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The next day, Friday, my parents got to take off and wanted to spend it with us cruising on the Rhine, and we were happy to oblige. We had a great day with beautiful weather.
Castles and vineyards...we'll see this view again in about a week.
Our return boat had a little playground on it, which was great because that trip was upstream and longer. We were all happier for it.
Germans and their campers! They have so many campsites right along the river. We saw so many trailers. Our little Scamp would have been right at home.
AAHHH!! I stayed in that castle (the one above my head) as a freshly-graduated 22-year-old! There's a hostel in there!
I'm not ashamed at the kindle time the boys got. Tradeoffs.
Kind of a weird face on me, but oh well.
At the turn-around point, we spent time in Rheinfels castle. It was in ruins, which was all the better for two little boys. They loved crawling in, on, and through. Even my mom was a good sport and went through the teeny-tiny tunnels with us. (This is not one, they were much, much smaller.)
I think we need one of these at the house.
Some cute old people. :)
Oh, this is also the day we almost lost Ollie's piggie. Against our judgment, he brought her along and we thought we lost her somewhere up in the ruins. Knowing we'd miss the boat if we went back up for it, we were all about in tears over the loss of the pig (for many different reasons). BUT miracle of miracles! He was just sitting on her. Crisis averted. PHEW.
Iceland has always been on my list of places that I really really want to go to. So when this trip was becoming a reality, I saw that IcelandAir does this "extend a layover" thing and that was about all I needed. So we added 48 hours to our trip before going to Germany.
Obviously it was amazing. So natural and beautiful and not packed full of people. But holy moly was it expensive. I'm not sure how long we could have lasted! But it was incredible and I'm so glad we went.
We took a red-eye and landed at about 7 a.m. Although we were tired, we knew we needed to power through the tired and make it to nap time. So we did! Our first stop was at this bridge between continents. This is where the North American and Eurasian plates meet. And as a geography major, I find this extremely AWESOME. Thankfully (and surprisingly) so did the entire family! Win!
Then we took a puffin boat tour. Lots of puffins!
And check out how cool the stuff the airline gave us is. I just love the scandinavian style.
Then we just walked around the city. A lady at the boats gave us a whole loaf of bread (which is worth about 7 US dollars) and the boys loved feeding all the ducks. They loved throwing the bread at my feet, making me freak out.
We took an elevator up this church for a sweet view of town.
The adults took a nap during the day, but the boys did not. This is them sleeping...at 8 o'clock. It never got dark there. Yes, the sun went down, but not enough down. But as we were all super tired, it didn't really matter.
The next day we took a long driving tour. Our first stop was this place where the mid-Atlantic ridge comes above the surface of the earth. People scuba there! We just like the sign. Notice our clothes. In July. I must live there.
Then we took a hike through the split. It's pretty amazing, no?
And of course we had to stop by Geysir. Such a difference experience than seeing Old Faithful. We could get much closer, it wasn't mobbed with people, and it went off every three minutes! Cool!
True to geysers form, they stank!
Then Gulfoss waterfall. So loud!
Finally we hiked down into a volcanic crater.
Once we were done driving, we went to a local public pool. Iceland has tons of public pools (more per capita than any other country, maybe?) heated with their geothermal energy. So even though the air temperature was in the 50s, the water was in the 80s! It wasn't fancy or spa-like, but fun. And of course, the boys loved it. But I couldn't take pictures because taking pictures of people in swimsuits can be weird. The next morning we got up and flew to Germany!
We did it. We took two small-ish children to Europe. We drove nearly 2,000 miles in two separate cars, both having STICK SHIFTS. We flew over Greenland (one of the cooler experiences of my flying life). We dealt with no darkness in Iceland and no air conditioning on the mainland. At the end we were exhausted and then got even more exhausted when three days after we got home, my sister and her family came to stay. But of course we love them and will take them any time that they want to come. In fact, they're still not gone.
To be honest, my jury is still out on whether or not taking the boys was the right call. (Chuck's jury says yes, we should have brought them.) They're kids, you know? Whether at home or in an amazing thousand-year-old castle, they're still going to whine, complain, and fight. And repeatedly tell me that they're thirsty. I swear that we heard, "I'm thirsty!" about a million times a day. No exaggerating (well, maybe a teensy bit). This even after we made sure to take water bottles with us everywhere. (Crazy Europe with your ice-less, expensive, fizzy water.)
