How Many Kids Do We have?

Chapter 36

We Need a Little Bit of Crazy Part 1

When Stephanie woke up, she was alone. No Ranger or Caden. She ran to the bathroom, then went looking for them. They were sitting on the sofa watching Sponge Bob on Saturday morning cartoons.

"Hey, Babe."

Kissing him, "Hi, Ranger. How is he doing?"

"A little quiet."

"Hi, Caden. You Ok?" Stephanie sat on the coffee table so she was facing Caden.

"Yeah."

"You don't sound like it. You sound like a sad sack," Stephanie poked him in the stomach. She got a giggle. He was poked again and giggled again. Stephanie continued to poke him and Caden giggled more.

"That's better. I like hearing that happy, little voice. Are you hungry?"

He nodded, "Can I have French Toast?"

"I think I can make that. Ranger, what would you like?"

"French toast sounds good. Come on, I'll help. No coffee, Babe."

"I cut it out. I switched to green tea."

"You may come over to the healthy side yet."

Ranger no sooner took a bite of his breakfast when his cell phone rang, "Yo." He listened to the caller and ended it with "Pick me up on the way."

"Babe, there's a problem on an account. Bobby and Lester are off for the weekend, so I'm back-up."

"Ok. Do you think you'll be long?"

"I hope not. I'll call you if it turns out to be an all day thing."

Ranger kissed Stephanie and rubbed Caden's curls as Tank pulled up in a black SUV. The portable phone rang.

"Hello."

"Babe, no heavy lifting or over exerting yourself. Love you." The phone clicked.

She laughed at the phone, he had gotten a little better with his phone manners.

Julie was coming down the upstairs hallway as Stephanie walked out with a freshly changed Cassidy.

"Jules, do you have that roadside book?'

"It's in my room. What's up?"

"Your father got called out on a job and I was thinking we needed a little crazy." Stephanie explained to Julie how Caden was afraid for her to have the baby in the hospital.

"It sounds like we need a little crazy to get Caden's mind off the hospital thing," Julie agreed.

"There's a farm outside of Trenton heading towards Philly that has a huge pumpkin patch. I'd like to get some pumpkins and gourds to decorate outside for Fall and Halloween."

"Mommy, can I get a big pumpkin and put a scary face on it," Caden was snarling and had his fingers curled in front of him pretending to be a monster.

"Of course, you can."

Julie showed Stephanie a page in the travel book.

"I think that's perfect, Jules. It's in the vicinity of the pumpkin farm."

"What do you say troops, up for a little crazy?"

"Yeah," Julie said.

"Me, too, Mommy," Caden told her.

Stephanie got a "Mum" from Cassidy and took that as a yes.

It was a cool Saturday in Trenton, so Stephanie made sure the children were dressed warmly. Caden looked cute in his jeans, brown work boots, and a flannel shirt over his favorite Sponge Bob t-shirt. Cassidy had on a sweatshirt with Tinkerbelle and leggings. Julie had her jean jacket over her jeans and t-shirt. She packed the diaper bag with diapers, juice, and snacks for traveling.

Stephanie was just buckling Cassidy in her car seat when she heard the Batman ring of her cell phone.

"Julie, can you answer that."

She dug it out of Stephanie's purse.

"Yo, Babe."

"Yo, Dad. I'm not your Babe."

"Julie, where's Stephanie?"

"Buckling Cassidy in her car seat."

"Where are you going?"

"To the pumpkin patch and doing a little crazy road trip."

"What about me? Don't I get to do crazy, too?"

"Hi, Ranger," Stephanie grabbed the phone from Julie.

"Were you leaving without me, Babe?"

Stephanie heard the disappointment in his voice. "I was going to call you from the gas station on Hamilton to see if you were done?"

"I'm on my way. I'll have Tank drop me off there. See you in five, Babe."

"Bye, Ranger."

"Julie, do you have the roadside book with you."

"Right here, Steph."

"Before I pull out, let me go to the bathroom for the twentieth time this morning."

Stephanie was filling up the gas tank when a mocha latte hand grabbed the nozzle.

"I'll finish, Babe."

Caden let himself out of his car seat and was hanging out the window, "Mommy, I got to go potty."

"Let's go."

Ranger, Julie, and Cassidy were waiting for them in the Explorer. Caden snapped himself back in his booster seat.

"Jules, do you have enough room?' Stephanie asked her. They kept the Expedition at Rangeman. "We could go get the bigger SUV at Rangeman."

"I have enough," Julie was sitting between the two car seats.

"Which way, Babe?"

"Take 295 South."

The Explorer parked at Schultz's Farm about 30 minutes later.

"Look at all the pumpkins!" Julie yelled as she got out.

"Mommy, I want a big one," Caden was dragging Stephanie towards the pumpkins in the field. There were red wagons to carry your pumpkins from the field. Julie grabbed one and Ranger put Cassidy in it. Caden pushed as Julie pulled the wagon. Ranger held Stephanie's hand as they followed the children to the field.

