The Adventure Begins - Road Trip to TN & NC, Day 1, Will This Day Ever End????

Yes, it's that time again. Crazy Sue takes 3 children on a road trip adventure across the United States. This year we had to scale back a bit due to Sam's hip issues...so we only went to TN and NC. Okay...well maybe I didn't scale back a whole lot but I did make sure we had electricity and running water this year.

It takes me a couple of weeks to get ready for the road trip. I need to research where we are going and what I will need to bring to accommodate Sam or to keep the girls entertained. A few days before we leave I begin to stage things I will need to pack...meaning...I begin to put them out so I don't forget anything. When travelling with Sam we have medications, nutritional supplements, medical equipment, essential oils, special lotions, shampoos, body wash, special food and digestive aids and then of course the usual stuff like clothing, toys and swimming/pool stuff.

I never map out our trip before we go. I rely on God and our GPS and yes, this does make my mother worry even more about me, God Bless that woman. Speaking of our GPS, this year we got a new Garmin and I felt the voices were pretty sedate, mundane...alright BORING! I found the website www.pigtones.com and I decided to have some fun. I downloaded the equivalent of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow to surprise the girls.

We decided to begin our road trip journey at 2:00 a.m. so that we could get through Chicago at a good hour and we could make the trip down to Tennessee in one day. Yep, this is classic Sue..flying by the seat of her pants. Now according to my GPS it would only take about 12 hours to get there. Now I know a lot of you are already thinking, are you crazy? Who would want to drive for 12 hours in one day. This leads me to a very funny story and probably one of my parents more embarrassing moments at my open house when I was in elementary school. For our open house we were asked to write about what we wanted to be when we grew up. Many of the kids in my class went to the front of the room and read how they wanted to be doctors, nurses, teachers and even a lawyer or two. Then I got up...I walked to the front of the class and I read to everyone that I wanted to be a cross country truck driver. You could just see the pride...oh wait...maybe that was embarrassment on my parent's faces. Now keep in mind that this was the era of "BJ and the Bear", do you remember that show? The actor, Greg Evigan (not exactly hard on the eyes) was a cross country truck driver, aka B.J. "Billie Joe" McKay and he had a monkey named "Bear". Yep, he was my idol and I still want a monkey. I guess that taught my parents to pay more attention to my future writing assignments.

So, being a person who loves to embrace their dreams...I began these incredibly crazy road trips with the idea that I am showing my children and my niece the beauty of our country, the beauty of God's creation....hmmm....actually I think I might just be living in my childhood fantasy...still. I mean in all honesty, I still firmly believe that I haven't figured out what I want to be when I grow up. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

So, anywho, we actually started out at 2:30 a.m. because I forgot to wake up, but since Danielle and Brooke never went to sleep they were happy to wake me up and get us going. The van was packed, Sam was sleeping comfortably in his seat, as we had planned, by putting him in the van to fall asleep earlier in the evening with the girls. I turned on the GPS and Captain Jack Sparrow said "Steer this ship to the colored part of the map thingy". The girls cracked up and I looked forward to being led to Tennessee by the voice of Johnny Depp.

The girls settled in to sleep along with Sam and we flew through Milwaukee and headed out of Wisconsin. Illinois and Chicago were a breeze. Yep everything was going as planned. Yeah...that was until we hit Indiana.

We were flying along and then suddenly all the traffic stopped and remained that way with little to no movement for the next 4 1/2 hours. Oh, crap. We quickly figured out that our air conditioning does not work well unless we are moving...which we were not doing. Danielle decided to comment that she was hot and then proceeded to repeat this a few more times until I turned to her and said "And what exactly would you like me to do about that??" Maybe it was my look or my tone...but she didn't comment about the heat again. Even the voice of Johnny Depp coming from the GPS began to annoy me. We watched how creative people could be when put into this predicament. One man continually got out of his vehicle and paced, I would like to say he was praying...but it didn't look that way. Other drivers took this route...

Bahaing through the median strip to head back in the opposite direction. That's great if you don't have to get somewhere or if you know the area. I didn't think taking Grandpa Jay's van through the median strip was going to rank as one of my best decisions. Considering I have already replaced the brakes and alternator on the van during my previous road trips, explaining broken axles or something else going wrong was not really on my agenda.

