Fun with Family

Nearly all my immediate family came to my parents this week. I was sad Jonathan and his clan didn't make it, but we managed to have a good time anyway. I think I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Grandpa put in this nifty tire swing and it has resulted in much fun and much fighting over.

Delaney helped make cake for our party Friday night.

I had to put this in. This is Emma, who must be the cutest doggone 1 year old ever!

We got a ton of fireworks to light up on the 4th of July and the kids had a marvelous time. I'm not big into fireworks, but Uncle Dan, Aunt Miranda, and Uncle Adam are very much into the pyrotechnics of the 4th, and they set it all up and let the kids do some stuff and they all had a great time.

See how happy Callie is?!

Marian wanted the cool stuff, no boring sparklers for her!

Dan and Adam, the fire-masters at work!

Joshua loved getting to light stuff on fire with a sparkler. There was a lit of wizz-bangs and smoke.

Okay, someone asked, and this is the only, and I do mean only, picture of me and my belly, taken just this morning!

I think I'm 28 weeks along now. Something like that. Funny how I look much fatter in the mirror.

We got nearly all the kids together after church for a picture. They were not thrilled about it.

And I admit I have been busy having too much fun with my family to blog much and I'm not planning to do any more right now! I'm off for games and chocolate!

How we have fun in Arkansas!

My parents do not have cable or satellite TV. This means that if its not on VHS or DVD, there is nothing to see on the TV. I kind of like it. And I have been shocked at how little the children (mainly Joshua!) have complained about it. They have done a great job being occupied by other things. Personally, I think it is a bit too hot to go outside, but the kids don't seem bothered much at all. They spend a lot of time in the yard having a marvelous time, and not always in the kiddie pool.

I also took them to a library program. I really like the library here. They have a great kids room.

The kids like to play more than they want to read or look at books, but I'm okay with that. They are having fun, the air is cool and air-conditioned, I'm happy to sit and read while they play!

The library also has a good summer reading program and we attended one of their activities. Joshua did not want to go, but the girls had a great time. There was a balloon man who did some fun magic as well. I was pretty impressed. At the end, he made balloon figures for every kid. And there were a LOT of kids!

Marian got a sword, while Callie and Delaney chose pink dogs. I was a bit surprised by Marian's desire for a "life-saver", especially when she began sword fighting with several other little boys. I had been sure she'd pick an animal.

Marian's very favorite thing to do here is to chase the chickens. She claims she isn't chasing them, she's not suppose to. I must say however, that when I see her running, and there are chickens running, I usually do think she is chasing them.

She just wants to hold and pet them. She spends hours out there with the chickens. Thank goodness they are too young to lay eggs yet, I'm sure they'd stop laying from the stress of Marian.

The chickens are very good natured though. They do not scratch or peck, and sit quietly when she does manage to snag one. And all the children want to pet and hold it. The chicken will submit to being manhandled with good grace until Marian tires of carting it around.

The kids have done a great job of holding the poor things properly, which helps. The kids so far have been gentle with the chickens, and it is pretty funny to see Marian out in the yard with a hen tucked under one arm, just going about her business.

Yesterday I decided to take the kids to the movies. They love the first "Night at the Museum", so I thought it might be fun to take them to see the new one. Ug.

Yep, they did make goofy faces for this. They argued over popcorn, ran around the theater and Callie asked, "Is this real?" very loudly every 5 minutes which annoyed Joshua enough to shout back, "No, I told you a hundred times already!" She was a bit scared as well, and sat on what's left of my lap for most of the movie. I enjoyed the movie, but I think I will try hard to never take 3 of them together again! They were also cranky and rotten the rest of the day.

Heat Wave

I am not sure if I forgot how hot Arkansas is in the summer, or if I blacked out the memories, or if I just fool myself into thinking each roasting hot time is a fluke. It is hot here. Really hot. The heat index most days this week have been over 100. Its muggy too. Just standing in the shade makes you sweat. So this week has been all about keeping cool.

We set up the kiddie pool in the yard and Callie and Delaney have been in nearly every day.

Yep, my 2 littlest girls have a ball. They go out after Delaney's nap and play till dinnertime. They have even eaten dinner on the back porch in swimsuits several times. They will play out there till I call them in to get ready for bed. I gotta admit, I like it!

Joshua got his suit on a few times too. He didn't play much in the pool. He likes the treehouse more, but the pool is a good way to cool down after he's been playing and sweating.

On Wednesday, Dad and I drove into Missouri, looking for a good canoe put in and pull out point. We drove waaaay too long, but found this lovely spot on the river.
I had brought swim gear and Joshua, Marian and I got cool and wet while my Dad drove on to look at another place to put canoes in and out of the water. I'm glad we stayed to swim. Marian was so funny.

Joshua had convinced me if I paid $3 for this lifejacket, that he would wear it. He did and when we got to the river he and Marian fought over it.

Joshua got the hang of swimming upriver a ways and then floating back down. Marian just liked to thrash around a lot.


On Thursday, the girls were all back in the kiddie pool. I would not have taken a picture, but I looked out the window and saw this.....

Are these kids a hoot or what?!! Who thinks of this stuff?!

