Days 11 - 13: South Dakota

We sure do love those Drews. They are the BEST! Here is a photo of Departure Day: Can you see the family resemblance?

But we had to move on for Karolina's first play date in Elk Point, South Dakota!

Talk about family resemblance. We are not actually related to the Briggs family (as far as we know), but those two babies (Karolina left, Penelope right) were like two peas in a pod! Mama Cara (below) and I had the same due date. Penelope was a week early, Karolina was two weeks late.

Did I mention that Karolina is now SEVEN months old??? She has been working on getting two bottom teeth in for a few weeks now, while Penelope has been working on two top teeth. Karolina popped a THIRD tooth through on the top this morning after a very long night. Still refuses solid food, but her mouth is getting ready (Oh, Lord, please don't tell me that this one is going to be a picky eater!!!).

Cara has had some practice with girls. Here is her oldest, the very poised Miss Celia, reading Peter a bed time story. I can't WAIT until Peter is old enough to put his sister to sleep like this...

It helped that the Briggs family is home to TWO dogs (and three cats, but they didn't give Peter as much exercise).

But can we go back to those babies for a moment? I thought there was nothing cuter than ONE little baby...

Until we put TWO little babies together.

Denise was the stylist. She has an eye for this kind of stuff.

She is also a great cook, an excellent and informative tour guide, and just the warmest, most wonderful, interesting person whose doorstep you could ever hope to break down on. Her mom made us brownies for the road. I ate three of them tonight after our dinner in Spearfish, South Dakota.

Yes, we finally had to leave Elk Point on Day 13 after eating ourselves silly, surveying the new sand dunes in the river left by last winter's flood, eating ice cream at a real old fashioned soda fountain, admiring the babies, and talking practically nonstop for two days. We are headed home, slowly but surely. Our flight today went very smoothly as Peter slept The Whole Way. He was REALLY tired.

Tomorrow is another marathon flight day. First stop: Bozeman, Montana (for lunch). And then, another long hop to Joseph, Oregon. Wish us luck.

Days 8 - 10: Minnesota!!!

We sucked it up on Friday morning (Day 8) and flew a LONG day from Taos to Cozad, Nebraska (2 1/2 hours) for a quick lunch and PIE, and then another two and a half hours to Minneapolis (FINALLY). We were all ready to get out of the plane when we arrived. Luckily, Uncle Jason was waiting to whisk us away to Shorewood (thanks, Jason!), where he and Aunt Becky and kids Nathan and Avery live. There is nothing like hanging out with family to heal from a stressful trip. Upon arrival, the grown-ups received well-deserved Friday night adult beverages and a very refreshing Chinese Chicken Salad with Real Lettuce (something we have been missing lately -- THANK YOU Becky!), and Peter finally got to run all the ya-yas out in Becky and Jason's ENORMOUS backyard with various and sundry neighbor kids. From that moment on, he was a different (much better behaved) kid.

Here he is with Nathan at Psycho Suzi's (a tiki bar where you can get an EXCELLENT brunch AND build your own bloody Marys!). Nathan introduced him to "monkey brains" -- the styling product that you see evidence of in the photo.

And here is Karolina surrounded by admirers. Avery is going to be a phenomenal babysitter some day -- I don't think she has left Karolina's side since we arrived, and she has been keeping the older kids in line during the last couple of nights' slumber parties.

Saturday (Day 9) we spent the day like any self-respecting Minnesotan in good weather -- on a boat on the lake. We swam, we fished (Peter caught FIVE fish!), we ate corn dogs and cheese curds at the local art festival (addictive!). The cabin of the boat made a perfect cradle for Karolina's naps. It was the perfect way to kick off the summer, and the humidity actually feels good after the New Mexican desert.

Today (Day 10) we are relaxing, enjoying each others' company, and gearing up for a short (90-minute) hop to South Dakota, to see our Second Midwestern family -- the Briggs. We are going to try and catch Peter and give him a bath with real soap (as opposed to lake water) before we go. He has been having a heck of a time running wild with his cousins. I sure do wish we lived closer.

Days 4 - 7: Change of Plans (New Mexico)

Well folks, it looks like this is as close as we are going to get to New York City:

This photo was not, in fact, taken in New York City. Martin snapped it in Chloride, New Mexico, the most populated "ghost town" we have ever seen. Populated with live people, that is. But let me back up.