When we finally began to move we came to the pull off and a gentleman explained that the freeway was closed due to a semi accident. Three semis had run into each other and burst into flames, one of the truckers died at the scene. I felt bad for the truckers involved, said a prayer and my frustration evaporated as we got moving again. It took us a while to get moving steadily again and unfortunately the stress had taken it's toll and my stamina was getting low so I suggested we pull off at a rest stop so I could take a power nap. I had already been driving for 12 hours by this time and according to the GPS I had 7 more hours to go. How can that be??? I know most of you reading this would say, good time to find a hotel but the cross country trucker in me wasn't ready to give up just yet. I have always been very good at listening to my body and it was screaming for a break. We pulled off and I crawled into the back. Brooke, Danielle and Sam probably got out of the van and 2 feet away and I was already asleep. While I slept for an hour, Brooke, Danielle and Sam kept themselves amused by going to the rest stop building, people watching, going for a walk, and then etching their names into a picnic table (not Mom/Aunt approved) while having a sing-along with Sam. I woke up, went into the rest stop and splashed my face with cold water. I stretched and jogged a little and then went to fetch the kids as they were singing another verse of "Mr. Golden Sun" for 7 more hours of driving. I did mention....crazy....right!

I was so thrilled when we got to the "Welcome to Kentucky" sign. I couldn't get out of Indiana fast enough. Brooke continued to take a few more pictures as we entered Kentucky.

At this point the kids drifted off to sleep again and I would just look in my rear view mirror with envy. They missed our entry into Tennessee, which was beautiful, and considering the number of hours I had been driving I didn't think I should drive and take pictures at the same time...so you'll just have to take my word for it that it was beautiful. The landscape went from flat farmland to rolling hills and then finally into the Smoky Mountains. After having seen the Grand Tetons, the Smoky Mountains were smaller beautifully green mountains, no snow covered tops but still pretty in their own way. I was counting down the hours and our destination was to the rental office...I was desperately hoping that our cabin wasn't very far away.

As we got close to Gatlinburg I woke up the kids and asked them to start helping me navigate the rest of our journey. More eyes are always helpful when you are in a new place...and you have been driving for 18 hours...and it's getting dark...and you are headed higher into the mountains...to find a cabin...somewhere on a mountain....in the dark. Praying and breathing, praying and breathing! We passed the strip and the kids were amazed by how many commercial attractions could be jammed onto a 2 mile strip. We continued on and got to the rental office at 9:45 p.m. after driving through a portion of the Smoky Mountain National Park...yep dark forest, lots of curves, and continuing to go uphill. What exactly was I thinking???

The rental office was closed, of course, but some lighting would have been helpful. I shined the van lights on the entrance and located the lock boxes. Trying to open a lock after driving 18 1/2 hours, in the dark is pretty interesting...but I got it open and pulled out what felt like a lot of paperwork and a couple of keys. I locked the box and scrambled back to the van to see what we had. I was also praying the cabin was very, very, very...okay 1 more...very close. From the directions it appeared to be just down the road....um....and up a mountain.

We went down the road, found the entrance to the golf course which was curvy but doable and then we got to the base of yet another mountain. The road began to narrow and the only light we had was our headlights. It took us 3 turn arounds to get us on the right road. Now please...take a moment to appreciate...turning around a full size van, in the middle of the night, on a mountain, on a very narrow road after driving for 19+ hours with 3 kids. Are you feeling it?? I was driving on adrenaline, prayer and Dr. Pepper. We began to figure out these crazy roads and when we got to what we thought was the incline (more like driving straight up) to our place, I gunned the engine which skipped a little causing my heart to skip and me to grip the steering wheel even tighter and praying just a wee bit harder but rejoicing when we saw the sign that said "Misty View". We had finally arrived at our first destination.

I don't think I can even describe how good it felt to put the van in park, turn off the engine and come to the realization that I was done driving. We were here, we were safe and from what we could see this cabin was a whole lot better than the one we had last year in Maine that had no running water or electricity. I looked up, said a little prayer of thanks...who am I kidding....I screamed "THANK YOU, GOD"...I've never been very good at being subtle. I have to admit I was a little miffed at Captain Jack Sparrow for promising me a 12 hour voyage and ending up on a 19+ hour adventure, but when I thought about it...wouldn't that make sense for Captain Jack Sparrow. You naughty pirate!

As we got inside and started to find the lights, our spirits began to rise.

The first room we saw looked very nice. Then we made it to the kitchen and began to turn on more lights.

Sam quickly made himself comfortable in the first bedroom he found.

