Day 9: Great Sand Dunes

I was able to wash my hair. I know this is the update you were all waiting for. Our hot water seems to be working much better. I’m so thankful Jordan is a “fixer.” Our kids will say all the time, “Dad is so good at fixing things.”

Today wasn’t quite as blissful as yesterday. Virtual schooling can be hard. I can not even begin to fathom how working parents are handling this. Some days it feels so chaotic. Today was one of those days. Lucy is in Kindergarten so most of what she does is hands on, as it should be. Her teacher is wonderful and supportive, but I also have a 3rd grader who needs help. Hudson always wants to make sure his answer is “right” and doesn’t like to speak up on Zooms if he has a question. And believe me, he has tons of questions. He is a very curious child, but also a perfectionist. This combo is hard for virtual learning. We are working on Hudson speaking up more and asking questions when he has them on video calls and he is getting more confident to take this action. I also heard a tip to turn off a feature so that your child can’t see themselves. Turning this off can make them less self-conscious so we are going to try that, too.

Truth be told, I probably didn’t set the best tone for today either. All I wanted to do is take a shower and with two kids who were in school and always needing something from me it was difficult to do. Jordan had a small break and worked on Lucy with her math and when Hudson was on a Zoom call, I was finally able to take that shower. Do not underestimate the power of hot showers and coffee.

Once school was over and Jordan wrapped up work, we headed back to the Great Sand Dunes to sand sled. My cousin, Justin, gave me so many great tips to take kids sledding. One was to bring swim goggles, so that if it was windy the sand wouldn’t bother their eyes. This idea would have been perfect except that when we entered the park today, attitudes were not at their best and the goggles were tossed in the sand. Sandy goggles kind of defeat the purpose of not getting sand in your eyes. Once we started sledding attitudes turned around and we had fun! My favorite memory from today was watching Hudson climb a huge dune to help Lucy who was half-way up and struggling to make it to the top. He helped her climb a little higher, only to push her down so she could sled. He ran back down so excited for her. These kids are so different from one another and some days all it seems they do is pick at one another. It can be exhausting. I can’t tell you what this one little act did for our hearts as parents. Check out all these fun videos and photos!

We came home sandy again, washed the kids off outside with our water hose and had a quick easy dinner inside. Our view was pretty spectacular. The kids went to bed at a decent time and we were able to have some downtime. Jordan jumped on a virtual happy hour with some co workers and I started a new book. I love my family and am so excited for this adventure, but I need some quiet time alone to recharge. This is hard to accomplish in an RV, so I can’t tell you how nice it was to sit and read. Alone. We are all looking forward to a long weekend with no school and work!

Until next time…

Sarah