We thought a vacation to somewhere beautiful like St. Paul, Minnesota would be a wonderful way to escape the dreary Mexican winter weather. Oh, and Ali’s sister is also getting married. So, those are the two reasons we’re in Minnesota in February. Again.
Before we left we did a little work to the kids’ room. We threw on a fresh coat of paint, then we took down the old roll cage I had built and constructed a new, much smaller, one in its place. When we first left in the bus last year Lowe was two-and-a-half and needed all that protection to keep him from hitting the floor. Now just a year later it’s as if he is all grown up. We realized he no longer needed that much of a wall, and that we could really open the room up quite a bit by shrinking it down. All that’s left now is to replace that corner trim.
Leaving the bus nice and clean for our return was a family affair.
Every time we fly I am struck by one thing. Not how ridiculous it is that we now have to pay ten dollars for a cold chicken sandwich. Not how much carry-on luggage we all heft aboard in an effort to not pay for checked baggage. Not how old the flight attendants all seem to be (are any millennials going into this line of work?). Not how disgusting it is when one person coughs and sniffles the entire flight, seemingly completely out of control of their bodily functions. No, none of those things. What I’m struck by is how many middle-aged women spend the entire flight playing ridiculous games on an iPad. The lady next to me spent three hours designing monster trucks and racing them around collecting coins. The game looked to be designed for a four-year-old. I felt stupider by the end of the flight just sitting next to her. And yes, I would feel the same way about a man playing this idiotic game, but men are always idiots so I wouldn’t be as surprised by it.
The morning after our arrival. Old toys are new again.
Ouest got to go with Ali to a wedding shower the first day back. There were a couple of other kids there for her to play with. Overheard twice during the party were those kids running back to their mother to say, “That girl keeps talking in Spanish. Why is she doing that?” and then in exasperation, “She’s talking in Spanish again, Mom.” Esa es mi niña.
Ouest is adding and subtracting completely of her own free will. I’m so proud that I’m not even going to google what the average age for this is, because if I found out it is supposed to be age three that would severely ruin the high for me. Really what I’m most proud of is that she figured it out on her own, and I think she is proud of that fact too.
She is always writing. If anyone out there has a kid that might like a pen pal, let us know, because Ouest loves nothing more than sending and receiving mail.
One bridal shower might have been enough for one weekend for some, but not for Ali’s sister, Katy. No sir, Sunday brought yet another. These things are girls only, which made me very happy as it meant that Lowe, Grandpa, and I could disappear for a few hours to the motorcycle show at the convention center. The bridal shower, not the motorcycle show, got the camera for the day.
Lowe sat on fifty bikes and flicked switches until they were falling off, but what he really loved are those four-wheeler dump truck mule things with the little side doors that he could open and close. We spent the majority of our time there playing TAXI.
Ouest’s ninety-five year-old great-grandma and her favorite cousin.
The bride-to-be. Ali and I started dating when Katy was six. Now she’s getting married. Sometimes being married to your high-school girlfriend feels really weird.
Ouest watching Katy open the gift she made for her that morning. This was taken a few minutes before her front tooth finally fell out. She’s been playing with it for weeks, and the thing has been sticking out in different directions every time I look at her (see photo above), so this was quite exciting for all involved.
She didn’t realize it had fallen out at first, so when she did realize it she started crying and said to Ali, “I lost my tooth!” Of course Ali thought she just meant that she had finally lost her tooth, she didn’t understand that Ouest was crying because she had lost her tooth. Katy found it and the day was saved.
Somehow we didn’t take one good picture of her adorable gap filled smile. She looks so grown up to me all of the sudden.
27 Comments on “Minnesota in February”
Best wishes to the newlyweds.
I am sure they are on a nice warm honeymoon in Mexico by now 🙂
Oh, they’re not newlyweds yet. February has only begun. Wedding is at the end of the month.
no brothers??? men anyplace???
Ali has two sisters, no brothers. And these parties were girls only, anyway.
Where do you guys keep the Travco when you’re traveling?
In the RV park. They gave us about a 50% discount since we wouldn’t be there.
SO hilarious, especially the body functions comment, HA! and so true!!! Thanks for the out-loud laughs –>> “Every time we fly I am struck by one thing. Not how ridiculous it is that we now have to pay ten dollars for a cold chicken sandwich. Not how much carry-on luggage we all heft aboard in an effort to not pay for checked baggage. Not how old the flight attendants all seem to be (are any millennials going into this line of work?). Not how disgusting it is when one person coughs and sniffles the entire flight, seemingly completely out of control of their bodily functions. No, none of those things. What I’m struck by is how many middle-aged women spend the entire flight playing ridiculous games on an iPad. The lady next to me spent three hours designing monster trucks and racing them around collecting coins.”
OMG, she’s not a baby any more. her face has really changed and she got those long legs – did she just have a growth spurt? we just got back to QRoo from Cuba and Cuba was cold enough for me. nice to have the heat turned back on. I can’t imagine snow. have a great time and felicidades to the novia y novio!
Definitely getting longer and leaner every month that goes by. Most definitely not a baby any more. Even Lowe has outgrown the baby stage.
Ouest would love this, Letters for Kids from Rumpus.net. http://therumpus.net/letters_for_kids/
Writers (often good ones) write and illustrate letters (one a month) and send them out to all the kids on the list. The kids then can reply if they want. Since each letter is written by a different writer, the styles vary immensely. One might be a graphic art styled letter, another a mystery with an adjoining map. Soleil is still a little too young to appreciate them, but for a couple of years I subscribed for my niece and nephew, and they couldn’t wait to get the mail every day, even though they only got one letter a month.
Thanks, Stevie. I’d never heard of this before.
Four generations of estrogen soaked recirculating indoor air in February? Be sure to get Lowe out of the house with you to do manly things. 😀 Lowe’s bed looks much better.
“Esa es mi nina”, de hecho!
What a lovely bunch of family photos (and a lovely family!) They will be treasured in the years to come!
I have a 6 year old daughter who would love a pen pal! We’re in Massachusetts.
e-mail sent!
Love the idea of a penal. My daughter Chloe is 5 and so curious about other people and places. We are in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Cheers
e-mail sent!
¿Ustedes hablan español en casa?
As much as we can.
Not sure if you were serious about a penpal but my daughter Hazel is five and would love a penpal. We live in Nova Scotia but we’re from Maine. She doesn’t know Spanish but instead goes to an all French school (not that it will help her too much back in the states).
e-mail sent!
95
Ninety Five
and alert as well as looking years and years younger and still in possession of the beauty seen all around in the younger folk
what a win
May your little one, blessed beyond compare already, live to such an age
and be the gift that will be
to so many to come
If you’re serious about a pen pal, and you don’t have too many lined up already, my niece Olivia is 6-1/2 and would love sending and receiving a letter now and then. She lives in Colorado and is a creative, curious kid. In the next year or tow, I’ll be taking her for little trips in my 1966 Shasta travel trailer!
If you are interested in any other pen pals, we have a 5-year-old here who would LOVE it!!! We are in Nashville, TN and her name is Ellen. We love reading about your travels!
I’m wondering if you guys have heard of our research Unschooling at all. It’s exactly what you guys are already doing anyway. (And how we raised our kids for 16 yrs on the road) learning doesn’t have to have a time schedule 🙂
It’s a safe bet our kids won’t be spending time in classrooms. I hesitate to say that they never will, but as of now there is no plans for a traditional path.