Chaos

With 17+ people under one roof, this week has been quite fun! We have 12 children and 5-7 adults, between my folks, my brother and his family, and my sister and her cutie patootie. It has been the height of insanity and fun!

Marian got to Skype her very best friend and she stayed on for a looong time. It was super sweet to hear her talk about all the random things that interest the 2 of them.

Oh, my! Check out Delaney's face. What could have all the kids hanging out in Grandpa's truck looking so interested?!

Oh, the burn pile. Grandpa burned the burn pile and the kids were enthralled. He had a few helpers, and no one got hurt. So it was a good time for everyone!

We put up the pool, and the yard got well-used between that, and the tree house, and the zip line.

The water cannon guns were a lot of fun for almost everyone. Getting hit in the face was not met well, and some of the little kids were very unhappy about getting hit with a spray of water anywhere.

Squirting whoever was on the zipline was a great game though, and everyone liked that!

The picture is blurry, but this was too funny to not document. I found Rylee out on the porch. She was digging through the garden looking for pill bugs. She would pick them up and put them in the little plastic wagon. The wagon was full of the little critters, and Rylee was having a marvelous time! She was so pleased with herself!

We did go to the library. Marian was very intent on finding a book about dinosaurs, and it had to have the names of each dino for her. The librarian was very sweet in helping her.

This kids area is fabulous. The whole library is fabulous! Blessings upon the head of the guy who donated so much money to build it. It is wonderful.

And this is why Joshua likes to go there! He can use his library card to do this.

We also went to the park. 30 seconds after we arrived, this is where Marian was- the highest point around. Later, she lay in the rocks and made "sand angels".

Callie had a good time too.

We brought bread to feed the turtles and they did not disappoint! There were a lot of turtles and several impressively large ones!

I was thrilled that no one fell in the water or got wet, although I heard a rumor that someone ended up with wet feet.

Today was the day of meltdowns. Here is Callie's grumpy face. She did get bashed in the head with the zip line, but that was after she told her sister to "Try and knock me down!" Hmmmmm.....

Rylee spent too much time bullying her cousin. She is a silent bully. She just quietly walks over and shoves her cousins, or kicks them, or bites. And then she laughs. She is not a nice girl. Fortunately, she is cute.

This right here is what I love the best. Delaney and Matthew get along really well (most of the time) and are so cute. With their blond hair and great cheeks, they look like they could be siblings. They spent hours together today playing legos or running around outside. This was too adorable- she's telling him secrets at the dinner table. I am so happy they have the chance to spend time with cousins. I am so happy we will be living closer to all our family!

My motivation is waning. I am tired and don't feel like writing or looking at more pictures. If you are lucky, I will find my motivation and will post more before the end of the week!

Summer Vacation is here!

I'm sure you have waited with bated breath to know how things are going. We spent another 7 hours in the car on Wednesday, but didn't cover quite so many miles. We spent most of the drive slinging around curves and up and down hills on 2 lane roads. The great thing is that there were very few drivers on these roads and we could go as fast as we wanted. Er, I mean, we were not hampered by slowpokes.

This is the scenic stuff I got to see. It was incredibly hard to get a picture of the hills and curves, especially since I was driving and it would have been most foolish to snap pictures while going 60 around and down them. So this will have to do. It is quite lovely, but somehow, the big interstate freeway is a lot easier to drive on. Much less pretty though.

It was 4 pm on Wednesday when we finally reached our destination! There was much rejoicing by all.

And then there was the immediate beeline for the treehouse. Yes, even Rylee climbed up there all by herself.

Then they had to try out the Zipline.

Yep, it still worked. Rylee wanted to try it too, but she did not get to. She got a helping hand down (again, and again, and again....).

I love Callie's big grin as she zooms down. The zipline goes from the treehouse (about 7 feet up) down to the tree, and I think it is a bit high, but the kids LOVE it.

Grandma tried to teach Rylee how to get out of the treehouse all by herself. It didn't work.

There goes Joshua! The kids have spent most of their days outside playing in the treehouse, on the zipline or on the swings. I love it!

Today was the Red White and Blue Festival. There was a 5k this morning and Dan went to run in it. I made all the kids get up and ready and out the door by 7 this morning and some of them were not too happy about it!

Yep, this was the one who cried and fussed the most, but you can't tell now.

We got there in time to cheer Dan in. He was 6th overall. I think it was only the high school's cross country team who beat him. He was first in his age group.

While he was a bit shy of his goal time, he still had a good time. The hills and nasty humidity slowed him a little. He did great, and added another medal to his collection. That's my man!

Callie and Marian were very entertained by this grasshopper they found.

Isn't it cool?! It looks like a blade of grass!

Soon they were arguing over who's turn it was to hold it and they fought over the poor thing. I made them let it go before we got in the car. I hope it wasn't too traumatized.

