Hell’s Half Acre

I didn’t think the kids would be able to sleep last night, so giddly they were with the excitement of seeing friends and family tomorrow. They all surprised me by jumping into bed as soon as the sun went down; they wanted the morrow to arrive as soon as possible. This morning, after sausage and oatmeal, we were on the road by 9:30; the kids were in their seats and buckled in by 9am. The boys were The Most Helpful they’ve ever been; asking us over and over what they could do do help get ready. I’m going to have to plant lots of relatives and friends along the route so they’ll do this more often.

As has become custom, about 1/2 hour after driving, all the kids were dying of hunger. I added MUCH more protein and fat to their diet yesterday, but it seems that the more I pump into them, the more they want. Driving through the Sierras is spectacular. We’re taking 88 as from Tahoe, 50 becomes not at all lonely and quite congested. I’ve taken 88 before, but Jamie hasn’t, and the scenery, lack of traffic and fall colors are simply spectacular. We’re also noticing that to us, the Sierras seem to be much more heavily populated with trees than any other forests we’ve been in. From Colorado to Nevada, I simply don’t remember such a density of trees.

Here is something we’re not used to. One lane of road available here, high in the Sierras, and in contrast to Mexico, where you were left completely and utterly on your own to make it though safely or not, we have a PILOT TRUCK AND people stopping traffic! What a concept!

The past two nights we’ve tried what has turned out to be a successful experiment. Sissy has been sleeping in Pike’s bunk, Pike on the dinette and Jamie with Ellen and me in our bed. It has worked out well; Sissy LOVES the bunk and Jamie and I aren’t complaining about being in the same bed after NINE YEARS of seperation. After Pike was born, he and I moved to a seperate bed and that has been the pattern with each subsequent child. The newborn goes with mom and the next eldest with Jamie. It is weird sleeping with an adult (though most of the night, I’m holding Ellen) and while it will take some getting used to, I think that as long as Sissy is willing, we are.

Well, I’ve been ignoring the family for too long now, uploading pictures on dial-up. I’ll post more pictures later. Assuming the lappie doesn’t go to the shop before that.