Little Bits and Pieces

So, there have been a few little moments, little snippets here and there that I have meant to write about.  Just little things that didn’t really seem to fit in any of the other posts…..or I just forgot about them. On our first day of traveling, we discovered that we were going to have to pay toll several times as we drove through Oklahoma and Kansas.  Mattie has accumulated several 2 dollar bills for various things here and there and they have just been treated kind of like funny money around our house.  I just happened to have one of these 2 dollar bills in the car for some odd reason and when we reached our first toll booth, I dared Brandon to pay with the funny money.  Shockingly, the toll booth lady took it and said nothing about it.  I was thrilled that she took it, yet at the same time, was hoping that she would have given a bit more of a reaction.

Another thing that I would like to mention here is that when visiting Nana’s house, there is always ice cream.  Always.  And not just one flavor, fact is, I believe there are about 4 different cartons of ice cream in the freezer currently.  I love ice cream so this pleases me very much.  But its not just the amounts of ice cream, its the kinds.  There is a fabulous flavor, its Thrifty Ice Cream, chocolate malted crunch and it is amazing.  Just let me take a minute to describe it to you.  Imagine if you will, a chocolate malt.  That alone sounds great to me.  But then, mix in flecks of chocolate.  And not tiny, barely there little flecks either, more like shavings.  And then, even though that alone sounds tasty, there are these itty bitty little malt balls.  Its just the most delightful little ice cream flavor and it makes me a little sad that I have no idea when I will be getting to taste it again.

Something else that I have been thinking about a lot since we have been here is how grandparents always seem to have the best yards.  When I think back on my childhood, I have wonderful memories of both of the yards that belonged to my grandparents.  My Grandma Reese had a whole pasture filled with cows and ponds and even a big barn.  We would be gone for hours, sometimes whole days playing out there.  And my Grandma and Grandpa Huff had the best front porch that to me seemed huge.  You could roller skate on it and there were two big porch swings at either end.  We would pretend that those swings were all sorts of different vehicles, cars, planes, whatever. And sometimes they were just good for swinging in.  And after spending almost an entire week in my in-laws back yard, I would definitely say that they have a great one too.  All 3 sets of my kids grandparents have wonderful back yards.  Mumsey and Poppy just have the open wild.  Their yard is huge and there is plenty of room to just run free and roam.  There is the garden that they love to help tend to and Poppy’s tractor that they love to play on and go for rides once in a while.  And there are swings.  At Nene and Papa’s house they have their custom-made playhouse complete with dry-erase boards inside.  There is also the crab apple tree that Mattie loves to climb in and the little neighbor boy who often finds himself in their backyard that Mattie and Reese like to play with.  And Nana and Grandad have their beautiful pool and the trampoline isn’t half bad either.  I personally love the hammock and the big trees….oh and the perfect weather.  The weather makes the backyard almost like another room and we have spent a good chunk of our visit out side.  I love that when my kids go and visit their grandparents they have so much fun just playing and using their imaginations…..and burning up energy.

Another interesting tidbit while we are on the subject of backyards.  So Nana and Grandad have a storage shed in their yard and the kids found their way down there and with Nana’s help, they brought back some real treasures.  Part of which were these………

We had no idea that Brandon used to be a ninja and seems to have been on the road towards greatness in his ninja career back in the day.  Third place in weapons and sparring.  Makes you think twice about breaking into our house now doesn’t it?  They also found a bin full of all the sparring equipment (pads for your feet, hands, and head) in all sizes.  Being ever the good examples for our children, Brandon and I immediately suited up and had a little sparring session in the driveway.  I have to say, we had the best time just wailing on each other.  That sounds terrible doesn’t it?  But really, it was great fun and a fantastic work out.  I think we just might bring our pads home with us and make a weekly date night out of beating each other up.  That really sounds terrible, maybe I should change it to love sparring or friendly sparring.

 

So I recently switched shampoos.  I have very fine hair and since having Lila, what little hair I do have is falling out all over the place.  My dear friend Shannie who works with hair geniuses asked them what I should be using to give me a little volume and I was referred to a lovely smelling shampoo and conditioner set.  I was thrilled.  I began using it immediately and was pretty sure I was in love.  However, I wasn’t really fixing my hair when I first started using it, just wash, dry and go.  It seemed healthy and full enough so all was well.  After I got here to California and started fixing my hair again, I discovered that maybe it was working too well.  My hair seems to have volume and then some.  I don’t know, but I think maybe the natural body that my hair already has mixed with this shampoo’s volume enhancing magian might just be a little too much.  I am sharing a picture and this is after I have tried to using my curling iron to tone and smooth things down.

I think I will be using the shampoo just for Reese now since we all know his hair desperately needs more volume. Ha.  Truly it is just crazy big now and impossible to brush.  It is as though the hairs are each individually very excited and on alert and puffed out as to make themselves appear bigger and more ferocious.

So that is all of my little random things for now.  Lila is working really hard to roll over from her back to her tummy.  I think we will all be thrilled when this happens because then she can start sleeping on her stomach.  Any Day now, any day.

Oh one more little thing, that is actually not really just a little bitty thing.  When went to the wonderful outlets that are about 3 hours away in Camarillo yesterday.  It was just Brandon and I (oh and Lila)  and we had a beautiful drive along the 101 that runs parallel with the ocean.  Its just gorgeous.  So why would we drive for 3 hours just to go the the outlets when we have passed several outlet malls on this journey?  Because this was waiting for us in Camarillo…..

