Maxwell Vacation 2012

[gardenvarietycitizen]

As far as I know they've been going to that same identical cabin for years (you can find pics of them there from when the kids were very small). I don't know if they own it or it's a timeshare or what.

The area it's in is quite nice, if it's where I think it is I've been camping near there (with my fridge of beer!)

[Markie]

I also wonder how many rooms they get when they stay at motels?

I would imagine that the Maxwells get 4 rooms on the road. 1) Steve, Teri, Sarah, Anna, Mary (2 doubles and a roll away, 2) Joe, John, Jesse, 3) Nathan, Melanie and kids, 4) Chris, NRAnna, baby. I can't imagine the unmarried women get to have a room of their own.

[gustava]

I would imagine that the Maxwells get 4 rooms on the road. 1) Steve, Teri, Sarah, Anna, Mary (2 doubles and a roll away, 2) Joe, John, Jesse, 3) Nathan, Melanie and kids, 4) Chris, NRAnna, baby. I can't imagine the unmarried women get to have a room of their own.

I wonder about Steve sleeping in a room with his daughters??!?!?! I'd think he would be uncomfortable.

[Markie]

I wonder about Steve sleeping in a room with his daughters??!?!?! I'd think he would be uncomfortable.

He may well bunk in with teh unmarried men. He and Teri can then ensure that the tv does NOT get turned on!

[Creaky Mom]

What surprised me was the way that the Maxwells packed the coolers in the front of the trailer. One would think they would want to pack them near the rear, so that they had easy access and could check ice and temps while they were on the road. (FWIW I keep an instant read thermometer in each of my two coolers, so I don't have to guess about safe temperatures.)

I also wonder how many rooms they get when they stay at motels? Do they own the cabin? And what the heck do they need to buy at REI each of the guys seems to have a bag. I must admit I don't consider a trip to an outdoors store a major event in my life. If I need something for my camping kit, like a new water filter, I just go downtown to the store and buy one. No biggie, nothing I have to notice my friends about. Kinda like grocery shopping, a non event that happens without the over sharing the Maxwells are so fond of .

Right, and it goes to show how dull their existence truly is.

I would never, never, never, survive in that family and I am a very conservative christian person.

I would die, or go mad in that family.

[terranova]

They wear out their hiking sock so much they need to buy new ones every year? I think they need to try a better brand of socks!

My daughter used to fall asleep while having tummy time and as long as I could see her, I didn't wake her up. Nothing wrong with taking a nap on a blanket on the floor, giving it's the Maxwell's, we know it's clean and probably ironed.

[twin2]

He may well bunk in with teh unmarried men. He and Teri can then ensure that the tv does NOT get turned on!

That is what I was thinking. Terrie and the girls in one room, Steve and the guys in the other. Way to much temptation for any of the "children" to be left alone.

[Justme]

Stevie mentioned in one of the comments that the rent the cabin, they don't own it.

[PennySycamore]

Some babies can't sleep on their backs. I had two who couldn't - one of my daughters used to spit up so much that it was dangerous for her to sleep on her back, and my son had colic and was such a restless sleeper that he would startle himself awake every 5 minutes. My pediatrician told me both times to put them to sleep on their tummies, that even though back sleeping was recommended it isn't always possible. I also agree that the Maxwells may have no idea about the "back to sleep" campaign because of their isolation. I would hope they at least have well-baby checkups and listen to what their pediatrician says.

As for a pack-n-play they did bring one because there was a picture of Christopher carrying one in one of their blog posts. I see nothing wrong with laying a little baby down on a blanket for a nap during the day. He's much too young to crawl away or anything.

I may not have found the exact reference I'm looking for, but I recently read some about some discoveries about the instincts of the newborn. Dr Christina Smillie writes in "How Infants Learn to Feed: A Neurobehavioral Model" in Supporting Sucking Skills in Breastfeeding Infants by Catherine Watson Genna, IBCLC that "When moved to a supine position, a baby will often flail and behave uncomfortably, like an upside-down turtle. On our clinical experience, the infant calms and relaxes when cuddled upright between his mother's breasts. The ventral position, like the prone position, stabilizes the infant's vestibular system, while the midline ventral position provides a stabilizing symmetric posture, minimizing intrusive postural reflexes." This isn't to minimize the "Back-to-Sleep" campaign, but it's not the best for all babies. For naps, most babies should be placed on their backs, but in the early weeks, they might prefer being snuggled against mother's body. (Can provide Dr Smilie's citations.)