I just forgot how hard change is on littles. Different beds, different foods, different cars...different everything. Even the one (one!) McDonald's we ate at in Prague was different. (And by "different," I mean AMAZING. They had this incredible coconut-chocolate chip McFlurry that was delicious. Now I'm regretting that we didn't eat at McDonald's more.) When planning the trip, I really did try to make an effort to balance things that I thought the kids would like with things that the adults would like. But apparently I did a bad job because the boys' favorite things were playgrounds, cousins, and swimming. So um, tell me again why we spent all that money to fly them across the Atlantic???
Oh right: to enlighten them! To give them new (albeit challenging) experiences! To avoid imposing our Ollie on a babysitter for 2.5 weeks! I know there are plenty of reasons to expose children to this. But I also know that there are plenty of reasons to just go without them. Which is exactly what we're doing next time, you know, when we spend one week in Prague.
Overheard at dinner the other night (this is after the reasonable time it should take anyone to eat a delicious dinner, when Chuck and I have already left the table to get stuff done):
Ollie: Rhett, are you pondering what I am pondering right now?
Okay, so maybe I had some things to document.
Before trips, I like to clean the house. There's something amazing about coming home, tired from vacation, to a clean house. But cleaning before this trip was imperative because shortly after we come back, my sister and her crew arrive! So not only are we cleaning, but we're organizing too. We're getting rid of junk and even selling some stuff. I am so excited about the state of my house, I can barely stand it. However, the boys are a bit frustrated because as we clean each part of the house it then becomes off-limits. Ha. (Hence the bathrooms getting done the last minute possible.) But it's so worth it. If only we can keep it clean for those two days after we get back and before Emily comes. I think so. I anticipate that jet lag will leave us too tired to actually do anything!
Because rain was in our forecast, we kept our day low-key. Bike rides, neighborhood outdoor games (before rain), BBQ outside under the canopy, and an on-time bedtime. Perfect (at least for this year)!
P.S. I should have mentioned that yes, I ordered five pairs of shoes from Zappos, but I returned four of them. These are the ones I kept. I'm pleased.
P.P.S. The blog will be quiet for the next three weeks. Should you want to know why, follow me on Instagram.
P.P.P.S. Should you want more, follow Ollie's pig on Instagram @refrigeratedpork.
Shopping for clothes pretty much sucks, right? Of course right. Unless you're super thin, it's the worst. And even then, things still probably don't fit you well. My body never fits right in clothes and so the experience is completely ignored.
Shoes, however, now that should be fun, right? WRONG. At least wrong when you wear the size of a preteen. Not only are shoes not often made in my size (most companies start at size 6), the ones that are are kids' shoes. And kid shoes, for a woman nearing 40, are not okay. BUT. The other day whilst perusing Amazon, I found some I really liked. Like a lot. In my size. So of course I ordered them immediately. Guess what happened? The next day I got an email from the company telling me they were actually out of stock. I literally started crying.
So what did I do? Buy five pairs on Zappos.
Remember when we went camping and I got some terrible spider bites? And then we went camping again and had these issues with ticks? That was nothing. NOTHING compared to the terrible, horrible thing that happened last week.
NOTE: Please know that I am not letting my emotions run completely away with myself. When I tell you about the terrible-horrible that happened to us, I have not lost perspective. This terrible-horrible was only terrible and horrible among the truly non-terrible and non-horrible things. I am obviously aware that truly terrible and horrible events (e.g., death of a child/parent/spouse, major illness, loss of a house to a fire) happen to people every day. And I realize how fortunate I am that as of now, I am relatively free of these things.
Sunday morning we're all getting ready for church when Rhett tells us that his head is itching. Crap. Because we know what it means. LICE. While I'm fanning myself so as to not faint, Chuck is fingertips deep in Rhett's hair. He's immediately convinced it's lice. Me? Not so sure. Every google image of lice (a google search I don't recommend, along with "blood filled tick"; just a friendly PSA) shows little white things. What we find in Rhett's hair is tiny black things. Still. We're scared enough to keep him home from church that day.
But of course at church I am unable to focus on anything else. I am also unable to stop scratching because I'm just so creeped out. (I'm also infected with one louse, but we didn't know that then.) I remembered a woman who made a career of lice removal and told Chuck that if/when this ever happens to us, we'd call her ASAP. So we did. At our appointment later that day, we found Rhett was a total mess (probably had them for 2-3 weeks) and I had one louse with a couple of nits. Miracle of miracles: Chuck and Ollie were clear. She gave us instructions (and hairnets!) and we went home.
