Surfer Girl

Since Becky has decided to abandon her blog, I have hijacked it for the weekend.  I looked through many of our vacation pictures tonight with the kids and have decided this is my favorite picture.  Check out Tori, she's a natural.  If only we could practice in Iowa she might go somewhere with her ocean bravery!

where Im at

Alright, this is where I'm at people.
Just not...right.
Insomnia.
Unclear thinking.
Absentminded.
Forgetful.
Space Cadet.
Weepy.
Tired.
A daze.
A funk.
I dont know.

Today I went to lunch with a friend for her birthday.
Then proceeded to leave the restaurant with my children and not pay for her meal, which would have been nice...OR MY OWN!!!
Yep, dined and dashed.

They called me later to tell me.

It didn't even cross my mind that paying should occur. Even 30 minutes later it never dawned on me that I had forgotten something. I would never have thought it had they not told me. Thankfully they paid my bill so the cops did not arrive at our door.

WHO DOES THAT?!

So when this passes I will be back with millions of vacation photos. Until then just picture me screaming when I got the call that I had committed a crime.

We Are Conquerors!

Ever in the middle of something that seems hopeless? 

Feel like giving up? 

We all have those times. 

But today I read this and felt so strong.

Romans 8:37-39

'Nay in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us.

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.'

The greatest part of that...We win. We Are Conquerors. 

I love that phrase. 

I love that promise. 

Look at that list...nothing is remaining. Nothing can separate us. 

We win. 

Period. 

So dont give up. 

for Robert and Jen

Remember this with Marilyn? 

I wanted a turn...wish you'd been there Jen!

Adventurous Spirit

One thing I love about my husband is his adventurous spirit. 

He is not afraid to take the road less traveled.

He makes last minute decisions that turn into fun memories. 

He does this with his kids all. the. time.

I have a feeling that someday they will cherish this about their dad and love to brag about it. 

For example on our second day of driving we drove past Metropolis, Il 

and there was a sign claiming a gigantic 

Superman statue COULD NOT BE MISSED!

So of course we drove 10 miles or so out of the way and went to see Superman.

We spent probably over an hour of driving time here. 

And it was so worth it. 

And it was so fun. 

The kids loved it. 

And so did we.

Um, CUTE!

The town may take this whole Superman thing a bit too far. 

Anyway...there are also parts of this adventurous spirit that drive me to insanity. 

Like when we got to Macon GA and we were supposed to stop for the night...

Then the plan was to get up on Saturday and go tour Savannah GA, stay the night and go to our condo in FL the next day. 

But Jordan wanted to sail past Macon and get to Savannah because all the kids were sleeping. 

I did NOT want to 'keep sailing'. 

We got to Savannah. 

No rooms. 

NO. ROOMS!

None. 

So we continued to Jacksonville, FL.

No rooms. 

NO. ROOMS!

None. 

By this point you can imagine...Jordan and I are not so much speaking to each other. 

He is falling asleep so I take over driving. 

We get to Daytona.

Here they actually LAUGHED at us. 

No rooms. 

NO. ROOMS!

None. 

They also added in that it is not only Spring Break...but, wait for it...wait for it...

BIKE WEEK!

So this is where we stop and sleep for 1.5 hours in the Holiday Inn parking lot. 

Our amazing kids stayed asleep by some complete miracle. 

We wake up and drive to Orlando...hoping for a room. 

We book a room on the drive but cannot check in until 3 pm. 

So we find a rest stop and sleep until the sun came up about 7:30. 

And then proceeded to try to waste the whole day.

We sat in McDonalds, shopped at Bass Pro, drove around...

Finally we checked in...slept for 3 hours, ate supper and then went to bed for the night. 

I think by the next morning I was ready to talk to Jordan once again. 

So yes, I do love this man for the 'out of the blue' fun he had found for us...

but this time...not so much. 

not so much Jordan. 

synopsis

Alright, I am finally ready to start documenting our trip.

I know how you've all been on just pins and needles. Actually some of you apparently have been so I guess I'll just get to it.

