Week 26. Can you guess where the first day of week 26 began? Yes, folks, if you guessed the car, you'd be right once again! I mean, why stay home if you have a mini-van with a DVD player and AC and can travel, right?
But this trip seemed so much easier than any of the others. It was only a 3 1/2 hour drive, and we would be spending a few days on the lake with Tim and a bunch of high schoolers. Packing was easy; shorts, Tshirts, sandals, swimsuits, and towels for everyone and we were good to go! After all the packing I have done this summer, I think this trip's packing time might have totaled 30 minutes. As my kids would say, "Easy Peasy!"
The only thing that was different about this trip was that I was driving solo (as in solo adult) with the 3 kids. I think that might have been my first road trip with the 3 of them by myself. Turns out it was a lot of fun. Except for the part where I picked the last Starbucks in the metropolitan area to stop. Which turned out to be several miles off the interstate, with no drive through, so that when I finally found the needle in the haystack, I didn't even come away with the much anticipated "needle" because the kids had all already fallen asleep and I couldn't leave them in the car for a cup of coffee. No matter how needed it seemed. (And before you cast judgement, even if it seemed needed, it was still just a cup of decaf I was after!)
And let me tell you, there is not one single Starbucks between Brighton, CO and Ogalalla, NE. Not one. I was doubtful, but I tried to keep my hopes up. Lesson learned.
Other than that, the few days at the lake were spectacular. We had a great few days of family bonding- minus Tim! Me and the kids all stayed in one small mobile home. It had one bedroom, with bunk beds and a queen bed and just about a foot of walk space between the two. This is where Sophia, Noah and I slept. Phoebe slept in the super small living room, in her pack n play, behind the couch! Amazingly enough, it worked out well. And after preparing food for all the high schoolers, I even got a chance to kick back and watch some cable TV at the end of the days! (After Phoebe would fall asleep, I'd veg out on the couch in front of her watching Food Network. Somehow, she would sleep through it all.)
I earned my keep during the days by cooking for the high schoolers. It worked out fairly well in that Sophia & Noah were actually able to ride the boat while I was prepping the meals. Phoebe would stay with me and scrounge scraps while I cooked. This wasn't entirely planned, but it worked out well so that I felt like I was doing more than just tagging along on this trip.
I was so thankful to be with Tim, in any fashion at all, and see what the "Lake Trip" experience was all about. Although I never left the shore of the lake. And since the water was ridiculously high, and the beach was taken over by trees, I never even got a good view of the lake. Tim laughed when we got home and I asked, "How was the lake?"
As I've said previously, I've never been one to use pregnancy as an excuse to slow me down. But with as choppy as the water was reported to be, and as bumpy as the boat rides supposedly were, I never stepped foot on the boat. No boating, tubing, skiing, or anything "fun" for me this time. And I learned something that kinda surprised me. I really enjoy boating and water sports more than I knew. I was truly disappointed to have missed out. I've only started water skiing in the last few years and since I only get the opportunity once or twice a year, I didn't realize how much I've come to look forward to it.
Although, I felt especially reaffirmed in the wisdom of the decision to stay off the water when one friend told me that is how she found herself on bedrest for 3 months with her fourth son! Yikes. I have no idea how we would survive if I were put on bedrest.
Again, though, I felt like this trip took a toll on my body. Hiking back and forth all over the campground, from the beach, to our cabin, to the main house where all the food was, pushing the stroller the whole uphill way, I got my workouts in. Not to mention standing on my feet for hours boiling countless cauldrons of spaghetti noodles and grilling brats over our fire of Hades grill. The meals weren't complicated, but cooking for many teenage boys who have been in the sun and on the water all day long requires Costco to the millionth degree size portions of everything! When I was lucky, there were crumbs left for me at the end of the meal!
All in all, it was one of my favorite trips of the summer, and I was so glad it worked out for us to go. And I was so glad to be home at the end of it! With no more traveling in our foreseeable future!
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