Cabin Fever.

Adobe Cabin

Darrick turned 31 on August 1st, and I decided rather than buy him something silly he doesn't really want (or the stupid $100 video game he DOES want) I'd plan a weekend away for us. It had to be close enough to drive (and not a LONG drive since doing that with an infant is a nightmare) but in cooler weather, and we had to be able to bring our dogs.

Et viola! Juniper Well Ranch.

A friend recommended this place, and I am so glad she did. We got our own cabin with a queen bed and a daybed, a kitchen, a bath with shower, a huge patio...and temps in the 80s! It was beautiful and just what we needed.



Big man, little kitchen.


Queen bed


Dining area

Except...when we got up to the cabin late Friday night Luca was struck with a fever. And then it spread to Rohan. And apparently kids with Masto shouldn't really have infant Tylenol because it has sodium benzoate (a preservative) in it, and Masto kids' bodies react to that as if it were an attack on their immune system. So he'd have a fever, we'd give him Tylenol, and his fever would drop. And then his body would be all, "What is this stuff? I believe it's attacking me!" and the mast cells would release histamine in response, and then his body would work to fight off the Tylenol....thus striking ANOTHER fever. Holy bad cycle. And of course we were in a cabin in the middle of nowhere so we knew he was still feverish based on his behavior and the fact he felt hot to the touch but we didn't know how bad it was or why it wasn't going away. It was only when I did some research after we got home that I discovered the link between fevers/mast cell release/infant Tylenol. What the hell did people DO in the days before wireless internet anyhow?

All that said, Luca is perfectly fine now. Or, she was after she puked up juice on the pillow next to my head and I grabbed her and swung her off the bed in time for the next round to land on the cement floor and then she turned to me and said, "I pee out my mouth. Luca's fine now."

Once I stopped giving Tylenol Romo's fever broke for good and he's feeling much better. And our weekend was relaxing and fun. Luca got to see a horny toad, Darrick caught a giant grasshopper for her, we saw a mama deer in the woods, we looked at stars and made s'mores over the world's smallest charcoal grill, and the dogs even got to come along! We even made a long drive on a very scary road to visit the property my inlaws own. Let me just say, 2 adults, 2 kids, and 2 dogs in a MINI VAN didn't belong on this road. But we made it in one piece, and I only blurted out inappropriate profanities along the lines of "Honeygoddamitwatchthefuckingedgeoverhere!" about twice. Or eleventyjillion times, but who's counting?


Luca 'reading' to Rohan ("I like green eggs, Sam!")


The land my inlaws own


Trees: We hug them.


Nekkid baby...cute even while fevering.


He looks SO much like his Daddy!


Sleeping on the MOST fluffy blankie.


"No, mama. I dress myself!"


"C'mon Ruby! Yet's walk!"


Dude, look how HUGE Darrick's hand looks.


No vacation would be complete without a meltdown over breakfast!


"What meltdown? I can't hear it over my coffee and whiskey."


After the tantrum, a Prescott Jig.


Kisses for the baby!

It should be noted that on this trip we went through Lloyd's Drive Thru Liquors. The man at the drive-thru? Not Lloyd. In fact, Lloyd built the place in 1971 and died the same year. Ponytailed man selling me the Mike's Hard Lemonade knew him personally. And after sharing that bit of uplifting Prescott trivia with us, he gave us Tootsie Rolls for the kids. HA!

It should also be noted that we pronounce is "Press-cot", not "Press-kit". This is how they knew we weren't locals. Well, this and the purchasing of Mike's Hard Lemonade via drive-thru.

And now...back to reality. Yesterday was the first day of the fall semester where Darrick teaches, so we're back to me working from home 2 days a week. The really nice thing is, my mom is now retired so she's watching the kids on Mondays, and my inlaws will be watching them on Fridays. Luca LOVES her time with her grandparents (so much that when I dropped her at Gramma's yesterday I was trying to give her hugs goodbye and she ran to her toys and yelled over her shoulder, "Bye bye Mama."...) and I'm secretly going to love the few hours a week with a completely silent house.