When I last posted, we had landed in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, and I was happily blogging as Karolina slept and Martin and Peter ran errands. One totaled rental car later (everyone is just fine, Martin was not at fault), Martin was having serious second thoughts about flying with a very distracting 4-year-old. The flights have been, well, *trying* to say the least. Peter is sleep-deprived and not used to being cooped up for several hours, and the end result has been just short of disastrous. Martin put his foot down. He would fly no farther East with this child. Well, not as far East as, say, Virginia. He was willing to compromise and make a few short hops to Minnesota, and not give up on the trip entirely. But he needed a break.

And so, here we are, three days later, still in New Mexico. We spent Day 4 driving around ToC, looking for a place to cool off. We tried Elephant Butte State Park, but it was like going to the beach on the moon, only with the sun really REALLY close. We needed trees to act as a buffer in the 103 degree heat, and so we headed to Caballo State Park, or something like that. Only a little nicer than Elephant Butte, but Karolina and I found one tree to park under while Martin and Peter went for a swim. At least I got my sopapilla fix (a form of fried bread only rarely found outside of New Mexico) for dinner. I could eat this kind of food for weeks on end, especially since I have been cruelly deprived of decent Mexican food ever since we moved to Nevada City.

Day 5 I spent mostly sulking and making tearful phone calls cancelling our East Coast plans. We changed rooms at the hotel (Why is it that packing up, even for a move as short as three doors down, STILL takes several hours???), and then headed out to find SOMETHING to do in the heat. We picnicked along the bank of the Rio Grande, which sounds nice until I tell you that I could neither see nor feel the coolness of the river from our picnic blanket. Peter sustained an injury walking along a searing hot metal half pipe (OUCH) and so we got in the car and drove an hour and fifteen minutes to Chloride while Peter slept it off.

Chloride has a museum (closed fifteen minutes before we arrived).

Chloride has a cool old tractor. (Do I look like the chick from the famous Dorothea Lange photo?)

Chloride has funny signs.

And Chloride has cute babies! Oops, that one is mine.

Day 6 I was still sulking a little bit, and may not have been paying attention when Martin declared our new destination (Pueblo, Colorado). After an hour and a half of BUMPY flying, I inquired (perhaps a little shrilly) HOW MUCH LONGER and learned that we were, in fact, 20 minutes from Taos, New Mexico, which just happens to be the only location one can still find one of my favorite brands of ice cream: Taos Cow. My mood improved SIGNIFICANTLY when I learned that we could land there.

A retired United pilot gave us a ride into town, and we treated him to ice cream as a way of saying thanks. Taos Cow's raspberry dark chocolate did not disappoint. I got my ice cream, Peter got a replacement scoop of cinnamon at no charge when the first serving met with an unfortunate fate on the floor, and Martin and Grant got to talk airplanes for half an hour or so. Everyone was happy.

Karolina is always happy. Here she is in a new fashion color head band (Martin bought the multi-color pack to keep her ear protection in place).

And so, Day 6. A little flying, a little ice cream, a little swimming in the Best Western's pool, and a real gourmet dinner to finish the day off. Definitely mood elevating. In fact, we liked it so much that we decided to stay another day. Which brings us to:

Day 7: Taos, New Mexico. Martin had some work to do today (like for his JOB), and so Peter and I set out on an adventure while Karolina settled down for nap #1. After a disappointing exchange with the extraordinarily UN-helpful front desk:

Me: So, what are our options for transportation if we don't have a car? I noticed a bus stop outside the hotel...
Clueless Front Desk Chick With Stuck-together False Eyelashes: We have a shuttle.
Me: And where does the shuttle go?
CFDC: It goes within 5 miles of the hotel.
Me: And what is there to do within 5 miles of the hotel?
CFDC: Ummmm. Here is a map.
Me: Ok, where are we on the map?
CFDC: Ummmmm. I guess the map doesn't really have a lot of stuff.
Me: Does the shuttle go to the Pueblo?
CFDC: Oh, yes. The Pueblo is only a mile from here.
Me: Does the shuttle go to the Park?
CFDC: Yes.
Me: Ok, never mind. We'll figure it out (SINCE I SEEM TO KNOW MORE THAN YOU DO ABOUT TAOS).

We had fun anyway. We did laundry, we smelled the enormous purple-flowered mint plant. (There are beautiful flowers planted all the way up and down the main drag in Taos, in front of each shuttered art gallery -- the economic downturn has hit Taos hard.). We walked the labyrinth at the Presbyterian church, and then we got a text from dad that Karolina was AWAKE and HUNGRY.

Back at the hotel, work plans thwarted, we decided to visit the Pueblo together. The Pueblo is the local UNESCO heritage site -- home of the Taos Pueblo Native Americans, who have been living there continually since 1300 A.D. or so.

