What we did with a week off from seminary...

Hannah and Spencer came home from seminary one morning and said they were going to have a week long break.  I started thinking that we should use this break for a family trip.  I threw the idea around for a few days.  Then Monday morning I woke up and decided that we should go for it.  I dropped the kids off at seminary at 5:30 a.m. then instead of waiting for them to finish I ran back home and started getting ready. Most people would start with hotel reservations, I started with baking.  First bread and rolls, then muffins and cookies.  Finally, chex mix and hard boiled eggs.  I broke speed records.  I had all this done by 10:00 a.m. Then I made the kids lunch.  I figured that we needed to be on the road before noon.  But I still didn't feel good about leaving.  So I told the kids to play, while Spencer and I went and spent a few hours doing yard work for an older sister in the ward.  When we got home I felt that we could go.  Hannah, Spencer and I made a mad dash to Jacksonville to buy warm clothes for Spencer and some camping gear.   So we had dinner, FHE and an early bed.  

   The next morning I was up super early making a pot of chili and a pot of noodles.  Then I started to pack.  I grabbed clothes and blankets, food and kitchen supplies, camping gear and coats.  Katie vaccumed the truck.  Spencer washed the truck.  Hannah cleaned the house from top to bottom.   Everyone had their own back packs that they had packed with toys. We were so excited to be going on a trip. Once I had the bags packed and Spencer started loading the truck, I sat down at the computer to plan where we were going.  The printer was out of ink so I had to copy out all the directions by hand.  We were an amazing team.  We pulled out of the driveway at 10:00 a.m.   

 Spencer had the kids sit in their seats and he packed around them.  Every inch of the truck was full of gear, blankets, and food.

The drive north was absolutely stunning.  The trees were brilliant reds, yellows, and golds.  Spencer drove the first 5 hours, so I was able to enjoy the colors.  

I loved the reds.  This was the perfect day for traveling.  I drove the last hour.  Spencer was upset when I kicked him out of the driver seat.  I was just unsure of his driving abilities to handle the beltway during rush hour traffic.  We arrived in Greenbelt Park, Maryland just as the sun was setting.  The park was beautiful and quiet, and right in the middle of the city.  We laughed at the Marriott across from the park entrance.  Our first evening in camp was dark so these are pictures from other nights.  Spencer and Gavin set up our tents.  By the second evening Katie had mastered the cook stove.  She was a determined camper and would have the stove out and set up, then light the burner and get water heated up before I could get the food out of the cooler.  

The propane stove heated up food much faster than I expected.   Food in the big pot was hot just minutes after the burner was lit.  On the baking pan we made ham slices or quesadillas. They would burn in just a few seconds.  We were so cold we were just grateful for hot food.  Everything tasted great.  Nothing went to waste.

This picture is here because it shows Spencer and Katie working together at the stove.  They both wanted to be in-charge of cooking. Gavin cooked one of the meals for us.

Braden didn't seem to like camping.  He would often say, "I want to go home." He couldn't make any sense of what we were doing.  We drove for hours to sit outside in the freezing cold.  He wanted his warm house, his cozy bed, and all his toys.  This frisbee and a handful of hotwheels were the only toys we thought to bring.  His back pack never made it into the truck.