Danielle checked out the welcome book and started reading the comments of previous guests.

With the lights on we quickly realized this place was perfect. Warm, inviting and well...we were here! That's all I need to say.

Brooke and Danielle saw the loft and quickly claimed the upstairs bedroom as theirs.

They even had their own seating area, Jacuzzi tub and what looked like a beautiful deck outside their room. It was too dark to see what our view would look like but so far the inside was great.

We dropped our bags, locked the doors and went to bed. Good night, everyone!!! Stay tuned for Day 2, Exploring Tennessee and Day 3, Hiking while pushing Sam up a mountain!

And Now For Some Funny Moments...Brought To You By Sam Mayer

With all the seriousness of the last couple of posts...it's time for a couple of laughs.

Sooooo....today I'm working with Sam on his NACD program. Sam listens through his BAHA hearing aid to a story that I have read on tape and then he practices his memory work of the first commandment. I hooked up his hearing aid to the recorder and played his story which he loved, answering the questions asked and turning the page when indicated. Perfect!!

After the story he listens to and practices saying the first commandment for his memory work. I pull out the sheet with the commandment on it and as soon as Sam see's it he says, "Mom, No God". I chuckled and said, "Sam we're doing God today". Hee Hee

It has been interesting to come up with chores for Sam considering some of his physical issues but I did find one thing he is a master at.

So if you hate matching socks, Sam is available for hire. Payment can be made in Rice Dream Ice Cream or Gluten Free Pretzels. Sock dangling was once a favorite stim of Sam's so we had to turn it into something useful. Notice he gets a little dangling in between the matching/folding and don't even get me started on Sam's obsession with holes. A tiny hole in a sock or shirt can suddenly become two strips of material when Sam gets a hold of it. We also don't buy shirts with button holes, no preppy polos for Sam...he's strictly a loose fitting skate board shirt kinda guy. They go well with his DC hat.

Speaking of clothes...I have another funny story. Sam is 10 but due to his robust size he wears men's small shirts but I began to have problems with pants. Shorts are great because you can buy men's athletic shorts and if they are a little long he still looks trendy, but long pants are a challenge. Sam didn't earn the nickname "Big Belly Sam Elly" for being thin and trim. His buddah belly needs a men's small to fit his waist but then the length would be way too long. So one day I had a brilliant idea. Let's try a pair of women's medium athletic pants that are capri length. Huh, are you liking it???? Now he has the perfect size waist with the perfect length and no I don't tell him he's wearing women's pants. On him they look like perfectly sized athletic pants as long as you don't mistakenly buy the low cut. And people were worried that I wasn't using my marketing and problem solving skills any longer.

Sam is obsessed with food and loves to talk about fast food restaurants although he can't eat very much at them. Here is one of our conversations today:

Sue: "Sam, what do you want for breakfast?"

Sam: "McDonalds"

Sue: "No McDonalds"

Sam: "Taco Bell"

Sue: "No Taco Bell"

Sam: "Pizza Hut"

Sue: "No Pizza Hut"

Sam: "George Webbs"

Sue: "No George Webbs"

Sam: "Hmmm"

Sue: "What are you thinking"

Sam: "No Mommy, Sam Go"

Ya gotta love him.

Our dog Buddy seems to be having spring allergies and has been sneezing a lot. No matter where Sam is in the house when Buddy sneezes, you hear a little voice say "Bless you, Buddy!"

The last story has to do with running an errand today. My car is being repaired so I am using the van. The van is the official road trip vehicle. Sam and I get in the van and as I'm putting my seat belt on Sam says "Okay Mommy, ocean?" I laughed and said "No Sam, we're not going to the ocean, we are just running errands". He hesitated and then said "Okay Mommy, mountains". He is a hoot!

It's All or Nothing...That's How We Roll!!!

Sam has often helped me to clarify my perception on life and who I am. I have figured out that we can be an all or nothing kinda family. Let me try to explain.

So Sam has been working on rehabing after hip surgery. He did fine with the wheelchair but when the walker was introduced Sam decided to take a stand (oops bad pun) not literally stand but he made it clear he didn't want to use the walker. Now most people/children would work on standing and then taking a few steps each day, slowly getting used to the new way of walking.

Most people...but not Sam.

