It is NOT always sunshine and roses over here. In case you got that impression...

       We made it to Salt Lake. Driving away from Durango was bittersweet. I was so sad to leave behind my friends and the town which I have called home for the past seven months, part of me felt like I was getting uprooted and I had to keep telling myself that "this is the deal, the plan was never to find a mountain town and get settled in, but to travel as a family on the road, exploring new places." So with a deep breath , we drove away. This time the truck pulled the fifth wheel with no problem. When we moved in the summer, we had issues with the truck overheating but due to the cold weather and hopefully all the truck repairs we went through this summer, we had no problems. The drive from Salt lake to Durango this summer (towing the trailer) took us almost 10 hours, but this time we made it in 7 1/2 hours. Which was much better, but still really uncomfortable in my vehicle. Waylon really didn't get why we were stuck in the car for so long and I kept holding Wrex or Houston hostage in my vehicle to keep Waylon entertained. It didn't take long for either of them to plead with me to go back to dad's truck. After a very long day we got to our new park at 7:50pm. The office was open till 8 which I thought was cool. So we got our spot number and went to settle in. I helped Ian back in and then took his phone (because mine was dead) and navigated the boys to the nearest In N Out. We thought it would be best if Ian could get things set up while I got dinner. It was just after 8 by then and we were all famished. So I came back with two double doubles only to find a disgruntled husband. Apparently, they had put us in a spot rated for a 50 watt plug in and we have a 30 watt. He ran to the office before they closed and they gave him an adapter, but when he got back to the trailer he saw they gave him the wrong one. So he went back to the office, but they had closed up and gone home. I'm sure he would've at this point made a few phone calls but guess who had his phone? That's right, this girl, who was taking her sweet time munching on In N Out. Yep, totally my style. So I came back and Ian let me in on our troubles, we had it all set up but no electricity. This might not be a huge problem for some, but here was my issue. Our heater runs on propane, but the heat doesn't distribute evenly throughout the fifth wheel. The heat is concentrated to mainly our bedroom and trickles throughout the fifth wheel. So usually, Ian and I are either sweating or trying to block off our vent, in hopes that the other vents will have more heat pushed through. To keep the kids warm, they have heating blankets and an electric heater in their room and they are always nice and toasty. Without electricity though, we would be depending on the propane heater to keep everyone warm.  Since we had been on the road all day, as it was, you could see your breath in the trailer. So I decided right then that there was no way we could heat the trailer enough for the kids to be comfortable. So we pulled up "kayak" and found the cheapest motel near by and checked into the Comfort Inn. Ian and I were a little frustrated with the turn of events but Waylon was more than happy to stroll around the motel room. In fact that's what he did for a few hours and when we tried to put him to sleep in the porta crib he resisted. It was a pretty restless night for Ian and I, Waylon kept fussing and by 6 am, I was up with Waylon at the continental breakfast.


Ian's art project

     A few hours later, Ian went to the trailer to start thawing things out. Since we left everything closed the night before, everything was frozen, pipes, tanks and a lot of our food. Did you know when banana's freeze, they turn brown. It also ripens them up. I left them slightly green and came back to ripe frozen bananas. Anyway, to add a bit to our frustration the trailer had a few issues. The "landing gear" the automatic jacks that you put down when it's parked, blows fuses every time its used which really ticks Ian off. More importantly our fridge was acting up before we left Durango and now it simply isn't working. It's cold enough in these parts where it is not warm inside the fridge but I wouldn't say it's cold and the freezer is just not happening. So all in all my attitude was poor yesterday. I felt like I was waking up from a dream,  telling myself "what are you doing? are you really living in a trailer, on the go every couple of months?" I had to take a deep breath and make some banana bread. Really, what else was there to do? Over the course of the day, Ian thawed things out, and I watched suspiciously. His attitude was peculiarly upbeat. I spent the rest of the afternoon, teaching Wrex about dividing decimals and Ian, eventually bored out of his mind, started coloring. I should mention that Waylon took a nice long nap yesterday. He was exhausted from the previous day's events. Houston  was all caught up on school and enjoying a "Magic School Bus " marathon. By the end of the night we had picked up a pizza, since the fridge doesn't work and pizza is super easy for dinner when you're living in the city again. We ended up having some good, quality family time due to the fact that this park doesn't have a cable hook up. Which reminded me of the reason we moved in to this situation in the first place. To be a family. So the fridge will hopefully get fixed soon. Ian is still waiting on the next call but I hear the voice of a warmer place calling my name....we will see.

Yes He's Bored

More snow adventures and a trip on the Polar Express

  
   We had a busy weekend last weekend! It started out by Ian inviting us to come up to Ouray to see where he's working. "come see some snow" he says, "they're having a helicopter fly in some poles" he says. Sounded like cheap fun to me. So we made our way to Ouray on Saturday around noon. It was a long drive, he told me to drive slow because the roads were slippery and there is no guard rail on most of it. There are some crazy hair pin turns as you zig zag up the mountain. Well , I forgot that Wrex gets motion sickness because it doesn't happen all the time. So when his stomach hurt, he looked at the clock and said "Mom it's past lunchtime." Being, oh so prepared I tossed him back a sandwich. It wasn't long after that,  I saw him slump to the side, when I asked him if he was okay, his reply "No mom, I just threw up." EWWWW. I pulled over, thankfully there was a snow bank to pull over in. Sure enough he had spewd all over his shoes and pants and on my floor mat. I know that people think when you turn into a mom that you don't mind picking up your kids puke, but I do. I think of those parts in the movies where someone says" If I smell it, I'm going to do it too!" And this is the attitude that had me throwing the floor mat and his shoes in the snow, I stomped on them , hoping they would self clean. I was so grateful that I had packed Wrex snow pants and snow boots. I had him change into that and then we were faced with a dilemma. Drive another 45 minutes to Ouray or an hour and 15 minutes back home. I just kept thinking "play in the snow, see a helicopter" I asked the kids and they wanted to continue. Either way we were staying in the puke mobile, there are NO little towns on this trek into the mountains to stop and get a car wash. So we continued. and Wrex was in a much better mood. I let him sit in the front seat for the rest of the way and he DJ'd with my iphone. His famous words to me "mom, I should've warned you, I thought it was just going to be a puke burp." Yes Wrex a warning would've been good. It wasn't long before we made it, Houston spotted the lineman on the side of a mountain. So we pulled over, the kids got the half packed snow gear they grabbed, Wrex had pants but no jacket or sweatshirt. Houston had a jacket and snow boots but no snow pants and socks. At this point I'd like to point out that Waylon was snow ready!