That’s Angela, on of my all time favorite people.  I met her as she and her dad were saying good-bye at college.  She started a few days or weeks later after school had already started.  Anyway, she was standing there by her lonesome in the lobby of our dorm and a few of us were headed to a softball game.  I asked her if she wanted to come with us and she has been one of my besties from that point on.  We like to have babies 5 months apart from each other too.  She didn’t start this baby thing with Mattie (not being married yet and all), but she had her Addie 4 months after Reese and she is due to bring a sweet little boy into this world any day now.  Its nice to know that two of my 3 children already have mates.  Anyway, since Ang lives out here in California, I insisted that we at least get to spend an afternoon with her and she was kind enough to meet us halfway.  I was thrilled that she got to meet little Lila.  And Lila seems to already be in love with her future mother in law.

So now we are getting ready to leave, to head back on our 3 day journey home.  I am sure there are still adventures yet to be had, but I am quite sad that this portion is over.  We have loved our stay here with Nana, Grandad and Uncle Kris and wish that we could come out way more often. But we are also starting to get messages and texts telling us that we have been gone for entirely too long, so homeward bound it is.

We Are Family

All of Brandon’s family lives out here on the west coast, most of them here in California.  So needless to say, we don’t see them very often.   Since our visits out here aren’t exactly frequent, Nana decided that it would be fun to invite the aunts and uncles and cousins over to Baughman Ranch for a fun little Memorial Day get together.  So after a fun day at the beach, we woke up to the excitement of another fun day with family we hadn’t seen in forever.

Family started to arrive around 1:00.  First was Uncle Jake and Aunt Nadia with Michael who is Brandon’s age.  They had brought their grandkids, Cole and Taylor who belong to Mike’s sister Natasha (Natasha and her hubby Mark couldn’t make it due to stomach bugs).  Last time the kids saw Cole and Taylor was at Babushka’s funeral about two years ago…..and Cole was just an infant.  But you would have had no idea that they hadn’t been best friends forever.  Mattie and Taylor quickly became buddies (just as they had been at Babushka’s funeral) and were insuperable for the rest of the day, holding hands and telling little secrets.  At one point, as they were just sitting side by side, Taylor reached over as if by habit, and started nonchalantly playing with Mattie’s hair.  And Mattie just leaned into her as though she had been expecting it.

And as well paired as Taylor and Mattie were, Reese and Cole couldn’t have been a better match themselves.  Cole is definitely one of Reese’s chosen people.  Those two took one look at each other, exchanged names in their little voices and that was that.  Best friends.  And though I wasn’t around to observe it, I understand that Brandon and Michael were the exact same way when they were little boys.  They were precious and hilarious to watch, these two tiny little daredevils, fearless with their floaties jumping off the diving board and swimming around as though they had motors.  I imagined that the kids would have fun but I had no idea that they would make two new best friends.

Cole and Reese with Brandon’s cousin Steve and Alma

Brandon and his cousin Mike

Shortly after Jake, Nadia and Mike arrived, Uncle Alex and Aunt Monica with their daughter Krystal (who is Brandon’s brother Kris’s age) and her family pulled up.  They also have little ones, Garrett and Jaelynn.  As soon as everyone got settled in and properly greeted, we sat down for a fine feast of ……..Thai food!  Isn’t that what you expect to be served at a large Russian family gathering? Well, it sounded good to us, so that’s what was served.  The kids barely touched their food and then they were off into the pool.

Reese has a very strong “no peeing in the pool” belief…..but a foot away in the grass is perfectly acceptable

After having a blast, Nana announced that it was time to travel the short distance down the road to see the ponies.  What!  Nana had ponies waiting for us!  The kids were SO excited.  We piled in cars to make the short 3 minute drive up the road (Reese and Cole insisting on riding together and Mattie and Taylor holding hands as they climbed into our car), ready for an adventure and not really sure exactly what to expect.  We were greeted by 3 young people who seemed about as excited as we were.  I don’t know that they had ever had such a big group of people at their little “farm” before.  The leader of our horse farm guides immediately made me laugh.  He was a rather flamboyant young man, not quite what you would expect to be running a horse farm, and also quite young.  He was very proud of his rare miniature Appaloosa horses and was all set to tell us absolutely everything he knew about them in great detail.  We all stood there with grins on our faces, just waiting for him to stop talking and take us to the horses, but he just kept talking.  Finally, Taylor cut him off mid sentence and asked if the horses were here.  I think he took that as a hint that though we appreciated his knowledge, we were really more interested in feeding the tiny horses massive amounts of carrots and maybe chasing them around a little.  So on to the horse corrals we went, but not before meeting Olly the parrot.

Garrett feeding the horses

Cole and the horses

Mattie Moo and the ponies

Taylor and Olly

Mattie and Olly

After we had thoroughly harassed the horses, we took a look at the chicks and bunny, which held the girls attention for about 5 minutes, which was about the time also that Mattie got pooped on by one of the chicks.  It was then decided pretty quickly that it was time to go.  The kids were very willing to go back to Nana’s house because the horse people would be coming right behind us with 3 of their ponies and 3 little carts to give the kids rides in.  Of course, Reese and Cole had to ride together, two little peas in a pod. Those kids rode for forever going all over the neighborhood having the time of their life.  And then when it was time for the horses to leave, well, they just went right back into the pool.  An absolutely fantastic day, way better then last Sunday when we went to silly Dodge City.  New friends, tiny horses that you could fit in your bathtub and swimming until the sun went down, it really doesn’t get much better than that when you are 7 and 3.

