Amy Scott's Thoughts

Steam Train Ride, Father’s Day, Moving Party June 26, 2016

Filed under: Family Time,Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 10:19 pm

Here are some brief highlights from our last week or so. Last Saturday, we took a steam train ride to celebrate my mom’s birthday and father’s day. Our little train lover enjoyed the ride, but I think it might have been overwhelming to him at times. Lots of sights and sounds to take in. After the steam train ride, we enjoyed dinner at our local Chinese restaurant. Owen plowed through a ton of fried rice. I’m not sure who enjoyed themselves more, Owen or my parents (who the day was celebrating).

For Father’s Day, we went over to Jeremy’s parent’s house and enjoyed some yummy BBQ steaks. It was a low key fun day. My gift to Jeremy this year was 18 holes of golf. I don’t love that golf is a 4 hour sporting event that leaves me home alone with the kids, so this gift seemed sacrificial and something I knew Jeremy would enjoy. He doesn’t get to golf nearly as much as he would like. Jeremy paid the gift forward and said he would take his dad out golfing for Father’s Day. My joke was Owen and Graham could join them and complete the foursome. That would be a win for all! Okay, the kiddos might detract from the golf game, but we can chalk it up to memory making, right?

Friday was a family day for us. We went down to the Portland area for yummy food and shopping. We started our day with breakfast at Chick-fil-A. YUM! We’ve been working on updating Owen’s wardrobe since he is growing and wearing things out. He got some new jammies and some new shoes. Lunch was at the Corner Bakery Cafe. When we visited Chicago, we ate there numerous times and it was a fun memory. The chain has made its way to the northwest now. The meal was tasty and we took home a bag of monster cookie bites to keep the yummy going!

This weekend has been a busy one as well. Yesterday, we moved my parent’s out of their home and into their new rental. I’ve nicknamed it the “storental” since it’s a combination of storage and a rental house. It was a full day of moving. I’d like to say that I was involved… Pretty much my job is hang out with Graham while Owen helps the menfolk load and unload. It’s been fun to spend time with my family and be supportive of my parents as they embark on a new adventure.

Today, Jeremy and his family went golfing. Nana was watching cousins Nolan and Bennett. After nap time, I took the boys over to hang out with the cousins. It was nice for Owen to play with a buddy his own age. It certainly kept him busy and active. I love it when he plays hard. He really enjoyed himself. Nolan is one of his BFFs. They have such a fun relationship.

And that about sums up life for the time being… I’ll keep you posted on our many adventures! I’m thinking it might be time to give a shout out blog to Owen and all his quirkiness these days. And maybe we’ll even have some house news to share in the near future. Time will tell!!!

Steam Train Ride with the fam

Open wide!

Jeremy asked Owen to cut the Play Doh cake they created and Owen ran got the chain saw!

Father’s Day!

Graham is on the move!

First s’mores of the season with my Wednesday night girls

A yummy food day!

Moving Grandpa & Grandma

Graham eats dinosaurs for lunch. He is a growing boy!

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Graham – 8 month update June 19, 2016

Filed under: Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 10:26 pm

8 months!

Graham is officially 8 months old today. It’s been a big week for him. He started “crawling” this week. It’s a combo of regular crawling, army crawling, lunging, and rolling. The fact is he can get from point A to point B now. He seems to be happy with this development, but it tires him out quickly so in the end he still ends up cranky. Plus, he is over us bribing him to get the phone or Apple TV remote. He can only grab it so many times and then have it move across the room again before the game is no longer fun.

Before crawling, he learned to sit himself up from laying down. It seems like in the last two weeks, he keeps jumping forward in developments. We plan to lower his crib tomorrow night. He hasn’t pulled himself up on it yet, but we feel like at this rate, it’s only a matter of time. I’ve been impressed with Graham’s desire to move and be mobile. He has officially beaten Owen when it comes to the rolling and crawling timeline. Graham got crawling down a whole month and a half sooner than Owen. The one downside to Graham being mobile is Owen has gotten a bit rougher with him. My guess is Owen doesn’t like his brother being more like a big boy. He can grab toys and get into things. Owen has less control over what Graham can do. Owen will push Graham over now. He also tries to lay on Graham. It seems that Owen is beginning the “wrestle” with brother phase. Oh goodie. Poor Graham just can’t wrestle back. Yet. Owen has it coming. I’m sure.

