Spring Break in the Snow

This year for spring break, I was anti-plans. I have friends who joke and laugh that nothing will slow me down when it comes to travel because I LOVE to travel. It is true therapy for me. Usually with Brandon, or with friends, or on my own to see friends. But when Audrey and Corbin were 4 1/2 and 2, we went to Costa Rica and had the best vacation ever. Amazing to come back from an out-of-the-country trip with two toddlers and feel like you really had a vacation. It almost ruined me and my perception of vacations with little kids. So, starry-eyed, we returned to Costa Rica when Audrey was 6, Corbin 3 1/2, and Drew 7 months old. That was a wake up call. My first dose of differing interests and needs amongst our children. Drew had no idea what a cool trip he was on. He just wanted to sleep. And Audrey and Corbin didn't want to be tied to the hotel room, not to mention the close quarters and different bedtime schedules. I decided kids needed to be at least two years old to go on family vacations. :) But how do you do that? At times we have left the kiddos with grandmas and grandpas, but that's precious time that we try only to utilize when we can get away on our own. (Even that is getting harder with a growing family.)

Anyway, I'm sure everyone shares the ups and downs of travelling with kids. My latest dilemma has been the span of ages getting wider. The older kids have been trained by their mother and want to go and do. Yet in the last year, I've become more and more a home body because it is almost always somebody's naptime and I feel outnumbered. Shocking. Who wants to do Disneyland, or New York, when everyone is whining, crying, hungry, tired, yada, yada, yada. I know you do it, just to do it, but lately, it's not worth it to me.

So as spring break has approached this year, I have had mixed emotions on going anywhere! After weighing options, I settled on two short trips on the weekends and the majority of the week at home for a "staycation." That way I had access to babysitters and could take the older kids to do fun stuff around Grand Junction in the warm weather! Of course since we would be staying home, it would be easier for Brandon to work and me to be distracted with household activities that would not break us out of routine. For those reasons, getting away has it's advantages.

The first weekend we were going to Steamboat Springs, CO to spend time with Jared and Janet at their new cabin. They barely took occupancy, got the carpets cleaned, and set up camp!

We thought maybe the next weekend we would head to St. George or Vegas. Somewhere not too far to drive and warm! Well, for as much work as it was to pack up and leave the first time, I resolved we would not be going anywhere the next weekend. Because the cabin was completely vacant, we were packing bedding, camp chairs, a couple meals, toys, games, snow gear, swimwear for hot springs, and a long list of miscellaneous that comes with a family of seven.

As we got here, spent a couple days, and Brandon got internet access so he was not so stressed, we decided to extend our stay to ALL WEEK LONG. Thanks Jared and Janet! (Sadly they had to go back home after a few days, as did Ty and Desi, and Lexi.)

With the sleep sound machines I bought online, Jake and Fisher settled pretty good. The machines block out a lot of noise so they sleep better with all the commotion going on right around them. And the older ones have only complained of being bored a few times. :)

Can you believe we were here less than 24 hours before Aunt Janet checked into the hospital? She prides herself on rarely getting sick and going to the doctor. But she was one sick woman! After battling for three weeks, she found out she had a kidney infection that had moved into her blood. Her white blood count was almost 5 times higher than normal and her blood pressure was low. So rather than spending time with family in her new cabin, she got to recoup in a hospital bed, bored and grossed out by the brussel sprouts served for dinner while the doctor and nurses pumped her full of fluids and antibiotics. We made a quick visit before she checked out Sunday morning.


We felt a little guilty having fun without her, but we tried! We went sledding

We rode the snowmobile and pulled kids on the tube.

Video coming...


I built a snowman family with the kids while Brandon went to work for the day. (There's an office 45 minutes away.)

Brandon rough housed the kids...here's daddio "steamrolling" and then giving camel rides.

Played a little "Just Dance" on the Wii. (Pictures or video were not allowed when the grownups were taking their turns.)

We were fortunate to find a source for goat's milk since we did not bring enough for Jake. Turns out there is only one lady in the entire county that sells raw goat's milk and milks her goats through the winter. And, just our luck, she lives really close to the cabin. Notice the goat ready to eating Brandon's jacket.

The lady was kind enough to give the kids a tour of her "farm." Jake was hilarious. He gets so excited around animals.

Video coming...

We also went to the hot springs, watched movies, ate lots of junk, and got to know each other just a little bit better. :)

It was a big week for Fisher as well. He started sitting up for long periods and pulling his knees under him ready to crawl.

Video coming...

All in all, we avoided amusement parks, airplanes, and public places in general. Good times. Fun memories. I give us three years before we are back to rock-n-rolling where little ones can go without naps here and there. By then Audrey will be a pre-teen. I'm sure that will pose a whole new set of challenges. Glad we are discovering the art of adaptability. Besides...look at how cute and fun our family is right now.