Vacay: The Finale

Wow.  We went on vacation over a month ago.  This is how crazy life is around here.  Here's your recap of our really, REALLY amazing week in the mountains.  For the first and second parts of the trip, click here and here.  Might want to grab that Dr Pepper and settle in.  Just sayin.

Ok, where were we?

Our 14th wedding anniversary was spent with the people we love most in the world - each other and our children - and we wouldn't have it any other way. I'm sure there were more exotic locations or fancier venues to celebrate the big 1-4, but this year we were just where God wanted us to be...with each other.

If it's possible to be up an earlier than the prior day, we were. 0430. That's just ridiculously early in my book. But, it did give us an early jump on the day. By 7:30, we had everybody fed and bathed, we had picked up the house and were wheels up, on our way to Alamogordo and White Sands National Monument. If you've never been or heard of this place, it's totally worth the drive. Once upon a time, a long, long time ago, Scott and I visited White Sands. We were in college and it was cool then, too! We rented a sled - this would be our Randy Quaid National Lampoon's moment. As we sat sledding down that white gypsum, I had flashes of him telling Clark about the plastic plate in his head. The kids (big and little) had so much fun we didn't know what to do with ourselves. Because we were the first ones in the park, no lie, we had our pick of the best sledding spots. I would like to point out that Will and Scott did manage to "bite it", but in a graceful, funny sort of way. I however, was an expert sledder. And, really, who will contradict me? My blog. My version.

We enjoyed lunch at a downtown park, then headed to the NM Museum of Space History, which houses the International Space Hall of Fame. Yes, there really is one and it's in the middle of nowhere in Eastern NM :) The museum had this great interactive exhibit that allowed you to guide the shuttle to a landing. We all faired so poorly that the automated pilot even ran out of encouraging words and instead just said, "Well, be sure to come back next time. Please let someone else give it a try." Thanks for the pick-me-up. The kids all agreed the highlight was trying out the "whisper dish" out on the front lawn of the museum.

On our way home, we stopped at St. Francis de Paula Catholic Church, one of NM's oldest missions, built in 1869. It was quiet and simple and very peaceful. Just as we were leaving, I caught a glimpse of Clare, settled on the kneeler looking sweetly up at Mary. Very precious.

Then, a final stop at the Mescalero Indian Reservation's church, St. Joseph, made for a full, yet awesome day. The bats evidently live in the rafters. I realized this about halfway up toward the altar. Ewww. While the restoration was lovely, I can't say I'm a fan of a church that has bats that live in the rafters.

I'd like to say that we were able to get all the kids in bed and enjoy a glass of wine to toast our anniversary. But, it wasn't meant to be. It was, by far, Luke's worst night of sleeping and we were up most of the night while he screamed. The good news is that we've learned to lower our expecations. We went into vacation not expecting him to sleep at all, but he surprised us all by only have only really lousy night. That's a success in my book.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 28
We had high hopes that the much-advertised Inn of the Mountain Gods in Ruidoso would be fab.  Notsomuch.

(The anniversary photo...how many fingers do you count?  Will took this and I thought he did great!)

We just took a few scenery pics and on the way back to the house got pelted with hail.  It was a good thing we didn't go far today!  It rained like crazy all afternoon.  We ate an early dinner and then scooted out just as the rain broke and enjoyed a lively game of bowling in downtown Ruidoso.  We even ran into some people from Jacksboro, just a hop, skip and a jump from Scott's hometown.  That was fun.

THURSDAY, JULY 29
We got an early start (again) to the day and loaded up the troops to check out Area 51 in Roswell.  I kept looking for Will Smith.  Weird.  Roswell is a funny, funny little town.  They really own the whole "a UFO landed here" bit.  Everything from the Mickey D's, to the street lamps, to the car dealerships boast of this newsworthy headline.  Scott and I thought it was a little hokey, but the kids...  They're still talking about what a cool place Roswell was.  I suspect this will be one we'll laugh about in about 10 years.

After lunch at yet another park (this one was pretty awesome, by the way, it had a free zoo!) we headed north to Lincoln.  It's like the last western town and the place where Billy the Kid escaped from jail.  I'm sure it would've been cool if it weren't RAINING LIKE CRAZINESS.  We mostly just waved to the jail and kept heading north to Capitan.  What's there, you ask?  Smokey the Bear National Park!