So we got out of the car and hiked up to where Ian was. We had missed the helicopter by hours! I thought it was an all day thing, it turns out Helicopters are expensive and they work as quickly as possible, where is my common sense these days? Well at least we got to see Ian working, I got some cool pictures of him and his crew working. My favorite is a picture of Wrex smiling and Ian working in the background. I love pictures of kids on jobsites, it warms my heart, like were back in the 80s.  Anyways, it wasn't long before Houston's sock less feet felt like they were going to fall off. I have never heard him howl like that. I think he believed his feet were going to fall off. So after 20 mins we got back in the car. I had him heat up his feet in front of the heater and I had to give him my socks and drive barefoot home. It was quite the day. Can you tell? Not all my adventures turn out great.

    The next night made up for it. We went on another train ride in Durango, this ride was on the Polar express. I will say in McCay fashion we showed up 5 minutes before it left and almost missed the train, so we stumbled upon our car, bumping the "chef" in the back just as she was asking "who wants hot cocoa?" In comes the McCay family. The way our seats turned out, Wrex and Houston sat single facing each other, and Ian and I were behind them facing each other, holding Waylon.
It was a really cool experience, they served hot cocoa and cookies, they punched our golden tickets, the hobo went through the train, some nerdy kid with glasses came around asking me questions about the model of train we rode, it was very exciting. Waylon thought so too, until it got dark . As we went through town, they read us the story and we were able to see all of the town and houses lit up with Christmas lights. They took us by the "North Pole" and we waved to Santa. After we sang Christmas carols. Some of my favorite parts were Houston turning to Ian saying "I really like this dad" later when Santa came through our train, Ian said he didn't see him, Wrex answered very quickly "that's because you're naughty dad" Those kids don't miss a beat! haha. I'm so glad we were together to share that experience. It may seem silly now, Wrex is almost too old for this type of thing, but he fully enjoyed it and we were together which was the most important thing.

   The kids and I are headed to Grandma's house tomorrow, it will be a nice change to have a little more space to stretch in. Ian will hopefully be joining us at Christmas. I hope when we get back we will still be in the Durango/Bayfield area but wherever our adventure takes us at least we're together.

Kristina the mortified!

 

Could leaning over daily to bathe this cutie possibly be causng my back to spasm? He's so worth it

 

 

    Hey Friends! We had quite an interesting week last week. I have quite a story for you...So for weeks my back has been pinching me. It felt like there was a rubber band between my shoulder blades being stretched and released. I was quick to blame it on Waylon, (he's getting so big) when I lean down to pick him up I really feel it in my upper back. Well on Tuesday I was practically in tears. Ian advised me to ice it and take Advil but NO I couldn't listen. I want to see an acupuncturist! I exclaimed to mostly myself. No one challenged me, but I knew wherever I went, the kids would go also. Ian had a lot of overtime that week, and I couldn't see asking him to take off so I could attempt to see an acupuncturist, which by the way I've never gone to, but I was desperate for relief. So I would have gone to an acupuncturist but the thought of the kids watching someone poke my back with needles and possible having Waylon cry in the backgroundconvinced me take the normal route and call a Dr. Maybe he could tell me if it was heat or ice I'm suppose to use and just how much Advil I could take. Well, when I spoke to the receptionist and explained how I'm from out of town and I have extreme back pain, I must have set off a red flag alert. Now I was hesitant to go to the Dr anyway. I knew there was nothing they could really do, but I have insurance and I thought that if I was flat on my back, it would be too late for me to cry for help. No one would be here to help me. So back to the receptionist, before she ended our call, we had already decided on a time, she asked me " You're not a drug collector are you? " I was thinking "what did she ask me? So I said "Uh..what? No , I don't think so." ( In retrospect, this was not a time for me to be a smart alec) She said "oh never mind, I'm just being silly." and I thought, weird sense of humor, but to each their own. So I arrive at the doctors office and the pain is worse and yes on my way over there it has started to pour buckets of rain. So I get all the kids in, I'm filling out the paper work, I get into the office and as I start to explain to the nurse what my issue is, I started welling up with tears. At this point, I can't imagine not getting relief and how I'm suppose to continue as a mom/ teacher/ housekeeper/ entertainer in all this pain by myself without extended family around me. So the doc comes in . Not a friendly gent at all.He turns to the kids and says "why aren't you in school?" they say in unison "we're home schooled"  He asks me how I injured it, I say I don't know. He asks me when it started hurting, I say gradually for the past few weeks. So I have no clear idea of how I injured myself and again this must be another red flag. He asks me very unsympathetically. " Is there a reason why you're crying?" and I say because I'm in a lot of pain. He asks me to touch my toes, put my neck side to side and I tell him when it hurts. He says he wants to see my back and lift up the back of my shirt and then he asks" Is there a reason why you're sweating?" OH MY GOSH! What a jerk! I said "probably because I'm upset, I can't imagine what I'm going to to if I can't fix this." So I told him I don't really want medication I just want to fix this, what can I do? I have a thing against chiropractors I was thinking about acupuncture. Then he says "what you are describing is a back spasm in your upper back from too much tension. There's no easy fix, I can give you some back stretches. I said "ok fine, that would be great, "(get me out of here!) He said he was going to give me some non-narcotic medicine to relax the muscles while I home school and something to take at night. Then he told me to go for a walk this weekend. ..Um thanks, I actually do exercise ... I really don't know why he even bothered. It was so incredibly awkward. So we left, naturally I fell apart at my embarrassment. They absolutely, thought I was there for drugs, I was mortified and in pain and embarrassed. I think the lesson here is if you're from out of town, don't let your first doctors visit be for back pain. Or maybe the lesson is there must be a lot of pill poppers n Colorado. I'm not really sure.
       Ian was shocked when I told him what happened... let me rephrase that..He was shocked that I fell apart in the doctors office....well of course I did!
    So that night, the boy we're extremely excited to try out Awanas! We found out there's a church right down the road that offers this and the kids were so excited about it. Which was a bit odd for them because they weren't interested in it back home. I think they really were anxious to play with other kids and get away from their ailing decrepit mother. We dropped them off and I took one of those anti narcotic "for the daytime"  pills the doctor had given me and guess what? It knocked me on my butt. I was spinning and telling Ian what a great man he was...Yes needless to say, I was in no shape to pick up the kids from Awanas at the local Baptist church.
    So what this lesson really taught me, is that I in fact am not superwoman. I would like to do everything perfectly with one hand tied behind my back but I can no longer be a wife, mother, teacher, entertainer for small children, blogger and bookkeeper. So I believe it's time to drop my bookkeeping responsibilities. It means going on a tight budget but I think the reduction of "tension" will be worth it. This brings me to my next point. You will notice I now have ads on my blog. I am embracing the $3 dollars (my estimation for the year) I will get from googles Ad affiliates. I will try to make them not too annoying , bear with me while I figure it out.
    My week was not all that bad. That day was especially mortifying but the boys and I did take some long walks and we ended up going to church on Sunday. I met another home school mom and we are actually going on a very exciting adventure today that I will tell you about next week. We ended our Sunday walking around Pagosa Springs as a family.Actually, we went on a bear hunt. We were looking for wildlife and Ian showed us where they were insatlling "bear guards" because the bears were using the poles as scratching posts. We didn't see any bears but we did see a big bear doo doo with fresh urine and that was as close as we needed to get. We did run into a road block, when someones cows got out. Houston was saying "YAH!" from the backseat.It worked too! Then we walked by the hot springs and felt the hot, stinky water. We drank chocolate floats and had ice cream. It was a nice relaxing day. Especially for Ian, who had worked a 14 hour day on Saturday. Thanks for listening. Next time you feel really embarrased, think of me! I'll keep yall posted.