Let me tell you what lice cleansing entails. Laundry. Loads and loads of laundry. Sheets. Comforters. Clothes. Towels. Slipcovers. Not just once, but twice and thrice. So much laundry. Vacuuming. Also, daily combing with a special lice comb. This is not like a plastic pick. No. It's metal with super close teeth, and being combed with it hurts. And having to comb an eight-year-old who cries and whines the entire time is pretty terrible. (Although you'll have to ask Chuck to verify this. I didn't do it.) Then of course there are the psychological disorders you develop. Paranoia ("I'm sure there's just one louse waiting to stage a comeback!"). PTSD ("That was terrible and horrible and terrible-horrible!"). Exhaustion ("If I have to remake that bed one more time, I'm just going to collapse on top and stay there the rest of the day."). Phantom itching ("Why is my head/arm/foot/eyeball itching? Is there a louse there?!"). And finally, dread ("What if we didn't get them all and they come back????"). The last one is the killer. We've been doing the daily combings for eight days and haven't had any lice nor nits for five or six of them. But still. STILL. What if?!
See. Told you. Terrible. Horrible.
But it's over...for now. We had our follow-up appointment earlier this week and Rhett and I were cleared! Hallelujah.
P.S. I have now added "lice killing" to the list of things I'd like to see a politician put on his/her platform (along with cancelling daylight saving time and requiring swim meets to be at most two hours). I'd totally vote for that person.
After only one year of adjusting to pool culture, I've got a new culture to learn. (Does that mean I've joined a new cult? Never noticed the root of the word. Huh.) Swim team is a whole new thing. Now that Rhett can swim a length of freestyle, he can (and did) joined the swim team for our pool. What, exactly, does swim team involve? Let me tell you.
First, practices. Obviously. Starting the day after Memorial Day, Rhett has had daily swim team practice for 30-45 minutes. Now that's it's summer, this isn't such a big deal. But man, it was a lot during the school year. Ollie is even on the pre-team and they practice at the same time, which is super convenient for Chuck. Goal of pre-team is to get the kids to swim the length of the pool so that next summer he'll be ready for "real" swim team.
Second, meets. Oh my. These meets. I had no idea. None. There are two meets: A and B. The stronger swimmers do the A meets Saturday mornings, and the others go to the B meets on Wednesday nights. Although Rhett is just getting this freestyle thing down, we don't have that many 8-and-under boys, so he's been swimming in the A meets. Let me tell you about these meets. They are LONG. And I'm kinda mad at Chuck (who grew up completely immersed in this culture--get it? Immersed?) for not cluing me into this. Warm-ups start at 8 a.m. and the meet starts at 9. The meet has 50 (fifty!) events and then you're done at noon. And because these things are mostly volunteer-run, either Chuck or I (or sometimes both) have to help. The only job we've done so far is timing. That means for all 50 events, we and two others stand at the end of each swim lane timing the swimmers. For three hours. In the sun (sometimes). In the humidity (most times). The events are basically every permutation possible of gender, age group, stroke, and distance. And how many events does Rhett swim? Two. How long does it take him to do this? His total swim time is one minute. In all honesty, the meets are kinda fun. Watching the different swimmers that we're starting to know is fun. Chuck and I think it's good for Rhett to be part of a team and he's enjoying watching (some) of it. But man, I would be so much happier if these things were only two hours long. Thankfully, both meets so far have been at pools with attached playground. Ollie has happily played the entire time!
Third, social events. There are pep rallies every Friday night before meets. These include a practice, a theme, dinner (so yes, I'm having to bring food), cheers, etc. There are team picnics after home Saturday swim meets. There are other team events as well. This is in addition to the other social events that the pool puts on: tween nights, movie nights, blah blah blah. As we're still feeling the effects of May, we're opting out of some. But I can't say that I'll be sorry to miss some of these next month because of our trip.
I have to admit that I'm enjoying watching Rhett. He usually likes to do only things that he's good at, or where he's expected to be just as good as everyone else (e.g., a tennis class for beginners). So this really is big for him! The first meet he was asked to join a four-person relay and he really did not do it. But he did. And I was so proud of him and I think he was proud of him. It's good for him. And really, it's the pool. How bad can it be?!
It looks like he's at the bottom, but actually he was 5th of 11. Not bad for his first meet!