I won't bore you with the whole story, but there really was a Smokey the Bear and he's buried here.  This was such a fun, unexpected find.  We were really starting to think the rain had ruined the day, and then we stumbled upon this gem.  Say it with me..."Only YOU can prevent forest fires."  Ad money well spent.

FRIDAY, JULY 30
Get out a hanky, this was our last day.  I think this is the point in the vacation where you're stoked that you went but whacked out because you want your bed, your house, your washing machine, your stuff.  We went out on a bang, I'd say. 

Ruidoso Downs, the horse track, has an adjacent museum where we spent the better part of the morning.  They had this fantastic kids' pretend play area.  And, since we were up at the crack of dawn, we had the whole place to ourselves.  Perk to being on central time in a mountain time zone, I guess.  After lunch and naps at the house, we headed back to the Downs for a little gambling.  Never too early to start the kids, huh?  Actually, they had no idea that people were actually putting down cash for the races, they were just jumping out of their skin because they got to be so close.  It was awesome!  I even had a chance to call my grandfather - the horse race king :)

We ended the day with a really, really long walk to find ice cream.  Instead, we found a necklace.  We...me :)  And, perhaps a thing or two for the girls.  We packed, washed a bazillion loads of laundry and got a decent night's rest.

SATURDAY, JULY 31
Of course the kids slept in, but we managed to hit the road at 6:45 NM time (7:45 TX) and put the pedal to the medal.  I think the kids watched like seven movies, but since we didn't watch a lick of TV throughout the week, I figured it wouldn't hurt.  And, we made great time.  We clocked it right at 11 hours and 45 minutes.

What a week.  We made some sweet memories.  The kids acted like usual and had some timeouts.  They giggled, played games and got creative.  We cooked and ate every meal together as a family.  We shared some good conversation.  We read a boatload of Harry Potter.  We took a ton of photos.  We didn't sleep a lick.  We shared some wine.  And a few kisses.

We are so grateful to Dominic and his family for letting us stay at their house.  Team Whitaker needed to escape and just "be".  That was a tremendous gift.

New Mexico 2010. Was. Awesome.

Vacay: Part Two

No rest for the weary, this time three weeks ago we were on vacation, in awe of the cooler temps.  After a 5:45am wake-up call (that one hour time difference was awesome at night but a killer in the mornings!) we ate a quick breakfast, listening to our classical music, and then hit the road.

Our house!

Well, we did end up coming back to the house three times in 15 minutes because we kept forgetting things.  But once we finally hit the road, it was an uneventful trip to the top of the mountain, Ski Apache's ski lodge.  We had talked up the gondola ride to the top of the mountain, but when we arrived they told us it was closed for repair.  Major bummer.  We just went exploring instead and Will earned his nickname "Downhill" when he decided to run down the mountain.  He stopped the full throttle run by tumbling down that last bit.  He's lucky he didn't break an arm!  The ride down gave us some spectacular views of the mountains.

After lunch and naps at the house, we participated in the traditional putt-putt golf game.  Clare was, by far, the funniest one to watch.  Luke just chilled out in the stroller watching us all try to beat each other.  Oh, the quick tally for the winner was Scott by a few strokes.  Ahem.

Part three is coming up tomorrow.  I'll explain our National Lampoon's moment, why none of us should ever be space pilots and reason #953 I still don't like bats.  Certainly one of our most memorable wedding anniversaries ever!

Vacay: Part One!

Such a slacker.  I just feel like we've been running 90 to nothing since we got home from vacation, yet, as I look around at my house, it shows no sign of any progress.

Ah, such is life with 5 kids under the age of 9.

Ok, back to the story.  The night before we left we celebrated my brother's 29th (no really) birthday.  Clare was just getting over a "fever of unknown origin" and Luke's sleeping was still shaky, at best.  Perfect ingredients for a 12-hour road trip, right?  We had grand plans of leaving at 7:00am on Saturday morning, but we FINALLY pulled out of the driveway at 8:23.  And then at 8:35am, we realized we'd left our garage door wide open.  A text to our next door neighbor and a pretty fantastic leap of hers over the garage sensors later and we were off.

