Some like it hot.

we concluded our lovely visit in california with a grand finale of a migraine and a nasty case of poison ivy. I am noticing a trend in my life lately: whenever I start feeling like things are going well, things start go, ummm... less well.

I have to attribute this to my deep and unresolved pride issue, because every time I say how "my kids get along sooo great" they suddenly fall apart in front of whomever I just praised them. Just when I proudly say out loud how "harper has been potty-trained for so long" he starts habitually drilling into his handy manny underpants like he's getting commission for it. As soon as I say "this trip is going so smoothly" I wake up with a migraine and tom looks like a burn victim where the poison ivy is slowly "melting his skin." (His words.)

So, given the migraine (and his ever-faithful companion: nausea) I was pretty useless yesterday morning, so tom had to pack everything up by himself, which is a big job, especially for an almost-amputee. Needless to say, we got a late start.

We did our usual unnecessarily long (and out of our way) drive in order to hit nevada, then into prescott, az. (Pronounced like biscuit, as in "prescotts 'n gravy.") What saved us (and our delayed, migrained, poisoned, deformed selves) was a phone call to my in-laws updating them on our location and schedule. They (randomly) have friends in prescott, who also happen to conveniently be THE nicest people on the planet. They also happen to be willing hosts. with a basement. and pie. They are the best.

So, instead of driving through the desert at 10:30pm trying to find a flat, safe and rattlesnake-free campsite in the dark, we ate pie with mark and shelly baker. We were so blessed to be able to stay with them, and without much notice.

I know that God's hand has been over us. I know that he is the one that is keeping us safe, sparing us from all sorts of potential disasters. And I know that he mustn't be loving any pride I have, because god seems eager to humble me at first sight of it.

So, we just got into grand canyon national park. It is really more vast and beautiful than I could even attempt to describe, let alone capture in a photograph. But no sooner than I was thinking "we've done it! We've arrived! Nobody thought we could make it this far with this many kids... But here we are, at the GRAND CANYON!" Harper completely fell apart. He pottied in his undies, cried and fussed. So tom took the girls to view the gorgeous canyon, while harper and I sit in the van. We both lost the privilege. He, for throwing a fit. And I, for good old fashioned pride.

So, we are nearing the end of the trip and while I have loved almost every minute... I won't bother saying how brilliant things are going. Because just as soon as I do that, I will slip while we are hiking and will get propelled off the highest cliff at the grand canyon, being humbled by my imminent death.

this is how we do it...

the two youngest are sleeping and the two oldest are squealing together with sheer delight in the back yard. oh, how i love having little ones that sleep well and bigger ones that can play independently for hours on end! this is vacation.

in reality though, this xc trip has seldom felt like actually vacating our lives. all the time we spent preparing (the itinerary, the meals, the destinations, the details) have resulted in a fun and smooth trip, but did not eliminate all the hard work.we have taken this opportunity to really focus on some character issues with each of the children, and have done our best to correct some of the attitudes and behaviors we saw creeping into their lives when we weren't as diligently focused. we have had to get up early and often get down late. we have driven thousands upon thousands of miles, many of which on roads so winding they made me want to throw up on my atlas. we have set up camp and tore it down countless times, most of the time within a twelve hour window. we have cooked or prepared meals on picnic tables, in the car, and sometimes even on the ground. we have done lots of dishes without once using a sink. it has not been a convenient vacating of our daily lives. in a way, it has sort of been like taking all our usual chores and forced us to do them (or at least a micro-version of them) on the road. it has been a lot of work.

so, why on earth am i loving it so much? perhaps it's because at home, a lot of those chores are left undone anyways, and heaps of guilt inevitably ensue. or maybe it is because i am energized by the activity level we have maintained, or maybe it is empowering just to see all that we are capable of as a family. i am not sure which... but, i think i would take this "vacation" over a typical one any day. it has been such an adventure.

we are over halfway through the trip at this point. we are in pauma valley, ca at uncle brandon and aunt shannon's house. the kids are loving it here, playing with their cousins and having a few days off of travel-mode. all the kids are playing so well together and it has been such a great time so far. brandon is on his way home from the airport right now, as he has actually been in new york for a mission trip! so, we are all excited to see him.

we will be leaving here on the 13th and heading toward the grand canyon. we have a lot left to see yet, and i am already starting to feel a little sad about the trip winding down. i have loved having our whole family spend uninterrupted time together, without any of the distractions of everyday life at home. i have loved watching the girls (especially) bond during this time, and, admittedly, i have loved having harper strapped down to a seat much of the day.

so, until we are back on the road... i am going to enjoy the little time we have left to just relax at bran and shan's, actually vacating. two kids sleeping and two kids playing. i'm one lucky gal.

our theme verse - Deuteronomy 1:29-33

hello all. it's tom - making a cameo on lara's blog. kim asked what our theme verse is for our trip. we're memorizing it together as a family. You have heard it mentioned in some of the previous posts. here it is:

God, your God, is leading the way; he's fighting for you. You saw with your own eyes what he did for you in Egypt; you saw what he did in the wilderness, how God, your God, carried you as a father carries his child, carried you the whole way until you arrived here. But now that you're here, you won't trust God, your God - this same God who goes ahead of you in your travels to scout out a place to pitch camp, a fire by night and a cloud by day to show you the way to go.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Day 13: salmon, slugs and cabana boys.

