Full Disclosure

We have had a lot of fun this week. It has been a lot of fun with our cousins. We got to go to a friend's house where the kids got to see their animals and ride their horses.

The alpacas were adorable, but not excited about being fawned over.

The girls had a blast in the barn playing on all the nifty toys.

Marian loved the kitty cat, and Aaron was successful in his chicken chasing. The meet and greet between cat and chicken was not a giant success. The cat was excited, but the chicken was not.

Joshua though there was some cool stuff in the barn. There was.

Marian was thrilled, but cautious about getting on the horse.

Callie was beyond delighted ti finally, finally get up on the horse.

I got on with Delaney and Rylee, but for some reason, my eyes are closed in every picture! Oops. The girls loved it, but I'll tell you, that saddle was not meant for 2 bums.

Even Joshua got up to ride. I know, I was a little surprised, myself.

Rylee was having bottle-envy. She was worried that Charlotte might have something better in her bottle. Silly Rylee.

We went to the Library's magic show for the kids. Joshua wasn't impressed, so he said. It was cute and the kids did have fun and enjoyed it.

Rylee was the only one who didn't sit quietly for it all. She made a goldfishy mess. But she did share with her sister!

The guy was super-nice and let the kids pet the bunny afterwards.

Then we hung out in the kids room for a bit. Rylee loves the puzzles. Her sisters actually like to put them together too, so it works well. Rylee gets the puzzles out and her sisters help her put them together.

Marian has been marvelous about finding books to read. I am so happy that she is more enthusiastic about reading.

And yes, we had to do fireworks! The menfolk went out and purchased a ton of fireworks and I was surprised how fun they were. I'm not a big fan, but they picked out some really good ones.

Here is the audience. They were very impressed and quite well behaved.

Grandpa got to hold Rylee while I took pictures. When the big bangs came out, I took Rylee inside to watch where the sound wasn't so bad.

So, sure, we have had a lot of fun this week. In the interest of full disclosure though, I do want to tell you that it has not all been skittles and rainbows. I have not slept well since we arrived. The combination of new bed, hot room, and sharing with kids has cut my sleep quality waaay down. Add to that Rylee's new habit of hollering for a "Ba!" at 3am every morning (and then I have to get up and get her a bottle so she will go back to sleep.), and I'm not as well rested as I would like. I'd sleep in, but one child (and that varies between Rylee and Callie) is always up before 6am. So not cool.

There have been the inevitable meltdowns and I had 4 out of 5 children crying or mad all at the same time one day. On the plus side, they have been tired enough that they pretty much fall asleep within 5 minutes of going to bed. But wow, the drama and crying has been tough to take some afternoons.

In addition to that, we've passed around a little something. A little bit of fever, a little bit of vomiting, a little spewing from the other end, and to spice it all up, Miranda got strep throat. There really have been a few rough patches. Andy and Kera might say there were more rough patches, considering they had more sickies and pukers than any one else. Plus, they were up all night with a very sad and fevery baby that fussed all night last night. Me, I like to focus on the positive. I don't want you to think life is always fantastic. I'll admit right here that I shouted at my children this week. So no, I'm not perfect and while we are having a great time, it does require some flexibility and willingness to go with the flow. I don't want you to think I'm hiding the non-rosy parts. I just prefer to remember the good stuff and let go of the not so fun stuff, especially since the good far outweighs the not-so-good!