Oh, I forgot to mention that John Paul woke up with a fever.  It was pretty much like the point of no return.  The suitcases were all packed, the food iced down and plans made.  We just punted, gave him some ibuprofen and prayed for the best.  A mere 47 miles into the trip, we hear a "Mom, I need to throw up!" from the backseat.  I literally flew to John Paul, screamed at Scott to give me something to catch the throw up...and again we punted as I held my hands for him to deposit his um...stuff.  Thankfully, he didn't want to eat breakfast, so it was all orange ibuprofen.  I had to wait another 23 minutes (yes I was counting) until I could wash my hands.  Awesome.

So, if you're doing your math, just 47 miles into the trip, we had stopped three times.  During the throw-up stop, Clare was attacked by fire ants.  When we stopped for an early lunch, we were attacked - for reals - by no less than 30 flies.  It took us an hour to get them all out of the car.

Things settled down a bit for a riveting game of car bingo.  And, we saw a spectacular show of wind turbines.  Now, remember, I'm a Panhandle girl.  I know wind.  These things were awesome and the kids loved watching them.  Sorry the iPhone pic doesn't do them justice.

We ran into my cousin, Lauren, who lives in CANYON, at a dumpy DQ in LAMESA.  What are the odds of that? 

Fifteen miles later we realized we were heading the wrong way on the right highway, then we hit a hail storm two hours outside of our final destination, Ruidoso.  Upon our arrival, the smoke alarm was beeping every 10 seconds and it was 18-feet up on the ceiling.  As fate would have it, one of my dad's high school friends owns a home that was three houses down from ours and he arrived with an extension ladder and a major dose of sanity.

And that...is day one.

Day two was spent chilling out.  I worked on getting Luke to take a nap - which he miraculously did - and getting John Paul's fever under control.  Scott took everyone else to Mass.  I don't know what prayers he offered up, but it was nothing but blue skies the rest of the week.  I show this photo to tell you about our glorious morning ritual.  Our house (huge hat tip to Dominic's family for letting us crash at their family's vacation home in Ruidoso) had a player piano.  So, every morning we cranked the classical music and dined in style.  We felt like we were at a resort!

Stay tuned for the story behind Will's new nickname, "Downhill" and how a golf ball was the highlight of the day.

It's Magic!

Yes, because of blog posting magic, you've been able to enjoy some stories and stroll down memory lane  while we've been on vacation.  Oops.  And you thought I was sitting here all the while :)

If I'm slow to get back in the groove this week, cut the vacay girl some slack.  Ok?  On Wednesday, I'll have your top ten 'Best of the Anniversary Trip'.  It will be grand, that I promise. 

We'll catch up with you once we reacclimate to 100-degree temps.  Sweet, COOL Ruidoso, New Mexico had highs in the 70s, lows in the 50s!!  The weeklong break has definitely cleared our heads and recharged our souls.

And the trip destination is...

Ruidoso, New Mexico!!!

Doctor's orders

About a month ago, our counselor encouraged Scott and I to find time to "get away."  We both snorted loudly at the prospect of that happening anytime soon. 

But, as providence would have it, we had a family reunion last weekend and after it was over my AWESOME Aunt Mary Lou offered to watch the older four kiddos for us while we got out of Dodge.  Couple that sweet offer with a free two-night stay coupon, compliments of my mom, at a great hotel on the Riverwalk and we were sold.

Our room's balcony!

To be honest, we didn't do much.  As Scott said, this was an "eating and sleeping" kind of getaway.  Me like.  We ate at all our favorite restaurants and enjoyed some time alone - well sort of alone :)  Luke didn't sleep great, but he didn't complain about what he wore, where we ate or how long we were in the car, so he was forgiven.

The last time we were in San Antonio, I looked like this!

I don't know what it is about sweet San Antone that we love so much, but love, love we do.  Thanks MLou for your precious gift - we really needed the time away.  Mom, thanks for giving up the best room on the Riverwalk.  And, Scott, thanks for some lovely time together.  I love you!