Kepping it real

    
   HA! I'm getting a head start on my weekly update because I have a moment of peace. I only have a moment of peace because all the children are on time out for hitting, but I'll take it! All in all, it was an average family of five normal week.
    I gave the two older boys buzz cuts. I was looking at them one morning before school started and I realized that they are never going to brush their hair, so I offered them haircuts. After the fact, I wondered if I might regret this. I really don't know when the "cold" hits around here and they might need all the body warmth they can muster being California kids and all. Too Late! It grows fast and since they insist on wearing shorts everyday, I  don't feel bad... yet. School went pretty well, our only obstacle is this history/art class they have called Paragon. From what I hear, the kids in the actual school love it. For me and Wrex it means cramming in art projects on a Friday night before they're due.
    Little Waylon, whom I just realized is 7 1/2 months old is officially crawling! I saw it happen on Monday but chose to stay in denial until he almost crawled out of Houston's bunk. I dashed from the couch and caught him, he thought it was hilarious! By the end of the week, he was trying to climb up our two stairs. Right now, I have it blocked off with cardboard boxes. Ian will love that.    Now that he can crawl anywhere, with speed, he has taken to obsessing about any power cords. It must be the "power lineman" in his blood. I realize this is serious and no baby should ever play with cords. We have the kids laptops plugged in under the table and he is obsessively trying to get to the wires. It seems like we need a gate for the table, time to get some more cardboard boxes!
    The weekend has been pretty slow. I ran out of propane Thursday night in the middle of frying up tacos. I assumed Ian would get some more but he's worked all weekend.So  I've been using the grill outside and the burner on the grill but today I had enough and figured out how to fill the dang thing up. it was HEAVY! so I only did one tank. We're talking about buying a larger tank for when the winter comes. The heater apparently runs on propane, so it's not something you want to run out of.
        Actually we got quite bored this weekend so we did what any good family would do. We got some ice cream and watched dad work. We actually haven't gotten around to spying on him yet and we keep seeing awesome pictures of him hanging from poles. Unfortunately, today was more of a filling in holes kinda day. So we ate our ice cream while he worked and came back home. We did decorate the boys room today. We brought some of those decals from Target when we moved in, back in May, so today we put them up. We had Super Mario and Angry Birds. So the kids positioned the characters into fight scenes. Who knew Mario didn't like birds?
    Sorry this isn't action packed. I'm just keeping it real. Now I shall go make chili because it was suppose to be raining. Take care.
   I was hoping to see this...

...but today was more like this...ahh the life of an apprentice

    

Letting the Days go by...water flowing underground...Once in a Lifetime

      Phew!What a week! It seems like they're flying by now that school is in session. We're definitely getting into the swing of things. Last week our teachers threw some curve balls our way by assigning paper mache and clay masks. I know the art stuff is suppose to be fun but when I see those assignments, I kinda think "really?!" Oh yes, also we have four pieces of bread spread around the trailer, some in ziplocs, some not, that we are monitoring for mold each day. Like we didn't have enough stuff crammed on our countertops! In the name of science, we press on.
   So, more adventures in Bayfield...I went to "the Grocery Store" (yep that's it's official name) last week to get some eggs and someone had sharpied out all of the expiration dates on the side of the cartons. I picked up one carton after the other and they were all sharpied out. Weird! Then I noticed a sign posted next to the eggs, telling you how you should interpret the expiration date on the cartons (it said 45 days after the date was good according to the law) which would have been something if you could have seen the expiration date to begin with! Yeah, I didn't get them, it was too much of a gamble.
     Also, we were completely invaded by bikers this weekend. There was a big bike rally in Ignacio, I believe it was for breast cancer (not sure how) but they we're everywhere! The campground was full and everyone generally had a good time.
     We went back to the rec center this weekend. Houston cannot understand why we aren't there everyday. So we went and the boys did more rock climbing and high diving. I've decided to put them into diving lessons because they think they are diving but their belly flops are painful to watch. Parent keep looking at me like "you're going to let them do that again?" Houston and I checked out the Discovery Museum in Durango. It was pretty awesome, it was like a Childrens Museum but with a heavy Science influence. The first Sunday of the month is pay what you like day, SCORE!     
      Labor day the boys and I had a picnic on the Animas River. It was different then being back home, but relaxing . The biggest moment of the weekend was Waylon saying "dada." It made me so grateful to be with Ian to share that moment. Just another reminder of why we're on this crazy journey together.
      We did a lot of cooking this weekend. We made banana bread and Chocolate chip cookies stuffed with oreos. We barbecued ribs. I'm about to start this 8 week challenge to be more healthy, fruits, veggies and excercise. I think the knowledge of that being around the corner made me hungry this weekend. Anyways, so pretty much more of the same. Never a dull moment. Now we start it all over again, at least it's a short week right? Anywhoo, take care until next time.