And just like that, Rhett's second grade year is done! It better be; I mean, c'mon. It's past the summer solstice already. But end it did. On Monday, I was true to my word and went to his school for a "Last Day Party." Really, it was just games, but that's okay. We started with "Heads Up, Seven Up!" for no other reason than I remembered playing it and so Rhett must know my joys.
Then we moved on to a giant version of "Don't Eat Pete!" This is a game my sister introduced me to, and is well-loved in our house. For some inexplicable reason. The kids could barely keep their hands off the swedish fish, but finally it was done.
Then we finished with Bingo. I had prizes for this one and when he didn't win anything, Ollie was in tears and declared that he HATED the party. Ha. That's Ollie! Then it was nearly time for the kids to get to lunch, so I had them rush to sign the bag. I love how it turned out.
Rhett and his teacher with a photo bomber.
After his last solo bus ride (next time he rides a bus to school, Ollie will be with him!), he got his candygram. He was mad I called him an Air Head. Which clearly he's not, but Five Below only has so much selection.
Everything about the end of the school year was exhausting. Rhett really enjoyed today's party and I enjoy spending time with his classmates, so I guess it's worth it. And now, it's finally SUMMER! (I say that as if it's a good thing.)
I offered to throw a last-day-of-school party at Rhett's school. I've never done this before, so if you have any advice (like, ahem, how you should have told me that two hours is plenty for a child's birthday party), please send it my way. As I never got around to getting a gift together for Rhett's teacher during teacher appreciation week, I thought I'd do that now. And what cuter gift for a teacher than a notebook tote bag? (Probably a lot of things, but I just couldn't think of them.) And if I'm going to be at the school, why not have the kids sign their names in their second-grader handwriting?
Turns out I love this bag. Love it.
Bag tutorial here. Notebook-ing it idea here.
As mentioned, we picked Tuckahoe and this particular weekend because they had this super cool "triathlon." I think I mentioned that it was a two-mile run (on that fun fitness trail, but no, I didn't stop to do the rings), a ten-mile bike, and then a one-mile paddle. It was so fun! Except when it was boring.
Turns out biking is super boring (for me, obviously). I usually listen to podcasts while running, but I don't do it during races. But man, I could have used something during the bike. I was so bored that I started counting lines in the road. But then they turned to double yellow and I was back to bored. Clearly I just don't bike enough. I know the theory behind race running and I know my pace. But only have done a handful of non-kid bike rides this year, left me very bad at this. Ha. So even though I finished the run in the about 12th place, I stopped counting the number of people who passed me while biking. Clearly I should have kept counting as it would have given me something to do.
But even through that, it was still super fun. Only about 100 people participated and the state park did a great job organizing. I love a well-run race!
Riding away. I had no idea of the boredom to come.
The finish line was in the water. Pretty cool.
My big buddy and me. Next time (you know, after I can psych myself out for handling the ticks) it's Chuck's turn! Or, we wait until the boys are a little older and we enter two doubles teams.
Another park checked off! This one surprised me. I was expecting just another forest, but it was actually really fun! We ended up fishing, canoeing, hiking, biking, playgrounding, going to an aviary program (where we watched birds of prey eat dead mice), and the regular campfire activities. I also participated in a triathlon, but more on that later.
Sure it was hot and humid, but I survived that with the Scamp. HOWEVER. The one thing I'm not sure I can survive in summer camping? The bugs. I mean, mosquitoes, whatever. But the ticks? I just don't know. We each ended up with at least one on us, my first one found on my forehead (not yet embedded) while I was driving. Seriously. I've been itching everywhere since we got back. It's going to take me some serious psyching myself out before I try this again. Why-oh-why were ticks ever included in the list of things to create?
This was our first trip where we got to try out the PVC railings on the upper bunk. SUCCESS! No middle-of-the-night fallings out.
The boys LOVED the tire playground. Ollie especially loved this swing.
Only Rhett caught a fish. The creatures were experts at getting the worms off the hook without actually snagging themselves.
We had friends join us Saturday and I got to take all three little boys on a canoe ride. I felt pretty awesome.
Before we left Sunday morning, we hiked the fitness trail. Every tenth of a mile there was some exercise to do. Pretty hilarious.
They both were terrified and then in love with the rings.
And I was in love with watching them bike! We called it "mountain biking" just to make them feel tough, but really, it was a nice ride on a needle-covered trail. I totally recommend this park! Just maybe not in tick season.
Only five parks left! (And two to repeat.)
