Road Trip: Family Style (Part Two)

Okay, so the rest of the times are all made-up because I was driving and didn't want to tell Husband to write down everything that was annoying/pleasing to me because 1) I would look super crazy and I like to limit that and 2) He totally would not have cooperated.... But you know what?? It totally didn't matter.  The kids were awesome and well-behaved (Can I get a "Whoop-Whoop"??).  We arrived in Jamestown around 11am.  Brandon woke up as we neared the Buffalo...

Here's my girl -- she dressed herself today and put on boatloads of jewelry, so she could be pretty for "Grandma 'Raine."  I thought the sign was hilarious.

Brandon thought it was funny too.  Here he is holding Rufus the Puppy.

I had only been to Frontiervillage (Frontier Village?) once before. I remember it not being spectacular, but I definitely did NOT remember it being CREEPY.  Please check out the tranny mannequins that my family is posing next to...

One cool thing was that there were HUGE horses giving rides down and around the buffaloes.  We didn't go on those, but Brynn did give the little ponies a whirl.  We paid our $3 to have her walk in a circle for 2 minutes --- she walked to the pony, freaked out and refused to go on.  Then a girl about 1/2 her size got up there and put B to shame. She then decided that she could do this, and she got up there with her fatherly escort. 

Here's my girl, already turning heads... (immediately following this picture, Jeremy felt the need to confirm that it is indeed a boy buffalo).

Brando got a bit fussy at this point as it was time to eat.  We met my mom and stepdad at McD's for lunch (they got on the road a full hour after us, but had miraculously caught up) and Brando had his first chicken nugget. I was pleased and grossed out at the same time.

After lunch, I remember saying "OMG -- we only have 99 miles to go! Even if the kids start to freak out now, we only have to listen to it for an hour!!"  Luckily, it was not a jinx and all family members (except for yours truly) ended up napping until Bismarck.  Yippee!!

We rolled into the capitol city about 2:30 pm on Saturday and stayed until Monday morning. 

Here are some "bonus-pics" from our return trip through Jamestown on Monday:

I told Brynn to stand by her brother and smile.  She immediately went to sit down and struck a pose. Um, okay...

She wasn't scared of the ponies this time!

We had to tell Brynn that this was a girl cut-out for her to pose...

One of my favorite pictures... Jeremy was trying to hold up both kids, and I kept waiting for Brynn's head to get stuck, but we just HAD to have this picture. I'm not sure why...

Brando's reaction after we told him we had to get back in the car for another hour...

Road Trip: Family Style. (Part One)

Last weekend, our little family joined my larger, extended family, and ventured down I-94 to visit even more of our family that was descending upon Bismarck.  This was to be the baby's first long car trip, and Brynn's first long car trip since she was a baby.  I had visions of screaming children, multiple potty breaks, more screaming children, and spilled beverages all over my already messy, sticky car interior.

I spent much of Friday night packing, as well as Saturday morning.  The plan was to leave Saturday around 9am, when Brandon usually goes down for a nap.  (Sidenote: I cannot believe how much C-R-A-P you need to pack for children. I had to make several confirmatory calls to my mother and a friend to determine if I was overpacking. They confirmed that I was.)

As I truly was expecting the worst, I decided to keep a log of Saturday's activities:

5:45 a.m. - Brandon wakes up. Good Morning Buddy!!

6:04 a.m. - Brynn wakes up. This is alarming on many levels. First level: It is a chore to get her out of bed at 7 a.m. during the week, and that's when she goes to bed at a reasonable time.  She was up late last night, so I was planning on her sleeping in, so I could finish packing...

6:06 a.m. -- Brynn starts screaming and crying over a blanket or a Barbie -- I can't really understand her.  Brandon empathizes and chimes in.

6:09 a.m. -- Brynn is sent back to bed.

6:10 a.m. -- Brynn promises she's done crying and she wants to wake up.  She agrees to lay on the floor and watch a movie.

6:42 a.m. -- Brandon is playing with cat toys and is enjoying himself. Meow to you.

7:35 a.m. -- I took an extremely long shower to avoid the family for awhile. I think I only had 2 visitors while I was in the shower. I "love" when my family thinks that they are somehow in my inner circle enough to come visit me while I'm showering and how unlocking a bathroom door is simply a required step to begin a family shower pow-wow.

8:15 a.m. -- I found Brynn disassembling her father's earphones. Luckily he was in the shower and still does not know about this...