Nana, Lila and I

Garrett and Reese playing in the “bat cave”

Cole and his Uncle Mike holding Lila

Taylor and the bunny

Sisters bouncing their little brothers

Kashirsky cousins – minus Lila and Jaelynn

Jaelynn getting a hop on the trampoline with her daddy Andy

Nana and Grandad hosted a wonderful party and it was wonderful to get to see family.  It just makes you wish that we lived closer to all of them…..or that they lived closer to us.

The Ocean at Last

Yesterday was the day.  The day that the kids have been talking about for months now, even before we told them that we would be coming to California.  The day that they would finally get to go and see the ocean and what a perfect day that it was.  Our morning started off with some sleeping in.  We have had a wonderful time here at Nana’s, but there has been little time for naps.  That would require getting out of the pool at some point.  So sleeping in was a good idea.  That also meant no church for us, but I can’t think of any better way to spend Sabbath then enjoying the great outdoors and that is just what we did.  We took our time getting around and a little after 11, we headed to Cambria, a lovely little seaside town where little resort cottages with brightly colored adirondack chairs out front line the streets.  First things first, there was lunch to be had.  One can’t roam the rocks that line the shore on an empty stomach.  Then the real fun began.

First, we had to take Lila’s very first picture with the ocean.  Something each of the other kiddos have had done and all three at different beaches now that I think about it.  And Lila is the youngest that any of them have been on this first visit, not yet being able to sit up by herself, her picture required a little assistance from us.

Reese getting a little help from Nana

The Baughman Girls

Mountain Goat Reese

And then the kids took off to the edge of the world, so excited and happy, you couldn’t help but feel just a little like you were 7 and 3 again yourself.  Reese never really went to the waters edge, that seems to be more of a Mattie thing, but he had a blast climbing on the rocks.  He would wedge his little self in the crevices,and disappear for a bit, the emerge out of a tiny little space having scaled the rocky walls.  His shorts were filthy, but a filthy boy is often a happy boy, and since we don’t get to spend every sabbath climbing rocks on Nana’s beach in California, it seemed just fine.  And should it not wash out, well, it will just be a reminder of the fun we had that day.

The Uncle Kris

 

Mattie and her Daddy share a special something when it comes to the ocean.  She is my girl, but she is her daddy’s buddy.  She tells me everything, but they seem to have a way of communicating without using words.  They see things similarly, she has Brandon’s adventurous spirit and I know one day in the future, she will be leaving our little nest to go out and explore the world.  Since she was just a little thing, she has been drawn to the ocean, maybe its the vastness of it, the mystery of whats out there or the fascination with the wildlife that calls it home.  Maybe it’s her father’s own love of California and the coast that is embedded in her.  But as soon as the car parks and the doors slam shut, she and Brandon take off together, often leaving the rest of us behind.  Always, her little hand reaches out to his , as though to really enjoy the moment they must connect and then they both stand there and stare.  Then they dare one another to try to outrun the waves that are breaking.  Its a little dance that they share with each other and the ocean and my heart gets full as they allow me to observe.  I’m sure I would be allowed to participate too if I asked, but to be honest, I kind of treasure that its something precious between just them.

 

 

A perfect day, with perfect weather, in a perfect place.  And then to top it all off, an evening swim in the jacuzzi before bed.

 

 

The Chosen Ones

I have a unique little boy.  I’m sure a lot of people think that about their sons and they are probably right in their own ways, but I truly do have a little guy, who several times a day, I look at him and think, “where did that come from?” He is a tinkerer and rarely just plays with toys.  Instead, he takes things apart and will play individually with the pieces.  When asked to pack his penguin backpack for our journey out West, he said all he needed was his Jimmie Johnson action figure and two yellow Corvettes (hot wheels corvettes of course). He has amused himself on this trip by looking for his favorite cars as we drive along.  He’s a simple little man and doesn’t require a whole lot.  He likes to immediately  change in to “comfy pants” when we arrive somewhere.  And since we have been traveling, I have learned from Reese that wherever you wear your comfy pants in home.  He eats slowly (when he eats) and will eat better if you assure him that the food he is eating is something that Batman probably ate when he was living in the mountains.  Today when he asked us about watching his favorite Corvette video on youtube, before we could say anything about it being Sabbath and lets maybe not watch the same thing we watch everyday, he quickly put in the Jesus loves Corvettes.  I had no idea.  Reese also likes most everyone.  Play with him a bit, talk to him about cars, give him a piggy back ride and he will likely call you a friend.  But there are some people, the chosen ones, that Reese seems to almost imprint with.  Its almost a sacred friendship, something that time or distance or age doesn’t seem to have any affect on.  You can’t ever tell just who Reese is going to pick, but when he does, its obvious.  As his mom, I don’t even know that I am one of these chosen people.  I like to think so, but I really don’t think I am.  I like to tell myself that its different because I am his mother.  But someone who has been chosen is his Uncle Kris, Brandon’s brother.

Yesterday, we weren’t able to go to the beach due to the weather.  It was also quite chilly outside and not exactly suitable for playing in the pool.  Uncle Kris and Reese had the best morning though not even moving from the couch.  Uncle Kris played race car video games with him and then they watched Top Gear.  Uncle Kris even put Reese’s favorite Blue Angel vs. Blue Devil Corvette video from youtube on tv so he could watch it bigger and louder.  Uncle Kris sent Reese a trolley car from San Francisco where he attends law school and Reese keeps it on a little shelf with other special little boy treasures at home.  Reese likes to hold Kris’ hand, even when they are eating or if they are just sitting.  If Uncle Kris is in the pool, Reese will get very, very brave and do all sorts of unheard of things like jumping in.  Reese tends to pick the ones that quietly share interests with him, that let him tag along and just sort of enjoy his company as he enjoys theirs.  He likes to ask questions and his chosen ones don’t seem to mind answering them even if they often get repetitive.  His chosen ones never force themselves on him, instead he is just sort of drawn to them.  But they accept the little hand reaches up to their bigger hand…..a connection has been made.  They have been cemented in his little brain as a bit of a hero.  Right up there with Batman and Jimmie Johnson and that middle aged man we just saw driving a Corvette at the post office.  So to those of you who are Reese’s chosen, you probably know who you are, thank you for your quiet leading ways, thank you for loving him and letting him be who he is.  I have no doubt that he is going to grow into a kind, smart, gentle and interesting man because of you, especially you Uncle Kris.  And on days when you don’t feel very important, please remember that there is a little boy who has chosen you to be his special person.

