We just spent almost a week with Jeremy's family. Instead of going away we decided to all move in with Jeremy's parents for the week. It saved money and worked out great. The kids know their way around and there are plenty of toys and tractor rides and great places for them to ride bikes. We didn't really give them much time to get bored though. For my Mom and for my records here is a run down of our week. Pictures to follow. Sometime.
Sunday evening -we all arrived at Mom and Dad's. Jonathan and Lori had brought a slip and slide and the kids had great fun trying it out.
Monday -we decided to do a big day on Monday because it was going to be one of the cooler days of the week. We also decided to do it before everyone was too worn out from vacation. We spent the day at Lake Tobias. Most of us had never been there and really enjoyed it. The kids thought it was great to feed the animals and touching a snake and alligator was pretty exciting too. On the way home we picked up pizza's for an easy supper. The evening was spent playing in the kiddie pool, working on the pump from the septic system (or something like that -I stayed away) and seeing how far the old pump could be thrown. It was very entertaining.
Tuesday -we stayed "home". More work on the pump. More pool time. More food. After supper we went to City Park. The kids loved the playgrounds and feeding the ducks. Then it was home again.
Wednesday - this was one of the hottest days of the week. We spent a good part of Wednesday at a friends pool. Everyone seemed to enjoy this activity but Callie. :( We had haystacks for supper. We cheated though and put them together inside then allowed some of the guys to cook them over the open fire for us. We then enjoyed eating them back in the ac. We later roasted marshmallows and made s'mores. The day ended with the guys and kids putting up a tent and sleeping outside. The word is that the kids did great, but one of the guys was heard saying "That was the worst night of sleep I've ever had". I was up in time to see a few of the kids coming out of the tent. It was a site I wish I could have captured on film. I believe many good memories were made. Callie and I enjoyed a great night of sleep inside with the other ladies and Natalie and Rylee.
Thursday -The guys decided the ladies needed some time out during this vacation. We did not argue. Thursday morning we hit a couple yard sales then had lunch a great little cafe. We then spent sometime at Ross's. I love that store! We stopped at Borders on the way home for a coffee and arrived home to the quiet of 7 sleeping children. We love you guys!! We then tried to entertain the kids so the guys could spend some time playing Age of Empires.
Friday -we headed back to the pool for awhile. This time Callie enjoyed it a little more. Home again for naps and then to another park in the evening where the kids played, rode bikes (they did this A LOT at the house too) and wore themselves out. Do you see a theme here? Pappy and Grandma Flo left early to pick up Krumpy's do-nuts. Now that's a donut for you -wow. Kids to bed again. Those that stayed up enjoyed more of Hans's homemade ice cream -yum. Our church was having a 24 hour of prayer time. Since we weren't too far away Jeremy got up at 3:00Am and spent time at the church. He got back around noon on Saturday morning. We spent a few more hours playing and visiting and then headed home.
Other highlights from the week:
-Late night Love come softly movie for the girls. At least those that could stay awake. ;)
-Late night talks
-Age of Empires
-Watching the cousins interact. Isaiah (5) and Lydia (4) are so grown up. They are at an age where they are pretty responsible and do not have to be watched too closely. Nate (3) and Kassidy (2 1/2) we definitely had to watch a little closer. ;) They are a lot alike in a lot of ways. Maybe it's a second born thing. They are fun kids. Natalie (almost 2) is so sweet and so good at making us smile. She has become a favorite of Callie's. Callie still hardly says any words, but she started saying "Naahlee" this week. Callie (18 months) seemed to enjoy her week. Often at this age it is hard to get a child (at least ours) to sleep away from home, but she did great. And Rylee (10 months) is one of the sweetest babies you'll find. All of these children are so precious and such a blessing. Sometimes we wonder how we got so many of them. ;)
-Of course always a highlight is realizing again what a great family I married into. We certainly have some stressful moments when we're together for this long with this many small children, but we also have a lot of fun together. These are people I would choose as friends in any other situation, but now I get the added bonus of calling them family also.