While Graham is still toothless, he has made some progress with solid foods. Jeremy got him to eat some baby food yesterday. Graham has also tried more finger foods and small bites. Because he has no teeth, I haven’t been super brave with small foods. I was reading on Baby Center what 8-10 month olds can eat. I’m excited to expand his horizons beyond pureed foods. The last big milestone before the big birthday will be teeth (and most likely walking). Hopefully with teeth his appetite will grow. It would be nice to have his entire diet not rest on me. However, the rhyme is “food before one is just fun.” I realize that it’s okay if he isn’t a big eater for a while. It’s all good.

That’s the update for now. Graham is growing and changing quickly. He has experienced a lot of frustration over the last month, but I’m hoping that his crawling will lessen his angst. He has a new world to explore. He is a great kiddo and certainly adds much love and excitement to our lives.

Birthday brunch with Grandma

Proud of himself for sitting up on his own

Steam train ride! More about that in my next post!

Happy mess maker

Those eyes! That face!

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Breezing Through June June 14, 2016

Filed under: Family Time,Parenthood,Selling, Building, Moving,Simply Me,Women in Ministry — Amy Scott @ 6:31 pm

As always, we are a busy bunch. It’s hard to capture the true level of crazy which is our everyday lives in words. The days often seem long and the nights go by too quickly. I am a tired mama. I love my boys and I enjoy our life, but I would really love more sleep. I’m sure I am not alone in that feeling.

June has been full of activity. We have celebrated three family birthdays so far. My sister and I went to see Me Before You on Friday (I read the book so naturally I wanted to see the movie. Both are equally sad). We have Father’s day quickly approaching. As well as a few graduation parties. There is a lot to celebrate in June.

The month started off hot. Our heat wave meant we celebrated my nephews’ birthdays at the Oregon Zoo in 100 degree weather. The last time we were there it was January 1st and 18 degrees. We apparently like to visit the zoo in extreme temperatures. I’m not a fan of the heat, but overall it was a fun day with family. It is certainly a day we will remember!

We’ve spent the last two weekends moving my parents into their new rental and storage unit. The first weekend was very hot and the second weekend was rainy. Lots of extremes just a week a part. Moving my parents is the beginning of the adventure ahead of us all. We are still on the search for the property of our dreams. Our house has still yet to sell. Lots still to do and look forward to. I realize that this process is going to be a bit longer than I anticipated, but that’s okay. I’m enjoying each moment in our current home. As I look around Graham’s nursery, I’m glad to spend more time in it. I know that by the time we move into our new home his nursery days will be over. We’ve been playing in the yard, going on walks and enjoying what time we have left at Moonlit Lane. I have no clue how long we will be here, but I am determined to enjoy it for what it is worth. This has been a good home to us.

This weekend we celebrated my mom’s birthday. The boys and I went to brunch with my parents after church on Sunday. The whole family gathered later that evening for pie. I’m a big fan of using the number exact candles as the birthday person’s age. Jeremy was concerned about damaging the pies with candles all over. We used a rubber band to secure the candles together. This candle brick put off quite an impressive flame.

I always wrestle when writing this blog. Part of me wants to gloss over life and present a happy picture. I want you all to think that I live a peachy existence. Life is truly good. But… there are difficult moments everyday. This mom life is not for the faint of heart. On Sunday as I was getting the boys ready for church, I knelt down on the ground to get Owen dressed and when I got up I realized my knee was wet with dog pee from the night before. I could smell the problem before bed, but couldn’t locate the issue… Well, my knee discovered it! Then Owen dropped Lamby in the toilet. Good thing Lamby has a twin that is is hidden in our home for moments like this. I made a quick Lamby swap and calmed the distraught toddler. Then there are afternoons like today where I assume both boys have napped and been fed, they should be able to play with toys while I take a few minutes to blog. However, if they are awake they seem to demand 110% of my direct focus. Owen had a place mat full of food that he requested himself and yet he is crying and opening the fridge and begging for something else. Owen’s crying upsets Graham and suddenly I have two kiddos in the midst of meltdowns… This is life. Everyday. We have good days, but even the good days are full of moments of frustration and insanity. It blows my mind that life can be so good and so hard at the same time.