Not the best picture of the two, but notice the hand holding

Trampoline Springs and Kettle Corn

We woke up yesterday to something magical.  Yes the scenery is lovely here and the weather perfect.  But that wasn’t the magic.  The magic came in knowing that we had absolutely nowhere to be and no time to be out, nothing to pack up and if we wanted, we wouldn’t have to even look at the car.  After several days of living in our car and having strict deadlines of when we had to have out things out of a room, it was wonderful to wake up and then just roll over again.  It was also fabulous to hear Mattie and Reese chanting about wanting to go to the pool and it be Nana who they were talking too.  And for me, it was FANTASTIC to say, “There’s a bottle in the fridge” and not have to get up with Lila.  Oh, having a Nana around is wonderful.  Yesterday, the kids did a lot of this….

 

And when they were done with that, they did more of this

 

For the most part, other than to get out for a quick lunch, they pretty much lived in the pool all day long.  And that is pretty much where they plan to stay for the length of our trip.

So overall, it was a pretty lazy and relaxing day.  There was, however, one moment of real excitement.  The parties involved really wish that I don’t share this story, yet they admit was that was hilarious so they know that there is no way that I can keep it to myself. And if I go ahead and share it here, maybe you all will have forgotten about it by the time we get home.  I doubt it though.  So Reese loves Nana’s trampoline and LOVES it when someone bounces him on it.  At one point in our morning, he asked his daddy to please get on the trampoline and bounce him and being the doting father that he is, Brandon happily said yes.  So there they were, bouncing away and Reese was having a good ol’ time.  Then it happened.  There was a strange snapping sound and then metal on metal, a ringing sort of sound and a swoosh into the bushes.  What had just happened?  The trampoline also kind of shifted, but just for a fleeting second, then everything seemed normal again.  What in the world!  It looked like somehow Brandon had just broke the trampoline.  I walked over to inspect and sure enough, one of the mesh loops that the spring hook into was detached and the spring had flown into the bushes.  The giggles started a bit then, but Brandon use laughed it off and said whatever, he hadn’t done anything.  He then proceeded to jump some more, sending Reese into orbit and making me a bit uncomfortable, but having a merry time.  Then the snapping sound was heard again and the metal on metal, ringing sound and a swoosh into the bushes and then Kris and I swear we heard the burro next door making a yelping sort of burro sound.  I could be wrong, but I am pretty sure that Brandon shot the burro with a trampoline spring.  It was sort of like watching those subway commercial where people are in inner tubes that pop or hammocks that fall, only in slow motion, one trampoline spring at a time.  It was decided then that maybe Reese should jump solo on the tramp from then on out.  In his defense, there  is no cover over the trampoline springs and where they attach, so it is possible that by being exposed to the elements, they have been weakened.  Either way, it was pretty funny to watch and Brandon passed on the ice cream last night after dinner.

Something that I love about visits to Brandon’s home town are that every Thursday night, there is a Farmer’s Market right in the heart of San Luis Obispo.  No matter the season or if it’s a holiday weekend or what, it is always a jumpin’ place to be.  They have all sorts of produce for super cheap and tasty treats from the local restaurants.  And the best part of all, the incredible kettle corn.  I love kettle corn!  Its right up there with donuts for me and if we go somewhere that it selling, its next to impossible for me to not purchase some.  I think my family might even consider themselves connoisseurs of kettle corn.  Some people are experts on fine wines, others sophisticated cheeses, but we have a taste for kettle corn and having sampled kettle corns from across America, I can say as an expert that some of the best is found at the Farmer’s Market in San Luis Obispo on the central coast of California.  Needless to say, we purchased the giant bag.

Another fun thing about this part of the country is that it gets cold at night, quite chilly in fact and the closer one is to the ocean, the chillier.  I had checked the weather before we left and it was supposed to be crazy hot here, which surprised me, but I packed accordingly.  Wouldn’t you know it, last night was quite chilly and try as I may to keep Lila’s blanket over her head to keep her warm, it just wouldn’t stay.  We decided that though it probably wouldn’t be of any help, we would hop into Gap and see if they had a little infant hat for sale that might work.  We were out of luck as far as winter hats or even those little caps you might put on a little newborn, but they had something else.  I hate that I don’t have a picture of it, but I will get one today as we are heading to the beach where it is sure to be chilly. Instead, they had a darling little coral colored swim cap with these wonderful fabric flowers all over it.  It wasn’t necessarily cozy, but it covered her little head and seemed to do the trick.  Plus, it looked adorable.

We brought home two exhausted little people, exhausted from the absolutely perfect day they had just had.  It was a great day, certainly worth the drive just to experience that one single day.  But lucky us, we have a few tomorrows still left.

