Until then we had only had 30 minutes a day to talk on the phone and only on the weekends. So, I wanted to be somewhere that I knew we would be able to do that whenever he had the opportunity. Since that opportunity also depends on someone else's schedule and desires (because you have to go everywhere with a buddy) there were a lot of variables.
We headed out of Salt Lake City and down what ended up being a very curvy two lane road with lots of deer crossing signs and apparently many other motorists who knew the roads a lot better than I because they all wanted me to drive much faster. The boys were sound asleep, but I was just getting more and more nervous driving and concerned that I was going to get really sleepy before we got all the way to Grand Junction. So, when we got to Price, UT I decided to go ahead and stop and just avoid the risks. Of course, from Price to Grand Junction the road is wide and as straight as an arrow, but I didn't realize that.
We settled into our hotel and all went to sleep and once everyone awoke I loaded us all back in the car. I decided we could snack on fruit etc for breakfast and we would get into Grand Junction and then take it easy for a spell. As we walked out the door of the hotel both boys started freaking out, covering their eyes and yelling, "Bright! Bright!" I had to explain that this is what the rest of the world is talking about when they mention the Sun!
I think this is the point in the trip where I realized Caspian had a terrible sore throat because I gave him an orange, which he lOves, and he put it in his mouth and then spit it out and threw it back to me. I did not, however, realize that this would become a fun game for him! Ugh!
When we got to Grand Junction we met up with my friend, Lauren, who we knew in Hawai'i and now lives in Virginia, but was vacationing near Grand Junction. Her husband is deployed and she has two little girls who are very close in age to our boys. We met for lunch where my boys ate almost nothing and ended up bickering with her kids the majority of the time. Lauren and I didn't get to visit much, but it was nice to see her again after all this time.
During lunch I got a text from Zak saying he was ready to Skype. So, as soon as we finished lunch we headed back to our cars in the 100 degree heat and I headed for a Starbucks. Thanks to our GPS we found lots of options but as we drove to each one we discovered they were all in Safeways. Since I didn't know if those ones would have wi-fi I didn't want to drag the kids (Caz now sound asleep) through the parking lot and inside only to discover they did not. So, we continued to drive all over the city looking for a stand-alone Starbucks. We finally found one and I got hooked up and Zak started reading a book to Koa (he bought two copies of new books before he left and took one of each with him so he could read to Koa over the phone or computer). About that time I discovered Caspian needed clean pants so I took him in the bathroom to change him only to discover that it was NOT a normal dirty diaper. This one went all the way to his shoes! So, I was basically bathing him in the sink while Koa continued to Skype with Zak. When we got back out there Koa desperately needed to go to the bathroom. So I had to "hang up" with Zak and go with Koa who also had diareah. At least that explained why neither kid had much appetite and they were both a little crabby.
When we finished up in Starbucks we headed back to the car to get ready for the four hour drive to my parents' house. While I was getting things together I let the boys hand out on the sidewalk instead of in the crazy hot car. A couple pulled up beside me and as they got out of the car they made it abundantly clear that they thought I was a pretty sub-par parent. I don't know why I let it bother me so much what complete strangers thought of my parenting, but I couldn't stop crying until we were well down the road. It helped to sober me up when I realized I had missed my last chance to get gas until Montrose and we were not going to have enough gas to get there! Our gas gauge tells how many miles to empty and the GPS told me how many miles the next station and the two DID NOT match! Dangit! I was not willing to turn around, though. I turned off the air conditioning and slowed down my pace and we made it just fine.
Caspian kept me company (quite calmly) and Koa slept until we got to Ouray then we all got to enjoy the scenery over Red Mountain and Molas passes. Since it had been such a hot day the snow was really melting and the rivers were running high, fast and muddy! It made for a lot of water falls and Koa loved spotting them along the way. Both boys were pretty content until we got to about Purgatory and then Caspian started to lose it again. But at that point we were so close I just couldn't justify stopping! I started feeding them animal cookies which worked for a while, but pretty soon Caz would just give me a look like, "You can't bribe me, woman!" every time I tried to give him a cookie.
We finally made it in about 8:30, I think. Man was I exhausted! The boys were soooooo happy to be there. They went to the barn to help dad let a cow out and Caspian immediately fell and hit is head and got a big ol' goose egg right in the middle of his forehead. Poor guy!
If you want a sneak peak into "the rest of the story" you can get a bird's eye view from Koa's and my perspective by checking out the photo albums Colorado 2010 and Koa's Own Photos. I hope to get the pictures my sister took, too, and add them to the mix. It looks like Zak has also started his own photo album in Navy Summer 2010.