Labor Day 2012

  
  In honor of Labor Day and this page being called Linewife I thought I'd post some pictures from some of my linewives whose husbands are out there restoring power from hurricane Isaac.  I think everyone is well aware that Hurricane Isaac has caused severe damage. I have the deepest sympathy for these people who have lost so much.  The storm knocked out power to over 700,000 people. Now I've heard on the news how slow the lineman reaction has been to this storm but from what I've learned by being in this community, that really just isn't so. I know we're new to this career but I just wanted to share a different point of view.  Many of these wives were concerned for their husbands being in place before the storm hit. They we're definitely going to be in danger but to have a quick response the Linemen needed to be in the devastated areas. I think pictures can sometimes say more than words. So here's what I've compiled for you on this Labor Day.

Before Isaac hit, reinforcements had arrived.

From another linewife ..."They arrived late last night and were told to leave all their stuff in their trucks, (personal & work stuff) take only what they needed for the night, and check into hotel an...

d get some rest and they could unload everything in the AM. Well, around 3am they got the call that
the area flooded and they lost everything. "

 

From Entergy's Facebook  page   "Our workers have reduced the number of Hurricane Isaac outages by more than 550,000, down from a systemwide peak of approximately 769,000.

Nineteen damaged transmission lines remain in the Entergy system: one in Entergy Mississippi, 15 in Entergy Louisiana and three in Entergy Gulf States Louisiana.

Our continuing efforts are being supported by donor crews from Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin."


Some Men are staying in hotels with no power, some are camping, I found a picture of these temporary housing arrangements.

     I do know that these men love to restore the power. Most men love to work storms, there is something to be said about using your talents when they are needed most. Of course they want to restore the power, it's what they've been made to do. Several times a year our country calls on these men to perform their jobs as quickly as possible. What you may not know about this occupation is that it is extremely hazardous. There have been casualties, just from Isaac alone. So this Labor Day, say a prayer for those heroes on hooks that are away from their families and busting their tales to restore power. I guarantee they are working as fast as they can. I know their wives are waiting for  them.

Living the Dream

   Oh Man! What a week that was! You know when you think, you can totally handle something, then you try it and realize it is way more work than you thought? This happens to me all the time! I must have a lot of confidence, initially.  Anyway, we started to get the hang of homeschooling by the end of the week. After my last post, my fifth grader fell apart on me and told me he didn't want to be home schooled. So I drove him by the local school to show him other options, but when  we got home I took another approach. You see, I felt the day was successful because we managed to get our work done. He felt like a workhorse, who didn't have any fun. That is totally my style, feeling accomplished because everything on my checklist is checked off and my kids going "that was no fun at all."  So I talked to my aunt and she told me I need to make it more entertaining basically, which of course I want to, but do you know how much work that is? Sorry to whine. Anyway, that's what we did. I broke out the binoculars I brought and would send them on a treasure hunt through the RV park, looking for "natures treasures" The Park may not be too pleased with me, because the boys kept coming back with flowers from their flower beds. They also made little videos with their flip camera of their adventures. We went to the bakery one morning for a treat. This made our day considerably longer, taking all these breaks but the kids did have much more fun. So that's our new program, I need to google more fun random things to do with them. Houston likes playing with Lego's for his "recess" time. Wrex likes to snack, so I'll figure something out. It definitely felt like we bonded last week. Wrex completely caught up on his work and is really enjoying the computer games that are integrated with the school. I'm hoping our days will not be as long, now that we don't have any catch up work. I have seriously never been so exhausted at the end of a day...and then made dinner.
     Ian has had off every Friday that we've been here. Except for last week, of course. I was really looking forward to him somehow helping me, but he had to work and I honestly don't have a teachers assistant job open at htis time. (budget cuts you know! haha just kidding. Sorry I woke up too early) When he got back, I had closed school for the week because my brain was going to explode. He laid on the bed, and was grinning ear to ear telling me how tired he was. He looked a little crazy. So he started to tell me about his day. He got to work in the mountains, they got to off road their company trucks, up jeep trails to get to these power line poles that Bears had been using as scratching posts. So he got to climb up these poles (which he loves) and then with his feet attached to the pole, lean way back (look no hands) and work on some doo hickey over his head. He got to see an elk and he was outside all day and yes, he was physically challenged. Then I remembered all those discussion we had, the year prior about how neat it would be to work on some off beaten path, in the wilderness, doing line work. Then I realized that we  are doing what we came to do. This is what he has wanted to do for so long, and yes it is so hard, in so many ways, but he is doing it. Grabbing onto his dream, and his whole family is here to support him. I guess it really just had me reflecting on this past year and how many changes we've gone through. It has honestly been a tough year for me. But here we are, we're together and that's what I have been working towards.
    Ok enough, reflections. So as you can tell, I hardly got outside of the trailer last week. That made me a bit nutty. So Friday night we went to town and had an amazing dinner at Steamworks, a local brewery. I had some five cheese macaroni made with bacon and green chilies it was delicious. The next day, Ian attempted to take the kids fishing, so I could get caught up on my bookkeeping work. He was thwarted in this attempt when his truck wouldn't start at the gas station. So several hours later, we had new batteries and I somehow managed to get some work done. Still spending way too much time in the trailer.
    Sunday, we went out and had some family time. Houston and Ian had found a BMX park and Houston was dying to go. I didn't really know what that was so I didn't bring my camera. Dangit! So I took a few photos with my phone. It was so rad! I can't imagine the city allowing something like this back home. It was behind these store fronts and it was this dirt track with burms and jumps and all these little kids were biking around it. There weren't any dominating teenagers, just some parents and their kids riding the track. The boys were in heaven. After that we went to the skatepark, we we're definitely trying to make up for all the inside time, from the week before.
    We had a lovely weekend and now we start all over again. We're definitely doing what we came here to do. Living the dream! Except vacation is over and now we're doing the nitty gritty. Finding out how this life works during the school year. The important thing is we're together.

  

Im Alive and kicking!

   Still here! Today was much better. It certainly wasn't easy and my day is not done but I'm still here. I got phone calls from both teachers today and tech support. Guess I made quite a fuss yesterday...and maybe this morning. We still worked all day but our internet connection was reliable, no waiting five minutes for the page to load. I did make sure we all went for a walk and got some sunshine. We picked up some peaches and corn at the fruit stand. It was good to be outside. When I was younger my mom called me stubborn, I prefer persistent.  Today my persistence got me through. Lets hope it takes me a little further tonight, I just thoroughly burned dinner and I have to do billing for work tonight. Thanks for keeping my in your thoughts.