 Our first morning we woke up early.  Hannah and Mom braved the chilly air, icy water, and no electric bathroom to take a shower.  We hung our flashlight from a nail on the wall and enjoyed roughing it.  When we were clean and dressed we felt great.  We left the camp ground at nine.  We expected a 20 minute drive to the National Zoo.  Spencer was behind the wheel and mom was navigating,  the directions seemed pretty simple.  But the second turn in our directions didn't exist.  We quickly turned into a gas station and mom ran inside to ask about the missing highway.  I ran back out and declared, "The man gave me the directions.  They seem easy.  Only problem is that he gave them to me in Indian and I didn't understand a word he said."  I understood that our missing highway was two lights up and turn right.  We followed along and the the third turn appeared as expected so we figured we were on the right path.  But the fourth turn never appeared.  We were on 14th street heading right into Waashington D.C.  The city was beautiful.  We loved the sights, the buildings, and all the people rushing to work.  We kept looking for the next turn. We drove past the Smithsonians, past the Washington Monument, across a bridge and past the pentagon...then  the road we were on ended.  We stayed to the right as one highway melted into another highway and then another until I could no longer recall the path back into the city.  I gave up.  I had no idea where we were or where to go.  So Spencer took over.  He finally made a lucky right turn that allowed him to get back on the highway we had been on, just in the other direction.  One highway after another he found his way back past the pentagon, over the bridge and into the city.  We pulled up in front of a smithsonian, I jumped out and ran to one of the security guards.  I declared that we were hopelessly lost and needed directions to the Zoo.  She laughed.  Not a kind laugh.  A laugh of, your crazy,  the zoo isn't any where near here.  She said, "Get on 16th street and go straight for a long time and the road will end at the zoo."    Well, that sounded easy.  We knew 16th street.  We had made so many turn arounds from 14th street we felt like we knew the whole city.  We went along 16th for a very long time.  When we crossed into Maryland, I had a suspicion we were lost again.  Again we stopped at a gas station.  The man said the same thing. "Go back on 16th street.  You can't miss the zoo, it has a big sign."  Well, we missed it again.  Finally, We saw a little sign that said, "Zoo bus route."  We followed this route as it zig zagged up and down different streets,  but then we finally saw a Zoo sign.  Not a big sign, not a bright sign, but a sign. And it wasn't on 16th street or any other street from our directions.    We made our 100th u-turn of the morning, weaved our way back to the "sign" and pulled into the entrance.  The first two parking lots were full...but the third one was empty.  We cheered and shouted.  We pulled on our sneakers and back packs and exploded out of the truck.  We were so excited to be at the zoo.  Our 20 minute drive had taken 3 hours.   So instead of arriving at 9:30 we got there at 12:00.  Instead of 6 hours at the zoo now we only had three.  Katie loved the maps.  I think they were her favorite park of the zoo.

 The tigers and lions were our first exhibit.  Two tigers in the first cage.

 Braden was excited.  Maybe there was going to be a point to this trip after all.  He loved counting the six lions, 5 females and 1 male.  The male had a great mane.  He could have watched them roam around their cage all day.

 David loved this turtle.  His face does not reflect his excitement.  He was adament that I get his picture with this turtle.

 We watched a training session with the seals and sea lions.

 Hannah enjoyed the Kapok tree.  She remembered being in a play about this tree when she was in first grade.

 The kids sat on a statue of two wrestling bears.  I think I have a picture of Jessica and Emily sitting on this bear when they were little girls.  We left the zoo at 3:30.  It was starting to get cold, and the sun would set soon.  We made it home in 20 minutes.  We didn't take the 14th or 16th street.  We just zipped up the 495 beltway. At least the directions were right this time.  (For every trip, the going and returning directions were always different.  Spencer thought that he heard that Google was trying to mix up routes to ease congestion on crowded roads. Well, I would rather be on a crowded road than on the wrong road!!!)

The second night was a bit colder than the first.  Instead of braving a cold shower, I heated water up on the camp stove, poured it in a bucket and brought it to the shower with me.  We also brought up our propane heater.   I have never done a sponge bath before, but the hot water was really nice.  By the time were done the bathroom was steamy warm.  Another camper came in amazed at what we had done.   For the second days adventure we were headed to the Smithsonians.  This time we drove two miles from the camp ground to the Metro station.  With a little help from a worker we purchased our tickets for $60 dollars.  The round trip ticket price was $10 a piece, Braden was free.  We all agreed that we didn't want to get lost again.  We noted that we did know how to get to the Smithsonians, but we had no idea where to park when we got there.  So we held our breath and headed up to the platform.  The announcer was mumbling something over the loud speaker about trains not working.  But it was undecipherable.  So we ignored it and got on the next train that pulled up.  Everyone took a seat by a window. The kids loved reading off the names of each station as we pulled in.  They loved the tunnels, and the scenery.   20 minutes later we were off the train and climbing the stairs out of the underground metro station in the middle of D.C.  We carefully remembered where this particular station was so that we could come back at the end of the day, then we headed two blocks to the Smithsonian.

