First Day at the Beach

So, I'm holding Adam,trying to let him take a nap, while the rest of the crew is a block away, playing in the ocean.Doesn't sound fair, does it? Well, I had my ten minutes on the beach when I got here a couple hours ago, and I'm good for now. Anything bigger than a sandbox is too much beach for me. I can't take the ocean; I like playing in the waves. The only problem is that nasty, hot sand in between me and the water. So, I get to hold Adam while they all get sandy. I tried to lay him down, but after ten minutes he realized he was in a strange house and got upset. Try typing with a netbook on your knee and a baby on your belly. Thank goodness for the backspace button.

Poppop is snoring and Richard's dozing off. It's a good, sleepy Sunday afternoon. Hot as Hades outside...uhoh...I hear kids. They must be back from the beach. Going to wake up Adam, I'm sure. Hopefully it's just a bathroom break and they'll head back out.

Nope, here they come. I guess nap time over.

Being Little

It's tough being little. The older kids are playing hide-and-seek on their bikes in the neighborhood. The younger ones can't keep up and aren't allowed to ride bikes alone (a requirement if you're trying to hide). It's killing Bekah. She was a little hysterical earlier, when her big sister left her behind. I'm going to go read some more Charlotte's Web to her.

Why We Don't Do Family Vacations

We are scheduled to spend a week at the beach, this Summer, with Vicki's parents and her sister and family. One house; 16 people; for a week. Can you imagine that? Unfortunately, I can. Now, for any of you involved in this endeavor, who may be reading this, remember who you'll be spending the week with. You know me, and how I have a knack for getting on your nerves, even when I'm not trying to. Add to that eight kids (speaking only for my own; not the nephews) who can't talk below a shout, pick on each other all the time, and never intentionally ever pick up something on the floor (while dropping everything they touch)...and this in our seven bedroom house with just one family occupying it. Oh, and one third of the people in this beach house will be under the age of 6, and at least half (probably two-thirds) ACT under the age of six. If it rains that week, there will be no survivors.

I also have 26 chickens, three cats, a tank full of fish, a pond full of fish, a lizard, and a bin full of live crickets (for the lizard) that I have to figure out how to keep alive for a week with nobody home. A friend has offered to tend to the chickens once a day, but I feel bad about piling on the rest of the critters.

Then there are the other activities that will be missed. We have softball practice, with a national tournament coming up, karate which Ty just started, and dance which Tay just started. Oh, and did I mention all the kids staying in the same house for a week?

I miss the good old days (last year) when we split up for vacation. I went with my dad to Mt. Ranier. Vicki and half the kids went with her parents to Disney World. You know, at one point, through a haze of wishful thinking, I do believe I thought this was a good idea.

Hot

This is the second or third day in a row of 100+ degrees. It is hot. Nothing much to do but sit around in the A/C, feeling guilty about not doing anything. All the computers and netbooks and laptops are being used at full capacity; the kids don't want to go outside either. Kenzie had softball practice yesterday-Alex took her-but I don't know how they could've done too much. Tonight, we have dance, for Taylor, and karate, for Tyler. Good, inside activities. I hope it cools off a little bit, soon.

We were looking at a car for Alex yesterday. A '94 Mustang GT. Stopped looking when we turned the engine on and it struggled to start. We'll keep looking, but I hope we can settle on something more practical (like a small truck) or economical on the gas. He has to remember his 40-minute drive to school is going to cost him some gas money. 

Now, I hear the kids are heading for the pool. I hate the idea of having to sit out there and watch them, but I hate the idea of them swimming without me watching them, more.

July 4th Weekend

I tried reading the Declaration of Independence to some of the kids yesterday. We didn't get very far before they began to wander off. It's no wonder our kids in government schools don't learn our American history when I can't even get my own kids to listen. I am going to make a greater effort this coming school to get some history to stick to my kids' brains. They really need to understand what's made this country great before they accept the direction our socialist/progressive leaders are currently taking it.

On a lighter note, we did get our 4th of July cookout in, yesterday. Did some fishing and kayaking, too. Some of the kids are still fishing and kayaking as I type this. I'll be joining them shortly. Taylor was getting a little upset yesterday because he was having trouble catching fish, especially when Bekah, the five year old, caught her first fish of the day when she accidentally dropped her line straight off the side of the boat. When we got home, Tay went down to our nearest creek and promptly caught a dozen fish, so he forgot about his bad luck earlier in the day.

Alex had to work so he missed the fun yesterday. He's out in the kayak right now, but will need to come  in soon, for his 3 pm shift at Subway. I was going to take him car hunting today, but I guess we have all summer for that. It's hard to find a decent car in a 17 year old's price range, especially when he only works three or four days a week. There are a lot of good things about having a large family, but having money is not one of them.

Gonna cut this short so i can head down to the creek and check on the crew. Belated happy Independence Day!