That's 'solo' as in I had all three kids but no Richard. Phew! It was a marathon week-long visit to friends and family. First we met my Sister and went to Extreme Air in Provo which the kids absolutely loved! I didn't buy a ticket and just supervised and took way too many pictures. The first time I watched Ethan go on the trapeze thing one-handed I thought he was showing off, but then I remembered that the week before he had fallen out of the top bunk of his bunk bed and pulled something in his shoulder --apparently he was still favoring that arm. It was a perfect place to burn off some of that energy from the long car ride, and to work up an appetite. We went out to dinner afterwards (boy, am I a glutton for punishment). After that we went and spent a few days at my friend's house. The kids got along famously --in fact, I hardly saw them the whole time. Ethan hit it off with the oldest boy (it may have included a little bit of hero worship which I'm sure the 9 year old didn't mind). Gabe, true to form, struck up quite the relationship with the cute little 5 year old girl, and probably played house and dolls --he's smooth like that. The 7 year old girl willingly followed Logan around like a perfect little nanny, happily playing with him and helping smooth over encounters with the other toddler in the house. We went to a few fun parks, dared to go grocery shopping (yes, two adults and 7 kids 9 and under), and even visited a dinosaur museum. Weren't we brave? The last night I was there after we put the kids down, we finally got some kid-free time and went out to dinner with another good friend. It was a blast.
The next morning I took the kids to my parents' house and we stayed there a few more days. It was the perfect spring weather and they had lots of fun there on the four-wheeler and the trampoline. We went up the canyon with my parents for a picnic. It was warm, and a little early for dinner when we got there, so the kids and I went for a little walk by the river. It was bad enough that I had to carry the baby because he didn't like the tall grass poking him, but as I looked for a place to cross, suddenly Ethan started screaming horribly. I looked over to find him jumping around like a crazy person. HJe had planted himself in an ant pile. Being confused and scared the other two started crying too as I pulled him aside and calmly brushed the ants off-- boy did I wish I had Richard with me. I was also afraid my kids were starting to become city kids. Luckily a Summer in Jackson eventually cured them of that.
While we were in Utah, Richard wasn't completely alone. Did I mention we shared an apartment with another couple? It was the only way to give the kids and us our own rooms. Otherwise we would have been on a futon in the living room again, and I wasn't about to do that again. The other couple had their own bedroom and bathroom and we just shared the kitchen/living room area. It wasn't so bad. Richard's childhood friend got a job there too and lived just upstairs from us, so he would come and visit all the time as well (he's the one drinking the homemade sore-throat remedy). Richard made sure to document his week so he could share it with me when I got home.
On our way back to Jackson we found a park in Evanston to stop at where there was a real old steam engine (decommissioned of course) that the kids could climb all over. It's an accident just waiting to happen but aren't those the funnest kind of things? Yeah, we decided that would be our traditional stopping place along the way between Jackson and Utah (we like to stop at parks and play-places to let the kids run out some pent-up energy on long car trips).
It was a crazy week for sure, and I don't think I'll be doing that again for a long time to come.
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