On the Way Home, part 2

I opted to travel back from Wisconsin a different way than we had come. Instead of going through Iowa, Nebraska, and Wyoming, we returned via Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. I had never been in either Minnesota or South Dakota, so I happily added them to my list of states I've visited. And South Dakota had a pretty awesome bonus feature.

No one in our little traveling party had ever been to Mount Rushmore before. It was worth the extra hour that it tacked on to our trip.

 This is the entrance to the monument. It's also the best picture I got of my Dad and the kids that day.

Proof that Peter was there.

 Proof that I was there. Also proof that the camera on the front of my phone is not nearly as awesome as the camera on the back of my phone.

And this is the best picture I got of my Dad and the kids in front of the monument itself. No really, Mount Rushmore is there. See Roosevelt and Lincoln peaking from the top of the picture?

On the Way Home, part 1

About a week into our Wisconsin adventure I got online and looked up the school schedule for Peter's upcoming year. I'm not sure why I didn't do this sooner, maybe the packing/cleaning/moving across the country thing distracted me. When I looked at the starting date I was surprised: Peter needed to start school in Utah before Bryan was done with his internship in Wisconsin.

We talked about our options: we could just bring Peter a week late and stay with Bryan while he finished up, or the kids and I could drive back without Bryan, move into a new house, and get Peter started while Bryan did the rest of his internship and joined us almost two weeks later.

We chose option B.

Peter doesn't deal very well with change, and I was afraid that moving into a new house and starting at a new school, a few days after everyone else for that matter, would be too much for him. And I thought I should give his teacher a heads-up before Peter wandered into her classroom. I hoped that maybe having a few days to get used to a new home, then starting at the same time as everyone else would be the best plan for Peter.

When we told our parents that I would be driving almost fifteen hundred miles with the children (and without Bryan) I think they went into panic mode. Both sets offered to help me drive out and plans went into motion. In the end, my Dad flew from San Diego out to Appleton, Wisconsin so that I wouldn't have to make the trip alone.

And I'm so thankful he did.

Even with his help, it was a rough trip. I can't imagine how insane it would have been on my own. Just getting the kids from the car into the hotel room each night was a two person job. And Phoebe decided somewhere along the way that she was ready to potty-train. How on earth would I have done bathroom breaks with all three of them? I know other moms do this all the time, but Peter has recently taken to climbing on toilet paper dispensers or toilet seats and looking into other stalls whilst in public restrooms, so just taking him is fairly all-consuming.

But I didn't have to. And that was a lovely thing.

We Believe

On Sunday, after the lesson was over in Young Women, we had a testimony meeting. This one was a little different than others I've been to. It was unspoken. The Young Women President played church music and she instructed us that we were to take turns, each writing one thing on the board that we were thankful for. After everyone had had a turn, then we could go up for seconds, thirds, fourths, etc.

I scoffed internally at first. After all, a testimony is not what you are thankful for, it is what you believe or know to be true. But as the meeting went on, it occurred to me that for these Young Women, their beliefs and testimonies begin with the things that are important to them, the things they are thankful for. So while these were more "thankamonies", the Spirit was strong. And not having anyone talk added to it. It was a lovely meeting.

Stress Reliever

Last Wednesday I wrote a post about how this summer has been. The last two months have been hard. Very, very hard. I detailed some of the reasons in that post.

And I didn't publish it.

I realized that no one would benefit by my complaining. Perhaps I'll email the post to myself, just so I have it in my records. Let it suffice that we have had a rough time with tempers and tantrums and a general lack of kindness.

Here are a few things I've done to deal with the stress:

1. I've prayed a lot. A LOT. 
2. Bryan has given me a blessing. 
3. We've listened to music from General Conference.
4. I've run. And walked. And lifted weights. And run.
5. We've made friends and spent lots of time at their houses.
6. We've watched a ridiculous amount of TV.
7. And I've prayed some more.

I do like Wisconsin, and I'll miss the friends that we've made here, but I'm ready to be done. Two more weeks...

Bugsy

Wisconsin has different bugs than Utah. Like this guy.

He landed on our windshield while I was parked, looking up something on my phone. I don't what he is, but he's an awesome little critter.

