Life as a Yowler

Last night was one of the most miserable nights of sleep I’ve gotten in awhile. We didn’t leave Vegas until 7:30pm(10:30 Michigan time). I was so wiped out on the six hour drive to our next hotel in California. I kept falling asleep. It was a very restless, panicky sleep. I kept waking up to see Brandon literally slapping himself in the face to stay awake. He kept stopping, getting out, and drinking water. I was so worried about him, but at the same time I couldn’t stay awake.

We finally got to the hotel and Caed coughed all night long. He kept coughing so hard he would puke. Needless to say none of us slept well. At one point in the night we put Caed in the pack n play and brought Isla in bed with us. She was wide awake for two hours, no joke. Two entire hours she pulled my hair, slapped me in the face, tried to poke my eyes with her cat claws, and yanked my boobs begging for milk.  Meanwhile Brandon slept as restlessly as I did on the car ride. At 6am Isla woke up. She let us all know. She woke up everyone else. Once Joah is awake, there’s no turning back. Instead of committing a mass murder or something rash, Brandon immediately left for a Starbucks to get us coffees. After that we felt decent. I mean we are parents, sometimes life is really tough. And are parents ever really rested? Absolutely not. I really don’t see how atheists can raise children. I cry to the Lord literally all day long.

The good news is Caed woke up feeling and sounding much much better. His eyes look so much better. He has his appetite back. The only thing he ate yesterday was grapes, and he just drank water. He ate a good breakfast today, and he’s back to his sassy little self. Brandon asked him if he’s feeling better. He frowned, gritted his teeth and said, “NOT! QUITE! YET! No more questions!” He’s back!

She really is much much cuter during the day.

We all got showered and ready for the day, while Brandon was out working. We were getting ready to head to Sequoia National Park. This has been a dream of mine. The last time we came to California, Brandon’s Store training ran late and we weren’t able to go. I was so disappointed. Brandon reminded me we take these trips for work first, then fun second. I know that, but I was still bummed.

We have been reading all about the General sherman tree, the biggest tree in the world. The kids and I have been greatly anticipating visiting and seeing it. I’m so thankful it worked out this time. Honestly that’s a huge part of why I was spontaneous and came. We will all remember the totally last minute trip we took(right before Christmas) to see the General Sherman tree. What a once in a lifetime experience!

Funny story: when Brandon came back to the hotel to get us to go to Sequoia, he was riding up the elevator with one of the cleaning lady’s.

Brandon: how’s your day going?

Cleaning Lady: pretty good. How about yours?

Brandon: well, not the greatest. I have some sick kids that are probably causing trouble right now for my wife.

Cleaning Lady: oh don’t worry. The only kids I’ve heard being loud all morning are from room 415.

Brandon: that’s my kids!

Brandon tells me this. And I’m wondering, “Brandon, why the heck would you claim them? You could have been like no kidding and just walked away.” 🤣🤣🤣🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

Brandon flew around the hotel room with a can of disinfectant spray. He disinfected up to his standards(using about a half bottle). He used the other half on the van. He also stopped and washed all of Caed’s bedding, coats, an our clothes while he was out and about. He really was wonder dad today. I don’t know how in the world he is holding up so well on so little sleep. He has a huge increase in energy since our last trip thanks to his healthier self. I don’t think I’ve blogged yet about Brandon’s weight loss, but he’s lost 50+ pounds. He is doing great.

We arrived at the Sequoia National Park  this afternoon. We wanted to make sure we had time to see the General Sherman in daylight hours.

There were bear warning signs out. Joah flew into protective mode and grabbed his slingshot.

We made a few stops on the drive up the mountain. The kids were able to get out and run and hike.

On one of the stops, we were outside walking around when I felt this whizz of air fly right by my face and heard this loud crash sound. Turns out it was this monsterous sequoia pine cone trying to knock me out. I mean, this thing was huge. It seriously would have hurt bad. I had to take it to remember my close call.

The sequoia trees were huge. They were incredible to see. We saw redwood trees on our last trip. Sequoias are similar, but more wide than tall.

Here is the General Sherman, the world’s biggest tree, from far away. To give you perspective how big the tree is, that is us standing right out front by the fence.

What an incredible opportunity to see this. I’m so thankful. We have seen so much beautiful country. This was one of the highlights for me. I have always wanted to go, and I wasn’t disappointed. We have visited a lot of national parks, and it’s amazing to me how each one is different and unique. Each state has its own unique look and scenery. Sequoia was very different than anything I’ve ever seen before.

It was a beautiful drive out of the park. Once again, a picture just doesn’t come close to capturing the beauty.

Just as it was starting to get really dark, we noticed a Jeep stuck in snow on their drive down from the mountain. We decided to stop and help them. We remembered getting stuck at Yellowstone, and there weren’t any other cars that drove by the entire time we were stuck. Plus there is never cell service in those parks. It was two guys who were stuck. They had a 4 wheel drive Jeep. They were stuck really really deep in snow. I get the feeling they were messing around a little, trying to off road and driving way too fast. Well Brandon just took right over and they were thankful for the help. They had me get in the drivers seat while the 3 of them pushed. Nothing. They had sleds in the Jeep and we dug the snow out from under the car with the sleds. Still nothing. Finally they remembered they had some tie down straps in the Jeep. He’s lucky he had them. I don’t think there was any other way he was getting out. Brandon ended up pulling them out with the mini van. They were so thankful to us. Brandon and I died after we drove away. Here’s these young punk kids messing around thinking they have this invinsible vehicle. Here comes this family of 6 who pulls them out in a mini van. Our good old bad mini van. Let me tell you, those guys will never look at a soccer mom in a mini van the same. 🤣