June 1, 2013

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How 'bout a snack in the garage on a rainy day?

• From yesterday-it was almost 7 last night when the microwave, containing supper, beeped last night.  Keaton was upstairs and heard that sound.  I heard her say "eat?" and she flew down the stairs and headed right to her seat.  That girl was starving and I am a bit disappointed that she associates the microwave going off with supper!
• Also last night as I was blogging, I mentioned that Whitman was sleeping soundly and I couldn't really stir him.  We tried again around midnight and he stayed awake for a tiny bit but then dozed on back to sleep.  And then he slept all night long.  We couldn't believe it-Friday must have really worn him out.
• Whitman actually was asleep until all of the other kids woke him up when they came to our room.  Everyone slept well but they were hungry when they woke up.  I offered to make chocolate chip muffins and all of my helpers assisted with that project.
• So after breakfast, the kids had a bit of ipad and movie time.  Robby went to help with Dana's deck for a few minutes before the downpour hit.  I had my shower while Keaton cried on the other side of the shower door wanting to take a shower herself.  So when I climbed out, I put her and Campbell in the shower.
• Soon Robby was home and started to work in the garage.  I joined him and that little project lasted until well after lunch time.  The kids all eventually joined us-they so wanted to go in the rain but just when they would think of stepping out of the garage the thunder would clap and lightening would flash.  
• While cleaning the garage, Anderson made exercise bikes for the kids.  He put a pair of shoes on the training wheels of all the bikes-this caused the back wheel to spin freely.  So for a good while the kids all sat on their bikes spinning the pedals as fast as they could.  They at least had a bit of exercise today!
• When we had finished, I made the kids take a shower-the boys feet were black and I figured that we had stirred up lots of dust.  This time Keaton had NO interest in the shower and screamed the whole time.  Poor thing.
• It was 1 when we had lunch and before we finished, Grannymom and Grandpa came over.  Grandpa came over to help Robby with his lawnmower-which involved waiting on 2 ups trucks and 1 trip to Home Depot.  Grannymom came over to play with the kiddos and get her Whitman fix.  And she was able to do that because Whitman was a happy fellow-he stayed awake a long time, smiled, cooed and even rolled a bit.
• The kids watched a tv show and played a game-I think they started going a bit stir crazy this afternoon since they hadn't been outside.  Soon though Nonna and Pops came over for supper as well.  Pops was also going a bit stir crazy at his house!  
• After Robby and Grandpa finished on the tractor, Robby made our quesadillas (he is the official quesadilla maker).  We also had refried beans, salsa, chips, rice and brownies.  I'm quite the cook-ha!  I am quite proficient at my microwave usage!  Everyone enjoyed supper and the kids were sad to see everyone leave.
• When all of the grandparents left, the kids worked on picking up the toy room and then they had a few minutes for a movie before bed.  Campbell came to the living room where we were and told us that the movie was scary-the cartoon movie with a little boy, a train and a puppy.  I can only imagine how frightening that must have been to her!

May 31, 2013

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Board Game Fun!

