green river

We took a little day trip down to Green River last Saturday. Dan, Uncle Dave and Aunt Judy had a little kayaking awaiting them. I had a little babysitting adventure in store for me.

The three hour drive was much more pleasant than I had expected. Danny was quite content holding his puppies, staring out the window and talking to himself. Cate held Ming Ming, ate fishy crackers and practiced blowing raspberries.

Cate slept a little bit. Danny pretended to sleep. After the little nap, she worked on her puzzle skills. Danny watched Oswald.


After a little over three hours on the road, we arrived at the campsite where Dave, Judy and the boys had spent the night. The kids explored the beach. I figured Cate would like it since she loves the sandbox in our backyard.







The kayakers headed out for their adventure around noon. The four kids and I hung out at the campsite. They played hide-and-seek and got cozy in the playpen. It was starting to get a little warm so I loaded everyone into the van and headed into town.


On the way, I saw two buzzards eating something dead and smooshed on the road. As far as I could see, that was pretty much the most exciting thing happening in Green River.


We stopped at the John Wesley Powell River History Museum. The only other people inside were the two old ladies who worked there. I figured we'd just walk around and look at stuff. Not so. The lady led us into the theater and started on her little memorized speech about John Wesley Powell and his adventures on the river. She said the movie would be 20 minutes. Too long. Jarrett and Kris were good. Danny and Cate were not.

We zipped through that museum at lightning speed. That's how fast I had to go to keep up with Danny. He kept asking me where all the animals were. No animals. Just old boats and rocks.


After the museum, I drove around and found a park. We only lasted about 5 minutes though. It was just too hot outside. We loaded back into the van and went to get ice cream instead. I was really hoping for a drive-thru Wendy's or Dairy Queen or Arctic Circle. No such luck. I had to take all four kids into the West Winds Truck Stop with me. Next time I'll strap Danny in the stroller and just carry Cate. That little boy touches everything!


We headed back to camp and played for about an hour. It was hot. Too hot. My kids were tired. I put everyone back in the van and went for another ride, hoping for at least one of them to fall asleep on the drive. They both did.


The kayakers returned about an hour later. We played on the beach for a little while.



Dan was pooped.


More playing at the campsite. More crawling around in the sand. More eating rocks and dirt.



I relaxed a little bit while Uncle Dave cooked our yummy hobo dinners. I figured I deserved a crown for being the Queen of Crazy for the day. (My crown wouldn't fit in the picture so I got a tiara instead.)


Danny finally got to roast his marshmallows after dinner. To him, camping means a tent and marshmallows. He learned that from Oswald.

We packed up and drove away at 8:43. Cate puked hobo dinner all over herself at 8:58. I had no wipes. I left them at the campsite. I thought I had some in the diaper bag. I was wrong.

We stopped at the West Winds Truck Stop and stripped her down to her diaper. As we walked through the doors, the worker lady looked at Cate and then said, "How cute. Oh, your baby has food on her face." I told her she had just thrown up and asked where the baby wipes were. We bought some and I headed to the bathroom with Cate. Dan headed out to the van to clean up the remains of her hobo dinner.

I put Cate on the bathroom floor (imagine that, no baby changing table at the West Winds Truck Stop). As I was wiping her clean, I noticed that she was holding something in her hands. I pried her fingers open and found that she was holding fist-fulls of her hobo dinner puke. Nice.

I took Cate back to the van and got Danny so he could go to the bathroom. He's scared of the loud flushing sound the public toilets make. He usually tries to do his business with his ears plugged. He doesn't want me to flush until he's out of the stall. I assured him that it wouldn't be too loud and I'd wait for him to be out. This toilet surprised us both though. It had one of those sensors and it flushed while he was still sitting. Once again, he moved with lightning speed. He was quite disturbed by it. I found it quite humorous. I'm such a meanie.



By the time we finally drove out of the West Winds Truck Stop parking lot, Cate had had enough. She was pooped. She slept the rest of the way home. Danny finally fell asleep a little before 11:00. I was dozing on and off until Dan slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting some deer.

We pulled into our driveway at 12:39. I've never been so happy to be home.

(Sorry about the puke smell in your van, Uncle Dave.)