Getting Stoned

Ha ha - gotcha. But no, this post isn't going to be about drugs or anything of the sort. I think you'll be a little surprised what my title is actually about.

This weekend we took a little trip to Vernal for some personal reasons. We were going to leave Jordyn with Jeff's parents, but they had some other plans for the weekend, so we decided to bring her with us. Vernal is almost a four hour drive from our house, so I was sure to pack plenty of treats, crayons & paper, toys, and other sorts of things to keep a 2-year-old entertained on such a long drive. I must say that she did well on the way to Vernal. She played and colored for the first part of the drive, slept for the middle part, and was a little fussy towards the end.

The trip back was not as pleasant. She kicked the back of the seat, cried, and finally screamed until her face turned red. Jeff and I were both at the end of our rope. We pulled off to the side of the road to try and calm down. I suggested we say a prayer to help us get through the remaining 3 hours of the drive. I said the prayer, then took Jordyn out of her carseat and held her on my lap and read her a story while Jeff drove to find a place where we could get out and stretch our legs.

After only a few miles, we came to a scenic outlook over Strawberry Reservoir. We got out of the car and took a hike down to the water. After spending a few minutes on the shore, it was time to hike back to the car and continue on our journey. I was dreading getting back into the car, knowing I would have to buckle Jordyn back into her carseat and not wanting her to scream the rest of the way home. Fearing the worst for mine and Jeff's sanity, I silently asked, "Heavenly Father, what should I do?" As we continued up the hill and into the parking lot, I noticed Jordyn stopping to pick up a rock. Then a thought came to me. I practically shouted at Jeff "Hurry and pick up as many rocks as you can and hang on to them!" Then I ran to the car, found an empty Dr. Pepper bottle, and used some of our bottled water to clean the Dr. Pepper bottle out. Then I helped Jordyn put the rocks she had gathered into the bottle. We picked up a few more rocks, and she loved watching her collection fill up in the bottle. Then I told her to sit in her carseat and we could have even more rocks! She got in her carseat and did up the buckle, gave her the Dr. Pepper bottle with her rocks in it. As I walked around to get in my side of the car, I picked up a few more rocks, and had Jeff give me the rocks that he had gathered. Jordyn spent the rest of the car ride putting the rocks in the bottle, then taking them out again. Part way through the ride Jeff said "The rocks thing was a good idea!" I know it didn't come from me, I definitely had help with that one.