• Oh Whitman just isn't cooperating with me lately at night.  He quietly starts to fuss, I jump out of bed and feed him, change him, burp him and lay him back into bed and then that little booger starts grunting and squirming.  And all of that leads to fussing only after I have laid back in bed and gotten comfortable again.  Robby did get up this morning when this happened and topped Whitman off with 2 more ounces. 
• This morning most of the kids were in our bed pretty early.  And since I wanted to stay in our bed, I let them watch a movie and then another one.  By this time, it was breakfast time.  Today's menu item was breakfast burritos and the crowds were not too pleased that that choice.  Campbell was the most upset and just cried and cried "why can we not have a tot part." (pop tart)  
• Campbell was feeling find most of the day today and didn't have any fever.  But this afternoon, she got all puny again.  She laid down on the couch and started whining that Whitman was waking her up.  I will give her that because he was also on the couch screaming.  I picked him up with his bottle and then she said that the ipad (Anderson was playing) was now waking her up.  I meant to get her some tylenol but she was asleep by the time I went upstairs.  Though after her nap, she was back to her normal self and was fine for the rest of the evening.  
• After breakfast, the kids did their reading and I did laundry.  After I was able to straighten some of the house, we played a few games.  We played hungry hippos and Keaton was all about playing.  Some one would have to sit out each time we played and she would scream and scream if she was the one to sit out.  Whitman enjoyed sitting in his bumbo watching the madness.
• Soon it was lunch time and then the kids went upstairs to play.  They have really played very well all day long.  Only thing is when the big 3 play together so well, they are usually playing with something that Keaton could knock down or destroy.  So they just lock the door to the toy room.  This doesn't go over well at all with Keaton.  She then just sits by the door wailing.  I have tried to explain that it is her toy room too but I also feel sorry for the big kids so I let it slide and try to entertain Keaton whenever I can.  
• Naps and movies were next.  The boys did frequently come to ask me how much longer until Cash would be here.  We went outside to watch their turtle crawl around (yesterday they painted it and I added our address on him today).  When Cash arrived we just stayed outside-Robby mowed and I worked on a few different things outside.  
• Around 7, I went in and showered up.  Then I showered the kids and served up supper.  Reagan was with Lilly at the movies and she made it back around 8:30.  She had the best time at her girls night out.  They had dinner and then a movie-growing up too fast.  
• Whitman has been asleep since before supper.  I have now fed him again, taken all of his clothes off and still the child will not wake up.  He is happily snoozing and occasionally squirming around but no waking up.  This means that I am going to have a very, very rough night.