Panhandle Girl

Yes, we're in Amarillo and it is so durn cold. But fun. More pics, details and many funny stories when we get back. Enjoy the break! Oh, and happy first anniversary to the Team Whitaker blog!

Top Ten: Long Lost Family Vacation Pics

I've been holding on to this one for a while now. This summer, you may remember we trekked to Arkansas for the family vacation. Well, one morning we could hear the boys CRACKING up. But, we didn't hear any body slams, thuds or the sound of anything breaking, so like the good parents that we are, we rolled over and went back to sleep. It wasn't until about 45 minutes later we discovered the source of all those giggles.

Yeppers. This is what happens when a 7-year-old and his 4-year-old sidekick score the family point-and-shoot digital camera.

TOP TEN: LONG LOST FAMILY VACATION PHOTOS

1. Self portrait.


2. Curious what they're wearing that day? Wonder no more.


3. Why is it boys are fascinated with anything that has a rear-end?


4. Architecture of the room. Very nice.


5. Happy.


6. Sad.


7. Angry.


8. Gotta document the Lego magazine. Seriously, there were about 10 photos JUST like this one.


9. Their "room with a view."


10. The sweet 80s mirrors.



Lesson learned? If you want another 45 minutes of sleep, leave out the digital camera.

Thank you Mr. Postman!

Look what came in the mail!! You might remember the mad-dash painting spree from this post. This has definitely become a new family tradition.

Top Ten: The Best Week Ever!

Us and the folks over at VH1 had "the best week ever" in Arkansas last week. Really, the many memories we made defy description. There was one night, Wednesday I think, when we were all scarfing down some Italian gelato and Scott looks over at me and says, "Has this just been the best day or what?" Oh man, I wanted to bottle that moment.

Every year, around our wedding anniversary, Scott and I have made the trek to a different state to celebrate the big day. This year, we decided to go to Arkansas with kiddos in tow. Yes, I know. Most people were like, "Oh, Arkansas? That sounds...fun." It was within the one-day drive requirement (you tell me, do you want to be in a car longer than 9 hours with 4 kids under 7??? I didn't think so.) And, neither of us had been there together. So, AR it was.



DISCLAIMER: Settle in folks, this might just be my longest post. Grab a Dr. Pepper, get a comfy seat and enjoy.

TOP TEN BEST MEMORIES FROM ARKANSAS! (in chronological order because deciding the best was just too hard)

1. Garvan Woodland Gardens. Even though we were already missing the AC once we stepped outside, we braved this 210-acre botanical garden with gusto. The kids HAD A BLAST. We HAD A BLAST. The scenery was pretty unbelievable, considering the garden is only in its eighth growing season. The kids ran and ran and ran, and Scott and I pushed that double stroller up and up and up. We got our workout for the week.



The gardens had a miniature train (broken when we were there, but still cool to see), tons of bridges, lots of rocks, fish, WATER, a great outdoor pavilion and the most stunning outdoor/indoor chapel and carillon tower I have EVER seen.





We even did a little Aggie engineering and figured out how to prop up the camera to take this family photo.



2. Fishing. The boys started talking about this adventure two days before we even left on vacation. They must've asked Scott about 53 times (no lie) when they were going. So, Tuesday morning, they headed out on their "big adventure" ready to catch the evening's dinner. They had high hopes of an 8-pound bass, but I made sure we brought along some hot dogs for dinner, just in case. Even though there was no catch of the day on the menu that night, they had a really good time. Scott says they skipped more rocks than anything. Sounds like fun to me.





3. Painting Toesies. So, while the boys were off skipping and fishing, Anna-Laura and I busted out the toenail polish. Pure glee. I hope that gives you a visual of her excitement. If not, see picture.




4. Camp Ozark! This place is truly amazing. Back in college, Scott was a yell leader with another Scott. I took this picture for 'ol Army's sake. Don't they still look the part?



Anyhoo, Scott T.'s family owns and operates the most amazing Christian sports camp. We always knew it was top notch, but until we laid eyes on the place, we had no idea that it puts other camps to shame...and in a good way. I mean, where else can you: waterski, fish, canoe, putt-putt, fish, skateboard, ride horses, shoot skeet, swim, design stuff on Macs, do archery, shoot rifles, slide on one of 4 water slides, play soccer/tennis/lacrosse/football/basketball, run a zip line, jump on one of 6 blobs, do a ropes challenge course, or make something over in arts and crafts (stained glass, pottery making, pottery painting, t-shirts, mosiacs, paint wood crafts)? Seriously? Seriously. And, the best part was the camp was only a quick 15-minute drive from our condo.