We took the free guided tour (our sweet young guide's first tour!), and it was fascinating. We learned why the front doors on some of the buildings were on the second story (The women of the tribe would pull up the ladders upon first sighting Apache invaders).

We learned how the natives integrated their own religion into Catholicism after the Spaniards backed off. The Virgin Mary replaced Jesus as the central figure of worship -- she doubles as Mother Earth. The adobe Catholic church is the white building in the background of this photo.

And here is the Catholic cemetery:

Gorgeous Clouds -- hopefully a harbinger for another fantastic lightning show like the one we got last night. And hopefully that will be over by departure time tomorrow morning -- we are aiming for Minnesota again, as early as we can possibly get up and at 'em.

This is how one artistically inclined citizen keeps the dogs out of his adobe bread oven:

And this is how (back at the hotel) I am finding the time to write this blog while Karolina naps and Martin finally gets his work done (Thank you, Steve Jobs!):

And so, while we are woefully disappointed that we won't get to see our East Coast friends and family, we are soldiering on with the family vacation, winging it, taking things day by day. Anyone (Mom, Jana) in possession of the itinerary I planned can just toss that aside. I will try and keep the blog updated or you can always call my cell phone to find out where we are.

Days 2 and 3: San Diego!

What a pleasant start to our journey! We spent Saturday at the enormous San Diego Zoo with the Kopplin family, who kindly lent us a stroller. Panda bears and elephants and jaguar kittens, oh my! Saturday evening the boys (and Karolina as a rather unwilling participant) waged a full-on nerf battle, while the Ladies indulged in a scrumptious Farm to Table dinner at the ... Kensington Grill? I hope I am getting the name right -- the place was fantastic.

Sunday morning, Shannon ran the half marathon while we slept through lock-down at our hotel (since our hotel was ON the race course, nobody was allowed to drive their car out of the valet parking between 5:00am and 10:00am). Shannon survived (go, Shannon!), and so did we. I am SO glad I did not run that race.

We made a quick trip to Coronado beach...

And then the Kopplins came to see us off at the airport. Peter was especially sad to say good bye to new friends Guyer and Patrick. Is that Indiana Jones in the right seat???

Why yes it is!

As you can see from the stripes on the side of the airplane in the picture, we are NOT flying our usual bird. Martin sold the Apache a few months ago. We are lucky enough to be borrowing a Mooney from one of Martin's friends. It is smaller than the Apache, but burns a LOT less gas. Yay!

Delay upon delay put us into Truth or Consequences, New Mexico at around 10:15pm, local time, last night. We watched the bats swoop for their dinner while Martin put the plane to bed, and then ate an unconventional dinner of salami, cherries, bread, chips, pea pods, carrots, cheese, and chips. It would have been easier if we had remembered to bring the knife from the plane, but we were hungry.

This morning we woke up to a nice long soak in our personal hot tub, fed by the natural hot springs in this area. We are staying at the FireWater Lodge, where we stayed last time we came through this way, on our way to New York City in the Buick, with Pawlene. My, that seems life times ago.

Day One: We Made it Out of the House!

Actually, we made it all the way to San Diego. Here is Karolina -- what a trooper! She was fantastic on her first flight, despite being woken up by her brother:

And here are our two happy passengers, BEFORE we discovered that the DVD player was broken:

Overall, not such a bad day, despite a few pieces of bad luck. We actually got out of the house within 20 minutes of our estimated departure time, which is a good hour and 40 minutes earlier than I thought we would make it.

After a bit of drama with a visit to Babicka's house and a quick reinstatement of her internet (Hi, Jana!), a very pleasant coffee stop at Valentina's, a lost (and found!) wallet, and TWO potty stops, we departed Grass Valley at 11:46am. First in-flight pee: 12:10pm. Second in-flight pee: 12:20pm. I won't say who. But THANK GOODNESS for "Little Johns"! Look it up if you can't figure out what I am talking about.

We arrived in San Diego at 3:15pm, after battling a bit of a headwind, and Peter has already learned something on this trip: "San Diego has super duper tall buildings!" Who knew? After our arrival it was smooth sailing. An unfortunate person had neglected to pick up his rental car from the airport, so we are styling in his Jetta! And our hotel greeted us with free appetizers, cocktails, and massages! Thank you, Embassy Suites! We needed that! Martin and Peter went for a quick swim while Karolina expressed her displeasure at missing ALL of her naps. Poor kid.

We had a lovely dinner (REAL Mexican food) with Shannon and her family, and we all crashed hard by 9:00pm. Today: The San Diego Zoo!