I don't see what the big deal is about the baby sleeping on a blanket on the floor. It's safe if the floor is clean and the baby's not crawling. The baby can't fall out of the floor!

It was nice to see one of the Maxwell boys carrying their offspring in a front pack.

[Peas n carrots]

I don't think there are REI's in Kansas, but I'm sure there is a local equivalent.

Man, that is a lot of togetherness. If I were Melanie I would be insisting on my own cabin for my family.

[anniebgood]

We'd put our stuff that needed to be frozen in a cooler with dry ice covered with butcher paper on the bottom. That and ice packs doubled with plastic freezer bags kept stuff cold. We didn't usually have to bring food home, just soda and water. Never beer. Beer got drunk. From camping at Yosemite we were well aware of bear boxes and at the Housekeeping camp we had a plug in cooler we could lock in while still getting juice from the plug.

Now we have a refurbished camper (1979) and we dx'ed the gas line to the fridge and just use dry ice to keep things cold. Always have at least two coolers with ice in them though for drinks. Dry goods are in the cupboards. Since cooking inside makes it too hot we use the charcoal grill outside to cook dinners on. There is a hot plate for heating up hot water and such.

I hope that Bethy gets to see her chipmunks this year and grandpa doesn't have to pray to long. Also love Steve's cooking apron, is it leather?

[clibbyjo]

That is what I was thinking. Terrie and the girls in one room, Steve and the guys in the other. Way to much temptation for any of the "children" to be left alone.

They have to do 4 to a room since they are all adults. I have 3 kids and the only reason they "let" us stay in 1 room is because they are under 18. Over 18 the max. is 4 to a room,at least that is what I have been told.

[moreorlessnu]

Is Costco produce cheaper than grocery store produce? I often find grocery store produce is a better value.

[NurseNell]

Is Costco produce cheaper than grocery store produce? I often find grocery store produce is a better value.

Costco in the Twin Cities, MN has excellent produce.

[silverspoons]

Costco has the best produce in our area but unless I spilt with a neighbor I couldn't use as much as you have to buy before it goes bad. I love the champange grapes at Costco.

As much as I am not a Maxwell fan, I think the Duggars could take a a few lessons on how to prepare for a trip. I know there are more Duggars but how hard would it be to for them to pack premade travel and snack for like the Maxwells did. It would also be nice to see the Duggars buying 2 dozen apples at costco instead of more drive thru fries!

[bionicmlle]

So they go to REI for gear (like new hiking socks!) but they wear jeans/jeanskirts and tshirts on that long hike? As my wonderful husband says: "Cotton has no place in the mountains."

ETA: Except for Steve, who has full hiking gear AND two walking poles. Nice, Steve, nice.

[ncb]

Seems like the Maxwells are really laying it on thick since the beakup. Lots of posts about how much "fun" they are having etc.

[Marian the Librarian]

Seems like the Maxwells are really laying it on thick since the beakup. Lots of posts about how much "fun" they are having etc.

+1. They are really pushing the "Look at how wonderful our isolationist life is, folks" message - methinks they protest waaaaay too much. I wonder if they have the slightest awareness of the desperation their blog is oozing these days. One senses an imminent implosion...

[terranova]

That walk does look like fun. But, why the hell are they walking in denim?? If the weather packed in and they were caught out in it, denim would be freezing cold almost instantly. They are carrying backpacks, but unless there is a complete change of thermals in there for the women (the men already seem to be wearing them), then they could be in for a nasty bout of hypothermia. I'm happy to see they didn't put the little kid's at risk by taking them up in inappropriate clothes too.

If I were Colorado search and rescue I'd be getting in touch and giving them a stern lesson on mountain safety.

