Hi everyone! It’s been such a busy few days here. Several times I’ve wanted to sit down and update the blog but haven’t found the time until right now; And even now, it make take me 2 or 3 tries to finish this post!
So our weekend began Friday, of course. The guys had an easy day at work with lots of driving to buy supplies. They started their weekend off early by taking a beer break before coming home… So by the time they got back to Battle Mountain, they were ready to keep the party going! Haha! So we all grabbed our alcoholic beverages of choice and headed to Pat and Nikki’s hotel. The guys grabbed chicken thighs and drumsticks and fired up the grill.
We had a delicious dinner outside as we watched cars driving around, the sun setting, people walking and checking into hotels for the night. The kids had a blast running around outside and playing and eating. Pat and Nikki and their kids really have become our family in the last year. I’ll upload a few pictures but not too many, since most of you will have seen them on Facebook.
To end the night, we loaded up the families into the trucks and headed up into the mountains! It was dark out, the stars were shining, and it was a perfect night for a trek into the hills. Zeke fell asleep almost as soon as we started driving, but Norah stayed awake to look out the window. The scenery was beautiful, especially at night. We saw several jackrabbits running around. The elevation of Battle Mountain is approximately 4500ft above sea level. By the time we had reached the peak of our drive, we were at 7100ft above sea level! Boy was it windy!
We spent 3-4 hours driving and exploring the mountains before heading back to the camper and crashing for the night. Saturday morning, Michael made us a wonderful breakfast, as per our usual weekend tradition. Then he came up with the great idea of heading to the pool for the afternoon. While our RV park unfortunately doesn’t have a pool, there are a few options in Battle Mountain; there is a public pool in town that is pretty popular or there are several hotels that charge for day passes to use their pool facilities.
We packed up our swimming gear and headed to the Big Chief Motel to get our SWIM on! It was a blast. The pool was small, but clean and well maintained. There was a little cabana for Zeke to stay in the shade and lounge chairs for Michael and I to relax. Here are a few photos!
No Dad , don’t spray me with that cold sunscreen!
My adorable boy with his cute camo swim trunks!
The boys napping while Mom and Norah play in the pool.
All in all, it was a great afternoon. There aren’t a lot of options to keep us all entertained, especially on weekends where we are all together and looking for something to do. This was refreshing and fun, and only cost $10 for a great family activity.
We came back home and all took much needed naps. When I woke up from my nap, my back and shoulders were on fire! I totally got sunburned while at the pool! Funny how parents make sure their kids are slathered in layers of sunscreen, but neglect themselves!
Michael and I made dinner; I whipped up a quick marinade for a giant chuck steak we had, and he seasoned some asparagus in a foil packet for the grill. It was a great dinner; my favorite meal!
After we were done eating, we took a drive to the local gas station/convenience store and all got DELICIOUS milkshakes for dessert and picked a few Redbox movies. We all curled up on the couch and watched Dead Man Down with Colin Farrell. It was a good movie! Everyone was up way past their bedtimes! But it was a really perfect Saturday, so no complaints here.
Sunday, Michael got up and washed his truck, inside and out. Our little mountain adventure had left it pretty dusty and dirty; if theres one thing my husband cannot stand, its a filthy vehicle! He also was an amazing help and did our laundry at the laundromat.
While he was busy with laundry, I did my best to give the trailer a cleanin’, starting with a sink full of dishes. I wiped down the bathroom counters and sink and used the vacuum to edge around the entire trailer. Living in such a small space causes even a little untidiness to seem ten times as bad! We all felt so much better after just an hour or two of progress on cleaning. In the afternoon we made our trip to Winnemucca to get groceries at the nearest Walmart. We also stopped at a few Western wear stores to look for some quality blue jeans for Michael for work. It was fun to browse around the stores, I absolutely love shopping.
We got groceries and then came back to Battle Mountain…I was so exhausted from the entire weekend. Seems like we were Go go go! even though we really weren’t that busy. Sunday evening, I sat down to recreate something that worked well for Norah and I back home in Indy while Michael was on the road; a bedtime routine. Nights have been rough here since Norah is not 100% acclimated to her “new bedroom” in the trailer. I drew a list of steps in her bedtime routine, complete with little pictures. Hopefully it helps her settle into a rhythm that makes nights a little easier on us all.
Now it’s Monday morning, and I’ve been up since 5am when Michael’s alarm went off for work! I made his lunch, got meat out of the freezer to defrost for dinner, gave Zeke a bath, got Norah breakfast, swept the floors, drank my cup of coffee, and did some tidying up. Whew! Here’s to hoping today is as productive as this weekend! Have a great Monday!
gretkasontheroad 