When I first showed Sam the walker he proceeded to yell at it, hit it and push it over saying quite clearly, "No, Go Away!" As most of you reading this blog know, I tend to be a bit...okay a lot...sarcastic. With a puzzled look on my face I said to Sam "It's a walker, Sam, it's not like I'm asking you to do a high jump over it, we're just going to practice taking a few steps." Sam proceeded to yell and hit it again which of course caused me to do my funny little walker voice saying "Please don't hit me, I am only here to help you". Which Sam answered with "Be quiet n go away". That's one way to get an almost 5 word sentence out of Sam. I then deducted that possibly Sam was a little sensitive or touchy about the walker and decided to de-sensitize the problem. Now keep in mind I once had the idea to desensitize Sam's overt reaction to band-aids by waiting until he fell asleep and then proceeding to cover him from head to toe in band-aids. I'm not saying my ideas are always well developed, my mind did give me some mental imagery of Sam going into cardiac arrest upon waking and seeing the band-aids and I rationalized that my idea would only lead to further more complex complications. So I eased back and decided I would put the walker in the same room Sam was in and would often chuckle when I would hear him yell at it. Yeah, you know I was tempted to answer for the walker but that would probably only continue to irritate Sam, if it was Ben, I would have been right on it. What did that walker ever do to him anyway?

After a week or so Sam must have made friends with the walker, because one morning while I was getting ready to take my shower (yep, a lot happens around here when Mom takes a shower) I heard a mysterious click/step and filmed this:

So he wouldn't even consider taking a few steps with Mom's help but would be more than happy to venture out on his own on multiple surfaces with no assistance and walking like he's used a walker all his life all the way across the house to get to...of course...food. When there's a will (or in Sam's case...refrigerator) there's a way. No need for instruction he had figured it out and had mastered it.

Now when I stopped to think about this it reminded me very much of Sam's first experience learning to walk. Sam did not walk until after he was 3 years old. He did not really cruise along the furniture, nor did he like to walk holding your hands. He just began to walk one day. It was all or nothing.

Hmmm, Sam learned to ride a bike the same way. As soon as he could pedal he had mastered steering, braking and escaping from the house. All or nothing.

Sam started swimming with his face under water, kicking and with arm movement, coordinating all the areas. All or nothing.

Sam didn't work on playing basketball until he began to make most of his shots. All or nothing.

Here's the kicker, it's not just Sam. It seems to be a family trait or dynamic. How Jeff runs his business, how Ben works and how he approaches school, how I look at working with families or the playground project, how Danielle dreams about her future...all or nothing.

I have come to respect that this is one of many dynamics of our family and it has it's good points and bad. I worry about this strategy for Sam and I also love this strategy for Sam. When Sam approaches a new aspect or concept of schooling he fights it tooth and nail. Sam like Ben wants to know why he needs to know or do that activity. Ben often tells me that he will never use much of what he has learned in school and when I think about Sam that reality hits me even harder. Does it matter if you understand the periodic table of the elements, does it matter if you understand the history of our country, does it matter if you know all of the presidents and when they served, does it matter if you can do algebra and geometry, does it matter if you can read notes of music???? It does if you think about the idea of experiences and the thought process that through experiences a child can develop their personality, likes, dislikes, interests and passion. What I don't like about how schools are currently set up is that they are covering a lot without allowing a child to really jump off and explore their interests, immerse themselves in them and really help them determine their passions and direction. You know...run with the ball. With my children I have always wanted to allow them many different experiences. In my mind the more experiences the more they develop their personalities and interests.

Without the challenges of Sam and Ben my knowledge and interest in special needs children and their families would have never happened. It wasn't where I was headed but I'm glad I got here. As I continue to work with Sam and my other children I need to pay special attention to what makes them do all or nothing. I need to continue to introduce new things but respect their decision to do all or nothing. I need to develop the areas or interests that make them want to jump in and immerse themselves. I see far too many people doing jobs they hate, living in situations they hate or limiting their experiences in the justification of doing what is right or what is expected. I hear people talk about dreams that they believe will never come true...pipe dreams. Why not? When is the last time you dreamed of something you really wanted to do, when was the last time you asked your spouse what their dreams are? If you have a child with special needs, are you allowing yourself to dream about their future or will you determine that future by the lack of your dreams.

All things are possible, if we believe but first we must dream!

Sam Will Always Keep You Guessing!!

