Family Fun-Part Deux

After a lovely evening in South Bend visiting friends, we got back on the train (insert extremely loud train whistle sound that Desert Boy makes frequently). We rode an hour and got off to meet my parents. They knew Desert Boy's penchant for trains, so we went to a train-themed cafe for lunch. It had four trains running overhead while we ate.

Afterwards we went outside to the restored caboose.

The interior is absolutely beautiful, and I was surprised how spacious it was.

Grandpa and Desert Boy sat at the table and talked about something. Maybe trains.

Grandma and Emma played.

Emma spent a lot of time sticking out her tongue because she had gotten her first tooth the night before, and I think she was trying to figure out what that sharp little thing in her mouth was.

While we were in the caboose, it started pouring. It was interesting how the sky just got dark and then the rain came. I'm used to the more dramatic desert storms, with the huge cumulonimbus clouds. I'm also used to being able to see the rain coming from a long way off. It was a little surprising how quickly it crept up on us.

Then we went to my hometown, and that night I got to go out with some friends. I think we could have kept talking all night long. It's so great to be able to just pick up where we left off, even though we hadn't seen each other in person in a couple of years. Thanks, ladies!

The next morning we were off again, to my brother and sister-in-law's house. Along the Interstate we saw a huge wind farm, stretching about ten miles long and wider than we could see.

The turning blades are a bit mesmerizing and probably something of a traffic hazard! They need to put up a sign that says "Wind mills ahead. Do not charge."

Sorry, I still remember Don Quixote from high school Spanish class.

Our first stop in Indianapolis was the Art Museum greenhouse. I especially liked the orchid room. It smelled heavenly, and the bright, beautiful flowers were gorgeous.

We met my sister-in-law and her two kids, and Desert Boy and Maria quickly had fun together.

They both had a lot of energy and were checking everything out.

The leaves on the trees were changing. Nature's art was definitely giving the displayed art a run for the money.

Desert Boy running.

Maria leading Grandpa.

And then a picnic. Desert Girl had fun trying to get to everyone's food.

The 100 Acres exhibit has scattered art works, and we took a walk to see some of them.

One of the kids' favorites were the benches. Or were they slides?

They were certainly a lot of fun.

The kids got worn out (and maybe the adults, too), and it was time to head back.

And what better way to end the day than three kids playing in the tub!?

Family Fun--Part One

I took the kids back to the Midwest to visit family and friends on a fun trip. We covered a lot of miles in a relatively short time, and I'm so glad that we have some photos to help remember what we did.

There are so many contrasts between our desert home and the area where I grew up. Going from the wide open vistas where you can see a car ten miles away to crowded interstates and lots of stop lights is one big difference. Another is going from our scant six inches of precipitation to a year to 35 inches a year--folks don't have to water their gardens, things just grow. To think how many years I took water for granted.

One of the highlights of the trip was introducing Emma to her cousins, aunts, uncles, and other relatives and friends. She had a little cold at the beginning of the trip and also had two teeth emerge, so she wasn't exactly the fun-loving kid she usually is. Nevertheless, she had some good moments where she showed off her happy spirit.
Desert Boy enjoyed all sorts of attention, even when he was being squashed.

After a delicious dinner and catching up a bit with wonderful relatives, we headed to bed on our first night relatively early.

The next day Uncle Phil and Aunt Roberta helped us schlep all our stuff to downtown Chicago. We went on the "el," the elevated train. As soon as we had paid and were on the platform, Desert Boy declared he had to pee.

Of course there was no bathroom in sight, and I knew he wouldn't be able to survive the 30 minute ride downtown.

So he got to pee on the tracks.

Apparently Mythbusters has done a segment that shows that peeing on the third track, the electrified one, will not kill you. Good thing.

We were able to make it to our next train, the South Shore Line, with no problems. Thanks so much, Uncle Phil and Aunt Roberta, for all your help!

Desert Boy was having a great day--two trains!!

He and Emma enjoyed looking out the window on the 2 and 1/2 hour trip to South Bend. Fortunately we weren't on a rush hour train, so we had extra space to move around.

We saw lots of things we're not used to, like the big smokestacks at U.S. Steel.

And a nuclear power plant.

The fall colors were great, with lots of red leaves, and provided a nice interlude along the industrial corridor.

The ride was smooth, and soon we were meeting up with our friends.

We had fun eating out and trying some different food.

Then we went for a lovely walk along the river. The scenery was beautiful, and the weather couldn't have been better.

Desert Boy had to pee, of course.

And there was no bathroom around.

It's a good thing he's not worried about modesty.

My friend Kristen brought her daughters, and Desert Boy had so much fun playing and going off with his new friends.

Ruther and Amanda helped get Emma and her stroller up and down the stairs.

We found a playground and the kids played until it was dark. We did some group shots and then decided we better head back, since it was a school night.

Desert Boy didn't have to go to bed early, so he played a raucous game of hide'n seek with Caesar, the dog. I'm not sure which had a better time!

To be continued...

Barf Bag

I know, an unappetizing title for this blog post. I actually have two reasons for it.

First, I've been rereading Louis Sachar's Holes, and there's a character named Barf Bag in it. I rarely reread books, but I enjoyed that one so much, I decided to give it a try, and it's nearly as good the second time around. Part of the reason I'm rereading it is to get a feel for how he put it together, as November is fast approaching, and November is NaNoWriMo.