We arrived on the 3rd to visit our friends rick and christine in
newburg, oregon right outside of portland. We had so much fun with
them. "Uncle rick" spoiled the kids with pudding, donuts, candy,
chocolate milk (with sprinkles in it) and s'mores. I guess he was
testing the sincerity of my road-trip advice to break the rules. The
rules certainly went out the window, and everyone had a great time.
We go to see christine get baptized, meet some of their friends,
pastor and his wonderful family, and tom and I had the best coffee
we've ever had.

I love to see rick and christine together, and they are so great with
my kids. It makes me so excited to see them as parents, especially so
I can pay them back by indulging their kids with treats, late
bedtimes, and getting them all riled up right as they are getting
tucked in. They are great friends, generous hosts and the best
honorary aunt and uncle we could hope for.

From rick and christine's house, our next stop was crater lake. We
dragged rick and christine with us, and it was lovely... Good weather,
relaxing, a truly splendid evening. Oh wait, this is us we're talking
about, so of course it couldn't go that smoothely. In actuality, it
was arguably the worst possible night we've had yet. It was very
cold, but the real kicker was that there was a lot of melting
happening, so all the mosquitos on planet earth hatched the day we
arrived. It was brilliant timing.

Rick and christine posted some videos on their blog, which I am
supposed to share by inserting a "hyperlink" here. So, good luck
finding those videos.

From crater lake, we crossed the border of california and drove
straight to our campsite in the redwood national park. It was
unbelievable. We set up camp, then went for a hike. We didn't make it
far because we kept stopping to hug the gigantic redwood trees, take
pictures and climb on the root system of a hiuge downed redwood. It
felt like we were trapped in a jurassic park/honey I shrunk the kids
hybrid movie set. It was amazing.

We saw a five inch banana slug, which is apparently not too common,
and is rarely seen outside this area. we were fortunate not to see any
bear or mountain lions, which is apparently becoming more commonplace
here. We took great caution in cleaning out our van very well,
putting all food, chapstick, toiletries, etc. In the bear boxes. When
I asked the ranger if it was safer to keep things hidden in the back
of our car or in the bear boxes he said "oh. The bears can smash
through a car window very easily.". That was a comforting to know as
we set up our tent (significantly weaker than a easily-smashed window)
and piled in our four delicious kids.

This morning, we packed up and drove to klamath overlook, stopping for
some local native american smoked salmon on the way. We just arrived
at the overlook, where the klamath river and the pacific ocean meet.
it was very exciting to reach the pacific ocean! We really made it to
the west coast! We are supposed to be whale-watching, but so far we
are just whale-looking.

Highlights at-a-glance:
-we have driven almost 5,000 miles and through 16 states. (Since this
is day 13, we are averaging more than a state a day.)
-christine and I figured out our future plans which include she and I
running multiple empires that are highly lucrative, allowing tom and
rick to retire and be our cabana boys.
-watching the kids finally reach the "specific ocean!"
-hearing harper sing "ohh ohh ohh ah ohhh, ladies first!" (Sung loudly
and to the tune of "hangin' tough" by the new kids on the blcok.)
-watching marlie "gaggle" at the smell of smoked salmon.
-watching all three kids eat the smoked salmon and like it (marlie included.)
-seeing lots of different animals, but not getting eaten by any of them.
-watching the kids recite our theme bible verse for the trip, not just
when we talk about it... But when it's actually applicable.
-seeing the Big Tree Wayside (formerly the tallest tree, until the top
blew off, leaving just the trunk... Which is 22 feet in diameter. We
haven't actually done this, but it's our next stop and it sounds
highlight-worthy.)
-harper yelling "geyser!" and pointing to anything that might be
mistaken for a geyser. (Including fog or sprinklers.)
-seeing christine get baptized... Or "bathtized" as marlie said.
-hearing the kids talk about what we should do "on our next cross-country trip."
-having the best coffee I've ever had. (Organic spicy mexican mocha... Mmmm.)
-meeting Joaquin Pheonix. I think. Maybe. (He had sunglasses on, but
we talked for a while. It was definitely him.) (Maybe.)

@laracapuano