After Sam's very ambitious first week of rehab...he may have overdone it a bit. On Friday of last week Sam was working with his teacher and in true Sam form he was giving her a hard time, but then suddenly I heard what sounded like crying. That's a red flag for me because Sam rarely cries. Sam will say "No", okay Sam will scream "NO", Sam may push things away or choose to ignore you by jumping into a stim but he doesn't cry. I asked him if his hip hurt and he responded with his usual "No, all better". But a momma just knows when something doesn't seem right. I asked him if he wanted to get in his bed and he said "Yes". At this point Sam has been standing and climbing into his bed on his own but this day he would not weight bear, he wouldn't even put his feet down which means I have to lift and transfer him. Normally when I offer Sam medicine I hear "No, no medicine". On this day Sam said "Medicine, yes". My heart again hurt because Sam was in pain and considering Sam's very high pain tolerance...he was in a lot of pain.

With a child like Sam you have to learn to read his non-verbal cues. Sam is not going to tell you he has pain or that he is sick. Sam doesn't like medicine, doctor's, hospitals and pretty much anything medical. You have to watch for changes in his personality, expressions, repeated movements such as touching a body part, listen to a change in his voice or his swallow, look for changes in his eyes, his skin, listen to his breathing. Watch, observe and pray. I have always advised parents to go with their gut, my pediatrician relys on me to determine when Sam needs to go to the hospital during a respiratory issue. These are the difficult decisions, because as much as Sam has been sick in his lifetime he could have spent a good deal of his life at doctor's offices, hospitals and ER's and when he was little and we were just beginning this journey he did. But then we got to a point where we began to take on more and more in order to keep him home, in order to not over medicate. With Sam we have learned that everything you put into his body, into any of our bodies for that matter, has side effects but in Sam's case they are more extreme. Sam is on a special diet because of this, Sam does not medicate well because of this and our level of monitoring Sam, even to the point of limited exposure to potential viruses (school, church, shopping...) is a part of this. By far the medical decisions are some of the most difficult that I make but they are just one of the areas that test my gut feel, my faith...because in my world I believe that is how the Lord is guiding me. Sometimes I wish he and I could just set up a conference call or text each other since there are so many decisions to make and some concrete direction would be great.

Over the weekend, I consulted with his therapists, his doctors and I let Sam take the lead. He chose if he wanted to be in the wheelchair, in bed, on the couch, on the recliner and he decided to spend most of the weekend in bed...he even put himself into a traction position on different occasions. So we all decided to scope things back a bit. Sam had a difficult session in the pool on Tuesday, he was combative, uncooperative and even seemed fearful. We concluded that he needed the stronger pain medicine and my mind began to worry...how long would it take to get Sam mobile, is he going to be in this amount of pain all the time, how much pain is he actually in?

And then.....Sam took the lead.

When his therapist Anne was working with him on Friday HE decided he wanted to walk to different rooms but you have to understand and appreciate why. Anne had hooked up a bungee kind of thing to her belt loop on her pants and Sam was very interested in trying to hang her from the chandeliers in our house. Soooo....he hung on to her and walked to 3 different rooms to propose where she could hang from. Was he getting her back from last week??? Has he taken on a new interest in aerodynamics??? Does he not like my chandeliers???

Well, then there was yesterday morning. I woke up as Sam was just beginning to wake up so I thought I would jump in the shower. After I get out I always yell to Sam to see how he is doing. On this day there was no answer, so I wrapped my towel around me to check and see if he fell back asleep but when I got to his room, there was no Sam...not in the bed and not in the room. Now when you have become accustomed to seeing your child in the same room every day for the last almost 4 months this really rocks your world. I began to panic a little and yell, "SAM!!" and I hear a very disinterested "What?" coming from another room. I run to the front hall, no Sam...the bathroom, no Sam...the living room, no Sam and I finally spot the freezer door opening on it's own. I don't see anyone but the door opens so I grab my Flip video and this is what I caught...

Now I think you have to appreciate that Sam got out of his hospital bed by himself, scooted on his butt into my bedroom to retrieve a pair of his socks and pajama pants which he proceeded to put on. I'm guessing that was for better movement and less friction on the skin. He then scooted or army crawled from my bedroom into the living room and on through the kitchen. I know some of you are thinking how long of a shower did you take?? Let me just start out by clarifying I am not a morning person, I don't drink coffee and my shower is my wake up and honestly when Sam has something on his mind and he is on a mission he can move at warp speed. Now, if you were trying to teach him how to let's say write his numbers, read a book, empty the dishwasher the picture of this pops into my head.

Now I don't normally consider ice cream a breakfast food but come on when you have worked that hard to get it...how could I say "No"??