Breakfast With Buffalo Bill

I have been a fan of the show CSI for a while now.  It started when a bunch of us girls used to go over to the Man House in college on Thursdays to watch Survivor.  CSI came on after and since I had a little crush on a certain young man who also came over to watch tv, I stayed.  I fell for the show and the boy.  Anyway, this hotel that we stayed at reminded me of an episode of my favorite show.  Walking down the hall to our room, with the fluorescent lights humming, I could easily imagine that instead of carrying a carseat with a baby in it, I was carrying my kit with all sorts of evidence collecting tools inside.  I also had the song “Who are you” running through my head.  We really needed some ice to put in the cooler with all of Lila’s milk, but decided we were safer in our room.  We didn’t want to be the victims of or witnesses to a crime.  Surprisingly, we slept quite well in our scary hotel room.  But we also woke up much earlier than we had in our other rooms.  I guess maybe thats what we needed to get an earlier start, a scary hotel.  Brandon took the kids swimming and we took showers with our flip-flops on so as not to get any sort of infection and then we were out of there.  We had booked hotels that offered complimentary breakfasts……we were scared of this hotel’s breakfast and decided to try our luck somewhere else.  Surprisingly, there aren’t breakfast places just lying about on the strip in Vegas.  We decided to just drive and see what we came to.

About 40 minutes down the road, we saw a small sign saying that there was a Denny’s at the next exit.  That would work.  I should have taken pictures, but I guess I was just in awe.  Denny’s was actually the restaurant for the Buffalo Bill hotel and casino.  This place was something special.  Not special in the same way as our scary hotel, we weren’t afraid to eat the food, but special in the what is this place and why in the world would they build a casino with a roller coaster going through it out in the middle of nowhere.  It seemed like the sort of place where people go for all their gambling needs who don’t want the crowds or young people that enjoy Las vegas.  We got out of the car and approached the hotel a bit hesitantly, not really knowing where we were going and one sometimes has a feeling that they are doing something wrong when they are taking their children into a casino.  Brandon went in first to ask where the good ‘ol Denny’s was and to see if it was okay that we had our 3 children with us.  They said sure come on in. I have to say that was one of the weirdest things, to walk through a casino, hand in hand with my children.  The Denny’s was right in the middle of the action and the whole place was decorated like an old west town at about dusk.  Have you ever been to Mexico at Epcot Center?  How even though you are actually inside of a building, it looks like it nighttime and you are outside of a little village or something?  That’s how this was.  The kids just thought it was incredible and kept asking what was this place and why couldn’t they play the video games.  I think the whole thing was super exciting and confusing all at the same time.  Years from now they are going to ask each other, “Remember when mom and dad drove us around in the desert and then we ate pancakes at that Wild West town surrounded by old people playing video games and women in shiny ice skater dresses serving refreshments?”  I’m so glad I’m creating these special memories for my children.

While waiting for our food to arrive and for Lila’s bottle to warm, Brandon walked through all the slot machines to distract her.  It worked surprisingly well.  Its nice to know that we live so close to Tunica should we need the soothing sounds of gambling for her again sometime.  I’m sure there’s an app we could download that sounds like slot machines to put in her bed with her.  Mix it up a little from the cricket sounds and classical music. We had a nice breakfast were Reese actually ate all of his food.  That has never happened in his life……ever.  Again, there must be magic in the atmosphere of Buffalo Bills Hotel and Casino in Primm, Nevada.

Then we drove.  We drove and drove and drove.  Stopping finally in Barstow to do a little outletting and another serving of In & Out.  We are making up for lost time.  Reese was really excited about stopping at the outlets because his Poppy has told him great stories of finding Nascar books at the bookstores of outlet malls.  He was a bit disappointed, as there wasn’t a book store at this outlet center.  But I gave him one of my 5,000 Twizzlers and he seemed okay. In the car for more and more driving and then we reached Mojave.

As though the scary hotel and the Alligator Farm weren’t scary enough, we drove straight into a real life, really could for real cause some serious issues situation.  Just for us, the desert kicked up a dust storm.  The first few minutes were kind of exciting, you could hear the wind rushing around us and the few bushes and shrubs were blowing around wildly.  There were even a few flying tumble weeds.  It was quite entertaining.  But then it got crazy.  The Acadia starting shaking and there was a noise, I can’t really explain what it sounds like, except terrifying.  Sand was blasting all over the car and the windshield and the car was teetering.  We could have pulled over, but that wouldn’t have stopped the raging wind and sand and may have even been more dangerous.  Reese also felt the great need to take his seat belt off the whole time we were in this mess and I kept thinking of us crashing and him flying not only out of the car, but into the desert somewhere never to be found again.  I just wanted out of there which meant we had to keep driving.  There were also big semis out on the road with us and as we would pass them, the wind seemed to want to blow us into them.  So every time we passed a semi I was afraid that either it was going to blow into us or we were going to blow into it.  And then just as it started, it was over when we drove out of the valley.  Just crazy.  I don’t know that the kids were ever as alarmed as Brandon and I were.  They probably thought it was just another part of this wild adventure we had taken them on, complete with crazy breakfast places and all that bizarre scene that was the Vegas strip the night before.

Things calmed down, we drove some more and the kids became downright slap happy.  Just laughing and giggling about everything.  It was nice to hear them happy with each other, though the volume was rather intense, but still.  But then all the laughing turned into Reese announcing that he had wet himself.  I just had to laugh hearing Brandon say to Mattie in a stern voice, “You know not to get your brother laughing that hard Mattie, you know he pees on himself.” Such a bad girl that Mattie, purposefully making her brother wet his pants.  Speaking of Reese and wetting himself, I completely forgot to share with you all that as we were driving down the strip on Vegas, Reese announced that he had to go potty really bad.  Really REALLY bad.  We told him he could either hold it or mommy could climb back in the back and help him potty in a cup.  He decided that he would go with option b.  Personally, I think he just wanted the thrill of urinating in a cup in a moving vehicle.  So there we were, creeping through Las Vegas at 10:30 at night with all the lights and action surrounding us, with Reese standing up in the back seat of the Acadia with his moose pajama pants around his ankles, going in a cup.  It is a memory I will cherish of my little man forever.

