Brandy's Baby Shower

My friend, Brandy, recently had her 5th baby, a little girl. We, her friends, were all surprised to learn that she had never had a baby shower before. So Deanna thoughtfully took the opportunity to plan a baby shower, which she had also never done before. It was a success, but I must say I'll never understand games that involve melting chocolate bars into diapers and sniffing them to guess what kind it is. To me, that's just gross. If I ever get a chance to plan a baby shower I want it to be described as beautiful, adorable, fun, but not gross.

Anyway, we all chipped in to help them buy a chifforobe (yes, I checked, that's how it's spelled) for the baby to keep her clothes and things in. Daniel and I still have the one we bought for Danya when she was a baby. It was the first piece of nice furniture we ever bought. Today we use it as a t.v. cabinet. That chifforobe started my love of cherry wood furniture.

Baby Avigayl is beautiful and has a unique name and will be a sweet little blessing to her family, I'm sure.

Broken Baby

The baby is broken. Katie climbed up Kevin's ladder to the top bunk and fell off breaking both bones in her left forearm. I think we may win the bad parents of the year award.

We rushed her to the Children's hospital in the hopes that she'd get treated faster there then at our local hospital. They wouldn't even give her Ibuprofen at first. Then they couldn't do the procedure she needed and put a cast on until around 7'oclock at night. This big "procedure" they did to help her? The doctor used his hands to finish snapping her bones all the way through. Who decides they want to be a bone specialist so they can snap baby bones with their bare hands?! It's sickening. I had to leave the room.

Poor Katie was a trooper through the whole thing. I couldn't believe the hospital didn't even decide to splint her arm until they thought we were leaving. We were really just taking her to play in the waiting area. They wanted us to sit in the exam room for several hours watching t.v. instead. Katie wouldn't have any of that idea.

Even with her cast now she is so full of energy. She's learned to stand up in a new way since she can't use both arms as easily and she can even pick up and drink her bottle by holding the tip in her teeth and then repositioning her hand. Katie is one amazing little 17 month old.

Mr. Helpful...Sometimes

All the kids have jobs that they are expected to complete each day except for Kevin and Katie. Kevin is usually assigned as a "helper" but we don't really require him to do much. Most of the time he excitedly asks what his job is and then proceeds to ignore it.

Every once in a while, though, he manages to surprise us by jumping in to try something like washing the table. Now if he'd just learn to wait until Katie is finished eating first.

Lake Thunderbird in a Thunderstorm

Daniel's parents wanted to take the kids camping. We ended up having the Maxwells join us at lake Thunderbird just South of Oklahoma City. It rained all day on and off, so the kids only got to swim briefly, but the rain conveniently held off long enough for us all to eat.

The plan was for Daniel and I to take our youngest three kids to a hotel for the night and come back to enjoy the lake the next day. Unfortunately it rained all day the next day. Instead Daniel and I decided to head back to Colorado with the three we had and let the oldest three stay another ten days in Oklahoma with their grandparents. It was the longest we've ever been apart from any of our children. I'm not sure I'd do it again for quite so long a time.

The girls, Danya, Gloria, and Brianna, really enjoyed getting to have sleepovers at their cousins' house and participate in silly girly makeovers and such. They also got to watch Toy Story 3 with their grandparents. Meanwhile, Daniel and I enjoyed feeling like a small family again for the first time since 2006 before Kevin was born. It seemed downright easy! But we were both really glad to have the rest of our chicks back in the nest by the time they came home.

Grandma's Monkeys

Daniel's sister, Robin's daughter, Chloe, is about 7 months younger than Katie. Grandma Nancy was enjoying every moment of having them both together while we were in Oklahoma. They'll be her two youngest grandbabies until Daniel's brother Ben's youngest is born next year. That will be their 17th grandchild. Some day I hope that we'll beat whatever record they end up with!

Burger King Buddies

We spent some silly time indoors at a Burger King playland in Stillwater with our friends, Glenda and Christina, and their kids. It's sad that we only get to see each other a few times a year. I wish our kids could all grow up together. Our kids don't seem to notice the difference, though. They're always happy and excited to see one another and run around being goofy as if they were old friends.

Gloria had the idea of telling the kids that the ones who took the nicest picture together would get a prize. These were some of the best photos she took of them.