That's the crazy acronym for National Novel Writing Month, where over 50,000 people try to write a novel of 50,000 words or more in a month. In 2008 I did it, too, and it was a wonderful feeling. In 2009 I only managed 35,000 words, but that was still a great feeling. I'm trying to decide if I should make a go of it in 2010. Will I have time with two little kids? Can I get a novel planned in a few weeks? I have one in mind, so we'll see. Do you want to give it a try with me? Please?

The second reason to mention barf bag is that we're on vacation.

Sounds bad, doesn't it? I'll explain.

I took the kids and traveled back to the Midwest to visit friends and family. Now that Desert Boy is toilet trained, it makes traveling easier. For the most part.

On the plane he had to pee. So I took him and Emma to the cramped little lavatory. Then he had to go again, but Emma was sound asleep in my arms, so I sent him back on his own. A mom was sitting next to the door, and bless her heart, she let him in and ignored everything that went on as he left the door open behind him.

We were in the final descent when Desert Boy informed me he had to pee again. I remembered back to a random thought I had had pre-travel, when I had decided to put him in a pull-up for the plane flight. But that random thought had fluttered away as quickly as it had fluttered in. He wasn't wearing a pull-up, he was wearing baseball underwear, with little absorbing power.

I told Desert Boy he would have to wait a little bit, and since he usually gives me a 10-minute warning, he was okay with that.

We got closer to the ground, and he told me again that he had to pee. I told him he'd have to wait a little bit longer. He made a face, but didn't protest.

We landed and taxied forever. Finally we got to the gate and I let him out of his car seat. He stood up in the tiny space between the seats.

"Mama, I really have to pee." His eyes were bigger than usual. Uh oh.

This was an emergency. People were already standing in the aisle, so I couldn't even take him on a mad dash to the lavatory and beg for forgiveness. If I didn't do something immediately, I was going to have a wailing kid with very wet clothes and a smelly puddle on the plane.

My mind flashed to a bottle. If I just had a bottle, he could pee into it. That's what we use on long trips in the cave. (Note: Do not also take lemon-lime gatorade into the cave if you also take a pee bottle. They are the same color in the glow of a headlight. Just saying.)

I had a bottle, but it was half-full of water and buried in my bag, and by the time I pulled it out and dumped it out somewhere (but where?), it would be too late.

I had no ziplocks.

Emma's diapers were buried.

But I did have a barf bag, conveniently located in the seat pocket. I whipped it out, told Desert Boy to pee into it, and did my best to provide a modicum of privacy as people shuffled their way off the plane.

Desert Boy peed, and peed, and peed. He peed like three inches in that bag.

By the time he finished, everyone else had gotten off the plane. A flight attendant asked what he could do to help me off. I was so tempted to give him the barf bag of pee, but I resisted. Barely.

We made it off the plane and had to wait for the stroller, and lots of other people were waiting for their bags. I managed to focus all my attention on the kids and ignore the little white bag I was gingerly holding. I also tried to avoid eye contact with other passengers. I didn't want to know what they were thinking.

We finally got to the terminal, and I made a beeline for the nearest garbage can. I released the barf bag, and heard the plunk as it sank all the way to the bottom. If any of the passengers waiting were wondering what I had just deposited--or why the garbage can was smelling a little rank--I didn't stick around to find out. It was time to get out of there.

We had just survived another pee adventure, and that made my day a good day.

Picnic Lunch

After we had our walk last Sunday, we went into the nearby campground so we could have a picnic lunch complete with a fire. Desert Boy loves picnics, and Desert Girl loves sitting in the dirt and eating it and sticks and bark.

Oh, let's add pinecones to that list.

She has mastered the contemplative look.

Desert Boy was eager to help with the fire. No surprise there. It took awhile to cook the hamburgers, but they were worth the wait. It kept getting colder while we were there, so we appreciated the hot food.

Desert Boy had decided to bring his umbrella and then found where he wanted to set it up. He and Emma had their little picnic in the dirt.

Afterwards, Desert Boy had a lot of energy again, so I took him for a bike ride around the campground. Some of those hills were a little challenging, and I was expecting him to biff on one of the downhills, but he stayed upright.

As you can see, most of the aspen leaves are off the trees. They must have known that it was going to snow the next three days.

A Walk in the Woods

Last Sunday we decided to go up high on the mountain to enjoy the aspen leaves. My friend Jenny had captured such beautiful photos earlier in the week, and I was hoping to get some snapshots of the kids with the vibrant yellow background. But alas, most of the leaves had fallen in just a few short days.

We went for a walk along the nature trail, which is stroller accessible and had fun logs for balancing.

It was chilly, but a beautiful sunny day.

We found the same tree Desert Boy had posed at a couple years ago. I need to dig out those photos!

We tried a posed photo on this big rock, but the impromptu goofing around turned out much better.

I handed the camera to my husband so I could be in some photos, and Desert Boy and I found this nice tree stump chair.

Then we had fun playing balancing games. When I was a little girl, I loved walking on the curbs in my town. (And walked into parking meters, my mother tells me.) I still like walking on narrow things where I have to balance.

Desert Boy seems to be learning balance well.

We even tried a little dancing.

Desert Boy had so much energy that we decided to do the loop trail again, but run this time. So I guess maybe I should call this post a run in the woods! It takes a little extra energy at 10,000 feet!