We came up on the back of the air and space museum.  All the kids wanted to go to the Natural History museum, but it was very cold and windy now and that museum was far away. 

  So everyone quickly agreed to the Air and Space.  Inside we broke into two groups.  I never did find out what the boys did.  The girls and Braden tried to follow a tour guide but he didn't capture Braden's attention.  I saw a poster for a storytime.  So we hit that.  I over heard a school group mention a paper airplane contest, so we hit that.  The kids loved it.  We ran through the exhibits, but didn't read much.  I lost Braden a few times.  Luckily I always found him.  I think he was trying to lose me on purpose.  Do you see the bottle of water in Braden's hand?  He figured out that if the cap was screwed on just a little crooked, he could suck on it and get water out without having to take the lid off.  He drank through this bottle of water twice this day.  Needless to say we were in the bathroom at least 6 times in just this one building.

 When we finally met up with the boys, we went outside to sit on the mall and eat our lunches.  After we ate I declared that we were going to walk over to the Washington Monument.  From the fussing, one would have that that i had said that we were walking to the moon.  But I was determined.  I admit it was a long walk and it was pretty cold.  Braden walked most of the way, still holding his water bottle.  In this picture he had finally hitched a ride and fell right to sleep.

 Just by chance I went over to the little building that gives out the tickets.  The sign said they still had tickets for the 1:30, 2:30, 3:00, and 3:30 tours.   I checked the time, 1:32.  We had just missed it.  I couldn't see the kids waiting for a later tour.  But just to see, I walked up to the window and asked if it was too late for the 1:30 tour.  30 seconds later we had our 7 tickets in our hand and we were charging up the hill to the monument.

 We were in line.  we were going to go to the top of the Washington Monument and we were excited.  We waited and waited.  The line had 50 people in it.  Every 5 minutes they take a group of 8 people up the elevator to the top.  We waited and waited.  Finally we got into the base of the monument, through security...

 and then we waited some more to get on the elevator.

 We spent some time with George while we waited.  Every bit of information about George that we read, the kids already knew.  I think they liked that.  Braden added that George wore glasses, the statue didn't have glasses.  He liked knowing who George was.

 It was exhilarating to be at the top and look out the little windows.  Above each window was a map that labeled all the important buildings that you could see out the window.  The kids liked matching the map with the real buildings in the window.  This is the reflecting pool and the Lincoln memorial

 The white house.  We could even see the Christmas tree on the front lawn

 The capital building.

 The Jefferson Memorial

 The Jefferson Memorial and the tide pool and the Potomac River.

 Truman's looking out the Window. Gavin enjoyed being at the top a lot more than he thought he would.  Once you were inside you could stay as long as you wanted.  We stayed as long as I dared, knowing that there was no bathroom in it.

 We walked down a few steps and waited for the elevator to take us down.

 I really wanted to walk all the way to the Lincoln Memorial, but it was already 3:00.  So we walked back down the mall toward the Metro.  This time everyone was excited.  Everyone had liked the Washington Monument.  The boys really wanted a ride on the Carousel.  I should have let them.

 Our third night at the campsite was even colder.  We arrived just as the sun was setting.  We made a fabulous dinner and sat down to eat just as it started to rain.  But it was just a sprinkle so we hoped for the best.  The kids ran off to brush teeth and get in their beds as I finished the dishes in the rain.  I didn't try to dry the dishes and put them away, it was raining to hard now.  I just made sure everything was clean, then left them all out on the table.  The first two night we hadn't needed the tent heater, tonight we did.  The boys were sound asleep before I had even gotten into the tent.  I lit the heater, which was very warm, and then read to Katie and Braden.  Then while the two of them played, Hannah and I tried to crochet a little.  About 7:30 we finally drifted to sleep.  The rain got heavier as the night went on.  Through out the night I would check on each bundle of blankets to make sure they were still dry.  A few puddles formed in the corners of the tent.  Braden's pillow was sopping wet.  We all slept very close together and the heater was definitely warm.  The tent zipper was broken.  I found some hair pins and clasped the zippers together in a few spots.  Around midnight the rain stopped and the wind began to howl.  I hoped the wind would dry everything by morning.  Twice each night I would take different kids to the bathroom.  Because the campsite was in the middle of the city, we didn't need flashlights.  The glow of the city around us lit up all the paths.  When we woke in the morning we found that our campsite was covered in ice.  The table cloth was stiff, the dishes, pots, the little tent all had ice. The little tent held our gear.   Our big tent was warmer.   We ate breakfast in the big tent gathered around the heater.  The kids played in the tent while Hannah and I showered.  But this morning the electricity had magically come on and the water in the shower was hot!!  The boys ran back and forth fro the tent to the bathroom.  They figured out quickly that the bathroom was warm also.  They would run from the tent to the bathroom and back and forth.  It kept them entertained while I packed the gear.  This whole time we hadn't lit any camp fires.  We didn't want to get smoky.  Spencer picked up a little glass jar that I had used to hold a candle while I cooked dinner each night.  Then he found some used matches.  He was fixated with this little jar and a candle.  The chair is being used as a wind block to keep his candle lit.  Finally the candle was all used up, and I had all the gear packed.  Spencer and Gavin packed the truck.