May 30, 2013

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Pre-K Graduation

• Whitman has been waking up around 5:45 the last few mornings and my morning would go so much smoother if I would just get up after feeding him.  But that isn't my style!  I go back to sleep and then this morning we woke at 7:30 and had to scurry out the door a bit after 8.
• Just a reminder, that I am pretty organized (not reminding my readers but reminding Robby who doubted my organizational skills this morning)  And without my organizational skills there would have been no way to wake, clothe and feed most of the 6 kids before we left almost on time this morning.  
• As we were backing out of the garage, Graham screamed something causing everyone else to scream as well.  It was a turtle on the driveway.  Of course I didn't know where it was and slammed on my brakes.  They begged me to let them get it so I said that one could jump out and get it.  Reagan was the first to get out the door and found something in the garage to get the turtle with.  Then the child just stood there and said "it isn't getting in."  She was actually surprised that the turtle was not crawling inside of her box.  I had to jump out and throw that thing in the box so we could get on the road.  
• Anyway, as I drove into the parking lot I started to wonder if I had gotten the time right.  It was almost 8:30 but the lot was full.  No one else was straggling in like us so we started moving quick.  I couldn't imagine them starting anything before school but maybe I didn't read the note right.  Robby was a few minutes behind me but caught up to me as I shuffled my crew to the fellowship hall for the program.
• We walked in as the kids were all going up on the stage.  Thankfully, Graham's class certificates were the last class and even after a few songs so we had a few more minutes but I sure don't like being that close.  The kids sang a few of the songs they sing each morning and then they each were given a certificate.  This was our 3rd year to have Ms. Stacy at church (Reagan, then Anderson and now Graham) and we will miss her.  Campbell will be at church next year for preschool on Tuesdays and Thursdays but is too young to have Ms. Stacy.
• Graham was so happy to have his certificate and was even glad to take a picture with Ms. Stacy for me.  And Ms. Stacy had something for Anderson-we were out of town last year on the last day and Anderson didn't get his certificate.  And she found it as she was getting this years certificates ready.  So I guess Anderson has now officially graduated from preschool-just a few minutes after his younger brother graduated.  
• We pottied while Robby fed Whitman and then we loaded up and headed to the park.  It was a pretty perfect morning to go to the park because the weather was nice and no one was there except for Graham's class.  I pretty much let the big kids run off and stayed near Keaton and Whitman.  They all had a great time and then it was time for cupcakes.
• They were celebrating summer birthdays and Graham was one of the birthday boys.  He grinned from ear to ear as everyone sang Happy Birthday to him.  Then we passed out the cupcakes that we brought and then everyone had a few more minutes to play.  Ms. Stacy had gifts for the kids-water toys and Graham was thrilled and ready to take them to the pool tonight.
• We were the last ones to leave the park-everyone else scurried away pretty soon after cupcakes.  But since it was starting to sprinkle pretty good, we loaded up too.  The original plan was to go home for a bit and then go to Grannymom's house.   But since we were finished early, we switched plans and headed straight to Grannymom's house.
• The kids grabbed the ipad before I could even get in the door with Whitman and the bag.  They took their turns, played outside, had lunch, had a snack and were pretty hot and worn out when I came back from the store.  Whitman didn't do any of this at Grannymom's house-he just slept and slept.  
• When we arrived Campbell was acting odd and when I came back she started again.  We didn't think too much about it but by the time we made it home, I knew something was wrong with her.  She went inside while the others were painting the back of the turtle, climbed on the couch, covered up and had herself a good nap.  She had a bit of fever-we didn't give her any medicine until bedtime so hopefully she will rest well.  
• After the kids painted their shell and watched the turtle for awhile, they came inside to play.  The plan was to go to the pool after Robby finished with work but it looked darker and darker every time that I looked out the window.  They took it well-very well but I tried to make it clear that we would do our best to go this weekend.  Maybe I should have checked the weather before I made that promise-probably should have checked it today before telling the kids we could have gone tonight.  
• I set Graham up with his nerf guns and cups to knock down.  This kept him busy for quite a while but surprisingly Anderson wasn't that interested in my pinterest inspired activity.  There were even army men to knock down but that only inspired him to go upstairs and make a fort.  Whatever works and whatever keeps them happy while I heat up supper.
• It was starting to rain some and the light blinked once when the food was in the microwave.  It was a long blink-long enough for me to wail.  My wailing about the lack of being able to heat supper probably caused more concern for the kids than the lights being off for the half second.  Thankfully, they blinked back on and we were able to have supper.  After cleaning up the cupcake crumbs last night after supper, Robby decided everyone had to eat their cupcakes outside except it was raining. Well, we just all moved to the front porch along with a few extras chairs to enjoy the cupcakes.  It was pleasant out and maybe saved Robby 5 minutes of sweeping :)
• The evening passed quickly and everyone played well.  Right after their bedtime, we walk down the steps and hear the tornado sirens.  Robby turned on the tv and I found my computer to check the weather.  So far, we haven't had to jerk them out of bed to duck and cover....yet.  And hopefully we will not have to tonight.  The lights did blink again and this caused the kids clock light to stop working.  I had to go up there to fix that-poor Campbell must have been nearing hysteria because Reagan was standing on her bed trying to calm her down.  Graham was sound asleep.  I calmed her down, turned on the clock light again and kissed everyone good night. 

May 29, 2013

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Sisters!