I mean can you say "No" to this face???

Really???????

Road Trip Diary - DAYS 13, 14 & 15

I'm going to try to finish up the Road Trip Diary, since we are on yet another journey...this one not so much fun. On day 13 we kept hearing on the radio that it was going to rain, so we decided to hang out at the island. However, in true weather man fashion, they lied and we had no rain. It was hot and muggy so we floated a lot in the water. We decided to skip lunch and had an early dinner of tacos.


Brooke and Danielle attempted to make ice cream with the ice cream ball we purchased at Cabelas. Check these out a http://www.cabelas.com/. You put the ingredients in the center, ice and rock salt in the outer chamber and roll the ball around for about a half hour and you have fresh yummy ice cream. That is unless you have Danielle and Brooke make your ice cream. There is this little thing called reading instructions. They said they read them but after a half hour their ice cream was still watery. I opened the lid and tasted the liquid on the top. You probably can guess...it tasted like salt. I asked them, "Where did you put the salt?". They both answer, "In with the cream". I then explained that the salt goes is the outer chamber with the ice. They both said, "We were kinda wondering why ice cream had so much salt in it". We rowed over to the van and went out for ice cream instead. While at the ice cream shop the girls talked with an older man from the area (so much for my "Don't Talk To Strangers" speech) and they told him we were going to go to the beach tomorrow. He suggested the local favorite Pemequid Point in Bristol Maine, http://pemaquidpoint.org/.


We got up early on Day 14 to make our way there. We should have taken this trip on the day before when it was hot and muggy because now the weather was colder and foggy, but it's all part of the adventure.



See they were troupers, even in the fog.

We let Sam run and play in the ocean for awhile but then decided it was kinda damp and chilly so we would go for a drive and get some lunch. We drove to the lighthouse...I mean really you have to see at least one lighthouse if you visit Maine...it just wouldn't be right if you didn't. The girls gave me a really hard time about this portion of the trip.

Brooke: "Really Aunt Sue??? You're going to pay $6.00 to go look at a lighthouse in the fog??"

Danielle: "Mom, we can skip this."

But I stuck to my guns and we were going to see that lighthouse...well kinda...through the fog.

The girls had to admit there were some really cool rock structures. The ocean is an amazing artist.

It had a little museum that pretty much just made Brooke and Danielle chuckle even more. Brooke took these pictures of ....

I don't really even know what those things are??? But there was this really cool, huge lobster.

That wasn't really all that exciting either. But we did have a really great lunch and we watched one of the waiters throw the scraps to the seagulls. Brooke was sure he was going to be eaten alive...by seagulls????

I looked at this picture of me helping Sam through the rock structures. If I knew then what I know now, we may not have done this type of climbing. It's probably a good thing I didn't know what was going on with his hips and just let him enjoy his vacation.

We went shopping at the local shoppes and picked up some beautiful silver jewelery. We even found our road trip ring. Brooke, Danielle and I all have the same 3 clover ring which signifies the 3 of us and Sam is the band that holds us together.

We headed back to the island and we decided to be rebels. We washed our hair with regular shampoo and conditioner in the lake. We were not being nature conscious...but wow did that feel good.

On Day 15 we hung out at the island, sun bathing, swimming and taking it easy. At night we began the process of packing and paddling everything over to the van. We were able to get everything packed except for our clothes and food. I creatively wrote about our experience on the island which is a really nice place...but not something I would look forward to doing again. I miss running water way too much.

Road Trip Diary - DAYS 11 & 12

On day 11 we decided to take it easy, explore the local area and hang out on the island. We drove to Augusta which was a very hilly drive that Sam really enjoyed. We went to Hannaford's (the prominent grocery store chain on the east coast) and Target to get some bubbles and swim shoes for Brooke and I. We couldn't seem to find any bubbles which I found unusual so I asked one of the Target guys for help. Brooke and Danielle burst out laughing when he inquired about bubbles over his walkie talkie and had to clarify "I'm looking for bubbles. Bubbles...like the clown". We needed to take a little bit of a drive so the girls could charge their cell phones and we could charge Sam's Ipad. The van was our only means of charging things at this point.

Yep those are the beautiful $3.00 hot pink shoes we picked out to use as our swim shoes. The other ones are the extra wide swim shoes from One Step for Sam.

