Beach Day

A day at the beach is like a mini-vacation for me. Something about the wide open spaces allows everyone in our family to relax. The bickering ceases, smiles spring up, sand goes places it probably shouldn't, and people enjoy the outdoors and each other. Somehow it is easier to keep track of everyone even when the beach is crowded. We travel about 75 minutes to the ocean and every mile is worth the trip.

We grill steak or chicken at the picnic area with salads, baked beans (right from the can), and brownies for dessert. Usually, we are one of the last cars to leave around 8:00pm.

We went on July 5th and while we were unloading the van, Bob showed the kids how to do this:
Chief Trey! Gimme some wampum!
Even the big kids had to give it a try.
When he is not the chief, he is laughing.
We lathered and slathered and ghosted everyone up in the shade by the parking lot.
Not too sure about this whole beach thing, slimy stuff (first time that she was old enough), and the hat. I was determined to train her to wear a hat.....haha.
She likes it, she likes it.
We quickly found the water.



Investigating.
The girls are waiting for the next big one.
Caught the wave!
Woohoo!
I am honestly not sure whether it gets any better than this.

New Look

I don't love this but it is different.

I suppose I might change it tomorrow.

Because I can.

It's All About the Hair

Hair, hair, and more hair.

I am determined to take better care of all the hair in my domain.
We discovered http://www.blendedbeauty.com,
a website dedicated to biracial hair products.

Just what I needed to get a better handle on all this HAIR!
Apparently we have a type 1, a type 2, AND a type 3.
It is a fly away, frizzy, dried out mess. :(

Erika did the initial shampoo and
THEN
we went for the deep herbal conditioner.

She enjoyed the beauty treatment.

This is a shower cap that I brought home from a hotel last year.
She kept it and, sure enough, it came in handy.

After combing her hair out, we looked on the web and

found a tutorial for twists and gave it a try.

The deep conditioning worked.
We have never seen her hair look so good.

The twists were fun to do and pretty easy
after I twisted everything in the right direction.

I bet we will do even better next time.

This whole process took about four hours.
Soon enough we will be straightening
and I won't be on duty anymore.
I think I will be sad.

How We Made It To The Prairie

We drove halfway across the country and made the pilgrimage to several "Little House on the Prairie" sites because they were on the way.

While we were in Missouri we visited Rocky Ridge in Mansfield to see the house where Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote the Little House books. A museum was attached and a highlight was seeing Pa's violin. The house was just as Laura and Almanzo left it. This site was on my bucket list and let's just say that I'm glad we were driving by and didn't make a special trip.

Here is how 10 or 11 people travel long distances in "style." The funniest part was one day we noticed all the strange looks we were getting. People would point to our van and stare. Finally Jerrod said, "Well Mom, not too many people ski in Kansas." Duh! We borrowed an extra Thule for the trip and they were both loaded to the gunwales with baby paraphernalia including three portacribs, 3 strollers, fishing gear, swim gear, diapers, and a bunch of other stuff.
A friend suggested we borrow their luggage rack and attach it to the back for extra cargo room. Brilliant! We could have squeezed the bins in but it sure gave us extra leg and people room in the van. The bins had clothes, food, bedding for the cribs (stuff from home for the babies), and kitchen stuff.
We had a fun journey from Branson, Missouri to Douglass, Kansas, about a 5 hour drive. The landscape changes several times from the Ozark hills to farmland to flat prairie. Lots of corn. I think one half of the United States must be planted with corn.

As I was the navigator, I read the AAA guide book and looked up all the little towns we went through. We toured Carthage, Missouri as we drove right through it and looked at some older Victorian homes. Then on a whim we took a minor detour to see the Precious Moments Chapel and grounds. It was time to stretch our legs and I thought the younger girls would enjoy the figurines. Oh my, what an experience. The visitor center and museum are off the beaten path about 3 or 4 miles outside of town. We rounded the corner and our jaws dropped. The parking lot was FULL, I mean a couple hundred cars and several buses. We had no idea it was a destination spot. Then we noticed lots of red t-shirts and kind of surmised that some family reunion was visiting.

As we entered the lovely pink foyer, we were serenaded by someone singing in the indoor garden cafe. We rounded the corner to see a (PC here) smaller man doing a reasonable Elvis impersonation for a full house. We elbowed our way through to go see the chapel and got in a line. After 10 minutes, Jerrod figured out that we were in a book signing queue. Finally, somebody informed us that the annual collector's reunion was in full swing. Ah-ha......

We got a tractor ride with a Precious Moments dress up character waving at us. We toured the chapel and then on the walk back we let the kids go in the "Jump for Jesus" bouncy house. We passed on the bean bag game where, for $2, you could win free figurines. Husbands and wives, kids in strollers, seniors, you name it, we saw it. To top it off, there was a petting zoo in the parking lot. Micah and Trey got their very first pony rides. Kloey was in heaven petting the goats and sheep and holding a 10 day old piglet. I loved the experience. Did I mention I do not even own a Precious Moments figurine.....
We traveled from Branson, Missouri to Douglass, Kansas and drove right through Independence, Kansas where the original site of the "Little House on the Prairie" is purported to be. The cabin was a replica out in the middle of literally nowhere. The fun part was standing in the field and imagining nothing in all directions.


The little boys slept through the whole thing. Bob chose to stay in the air conditioned van. The kids humored me in the one room school house.
Although the site was a little anticlimactic, it too was on my bucket list. So I can now say, "Been there, done that."

We arrived in Douglas, Kansas that evening with a couple of stories to tell.

Fourth of July

We started the day in church worshiping. Lindsey was up at her job because she was getting the horses ready to be in the parade in another town. She drives the wagon with two large draft horses. After church we headed to a friend's house in our town who lives right on the parade route. Most houses put American flags in front of their houses. The kids couldn't resist a little patriotism.




We got to see things like this:
Watching the parade go by. I like it when he wears his hat backwards. It's hunky.
Hunk-in-training?
After the parade we went home for naps then went over to camp to see Bob's mother and attend the a chicken BBQ dinner with a brass band quartet concert afterward. The night is topped off with an ice cream social. We love sharing this tradition with Farmor (father's mother in Swedish).

It's hot. Curly hair gives it away.
This boy melts my soul.
This boys stirs up my soul. His heart is big as the outdoors.
She smiled! There is almost a sparkle in those eyes.
All of the sudden, there was a lull and everyone was feeling happy so I was the entertainment jumping around like a maniac and I "requested" that Lindsey get behind the camera. After all, hands down she has a better chance of getting a good picture than me. All of the pictures of the three littles were taken by Lindsey Peterson.
Favorite!
More brotherly love...
What would you do if you were her?
Take them both out of course!!! Wap!

Lindsey moved from photographer to baby thrower. It was starting to get dark but you can almost hear the giggles.
Some babies just can't get enough.
The eyes. I can't get over the eyes.
Erika has become camera shy of late. I snuck this one in. Her favorite attire these days is mixing pink and red. It works for her because she is so gorgeous.
Mom, do you want to see me do a bridge?
Grr, I'm a monster.
This boy is at the end of one and nearing two in a few weeks. He is precious.


I love these over the shoulder pictures. I have them for most of our babies.
We did not make the fireworks this year with so many little ones. We were planning on heading off to the beach the next day so home we went. There is always next year.

PS Cora and Lindsey were there just not in front of the camera. Cora doesn't stand still long enough and Lindsey, well, she is a photographer.