We had our last official MOPS meeting for the school year last Tuesday. We announced next year’s theme with a video. The theme is Starry Eyed and in the video it talks about how we are both light and dark. And I’m feeling that these days. Light and dark. Good moments and hard moments. Life is both. God is in both. The starry eyed theme is a call to wonder and to see God in all the moments. I can relate to this. I’m sure that is why they picked it as the theme for a mom’s group.

Okay, the relative peace that I was able to recapture so I could finish this post is fading. I’m off to wrestle with the natives. Pray that I survive! They are adorable and fierce!

PS… I finished this blog about 4:00pm… I am posting it much later than 4:00pm… Mostly because the chaos level was quite high in our home so my husband just drove off in a van full of crying children so I could have a few moments peace. God bless him!

Enjoying a hot day at the Oregon Zoo and celebrating Carson and Bennett!

Cooling off in the yard

Documenting the last MOPS meeting! Here I am with my dedicated attenders, Leanna and Marielle! Missing Kim, Kate and Johnna. I love being a table leader! MOPS is the best!

Owen enjoying his prize from MOPS for being potty trained! He loved his sucker and Play Doh.

It was pouring rain when April and I left the theater on Friday. My feet were already wet so when April mentioned the big puddle ahead I thought it was no big deal. Turns out it was extremely deep. My feet were soaked the whole ride home!

Costco run

Owen supervising the moving process from Grandma & Grandpa’s lawn mower

Birthday brunch with my mom

The impressive flame from Mom’s candle brick

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Hello June! June 3, 2016

Filed under: Family Time,Selling, Building, Moving,Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 2:31 pm

It’s hard to believe that it’s June! May went by in a blink! Here are the cliff notes on our life…

The house is still for sale. I’ve stopped cleaning it. I was driving myself crazy trying to keep our house spotless at all times. I’m back to my normal cleaning schedule and I’ll do a rush cleaning job if we have a showing. The showings have been few and far between so I’ll take my chances.

Graham is close to crawling. He is currently doing a combo of army crawling and rolling to get where he wants. He never sits still. He can’t be content to sit and play with toys. He has to be always moving. It’s exciting and annoying. I sometimes wish he would just be chill and relax.

Owen is doing awesome in the potty training department. He has been wearing real underwear with no accidents. We have even taken him out on errands in real underwear. He is even dry for naps and in the morning when he wakes up. The big downside to potty training is now Owen wakes up super early having to pee. He doesn’t go back to sleep and peeing in his diaper isn’t an option anymore.

Maybe Owen getting up early wouldn’t be such a big deal, but Graham has decided to wake up 2-3 times a night and I’m back on the what feels like the newborn schedule. Since I’m up so often in the night, Jeremy has been taking the early morning shift with Owen. I really appreciate that. Normally I can’t go back to sleep after Owen screams me awake, but laying in bed is better that being upright.

As we look to June, we have a fun zoo day planned to celebrate two family birthdays. My parent’s house sold and we will be helping them move into their rental house. We have still have yet to find our new homestead. I’m guessing there will be a fair amount of time spent looking at property this month. Good thing Owen loves romping through nature. The property search is one of the highlights of his life right now.

And that about sums it up. Until next time!

This kid! He took a short fall out of our living room window the same day I found him sitting like this. I guess you have to watch a toddler every second of the day to make sure they don’t kill themselves!

Dumped out brother’s toy bin so he could read in it.

“I hold him tight”

Trying to stay warm during the property search

A leaf, a pine cone and a puddle. Looking at a property is the best!

Our Thomas fan!