Going with the Flow

We are practicing "go with the flow" around here. This is how it started. Last summer we came up with the idea that it would be fun to go camping in Maine. Wild blueberries! Canoeing! Fireflies! AND we could see our East Coast friends and family to boot. Woo hoo!

Then we realized that dear friends Amy/Lance/Lindy/Piper were going to be away from Nevada City for WAY too long. We needed to travel this summer to see them as well. They were due in San Antonio, Texas for the June-July time frame. Texas! That's on the way to the East Coast! This is sounding like a trip in Martin's plane...

The race in San Diego clinched the deal. For those of you who have been following along, Erika decided to train for a half marathon in San Diego with her college roommate as a way of staying motivated to get her postpartum patootie back in shape.

Well. Things don't always go as planned. First of all, Maine, in case it's been a while since you took a geography class, is a REALLY long way from California. We were trying to limit the trip to two weeks, so Maine fell off the list early on. Not to worry, we could still make it to New York City, which is home to an unusually high concentration of friends and family. We planned. We booked. We were set. Grass Valley to Westchester and back, with a loop that started in the South (San Diego, New Mexico, Texas, Virginia) and came back across the North (Minnesota, South Dakota, Oregon).

And then the U.S. Military made other plans for Lance. Ok, so no stop in San Antonio. No problem. We are extending our stay in New Mexico by a day and figuring out a new and exciting stop en route to Williamsburg, Virginia the day after that. It's an adventure!

But then, Erika started getting sick. And running got painful. She felt worse on every run, like her super-expanded hips and abdominal muscles weren't quite ready to spring back into place. The pain extended down to her wonky knees. Still, she soldiered on, re-working her training plan to the bare minimum. It didn't help. She bailed on the 10K in Reno, a mere six hours before it was supposed to start. And then, she realized that it was OK not to run this half marathon. In fact, it might even be a good thing. And so, she sucked up her pride and made a phone call to Shannon to call the whole thing off. And she felt much better.

So now the three original reasons for the trip are gone. Oh, did I mention that Martin sold his plane about a month before we were scheduled to depart? Yes, we are now on Plan D for transportation. Fingers crossed. And now, Erika is sick again. Really sick. Like, fever and chills and all that. Is this trip is really meant to be, or is this just yet another lesson in going with the flow? Stay tuned -- photos and stories from the road (the air?) will show up on this blog pending internet access.

In other news, both Kosina children are trying out new future career choices. Peter: guru, or maybe just mystic:

Karolina, gymnast. Oh, by the way, girlfriend is getting TWO teeth! And she ate her first rice cereal yesterday! She is growing up. Here is the gymnast video:

News Flash: Pawlene's First Trip Outside Since Fall 2011

Well, Spring has sprung here in Nevada City, and I made my first sojourn out onto the porch since temperatures dipped below 50 degrees or so last Fall. It wasn't bad! But there is lots of other news to report... Peter attended his second Car Show in Grass Valley (and Karolina, not pictured, attended her first). He found a Big Truck right away.

Wasn't sure about this funny looking one...

Picking out his next vehicle.

Tempted by a fixer.

Looking forward to next year's Soap Box Derby (we'll be out of town this year).

Karolina has news as well. She arrived at the Six Month mark yesterday, and we celebrating with a half birthday cake from Emily's and a spontaneous visit from Aunt Kristina and her friend Dorothy. For those of you keeping track of statistics, Karolina now weighs 21 lbs and is just over 26 1/2 inches long. Her eyes are starting to turn from blue grey to hazel and her hair is turning a bit blonder. She is beautiful.

And talented too! She can sit by herself for longer and longer periods of time, flipping from back to front is a breeze, and she occasionally goes the other way (front to back). It's time to get out Peter's old high chair and see what she thinks of Real Food. No teeth yet, but they are on their way in.

Out on the farm with Mom (thanks to our neighbor, Andrea, for this photo, and for providing two excellent soon-to-be babysitters -- ten-year old twin daughters Olivia and Bianca).

Karolina's smile come easily, and is a delight to behold, but she only laughs hysterically for Peter, who apparently is the most entertaining guy on the planet to the 6-month-old set.

Her favorite activities these days (besides bouncing wildly in her bouncy chair), are playing with her toes, going on strolls with Babicka, and examining new objects. She receives any new object (tupperware, empty yogurt containers, measuring spoons, a cabbage leaf -- can you tell mom is usually in the kitchen, trying to cook dinner, when she needs to be entertained?) with great interest, turning it over and over in her hands, bringing it to her mouth for a small taste and passing it from one hand to another before flinging it violently aside. I avoid her strong grasp. Plenty of time later to teach her how to pet properly.