Remember when I said we bought some cool toys at the toy store in Brandon. Well, while the girls and I took in some sunshine on the lake we gave Sam his bubble gun. This is a gun that lights up and shoots out tons of bubbles. I think Sam thought it was his personal mission to clean the island with the bubbles. He spent quite some time aiming it at every tree, deck, window and rock. I fully expected when it rained that night that we would be surrounded in suds.

Brooke and Danielle meanwhile were playing with two plastic fish that they named Ishy and Bubs. Yep, 15 and 13 and they are fully entertained by little plastic fish that squirt water out of their mouth. They made up stories about the life of Ishy and Bubs and they swam with us whenever we sat out in the sun because honestly they were a great way to cool off when it got a little too warm out. Yeah, we could of just jumped into the lake but laying on the tubes and just using the fish was so much easier.

It was on this day we figured out that there was an anchor in the shed and we could now anchor ourselves while we floated attempting to catch a little sunshine. This was so much easier than having to paddle back all the time. I know it's exercise and it's good for you but...really...we're on vacation here. The anchor was attached to my tube and then the two girls held on to a rope. This way we were able to continue talking and laughing. My inner tube had a small cooler that we used for suntan lotion, snacks and candy. It was relaxing to just float and absorb some sunshine.

Danielle went in at one point to check on Sam and get some additional snacks. I suddenly noticed that Brooke was somehow upstream from me. How could that be? I then figured out we had lost our anchor. We screamed for Danielle and she swam out to rescue us and helped us re-find the anchor. We told her she should have been wearing her lifeguard suit and because of her bravery we gave her the honor of taking the first shower at the hotel when we began our trip home. Before we leave the lake we bathe and shampoo our hair. I was really missing normal shampoo at this point, we had biodegradable camper's shampoo...not quite what I'm used to. We decide to have a leg shaving party on the dock. Yep, we are living the good life???

The girls and I had some Chicken Alfredo with fettuccine noodles for dinner and Sam had his hot dogs and cucumbers.

This was Brooke's day for adventures. It rained all that night which meant when the girls had to go to the bathroom it was a run through the rain. Brooke tripped and almost met her greatest fear...landing in the compost toilet. Then later that night, after the girls were ready to commit me because I kept trying to communicate with the common loons that seemed to surround the island... I really do think they were answering me...we finally settled down and went to sleep. Around 2:00 a.m. I hear a huge clunk come from Brooke's sleeping area. I thought she had fallen out of bed. Now remember, it's not like you just run and turn the light on...no electricity. So after scrambling for my lantern, I make my way to Brooke's room to find out her entire mattress and Brooke somehow fell off the bed. After I stopped laughing, I helped her rebuild her bed and went back to sleep only to be awakened a short time later by Danielle screaming in her sleep. I think possibly she was trying to communicate with the osprey on the island which sort of made a screaming noise or all the scary movies finally caught up with her. Brooke and I just told her to "Be Quiet" and go to sleep.

On day 12 we headed over to Acadia National Park, http://www.acadia.national-park.com/. If you ever get to Maine this is a must see!!! Sam sponsored our entry into the park using his lifelong national park pass. People with special needs get a free life time park pass that gives them and their family free access to any national park. If you have a child or person in your family with a disability please check out this program: www.nps.gov/fee-passes.htm and learn more about the "America the Beautiful" park pass. It is so fun to watch Sam bring out his park pass and present it to the attendant. We thank him each time for taking us to another wonderful park.

It took us about 2 1/2 hours to drive to the park and as usual Pamela our GPS did not let us down and guided us on a beautiful scenic highway and through many little Maine townships. I think I will let the pictures do the talking here...

When we arrived at Acadia National Park, you couldn't help but be mesmerized by the beauty of the area.

As we were driving through the park you saw the beautiful Maine coast with it's rocky shores.

You knew that was a perfect photo opportunity...so the girls hopped out on the rocks to take it all in.

As we were taking this picture the girls noticed a cliff off in the distance that people were climbing up. Before you even think about it...we did not want to join in, we thought they were crazy.

As we explored the park we were surrounded by the beautiful rocky coast....and then....all of a sudden we came across a beautiful beach. I knew this would be Sam's favorite spot.

A beautiful sandy beach nestled into the rocky coast. It doesn't get much better than this.

The stairway led to a little slice of heaven...especially if you are Sam Mayer. The beach, the ocean and Sam...3 things that go together so well...I think you will see what I mean from the pictures.

Sam had his shirt off before he even got down the stairs.

Just feeling the sand between his toes put him in his happy place.