• The kids were up before 7 this morning and Robby did send them to the toy room to play for a bit.  Since everything that happens before 7 is a bit fuzzy for me, I am almost sure that there was sometime of scuffle that happened upstairs including some screaming, stomping and probably gnashing of teeth.  
• Robby was able to calm everyone down before he left but I was pretty certain that it wasn't going to be the smoothest of days.  I was correct though it could have been worse.
• The morning actually did start of smoothly and pretty slowly!  It was nearly 10 before we sat down for breakfast. Before that everyone had done a bit of reading, coloring and a lot of mess making.
• My plan was to go to the library and then to see Beebee this afternoon but she called early saying that she had therapy this afternoon.  So we scurried around to run and see her first.  By 11, we had made it to her place and were able to visit with her for a bit before lunch.  The boys delighted in shoving her wheelchair down the hall to her dining room.  They are going to want to come at lunch time every week from now on.
• The boys were a bit rowdy (rowdier than I like them) and Campbell didn't immediately obey me once so they were all told that they would have to take a rest this afternoon.  Their upcoming punishment calmed them down and probably helped our visit to the library go smoothly.  It also helped that it was noon and not many folks were around.
• Everyone picked out a few books and then we loaded back into the car and headed home.  Before our trip, I had practiced with the kids and Robby had practiced with the kids about getting in and out of the van the correct way.  They did perfect the entire trip but apparently when traveling with me they have forgotten everything.
• It was 1 when we made it home and I quickly served up lunch and read a bit before chores.  I had given the kids a list of things to do and they scurried off to complete their tasks-Reagan working on the toy room while the others were working, Anderson picking up the school room, Graham vacuuming my closet and Campbell organizing the shoes.  They all did really well so I thought I would push my luck with chore lessons for them.
• Yep, I took each big kid, Reagan, Anderson, Graham and then Campbell, to a potty and thoroughly explained how to clean the pottys.  We will see if the lessons pay off next Wednesday when it is potty cleaning time around here.  My eventual goal is for them to take over all of my chores while I set in my bathrobe watching soaps and eating bon bons.  (kidding-kind of.  Well, no I guess I am not kidding at all-that is truly my goal!)
• By this time, it was nap time for Keaton who loves being put to bed in Campbell's crib.  Or maybe she just likes being covered up with the blanket up there-it is cold during the afternoons upstairs.  During her nap, we played a few games and worked a puzzle and the next big event was the required rest time for my troublemakers.
• Anderson took his punishment like a man and even called down to me that he was sorry.  Graham was good at first and then had a screaming fit.  And Campbell fell asleep while laying in the school room.  Since it was 4:30, I had to quickly wake her up so she would sleep tonight.
• Reagan spent their mandatory rest time watching herself a movie all by herself.  I am sure she enjoyed this time and when her movie was over, I ushered everyone outside to play.  It was 5 but they still needed some time outside.
• They played outside and when Robby made it home around 6 we stayed outside.  Soon it was bath and supper time for the kids.  We again had Mexican for supper-quesadillas tonight.  Then it was bedtime for the crew and blog time for me. 

May 28, 2013

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8 weeks old!

• Whitman woke up once early this morning and Anderson did as well to go to the bathroom.  But Robby was the only one awake when it was really time to wake up.  He had to wake Graham and they headed off to school and work.  My crew was tired this morning-I finally had to wake Keaton up at 9 this morning.  
• The kids had breakfast in my room and then we did our bit of summer school-nothing major-just reading time, sight words and some math facts for Reagan and Anderson and working on learning letters for Campbell.  When Graham made it home, he read a book and did his sight words.  My G is so excited when he says one of his words correctly and is so proud of himself.  My goal is for him to be half way though his reading book when he starts kindergarten.
• Reagan and Anderson were happy to be back with their toys-lately, they have been making houses/areas with the lincoln logs and then having a city with all of their other toys.  They could do this forever but the only problem is that Campbell and Keaton like to "play" as well and usually destroys what they have worked on. 
• So Campbell and Keaton helped me with the laundry and then went upstairs to play in their bedroom. They both had a baby doll and Campbell laid out pillows for them and pillows for their babies.  They played for quite some time together.  Soon they will be really big buddies playing happily for hours (wishful thinking on my part).
• This afternoon we read some of our Magic Tree house book-I had stopped reading aloud to the kids (shame on me) and am going to start back.  Then everyone worked on making banks out of my empty formula cans.  The jars that they have been using are overflowing so much so that Robby and I have had to borrow some cash before.
• We played a game and even worked a puzzle today.  Then I let them watch a movie before I shoved them out the door.  The scooters are still a big hit but being pushed on the swing was the highlight for them.  I pushed everyone and then Robby made it in.  Whitman was sleeping happily on the couch and slept all the way through supper.
• We had supper at Nonna's house.  Sonia had made empanadas while she was here and froze some for us.  So tonight Nonna cooked them up-cheese for the kids and meat ones for us.  They were as good as I remember them being and the kids enjoyed them too.
• I gave everyone a shower and then it was time to head home.  The boys were happily playing with Jason and lots of new (but really old) gi joes.  But when we came home the kids just sat in the van-they are still so tired!

