8 Kids, 3 Days

Over the weekend, we had three extra kids with us.  Friends of ours had the opportunity to go alone to Puerto Rico for 5 or 6 days and we had their crew for half that time.  They are great kids and were a pleasure to have--but how do you manage 8 kids?  Put them to work!

They were great sports.  They helped in the yard and undertook the restoration of Jon's truck--it was the worst mess it has ever been.  They also helped around the house, picking up and lifting things that are too heavy for me at 7 1/2 months pregnant.

We also played a lot.  After a Saturday of hard work we took them all to Cars 2 (great by the way).  On Sunday we went swimming at our friends' neighborhood pool.  Lots of summer fun!

But here are some pictures of the kids hard at work.  I was so proud!

Cheering on the workers.

This little gem was the best worker of the day.  She vacuumed that car and when I went to touch up after the kids I could barely find anything that needed redone.  What a worker!

Here is the crew descending on Jon's messy truck.  The back had to be shoveled before being rinsed out.

A "little" help.

Great job, kids!  You earned that movie!

Roommate's Visit

My college roommate, Sarah, visited our home over the last few days. She brought her two children and her mom along on the trip. We mostly hung out at the house, but today before they left we went to the park and Chick-Fil-A. It was a short, but nice visit.



This is my silly roommate. She really did grow up, but there is still a hint of the silliness. See that mischievous face?



This is the only picture of the two of us together from the entire visit. Gem took it. That's her little boy, Benjamin. I just met him for the first time. Last year when she came he was not even a thought.



She and Joel adopted him from Ethiopia about five months ago. I could just eat him up. He has the sweetest temper--and those eyes!



This is Sarah's daughter, Rebecca. She is only two but looks every bit of three.





My little boys--I mean "big boys".

George Washington, D.C. Visit

Before we went on the trip I told Popcorn and Sinatra that we were going to Washington D.C. Sinatra was clueless, but Popcorn kept correcting me: "It's George Washington, D.C, Mom!" He didn't believe that it was just Washington D.C. until the end of the weekend, and refused to say (or let you say) anything but his pronunciation.

These kids keep me laughing!

Jon and a co-worker/friend had business that ended in D.C, so the families tagged along and we all enjoyed a mini vacation.

Here's most of the crew in front of the Lincoln Memorial at sunset on our last day.



Shakespeare in front of the Washington monument.



Shakespeare and his friend enjoyed the hands-on section of the American History Smithsonian Museum. This was a section dedicated to lesser-known inventors.



At one point we packed 9 children into the back of the mini van. Shhh! We made the kids in the back duck.



While visiting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier the younger boys were as good as gold. The signs all ask for silence and respect. The only peep they made for 10 minutes was when Sinatra leaned over and whispered, "Mom, is he gonna' kill somebody?"

Visitors

My roommate from college, Sarah, came to visit this week. And I finally got to meet her daughter, Rebecca! Here they are jumping on the trampoline.



Rebecca is a beautiful, joyful toddler. We went to the park where our arms almost fell off before the little ones got off the swings.





Shakespeare can't keep to conventional playground use--must reach the highest heights.

Welcome Home Rebekah!

My college roommate and her husband adopted a beautiful little girl from Ethiopia. They were supposed to pick her up a day after Mother's Day, but because they were in Addis early they let Sarah and Joel take her the day before. What a fantastic Mother's Day present!


Congratulations, Sarah and Joel! And welcome home Rebekah! I can't wait to hear the story.

More Camping Trip Pictures

Here is Gem and Shakespeare taking the plunge into icy cold water at a natural slide. There is a longer natural slide down the road from this one, but this one has sunlight and the other is shaded--big difference at 78 degrees.

Popcorn has actually wanted me to take his picture recently. If you think that is no big deal, look here.

No need for sunscreen here, just cover yourself in filth from head to toe and you'll be fine.

My buddy and me at the top during our second hike.

Leaning at the summit with Gem, Shakespeare, and Muppet (good friend--might as well give him a name because he's in our posts from time to time--he talks a lot).

The summit we hiked to on the first day--and isn't it a lovely picture of Gem too.

I might as well introduce you to Muppet's sister, Adrenaline, too. Her mother and I agree that somehow, Gem got some of her DNA and Adrenaline got some of mine--Gem prefers hot tubs, shopping and lying on a beach, to Adrenaline's climbing, hiking and jumping out of airplanes (if she was of age and her mother hadn't bolted her feet to the ground).

Very cool tree. Had to include the picture.

Loved this picture of the flowers too. It's my desktop art right now.

Elephants Eating

We just couldn't stay away from the circus. A local grocery store sponsored a canned food drive where people who brought canned goods got admittance to the noon feeding of the elephants. We brought friends along and enjoyed watching the big animals munching on whole heads of lettuce, entire bunches of bananas, apples, loaves of french bread and carrots. The bread went first and the carrots went last.

Sinatra even enjoyed the elephants. He kept pointing and saying something about duggies--doggies (that's what he calls anything on 4 legs).



Two clowns were sitting right by us.



A very rare picture of me. Thank you, Gem.

Indiana Friends

It was wonderful, last Sunday, to have a visit from friends that we knew in Indiana. Now they live in our state. We rarely see them, but it was a treat to have them visit with us for the day. Thanks for coming, Bob and Carmen! And thanks for the gifts for the kids. They flew their kites the other day. Shakespeare's shark kite did particularly well.

2, 3's + Softsoap =

Margaret

Someone suggested that I say something nice about each of my bride's maids at my wedding reception. They had seen it done and thought it was so nice. It was a great idea, but when I had the microphone in my hand, words really failed. I said things like, "I've known Margaret since we were kids. She's a great friend." I continued like this through all three of my bridesmaids, speaking with the eloquence of a professional athlete.

But let me tell you a bit about Margaret and why she is dear to me.

She was one of the neighborhood kids I ran around with when we lived in Ohio. That would put us at around 8-12 years old. She was the smart one that did reports from newspaper articles throughout the summer and kicked my rear in piano.

She did, however, do something very stupid once--she actually let me talk her into cutting her bangs. Let's just say that little people figures aren't the only ones with butch cuts.

She was ever faithful to follow through with my plans: digging holes to set the posts for numerous club houses that never materialized; showing up at my door at 2 A.M. to go toilet paper a neighbor's house; selling lemonade, rocks, water, siblings, anything that would fetch a nickle; riding down to Burger King or the local grocery store on bikes, or actually standing in line for each piece of gourmet sour apple candy because they were 9 cents and you had to pay tax starting at 10 cents (we were frugal).

We made up plays, raked leaves so we could jump in them, managed to get three people on one bike and ride it down the hill, made the most ridiculous looking cheerleader outfits out of tissue paper, and started a lawn business that uncharacteristically produced enough profit to fly Margaret and Amanda (the other one in our trio) down to visit me the year after I moved.



I'm on the left, Margaret on the right (no,she doesn't really have a beard--this picture is a definite candidate for photoshop), one of the Amandas is in the middle and we even managed to rope my sister, Emily, into the scheme.

We got into all kinds of innocent mischief that kids are supposed to get into. Friends like Margaret made mine a wonderful childhood. God blessed me with the richness of her friendship. She will forever hold a dear place in my heart because of what we shared as we played and grew up together.

That's what I should have said about Margaret.