Road trip to Florida

One week after finding out we were going to have another baby, last August (2009) we headed down to Celebration, Florida to visit Aunt Jessie and Uncle Ken. The kids got to watch movies in the car on the way. Oh, how I have loved that little DVD player for long car rides. It makes me wish we had one of those when I was a kid. What a great way to travel. It's amazing how quiet it gets and how the kids are never as needy when we put on a movie.

It was a long time in the car but we broke it up into two days. We stopped at a hotel, one with a pool, of course, for some much needed swimming and relaxing. We had to get two rooms because of the size of our family. We had a boys room and a girls room. It worked out nicely. It was a fun stop.

Here we are at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Jessie was able to get free admission for us for the day. The water rapids ride was one of the few that I got to go on because of the pregnancy. We went on that one a couple of times because it was so hot that day. We also decided to catch a show to get out of the heat. We went to Finding Nemo - the musical. It was a mini stage production of the movie. S was skeptical about it, but it turned out to be a very entertaining show. We all loved it and were really glad we stayed long enough to see it.

We rode bikes to check out downtown Celebration. It was a fascinating town. Walt Disney designed it to look a certain way - like a picture-perfect place to live. S thought it looked a little too perfect. I liked it. It was very neat and tidy. There were standards that the residents had to keep for their own houses and yards. The bushes had to be cut a certain way, the lawn could never get too long, etc. It was an interesting place to visit.

Here we are relaxing by a pond while the sun went down. The boys were anxiously watching for an alligator to come out of the water. We saw one in this very pond earlier that day. We found ourselves checking for alligator eyes in every body of water we would pass, no matter how small. Apparently they are everywhere down there.

The next-door neighbors were out of town and let us use their pool. Uncle Ken came up with "pool surfing". The kids would jump from the edge of the pool onto a boogie board and he would pull them across the water to the other side. They got pretty good at it and would've kept going, had Ken's arms held up longer. He got pretty tired.

Here we are out on the town again. We visited a stuffed Gator on display and the kids had fun with that. K would not put her head in his mouth. He looked a little too real for that, I guess.

We went to a local pizza place for dinner.

After Pizza, while on our way back to the house, K came across a dog that she just had to meet. We learned that his name was Rufus. For a couple of years she was a dog for Halloween and I made her a dog tag with the name Rufus on it. Why did we pick that name? She had a favorite knock, knock joke that she liked to tell when she was younger. "Knock, Knock. Who's there? Rufus. Rufus, who? Rufus (roof is) on fire, get out of the house!" So we thought it was funny that she got to meet a dog that was actually named Rufus. It was a highlight of the evening.

Here are some random pictures of hanging out at Aunt Jessie's house. D loves sleeping with dogs. This actually happens a lot. S and Ken enjoyed their "Simply Lemonade" - a new thing S discovered while we were there. K, hugging the dog, and trying to get close enough to the cat (curled up on the top of the chair) to pet him. I don't have a picture of it, but the kids played the Wi a lot, too. We were on vacation and anything that was going to keep them from waking me up too early, was fine with me.

Striking a pose with their new t-shirts and sunglasses. Lookin' good!

We visited a place called Gatorland. First we had to get a picture inside the giant mouth outside the front entrance. Inside the park, the kids posed with a real alligator and a real snake. J really wanted to be the one to have the snake draped around his neck. K would only get in the picture if she was far away from both. K got a kick out of the bright red birds. Right in the middle of the park was a play area with water spraying out of everything. Perfect for the hot Florida weather. S and J stood right under a sort of shower thing and got completely soaked from head to toe.

This was one of my favorite moments there. K, seeing how wet her daddy was, tried to help him out by squeezing the water out of his shorts. It was very cute.

Na posing with a rare albino alligator, and the kids check out a giant tortoise.

Justin stood in line and paid his own money to be able to sit on a real alligator. His hands are covering up the tape around its mouth.

Another small note about this particular day, we got to experience something new - our car got broken into while we were in Gatorland. When we got out to the car we noticed the doors weren't locked. We always lock the doors, so we were suspicious. Then when we opened the car, things were pulled out from under the seats and the glove box was shut but with something sticking out of it. Upon further investigation, we realized nothing was taken except some medical supplies that were in the middle console. We had a couple of nice leather pouches loaded with things like epi-pens, needles and anisthetic, suture kits, and a few other things that only a doctor would have access to. It was a very strange feeling to be robbed and knowing that some stranger was touching our stuff. Fortunately we didn't have anything else in the car that was worth stealing - it was all back at the house. It did make me think of all the times I have left my purse and wallet in the car because I didn't want to carry it. Not doing that again! We were quick to count our blessings after that happened and glad that our whole car didn't get stolen. That would've really put a kink in our vacation!

Next stop, Aquatica. This was the water park associated with Sea World. It was a lot of fun. I did get to go on a lot of the rides there, which was nice, but K and I spent most of the day riding around in the river. We just kept going around and around. We wore life jackets and it was fun letting the current carry us along. After a very long, tiring, fun day, we left before the park closed because there was a storm rolling in.

