Dave was extremely short on details yesterday for our very long drive through Texas. We each pass the time in the RV for long drives in different ways. For Dave, he drives, listens to the radio, and occasionally gets to have a conversation with Addie when she sits in the front seat. That is it! He has been such a champ and we have safely traversed 30 states. Thanks to Dave for keeping us safe and driving us almost 8000 miles.
I spend a good portion of my time with the kids. Yesterday I read an entire book out loud to them about Helen Keller. We play games like Connect 4, Yahtzee, Rumikub, and Monopoly. I make lunch and try to keep the foods from either falling out of the refrigerator or off of the counter. I get drinks and I make snacks. I act as playmate and occasionally get to rest if they are napping or if they are watching a movie which doesn't happen very often.
Addie often reads and spends some time working on her own trip journal. She has a page for each day and she fills in details about where we have been, what we ate, how many miles we travel, and how many states we traveled through in a day. Yesterday Addie conducted an art class and the kids painted and spent a good deal of time drawing. She provided a theme or some instruction and then graded their work upon completion of the assignment. I think they all received A's.
Right now Alastair is teaching himself cursive and spent a solid chunk of time working on his writing. Alastair is an artist and draws A LOT everyday. I think he likes cursive because it is artistic and he is good at it. He was tired yesterday and after lunch he was the first to fall asleep (along with Dagny and Magnolia). He is big on "squnches." He lays on the couch and puts his legs on me. I pinch and squnch his legs in a general massage type fashion and he is in heaven. He will take squnches on his head, shoulders, back and arms too. Sometimes I loose focus and start to tickle his arm or leg with my finger nails and he will stop to tell me that Addie is the one that likes tickles and he is the one that likes squnches. My bad. I get confused.
Yesterday D was very involved with her newest Barbie that she received for her birthday earlier this month. It is a Rapunzel Barbie and has long hair. Dagny must have spent a couple of hours braiding the dolls hair and then wrapping the braids around in a circle-type bun on top of Barbie's head. She perfected it on the doll and then we spent a bunch of time getting her own hair to braid and bun in the same fashion.
Magnolia still has to sit in her car seat and she spent a fair amount of time yesterday complaining about her "bucket butt" and trying to convince me to unclick her to move around for just a minute. She generally does whatever the kids are doing and is a tremendous sport to participate in all of it from her car seat. The others take turns at the table and at the couch and almost always get to lay down (while buckled up) to take naps. Maggie just stays clicked in and tips her poor head to the side to rest. She is amazing.
Tuesday, August 20th
The switch to mountain time has the kids off schedule a little bit. Alastair and Dagny were up at 6:15 and engaged in their morning battle over the covers. Currently they are sharing the top bunk over the cab and the bed is made with one set of sheets. In hind sight this was a mistake that was irritating all summer. If I had it to do over again I would make the bed with 2 separate sets of sheets so no sharing of blankets was involved. They make for bad bed buddies sometimes.
We have to do normal chores on the road like go grocery shopping. We needed to go for groceries a week ago and have managed to eat out or with friends for the past 7 days. Let's just say that the cupboards are bare and now that we are almost home I have put the thought of grocery shopping out of my mind. Yesterday at a truck stop I purchased some milk, a loaf of bread, and 4 bananas. This food is really all we needed as it turns out. Cereal was all they wanted this morning and we were on our way by 9am.As it turns out the Plaza in downtown Santa Fe doesn't really get going until about 10am. We window shopped and poked around for a little while in the square.
We were all hungry for an early lunch and found a spot close by the Plaza and had some breakfast burritos for me and Dave and blintzes and French toast for the kids.
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We walked across the courtyard to the Palace of the Governors and stumbled into a guided tour. I always find the personal explanations so beneficial and helpful in understanding. The kids listened and we talked a great deal about the many crucifix's which were on display. As Presbyterians we don't have them in our church and they are all over Santa Fe. Also, the Palace of the Governors has a huge collection of sculpted Saints. Again, not seen at our church back home. We talked about this some but need a lesson from Nana when we get home. I am thinking Saints 101.
We moved back across the courtyard to the New Mexico History Museum for a little more information this time specific information on WWII and the New Mexicans who fought as well as the Code Talkers. As part of one of the exhibits there were rotary dial phones on the wall. Holly cow if this wasn't the most intriguing part of the museum for the children. We had to teach them how to dial and then explain how the money was deposited and occasionally retrieved from the coin return. Too funny.
A short walk up the street and we were at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. A pretty little church and it gave us the opportunity to talk with the kids about the stations of the cross. Again, a lesson for the kids and a really great conversation as a family. There is a labyrinth outside of the church and the kids and I walked it and talked a bit about its purpose. Addie is reading a book that references a labyrinth. In her book she says that you are to think of a question and that by the time you reach the middle of the labyrinth you will have the answer to your question. Alastair was thinking of a math question and he didn't have the answer by the time he reached the middle. I think he was unimpressed with the labyrinth.
Afternoon snacks were found at the French Pastry Shop and Creperie. Dave, Magnolia and Dagny each had Nutella crepes and Adelaide had a Napoleon and Alastair a black forest dessert. All were delicious.
We took a drive up Canyon Road to admire the artwork. Dave would point out the giant sculptures he would like to bring home to Southmoor Park and place in our front yard. Good thing he was joking. We drove around the area to check out the neighborhood and area. Super expensive and hard to imagine paying a million dollars to live in such a cramped little area. To each his own.
One more stop at Trader Joe's before we went to dinner. My sister turned me onto some yummy soap sold there and I picked up a half a dozen bars and some muffins for the kids for breakfast. As previously mentioned, old Mother Hubbard's cupboards are bare.
The kids are tucked in tight and Dave is playing with his iPad as he sometimes does in the evenings. Tomorrow we drive about 70 miles to Taos for our last full day of our vacation. We have been asked if we are exhausted and ready to go home or if we would keep going if we could. Dave and I would keep going for sure. We have seen so much of our country and the most amazing things. The kids would agree but they are anxious to return to their friends and to have a little space from one another. I am a little melancholy to have the trip coming to an end.
More on the welcoming nature of the Fellowship Church - Grapevine Campus - I received a telephone call from Derek, who is on staff at the Fellowship Church, yesterday as we strolled through Trader Joe's in Santa Fe. He had my number from the information card used to check our kids into Sunday school. He inquired as to whether we were likely to come back and whether I had any questions. I explained we were merely passing through and we talked a bit about Denver before I thanked him for calling me. Again, I am impressed.
ReplyDelete1. Nutella Crepes - Yes.
ReplyDelete2. Trader Joes - EVERY TIME I'm in a city that has one. Did a drive by in Indianapolis on Sunday even though I only had room in my carry-on for one snack.