Texas Wedding Roadtrip-May 27, 2013

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The traveling business is tough work!

• Whitman didn't wake up once we were in the room last night and I probably should have woken him up myself but I just let him sleep.  So about as soon as I went to sleep, he woke up to eat.  And then at 5, he woke up again.  He was sleeping about a foot from my head and I never heard him.  Robby got up and started making Whitman's bottle.  I didn't hear that but I did hear a bit of commotion when Robby shook the bottle without a lid.  
• Robby fed Whitman but after he laid him back down, he started to fuss again.  By now it was nearly 6 so Robby decided that we would go ahead and leave early.  (We had decided to leave early, then decided to sleep a bit longer but Whitman changed all of that for us.)  
• After Robby took his shower, I had mine.  We quietly scurried around packing everything that we could.  Eventually, we started pulling blankets from the kids and packing them up.  Everyone got up nicely to go potty and Robby took them to the car.  We were out of the room by 7:10 and Reagan must have thought that it was in the middle of the night because she said "what time is it?"
• At the wedding last night, Anderson won a movie (Jurasic Park 3) so it was the first movie watched this morning.  It was probably a bit intense for me crew-well, some of them.  We noticed that Campbell had her blanket over her head for some of the movie.  But we stopped it once to ask Anderson if he liked it and he said "yeah, one guy has gotten eaten already."
• Robby went to the breakfast area at the hotel and cleaned out their cinnamon rolls so the kids had one as a pre-breakfast.  Then we picked up breakfast burritos at Sonic.  Our next stop was for gas and potties and soon we were about to lose control of the troops, so we found a park for them to play at.
• By loose control, I mean that Robby and I were about to go nuts.  Ha!  Campbell continually asked us if we were in Mississippi yet.  Keaton shook her cup like she was playing a maraca.  And the two of them together are even more of a mess-Campbell would belt out "jingle bells, jingle bells" and then Keaton would point at Campbell and shout at her "stop."  We knew they needed to run off some energy.
• I believe that the next stop was McDonalds for lunch.  We ate in the car and zipped on down the road.  Campbell was sleeping while we were in the drive through line and we had just told the kids to let her sleep even when we passed out the food.  When she is asleep the car is a tad bit quieter!  But not 5 seconds after that, a freight train roared down the track about 20 feet from our car.  She woke up and the car suddenly got a lot noisier.  
• After leaving McDonalds, our next stop was another McDonalds for a potty stop.  Robby didn't feel guilty at all about bringing in his empty McDonald's cup for a refill.  But then karma got him when he couldn't find his phone after we left.  Finally, he buzzed it with my phone and it buzzed and buzzed and buzzed.  We could hear it but couldn't figure where it was coming from.  Finally, Robby realized the phone was in his back pocket the entire time.
• I think that was the stop that I had Whitman out of his seat changing his diaper and he laughed at me.  He is getting pretty interactive now.  Not as interactive as the other kids and that is nice!  Campbell thinks everyone's middle name is Ruth like hers.  She shouted at Anderson "Anderson Ruth, do you like my flip flops?"  And Anderson isn't any better-he is always freezing in the car and as soon as we turn the kids air on, he will ask for it to be turned off.  We have to sneak it on because we don't want them to get hot.  So once he said "can you turn off the air, I have already told you once."  
• Soon it was another Sonic stop and during it, Robby had to go potty and then I did at the next door Dollar General.  And when we left, we got turned around and had to pass those stores again.  I said "look, there's another Sonic right there."  Anderson saw the next building and said "there is another one of those too."  I tried to get Robby to make the loop again just to see what they would say at seeing the same stores 3 times but he didn't want to play my silly game.
• But the kids quickly figured out that we had turned around and then they started chanting "go the right way."  Kids need a mute button.  Only kidding, they were really perfect and we made it home before 5.  It didn't feel like we had been in the car all day.  
• When we made it home, the kids played outside and then inside and then outside again.  Robby and I unloaded the van and then he mowed the yard while I unpacked inside.  Within 2 hours, we were finished with everything-yard looked nice and the house was straight and unpacked.  
• And soon the kids were showered and eating supper.  They had a busy few days and everyone was ready to go to bed tonight.  Another good trip!  

