Our little samurai miracle boy, Amos, has been on the victory tour for some time now. He is off all medication, cleared back into society, a brand new burgeoning immune system, the go ahead from the doctors to play with other kids, and pretty much all-around regular kid status now. As such we have started to get back to the business of life that all kids get to experience. Amos is still clumsy for his age, but beyond the myriad of bumps and bruises on his head he is coming along to the speed of life rather well. With a new found freedom we have with him again we have started what we have come to realize is the slow process of integrating him back into the world. We have begun to be able to experience what I am calling the "happy firsts" that most kids get to experience a bit earlier in life. The saying "better late then never" applies here for us to the tenth degree. Over the last month or so we have taken him to a hotel water park for his first over night stay in a hotel and first water park, his first camping trip, and his first road trip.
^Swimming with his momma was all smiles, giggles, and amazement for Amos. In the picture above his little mind was blown by the "big kids" coming down the huge water slide that he was yet too small for. He wasn't too disappointed that he was too small to ride it because he was pumped enough to ride the small water slide.
^In this picture Amos is getting his mojo up to ride the slide as he points at it and tells his momma in all kinds of gibberish about how he wants to ride it. I would guess. The gibberish, although plenty enthusiastic, was pretty hard to decipher. Needless to say it did not take any coercion to convince him to go for it. Despite his clumsiness he has no real problem with risk. I guess that is mostly my genetic gift to him. Clumsy and bold… tough combination for the little guy, which also explains the bruised and battered head.
^Full water slide face shot and the boy was super stoked! As I employ in my career as a professional backcountry skier we have been using an idea I call the "ramp up approach". In avalanche terrain I like to start a mission on the smaller and less exposed slopes in any given zone and then work my way up to the bigger lines. Therefore, in doing things the way I am used to we decided to take a "ramp up approach" to reintegrating Amos to regular life. This trip to the hotel water park was just a one night stay, in a nice hotel room, just an hour from our house. This "happy first" went really well, and thus gave us the confidence to step up to the next challenge… camping.
^There is a great little campsite near our house that is very lonely and relatively secluded while still being close enough to home that any impromptu exit we may have required would be relatively easy. The spot is just in the shadows of Snowbasin, but requires a 1-mile mountain bike ride to access. I loaded up an old baby trailer turned mountain bike utility gear trailer with all the camping gear we'd need for one night out. All the while Amos played at the Snowbasin playground with his momma and grandma. After I got everything loaded and secured there was one last ride down the tube slide for Amos, and then we shoved off for the short pedal out to the campsite.
^The ride is beautiful and Grandma Kay managed the pedal push with grace, while Christine hammered down hard on the heavily packed down utility trailer. Of course, being our first camp out with Amos I opted to bring way more gear then we really needed and Christine had to drag out the load of my decisions. Needless to say, we have decided to pare down the gear selection for next time. I was proud of her none the less.
^Pictured above we are at the campsite having some dinner with the whole clan in tow. Even Murph dog joined the camping party. The evening went really smoothly. Amos was so pumped to be camping out. He wanted to check out everything. I can't adequately express how happy I was to see it.
^As I broke down the camp kitchen, tidied up the site, and extinguished the fire I couldn't help but laugh at the sound of the operation going on inside our tent. Christine was trying to get Amos ready for sleeping in his new sleeping bag and all I could hear from him was incessant giggling. By the end of her pleadings the both of them were busting out in a full-on giggle attack that had them both rolling around inside the tent in stitches. Amos was having so much fun that he could not calm himself down. I figured eventually he'd wear himself out enough to finally pass out. He did. However, it didn't happen until about 1:00am, and he only slept until 4:30am. He was so excited that he simply could not bring himself to sleep. I did not sleep a wink as a result, but I was too pleased that he was having fun not to just roll with it. Still dark at that hour of the morning and Amos and I were hiking around the trails near the campsite while Christine and Grandma Kay tried to manage a little bit of sleep. Murphy didn't sleep a wink either and sat on guard outside the two tents as the women of the family caught just a few z's. My saying for the night became a rather sarcastically toned, "I am so happy you are having so much fun Amos. Maybe you'd like to sleep a little now?".