  Then by 9:00 we were on the road.  I still wasn't sure if we were going north to Grandma's or home.  All the kids voted for Grandma's.  I realized I only had directions to grandma's, not back home, so north we went.  As the sun came up none of the ice melted.  We had to brush the ice off all the kitchen gear so I could pack it.  As we drove north the sides of the road were dusted in snow.  Snow fell here and there.  At rest stops for Braden's potty breaks I would grab handfuls of snow and pass it into the boys in the truck.  Katie was the only one who wanted to get out at each stop.

As we drove into Pennsylvania the hills got steeper and the truck started to smoke a little.  But just a little.  The further we drove the more smoke was coming out of the exhaust.  None of the exits looked like they had towns so we just kept driving.  Finally we found a town.  We pulled off and into the parking lot of a diesel truck tow shop.  They only did big trucks but they directed me into town to another fix it shop.  They only did tires.  He directed us back to another place.  The truck is smoking more now.  He said to bring the kids into the waiting area and he would look at it.  He said it was empty on oil.  So he topped it off, said he didn't fix engines just the electrical parts of the engine.  He told  us how to get to the next town 7 miles away that had a car rental place.  Now the truck is billowing white clouds.  People run from the street corners as we approach.  Everyone stares at us like we are crazy.  None of the directions that we had been given had street names.  We were just turning at the 7th street light, looking for the pizza hut, going up the big hill, looking for the big red building.  I had a few notes on the back of a business card, but mostly it was from what I could remember.  Me, remember directions, that was a laugh.  But some how we pulled up in front of Ed's rentals.  It was cold.  The sun was setting.  They were really busy.  This little town tucked into the hills, and everyone wanted a rental car on Friday evening.  They had one car with more than 5 seat belts.  But I could tell they didn't want to rent it out,  not to a complete stranger from out of town.  They asked me half a dozen times if I was just going to stay in town with it.  Yes, I said. I just need to get to a hotel.  They called the insurance company to make sure I really had insurance.  They were surprised when my coverage was good for a large suv.  They checked the credit card to make sure I could pay for it.  Even through all their checking they were polite and understanding of our predicament.
Finally, we get the rental car.  I transfer all the kids from the cold truck into the warm rental.  We race back to the Ford dealer to see if they can fix the truck.  It is 5:50 now and the whole town is about to shut down in 10 minutes.  The service department says I can have the truck towed to the Ford dealership.  So I call the insurance and arrange for a tow truck.  It is now 6:10, the service man directs us to a hotel.  We stop at the pizza hut.  The kids have been sitting in the truck since 9:00 that morning, they are starving to death, but amazingly understanding of our awful condition.  Two hot pizzas and the kids are happy again.  We pile into the rented GMC Yukon.  It is white on the outside and shiny black leather on the inside.  The first hotel appears to be not up to par.  So we go back to the truck and get our clothes and put the keys in it for the tow truck man.  He won't be able to come for a few hours so he said not to wait around.  We head back to the other part of town to a newer hotel.