Sprinkler Fun at the Park and Daredevil Phoebe

Uncle Paul

We had a visitor this week! Uncle Paul (Bryan's brother) was in the area and he made the extra drive to come have dinner with us on Tuesday. We were all thrilled, especially the kids. Can't you tell from the look on Phoebe's face?

Thanks for the visit Paul!

Teeny Tiny

Living in a place with five people and one bedroom requires... juggling. I mentioned it briefly here.

Every night at bedtime we put the kids in their pajamas, brush teeth, read scriptures, say prayers, and sing songs. (Add in lots of whining and complaining and fighting and maybe some screaming from the small people and you have an accurate picture.) Then I snuggle Phoebe and lay her down in the hotel-provided pack and play in the corner of the bedroom. We tuck the boys in on either side of the King-size bed and Bryan (or me if Bryan is working late) lies down between them until one or both boys are asleep. And sometimes that takes a while. Then, after Bryan and I are done with whatever we wanted to do in the living room, we unfold the bed from the couch, carry Cooper out to the living room, send Peter to the bathroom, then tuck the boys into their new bed. And we pray that everyone stays asleep/goes back to sleep quickly.

The last piece to the bedtime puzzle is making sure everyone is warm enough. Our room is either freezing or muggy. I would gladly take muggy any day, but Bryan isn't such a fan of humidity, so we walk a fine line between too cold and too warm. At night we bundle up (an odd feeling for the middle of July) and make sure the children have enough blankets.

A few nights ago Cooper was whimpering to himself as he tried to find a comfortable position on his side of the King. We asked him what was wrong.

Cooper: This bed is so big and I'm just so tiny and all I want to do is snuggle!

So while a King is good for holding all of us, I guess it's not so conducive to cuddling. Bryan solved the problem by scooting our mini-Cooper next to him and snuggling.

Zoom In

There's nothing like an after-lunch, under-the-desk fort to get you in the reading mood.

Calling Plan

One novelty in our hotel room is a phone. This is the first time Cooper and Phoebe have had a house phone and the first time any of them have had a corded phone. In fact, the phone was such a popular item when we first arrived that I had to unplug it and stick it in the top of a cupboard.

We were doing something on Saturday and I needed to call down to the front desk. Phoebe was asleep in the bedroom, so I couldn't use that phone. I considered (briefly) leaving the kids in the room and running downstairs and taking care of the matter, but quickly decided against that. Finally I gave in and pulled the phone out of the cupboard and plugged it in to the jack in the living room.

Amazingly, the boys left it alone, so I decided not to return it to its cupboard prison.

I forgot about the phone until after Phoebe was up from her nap. I was doing something in the bedroom and I walked out into the living room to see Phoebe on the phone.

Me: Phoebe, hang up the phone please.

Phoebe: (after hanging up) I called somebody.

Me: You did? Who did you call?

Phoebe: (nonchalantly) Somebody.

A Little Bit Louder Now

One of the tricky aspects of living in a hotel is volume control. Now, you may not know this about us, but we're kind of loud. And by kind of, I mean ridiculously. We all can project and we all like being heard. This is great when we're at the park (I can usually locate my children purely by sound), but not so great when anyone standing outside our door (or down the hall, or near the elevator) can hear what is going on in our house.

Peter seems to have picked up on this fact, probably because Bryan and I spend a great deal of time telling everyone to be quiet. In fact, Peter illustrated this problem for us.

Can you tell which room is ours?

Oshkosh

We have been going almost non-stop the last two weeks. I insisted that we stay at home this afternoon so that Phoebe could have a good nap, but I think it was really so I could have a rest. And though taking them to museums and parks and the library all day everyday is exhausting, I've learned I can do it. I'm just as warn out as the kids at the end of the day, but I make it all the way to bedtime.

Last week we went to a park in Oshkosh (yes, I said Oshkosh) that had a small zoo, a castle park, a train, a carousel, and a lake. We had fun.

The Grand Tour

I tried for several days to load a movie to the blog. I have since determined that the slow-speed of the internet will make that impossible. And that is a shame, because I've got some very cute footage.

We are living in a hotel this summer. Thankfully, it's a suite. It is still, however, only 500 square feet. And we are loud, active people. At least three of us are.

Would you like a tour?

