Yesterday I finished reading my book in the morning, and spoke with my dad. He wired me some Christmas money, so I could treat myself and the boys to small Christmas presents.
So we went and picked it up and went shopping. I let them both pick their presents, but told them they had to wait to play with them (talk before, during, and after). atreyu was quick to pick the PJ masks toy he had been talking about, but Galixy took a few turns around to find the paw patrol toy he ended up deciding on. We also found a DVD. I was surprised how easily they gave them up and seemingly have already forgotten about them.
After shopping, we decided it was time to head out of town and to the truck stops back up the road for a trucker shower. I got us ready and we walked to the trucker side. As we approached the corner, I spotted the first trucker and quickly asked if he’d spare a shower ticket. He agreed after a brief hesitation. In the shower I took the chance to dye my hair with left over dye from my birthday present. The kids played in the blow up tub with intermittent water reheats.
A refreshed red head, I fed the kids noodles (again. Upon their request O.o) and tucked them into bed. I tried delving into my new book, but didn’t get very far before sleep over took. The bright lights right above my bug-bed and regular over the loud speaker announcements made sleeping at loves a disturbed reality.
It would explain why I was such a grouch this morning, though the kids incessant need of attention certainly didn’t make things easier. Galixy seems to be really testing the limits with whining and crying. Boundaries can be so difficult. But I did manage to fill the fuel tank, 2 jug kick downs and a $30 gift card. Also a couple wonderful people and a very lovely lady and her husband (heading to quartsite) added to our bus fund before hitting the road.
I love driving. Something about a clear path and good music just wipes away all troubles. My mind focuses and I take deep breaths. Everything just lines up. Like all “good” drivers my mind occassionally wanders and I snap to wondering how we’re still alive. Just kidding (that’s a meme I recently crossed paths with and giggled at before frowning at all the dangerous people out there). In all sincerity, my mind does wander, but that doesn’t mean my eyes leave the road. I just check my mirrors less. Not like it’s hard passing me anyway, I go like 60 mph. People love me. (55 makes my transmission try overdrive more often)
We stopped in Kingman at the locomotive park and waited for Galixy to wake up. Lots of Asian tourists. Tons of kickdowns. Atreyu and I ended up waking up Galixy so we could check out the train before hiding at the playground around the corner. We should’ve just let him sleep. He wasnt too terribly grumpy at first, but we coulda left him in the bus, we were parked so close and it was so quick to climb up and down on, he coulda used the extra rest.
After swinging at the park and taking a “long walk”, we headed to home depot for a mailbox for bugus (I checked the locally owned hardware store but theirs was $40 and home depots had a $17 option. Also most of the employees at the Ace looked at me really weird. Almost disgustedly. The other few seemed really nice.)
A facebook friend told me he knew about injectors in the phoenix area. I was already kinda feeling the 93 down (better than Flagstaff. Brr) then I could maybe see some people in Phoenix before circling onto the 10 towards quartsite. But. I was kinda driving blindly expecting there to be a rest area or BLM to park at for tonight before going too far down this road. Christmas is coming up and people are bound to be busy. Back to but-ing: right after dark I pulled up my map app (on the side of the road one of the times I had to stop because apparently my door doesn’t like staying shut anymore. Hmmm) and we were like 5 miles away from Kaiser hotsprings? Can’t park direct, gotta turn about and go back over the wash, but here is a camp ground. And so we shall hot spring meander tomorrow.
Fed the kids mashed potatoes (requested *eyeroll*) and set them up with a movie. I put a tapestry over the bunk so it hung like a wall between me and the kids and santa’d around, grabbing presents from the bugs hood hiding spot and wrapping them quickly. Galixy fell asleep watching spirit, but when it was over, Treyu wanted some “wind down time”. He was bouncing around for 10 min before having to pee. Sitting on the potty he finally noticed them almost completely covering the tree. “Hide them mom!”-” but they’re wrapped!” -“i can smell that that’s some kind of toy. It smells like plastic!”
Silly kid.
Well, I’ve been yawning for the last 5 paragraphs and, as always, writing this has taken me from before the kids bed time to after. Barely any service here, we’ll see if it goes. Fingers crossed for the hot springs too!!
Loving you!!
Matilda the Bugus 