Today is our last day at Carrie’s house. We’ve been living large for the past 10 days and it is time to hit the road again. The girls are sad that they have to leave their buddy. “We just got here!”, they screamed. We told them that Carrie will join us for a few more days on the road but they know that this part of our trip is coming to an end.
Today is Halloween and we have a full schedule so we started the day off right with breakfast… at breakfast time. I know! It was a miracle that we were up and eating out before lunchtime. Probably because we left Dan at home, still snoring away after a late night of working. Carrie took us to a Louisville staple, Wagner’s Pharmacy.
Last week was Ava’s official “fall break” so we didn’t have to do any homeschooling. You would think that it make this little kindergartener happy. Far from it. She insisted on doing school work during her fall break like a good little nerd. I think she is doing great so far with her learning. We are even completing some first grade level workbooks. Man, this kid loves to answer story problems. Her biggest issues so far are writing some numbers and letter backwards and confusing the little ‘b’ with the little ‘d’.
So a day of rest did nothing for my sore throat. But I did get some rest. Luka took a lot of naps with me yesterday. So much so that I thought his nighttime sleep might be screwed up because of it. But oh no, he slept thru the night. Thank you, Luka! Kids are funny. A crappy day of sleep leads to a crappy night of sleep. And opposite is true too. At least for my kids.
Since a day of rest didn’t do the trick, I thought I would drown myself in a huge bowl of pho instead. The restaurant might have been in a sketchier part of town and I might have seen a drug deal go down in front of it, but is was pretty darn good.
Today was spent all in day in our pajamas. Every single one of us. Well, not the dogs but I’m sure they would have if they could. Today is my fourth day with a sore throat and I am throwing in the towel.
It was strange to wake up and wrangle the kids into another room. Into another room with a door! There is a door separating us from them. Halleluiah!! Haha. I sound like Ma Ingalls. But seriously, it was a bit strange. We have been living in a small confined space since we left California back on July 28th, three months ago. Don’t get me wrong, I love living in the Airstream. But having a door is a nice change of pace for a few days.
A lot of people ask us how we manage three kids in such a small space. And I am not ashamed to admit this. They watch TV. Especially in the mornings when things need to get done. And what do they watch? Well, the girls both need to agree on what to watch. If they do not agree, then no TV. That is that. Mila is currently in love with all things Toy Story and Ava prefers Looney Tunes.
And the reason why I am not ashamed is because the kids get to explore the country. City by city. State by state. They walk, run, skip and whine their way across America. And it is exhausting at times, for all of us. So a little downtime is necessary, especially for the grown-ups. The thing I really miss on this trip is having babysitters. We get no break. No, I am not whining. Just telling it like it is. So, for some peace and quiet, the TV works while we are in the Airstream.
And how do I get some peace and quiet from Luka? Haha, good one!
On the 1st day of our cross country journey, we were drenched in sweat as we crossed the Nevada desert. And on the 70th day of our cross country journey, we crunched the crisp leaves that had fallen from the trees surrounding our Airstream. Or as Mila our 3 year old jokingly calls it, our “car house”.
Last night we drove from Chippewa Falls to Wausau, Wisconsin. Don’t worry, people. Dan did not drink and drive after our day at Leinenkugel’s. Nor did he accidentally hitch up their beer-stream instead of ours. Good job, Dan!
Today we are once again going to stay put at our campground. Four full days of travel kind of kicked us in the you-know-what. So we are going to do our best to avoid getting in our van today. Challenge accepted!
We started off our day with a little homeschooling lesson about geodes. Back at the museum in Deadwood, we bought some geodes for the girls and they have been begging for us to crack them open ever since the gift shop lady handed us the receipt. Not at all annoying, kids. Not. At. All.
Today was another day full of sight-seeing and driving. No relaxation for us. And how could we pretend that there was nothing to see today when we were reminded about our first destination… over and over and OVER again. Yup, good ol’ Wall Drug.
Dear Mila,
Today was your 3rd birthday.
You went to sleep the night before as a 2 year old, living in an blue and white striped Airstream… and you woke up as a 3 year old in a pink princess explosion Airstream. In the morning, the first thing you screamed out (since your volume control is broken) is that there were two balloons everywhere. You say two for anything greater than one. It’s cute to us but now that I am typing it out, maybe we should start correcting your vocabulary. Nah! And we weren’t playing a practical joke on you with that huge gaucho pillow wedged next to you on the floor. It’s actually there every night so you don’t hurt yourself on Ava’s bed in the middle of the night.