The four oldest kids wanted to try the Skycoaster in Kissimme and were able to talk the two dads into doing it with them. They went in groups of three. The kids were excited and the men were scared. S was sure that they were going to die, and Ken (trying not to throw up) prayed the whole time they were being pulled up. Basically, they were strapped into harnesses then connected to a giant cable. Then they were pulled up to the top of a 300-foot pole. When they reached the top, one of them had to pull the rip cord (D and Na got to have that privilege) which sent them free-falling for a second before swinging over a small pond. It looked fun and I wished I could do it. S also wished I could've been the one to go... instead of him - again, the pregnancy. Oh well. We were impressed that Ni would do it at only 9 years old. She didn't seem scared at all. S and J looked like they were going to be sick the whole time, D looked like he was trying to be a tough guy, and Na couldn't stop smiling and laughing. And Uncle Ken must've spit into the water 10 times - apparently trying not to throw up. Funny how different each person's experience was.

Here, they are wearing their free t-shirts. You can see the pole in the background and the two poles that they would swing in between over the water.

This tire, and three more like it, held up a small truck. It was at the Skycoaster place. The truck actually looked pretty silly on top of these enormous tires. It was a fun picture, though.


We did a lot of bike riding while we were there. There were many trails through the woods and around town that were scenic and very peaceful. On our last bike ride we came across a family of ducks. Glad it wasn't a family of alligators, we decided to stop to check it out. I happened to have a bag of pretzels with me (because anyone that knows me, knows that I don't go anywhere without food) and the ducks came right up to the kids to eat out of their hands. It was cool.
Well, I have finally reached the end of our Florida trip. We were glad we went. We had a fun time as a family, got to visit relatives, and see a new place. Family vacations are priceless.

Goodbye minivan... Hello Fusion!

August 1, 2009 was a big day for us. Car shopping was first on the list. We used the government's "Cash for Clunkers" incentive program to buy a new car. We got money toward a new car by trading in our less-fuel-efficient car. The van was good to us. S was more sentimental about it than I was. That was the car that he drove to work. It was affectionately known among his colleagues as "the RV" - the Ratty Van. They all gave him a hard time about not driving a more sporty car. We are the type that like to save up for big things, like new cars. What a concept, right? Good things come to those who wait. We were glad we waited since we were able to get a really great deal. The kids had a chance to say goodbye to it before we left that day. We ended up with another Ford, but this time a whole lot smaller than our Excursion. I guess we're Ford people (whatever that means). The other reason that it was a big day... it was the same day we found out we were going to have another baby. Good things come to those who wait... I already wrote about that news back in November so I won't go into that again. I titled it "Thrown for a Loop". That's still the best title. I am now 8 months along and growing bigger and more uncomfortable with each week. With my blog lately, I feel like the DVR. I'm trying to catch up to "live TV". I have quite a few things to write about before I'm to the present time. I'm getting closer.

Teach a man to fish...

"Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime." These are just a few highlights from the annual fishing trip out on the big lake last July. Fishing is one of the things S loves to do and he's passing it on to his sons. This time he took along a friend and his son, too. They caught a fair number of big salmon, which we got to eat for dinner that night. I got to try out a few new recipes, and they were all delicious. J, in one picture is attempting to eat some fish eggs that were found in one of the salmon. I don't think he actually ate them. And, boys do funny things like kiss fish - even though it looks more like the fish is going to take a bite out of his chin. It was a good day for them and a good dinner for the rest of us.

Chillin' at the pool

Purchasing a family pass for the community pool last summer was a great decision. For a relatively small amount of money (considering the size of my family, that is) we had access to the public pool for the entire summer. A friend of mine (shown here) suggested it. I must say, it was nice to have something to do, when there was (to quote my kids) "nothing to do". We would go, the kids would wear themselves out, eat a snack, and at the end of the day we'd go home and have some quiet time. And as a bonus, E learned how to get around in the water without a life jacket or raft. I guess that's what happens when you go to the pool every other day. I have finally reached the point where I don't have to watch my kids so closely while at the pool. That made for some pretty relaxing days for me. I loved it so much, I'll probably get another pass for this summer. The new baby can sit in a stroller in the shade -- I can't wait!

Old friends

Last summer we got the chance to see some friends from college. They were out this way from Utah for a family reunion and made the extra drive up here to see us. What a treat. Here are the dads enjoying giant glasses of chocolate milk (made from whole milk, of course).

This one is funny. Our oldest and their youngest enjoying some computer time. D always seems to attract the little ones.

And, as usual, J hangs out with the pretty girls. It was fun to see how well our two sets of kids got along together. They seemed a little like cousins and most of them had only just met. The last time we saw them was in Chicago when Ni was a baby. They only had one at that time. Time flew by and the kids kept coming - for both of our families.

The moms pose with all of the kids. We had 11 kids in the house! And they were expected their sixth. We were glad they came. It was fun to talk about old times. Great memories!

Good sleeper

I have often been told by friends and family how odd it is that my children seem to be able to sleep anywhere, anytime, and with any amount of noise around them. Although that is not true for all my kids, it certainly is true for K. Here are a few examples. In the first one, she is half on the chair and half on a shelf. The second picture isn't really an odd place but it makes me laugh every time I look at it, so I had to post it. It makes me wonder what she was doing before she fell asleep, or what she was dreaming about. The third is at the pool. Every time we went to the pool she would play for a while, then set up her little bed and take a nap. I love the sleeping pictures! Kids always look so sweet when they sleep.

Lucky 13!

I know we are almost back to July again, but I'm trying to go in order and catch up on all the things that have happened in the past months. Na turned 13 on the 4th of July. She is now officially a teenager. For the 4th, we always do some kind of family activity which includes going to see fireworks, but her birthday is definitely a highlight every year.