Enjoying the warmer weather

Owen wanted to ride in the stroller too. Too bad this only lasted for a 1/4 of our walk.

Bonding over Legos

Such a cutie!

Golfing in the backyard… Or playing “hockey” as Owen calls it!

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Miscellaneous Thoughts May 23, 2016

Filed under: Family Time,Selling, Building, Moving,Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 5:58 pm

My mind seems to be all over the place these days. Lots of big things to process. Our house as been on the market for two weeks. We’ve had two showings. Not as many as I would have hoped for right of the bat. I’m finding that keeping the house clean for potential showings seems a bit illogical. I clean, no one comes. We actually had a showing yesterday. All I can do is pray! So yes, the house update is the house is still for sale. I’m done keeping it clean. I’m praying it sells quickly so I can stop cleaning. I know that doesn’t sound like me. I love to clean… I’m learning that I love to clean weekly, not almost everyday. Big difference.

My last post was all about Graham so I thought I would take a moment to focus on Owen. He has become quite the helper around the house. He loves to put clothes in the washing machine for me. He will grab me a diaper when I’m changing Graham. He will also throw dirty diapers away for me. His new nighttime routine involves giving Graham hugs and kisses. It melts my heart. Owen still loves all things Thomas the train and Winnie the Pooh. He is also still into construction vehicles. He has found the things he loves and has stuck with them.

You might have noticed that I stopped mentioning Owen and potty training. There wasn’t any progress to report. He sort of stalled. However, I am happy to say that he has been doing fantastic this last week! He has done all his business on the toilet the last three days. I am so proud of him. I’m also excited because he can now use the toilet with the help of only a small step stool. No more potty chairs or potty seats! Woo hoo! I am one happy mama! I’m hoping we can officially claim potty training mastered soon!

Owen loves looking at property, going to church and visiting both sets of grandparents. He will often ask to get dressed and tell me he is ready to go. He also loves outside time in the yard. When we are in the van, Owen loves to sing along to the kid’s CD we have playing. He really loves The Isty Bitsy Spider. In fact, he is singing it right now as he plays with his trains.

In random news, I downloaded Pinterest for the first time this week. I now have the joy of creating boards full of ideas for decorating my future home and my boys’ birthday party (because yes, I plan their birthday all year long). Jeremy was away this weekend at a men’s conference and he got to golf twice. I was glad that he could enjoy one of his hobbies since he isn’t putting in a garden this year. He has a garden shaped void in his life. We also just cancelled our satellite television today now that all our shows are taking a break for the summer. This is the first time in our married life that we won’t have a couple hundred channels at our disposal. I have a feeling Jeremy will also have a ESPN and Weather Channel void in his life. Things are a changing here.

Well, I know it’s not brilliant, but that’s what we are up to these days. Lots of cleaning, playing, laughing, crying, praying (and eating of chocolate).

Never enough dump trucks

Watching for Daddy to get home from Men’s Conference

Settled in at Nana & Papa’s house while we have a showing at our house.

Celebrating three accident free days with three new mini trains!

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Graham – 7 Month Update May 19, 2016

Filed under: Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 11:10 am

7 months!

Time to update the world on Graham at 7 months. Last month he mastered sitting up on his own. He was so over sitting within a week. He wants to crawl or pull himself up so he can stand. Sitting is what babies do and Graham thinks he is a big boy like his brother. Sometimes he locks his body into standing position. You can’t make him sit to save your life. He loves to watch his brother. Any attention he gets from Owen makes him smile and laugh. Owen has recently learned that it’s fun to make Graham laugh. Owen will dance around Graham and this results in giggles from both boys.

Graham is growing. While he is not a big baby, he just moved up into 9 month clothes. I had fun as a pulled out the 9 month clothes and washed them. These are some of my favorite outfits! Summertime clothes and lots of plaid! I wish I could say solid foods were responsible for Graham getting bigger, but he has decided that solid foods aren’t his thing. Everything you put in his mouth results in gagging. This development is a bummer because it means that Graham is on a timer and can’t be away from Mommy for very long. At this point, I am the only food source he accepts.