Seven Girls, Three Boys

What a change a few years can make. When we moved from Oklahoma to Colorado back in 2006 my good friend Betsy had two girls and was pregnant with her third. I only had two girls and had just delivered Kevin a few weeks prior. We'd spent 2005 and 2006 scheduling weekly playdates where our kids would get together and complete homeschooling projects.

Now Betsy has 4 kids, 3 girls and a boy. I currently have 6 kids, 4 girls and 2 boys. When we got together to let the kids play it was a very different experience. We both just shook our heads and reminisced about how easy it used to be. I love that our kids play together so well even though they only see each other once or twice a year.

A short Holady

We drove back to our old neighborhood in Owasso to visit our former neighbor Missy and her kids. Daniel had already flown back to Denver, so I made the trip with the kids on my own. They got to swim and have pizza with their friends and I got to hang out and chat with Missy. It's hard not having a neighbor like Missy anymore. She's a good friend and easy to talk to.

Cousin Craziness

One of the best parts of going to Oklahoma is spending time with Daniel's sister Robin's kids. She actually has more kids than we do so it's quite a mad house when we go anywhere together. It's like we bring our own party.

While we were in Oklahoma this time we got to go to the Perkins splash pad and to a big wooden playground in Noble together. Afterwords we took a photo of all our kids in front of our two big 'ol white vans. In a funny coincidence right now our families both have a big white van and a black car.

His "Birt - Day"

Kevin got to celebrate his birthday in Oklahoma with friends and family, but nothing went as planned. He was supposed to have a water party at an outdoor water park, but it was raining so we moved it to an indoor rec center pool.

We swung by Walmart to pick up some cupcakes, and their entire bakery department had been ripped out. They were remodeling. They had exactly one box of cupcakes that Kevin liked and two he didn't. So we grabbed the good ones and one of the others and hurried to check out. Kevin tried to help put his cupcakes on the check out counter just as my cell phone rang with Daniel asking me what was taking so long. I was distracted and had my hands full so I wasn't able to catch the cupcakes as Kevin tipped up one end and they all tumbled down making a big mess. The cashier just glared at me.

So I moved our cart out of the way and hurried with Kevin as fast as I could to the back of the store to get the last box of cupcakes when some neanderthal talking on his cell phone slammed into Kevin knocking him backwards. I just gave him the "stink eye" as I rushed off with Kevin again, but I thought the man was saying something rude to me. Turns out he was saying that Kevin had lost a shoe. We had to go back to find his flip flop and then get the cupcakes. Finally we got back to the check out and went through an open line nearby where the cashier proceeded to mock us. Apparently all the cashiers had been laughing about our spilled cupcakes. Gotta love that wonderful customer service.

We had Kevin's cake and presents at McDonald's because when we spoke to the rec center they said that they'd charge us about $50 for a party if we brought presents into the rec center. When we got to the rec center they said the pool was closed because the building is basically a huge metal shed and it conducts electricity into the pool so they automatically shut it down when it rains. Somehow they couldn't tell us that any of the times that we called them to ask questions about their pool hours and birthday rules all day long.

Eventually we ended up back at the Elliott Grandparents' house with 20 kids and 7 adults. It was loud and crazy, but I was so relieved that Kevin never once complained or even acted sad about all the disappointments he was dealt. The next day we let him play with his cousins at a small splash pad in Perkins. I feel guilty that we botched his birthday so badly. We'll have to make it up to him next year.

How They Think

Teaching Shane and Kevin a mixture of pre-K and Kindergarten work is a strange experience. Kevin is able to make amazing leaps of logic to get the correct answer on things, almost instinctively it seems like, but he can't always explain how he knows what he knows.

Shane, on the other hand, seems to understand the "category" of the answer but not the specifics. When working on his ABC's we tried singing the first four letters of the song over and over. After a few minutes I had them try filling in the next letter when I paused. I sang, "A B C ...." and waited for Shane to say the next letter. He thought really hard until his eyes were watering with stress that he'd get it wrong and then hesitantly guessed, "N?"

I guess we'll celebrate the little victories, that Shane knows that N is a letter.

Today we overheard Kevin playing an imaginary game with Gloria. I didn't follow the whole plot line but I did catch Gloria saying, "Uh oh. That tentacle might be attached to something." And Kevin saying, "Just don't fall on your head. Cuz' then you won't get your money back." I decided not to ask for an explanation. The way their minds work is a mystery to me.