He was a little leery when he first stepped in so Brooke and Danielle quickly came to his aid.

But it didn't take him long to forge out on his own.

And the jumping and splashing began!!

Is there anything that feels better than the sand in between your toes and the surf pulling the sand around your feet???

It was time to draw pictures and write messages that were quickly whisked away by the tide.

Sam was here!!!

Can you guess which set of prints are Sam's???

Ahhh, the ocean grabbing at your feet while the ocean breeze pulls at your hair!

This is Sam's happy place!!

He just can't get enough!!

He laughed and he ran and he laughed and he ran and he laughed and he ran!

Danielle couldn't help but get caught up in the game.

He raced the surf in and out!

And he even had to tell the ocean "Stop ocean stop" when it tried to catch him and drag him out.

But his smile was from ear to ear! This is what vacation is all about!

We found this wonderful cavern and knew it was another Kodak moment.

But I really wasn't prepared for Sam's reaction. He raised his arms as I took the picture like "Look at this, it's amazing and I'm in the middle of it."

The smiles continued and I had to jump in for a picture too. His excitement was just contagious!

Sam was in his element and it was hard to get him to leave but we had more to see. I just wasn't sure we were going to be able to top this!

Until....we came across this area! Now to you and me this might not look very exciting.

But to Sam...a boy who loves to throw rocks into the water, this is yet another piece of paradise.

Now it was time to do some hiking and the hiking and scenery don't get much better than this.

The trails were absolutely beautiful!

Little bridges crossed mountain streams.

Stones formed steps that were challenging but exciting.

My little boy...who was known as the king of the stop, drop and plop never once complained, never sat down, never asked to "go home". He just walked and walked and climbed and climbed.

Nature surrounded you and it was good!

It was peaceful, serene, majestic and simply but beautifully amazing!

The mountain streams added sound and movement to the wind and rustle of the leaves.

And when we decided to turn around that's when Sam said "NO". He would have kept going, he wanted to see everything there was to see...he didn't want to miss anything. I said a prayer in that woods thanking God for how far we have come. My child with the respiratory issues that steal his strength and stamina was not the little man I was hiking with. This little man was strong and breathed easily, never really getting winded until we climbed a huge amount of stairs. He sat down at the top, sighed loudly and said "It's good".

And as we left the woods and the beautiful trails we knew we had seen nature at it's best and it was good!!

We crossed the last bridge and headed out!

This was an amazing adventure!

One of Brooke's favorite shots, do you see the arrow?

And Danielle still had energy!

On our way home we stopped by a seafood stand where you could pick out your own lobster and have them steam it on the spot. Seafood stands in Maine are like McDonalds in Wisconsin. We ordered two orders of crab with butter and lobster bisque. Brooke ate a little of both, Danielle and I loved it. Sam wasn't really interested, he just wanted his diet coke. We then headed back to the island. I was a little worried because it was later and I didn't really want to take the same winding route in the dark. But I shouldn't have doubted Pamela the GPS, she sent us home on the highway, no small towns and no winding roads. Yep, there was some divine intervention there.

We didn't get back to our location until after 9:00, it was dark and we still had to paddle across a dark lake to a dark cabin. I knew Sam was afraid of the dark, so I had my work cut out for me...what I didn't realize was how afraid Brooke was of the dark. She got really, really quiet on the way home as she began to realize our situation. I parked the van and turned on the bright lights so the three of them could make their way to the canoe and get in. Then Brooke signaled me and I turned off the van and made my way in the dark. A flashlight would have been a good idea but all of ours were on the island. I tripped and felt my way to the canoe and climbed in reassuring both Sam and Brooke that everything will be fine and to remain calm. I had never seen Brooke row the canoe with such determination while I reassured Sam that he was fine and told him to hold my hand. We got to the dock and now I had Sam hanging on to my waist and Brooke hanging on to my arm for dear life. Needless to say I limped my way over to the door of the cabin and let us in. Danielle told me to turn on the lights as if we suddenly and miracleously had electricity. I stumbled for a lantern and then proceeded to light up the entire cabin in order to calm Brooke and Sam.

When everyone was finally calm, Brooke and Danielle went outside to put some things in the shed. Brooke freaked out again and began to run back to the cabin. She flung her arm back and hit Danielle in the face which caused her to freak out because she thought someone was trying to grab her. Good thing we had no horror films to watch this evening...I don't think they would have made it.

Another day....another adventure!!!