Blue Haven Vacation 2013

Well, I think I’ve finally gained enough distance from our summer family vacation (in July) that I can bring myself to write about it. 

First of all, what I learned:

A family vacation is not a vacation. At least not when any members of the family are less than four feet high and/or still need to have their bottoms wiped for them.

A better term for this sort of thing would be “Family Adventure.” If you believe that you’re on a vacation, and yet you are still cooking (or arranging for) dinners or forcing naptimes or wiping bottoms, then you are bound to have at least one breakdown in which you may or may not sob-scream the words, “All I want is to SLEEEEEEP! With no one TOUCHING ME!!!”

However, if you are on a Family Adventure, then you aren’t “still cooking” but you are finding new ways to adapt and survive in a foreign environment. You are allowing the excitement of that new terrain to flood every pore of your kids’ beings so that they involuntarily conk out whenever they are in the car or in your lap at the end of the day - and you let that count as their nap, knowing that it can! You are loving the mountains and caves and old forts not because of their own beauty or historical significance (because most of your energy is focused on making sure a toddler doesn’t break her neck while climbing that rock), but you are loving the mountains and caves and old forts because you get to experience them with your family, and you know the memories of these moments with be forever sealed in your memory as well as theirs (and probably in a photo album... someday...).

And when you get home from a Family Adventure, you spend several weeks in recovery. And oddly enough, a big part of that recovery happens each time you watch your little one’s eyes grow huge as he describes the BIIIIIIIG cave and the REALLY, REALLY BIIIIIIIIG Iceberg Rock to a friend or family member back home. 

It really was a pretty good adventure.

{And now, if you’ll give me a moment to get my slide projector working...}

The trip begins in the minivan; we spent the first night in Brady even though DD and Grandad had already left for Balmorhea. No need to overdo it at the beginning, though...

We had THREE BOXES of stuff in the car intended solely for the purpose of entertaining carseat-captive children. I'm proud to say that we used most of it, and our car time was much less painful than I'd feared it would be. The TAG Reader and books from DD and Grandad were one of the more popular items; thank goodness I remembered earphones, too!

Then from Brady, we geared up for the drive to Balmorhea. And then stopped 15 minutes down the road to get out and walk around an old fort.

"Wuke, what are we doing here?"
"I don't know, Sarah, I don't know..."

Back in the car, the kids were still happy happy happy, and we were starting to feel like we really were on an adventure!

Before long, we were in Balmorhea, where the kids were eager to indulge in some DD and Grandad time and to explore every nook and cranny of GiGi's house.

We were blessed to get to stay at a home in Fort Davis that belongs to one of P's coworkers; we had no idea what we were in for, but I would call it one of the best surprises of our trip!

P couldn't resist photographing these deer on the way up to the Chappell's house. I can't resist posting this shot; I'm pretty sure that he didn't mean to capture such a private moment for that one guy in the middle....

 This is what we woke up to at the Chappell's house:

And as if that weren't enough, they had toys aplenty....

...and Disney Junior.

On Saturday, we were able to catch a parade and craft fair in downtown Fort Davis - yet another pleasant and unplanned-for surprise!

Love this.

And then, of course, we visited the Fort.

The guy on the far left is my favorite.

 Grandad made sure the kids had appropriate headwear for the tour.

And because it was rather late in the day, P and Grandad both got to help take down the GIGANTIC flag. We tried to get Luke involved, but he was a little distrustful of those grown-ups wearing funny soldier clothes.

And to top off a great day, ice cream at the old soda fountain, of course!

Our only chance to see the McDonald Observatory was a quick drive up there and a walk through the visitor's center. Someday, when our kids (and I) stop turning into monsters at 9 pm, we'll stay for a star party.

I'm smiling, but I'm thinking, "Get us out of here so we can go to bed!!!!"

 The next morning, we headed west once again!

Everyone ready for the drive!

We made a fun stop in Carlsbad to see that really big cave that Luke keeps telling people about.

No one would sit with me for this picture. :-(

We decided to skip the elevator and walk down through the main entrance. If you've been to the Caverns, you'll understand me when I say that as soon as we reached the actual main cavern where the elevators stop, we were ready to ride those puppies right back up. We figured we'd have another chance to explore the cavern itself on a different trip... But the walk down had plenty of adventure (and exercise) for this young crew.

A few minutes after this photo was taken, a cave swallow pooped on my head. Yuck.

THIS is the Great ICEBERG ROCK.
Ask Luke about it sometime.

By the time the elevators mercifully returned us to the gift shop, we felt like true spelunkers!

With that adventure under our belts, we struck out once again, with Las Vegas, New Mexico - and Camp Blue Haven - in our sights. I think that drive seemed to be the longest of them all because we were so eager to see those mountains and breathe in the smell of pine trees and mountain streams. There's nothing quite like it!

And then we spent the next several days hiking and exploring....

fishing with Grandad...

working crosswords and taking naps...

practicing with our fancy new camera...

(and promptly being photobombed by a 4-year-old)...

hiking some more...

playing in the Smiths' cabin...

playing in the streams...

visiting GiGi and Aunt Karen and Uncle Dub...

and hiking some more!

We also participated in Early Christian Worship down at camp, spent lots of good time visiting with DD and Grandad, and made a few trips into town for food and supplies. P and I even snuck away for a date one evening, thanks to the grandparents. Going to the Las Vegas movie theater was a little like traveling back in time... but we had a lovely evening, nonetheless.

Then, all too soon, the week was over and it was time to head back home.

I made the kids pose for last photos before we piled into the van. They were thrilled.

Sarah had fun cheesing in front of this large tree.

And then Luke demanded that I take a photo of him next to a tree, too.
Can you see it? It's behind him. You might have to squint.

We loaded up in the van and said farewell to mountains green and sparkling streams, but we had one last stop before we'd get home: Lubbock and the Gregersen family!

We loved the extra time we had to play with cousins and attend worship in Lubbock. Although we knew we could find plenty of interesting things to do and see in Lubbock, we found that a low-key park visit and time playing in the Gregersen's backyard was more than enough fun for us.

We had volunteered to take the Gregersen kids home to the DFW area with us so that they could meet up with their other grandmother, and so after Sunday morning worship services, we piled all four of the kids into the van and set off on the last - and perhaps riskiest - leg of our journey.

Thankfully, we had very little to worry about from the kids:

And when they did begin to slowly "come to," we were close enough to a Dairy Queen to stop for one last break... Yes, we were that family at the DQ that evening.

If you want to know the truth, I can't remember anything that happened after we dropped the G boys off. I suppose that somehow we drove to our house, welcomed the sight of our own beds, and collapsed into a deep sleep. Or, more likely, that's what P and I wanted to do, but we were instead stuck with kids who'd slept all afternoon in their carseats... Nonetheless, we made it home - thankful to be there, and thankful to have had such a lovely adventure.