And then since Callie got to drive, Delaney had to as well. And Marian just wanted to be corny. (Yes, the swimsuit Delaney has on actually IS Marian's. Delaney is obsessed with Winnie the Pooh)

Today I got brave. I finally took all the kids to the lake. We were here 3 months last Summer and never went. Granted, the water was so high, all the places were flooded, but I never even tried. Its so stinking hot, I decided this year we'd go. My friend Wendy and her kids went as well and we had a really good time. Well, until we got home and I realized I had not managed to get sunscreen on Joshua, and he's now a lovely shade of red. Aaargh.

I got this for Delaney, but Callie wanted to play in it and had a great time. The water was warm and it was fairly still, unless boats went by to make waves.

Joshua absolutely loved his raft. He had a good time playing with Wendy's boys too and I didn't hear him complain of boredom once!

Marian was a pretty good swimmer! She was doing a really good back float by the time we were ready to leave. She was a total fish today.

The lake level was really high. That means that the area where there use to be beach is now a good 10 feet under water. The new "beach" is high up on the grass, so the lake is pretty icky and dirty with grass that's now underwater. Plus, there is no sand, just grass, dirt and then water. Delaney was not sure about walking on that. To be honest, I was a little unsure about the dirty water myself. But it was cooler and the kids were having a blast, so I went with it.

It took an hour, but Delaney finally decided she did want to walk in the water, and then she wandered out till the water came up to her chin. She would bob around like that, making me very nervous, then she'd wander back to the shore and repeat the process. I really wanted to be deeper in the water. See, my swimsuit is black. My legs are very white and with the contrasting black, they are even more white. Add to that that I have not exercised in about a month and I'm stuffing my face with goodies, I'm feeling a bit chunkier than I want to be in that area as well. So I wanted to be deep enough to cover my pale, pasty legs, and its a bit cooler if you are in more water. But alas, no, I had to hover in the awkwardly shallow area to make sure I could grab Delaney when she lost her balance and nose-dived into the water. That didn't phase her at all. She kept coming back for more.

FYI, there are more pictures here than usual, and this trend may continue, since its all Dan's going to be seeing of his kids for most of the summer!

Bedtime Woes

The hardest part of traveling, I think, is bedtime. If we're in a hotel we have to figure out who sleeps where, and when can we get them to bed, and the biggest question of all- HOW?! Delaney is at the awful point where she is too big for a travel crib, yet too small to sleep in a "real" bed or on the floor. So that poses some problems. The other kids are all too happy to sleep on the floor, but they tend to quarrel over who gets the best sleeping spot.

When in a hotel, it kind of works out okay for everyone to go to bed at the same time. The kids are so wired and hopped up that they are so not going to go to sleep at their regular time, and Mom and Dad are so pooped that we're content to hit the hay a few hours earlier than usual. So we all lie down about the same time and after 30 minutes of whining, giggling, threats, complaints and wiggling, everyone drops off to sleep.


Now that we are at Grandma and Grandpa's house, the 4 children and I are sharing 2 rooms. It is much more complicated than I expected. Mostly because of Delaney and her refusal to go quietly to sleep. I had planned to put her in a real bed with sides, but she seems to be incapable of sharing a room, so that was nixed the first night. That only left one other place to sleep.....

....my room.

Yep, by big baby is sleeping in the travel crib in my room. She's so big that if she stretches out, her feet are touching one end and her head is touching the other. Not ideal, but so far its working okay. Poor kid.

Due to noncooperation of the middle children, last night I staggered their bedtimes. Callie was very upset that SHE had to go to bed alone and first. I finally took everyone else upstairs and left her complaining in the hallway.

This is how I found her later. Funny, funny girl, all sacked out on the hallway floor.

Marian got to go to bed an hour after her sister and she fell asleep quickly. The girls were originally going to share the double bed, but Marian did not want to share with Callie. Callie was a pill as well, so this is where Marian is sleeping- on the floor. Me, I do not care where they sleep, as long as they sleep! Joshua didn't go to bed till 10pm, and that's when I went to bed, so no picture of him.

I do expect it will all get better. It seems to take 1-2 weeks for them to adjust and settle all the way in, so it won't be a hassle forever. It just feels that way!

Travel brief

We arrived in Arkansas yesterday! 2 days of driving, something over 1000 miles, and I was so glad to arrive! I took a few shots of our adventure, but I'm not feeling verbose enough to make it very exciting.

We found a great rest stop for lunch on Friday and the kids had a blast playing in this little stream. I didn't realize how blurry the picture was, sorry.

Callie had a total meltdown when we stopped for the night. I guess after 12 hours in a car, it wasn't unexpected! She eventually calmed down and this was her a bit later, snacking on an apple, watching tv. Funny girl! Then they went to bed. All the kids keep asking if we can sleep in a hotel again. I don't know why its so fun for them. (It sure isn't for me!)

The children were wonderful in the car. They loved having DVD players in the back headrests, and that helped keep them content. Delaney had fun teasing whoever was next to her, and Grandpa indulged her as well.

A bit late on this shot! You can barely see that we have just entered Arkansas. Whew! Nearly done with the drive!

The very first thing Joshua did upon arrival was to check out the tree house. He said there were ants and spiders in it, so he will have some house cleaning to do!

Callie was thrilled to see the garden. She is such a good helper in it. Check out those enormous Zucchini plant leaves behind her! I left 2 pathetic little zukes behind in VA and this is pretty impressive to me!

I'll try to be more exciting.... when I'm not pooped after being cooped up in a tiny area with 4 children for nearly 48 hours!