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On the Road

We are en route to Denver and drove from Austin to Wichita, KS today.  The original plan was to do all 17-ish hours in one marathon overnight drive while Ruby, at least in theory, was sleeping quietly in the carseat.  Luckily, Grandpa, who travels a lot, donated some hotel points and told us to take our time getting there.  Ruby is a true Road Warrior.  As long as we let her take a break every few hours and she has plenty of books to read and snacks to eat, she is happy to ride in the car for hours on end:

 

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For the most part, the drive across the Great Plains is a whole lot of:

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The most exciting sight we saw today was our stop at this McDonalds:

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Once at the hotel, Ruby had lots of fun blowing off steam she'd built up all day in the car by...

 

... pushing the luggage cart up and down the hallways:

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and swimming in the hotel pool:

 

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We at pizza in the room and she promptly went to sleep.  We rise early tomorrow for the 2nd leg of our trip to Denver. 

Sunday Mornings

Sunday Mornings are Chris's morning to sleep in.  Frequently Ruby and I meet  friends for a run and feeding of ducks and swans.  With our friends on vacation and me not needing the mileage we stayed home. I filled up the baby pool and water table.  Then started the sprinkler as Sunday is our watering day.  For those not in Texas we can only water our lawns on Sundays and Thursdays.   Ruby wasn't into the sprinkler very much.  In fact she avoided it at all costs.  When she swims in the back yard I usually just strip her naked.  It gives her some naked baby time, it's the best thing for diaper rash.  Plus what's cuter than a naked baby?

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After a while I put her diaper back on and we had a snack on the back porch.  She was obsessed with a cicada skin that was on the ceiling.  She kept pointing and saying "Wazzat?"

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I was able to drink my coffee, knit, and listen to This American Life while she played.   I'm trying to finish up a dress for her to wear to wedding in a couple weeks.  I've also got a couple sweaters to finish up before I need to start on some holiday gifts.  Just in case everyone was wondering about my crafting.

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When it got too hot which was around 10:30am we went inside and started making breakfast tacos for when Daddy woke up.

We're headed to Denver on Wednesday to visit our good friends Becky and Jason for a week.  While we're there I'm going to head up to Leadville, CO to pace a friend for her last 23 miles of the Leadville 100 mile race.  Carolyn is going to run 100 miles starting at 4am on Saturday and finishing before 10 on Sunday.  No naps.  100 miles on her feet.  It's my job to get her from mile 77 to 100.  I have a feeling some tough love is going to be involved.  Chris and Ruby will stay down in Denver.  We got permission from ALL of Ruby's doctors both at CHOP and here in Austin for her to go to Denver.  We can only stay a week and she can't go any higher than Denver.  So, I'll be heading up to Leadville on my own.  It'll be my first night away from her since she left the NICU.  All in all it will be just over 24 hours.  I'll be focusing on getting Carolyn to the finish line and hopefully not missing Ruby too much.  We're looking forward to cooler temperatures.  We just have to manage a 16 hours over two days in the car with a toddler.  I got her a couple new to us books and toys that will hopefully keep her occupied.  We have plenty of stops planned, too.  I have a feeling though that some where around Dallas she's gonna be "All Done" with the car seat. 

 

We'll post pictures from our trip along the way.  The next couple days are going to busy with packing, therapy appointments, and normal summer time fun.

Just Like Mama

This morning as were getting ready to go to the Grocery store Ruby brought me a Harry Potter book to read.  She had also some how gotten my wet sweaty sports bra out of the hamper and put it over her head.  That's my girl, Harry Potter and sweaty clothes.

The bra is seriously gross.  I ran 8 miles then soaked in Barton Springs.  Crazy Girl.

 

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Please ignore the basket of ironing.  Some of the things have been in that basket since before we left for Philadelphia.