Tuesday, August 11, 2015

All Five of Us

So, if you were around me at all early in the summer, you know that I was feeling a little sorry for myself. It felt like, more and more, we were having to "divide and conquer" when it came to family activities. And at a time when I was really feeling like I needed a vacation, it seemed we had few, if any, options that would be fun for all 5 of us. It seemed that most ideas we had for getaways would be too overwhelming for Keira. Thankfully, we've come a long way since then!

A few weeks back, the 5 of us spent a weekend with Grama Joy and "Big" Papa Felix at Brownlee reservoir. We spent 3 days and 2 nights in Grama and Papa's camper. Keira loved being in there with all of us. She was happy to sit and observe as long as there was bustle and conversation happening. She loved having the whole family around. Keira also got to swim in the lake, go for a bike ride, and, best of all, ride on the BOAT! Oh. My. Goodness. Did she love the boat. The whole weekend was so fun and special in so many ways, but it was very encouraging to see Keira so happy. Granted, she did not sleep great at night, but Jeff and I both thought that perhaps this was the happiest we had ever seen her for such an extended time. Thanks, Grama and Papa, for sharing all of this with us!

So, yah, Jeff and I had never had any interest in owning a camp trailer, but now this idea seems ideal. An RV would allow us to take Keira along wherever we go, but always have a familiar setting to come back to if she's too overwhelmed to participate in what the rest of the family is doing. Even the idea of this is encouraging to me. 

Furthermore, Jeff discovered this beast...
We could secure Keira's seat inside the "crate" and that way we can all go on family bike rides! We're thinking about trying to spring for one of these for her birthday.   And maybe a trip up to northern Idaho next summer to ride the Hiawatha trail! I'm so excited to have realistic ideas of things we can all enjoy together. 

WARNING!! Shameless request for financial support: If any of you Keira fans had any intention of getting Keira a gift for her 3rd birthday, please consider a donation toward the funding of her new bike. We would appreciate it so much. I'm still working on getting the final cost breakdown, but it will cost a couple thousand bucks, at least, for the bike, plus possibly $500 more to have it shipped from Australia or Europe.