Next stop was a pancake breakfast. All you could eat of pancakes, eggs, sausage, and biscuits and gravy. The kids really packed it away and behaved pretty well. They were also the only kids there. Okay, there were one or 2 other ones, but mostly it was attended by retirees, and they were all happy to see the littlies.

It was wicked hot today. The outdoor thermometer at the house said 98 this afternoon. We set up the little pool and the kids played and cooled off a little.

Rylee liked to be boss of the hose. It was a good time and I only had to pick off one tick tonight.

So, the kids are having fun and it will get even more fun (and extremely hectic) tomorrow after some cousins arrive. Yay!

Traveling... in pictures

Monday, I picked the kids up from school and met up with Dan about a mile away. We had both the car and the van comfortably packed. I was fairly impressed with the amount of extra space we had.

Do they look ready?! They were very ready!

The girls thought the hotels were the best thing ever! We even ran into one lovely lady several times and she sweetly commented on how cute the kids were and how well behaved. That totally made my day.

We saw lots and lots of this.

What on earth is this, you ask?!

That was Marian's coping strategy for the sun coming in to much. She was watching movies on the laptop. She loves sitting in the front. She gets a little car sick in the back and she's good company, so I am happy to have her up with me. Plus, she doesn't torment Callie when she sits next to me.

Joshua at a rest stop. We managed to keep the potty breaks to a minimum and Rylee is the only one who had any issues. I think Huggies is not meant for her bum. She pees through them way to often when we travel.

It cracked me up that Delaney fell asleep with her finger stuck in her hair.

Welcome to Kentucky! We stopped here for the night tonight so we could meet up with Dan's sister.

We had a marvelous time wearing out the kids at the pool. It was a daggone cold pool too! I didn't stay in very long, and Rylee was blue after an hour. But the kids did not want to get out.

Delaney and her cousin had fun together. Rachael showed Delaney how to "swim" with her floaty and Delaney got the hang of it just before she had to get out of the pool.


Callie thought she was hot stuff, but she about gave me a heart attack when she carried Rylee around. The kids had a great time at the pool and I hope it makes them sleep well tonight!

Wednesday will probably be our longest drive. We've done 7.5 hours both Monday and today. Tomorrow we will finish the drive to my folks house. We'll hang out with them for a bit before heading to our new home. So far, so good though. The kids have been marvelous for the most part and driving has been less arduous than I anticipated. That means tomorrow will probably be horrid!

How its going

Today we checked out of the house and handed in the keys. We got dinged on one set of broken blinds and the back porch screen door. So it was not too bad. We're happy with it. We got out on the road by 1:30 and drove till 9pm. We're stopped for the night in Charleston, WV. the kids were very good till we arrived at the hotel. Now they are all hopped up on adrenaline and have zero desire to sleep.

Things have gone amazingly well, all things considered. I didn't fall asleep, no one had a meltdown (yet!) and there was no fighting and little complaining. Yay! It was a very good day! Now, only 8 hours to drive tomorrow and 6 on Wednesday. But we are off to a good start!

Moving Week!

This week we moved. Well, we've mostly moved. Sort of.

Wednesday was the last day I could go into DC to do anything. There were a few things I kind of wanted to do, but I really wanted to visit the Holocaust Museum. I am really glad we went. Dan and I and the 2 little girls went. The girls didn't get it and Delaney got pretty bored, but Dan and I were enthralled. It is pretty powerful, and that's saying something, considering there's nothing that ruins a somber mood faster than 2 giggly, eager girls. If you are ever here, I suggest you put this one on the list of stuff to see- but leave the kids behind!

Rylee was very good and obliged by falling asleep and taking a nap. That was nice for us.

Delaney just loves riding the Metro. Really she just likes the pole and swinging around it. She was really good for the museum and only complained of boredom the last hour.

The packers came on Thursday and boxed up everything. They sent 4 women who worked like crazy and accomplished the task in about 9 hours. Then they spent another hour doing paperwork stuff. They did a great job. The movers and truck came yesterday. 5 Men and they had the house cleared out in 7 hours of all our worldly goods. The sad thing is that when they asked if we had anything worth more than $500, we had 2 things- the tv and the elliptical machine. I guess the computer is also, but I'm carrying that in the car. Delaney had a blast with all the boxes and she and Rylee had enormous fun running up and down the ramp.

Delaney thought it was all fun and games and that it was all for her personal entertainment.

Yep, her own personal jungle gym in her own front yard!

The house was empty of all but dust and dregs last night. Today the lovely cleaning lady comes and on Monday we check out forever. For now, we are kickin it in the luxurious Springhill Suites. We actually sprung for 2 rooms and we are in LOVE! Joshua is delighted with the space.

Yep, he loves the space and the comfort. It is nice! The kids are currently just hanging out, alternating between happily watching cartoons and fighting or whining.

This may be the last post for a while, depending on our internet access and the motivation I may or may not have! We will be in Arknsas on Wednesday, barring any troubles.