8:23 a.m. -- Husband starts complaining of stomach cramps. I immediately confirm my fears of a late departure and multiple bathroom stops. I ponder cancelling the trip, and silently curse my spouse for assumedly eating something inapropriate

8:45 a.m. -- Tell Husband that he does NOT need to pack 2 pairs of shoes for the trip, as nobody else is.  I pack the car and let him deal with the children (whom I love dearly, but ... you know.. I've already been up for 3 hours and our fridge was Red Bull-less)

9:15 a.m. -- Get everybody in the car. We stop at the gas station and at the bank.

9:36 a.m. -- We're on the ROAD!!! I tell Brynn that she is not going to watch a movie until it's at least 10:30 am.

9:37 a.m. - Brynn starts watching a movie.

10:03 a.m. - Jeremy acts legitimately surprised that I am not planning on driving straight through. I want to smack him, but refrain. Apparently, he has not been listening to me at all these past weeks as I have been discussing this trip and detailing our stop in Jamestown. Eh.

10:07 a.m. -- Brynn is wondering if we're there yet.

Motivational Issues.

• I've wanted to blog about our family adventure last weekend, but the post will be much more effective (and entertaining) with pictures -- which means I need to boot up the ol' personal laptop and download the pictures (as I refuse to keep anything personal on my work laptop, as this allows me to abandon ship at a moment's notice).  I have not yet done this, but here's a hint about where we went: Top-Secret Location

• I am now on the ND Supreme Court's roster for Parenting Investigators!! YIPPEE!! However, I do not have any clients yet as I have yet to announce this fact to the local courts, attorneys, etc.  So, blog readers, um, if you are getting divorced or have custody issues, uhhh-yeaah, I'm available to investigate you! (and your family and friends) (for a fee).

• I'm assuming Brando has a doctor appointment coming up as he is turning 1 in FIFTEEN days. I don't know when the appointment is though, but I do know that Dr. Lovely will be there.. I should really call and find out.

• I was highly motivated last night which is possibly, but probably not, why I'm so lackadaisical today.  I made 2 new cucumber recipes as I have so many cucumbers that I am leaving them on people's cars.  I made "Sweet & Spicy Cucumber Slices" and "Tzatziki* Sauce." Both were super good and easy.  I then followed this up by making some falafels, drinking an adult beverage, and watching a movie.... by myself. It was the most lovely date that I've ever had.

• OMG I'm so worn out from being bored and lazy that I can't write anymore. This is pitiful, and of that fact I am aware, so let me leave you with a link to Brynn's music video that she was included in this winter (she's in there twice -- can you find her??) Best Country Video Ever

*the spell check wanted me to change this to "Testis" -- and that would not be correct, nor would my husband appreciate that.

Photojournalism By a 4-Year Old....

My 4 year old LOVES taking pictures, and rarely she gets something good.  Here are some shots of things important enough for her to take pictures of: 

Oooh! The baby and I are color-coordinated.  Do you like my classy red shirt and pink pj pants? I bet you do.

I bet you think that this picture was taken around Christmastime because we have evergreen trees on our entertainment center. You'd be wrong. They are STILL up there and it's going to be August this weekend. I figure we better just leave them up there...

Guess who??

I'll give you one more chance to guess ...

Yep, more butts.

These are Jeremy's new shoes. I had to seriously talk him in to them because they are so "wild" (i am not joking)  I'm glad Brynn captured them for posterity.

A little blanket book time...

Babies need a LOT of crap to go to the Lake for 18 hours.

Proof that we do occasionally feed the cat.

The Princess' crown.

The End.

Sound Bites from 15th Street

1) I'm home pre-emptively nursing the children back to health from their assumed pending colds.  I'm making them both consume (probably) unhealthy amounts of vitamin c.  It's making me feel better.

2) I shall have a late-lunch comprised entirely of coke and kraft mac-n-chese explosions.  I have to eat this when jeremy isn't home because he can't stand the cheese explosiveness. (his distaste for cheese and chocolate were serious questionmarks when evaluating his long-term relationship potential, back in the day of course.)

3) I have just doused the noodles with sriiracha hot chili sauce to add even more explosiveness to the meal, and to deter Brynn from eating anymore of it. I have food agression issues, even when it comes to my children apparently.

4) I have lost my debit card for about the 10th time now.  So far, nobody has used it. I've looked for it for about a week -- I called and cancelled it this afternoon.  The woman assured me that my husband never has to know. (I can say stuff like that on here, because even though I repeatedly send him the link to view my blog, he does not.)

5) I made cucumber salsa this weekend. the recipe needs a bit of tweaking, but it was still pretty good. I was able to use a lot of my "garden harvests." 

6) I'm just now realizing that whenever you put anything "in quotations" it immediately sounds "dirty."