Jeremy is positive that Graham has said “Da da” numerous times. Owen said “Da da” first as well. Graham is such a daddy’s boy that I am not surprised that Jeremy got the first words. Graham loves to snuggle with Daddy and will often fall asleep peacefully on Jeremy’s chest.

Graham is a sweet baby. Day time is his best time. He usually gets two naps a day, but really needs three. I’m finding that it can be hard to have a perfect baby schedule and a perfect toddler schedule. Both kiddos have to make sacrifices and the third nap is Graham’s big sacrifice. We are entering into some of my favorite baby days. I love the happy personalities and smiles that come with this age. His smile is still a big gummy one for the time being. I have a feeling in the next month we’ll see teeth due to the amount of chewing Graham does on his fingers.

I’m really curious what the update next month will hold. Graham is trying so hard to crawl. He face plants a lot and has now entered into the bruise phase of boyhood. If he really is saying “da da” then I’m sure more words are just around the corner. Hopefully, if teeth emerge, maybe the desire for solid foods will as well. No matter where we find ourselves next month, I am grateful for a healthy, happy, sweet baby.

Smiley

YUM!

Loving bathtime!

Towel time after tub time

Sending tired baby selfies to Daddy

Wearing new 9 month jammies!

Laughing and playing together in Graham’s crib. A new post-nap tradition!

Sibling life!

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Big Changes! May 10, 2016

Filed under: Selling, Building, Moving — Amy Scott @ 2:35 pm

It seems like the last 7 months have been one of constant change in our household. Lots of big and small things have been shifting, tweaking and changing. It almost seems like every area of our life has been touched in someway. It feels like God has been shaking us up and showing us to hold on to him no matter what. With an open hand we have said do what you want with us, direct us, guide us, help us to follow after you. Nothing has seemed off the table. The sky is the limit. Time to evaluate and dream big. It’s been a scary time, but also an exciting time. Those who know me know that I am a person of routine and predictability. I’m not a fan of change. But change always happens and I am learning to roll with it. Not all change is bad, it’s just change. It’s different. It’s unknown. It’s unfamiliar. It feels odd. But when God is the one initiating it then I trust that it will lead to a good place.

I’ve been radio silent the last few weeks on our next big change. I was waiting for certain pieces of the puzzle to fall into place and I think we are far enough along in the process to share what’s going on. We are moving!!! Well, we hope to move. We just listed our house on Friday. The plan is to sell our home and move to a piece of property where we can live beside my parents. I’m looking forward to having more land for my boys to roam and I am excited about having my parents closer and more involved in our lives. Oh and I’m over the moon excited about having a home where we pick the plan that works for our family and we get to pick the features. I’m not entirely jazzed that it takes months for homes to be built, but I know that the end result will be worth the wait.

Jeremy and I have spent the latter half of April getting our home into the best condition possible for selling. Every surface has been cleaned. Jeremy did a ton of small fixes and projects to make sure we are selling our home at top quality. It’s been exhausting. It’s been worth it though. As I look around the house, I am amazed at how great it looks. Jeremy jokes that we made it look so good we might want to buy it ourselves. Haha. The crazy part of getting the house ready to list was spending our weekends passing the kids back and forth. I love the weekends because it means that I have Jeremy’s support and it’s two kids to two adults. Jeremy’s days off give me just enough energy to recharge and handle the kids on my own through the week. The last few weekends have been very different though. I’ve been keeping the kids out of his way so he can get projects done. In turn, he kept them out of my way so I could get projects done. We were super productive, but it’s not a schedule that I would enjoy keeping up for long.

When we haven’t been in home improvement mode, we’ve been searching for the “property” with my parents. We’ve wandered around Lewis County in search of the perfect homestead. Owen has loved this part of the process. It’s so cute to hear his little voice in the back seat chanting “looking at properties.” I’m having massive flashbacks to being a pre-teen whose parents were moving her to the middle of no where. I remember the endless drives to look at properties and I remember living at Home Depot during the building process. Owen is liking the process a whole lot more than I did as a kid.