The entryway/living room/boys' bedroom:

The kitchen (there is a sink and a full-size dishwasher as well, you just can't see either of them in this picture)/dining room/Lego table:

The office/playroom/ entertainment center (I'm standing in front of the wall-mounted flat-screen TV to take this picture):

The closet/dressing room/laundry hamper/shoe repository/Phoebe's favorite place in the suite in which to play:

I've neglected to include a picture of the bathroom and the bedroom (which sleeps me, Bryan, and Phoebe and is where the boys fall asleep each night and remain until we carry them to the fold-out bed in the living room), but you have a good idea of where we're living.

Speaking of the bedroom, I believe it is past my bedtime.

Goodnight all.

On the Way

We made it to Wisconsin.

Remember how I wrote that we were leaving very soon on Thursday? Well, "very soon" turned into almost two in the afternoon. Our whole journey was shifted and meant that we had to drive until after midnight every night. On Friday night (or rather, Saturday morning) we rolled into our hotel at about 2. I'm still not recovered.

But as I said, we made it. Here are some highlights of the trip.

• We saw some cool wild animals, some alive, some not-so-much. In Utah we saw a huge Moose on the side of the road. Wyoming was full of pronghorn sheep. A coyote wandered down the freeway next to us in Nebraska. We drove by a Bison farm in Iowa. And in Sidney, Nebraska a prairie dog scurried around the McDonald's parking lot. The kids and I were highly amused by that.
• We got to stop and visit my cousin Elise and her family in Iowa. Our kids are similar in age and it was a relief for everyone that they got to run around the backyard and let out their stuck-in-the-car-pent-up energy. And Elise sent us on our way with a bag of treats that included two delicious loaves of homemade bread. We're still eating them. Thank you Elise!
• Iowa wins for the best rest stops. We stopped at one that was dedicated to local writers - it was really cool. And clean.
• We crossed the Mississippi! That might not sound like a big deal, but I was thrilled. As in, I was hooting and giggling as we drove across the bridge. It's a good thing we decided to take both of our cars, because I would have driven Bryan a wee bit crazy. But we crossed the Mississippi! And the radio and TV stations start with a W instead of a K!
• Iowa and Wisconsin are both beautiful. They're clean and green and quite lovely to look at.
• I now know that I have the ability to drive 1500 miles. That blows my mind just a little bit. Bryan enjoys driving more than I do, so he usually drives during our road trips. This is the longest and farthest I've ever driven. I feel like I can do hard things. And that's important because we're living in a 500 square foot hotel suite for twelve weeks, and I can already tell that this is not going to be easy.

On the Road

We're out of our old house and gathering our belongings to hit the road. The plan had been to leave yesterday after school, but a whole mess of reasons kept us here one more night. But soon (like in the next hour and a half) we will be on the road.

Wisconsin, here we come!

Happy Working Song

Thanks for all the congratulatory messages. I say that like it's my internship. I know it's Bryan's, but since it has a major impact on the whole family, I do think of it as our internship. And our summer adventure.

We've spent the last week deep cleaning and de-junking. Our DI pile is occupying a large square of cement in our garage. We've also started packing. The boys both remember this process, but it's completely new to Phoebe. She's taken to it well. Today I watched as she dumped a dozen board books into a box that was almost her height and announced, "Packing!"

Bryan pointed out that other than carrying boxes and furniture, he doesn't really know what to do to get us ready to move. I had forgotten that for our last three moves I did most of the packing while he was at work. I'm happy to share the task of packing, just as I'm sure he's happy that I can heft around big heavy boxes this time since I'm not pregnant (as I have been for three of our five moves).

Now all we need to do is:

• sell our current contract
• find a place to live in Wisconsin
• find a place to live for when we come back for Bryan's last year of school
• find a storage unit to stash our stuff
• decide if we're taking one car or two
• figure out what the minimum number of belongings we can take to get us through the twelve-week internship is
• return our library books
• pack
• move

A friend (who reads this blog, hi friend!) asked what my stress level was at and how I was dealing with it. I told her that, although I have long hated running, I've started running between one-third and one-half of the trip to and from dropping Peter off at school.

I'm not feeling too stressed and my pants fit better, so I guess it's working.