First day of School Blues

     Howdy! Did you wonder what happened to me? We stayed a few extra days in California, to see our family and friends. We had such a good time. I kept those kids so busy, they didn't even know what hit them. We started the first week with VBS, which left me with only Waylon. It's easy as pie, when you go from three kids to just a baby. It was very relaxing. The wedding that we came out for was beautiful. It was so sweet and  personalized, I am so glad I was able to be apart of it. Grandma kept Waylon at home with her the day of and Aunt Shell took the boys hone early So I got to stay and hang out with friends, it was such a needed break!
    The next week we crammed everything in. We hit the beach,  we took family pics (without Ian :( gotta seize the day right?) went to the wave, had sleepovers, caught a movie. In fact the kids had so much fun, Houston threw up, promptly signaling me it was time to slow down...
      We made it home safely and started school yesterday. OH MY GOSH, what have I done! Yesterday was the worst day ever. I woke up early, determined to get a good start to the day. I made the boys get dressed like they were going to school, even had them put their shoes on, Houston didn' t like that. We started with small rough patches like running out of cereal and the bread tasting like bananas, clearly Ian had not gone grocery shopping in a while. Then we went onto big rough patches like not having log in id's for the web pages, pages not loading and printer drivers needing to be installed. When I told the teacher we didn't have sound for our "live class session" she told me helpful hints like "update your software." Tech support was laughable. The worst part was we literally we're in front of our computers for seven hours and most of the time we we're working on problems with software not doing out work. It is so hard to keep your kids on task when no tasks are actually being performed! I couldn't help but think that school would be more fun than this. At two thirty I called it and took a nap. I'm not going to lie, I shed a few tears, this is not how I pictured this. I just want my kids to have a good experience and if the year continues on like this, I'm not going to be hearing any thank you's any time soon.
    The day went on with fun things like running out of wet wipes. Did I mention that Waylon hates being stuck in the trailer all day. We finally went grocery shopping, which was as fun as it sounds with three antsy boys. We closed our horrible day with Waylon having an explosive diaper that I wasn't aware of until I looked down at my shirt, yuck. So yeah, pretty bad day.
   Ian had to work late...that lucky man. I picked him up at his foreman's ranch at about 8. The day was a little better from there. We got to see all the animals. The boys got to see a turkey up close and pet the horses and cow. They are very sweet people. He assured me that we should be here at least until Spring. How he knows this, I dunno but he seemed confident.  His wife held Waylon for me, which was a much needed break. So you know, school might not have been too successful yesterday but we did learn about farm animals. I'm good with that. Anyways, today can't be any worse. It could be the same. I'm not as gung ho as I was when I woke up yesterday. I should shower, but I had to give you an update. So I know this new background is a little bright, I love owls like everyone else, but I will have to tone it down when I get a moment. Houston barfed in California when I was fiddling with the backgrounds soooo... it is what it is. TMI, I know. it was TMI for me too. Wish me luck.
xoxo
Kristina

p.s. I had to type this out twice, becasu blogger ate it the first time, not a good start

What I like about Durango

   We made it back to Durango! We rested up most of the week. Did the usual, floating down rivers in innertubes and swiming at the rec center. The boys also branched out and tried some indoor rock climbing. Now the boys and I are headed out of town again, going to California to see family and friends. Ian is hoping we'll stay put for awhile when we get back. I thought a lot about Durango, CO this week and what I like about it. I can't say that all of Colorado is like this, but our little area is.
    It is so beautiful here, I love being in the mountains. Most days the sky is bright blue with huge puffy, fluffy clouds. Back home, the clouds seem more whispy, I like the change. We have frequent thunderstorms in the evening (more than I've been acustomed to) but the rain smells fresh and it doesnt last long. It usually serves as a reminder that I should be starting dinner by then.
    I love seeing the cows and horses on the side of the road, I haven't noticed that stinky smell, that sometimes appears when you drive through areas with lots of cattle. I wonder if thats because there's so much space or if I'm just not close enough to the ranches. On my drive into town I pass a little cottage that has a sign that says "hogs are beautiful" it always makes me smile. I tried taking a picture of it for you. But taking a picture while driving is dangerous and difficult. . . Oh yeah I saw a wild turkey on the side of the road yesterday. They have these signs that light up next to the road to alert you when wildlife is near. I assume they have sensors that trigger the sign to light up. Ian actually saw a bear last week, freaky huh?
     I love seeing all the streams, rivers and lakes. The trees are beautiful as well, many evergreens but there are others too. Many people have flower gardens, that and the wildfllowers are rampid, brightening up the landscape just about everywhere.
   The houses are older in Durango. Most are craftsman style or cabins. I had the pleasure of going inside a friends house the other day, it was 100 years old and had the neatest electrical switches and a bathroom under the stairs (quirky, I loved it) the houses all seem to have mudrooms which I imagine they need for winter months. I always thought the furnishings for mudroom were so cool but in California we just toss our flip flops anywhere lol !
    The people are kind and enjoyable. Weird but even at Wal-Mart the cashiers are kind and smiley (not grumpy.) I think it's because they know who they're waiting on. Being a small town, they all seem to know each other, sometimes its funny to be an onloooker. Did you know, you can still fill up your gas tank before paying for it, out here? So weird.
    It definately has its quirks. When the wildfires were happening, there were signs telling people to smoke inside or in cars so there would be less risk of starting a fire, never seen anything that crazy at home!    Or the guys that sell fruit and veggies outside of our park. They have a strange sign about John the Baptist in front of their stand, and they give off a creepy cultish vibe, but its the best corn I've ever tasted..
Definately different from California, sometimes it seems like California is it's own little bubble. I enjoy where we are but I cant wait to see my family and friends. See you guys soon.