There are so many other things I could go on about. I have a feeling this process will fuel my blogging. I’ll certainly have lots to share was we sell, move and build. I’m a bit sentimental as I look around the house. This was our first house. We brought our babies home to this house. They are still in their nurseries. By the time we move into our new home, Graham will be a toddler. We won’t be decorating nurseries any more, instead we will be setting up big boy rooms. I’ve loved this house. Jeremy and I have had so many firsts here. Now we are having a new set of first. Our first time selling a home. Our first time building a home. I love my husband. He is the best man a girl could ask for. I am grateful to go through this with him by my side. He is the calm to my storm. Even now I can get overwhelmed with all the details and all the what ifs. But I know that Jeremy and I will get through this together. I just need to take a deep breath. Relax. Enjoy the moments as they come. And keep the house really clean…

I will share more as life unfolds. Pray for us as we embark on this adventure.

This kid knows how to relax

Owen put this blanket on Graham’s head and told me “I hide Baby Graham!”

Looking at properties

Owen loves exploring the properties

May Day flowers from my mom! So pretty!

Lunch, shopping and sunshine with Maggie are always a blessing! Glad I got to catch up with her last week!

I was home with little boys with runny noses on Sunday so my hubby ran me home breakfast! So sweet!

The reason I celebrate!

Daddy is an awesome nap buddy!

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The Life of a Conference Kid April 28, 2016

Filed under: Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 10:03 pm

We experienced a first for our little family this week. Monday through Wednesday was Network Conference in Yakima. Last year, Owen stayed with my parents while Jeremy and I were away. It was our first time leaving Owen overnight. This year, Owen got to stay with my parents again, so this meant that Graham got the only child treatment for a few days. Apart from our time in the hospital, our boys have not been split up for more than a couple of hours. Owen is two. He is a handful at times. I was ready for a few days away (from him). One baby seemed like parenting bliss. Graham was an amazing travel buddy. He did wonderful keeping up with the conference schedule. Jeremy and I enjoyed our time as a family of three. Right up to the end… when Graham decided to throw up numerous times on the ride home. That was a bit of a downer. Not the ideal way to end the trip. I’m happy to report that Graham is more like himself today. But the poor kid had his six month well check today, so he now he is recovering from shots. Being a baby can be rough business. Here are Graham’s six month stats – he is 16lbs. 3oz.(20%), 25.5in (7%), head 44cm, (64%). Graham is a little dude, but healthy and happy. It was a special treat to focus on him this week. Owen had a great time with the grandparents. He came home telling us stories about walking TC dog and riding in Grandma’s Subaru. The toddler life is a good one as well (even with all the crazy he brings to it). I’m happy to home with both my boys and back to our usual chaos.

Found this selfie on my phone Monday afternoon…

Graham was digging the only child treatment!

Morning snuggles with Daddy

Eating Daddy’s lanyard

Conference nap time. I wish I could sleep anywhere, anytime and have it be socially appropriate!

Graham was taking a long nap and we were hungry for dinner. Jeremy slipped out and got us Famous Dave’s to go. Since Graham was in the living space of our hotel room, Jeremy and I ate our BBQ in bed. Kinda like breakfast in bed!

Our happy travel baby

Reunited!

Playing with Daddy

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Graham – Six Month Update! April 23, 2016

Filed under: Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 7:12 pm

The official 6 month picture

On Tuesday, Graham reached the six month milestone! Half a year! Yay!!! This last month has been a big one for Graham. He was able to roll over from his back to his tummy. Then he learned to sit up unsupported! He continues to have many first, like his first ride facing forward in the stroller for our evening walks. He is getting so big. Graham is a happy baby (except for when he’s not, haha). He loves to smile. He loves to talk. He has started give what we call Graham Kisses. He takes your face in his hands and gives you a sloppy open mouth kiss. It’s messy, but sweet. I also think teething is in full swing because Graham always has his hand in his mouth these days.

