Spring Break at the Rigg River Ranch (April 2014)

April 1, 2014- April 5, 2014

After our long train ride the prize at the end of the journey was getting to see Grandma and Papa Rigg.

It was Papa Rigg's first time meeting Nori and they wasted no time getting to know each other.  Everyone was excited to meet little squish and get some baby snuggles. 

There was one little bump in the road to overcome when we first got there. Somehow Cam left his beloved blanky that he can't function without on the train. The first night he screamed and cried for more than an hour before he finally fell asleep without it. Desperately we searched for another blanket like his, Taber found one on eBay that was seriously overpriced but he bought it anyway (because seriously what were we supposed to do?!) and had it express mailed to us in Colorado. Meanwhile I went and bought him this little whale blanket to hold him over till the circle blanket arrived. It was quite the struggle but he reluctantly accepted the whale blanket as a place holder. Thankfully a week later when the train came back through town they had his original blanket! And  now we had two new back ups in case another lost blanky disaster ever happened again!

Our days on the ranch were spent exploring and soaking in Taber's parent's beautiful property.

The horses were definitely a highlight for the kids. They loved feeding and petting and riding them. (also it's fun looking back on these pictures and seeing Cam during his pink phase. EVERYTHING had to be pink! At the time I didn't think he would outgrow it but he has since moved on to wearing every color of the rainbow, and especially loves to wear whatever color matches his Daddy. Today they were both in blue, and yesterday it was green ;)

This is livin'!

Little Brinley the cowgirl was especially fond of the horses. So cute seeing her spend every moment she could with them.

It was fun digging up some of Taber's old things from when he was a kid. We found this cute book he wrote in 3rd grade called The Magic Hair Blow Dryer that the girls sure got a kick out of. 

And of course it isn't a trip to Grand Junction without visiting the Fruita Dinosaur Museum!

Cam was endlessly entertained by the spitting dinosaur.

And everyone loved the water exhibit. 

Nori liked the dinosaurs too, but mostly she just liked taking naps in her Snugli.

Digging for Dino bones!

And a trip to the dino museum must be followed by chicken nuggets and ice cream at McDonalds. It's pretty much the unspoken Fruita law.

One of our afternoons was spent at the Fruita Rec Center with it's awesome indoor pool. The kids loved it!

They also had fun playing at the mall.

And checking out Grandma Karen's school.

Another highlight was visiting one of Grandma's friends with baby goats that the kids got to feed milk bottles to. They thought it was the best thing ever!

They also got to hold little baby chicks.

and the mama hens too!

The rest of the time was just spent enjoying the great outdoors at the ranch. 

Sitting on haystacks

Tractor rides with Grandpa

Finding Goose eggs on the pond island

And fishing out in the boat with Daddy

The girls got some good sized catches!

And some little ones too.

Teya fearlessly displaying her trout trophies

Cam even went out with Daddy on the boat

Seeing those fishies really gave him some giggles!

It was a wonderful week and we can't think of a better way we could've spent our spring break. 

27 hours on the Amtrak train! Colorado bound with a family of 6! (April 1, 2014)

Although it was wonderful to have so much family out for the baptism and blessing, two very important people were missing. Grandma Karen and Papa Rigg had bought their tickets to come out but Grandpa's health had prevented him from making the flight. He still hadn't met Nori and since they couldn't come to us, we decided to bring the family to them!

But how to travel with an autistic child who can't handle the sensation of being buckled in on an airplane (or a car for longer than 20 minutes) or the pressure from taking off and landing, and a newborn nursing baby? We found the answer in the amtrak train. Cam is absolutely obsessed with trains so this was the perfect solution. He wouldn't have to be buckled down and he could live eat and breathe trains in real life for 27 hours straight. Sounded like the perfect adventure!

The train had observation cars with tables to play games or color on, sleeping cars to rest in, and dining cars to eat in. The kids could travel back and forth between the cars to their hearts content. 

Cam loved exploring the train and was very happy not to be wearing a seat belt. 

 

Meal times were a nice way to break up the time. The food, while nothing amazing, wasn't horrible either. Better than the junk we'd be eating on a road trip at the gas stations for sure!

 Cam was absolutely in his element on the train. 

He spent hours staring out the windows, playing with play dough and bubbles, and best of all, playing with trains on a train. 

 Since sleeping car tickets were super expensive we only bought one sleeping car for me Cam and Nori, and regular seats for Taber and the girls. Not the most comfortable way to catch some zzzzs but they did okay for naps. 

 At night though we just crammed everyone but Taber in the sleeping room because it had a double and a twin bunk, and we figured with tiny people they would all fit. 

 And fit they did! The trains constant movement helped rocked the babies to sleep and they actually slept surprisingly well considering being out of their routine and crammed into two little bunk beds. 

 In the morning we woke up to gorgeous views of the Colorado river and red rock mountains. We were getting closer!

The kids spent the morning just chilling in the their pjs and watching movies in the observation car. 

They colored, read books, watched DVDs and even visited with the conductor. Time flew by and before we knew it we were pulling into Grand Junction!

We were greeted at the train station by Papa Rigg. The kids were so happy and excited to see him! It was a fun way to travel and we couldn't wait to spend our Spring Break with Grandma and Grandpa Rigg. 

Nori's Baby Blessing: March 30th 2014

On March 30th, 2014 we blessed our baby Nori

Have you ever seen a more angelic little face?

The blessing was the day after Teya's baptism so Teya was also confirmed a member of the church and received the gift of the Holy Ghost through a priesthood ordinance given by her Daddy.

It was a very special Sunday for our two girls in white. 

It was great to have Grandma and Grandpa Uda there, as well as Aunt Naomi and Uncle Kevin and their girls. Taber gave Nori a beautiful blessing and the one thing that stuck out to me the most was when he said, "Nori, you have a work to do here." It struck me deeply that Nori was sent here with a mission and a purpose, and I hope I can do everything possible as her mother to prepare her for that. 

After the blessing Grandma and Grandpa just soaked in as much baby snuggles and grandkid time as they could. 

I loved having our home full of family. Nothing makes me happier. 

We are so very grateful for wonderful supportive family and grandparents who always make an effort to be at every milestone. I hope our kids know just how lucky they are.