For my own documenting I have to lay out the trip...

We left Thursday after school and made it to St. Louis about 9. We surprised the kids and met my brother and his family for a late supper and to watch the ISU game. Then we stayed at their house. Im pretty sure the kids would have stayed there the whole trip.

Friday we started out early with the intention of making it to Macon, Georgia. We stopped in Metropolis Il to see their sites (ha) and Nashville, TN for a late BBQ lunch at Jack's downtown. Very long story short...we went whizzing by Macon about 10 pm and ended up in an Orlando, FL rest stop at 8 am. More on that thrilling story to come.

After Saturday night in Orlando we headed back to the coast to our condo in New Smyrna Beach. We ended up in a different condo this trip and it was like it was perfectly made for us. The kids bedroom had 2 sets of bunk beds...perfect! We overlooked the beach and one of the pools again...perfect.

On Tuesday we went to Disney and met up with the Venengas - so fun!

Then we spent the rest of our time at the condo in New Smyrna. We headed for home the following Sunday and stayed just outside of Nashville on the home and made it to St. Louis by 3 pm on Monday...again we surprised the kids and went to the zoo and met my niece there. We didnt get home until midnight that night and the kids had school and Jordan had work the next day! This could account for the 'vacation hangover' we've all been experiencing since we pulled in the driveway.

It really was the perfect trip. 12 days is a long time to be gone with 5 young kids. But I will say that Jordan and I complained more than they did. Tess and Avery each had a bit of car sickness but the meds really helped that...only one incident of vomit! Everyone slept amazingly well in the condo and the van. Tori chose to wait until the drive home to spike a fever but motrin did the trick there and she was happy.

I love the memories that we made and that the kids still talk about Disney and the beach daily. I love that they call the beach 'our beach'. I love that they are all missing having Jordan around after almost 2 weeks of constant daddy time. We are so so blessed!

dumbfounded

Avery: 'Mommy are you like the opposite of Mandy?'
Me: 'Huh?'
Avery: 'Well you know, she likes to bake but she doesn't like to eat. But you like to eat but you dont like to bake.'

And that was where I started crying and my head started spinning.

Jordan says my best bet is to just pretend it was never said.

Disney 2012

Its gone from harassment to down right threats. 

So here is a picture. 

Us, 2012.

There are some quality issues with this photo but I kind of love it. 

harassed

I'm in the middle of some harassment...by friends and family...over the lack of vacation pics on this blog. 

I swear they will come. 

But I cant promise when...

For now this picture will explain why.

miles

approximately 3,180 miles and we arrived back safely in our driveway just before midnight tonight.

feeling blessed and so so tired.

stories and pictures to share but for now, I have a date with my pillow.

now i see

there is a reason why people dont go on long vacations with multiple small children.

its the packing!

:)

forecast in florida - 80's and sunny!!!!

P.S.

p.s. dumping all the cheerios on the floor wasnt cool either.


on another note: Becky, buy more cereal and then find a new spot to store the cereal.

Dear tess and tori,
you two plus me in a hurry, busy, trying to get ready for vacation and distracted = a bad combination.
dumping the entire box of frosted flakes on lauren and avery's bedroom floor was totally not cool.
neither was throwing all the folded clothes off the couch.
neither was taking all the books off the bookshelf.
and tess, dont try to say tori did it all...I know you...you little instigator.
and none of this was funny or cute.
and it is completely why you are both in bed right now.

sincerely,
mom

FANCY NANCY!

Contessa and I got to go to Gallagher-Bluedorn today with 

Amy and Ellie to see none other but the play FANCY NANCY!

She was all kinds of decked out and excited! 

And how fun was this?!

Avery's class was there seeing the play too! 

She did great at the play but thankfully it was only 1 hour. 

I think 1 hour is her limit! 

Two little fancy girls! 

Thanks for the fun girls! 

today's chant

'a week from today I will be sitting on the beach...

and the forecast says 80 degrees and sunny!'