Julie found a perfectly round pumpkin. She and Caden went back and got a second wagon. Caden kept finding a pumpkin bigger than the last one he picked. Ranger kept taking out the old pumpkin and putting the new, bigger one in the wagon. He probably did that about twenty times.

"Hey, Midget. Let's pick a pumpkin. This is getting old."

Caden looked at Ranger, "I need a big one."

"Well, pick one."

Stephanie picked a nice round one for Cassidy and a few smaller ones to put on the front porch and deck. She found gourds, Indian corn, and a few white pumpkins by the check-out.

"I want that one,' Caden was pointing to a huge pumpkin at the check-out. The sign by it said it weighed 692 pounds.

Ranger looked at him, "How would we get that home. It won't fit in the SUV."

"Put it in your truck."

"It's too big."

"I like that one."

Stephanie was laughing. Caden was standing staring up at Ranger with his hands on his hips. Ranger was standing the same way looking down at him. It was a stand off in the pumpkin patch. Eventually, they starting to smile at each other.

Ranger grabbed him and turned him upside down holding up in the air by his legs.

"Take the one in the wagon."

"Ok," Caden said. "I still like the big one."

When it was weighed, his pumpkin was 58 pounds, Julie's was 33, and Cassidy's was 20.

They bought some apple cider and a funnel cake at a food booth while Stephanie went to the bathroom again.

"Where next, Babe," Ranger asked as he loaded the last pumpkin in the back of the Explorer.

"Let's get back on 295 and go about 5 miles to exit 22."

Stephanie put the address of the next stop into the GPS. When the Explorer got off at the right exit, they had to go to Kings Highway. Turning onto the street, Stephanie said to Caden, "Close your eyes. Keep them closed until I tell you to open them and no peeking."

"Ok, Mommy."

Stephanie directed Ranger into a parking lot. Ranger smiled when he saw what was in front of the building.

"Ranger is going to get you out. Keep your eyes closed."

"Ok."

Stephanie picked up Cassidy. All were standing in the parking lot facing a big bronze replica of a dinosaur.

"Caden, open your eyes."

His eyes got wide. "Mommy, it's a dinosaur!" He was jumping up and down.

"Can I touch it?"

"Go ahead."

He ran over and went all the way around it. Touching it's big claw foot. "It's a friend of yours," Caden told his T-Rex.

Julie had the digital camera and got a picture of Caden hugging the dinosaur's leg. Cassidy got up and was standing under the belly of the dinosaur. Ranger took the camera so all three children could pose with the dinosaur.

"The dinosaur bones are inside."

"Mommy, can we see them."

"Come on."

Ranger carried Cassidy. Caden was holding Stephanie's hand jumping up and down again.

"Babe, do you think he's excited?"

"Ranger, are you Cuban?"

"Smartass."

Stephanie handed the woman at the entrance the money so they could see the bones. Her name tag said Mary.

She said to Caden, "Do you like dinosaurs?"

"Yeah. He's my buddy." Caden made the T-Rex roar and his eyes glow.

"When you leave here, if you walk around the building and follow the path. There is a marker to show you where these bones were found."

"Wow. I gotta see that."

Ranger was chuckling, "I think Caden's back."

Caden walked around the display, "Can I touch them."

"No," Mary told him, "but I have a model of a bone that you can touch." She placed a large bone in Caden's hands.

He gently put it down and looked at it with an amazed expression on his face. Julie was taking pictures, capturing Caden's face. He ran his fingers over it and turned it over, taking in every detail of the bone.

"Mommy, I touched it."

"I know you did."

He picked it up as gently and handed it back to Mary, "I wouldn't want you to lose it."

"Thank you."

He continued walking around the bones and saying "Wow" more to himself than for anyone else to hear.

Stephanie wandered over to the gift shop. There were shark teeth on a silken cords. She bought one for Caden. He was still gazing at the bones when she slipped it over his neck.

He looked at it, then at Stephanie. "It's a shark tooth."

"Thanks," hugging Stephanie.

Caden ran over to Ranger and showed him.

"That's amazing," Ranger told Caden rubbing his curls.

When they finished perusing the dinosaur bones, Stephanie, Ranger, and the children followed the path to the excavation site. Julie and Caden were pulling on Ranger's hands to hurry him down the path. Cassidy was trailing after them.

They stopped in front of a plaque that Julie read, "Hadrosaurus foulkii was discovered in October 1858. An almost complete dinosaur skeleton was found in the ravine below. A first in the United States."

"Babe, it's a hole."

Caden hopped over to Stephanie and put his mouth near her stomach, "Baby in there, do you see where the dinosaur was?"

Stephanie was giggling at his excitement. Ranger picked Caden up, "Ranger-Dad, do you think if we dug in the backyard, we'd find dinosaur bones, too?"

Ranger looked at his wife for help. He knew Stephanie would encourage his curiosity. "I guess we can fill in the holes," he told Caden.

"Dad, it's cool. Millions of years ago, that dinosaur stood where we are now."

Caden added, "And he peed in the woods."

"That is something," Ranger said dryly.

"Dad, if you can't do crazy, we'll leave you home next time."

"All right. Lead the way to the next adventure," giving his family his 1000 watt smile.