It is cold and snowing and dark.  The lady at the front desk won't let me have all the kids in one room so she makes me pay for two rooms.  I think there is only ten rooms rented out of all three floors.  But it is clean and it smells nice.  Spencer finds BYU-TV and watches the end of a game while I start laundry and getting kids through the showers.  By 9:00 ever one is asleep.  They all look so angelic with their scrubbed faces and combed hair, tucked into clean beds.  Spencer and Braden in one bed, David and Gavin in the other.  In the adjoining room Hannah, Katie, and Mom are in the king bed.

Mom wishes they were still camping.  Mom is up all night on the internet trying to figure out what to do.  I searched the internet for a van to buy and trade the broken down truck.  There are only two vans in the town for sale.  There are no other rental vehicles big enough except the one we have.   I find a better hotel for a cheaper price, up the highway at the next exit.  I finally fall into bed.  The next morning, we do more laundry.  David is so hungry by the time he gets to the breakfast he eats for an hour and a half.  He eats everything: eggs, sausage, cinnamon roll, apple, bagel, yogurt, cereal,  juice, water.  He is very happy.  At eleven we have to leave our room.  We sit in the breakfast area waiting for the laundry to dry.  I call USAA and get approved for an auto loan  By 12 the laundry is just not dry but we take it and leave anyway.  We go to the dealer.  The salesman tries to sell me the only vehicle on the lot with more than 5 seatbelts.  It is a 2013 expedition, black and gold.  He makes me fill in all the paper work to apply for a loan, even though I already have one from my own bank.  Then he does paperwork to get an appraisal on the truck.  He is very slow.  Spencer and Hannah and Gavin are meanwhile transferring all of our camping gear from the truck into the rental.  It is cold and they struggle but they keep sorting and packing.  The three little kids are in with me sitting on my lap and looking at the cars in the showroom.  David gets a Mustang poster from one of the salesmen.  Finally, at 2:00 he brings the expedition up so I can look at it.  The kids pile in and we take it for a drive.  Spencer likes it.  I don't.  It drives really rough compared to the yukon that we are renting.  Both of them are 2013 and both are worth $34,000.  The expedition feels almost as old as the Excursion.  The Yukon feels modern. The manager will only give us $4500 for the excursion on a trade in.   I tell the salesman no thank you.  We finish packing up the rental.  Say an almost tearful good bye to the truck and drive away.

Poor David is starving again.  I stop at the McDonalds.  I buy hamburgers and fries for everyone.  Then we start the long drive to Uncle Jared's.  The kids are great. The Yukon is not quite as big as the excursion.  So all the camping gear is even tighter around them.  The Yukon doesn't have a DVD player so they are a little board.  Finally we bring out the computer.  The battery is good for one Jane Austin Movie.  Then it goes dead.  About 7:30 we pull into Fredericksburg and have dinner at Wendy's.  Spencer has been very patient as I deal with our life falling apart.  So he says that he will buy dinner for the family.  I thought he was just joking, I smiled and said that it was nice of him to offer.  But he really pulled out his wallet and paid.  He made me proud, that he wanted to help with what he could.  Then I realized that he wasn't even eating.  He had been sitting in the back of the yukon and was car sick.  He only ordered a water for himself.  The teenager that took our order was new at his job.  He got almost the whole order wrong.  When we sat down at the table and tried to figure out whose food was whose, The little kids refused to eat their hamburgers with onions and mustard.  Gavin decided that he was hungry and dived in mustard and all.  Spencer ended up helping him out.  Hannah and my Chili was missing completely.  I was going to go back up to the counter to return the four burgers and ask for the chili.  Spencer didn't want me to. He said we could make do.I looked at the poor kid who didn't speak much English and decided to wait until all the food we did have was gone, then get more if we needed it.  We ended up being okay.  Hannah and I  only had a small salad so I think she was hungry but I was to nervous to eat.

About 9:30 we pulled into the cousins.  Everyone was happy.  we visited for an hour than fell into our blankets on the floor.

Sunday morning we went to church with Dianne.  It was a very nice service.  The kids played all day.  We played board games and took a long walk.   Monday Morning we drove home.  We pulled into the driveway about 3:00.  The house smelled so clean.  We were all so happy to be home.  The service man called and said the truck probably isn't as bad as they thought.  It might be fixed in a few days!!