First S'mores

Brianna and Shane got their first taste ever of s'mores while we were in Oklahoma. Grandpa and Daniel made a fire in an old wagon and we all enjoyed roasting marshmallows. It was sticky and there were lots of mosquitoes, but it was a nice time just the same.

Not So Indpendent

We had a fun, wet, Independence Day in Oklahoma with Daniel's family. Thinking about "independence" though, makes me realize that we are not very independent. We depend on each other, on our family, on our church, on our friends and neighbors, and even on our government to work with us. In this day and age I'd say we couldn't have achieved so well our goal of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" without many other people. I just pray that our government leaders will realize soon that they depend on "we the people" just as much if not more than we depend on them.

Happy InterDependence Day!

Now That's Family!

It cracks me up whenever we get the chance to eat out somewhere with the entire Maxwell clan. Daniel's sister has 8 kids and when we combine them with our 6 it's a full house indeed. The looks on other diners' faces are priceless.

Also, it feels like being part of one of those families in the Olive Garden commercials where the table is packed full of relatives and everyone is talking and reaching for food and laughing. I love it! Growing up I lived with just two siblings and my family spent as much time in separate rooms as possible. We didn't eat together, play together, or even talk to each other much. It's so great having a big loving family that actually enjoys being with each other.

at The White House

No, not in Washington, D.C., the one in Kansas. Our kids' godmother's parents' home. Clear as mud, right? We stopped here on our way to Oklahoma for the 4th of July. They were lighting fireworks and shooting a canon in the rain. We showed up pretty late, but they were still kind enough to feed us all spaghetti and let the kids play with smoke bombs in the back yard.

When the canon went off Katie just laughed and pointed telling me excitedly, "It go BOOM!" I'm still surprised at how many short phrases she can say and how calm she is when loud noises occur near her. She's not a typical baby.

Landscaping

We tried to brighten up the front of our home a little and improve the curb appeal by removing the large sprawling bushes that were half dead and spreading out mulch with a rock border in their place. Then we added fresh mulch to the other areas that needed it. There's not really anything we can do right now about the bald patches that need grass, but I think what we did was an improvement.

Weird Water

Katie wasn't sure what to think of the water fountains near the mall that shoot out of the grounds at random intervals and heights. It took her a long time to warm up to the idea of actually touching one. Daniel finally got her to try it out when they were spraying at a low level. She would grab at it, laugh and run back to Daddy for safety. Meanwhile, the other kids got a kick out of the fact that we let them get wet with their clothes on, since we didn't have bathing suits with us.

Unexpected Friends

While I was waiting for Shane to finish up with speech therapy the other day I started talking to a woman in the waiting area who had several kids. It turns out that we have a surprising amount in common. We were both born in Virginia but lived in Oklahoma most of our lives and moved to Colorado from Owasso, Oklahoma three years ago. She has 5 kids, some with speech delays, and homeschools her children. And her name, Amanda, is my sister's middle name. Small world, huh?

Our kids are close in age as well, so I got her phone number and we set up a play date at the library playground. The kids got along like gangbusters and had a great time playing in the water fountain and inventing games to play on the playground. They begged us as we were leaving to let them play together again soon. It's nice that we have overlapping appointment times at the Children's Hospital for speech therapy, because the other kids can play outside on the playground together. It's also nice to have another mom to talk to while we're there.

A Hunting We Will Go

We keep looking at potential homes to buy. It's mostly because I have a strong need to know where I'm going to live if we sell our house. I'm hoping to find the perfect house that's either a short sale or willing to take a contingency offer, which means they'd sell us their house just as soon as we sell ours. We've put in an offer on a few different houses now, but it never works out.

The longer we go without selling our house the more I start to worry that it will never sell. I think we have a nice home, but there are lots of things that a buyer could decide is simply a deal breaker, like the back yard that would require landscaping, and the fact that we don't have a dishwasher. I know things will work out in God's timing, but I can't even decide if we're really supposed to sell our house or not. I wish He would just put up a big billboard in front of our home with instructions for our future.

Pudding Princess

Katie is very much into the do it herself stage. She will not let anyone else feed her with a spoon, although she hasn't really mastered that skill yet. She's even trying to put her own pants on lately. She wants to brush her own hair and teeth, wash her own face and hands, and put her socks and shoes on by herself. I thought this stage wasn't supposed to come until she's at least two years old?