Scrapbooks

 
 Last week was so peaceful! That Day Camp was awesome, I loved it. The boys on the other hand...they had a great time although they might not admit it. The boys went to a fish hatchery, a roller rink ( which they totally got schooled by the local kids) they had a water slide that was doused with Dawn to make it more slick...yeah they had fun. More importantly, I had quiet. It was lovely, I read a whole book, I know, boring. It was so great.
  That weekend we had frequent thunderstorms. So the kids  and I started a new project. Scrap booking! I've never gotten into it before, it seems tedious. I prefer photo books on shutterfly. I make each boy one at the end of the year, they call them their year books. Anyway, I thought the boys might appreciate making their own scrap books. Not likely right? Well I bought them red and blue (their favorite colors) blank scrapbooks.  Then I got primary colored papers, cool boy stickers and printed out 90 pictures of our adventures so far. I told them they can basically do whatever they want, use the pictures, don't, I don't care, it's their book of memories.
Wrex made one page only, it emphasized our road trip from Salt Lake to Durango and has very few pictures (mostly stickers) on it but it's pretty creative and thoughtful.  Houston went scrap book crazy, he made 4 pages over the next few days, he cut out almost all the background of his pictures and put moustache stickers on his brothers. I helped him put things in chronological order and then we printed out the journals I've been letting them type and pasted them onto the pages. I'm pretty pleased with them, I think this will be a big part of our "art class"  this year. I love catching glimpses of how their little minds work. I hope they will treasure these books because it is their own creation, not something mom did, you know? Again, more memories in the making.
   Well, we are off to Grandma's today. We have an evening flight and have to change planes in Denver.  It will be just the boys and I spending the week in Maryland. They are so excited. I am excited to take a shower and shave my legs without going into a yoga pose. (Our shower is tiny) Here's hoping Waylon sleeps on the plane...

Parades, Ceramics, Alarms, Oh My!

I have a better picture but I think this one really captures the experience.

   I'm still here! Just checking in! I feel like my adventures this week were probably the same as most of my friends back home, I thought about skipping the writing about it but I really like having it all written down. This was when I'm old and gray and I boast how I breezed through motherhood gracefully someone will have proof to say "nut uh!" It'll probably be my mom.
    Fourth of July was beautiful in Bayfield. I read in the newspaper that they have a parade through town and thought, we never go to parades, that would be fun!    Yes, well I found out why we never go to parades. I packed waters for Waylon's bottles, sunscreen and all the necessary things a baby would require. All the menfolk in the family, brought themselves (how clever of them.) So we get there and with half an hour to spare, my family spots shade by a dumpster and snags it. Not I! I am here to see the parade, so I sit my toosh on the curb in the hot sun and wait for it to start. Now it has come to my attention that in California there are a lot more rules, for instance I'm pretty sure you have to stay out of the street during parades. We found out when it started (can you hear the whining already  coming from my family, it's hot, my legs hurt, I need water!, where's the bathroom!) that the kids are as close to if not in the middle of the street as the parade goes on. So yeah my perfect spot in the sweltering sun was overcrowded but, I should've seen that one coming. As long as everyone is  having fun. The highlight for me was Ian pointing out his foreman in the beginning of the parade riding the largest mule, I have ever seen. You just don't get to see your coworkers on mules very often in California. I also got a kick out of seeing the owner of the True Value sitting behind us, he was kind enough to offer me his chair. I finally broke down and scouted some food and drinks for the family.When I got back, Wrex was a light yellow color. It was clear he needed some shade and a cool drink. We ate pizza, drank our cold waters and soon everyone was ready to jump on the bounce houses. They had a really nice small town festival afterward, where firetrucks were hosing kids down and people were walking around with giant turkey legs. It seemed everyone knew each other and after a while we felt like we had  enjoyed enough festivities for one day. It was really great though, I don't think I'll go to many more parades now that I know that the menfolk don't really appreciate them, but hey, it was an adventure!
    That weekend Ian had to drive to Salt lake city after work on Friday to go to class. He has class once a month and the drive back to Salt Lake is about seven hours. We were suppose to have thunder storms so I planned on taking the kids to this paint your own ceramic place that I had heard about. My mom use to take us to kids and paint all the time as kids, I think I know now why we were always broke! My kids painted their first creations within 20 minutes. Wrex painted his mug mostly black and Houston painted a rainbow monster (one of his specialties) on a cereal bowl. I was in the process of painting a mug with Waylon's foot print on it when they informed me they were finished. I told them to pick out something small so I could finish....so when I checked out my bill was roughly $24 each. I almost had a heart attack. This little collection of mugs and bowl cost more than my dining set. Awesome. I felt sick to my stomach. We had yet another errand that day, we had to go to walmart. That errand ended with the boys somehow setting off Ian's truck alarm (Ian had my car to get better gas mileage.) The thing was I didn't know you could set off the alarm with out the key less entry. Or how you could stop it. I tried putting the keys in the ignition, the truck started and died immediately. I called Ian, he answered but we didn't have a clear connection....After several minutes of honking and Waylon waking up terrified, the truck stopped. When Ian finally got a hold of me, I didn't feel like talking. I was overwhelmed. We went home, it started to pour I fell asleep to the parent trap, and Wrex and Houston in my bed. At about midnight, Ian came in and jumped on all of us. I would have been scared senseless had I not been in a strees induced coma.  He wasn't suppose to come home till Sunday evening. Class had been canceled Sunday and he sensed I needed an extra hand. He's a good man.
     So you can see why, it took me a few extra days to write this. I had to re coop. I am happy to say that this week I found a day camp that I registered Wrex and Houston for. They are there right now, rollerskating!  I have had the most peaceful week. Waylon is really not so tough, when it's just you and him. It turns out, he really will nap if his brothers aren't here to poke at him. I've even been reading a book, it has been lovely. So I am off to pick up our ceramic creations. I was also waiting to post this so you could see them. They better last until my kids are in college.