5. Horseback Riding. Anna-Laura is a big fan of horses (please tell me what little girl isn't?) So, when we saw some stables I knew we'd found our "girl time." She didn't say much (except to ask 7 times - yes I counted - the horse's name) and never once got scared. She's been talking about her ride for a good week now. Oh, and in case you're wondering. Bonanza.





6. Bathhouse Row. Located in Hot Springs, this was THE place to be in Al Capone's day. At the height of the season, more than a million folks flooded to Bathhouse Row to...well, take a bath. This water is hot, and I'm not lying. After dipping our hands in for a millisecond, we were left wondering just how people actually bathed in this hot stuff. Nevermind the fact that you were bathing with a tubload (HAHA) of other people. It was cool, though. A good reminder that life hasn't always been as fast-paced as it is now. At one time, it was cool to drive to Arkansas and sit in hot water. Who knew?







All over the city, there are fountains and water fountains that you can fill up a jug or a bottle of water, all for free. Step back, because some of these people were professionals. Most of the fountains were the hot water, but one on the edge of town was a cool spring-fed fountain. We all took a sample - tasted just like chicken :-) Actually it tasted pretty good.




This was taken at the top of the mountain overlook, just before dusk. I love this photo of the kids.



7. Pottery Painting. The entire trip we were on the lookout for something that would commemorate the trek. A shotglass or a "I went to Arkansas and all I got was this lousy t-shirt" just didn't cut it. When we happened upon a pottery studio, we knew we'd found our winner. We walked in 30 minutes before closing and the store owner told us they closed at 6 that day. I think he had his doubts we could knock out a winner in 30, but he obviously doesn't know the Whitakers. We walked out at 6:03, thankyouverymuch, with one stellar piece. We can't wait to see it!!!






8. Putt-Putt. Let me just say this. Pirate's Cove putt-putt is not your father's putt-putt. This place rocked. But, I had my doubts. We passed up a couple of places on the way to this one and I kept bugging Scott to just stop off. I mean, the kids would love it no matter where we went, right? But, Scott was right. HE WAS RIGHT (did you get that honey?) This was the finale to our great Wednesday that the kids are still talking about. It was something his family did on every vacation and I think we've just added it to our tradition repertoire. Oh, I beat him by 4 strokes. Nevermind that he had a one-arm handicap shooting one-handed while holding Clare :-) Sadly, there are none of these in Texas. Shoot.








9. Diamond Crater State Park. There's a long story to this one, but let's just suffice it to say it almost didn't make the top ten. We got "directionally challenged" on the way and only after a screaming fit from the backseat, did we decide to turn around and find this place come h*#! or high water. Too bad that same attitude didn't help us find a diamond. This place is totally legit. You can actually dig for diamonds and keep what you find. A week before we went some 11-year-old kid found a quarter-carat diamond in just 7 minutes. No lie. The kids had fun digging...for about 5 minutes. The girls didn't want to get dirty (me included), so poor Scott stayed out there another 15 minutes digging and digging and came up with nothing except a calcite!





10. Seeing Friends & Family. On the way back, we split the trip into two days. Can I hear an AMEN? We took a quick pit-stop in Texarkana to meet with the Mayor. Promise. A friend of ours from college, Steve, was just elected Mayor and his family owns one fabulous furniture company. We got to tour the factory and the kids ran off some steam in the design room. At least they didn't break anything. Steve, Alison, Adyson - great, great to see you three. Let's not make it 12 years again, okay?



We spent the night in Dallas and spent some good times with the fam. Uncle Cory, Aunt Jennifer, nephew Alex and Granny all met us for dinner and then lunch the next day. As usual, alotta noise and not much chatting. But, we're so glad we got to see y'all!



Give yourself a pat on the back, you made it through the marathon post. Sorry to be so chatty. It was just one of those weeks :-)