Foster Family Picnic

We attended our county's annual foster family picnic for the first time this summer. There were quite a few people there, but we only knew a few of them. The kids had a great time playing with other kids, and "Music Man" happened to be with us that week so he got to go, too. I think it helps to see that lots of kids are in foster care, and lets the kids know they are not abnormal.

Stylish Guy

When I was buzzing the boys' hair in June I let Shane have his dream hairstyle. He got a "faux hawk", which, as I've been informed, is different from a "mow hawk" because the sides of his head are not shaved. That seems like it would be a very high maintenance hair style.

He loves his faux hawk (pronounced "foe hawk") and would wear it all the time if I would let him. Unfortunately, the only stuff I've found that will keep it straight up in the air is a very expensive hair glue, so we only use it a couple of times a week. It's very hard to wash out, too. I told him he could keep it until his birthday, but now I think I'll let him keep it a bit longer since I still have some of the hair glue left. Shane loves all the attention he gets from his faux hawk.

Music Man Returns

Our former foster son, "Music Man", who was with us for a month from November up until the week of Christmas last year has been coming back for a few days to a week at a time all summer long. He didn't end up getting adopted, but instead transitioned home.

We got a call recently saying he may be coming back into foster care soon and has requested that he get placed with us again. I'm not sure what will happen, but we always enjoy having him here. He's a very high energy kid, full of silly jokes and entertaining song and dance routines.

One Loved Daddy

For Father's Day this year we got Daniel lots of practical gifts instead of video games or other things. He didn't seem to mind since he was needing new clothes. I also got him a new camera since I accidentally dropped and broke his old one. Unfortunately the new one is not as user friendly as the last one.

Daniel always gives his kids the best gift, the gift of himself. He gives them his time and attention. You won't find him running off to pursue personal hobbies alone or hanging out with "the guys". No matter what he's doing, he includes the kids. If he's working on a project at home he's teaching them how it works and why it's important. If he's playing a video game he's teaching them the controls and the tricks. If he's got free time he prefers to spend it with his family. I couldn't ask for a better husband or father for my children.

"Bad Baby"

I don't know who taught Katie to say it, but she keeps going around saying, "bad baby" in a stern tone of voice. Not to anyone in particular, just sort of chanting it. Brianna used to say it to her and we'd get onto her about it constantly, but I haven't noticed her doing that in some time.

Granted, Katie is rather destructive and randomly violent like most 1 year olds, but at least she's usually cute about it. At any given moment you can find her taking down one of her big brothers with a flying body tackle or giving a karate chop to her sisters. She likes watching "Xena: Warrior Princess" late at night with me and gets excited when Xena takes out the bad guys. If you say, "hi-YA" and make a chopping motion on her she'll pretend to flop over with her tongue out making a dying sound. Then she'll want you to do it, too.

Hail in June

Gotta love Colorado. Hail in the middle of June. Leaves plastered all over our car from the force of the wind. Hot and sunny an hour later.

Here and Gone

We briefly had a brother and sister ages 12 and 5 with us. It was only for two days but they instantly fit in and started bonding with our family. Danya and the boy tried to play checkers at the library with no idea of the actual rules, so after I taught them how to play I decided to call him "Checkers". The little girl I called "Rugrat". She had a rough couple of nights, but we spent lots of time snuggling and rocking until she was able to sleep.

When we were surprised by a call to have them packed and ready to go so soon after they arrived things got a bit crazy. Rugrat freaked out at the DCFS building when they separated her from her big brother to be sent to different family members' homes. The caseworker called me because they were afraid she would injure herself, so I yelled down the stairs to the kids that we had to go rescue "Rugrat" and we all rushed off to help her. She calmed down when she saw me and all the kids welcomed her into the van. She was exhausted but calm when we delivered her to her aunt's home. That was a first for us. We've never transported kids to a new home, only ever back to their parents as they transitioned home. It was interesting seeing them meet.

Blue Birthday

Danya decided to celebrate her 10th birthday with her favorite color, blue. The cake was blue, the food was blue, the guests were blue, even the games were blue.

They hunted for blue goodie bags in the dark using glow sticks and they had a race to pop blue balloons. They also played charades. I was so glad that Sarah was able to come over to help organize everything and play with Katie so the big girls could have some time with out little ones under foot. Most of the fun began after the boys went to bed for the night.