Trailer Living

  We stayed close to "home" this weekend. With new fires popping up everyday we didn't want to wander in the wrong direction and we weren't sure which direction would be wrong! We are so grateful that all the fires near us are small and mostly contained. We're praying for all the folks that the fires have truly devastated their lives. I remember the California Wildfires and I imagine that's how Coloradao Springs is now. Down here it just smells like a campfire. The fires that have been near to us are the Little Sand Fire, Escarpment Fire, Weber fire, Lightner Fire and the Stateline Fire. Sounds like a lot but actually, last Tuesday we had a lightning storms that sparked 20 new fires in our surrounding area and the fire department quickly put them out. So I feel pretty good about our situation.
    So you see, we though it was wise to stay close to home. But I did have a few adventures....I started the weekend at "Old Tymers Cafe" It was taco night, which sounded good to me. When the waitress described their tacos,  I thought she said they're about the size of taco bells, but I think she meant they rivaled  taco bells, they sure weren't like any tacos I was use to.  When she brought them out she asked if I wanted anything on the side like mayonaise! Um no, maybe sour cream  though. Ian laughed at what I had expected taco night to be....Oh yeah, we're not by the border anymore....
   That night Ian got to work graveyard at the airport, he was very excited about it and I had a hard time getting to sleep but all was good. The next day I took the kiddos to "Doughworks"in Durango where they sell donuts and bagels and other deliciousness. I thought Ian could catch up on sleep and we would take an hour excursion to get donuts. Again, the menu, tricked me! When I saw breakfast burritos, I just couldn't help myself, So I ordered one....Ok I get it now, this is what Tex-Mex is, I don't think I like it.
    Good news though! We got some innertubes! Wrex figured out a way to con the kids here into giving him their innertubes everywhere we went. He somehow convinced them that the noodles were better, even though the noodles were worthless floating on in the river. He showed all the kids how to use them as a blow/squirt gun, by blowing into them as if they were a tuba and squirting people, then he would just walk away with their inner tubes. This little shananigan became embarrasing for me, so we got some  innertubes of our own. Well played Wrex, well played.  So the boys floated in the watering hole and we found a stream across the street. It has small little "rapids." They love it! the water is maybe 2 feet deep, but it works.
     So I made calzones this weekend. Yep! in my trailer! made the dough from scratch.  They came out great but it was very tricky with a next to nothing countertop to work with. I took a picture just so  you'd believe me. The kids  wanted to make it more challenging, so they decided, to play "Just Dance" on the wii, while I made dinner. I felt like I conquered quite a feat, that day. After that, I started the "everybody must clean their own dish rule" So far it's worked, I just feel like I don't ever stop doing dishes.
    OOOOOhh I also made brownies last night! I used the family style package and I added 1/2 cup of Hersheys syrup and a can of sweetened condensed milk, it made this gooey delicious creation, and they were ready just in time. Wrex had gotten into a squabble with another child around here and I felt they made a good peace offering.
    So it feels like we're in a normal routine. I never thought anything would be normal about living in a trailer but we're doing normal stuff. We played a family baseball game in a nearby field and Ian took the kids to float in the stream so I could nap yesterday. Waylon dodn't sleep much the night before. But all this is stuff, I imagine we would be doing at home, if he didn't have a job on the road. That's why we did this, to have some normal family time and it's working.
    Okay but my last adventure of the weekend was this. I couldn't sleep last night, (probably because of my nap) and I kept hearing a plastic bag rustling. I couldn't figure out what it was, could it be the trailer rocking in the wind? No, why would that cause a bag inside to make that crinkly noise? Then I started thinking of animals, of course, first I thought of a snake because the boys saw one earlier. But that's stupid, it wouldn't make this noise, then my mind went to ...mouse. Could they get in the trailer? I don't see why not, then I started getting nervous (Ian is asleep by now because it's just about midnight) Then something patted lightly on my feet...OH DEAR LORD, I jumped so high! I woke up Ian, he thought I was dreaming. We took off all the blankets, nothing. I looked for the bag, couldn't  find it. We turned the lights off. Ten minutes later, I'm still listening and this little buggard flaps right on my head. It was a freaking moth. A huge one, but still. I woke Ian up just to prove it to him and to have him kill it. So, that's my tale. It scared the bee jeezus out of me. Now I have to go grocery shopping. I'll try to have more interesting things to tell you next time. Never a dull moment.

Waylon , in the wondow! Hos favorite spot in the trailer is looking out of Houston's bunk window. It's pretty silly if you're walking by, and you see this little munchkin staring at you.

Al the Alpaca

Al the Alpaca in our campground

Thought I'd throw this picture up, thanks for checking on us, my blog has had over 600 views! Thanks Guys

Adventures in Bayfield!

    
      So we moved to a new "RV Resort" It's maybe 25 minutes to Durango and 30 minutes from Pagosa Springs. So pretty smack dab in the middle. They had a wedding here the day after we got settled so everything looked beautiful but everything was also a bit cookoo. They gave our spot away that we picked out the week before, and I found myself getting irritated and then I remembered all the little scary places I visited and how they told me there was no room for us and I decided to be grateful.

    Ian decided to fish with the boys to get out of the wedding craziness and Waylon and I tagged along. We went to Vallecito Lake. The boys took turns with their fishing rod and Ian spent most of the time untangling their line. When I finally got Waylon to nap , I took a dip in the water. I really, really want an inner tube to float in but instead we bought fishing poles, so I just bobbed around. It was refreshing and the scenery was breath taking. It was so clean too, and their was hardly anybody else around. Except for the flies, there were a lot of those around but I sprayed bug spray and they left me alone. After a few hours of only catching rocks, we went to the Pinon River. That was much more difficult to set up camp with Waylon. It was pretty much him and I sitting in a bush, so that didn't last long. Again, nothing was caught, but we had fun. That night, Ian took the kids to the little trout pond we have in our campgound and both boys (notice not Ian) caught a fish, it was a catch and release type thing, but they were happy. Ian is a little frustrated and getting a bit of a complex.  But I had a beautiful day lounging in the lake, just wish I had an inner tube!
We found a good pizza place in town and they have these awesome sandwiches. Here's their secret. they use the pizza dough as bread and they melt the cheeze onto the pizza bread and then stick some more good stuff in the middle, it is ohhhh so good. I had a philly cheese steak sandwich, Ian had a blt. mmm good.
They also have one grocery store in Bayfield, its called "The Grocery Store." Yes , that's it's name. I saw a review online about it and some people said it was bad, some people liked it. One person said they have never seen expired foods on their shelves and you can buy things like oreos for only $6.00" WHAT! I had to check it out, last time I checked, oreos go for about 3.00 at Stater Brothers. So I went in to buy ice and sure enough oreos go for 5.95....I hate it when people exaggerate....Funny Stuff!
Oh okay, this is what else happened. So Sunday evening the boys were swimming in the swimming hole with the other kids. Everyone had innertubes (can you tell I'm jealous, someone tell Ian to get me an inner tube!) Our kids had noodles, there was this pesky dog that thought their noodles were big sticks and she would swim up to the kids, bite their noodles and drag them to shore. It was entertaining but that's not my story. So we were getting ready to leave, when this kid comes screaming out of the water. I'm thinking dangit , I think he's yelling snake. NO, he had a LEACH! AHHHH, are you thinking of Stand by Me? So was I. His mom hollared to his dad to go get the salt! Ian was trying to scoot us along, and I was like " no, I have to see this, in case it happen to one of our kids" So apparently, you sprinkle salt on the little ickies and they shrivel up. Yeah, I'm not going in that water, I'm sticking with the lake, I'll take my chances with the flies. Ian teased me that I'll probably have salt in my purse for the next few years...why not , I have everything else in there.
I hope this doesn't ever sound too snobby. I never knew I was such a "city girl." My mom thinks she lives in a small town but she doesn't. I mean come on, she actually has a Target!
Until next time....oh yeah, I bought my tickets for Califonia in August. I'm coming in for my friends wedding, but I'll be hanging around for a bit so hit me up!