Back to yesterday though, we finally arrived at Nana’s house at around 9:30 last night.  The kids immediately jumped out of the car and into a waiting Nana.  Kisses and hugs were given and within minutes, they were in swimsuits and outside in the jacuzzi.  Exactly where they had been headed to this whole time.  Vacation at Nana’s meant swimming all day long for a week in her “tiny pool”, as Reese would say.  We are so happy to finally be here, the best hotel yet. They even offer child care here.  We have had a great time on the road trip, but I think the real fun is about to begin.  

Big Rocks and Bright Lights

So yesterday as we were driving along, one thing that kept gnawing at my mind was that this trip would be so much better if I had a bag of Twizzlers.  Twizzlers are one of my favorite road trip snacks and I was in desperate need of them.  What made it worse was that they were impossible to find.  We stopped at plenty of places that you would think would have Twizzlers, me with my small bladder and 25 gallons of water that I drank. But they were impossible to find, like the unicorns of candy.  So you can imagine how excited I was to find this on the front seat this morning.  Brandon got it when he was out getting us some things last night.  I think it will last me till we get to California…..I hope.

 

So, it seems that all the cool kids are renting motorhomes to do their great American vacations in.  We’ve just seen a ton of them everywhere.  I think that’s a fantastic idea especially since they have a bathroom on board.  We would never have to stop! But I feel like the really loud vehicle sticker that stretches across the rv with a family ( not our own mind you) embracing or pointing at trees or something that they all have on them would make me feel a little self conscious.  But a good idea still.

Today’s big event was going to the Arches national park to see some pretty incredible, pretty enormous rocks.  We arrived at the visitors center and Mattie was so excited!  Reese on the other hand was more excitethey the different makes of cars in the parking lot.  Here we are driving up into this incredible landscape that is like nothing they’ve ever seen before, and Reese is going nuts about whether the Dodge in front of us is a Challenger or a Charger.  Needless to say, the magnitude of the whole experience was a little lost on Reese to say the least.

But Mattie had a fantastic time! Let’s just say that if the Israelites had been led by Mattie through the desert instead of Moses, they would have been to the Promised land in 20 years rather than 40.  That little girl scampered up those rocky hills like a regular little mountain goat.  She would just bound from one boulder to another and ran up hills like they were nothing.  We lost her a few times because she got ahead of us and her skin matched the red rocks.  I would like to take this time to let all you readers know that I slathered my whole family in sunscreen today.  Also, I wasn’t aware of this before but Reese  informed me that it’s time to reapply your sunscreen when you can’t smell the previously applied sunscreen anymore.  I would have never figured that out and I really wonder how he came to that conclusion. As for Reese and the hiking, well, we just pray he never has to flee into the wilderness to escape anything any time soon.  I promised him a Twizzler if he could finish our walk without complaining.  He was quiet for a bit and then started saying in a very sweet almost sing songy voice “I am hungry, I am tired, it’s too hot and I love mommy”.  I guess he figured if he said it sweetly, it might not be considered complaining.

B Mountain

 

 

Bottle Warmer

You can barely see my little mountain goats hiding under there

 

 

 

We dined on pb&j and bananas for lunch and then started the long drive to Vegas.  About an hour and a half outside of Las Vegas, we stopped for dinner here

 

We had been trying to eat at non-chain places on this trip, but when In and Out calls, well, we just had to answer.  It was just as fabulous as we had remembered and Reese must have loved it too because he ate an entire burger.  Reese doesn’t typically eat all of anything.  We changed the kids into their jammies in the parking lot and headed on our way.  As we were entering Las Vegas I tried to wake up the kids so they could see the magical strip.  I’m pretty sure that Mattie thought she was dreaming the whole thing.  We decided that we didn’t really need to stay in one of the big hotels since we were getting in so late and not going to be sticking around.  Brandon had booked us a hotel off the strip, which we thought was near the airport.  You can imagine how thrilled we were to find that our hotel was actually right off the strip behind the big hotels and casinos, kind of like the hotel outlets.  I say thrilled in a very sarcastic way.  This was the type of place that people probably stay at when they want to be right in the heart of Vegas, but can’t afford to stay in the luxe hotels.  We walked up into our room listening to a couple have a fabulous “discussion” with lots of words that the kids aren’t used to hearing.  It was nice.  I would take pictures to show you how special this place is, but some things don’t need to me shared or remembered.

 

Colorado Gators

 

 

Yesterday we awoke from our super comfy beds at Hampton Inn (truly, they are wonderful and the bedding is just the right weight so that  you feel cozy, yet not hot.  Wonderful.) and Reese announced to us that he saw mountains outside.  I guess we hadn’t prepped him that where we would be traveling to would have a different topography than where  we lived.  He was very excited, but first things first, this hotel had a pool and he and Mattie were on a mission to use it.  Brandon took the kiddos down for a swim and Lila and I wrote yesterday’s blog entry.  A fantastic time was had and we were told over and over that we were the best parents ever.  I guess we should take our kids swimming more often.  Who knew that the highlight of this cross country trip would be the tiny indoor pool.