7) A Fine Balance finally got good at page 300. It was page 300 exactly. I looked and thought, "Hmpfh. That's a pretty precise number."  I still have several hundred pages left.

Book Marker

About a month ago, I got so desperate to read a book that I started digging through the garage to look for books that I had yet to unpack (typed in a whisper: from our move over 1 year ago). The first box of books that I stumbled upon was full of high school yearbooks -- that wasn't going to do. The second box of books had law school text books. Yes, I decided, that will do. I love reading case law -- really, I do. So, I chose my Minnesota Family Case Law book and started reading a case from the early 1900's that was chock-full of jurisdictional confusion and Supreme Court interpretational joy. I loved it. (sigh) But this fun was only good for so long and I vowed that I needed to go get a library card.

The next day, Brynn and I went to the library. She loved it -- it's now a special treat when she gets to go there and she gets all hyper and giddy. I love that she can't wait until we get home to read books, and that she always wants to sit on the bench outside the entrance and read a couple books before we get in the car to go home.

The first book I chose to read was about that time traveller. Enough said.

On our last trip there, I didn't have anything specific in mind. I wandered the shelves while keeping an eye on Brynn who was in puzzle heaven with another little girl. Nothing was jumping out at me -- and then I saw the golden circle and the angels started singing. Yes, Oprah had endorsed a book!! (Not a Pulitzer you sillies!!) Oprah has rarely led me astray, so I picked it up and claimed my daughter who was now loudly proclaiming "SEE!! THERE'S MY MOMMY!!" to the other little girl.

So, this is what I'm reading. I'm trying so very hard to read it. I've been at it for a good 2 weeks now and I'm on page 100-something. This is sooooooooooo slow and ... out of my element that I'm having problems getting involved in it. It has to do with 4 random people living in India during an uprising in the 1940s-1970s and there's a lot of talk about the caste system and sewing. LOTS of sewing. I feel as if I could make a dress, or at the very least a nightgown after all this talk of sewing machines and measurements.

I will finish this book, even if I forget to renew it and incur lots of overdue fines. I keep hoping that this book will be like another of Oprah's Gold Seals that I had a terrible time getting involved with.

Here's The Poisonwood Bible. Again, the first 100-150 pages were so dagnabit slow that I think I started and stopped this book at least twice. (Just like a couple of Toni Morrison's books. I have NEVER finished Song of Solomon).

However, there was some turning point in this book and the last half of the book just flew by. I loved it. I decided that this was one of my favorite books. As I have the "Book Details Memory Lapse" Disease, I am not able to remember exactly what this book was about ... but it was good. I do remember that it is VERY important to take all of your malaria pills and not stick them on the wall under your bed.

Some of my other favorite books are:

1. James Frey Books. I know Oprah disavowwed him, but the books still rock.

2. Wally Lamb Books. I don't know how Oprah feels about him. I think she likes him. I LURVE him. I can easily read, or want to read, any of his 500+ page books in a weekend.

3. I have read 2 John Grisham books in my life, and have LURVED* one and LIKED A LOT the other one.

First the LURVE: The Testament. It's about a billionairre and a will and a journey into the Patanal in South America.

The LIKED A LOT: The Innocent Man. This is a true story. I bet you can't tell what it's about?? It's like reading an episode of Dateline. I enjoyed it.

*LURVE is a more emphatic version of Love. ex: I Love regular Coca-Cola, but I LURVE Red Bull.

(I can't format this post to save my life!! I am not BFFs with Blogger today.)

TelegaWoman Shall Have it HER Way ...

Yes I've been absent... again. Oops and Whatevs.

TelegaWoman (TW) has made several requests of me and to save everybody from my purse contents, I shall answer her queries in an upcoming post that I shall most likely draft while I am at work tomorrow.

Until then, I shall answer 2 of her easy questions:

1) Yes I saw that movie about that time traveller and his wife, and that is what made me go and read the book.....coupled with the fact that TW was so obsessed with it. I watched the movie and had sooo many questions... and then I read the book and I still had questions. Naked, really?? Why??? At least let him keep his underoos.

2) The farthest I've ever been away from home is when I went to Italy when I was 18 years old. I was there for 2 weeks and I was so lovesick for Jeremy (gross, eh?) and then I became so physically sick (we all swapped the flu around on the tour bus) that I really don't think I thoroughly enjoyed it. I did enjoy it, and I want very much to go back, but I rather regret all those afternoons I spent journalling to my boyfriend! That would make a good post wouldn't it? Dig up that thing. OMG.

Larson OUT.