Ever wonder where Waylon is, in the pictures? This is my camp Waylon, I sprayed the tent with bug spray before I laid him down. This is all the stuff, I require for toting an infant around on my adventures. I think I'm pretty brave.

One Month down!

  
    I can't believe we've been living in our trailer for a month! Time has been flying by! Space wise, it's kind've like living in an apartment, except instead of a dinky patio you have all of nature, right outside your door.  We'll after my last adventure, I decided to take it easy on myself. We spent the next day at the pool in the campground. We even took Waylon in and he seemed to like it, except for when I dunked him. But the kid needed to cool down somehow!
    One of the best parts of Ian's new job is that he's working 4 10s. So we had a three day weekend together. We've never had that on a set schedule and being out of our usual surroundings, it felt like a mini vacation. Friday, Ian took me to an RV Park that's about 20 minutes from Durango and 45 minutes from Pagosa Springs. It turns out they had availability. YAY! They're also open year around, so that's convenient since we don't know how long we'll be here. They don't have a pool but they do have a "watering hole." I'm guessing we can grab some tubes and float around in it. Also, the farmers market is right across the street on Saturdays. So, it sounds pretty good and they're much more reasonably priced, so we're moving there tomorrow.
   Saturday the town of Durango had something called "Daddyfest" so we popped over there and it was pretty cool. They had a ton of old cars there, which Ian enjoyed looking at, they even had a DeLorean (like from back to the future) so that was awesome. They had a little panning for gold station, Houston and Ian made a wood carving sign that said "#1 DAD." I ate an amazing bratwurst on a pretzel bun, yeah that was my high lite, it was delicious! So we had a good time. It felt like the most time we'd had as a family since we've come out here. We even explored a river on our own a bit and then decided to sign Ian and the big kids up for a river raft for Fathers Day!
  So naturally, on Sunday morning, Wrex threw up! So Ian and Houston went on without him. They we're suppose to take a 4 hour trip but seeing as they were the only ones signed up, the guide talked them into taking a 2 hour trip twice. So meanwhile Wrex and I were hangin out, watching movies, he appeared ok, maybe he had a nervous tummy, I don't know. So we decided to try and take pictures of the boys on the raft, so we headed to  a park and waited. Wrex pointed out some rafts with the "southwest" logo on it and I'm looking through my zoom lens, I didn't see them. I remembered Ian had on his bright green board shorts on and then zoooom  I see a blur of green  whizzing by in a canoe and little Houston's head is thrown back bobbing around! It turns out Houston wanted to canoe down the river the second time and the staff was so impressed with him that someone lent him his helmet with a go pro camera on it. How cool is that! So we have their whole trek on film. It's actually not too exciting to watch, but Ian and Houston were so proud of themselves and it was such a shock seeing those two in that canoe. I don't know maybe you had to be there.
     So the weekend was awesome, I'm going to have to take Wrex rafting sometime. It looked like a blast. This week we got back to reality. I had to get some work done and the trailer needed a good cleaning so we hung out at the pool and we're going to head to the rec center again today. So that's what's happening here. We're having a good time and the next time I write you I will be in Bayfield, so wish me luck! MUAH

Welcome to Durango!

      We made it! It was a journey, should've been a 7 hour drive we made it in 10 1/2. Ian compared it to "Grapes of Wrath" I thought it was more like a Griswold Family Vacation! The truck was over heating, the hitch was moving around but driving through Moab Utah was worth it. I have to go back. We didn't stop but i had Wrex take pictures out the window, I'll have to see how they came out. Wrex and I had a dance party in our car to "Single Ladies" that was pretty fun. Houston and Ian roughed it in the truck, I'm sure they made a mock man cave, complete with beef jerky and warm water bottles. Anyhow, it was long but we made it.
    Sunday we were exhausted but we did take a stroll through town and got to see people white water rafting through the Animas River which runs through town. There was one guy, stand up paddle boarding a rapid. Ian said he could probably pick it up faster than the guy and the kids laughed when the poor fellow wiped out. Poor guy, I know we don't sound like a very nice family. The worst part is i reminded everybody that we were close enough for him to hear us. Ah yes, our many adventures. Houston cannot wait to ride a rapid and i cannot wait to watch Ian admit, it's harder than it looks!
    We found an awesome recreation center. It was mainly an indoor pool with a smaller outdoor section. Inside there is a lazy river, a water slide, a high dive and an indoor water play area. The kids had a blast and it was very affordable. The next few days we spent finding grocery stores and ice cream stops.
    Yesterday, I ventured to Pagosa Springs, which is an hour and fifteen minutes away. Ian is working there and we're thinking of moving closer to save on gas and rent. I went in expecting these country bumpkins to be hungry for my 6 month long commitment. Instead I mainly got parks that were mostly booked for the summer. I was not expecting that, I know southern California is booked but I wasn't expecting that in Southwest Colorado. Deflated my ego a little bit.  I am not joking when I say country bumpkins, and I mean it in the most endearing way. Ian and I were speculating that Pagosa is like a town, when they get a batch of bad meat in the grocery store, it would take out the whole town. Scary!We went down one dirt road and I swear I hear deliverance playing my head and when I pulled up this one eyed three legged dog came out barking at us. I almost floored it right there and then. Turns out the gal was real nice but yeah it scared the bee geezuz out of me. Houston said the dog was from outer space. Another park owner told us " they never bothered to bring the cable out here! " Another park they were painting rocks for an activity. The kids we're real excited about it.
   Yeah,  It has personality but I don't know if I'm ready for that kind've switch yet. I felt such relief to get back into the town of Durango. ( Oh yeah, did I mention on our way home, they closed the road for "blasting" we sat for about 25 mins) However, they really don't have room for us here through July either, so I gotta figure something out...Yesterday was stressful, can you tell? The kids were such good sports, I promised them today we would do nothing but play in the pool. So that's what's going on here, I'll let you know when I figure this mess out. Today I'm taking it easy.