It's strange to realize I'm the biological mom of a preteen, double digits. She's becoming a beautiful, compassionate, super smart young woman with an ironic sense of humor. We're so proud of her and glad to see her growing in her love for the Lord.

Conversation Between Homeschoolers

Met a new homeschooling mom at a Mother/Daughter bible study Tuesday night. The conversation went something like this:

Me: Oh, I see you have three girls here. Are these all of your kids?
Her: No, I have seven actually, five girls and two boys.
Me: (Surprised) Wow! I only have six.
Her: (Laughing) Now I know you're a homeschooler. We're the ones who say "only" before saying we have six or more kids.

It's very true.

She's Got Skills

Katie is learning so fast it simply blows us away. She listens to everything around her and often repeats back what we've said. I think she's practicing and trying out how new words sound. Sometimes she'll come up to us and make a teeth brushing motion to let us know that she wants to brush her teeth. By now she can name most of her body parts although she still calls her nose her "beep" since everyone used to beep her nose.

Daniel is a great dad and it's good that he's more adventurous than me because I'd be too afraid to let the kids try most things. He's the one that let Katie try out the big girl swing at just over a year old. Of course she loved it and did just fine. Now she can even "spider" with Danya on the swing. I may have my heart in my throat watching it but I'm so glad that Daniel doesn't let me instill my fearfulness in the kids. He reminds me that educating our children isn't just about teaching them what's in a book.

Sidetracked Home Executive in Training

This book is the one that inspired the FlyLady that so many people like. I've tried both plans and this one seems to work best for our family so far. If you're like me, highly distractible, but with
good intentions then you might be a S.H.E., a Sidetracked Home Executive. I read the key points of this book out loud to Daniel and we agreed to try it together. We spent a date night last weekend buying the card file and cards. It took a couple of hours at a Starbucks setting it up together, writing out the cards, and prioritizing our family activities.

On Monday we called and canceled the maid service we'd been paying to help us with the bigger home cleaning tasks and dove head first into the system. In our card file we included not only cleaning and home maintenance cards, but also cards for our daily homeschooling. At the back of the box we put sections with the kids' names on them, so that the older girls can look through their cards each day. They've all been really proud of completing the jobs and moving the cards as they do them. We're finally getting them to brush their teeth and make their beds consistently. It's a good visual plan for us, and I don't have to have any charts hanging on the walls, which I've always disliked because of the cluttered look they create.

Here's a website that has great ideas for following the system. It's called 21 Essays to S.H.E.
Now, I'm off to clean out my fridge... because the card says it's time.

Katies First Goose Egg

While we were at Lakeside Amusement Park we let Katie ride all kinds of rides that we never would have let our oldest ride at that age. It's definitely a different experience with your last baby compared to your first.

One of the last things I let her ride was a turtle ride with a circular metal bench and no seat belts. I put her between Shane and Kevin and thought she'd be okay. As soon as the ride started she fell forward and cracked her head on the metal seat in front of her. She looked okay at first but five minutes later she had grown an enormous goose egg on her forehead.

We figured she was okay since she was smiling and waving at everyone. She demanded to be put on more rides, so we just let her keep going. She's quite the little tank.

Lakeside Double Birthday

Some friends of ours invited us to a double birthday party for two of their kids. Their son, Jimmy, had a super hero party so all the boys wore super hero clothes, although Shane left his mask in the van. This was Katie's first time to ride most of these rides.

All the kids had fun running around to the different rides and spinning themselves sick. Daniel rode with them, but I chose to just be the photographer. Still, by the end of the day my ankle was killing me. I'm really wondering if my ankle never healed quite right, because it frequently stiffens up and I can't get it to bend at all. I'm sick of limping around the house in pain any time I've walked around too much or gone up and down the stairs too many times.

That morning, before the party, I also got to spend an hour at a used book fair in Arvada. I found several good deals including the entire collection of Felicity American Girl books for a dollar and all six levels of Writing Strands (which Danya really enjoys) for $10. Normally each of those books costs twenty bucks new. Somehow I managed to leave the building with an armload of books and only spent about $15 total. It was a good day.

Katie is Walking!

We've known that Katie was capable of walking for quite some time now. She simply refused to. She could push toys while walking behind them and she could hold our finger and walk beside us, but she would stubbornly refuse to walk on her own. If we tried to make her walk she would throw herself down on the floor and cry angrily.