[Maggie Mae]

How the hell are they hiking in denim skirts?

Seriously. WTF.

My BF and I backpack at least once a month and do day hikes as often as we can. (which is at least once a week.) I don't wear denim. Cotton is dangerous. Please tell me they aren't wearing flip flops?

I don't know how it is in CO, but here, we take the mountains seriously. In July, during a very popular mountain race, we had 2 sever injuries (one is now in long term rehabilitation for traumatic brain injury) and a person who disappeared. Seriously. He went up with a bunch of people to do a timed race, and never returned. They did thermal scans and people have been searching for over a month now. It's one of the most terrifying things. That same weekend, a teenager who decided to hike a glacier in street clothes fell into a crevasse and almost died, on a popular hike. They said his clothes were shredded and he has been skin to skin with glacier ice for almost 5 hours. We've had search and rescue come out to find people who were only 750 ft from their car.

Not to mention the chafing and the uncomfortableness of hiking in a skirt. What. The. Hell. I hope they have something incase they get stranded, like a sleeping bag and extra water, bear spray (even if they don't get stranded).

Dear Maxwells,

Please don't come to Alaska.

Thanks.

[terranova]

I agree cpennylane. We have a large number of deaths every year from people caught out unawares in the wilderness. The weather in the mountains can change sooo quickly, even young, fit, healthy people can die if they do not have the equiptment to survive. And Teri is hardly healthy with her bad back.

[Justme]

Boy, if I didn't know better, I'd swear Sarah was drunk when she wrote her last post. Her sentances are long and hard to understand. :roll:

After the picture of the baby bear near the cabin, I hope they are very careful. I see the guys are wearing the backpacks with the water spout. What about the ladies? They aren't wearing them. I see the guys also have good hiking shoes. I hope the ladies do to. It's hard to tell with those long skirts. What I see looks like regular sneakers. I hope I'm wrong.

So, who is "preaching" to the Elderly today? Did they leave them high and dry??? :pray:

Sarah wrote Nate & Chris's families were only staying the weekend. Seems like a very long drive for a weekend.

[allyisyourpally5]

Sarah's big paragraph:

"The hike up to the lake went well, with the little girls even walking for a bit. At the lower lake, the family broke into several groups. From there, some (of the immediate Maxwell family) decided to go up to the top of a nearby mountain, which we later found out is Mt. Jones, at 13,200′. John and Anna had been back helping some of the “little-uns†with the other group, and they were going to catch up with us, but that wasn’t going to work. They couldn’t continue, due to the fact that they didn’t have any water, and that would be a very necessary key ingredient in such a steep, strenuous climb. They didn’t have water because John had carried Abby earlier and Anna Christina, and then when they had left the younger Maxwells, they didn’t want to take water from that group, thinking they would be able to catch the rest of us. So, they went to a pretty overlook, and waited for us."

I work with a primary school with 10 and 11 year olds, and this is the kind of writing the teacher and I hold up as a bad example to the majority. Boring, slow paced, stupid detail, missed out anything remotely exciting....

We took a school trip in the summer and of course when they come back they write about it. This just reminded me so much of some of the lower ability writers in the class, who would write "We went to the castle and we got on the coach. I sat next to Sam. I had a sandwich in my lunchbox. We all went into the castle and stayed in a straight line. I bought a pen from the gift shop and got back on the coach."

And thank you Sarah, most of us have the brains to realise water is a necessity for hiking! Glad to see Stevey was the only one in appropriate clothing and fully equipped for hike. Maybe the Lord laid it on his heart that the rest of the family would be fine.

Due you think John and Anna deliberately took the little ones to skip the hike and discuss potential future escape? Johns the rebel who had to have his spirit crushed isn't he?

ETA because hike doesn't have to Ks

[allyisyourpally5]

Also, scroll down their blog to the Broken Hearts post - after the announcement of the courtship failure : The comment section has been completely removed! you can't see them or post! A few too many home-truths come your way Steve?

[crawfishgirl]

That landscape is beautiful! Does anyone know what area of CO they are in?