Our morning was starting off pretty great.  We were packing up to head towards the alligator farm and Brandon and Mattie had just taken their first load of things down to the car.  Reese, Lila and I were still upstairs and I was doing some pumping.  I apologize if that is not something that you want to read about, but its how Lila eats and it makes this particular story a wee bit funnier.  So there I am sitting  “attached” to my pump and Reese decides that he wants to go down with his daddy.  I told him that daddy would be right back, just to wait.  Reese hasn’t become very familiar with the concept of patience quite yet and got a little upset at the whole idea.  He fussed around with me and finally just stood by the door shooting me dirty looks.  I looked away for just a second and he bolted out the door.  I called after him to come right back right this second, but then realized that the door had locked behind him and here I was attached to the pump and couldn’t really go to retrieve him right away.  Thankfully, there was a cleaning lady out in the hall way and she let him in, opening the door good and wide and seeing me doing my thing.  I am sure she went back and told her other cleaning lady friends about the weirdo lady who locked her son outside while she did who knows what with a machine sucking her chest.  I like to leave a memorable impression on people.

After all that, we were headed to the Colorado Alligator farm.  We really had no idea what to expect, but the brochure told us that there would be an opportunity to hold a real alive gator and with the brochure, we would receive a free bucket of alligator chow.  We were sold with the free alligator chow.  Many of you know that I am not a big lover all all things reptilian.  Especially those of the lizard varieties.  I do not really embrace large turtles either.  When we first walked through the gift shop and onto the trail that would lead us through the farm, we noticed a little gate type thing crossing the path, it was about a foot tall and on a small sign next to it were the words, “watch your step over tortoise fence”.  The fear of what was requiring a tortoise gate quickly swept through my body and for a moment, I wanted nothing more than to run.  But my kid were so excited, they couldn’t wait to see all these gators and I had to be brave.  Its a very frightening moment, a sort of calm panic, to look around and not be able to see the object that you are so deathly afraid of but to know its somewhere nearby.  You are in great danger, yet still safe all at the same time.  But then the fear turned very, very real.  right in the doorway to the building that we were about to enter (that also promised a bathroom which I needed to use very badly), stood this huge tortoise with its mouth open no less.  Brandon of course took pictures of Mattie with the monster and she wasn’t the least bit frightened.  Reese hesitated to walk by it and just kept muttering, “its too big.” Brandon picked him up and carri

ed him around the turtle and then I was left alone.  I finally pulled on my big girl panties and skittered past that turtle safely into the building full of all sorts of other things that haunt my nightmares.  Now to use the restroom.  And wouldn’t you know it, that turtle had parked itself right in front of the girls bathroom door.  We could get in, but would have to jump over the turtle.  I knew I was going to wet my big girl pants if I didn’t do something fast, plus Mattie had to go now too.  So I did what any good mother would do.  I pick Mattie up and wrapped her somewhat like an apron around the font of me so that the turtle would get her first and we ran and leaped into the safety of the restroom.  Thankfully, it had moved when we were finished.

Me feeding the gator, ha ha

 

After that unforgettable experience, we were off to the mountains.  The kids got so excited seeing the huge peaks and the rushing river that ran alongside of us.  We had to make a few stops so that they could get out and touch the icy cold water and then to get out and make snowballs.  That thought it was absolutely hilarious that we were walking in snow and I was wearing flip flops.  We had lunch at a fabulous little burger and malt shop/shack in the valley.  And then were headed out again.

I mentioned in a previous post that I could make comments about our traveling outfits, but at closer examination, I realized that everyone is dressed perfectly fine.  Its me who is a bit different than normal.  I have not worn anything without an elastic waistband since I trip began on Friday and other than Sabbath, my hair has not been “fixed”.  We are going wash and go here.  At least my outfits are made up of matching colors.  My hair, well I figure my adorable children take the focus off of whats going on with my head.  Oh and before I forget, we had a notable first happen last night.   I put on a bathing suit again, which was almost as terrifying as the gator farm experiences. But bigger than that, Lila went swimming for the first time.  I don’t know how much she liked it, but she didn’t seem to hate it, either.  And she looked pretty cute in her little swimsuit.  We are headed out to explore the Arches here in Utah today.  I may not have been especially brave yesterday, but mama tried.

 

Day 2, Oh The Big Fun Begins!

I have thought to myself several times what direction I might want this blog to take.  Should I share our daily traveling fashions, because those are pretty fabulous.  Reese thinks you all would like to see photos of all the corvettes we see along the way and for us to keep tabs on which state seems to have the most.  I thought of sharing pictures of all the restrooms we stop at and ranking them….because we stop a lot.  I would like to say that it is due to Mattie or Reese or even Brandon, but its me.  That’s what happens when you have a lactating women who drinks her weight in water twice a day. But I guess I will just use this as a bit of a journal.  First off, I would like to share what Mattie came to me begging to hang up on the window beside her.

Mattie’s pin-up

Nice isn’t it.  I look back there and just can’t help but laugh.  On the other side is some sort of recipe.  Anyway, I thought that was too funny not to share.  So we left Mumsey and Poppy’s house yesterday only 30 minutes behind schedule.  I was pretty proud of us because our little family seems to run a good hour to 3 hours behind when it comes to actually leaving for a journey.  So off we were to Oklahoma.  Please forgive me for not taking a picture of any of us at the “Welcome to Oklahoma” sign, but it just really didn’t feel special.  Considering that it is about 10 minutes from Mumsey and Poppy’s house.  Right outside of Tulsa, in Sand Springs, we stopped to get gas. I would like to commend Oklahoma for having probably the cheapest gas anywhere and also having this……

This is the best gas station in the world.  And other than my family and dear friend Jessica, probably the thing I miss the most about the city of Tulsa.  They have an entire wall of hot beverages, everything you can think of.  A case the size of Brandon’s office at work with fresh donuts and pastries and a whole other wall of cold beverages.  It is like the Mall of America for beverages and snacks.  This location even had gourmet pizzas and pastas and the greatest thing…..a whole smoothie specialty coffee counter with a happy well dressed Quik Trip worker, every bit as qualified as any Starbucks barista just waiting to make you the yummy treat of your choice.  So exciting.  We didn’t get any treats here, but we did use their sparkling bathrooms.  Our trip continued on to Kansas.  Where we did take a photo with the welcome center.

