Spring Break - part 1

Since Oliver is a HUGE fan of his car seat (can you hear the sarcasm?), we've been very reluctant to go on any road trips. We did make the drive up to Logan for New Year's, but that is only about two hours away. We hadn't been back to Kansas since last June. Oliver is at that stage in life where he is changing so much. I was starting to feel bad that my family in Kansas was missing out on his little life. So...we decided to make a trip to Kansas for Spring Break. Dave and I were both VERY anxious about traveling with him in the car for that long and often looked online for cheap airfare. Unfortunately we never found any cheap enough.

We left shortly after Dave got off of work on Friday, April 3rd. Our hopes were to make it all the way to Denver, but Oliver decided somewhere around Grand Junction, CO that we were done. We pushed through and made it to Glenwood Springs for the night. We then got up Saturday morning and finished the trip. We made it to my mom's late Saturday evening. We were all done with the car although Oliver did surprise us and wasn't as cranky as I expected. We bought a dual DVD player so Oliver could watch a movie and it seemed to distract him. We also took several breaks and let the boys run around. What can be a 15 hour trip without children ends up being a lot longer than that with children! We always make it a two day adventure.

Being silly at Taco Bell in Price, UT

Beautiful moon in Eastern Utah

Road trippin'

The morning after we arrived was Easter! No matter what time Miles goes to bed at night he always wakes up the same time the next morning and it is always early! Dave hadn't had a chance to hide the Easter eggs yet so we told Miles that Dad needed to go use the restroom and that Miles needed to stay in bed and snuggle with Mom.

It didn't take Miles long to notice the plastic eggs all over Grandma's backyard. We told Miles that the Easter Bunny told us that all of the purple eggs were for Oliver. Miles was very good about leaving those for Oliver. Miles really wanted to go outside and gather the eggs so we let both boys go out in their PJs. Oliver was more excited about being outside and wasn't too interested in picking up eggs. He picked up a couple and then was done. Miles ended up helping him pick up the rest of his eggs. They both had fun running around Grandma's backyard!

After the egg hunt we started getting ready for a yummy Easter dinner and also a visit from some long lost family. With my Uncle Fred's passing last fall, I've been able to reconnect with his boys (the only cousins I have). The coroner was able to find his oldest boy shortly after Fred passed. Fred Jr. has been trying to track down his younger two half brothers ever since. I found out a couple of months ago that they found the two younger boys, Jason & CJ, in Kansas and were able to tell them of their dad's passing. Both of the boys are on Facebook so Fred Jr. and his wife, Ginger, suggested that I "friend" them on there. Jason is only 9 mos. older than me so he's the one I contacted via Facebook. We started chatting back and forth and ended up exchanging phone numbers. We've been texting or chatting on the phone ever since. We've had a lot to catch up on! It's been wonderful reconnecting with those boys and sharing stories of my Uncle Fred since he wasn't really involved in their lives.

When Jason found out we were going to be in Kansas, he offered to make the drive down from Sabetha to Marion to see us and my mom. Mom offered to cook a nice Easter dinner. Jason brought his fiance, Jen, with him. It was nice to meet her as well. CJ didn't make it down, but I'm hoping to see him in May when they have a reunion of sorts for the Carr family.

I can't remember the last time I saw Jason, but I thought it was when we were little. He thinks that they came to our house in Halstead in 8th grade, but I can't remember that for the life of me. I have a horrible memory though. At any rate, it has been a long long time.

How I remember Jason

Us now

Mom was able to give Jason several things of his dad's like a smoker he had made for Mom that she no longer wanted, some pictures, some VHS tapes, etc. Jason seemed to enjoy hearing Mom's stories of Fred. Everyone seemed to have a good time catching up. I'm hopeful that our schedule will allow us to see them again in May!

Jason & Mom

Mom, Jason, & Me

The whole gang

Us with Jason & Jen

And I think I'll end there for now...

Easter/Trip Prep

Easter fell on a Sunday this year where we wouldn't be at church. Our church has a General Conference twice a year. It is broadcast from Salt Lake City. This means that twice a year we get to "attend" church in our PJs and in the comfort of our own homes. This would be the case for Easter this year. We also were going to be out of town for Easter. I contemplated whether or not I wanted to get the boys new church clothes that they could wear the week before but ultimately decided that it wasn't worth it. The morning of the Sunday before Easter Dave brought out his bow-tie that I made for him last Easter. He and the boys have matching bow-ties. So, last minute-like we decided to have both of the boys wear their bow-ties as well. I had to snap a picture!

I love these boys!

That next week was a busy week getting ready for our trip and for Easter. I did a lot of the preparation while Miles was at preschool. Oliver was my big helper!

Helping me get new tires

Getting in to trouble while Mom was distracted with packing

He climbed up on the chair all on his own and helped mom stuff candy in the eggs

Stomach bug & cabin fever

In the middle of the night on March 19th Miles woke us up stating he felt like he was going to puke. Not too much later he went running for the bathroom! I was so impressed that at 5 years old he was able to recognize the feeling and make it to the bathroom in time. So impressed! He was pretty miserable the next 48 hours. He hardly ever slows down, but with this illness he pretty much laid on the couch for an entire day. I enjoyed snuggling with him while it lasted. Just as he started to feel better Oliver came down with the same thing.

Snuggling with Mom

Snuggling with Dad - Oliver wanted to join in too

Oliver didn't do as good of a job at making it to the bathroom though! Lol! It was hard with him too because he acted like he wanted food and acted hungry but not too long after we gave him something to eat it would come right back up. He had the illness for about 48 hours as well. Oliver has a very sensitive gag reflex and ended up choking on something the next few days and would puke because he was choking. Oliver was very lethargic for 48 hours and only wanted Dad! We had to put Oliver back on a strict baby food only diet until his gag reflex slowed back down a bit. It took much longer than I expected for his ability to eat "real" food to return. Thankfully Dave and I were spared and didn't come down with this bug! Following the vomiting came diarrhea for both boys. Not fun at all!

A lot of this happened...

and a lot of this!

The next weekend both boys were doing much better and I had a major case of cabin fever so we decided to do something fun and go for a hike! It was the perfect day. Our original plan was to go hike up Payson Canyon and do The Grotto trail. We've been told it is a very easy and quick hike so we figured it would be perfect for Miles. We never actually got to that trail because the road was closed. We ended up parking alongside the road right before the barricade and walked up the road a bit. We were still about two miles away from where the trail left the road. That was just too far of a walk for us so we went until Miles started complaining of being tired.

Miles didn't realize that we didn't make it to our original destination. He could care less. He got to throw rocks in the stream and explore a new place. He was in heaven! Even though Oliver was strapped to Dave's back the entire time I think he enjoyed getting out of the house and looking around.

Dad & Oliver

So happy to be in the mountains!

Content hanging out with Dad

Mom & Miles

Best buds

Family selfie

 

Playing in the water running down the wall

It was the perfect day to get out in nature and spend some time as a family! Next time hopefully we can check out The Grotto!