Texas Wedding Roadtrip-May 26, 2013

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A little hoe down after the wedding!

• So I believe that I am becoming an insomniac-not by choice!  I was up later than I should have been with the blog (probably should have done it first before playing on facebook and pinterest) and when it was bedtime, Whitman woke up to eat.  I did make it to bed around 1:30 to sleep until 5:30 when he woke up again and then had to lay by me until morning.  I think that is pretty good since he could have been really fussy due to his negligent parents and resulting sunburn.  
• Hopefully tonight, we will get a bit more sleep.  Though when I woke up, I felt well rested.  It is just now 11 and I am just getting started on this blog, Whitman hasn't eaten his late night bottle and Robby wants to leave around 7-sleep really is overrated!  
• I'm not complaining though, we have had a great trip and everyone is not going to be too pleased about coming home.  But today they were excited about one more day of trip adventures.  And surprisingly, everyone was really excited about the wedding as well.  The kids woke up and were dressed before Robby and I were out of bed.  We "got it going" as  Anderson says and soon headed to breakfast.
• Today everyone had waffles and pecan twirls as their main dish.  We have talked about not eating breakfast here tomorrow and I just told Robby to go over and take all of their pecan twirls and we can eat them in the car!  
• The NASA Johnson Space Center opened at 10 but we arrived at 9:15.  We sat in the car as long as we could-Robby changed the setting on the DVD player, worked on my phone and attached his gps better.  When he had finished all of these tasks, he went to get in the line.  Soon the line was crazy and he called us over to get a spot in the security line.  
• We walked in the door at 10 and the lady tearing the kids tickets told them to go straight to the tram line.  So Robby took that as a cue to walk swiftly there and that we did.  We walked right on tram and even had room to spread out.  The first stop was the old mission control.  It was mission control through the early space days up until 92.  Pretty cool to see that.
• Then we went and walked around the Saturn V rocket-it is a pretty big thing to walk around.  The kids were pretty interested in the whole rocket thing-maybe we should check out a few library books.  Then we caught the tram back to the main building and saw some exhibits.
• Soon it was almost noon and they were doing a show about reptiles.  We needed to rest our legs for a bit so we sat and waited for the show.  Keaton sat in the stroller, Whitman slept and the other kids played on the phone while we waited.  
• The show was typical up until the host looked for volunteers and pointed to Robby.  The kids were beyond thrilled to have him on the stage.  And when the lady pulled out the albino Burmese python for Robby to hold, I thought Graham was going to throw up he was so excited.  Robby said the snake was slimy and he did even see the toenail of that thing-who knew snakes have toenails.
• After the show, we let the kids play on their huge space angry birds play structure.  The kids loved it and could have continued to play there.  Robby told them to stay with someone and made sure that everyone knew that they could not leave Campbell.  Of course, Reagan is the only one that hears that and dutifully stayed by Campbell's side.  Reagan eventually asked if she could go and play without Campbell and Robby let her.  I had been pushing Whitman and Keaton around the gift shop (trying to keep him asleep and distract her).  So Campbell went with us to the bathroom and then back to slide a few times.  
• We did let Keaton play for a bit in the ball area and Robby had to go in and get her.  She was not too pleased about having to leave but we had other things to do-like touch a moon rock.  There are only 8 moon rocks in the world that can be touched by the public (this was our second-Smithsonian in DC was the first.  Robby joked that maybe touching all of his moon rocks should be on his bucket list).  A bit more touring and then it was time to eat our lunch.
• They had picnic tables outside and we had our sandwiches.  I way overpacked my food and have enough bread for us to picnic until the end of the month.  Anyway, the kids ran around on the sidewalk until we had lunch ready.  After lunch, we had a special treat-astronaut ice cream.  The kids all ate their piece.  Graham will be the astronaut of the group because he was the only one that continued to ask for more pieces of it.