That's why it was such a surprise when she suddenly decided to walk at McDonald's on the last day of school. We were hanging out waiting for the awards ceremony and picnic that morning when she just started walking. Sadly, only Kevin and I were there to see it. So I recorded her walking for proof. Then when we got to the school we showed her brother and sisters her new trick. She was proudly walking and waving.

Then for some reason she refused to do it again for three days. Today she started walking again and hasn't stopped yet. It's so cute to see her wobbling around the house. I'm just so relieved that she's finally walking at 15 months old.

Missing Missy

My former neighbor from Oklahoma, Missy, came to visit us recently. She's a flight attendant and had a layover in Denver last week. I picked her up from the airport and took her to an Italian restaurant I'd never been to before. The food was amazing.

Then she hung out at our house for a few hours while we talked, looked at pictures of our (hopefully) new house, and took a walk to the park with our kids. Then I dropped her off at a hotel in Denver so she could catch a few hours of sleep before her next flight.

It was so good just to catch up and laugh and trade funny stories about our kids. Her daughters, Sydney and Sara are the same age as my girls Danya and Gloria.

Soccer Champ

Our former foster daughter, Molly, invited us to watch her play in the championship soccer game in Westminster. Unfortunately, it was pouring rain, so we all huddled under the bleachers for about half an hour waiting for her to get sent in. Since she plays defense, she doesn't get to play much, I think. We ended up leaving early because I was afraid the kids (especially Katie) were going to get sick out in the freezing cold and rain.

We took Molly's little sister, Selina, with us to Fazoli's for kids' night and then brought her home. It was really good to see both of the girls again. We miss them.

Moving?

We were supposed to be buying this house in Brighton next week. But yesterday we found out that all our plans are on hold because the buyer on our current home fell through. Now we have to sign an extension agreement on the contract on our (hopefully) new home to kick out the purchase to the end of June. In the meantime we'll be trying like crazy to get our current house under contract again and sold. That means we'll have to keep it spotless, leave at a moment's notice, and go through the whole process of having it inspected, appraised, etc. all over again with a new buyer. We're also dropping the price in order to hopefully sell it faster without any hitches.

Danya is very disappointed because she was planning to have her 10th birthday slumber party in her new home. I don't think the younger kids understand time well enough to really get what's going on. Daniel and I are both sort of at loose ends, not knowing what's going to happen now. If we don't get a buyer fast than we'll end up losing the contract on this beautiful house and have to start searching for a home all over again. I know God has a plan for us, but patience is hard when you can't see the big picture.

The Graduate...A.K.A. Our Sarah

Waaaah!! I mean, congratulations, Sarah. We're so proud of you.

Our babysitter, Sarah, has graduated high school at the top of her class and earned a full ride scholarship to Denver University. We're really happy that she's still going to be living in Colorado, but it feels like our oldest daughter just reached adulthood and is moving away. Sarah has been a part of our family for almost four years now. It's been a pleasure watching her grow into a beautiful, talented, confident young woman. Our children love her like a big sister and Katie thinks Sarah is her other mom. I'm sure Kevin must think the same thing since the other day he asked me, "When was I adopted?" Poor guy, it must be confusing growing up in this family.

Cleaning Mouse

Brianna was in a musical dance production of Cinderella at her Friday Options school for homeschoolers. She played one of the Cleaning Mice and did a little cleaning dance. It was very cute. She makes an adorable mouse.

Oklahoma Family

It always seems too long between visits to see our family and friends in Oklahoma. We managed to squeeze in a whirlwind visit to Oklahoma at the tail end of our vacation. We blew in on Friday and left on Sunday morning. In that amount of time we managed to:

1. Visit three of our friends' families
2. The girls rode in a parade with their beauty queen cousin
3. Went to a homeschool convention in OKC to see a few friends
4. Had lunch in Bricktown with my friend, Glenda
5. Visited both sets of grandparents' houses
6. Celebrated Mother's Day with two grandmas and also Grandpa Wayne and Danya's birthdays early

Plus a few miscellaneous events like the older two girls having a sleepover at their cousins' house and swimming in the hotel pool, playing frisbee at the park with Grandpa Clint's dog, etc. It was all very fun and chaotic. My one regret is that I didn't get to spend more time with my friend, Betsy. I only got to see her for a few minutes at the convention. Maybe in November when we go back again.