I won’t lie, the last month has been very overwhelming personally. Our family has had many ups and downs. I feel bad that I don’t have paragraphs upon paragraphs to share about six month Graham. Since my energy level is low, this blog is very concise. Rolling. Sitting. Happy. Kisses. Teething. That about sums it up! Graham is a sweet baby and adds so much joy to our lives. I am thankful to have him alongside us for these crazy life adventures.

Despite fevers and coughs, we got outside to enjoy the sunshine. This was Graham’s first time riding forward facing in the stroller.

Sitting up unsupported and playing with brother’s toys!

This is the face Graham makes when he should be napping.

Love this little sitter!

Babyzilla

When you get tired of sucking on your fingers, time to suck on your toes.

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South Dakota Adventures April 7, 2016

Filed under: Family Time,Simply Me,Travels — Amy Scott @ 10:13 am

Last week our family took off for our first official road trip with the boys. Graham and Owen can now add Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota to the list of states they have visited. It was an eventful trip. Traveling 36 hours total with a two year old and a 5 month old is an adventure. Graham was a great traveler and slept a good portion of our time in the car. Owen gave us a dramatic start by throwing up twice on our way out of Ellensburg. Only 4 hours into our travels, we had to decide whether to take Owen home or keep going. Thankfully, Owen perked up and we were able to move forward. Our van smelled awesome though… For the first time ever we did laundry at a hotel. The car seat, puke clothes and Owen’s sleeping buddy, Lamby, all needed a good wash. We traveled with Jeremy’s brother and his family on the way to South Dakota, so while the laundry was going, we all went swimming. The best part of this trip for Owen was having cousins along for the ride. He enjoyed being a part of the kid pack. Graham got lots of love from the cousins as well. Our boys enjoyed the time with family.

Arriving at Grandma’s house in South Dakota felt strange. The siblings had gone through the house and cleared it out. The walls were bare of photos and knickknacks. In a way, it didn’t feel like Grandma’s house anymore… Grandma was the one person I knew that would greet you with kisses on the cheek. It was odd to not have her there to give us hugs and kisses upon arrival.We were only in South Dakota two full days. Friday had a early but quiet start. Graham got a 3 hour nap in the morning and then Owen got a nap in the afternoon. Jeremy took the boys and I out to lunch at Texas Roadhouse. We don’t have that restaurant in our area and they have yummy rolls! Bread is one of my love languages. Owen loved dancing to the loud country music they play. Friday night was a prayer service and Saturday was mass and the graveside burial. I’m honestly lacking words when it comes to describing all the emotions surrounding our time in South Dakota. We were blessed to spend time with family. It was special to take Owen and Graham to the place where Jeremy was born and spent his early childhood. There was exhaustion from messed up sleep schedules and sharing a bed with a toddler. There was the tension of keeping the kids quiet and happy during the services. Owen was a chatterbox during most of the services. It’s hard to focus on your kids and grieving at the same time. I was glad that we could make the trip. So often I try to label things as fun. I try to do fun outings with the kids, have fun family time. But this wasn’t a super fun trip. We had good moments and the kids did have fun. The weight of saying good-bye to Grandma always there. Also, road tripping as a parent of two little ones added a new dynamic. Last time we visited South Dakota, we didn’t have kids yet. This was a totally different experience.

Our plan was take the trip home in three days. We wanted to make the days in the car shorter. However, Owen, Graham and Jeremy all came down with a cough that was going around during our travels. Sunday night into Monday, Owen developed a fever. We woke up early on Monday and decided it was time to be home in our own beds. This lead to a 12+ hour day of the road. It was a bit crazy, but since the whole family was getting sick, it was the best choice. Now rest of the week as been spent with coughs and fevers. I am the only one who hasn’t gone down. I am either immune or I will be the last to go. I don’t feel awesome, but at least I am fever free and not hacking up a lung.

This trip was bittersweet and full of mixed emotions. I am glad we were able to go and I will remember this epic adventure for the rest of my life. Now we have another service this weekend for Jeremy’s Uncle Dan. I never expected that my first two weekends of April would be spent remembering passed loved ones. It’s an intense season. God is here and he is in each of these moments. Even though we are sad, we have peace, hope and joy in knowing that we will see these loved ones again.