Utah in the Fall

Jared just finished working 6 weeks of 80-hr/wk night shifts. It was brutal for both of us. For him because all his life consisted of was working 15 hours during the evening and night, coming home to sleep all day, and then waking up and rushing to get ready for his next shift. Not to mention that every Monday brought a 24-hr shift. It was just as brutal for me. It's hard enough to feel like you're parenting without support. It's even harder when your husband is there at home all day, but you can't go to him for help or anything because you need to let him sleep all day.

During Jared's last week of nights I decided I needed to get away. Me and Jack drove to Utah to be with my family for a week and see the fall leaves. This was my first time driving so far by myself, and definitely my first time driving so far alone with a toddler in the backseat. I think it went pretty well, all things considered. Jack doesn't sleep great in the car, but I handled his tired whines just as well as I would have if Jared had been there to help out. It helped to have a box full of books, toys, snacks, and his kindle tablet loaded with baby cartoons.

The leaves were beautiful. I think this was my first time seeing Utah with its peak fall leaves since before med school. There weren't as many yellows as I remember, but lots and lots of reds. Jack and I went up to Big Springs one afternoon. It was perfect, and Jack found a little playgroup of toddlers playing tag. He couldn't resist joining in.

 Jack enjoyed plenty of quality time with grandma and cousin Cole.

Jack did better than ever in a shopping cart when we went to Costco. I think he liked looking around at everything and everyone. But his favorite shopping trip was probably when we went to HomeGoods with Grandma and Jack fell head-over-heels in love with this giant rubber duck he found in the toy aisle. Grandma bought it for him and he hasn't stopped snuggling it or giving it "muh"s ever since. He even sleeps with it in his crib. It's so sweet.

 My must-eat food list gets shorter and shorter each time we go back to Utah. Not because there's a shortage of good food there, but because we live close enough now and visit often enough that I don't feel like I NEED to hit up all my favorites every time. This time the only two on my list were a Cubby's salad and Chubby's burger and fries. I only made it to Chubby's and wasn't in the mood for a burger, but their battered fries hit the spot. I was sad I couldn't take Jack to the Puppy Barn next door--they were closed for renovations.

Jack is a biiig fan of "Umpa" (Grandpa). He loved playing with and reading with grandpa so much. I've never seen him sit so still for so long as he did while reading bedtime stories with Grandpa Haines.

 My favorite outing was our trip to Cornbellies with Mom and Dad. It was insanely crowded when we get there and the entrance fee was outrageous, so instead we enjoyed jumping off the hay bales in the parking lot and watching the animals at Thanksgiving Point on the way back to the car. This kept Jack more entertained than I think he even would have been at Cornbellies, for free! We stopped at Del Taco for dinner on the way home because they had a play place. Jack enjoyed organizing everyone's belongings in the shoe bins.

Jack loved playing in Nana's (Great-grandma Roper's) yard! We stopped by two afternoons and he loved her snacks, flowers, and swings. He got a kick out of making the swing rotate in a big circle around him without touching him.

^^These pictures are at Big Springs, but on our last day we were able to drive the Alpine Loop. This was a good decision because the leaves were beautiful and I haven't done that drive in probably half a decade now (WOW), but a bad decision because Jack was very tired and not happy to be stuck in the car for two hours. Next time I want to do this drive I'll do it when he's down for a nap or bedtime. 

All in all it was a good, needed break. Jared is finished with night shifts and just starting to get used to sleeping at night instead of during the day again. He's still wanting to take naps whenever he gets home from work, but I'm hoping that will wear off in another week or so. This life of medical training sure is tough. I thought the toughest times were behind us, but I'm realizing that we will be living the nomad life once more over the next 5 months as Jared has a month-long away rotation in Spokane, and then we'll be in Seattle for Christmas, then back to Casper for a little over a month, and then another month-long away rotation in Evanston. I'm growing weary of this lifestyle. I may have adapted to it to some degree, and I'm able to accept it as the life we chose to take on to get where we want to go, but I just feel weighed down by it right now. I wish we could settle down in our forever home in the mountains, somewhere closer to family but with a sense of peace and solitude and permanence. Where we could leave if and when we wanted to, but not for several months out of the year because we HAVE to. Here's to hopefully only doing the nomad thing for 2 more years until Jared graduates from his residency!