Happy Birthday, Grandma Hildegarde!

We also stopped by to wish Grandma Hildegarde a Happy 89th Birthday today!

(Sullivan was happier than it appears here...)

Party Pics

Grandma Cindy's St. Patrick's Day party has to be one of the funnest events she holds for the kids. 

They look forward to it every spring.

She goes ALL out with the food.

Everything is either green of rainbow themed. 

Last year this little one performed 'magic' and rolled over for the first time at this party. 

This year she was big enough to share a table with Adrian!

 Cute as ever. 

Aaron, Avery, Alexa 

SO excited he couldn't eat more than 3 bites. 

Torrance also got into the 'coin and leprechaun' hunt this year!

Its a favorite with all the kids...as you can see!

The whole gang...all 10. 

And this is where we started to lose them..

hair pulling, boys being boys...naps were needed!

Thanks again for the party Grandma!

St. Patrick's Day Party!

We are headed to Grandma Cindy for some St. Patrick's Day fun today!

Cant you just feel their excitement! 

FUN! and not so much

Jordan had meetings in Rochester, MN this Thursday - Saturday and so we decided to 

surprise the kids and take them along for some hotel run. 

We didn't even tell them until after school on Thursday.

Its super fun to tell your kids at 3:30 that you are leaving for 2 nights in a hotel in 1 hour!

I was a little worried about me and 5 kids staying sane the whole time Jordan was gone. 

But they were really good and had a blast at the pool.

Everyone slept well in the hotel except for about an hour last night. 

I called that a success. 

I took along tons of snacks and fun food for them. 

Lunch on Friday was basically junk food by the pool. 

These were Tori approved! 

(This is the only picture I took all weekend! I was a little busy.)

Everything was going so well. 

I should have known!

I planned for another 1.5 hours at the pool this morning before 

we packed up, picked up Jordan and head home. 

I planned so well. 

And the morning was going so well...

I gave the kids the 'we're leaving the pool in 20 minutes' warning. 

Then I heard Tori start screaming. 

I looked down and could see nothing wrong. 

Then I saw it, all around her.

Poop. 

Massive, insane amounts of WATER POOP. 

streaming from her suit. 

And suddenly the place went crazy. 

Mom's were screaming at kids to get out of the pool. 

(imagine the scene from Caddyshack if it helps you.)

I grabbed Tori and in a matter of seconds were both COVERED in poop. 

My older kids had all seemed to scatter seconds before this happened. 

So I ran around yelling at them that the deal was off we were leaving, NOW. 

Tori was still screaming in pain from the awful poop eating her skin. 

(this is what her poop does). 

I grabbed the diaper bag, gave the other bags to Lauren and Avery, literally ripped Sullivan off the ladder for the water slide and told Lauren to get Tess. 

Someone dropped something I went to get it and my phone flew out of the bag and the screen SMASHED to the ground. 

Completely shattered.

Im pretty sure this was the point where my kids became scared that my head was literally going to start spinning off my head.

Keep in mind...mom's all over the pool are still screaming at their kids...the pool is filled with awful poop...I have poop running down my legs and covering my stomach from carrying Tori who is still screaming bloody murder and wriggling and squirming and trying to claw her diaper and suit off. 

And did I happen to mention I am in a swimming suit???? 

We get to our room. 

I rush Tori to the bathroom and put her in the tub. 

When Tori and I came out 10 minutes later all four of the older kids were changed into dry clothes and were sitting very quietly on one of the beds watching Disney. 

(I LOVE THEM).

That was about when I started laughing and crying at the same time. 

They KNEW how to help me in 'my moment of need'.

(side note...we decided to try regular milk on Tori this morning...experiment FAIL! She cannot handle it. We will be sticking to Soy. Because this poop was like nothing I've ever seen. I'm pretty sure she lost 4 pounds and her poor little diaper rash is the color of a Coke can.)

So yes, very fun weekend. 

But man alive that 30 minutes this morning was almost not worth it!
And yes, I am still excited for a week in Florida!
(I think)