^Obviously by the time I snapped this pick of our little mountain man in the morning he was gassed. He could barely keep his eyes open on the pedal out of the area. By the time I steered the car out of the Snowbasin parking lot he was sound asleep in his car seat. Despite the lack of sleep for all of us I still am chalking up the first camping trip as a complete success. We will do a few things a little differently next time, but that is why we chose to ramp up his "happy firsts" accordingly.
^With successful hotel and camping over nighters under our belts we decided it would be a good time to ramp up to the next level to embark on Amos' first road trip. Moab, Utah is one of Christine's favorite places on earth and she was itching to get down there. We planned out a quick three-day adventure in the desert paradise, saddled up our Jeep with way too much gear, strapped Amos in his car seat with plenty of snacks, and hit the road. Amos loves car rides, and as such, he was totally stoked for his first road trip. "There is a truck mom!" he would holler as we'd pass a semi-truck. A five-hour car ordeal and he maintained good spirits all the way.
^Christine and I would sneak out for a quick mountain bike ride while Amos and Grandma Kay would catch a nap each day. In the picture above Christine pedals through slick rock on the Circle O trail in the M.O.A.B. Brand Trails. That is one of the beauties of Moab. All kinds of things to do for the whole family, and close enough proximity of all of it to bust out a quick ride during nap time.
^Me and Amos walking to breakfast.
^I am pictured here doing a few laps driving around Arches National Park while...
^…Amos snuck in a short mid-morning nap.
^I don't typically drive him around for a nap, but when he pops one on ya and the views are this good, why not? He was a little all over the map this particular afternoon with his temperament, and I must say of all the "happy firsts" we have been introducing him too this one particular morning was the only time he really was not on his game. His schedule was a bit off, and the impromptu mid-morning nap kind of had his rhythm all messed up.
^ Despite his attitude we geared him up into his back pack, and I saddled him up the trail. It took him a while to get his head right, but on the backside of the trail loop we let him out of the pack to walk it. A few rock jumps and one little tiny climb had him back in action. He was fired up, and going for it. Hand in hand with his momma he was not afraid to take on any red rock obstacle.
^Also, when Amos is all smiles, we are too. Christine and her mother, Kay, posed for a cheeky picture in front of one of Arches National Park's iconic red rock arches.
^Just after this picture above is right about where he turned the corner to happy town again on the backside of the South Window Arch. He was kind of tired and crabby, and I had to give him the speech about breathing it out once again, but I was also quick to commend him for the adjustment once he finally did come around again.
^In this picture above me and Amos are in the North Window Arch. I still get goosebumps every time I load him up into that backpack and carry him up into the trails. In the heat of his cancer fight that backpack was my light at the end of the tunnel to focus on. I had all kinds of ideas about where I would carry him in that thing before he got sick and when he was fighting for his life all of those plans faded away. I mourned for the life I had envisioned for him then because at that point all I wanted was for him just to live. If he could just fight for that, then I would find a way to make it all up to him some day. I promised him I would. When he was under comatose sedation I used to whisper in his tiny little ear about all the things we would do and the people I would take him to meet. Now before we knew it the Moab road trip was over. We had delivered on a few of those promises I made to him in that ICU hospital room. He was so happy about all of it too. We were so happy that he was. Lord only knows what his life has in store for him, and these days we try not to worry too much about the distant future so much. Largely because we know now more then ever that tomorrow is never a guarantee. Another big drive back home to Ogden, and soon enough we were back to the daily schedule again. As I burned yard waste in the backyard while Amos, Murphy, and Christine played in the grass I gave some thanks to the universe for the "happy firsts". Mesmerized by the warm flames and my grateful heart still simmering with the memories of the adventures we'd been taking him on I simply let out a long slow sigh of relief and started dreaming about the next level in the approach to keep ramping up the experiences. Over the whole two-year cancer fight I have made him a lot of promises. I intend on delivering on all of them, but for now I will just worry about building on our momentum and planning for the next "happy first" adventure, one day at a time.