Mattie and Brandon hope that Uncle Mark specifically checks out this picture.  Kansas has a very lovely welcome center, also with lovely bathrooms.  And at Reese’s request, we had seen 4 Corvettes at this point.  I wish I had some really fabulous stories to share about the driving, but there is really only so much that can happen in an SUV driving across Kansas.  There was movie watching, a little fighting and calling some names, some snack eating, unfortunately there was no napping by the older two of our offspring.  Lila, however, is the best traveller ever.  We passed through plains of windmills and plains of what we assume was wheat but not being educated in crops, we really have no idea.  Several times, we were the only car on the road and it was tempting to let Mattie get out of the car and do cartwheels.  But we where kind of in a hurry to reach our big adventure of the day in Dodge City.

We arrived in Dodge City and I have to be honest, I was expecting a little more Silver Dollar city and what we got was….well it wasn’t that.  We were hoping to watch a re-enactment of a wild west duel between some wild cowboy and a pretend Wyatt Earp.  But we discovered that the wild west reenactments don’t begin until June 1.  This was probably for the best anyway as we don’t really need to encourage solving problems with violence in Mattie and Reese.  Instead, we played on the big train for a bit and took some photos with Wyatt.

We then decided it was time to get out of Dodge and continue on to Colorado where we would be calling home for a few hours.  Thankfully, we made it.

We made it to Alamosa about 30 minutes later than we had hoped, but again, for Baughman time, that is exceptional.  Total Corvette count by the end of the day was 7. I am expecting there to be more stories to share today as we are going to an alligator farm.  Yes, you read that correctly, an alligator farm in southern Colorado.

California or Bust – Day 1

So Brandon and I have noticed a trend when we casually mention to friends, coworkers, the friendly lady at Target who’s register I prefer, that we are planning to load up in the car and drive to California.  They kind of smile as though they think we are beginning a really good joke….then they realize that we are serious and you can see fear and confusion dance around in their eyes.  Sort of the same expression I imagine I would see if we were to announce that we were expecting another child.  Anyway, because so many people seem so entertained by this trip that we are taking and also concerned with our safety, we have decided to start a blog to document our adventure.

Our original plan had been to load up the car on Friday and pick Mattie up from school right on the dot at noon when she got out.  It was a great theory, but like all Baughman Family trips, our time of departure was not as early as expected.  We did finally leave Memphis at around 3:00.  Our first hour was filled with Mattie belting her favorite tunes from Wicked, Reese calling out every specific car that Chevorlet makes and Brandon and I catching up on our Top 40 music.  We like to stay up on what’s hip with the kids.  Really, other than seeing the man with his window rolled down and his safety goggles taped to his face, it was a pretty uneventful journey.  The kids and I (including Lila) have been making this drive to Arkansas quite regularly, so to them, our trip hasn’t really started.

We arrived at Mumsey and Poppy’s house around 9ish last night.  Mattie immediately curled up on the couch and went to sleep.  Reese immediately reunited with Poppy’s die-cast Corvette collection.  After sitting with Poppy and discussing the engine for a while, he seemed ready for bed.  Overall, it was a pretty successful first day.  Safe and sound after leg number 1.  Unfortunately, there are about 400 legs to go.

I don’t know if this is considered day 2 of our journey since technically, we are journeying today.  But I guess it is the 2nd day of our adventure and since I am making the rules of this blog, I will say it  is day 2.  We woke up to a beautiful cool morning here in Northwest Arkansas and the kids had a great time chasing Tootsie the dog out in mom’s football field of a yard.  Then they had to go and check out the garden and play on the tractor a bit, all before 8 o’clock in the morning.  Reese got his weekly hair was and we were headed off to church.  Reese and Mattie love going to Mumsey and Poppy’s church for one reason and one reason alone……

Mumsey and Poppy’s church serves donuts.  I must admit, being the lover all of things donuts, I too get a wee bit excited f knowing what will be waiting for me there.  We always like church too, but the donuts are an added plus.  We have learned our lesson though about letting Reese pick out his own donut last time the kids and I visited.  Last time, he was a bit of a distraction to those trying to listen to the announcements as I tried to wipe chocolate icing off of his face, tie and shirt using a kleenex and a cup of water.  This time he got nothing frosted and I came prepared with a jumbo pack of baby wipes.

After having family friends over for lunch, having a swinging contest on the back patio and getting in trouble for spraying each other with the hose, it was nap time.  And nothing beats a nap with your Poppy after a pretty wonderful morning and afternoon.

Brandon has now pulled the car around to the backyard and washed the bugs off the front in preparation for the new bugs we will be adding tomorrow.  Mom has a huge bag of snacks packed and my camera is charged ready for the jump into the great unknown that awaits us tomorrow.  Tomorrow is our longest day of driving, 13 hours, which at the rate we go, could easily be 17.  We do have big plans to stop in Dodge City and I don’t know how one could take their family to a historic cowboy town and not have some great stories to share.  Thanks for checking in on us.  And though the kids might be screaming and we might be lost and driving through the ghetto, at the end of it all, let it be known that Mama Tried.