Homecoming

Even though he won't remember a thing, we have proof the baby enjoyed his first road trip.
Especially the view.

We're back home. I think we were all happy to be home for about a day and then we started missing our trip. Everyone asked me how it was possible to travel with three kids including an infant in a van for four weeks. I can hardly understand it myself, but it was wonderful. It was a lot of work. Especially on nights when we camped. But most of the work, the loading and unloading of our gear, the setting up, the breaking down, the cooking, the cleaning was handled by Mr. Rosen. I was on baby watch. And baby feed. The breastaurant was open 24 hours. So while I wasn't on duty for any of the heavy lifting, I did put three pounds on our baby and that counts for a lot. By the end of the trip none of his clothes fit for which I take personal pride. These aren't lowfat knockers.

After Utah we met some friends in Salida, Colorado, friends who are also moving to Israel albeit three months before us. Their eldest daughter is the one that my son has been friends with since birth. They played beautifully as did their middle daughter and our middle daughter and as it happens they have a three months old. We are perfectly paired.

And then it was the final haul to New Mexico where we returned the Bear Proof Vehicle to its rightful owners and enjoyed some quality times with the Rosens. We realized early on in the trip, after the first exhausting night of camping, that this trip was not about us. It was about the kids - creating some family lore for them. Filling their summer with idyllic childhood experiences. Letting them explore. Making them watch hour after hour of classic Loony Tunes in the van.

Some of the highlights:

• Cooling off in the creek at Lithia Park in Ashland
• Kayaking on the Oregon Coast
• The Wolf and the Bear food cart
• Seeing my 5th grade teacher Mr. Marshall at the Saturday Market in Portland
• Eating wild strawberries
• Mt Hood
• The hour that Mr. Rosen and I had in the morning on our anniversary after three kids inexplicably went back to sleep
• White water rafting in Bend
• Deserted hot springs in Eastern Oregon (deserted everything in Eastern Oregon)
• My daughter's knock knock jokes (this merits its own post)
• Monsoon rains in Utah
• Two terrified kids snuggled into the same sleeping bag during a lightening storm overhead
• Double rainbows
• The river walk in Escalante National Monument
• Picking apples in Capitol Reef National Park
• Denny's
• Rooftop margaritas with my brother in law and sister in law
• My niece's fifth birthday at the alien themed roller rink in Santa Fe (where the baby had a blowout so big it almost dripped into my skates).
• Friends and family we saw along the way - Danny and Tara, Danny and Rachel, Sue, John and Jessie, Jenn and David, Holly and Rob, Sim and Jen, Shirley and Ran, Yitz and Patricia, Saba and Savta. You guys made this trip unbelievable.

abedi abedi abedi, that's all folks.