• Next up was back to the hotel.  We had about 2 hours in the room before we needed to leave.  Campbell eventually fell asleep-the x games motorcycles must have bored her.  Didn't bore me because it was girls racing the motorcycles.  Anderson really needed to see that because the other day at the Children's museum, they had mock elections with 2 candidates-a boy and a girl.  Anderson voted for the boy and I asked why.  He said "well boys are better than girls"-must have learned that from his daddy.
• We knew that Keaton needed a nap too but there was no way she would nap in her bed.  So we put Whitman's bouncy in the bathroom, put down a pillow for her feet, gave her some milk and buckled her in.  We could not believe but it worked.  That child was exhausted and stayed awake during most of Robby's shower a foot away.  She only woke when he unbuckled her to wash her up.
• The wedding was at in indoor pavilion in a city park near Maradee's house.  We had thoroughly explained to the kids proper behavior including rewards and punishments for improper behavior.  It must have worked because they were all wonderful-Whitman slept, Reagan was all into it-even jumping up on her chair to see them kiss, Anderson and Graham sat perfect still watching it all, Campbell was in my lap a bit whiny but fine and Robby was on Keaton patrol.  She did really well-coke, smarties and lots of distractions helped with that.  
• After the wedding, we all headed to the lawn for the reception.  They had food-bbq, chicken, potato salad, beans, fruit, homemade bread (delicious), slaw, homemade brownies, cobbler and ice cream.  The food was all delicious.  There was music and a bit of dancing -- mainly by Anderson and Greg.  And there were games for the kids to play.  
• My crew devoured the fruit and played with the outside games until they had all received candy and Anderson had even earned a prize-a Jurassic Park DVD.  Robby had said earlier this week while looking at fossils in Houston that we should rent that movie.  We will see if it scares them to death-Anderson said that they are going to watch if the very first thing going home. 
• After a lot of eating and game playing, I took Campbell and Keaton to the bathroom.  I had a diaper for Keaton and pulled down her pants to change her and sure enough she was poopy.  So I grabbed some wet paper towels and started again.  It is very, very hard to change a poopy 1 year old in a public restroom with no changing table.  And during this Campbell had gone to the bathroom and needed me to wipe her bottom and my phone was ringing.  We survived and went back to the others.
• Eventually, I took everyone but Whitman to the nearby playground.  They played and played and probably could have played more but I heard them announce that Maradee and Robert were about to leave.  So we booked it back to the reception so the kids could get some birdseed and throw it.  Throwing something at anyone is so much fun for the kids.  Afterwards, we stayed around for a bit longer and then hoped in the car to claim the kids rewards for being so good. 
• They enjoyed the snow cones from last night so we headed back there.  It was 9:15 but Robby thought they closed at 10.  The open light was still on and that was great so we unloaded and headed there.  I was still getting the baby out of the car and a bottle made since he wasn't too pleased.  Robby and the others made it almost to the door when the worker lady quickly walked (Robby said "ran") to the door to turn around the sign and lock the door.  
• I got out of the van and walked around it in time to see 5 heart broken kids walking back.  Anderson was teary and about to fall apart.  It was pitiful-I could even see people in the snow cone place watching our show take place outside.  Robby immediately says that he will find them something else-this makes Anderson some better but not Keaton who is now refusing to get in the car.  She remembered where we were and was expecting a snow cone.  
• Robby stopped at Kroger and ran in to pick up 2 choices of frozen treats.  While he was shopping, Campbell cried about the snow cone.  Gracious, it was sad because the kids were so disappointed but then again, eating popsicles in the room was pretty easy and a lot less expensive.  
• They had their treats as we loaded boxes and bins back up and into the car.  By the time we laid everyone down it was after 10.  Keaton was the last to get into her bed and was climbing on it trying to get in.  By the time we turned off the lights, everyone was asleep except Campbell-my bedmate tonight.  She just stared at my computer until I closed it but now she is snoozing away-like I am about to do!