Our RV Trip: Days 0-2

 So, day zero was the evening that we left and just tried to get a head start to Red River.  We stopped at a pre-selected place for the night, around midnight.  We were up with the sun and on our way so that we'd have an extra half day in Red River, NM.  At a gas station, everybody unbuckled and stood up to make the rounds to the bathroom.  Judah said, "I need to go to the bathroom.  Actually, I think I need to throw up."  I grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the camper as fast as I could.  We walked around the front of the camper and he started puking all over the ground.  This whole thing was quite embarrassing.  I'll spare you the details, but during COVID-19 having a puking kid in public is quite the attention getter.  Poor guy threw up for 10 minutes on and off and he looked so pale.  I carried him (he's almost 8, so this was quite the feat in itself) back to the RV and we put him up in the front seat for a while with cold A/C blasting in his face.  He thought it was pretty cool that he got to ride in the front seat for the first time.  My "Mission-focused" husband didn't want to wait until he felt better to get going, and really he needed the cold air and it was hot while we were sitting still.  Within thirty minutes he perked up and was feeling good again.  

Bob was reading a Larry Boy chapter book on the tablet while we drove at night.  He had never read a chapter book on the tablet and was absolutely fascinated by the page turning feature that simulates an actual book page turning.

Red River, NM is where I went almost every summer as a child.  We stayed in the valley then with my dad's good friend at their cabin.  When Drew was around 9 months old (That means 9 summers ago!), we took the kids to Red River for the first time to stay in a cabin that we rented for a week.  This time, we had to stay just outside of town because of the RV and not towing an extra vehicle.  We got the best lot in the RV park, all the way in the back, right next to the river.  

The last morning we were there the kids were playing volleyball and Isaac kicked it into the river.  Genna, Isaac, Judah, and Drew all took off after it.  Drew crossed the first bridge they came to and they were running alongside the river for a while until they were able to knock it to the side by throwing rocks at it.  I enjoyed seeing the teamwork involved to get back Genna's volleyball.  I think it was entertaining for the other people sitting outside their RV in the beautiful morning too.

When we arrived in the early afternoon, we set up and connected the RV and caught a free shuttle into town.  Town is just one long main street with some side streets in a valley.  

skipping rocks

In Town

This tree had been carved all over with initials.  So Brian added ours.

We got Brian a fishing license and did a little shopping.  We found out that there'd be no Western shoot outs because of COVID employee shortages.  Bob bought a gem, and Judah bought his first pocket knife.  

We had planned to go to my favorite Mexican restaurant in town that day, but we arrived when it was supposed to open and found out it was closed that day.  So we went to a place that is new since I was a kid, Red River Brewing Co.  

Walking back to the RV park after dinner, we stopped to pet the horses and feed them some dandelions.

This was Bob's bed.  He loves to read!

We were in need of a good night sleep and Genna was awake part of the night getting sick in our camper.  It passed quickly, and she felt great the next morning.  We never found out what that was about.  

Breakfast on Day 2 of our trip.  I made eggs and bacon tacos for everyone in my teeny tiny kitchen.

This camping enamel mug was an early anniversary gift for Brian so he could use it on the trip for his coffee.  This is my St. Alban drawing with a prayer added in text on the side.

Someone made me a daisy chain crown for my hair, and I was braiding Hannah's hair first thing in the morning

Reading by the river in the mornings for me was brief, but sweet!

We split up boys and girls for our only full day in Red River.  The girls and I went shopping the whole day and the boys and Brian went fishing the whole day.  We met up at their last fishing attempt at a small lake at the end of ton before dinner.  Then we walked to Sundance, that Mexican food place that we had tried to go to the night before.  However, we got there right when it opened and there was reservations filling the place up until 7pm.  I was dead set on going to this restaurant and so we made reservations for 7pm and went to get all the thirsty kiddos a drink at a small place nearby.  We were out of water by this time so everybody got cherry limeades.

Goin' Fishin'

Farewell, Red River!  Till we meet again!

Day 3, we were up and closing up the camper, ready to hit the road again toward Arizona.

Finishing Up the School Year

The rest of May was a busy one.  My tomato and jalapeno plants were growing and doing well with all the rain, but one of them was blown over in a storm and it has never quite recovered.  The only problem really was too much rain.  

After the big kids were out of school we made it down to the Urban Garden section of the local food bank to volunteer again with friends.  After harvesting green beans for two hours, the kids were rewarded with feeding the goats.

The little two boys were with me so I could check the plants as they finish so they didn't miss any of those sneaky little green beans that like to hide.  Drew was with his buddy and Isaac worked hard all on his own (seen here).

When we moved into our new house in August, we lost a lot of closet space in the kid's rooms.  However, we gained an extra huge hall closet in addition to several others.  The one outside the boys' two rooms was turned into a shared closet.  I still have their hanging clothes in their room closets, but I did hang one pressure bar at the top (not visible in he picture) for Isaac to keep his school uniforms hung up because he is up before his roomie (Bob) sometimes.  I collected every basket or container not in use and labelled my heart out.  Each boy gets an entire shelf all the way around.  Then there are two more shelves (above what is pictured here) that have bins of boy clothes that no one is wearing currently, all labelled and ready for someone to grow into them.  I spent a morning moving out clothes that didn't fit and reorganizing since the boys are not perfectionists when it comes to putting their clothes away.  This closet serves well for a changing room for them too.   

Drew finished up his basketball season with his cousin on his team.  They were called "Flash and Dash" and finished the season already looking forward to the next.

Drew never smiles in group pictures.  I don't get it, because he's a happy guy most of the time.  He just hates picture time.

Hannah had her 10th grade concert.  She's not a singer really, but it is mandatory at her classical school to do these concerts on certain years.

Two of her good friends with her afterwards

The homeschooled boys had an end of the year bowling day.  Judah and Bobby haven't done much bowling before, but we signed up for Kids Bowl Free for this summer and are going to try to go once a week if we can after our trip.

This is a terrible picture, but I was trying to catch Drew altar serving at daily Mass after Mass was over.  It just took too long to get my phone out and the camera on.  He and his other homeschool friends that attend the same Mass and picnic day that we go to each week all did altar server training one day while the moms and little guys had the picnic and play time.  This day was his first day to carry the crucifix down which he was nervous about because it's heavy and hard to keep straight as he walks.  He was very focused.

Drew has also started reading the Harry Potter series and began his quest to build all things Harry Potter with his Legos.  

The day that school ended we drove to visit Gigi and Poppy before they moved out of their house.  The kids did some swimming, but not as much as usual because the water was still so cold from all the rain.  Playing pool became the obsession when Poppy taught the boys the proper way to play the game.

While we were there, Gigi got Genevieve a cake for her recent birthday and we celebrated again.  Gigi actually had tons of food for us and stuffed us full as usual.

When we got back home we spent the week getting ready for our RV trip to New Mexico and Arizona, and I spent a ton of time driving kids to sports camps all week.  Hannah also got some more practice driving in.  That next weekend, we had a couple of parties for the big kids and we had our family dinner with swimming at my sister's house.  Usually we've been swimming every weekend by the first week of June, but not in this rainy April and May.  It's barely hit 90 degrees a couple of days.

Bob, Dylan, and Drew