Outdoor Ed

Ah, our hero returned, safe and sound from Outdoor Ed.  

                                                           

In California, most 5th graders spend a week of school at some kind of outdoor learning facility.  So Tuesday morning I dropped Wyatt off at school with a duffle bag of clothes, a pillow and a sleeping bag and did not see him again until Friday afternoon.

I am always surprised at how the dynamics of our family changes when just one child is missing.  That one child (no matter which one) is a big part of our family and life is different without them.  This was true for Wyatt's absence this week.  All the little kids kept asking "Where is Wyatt?" at dinner time, after school, when we'd pile into the car to run an errand.  They couldn't figure out why he wasn't with us.

Lorien spent Wednesday afternoon wandering around the house--looking for something to do.  She didn't vocalize it but I could tell she was missing her partner in crime.  She wasn't looking for a playmate, just her brother who she could tease or talk about tv shows with.  

When I picked Wyatt up on Friday he seemed pretty happy to be home.  He said he got a little homesick but not bad.  Then he told me about all the stuff he did at Outdoor Ed.  He talked for nearly an hour while we went for ice cream.  The games: Sprout (a mixture of Hunger Games, Dodge Ball and Infinity Tag), a tennis ball game he played with his bunk mates at night while they were waiting for lights out, the climbing wall, pool and free time.  He told me about the hikes (5 miles in total) one where they got to hike alone.  It sounded like he had a great time.  I was happy he was home safe.  

When we walked in the door all the kids who were home (Clare was still at school) came rushing over to hug Wyatt.  Colter yelled "Wyatt, you're back!" it was all very heartwarming.  

When I texted Will that Wyatt was home he responded "Good, I missed him"

After all the hugs and "how was Outdoor Ed" questions Lorien and Wyatt got to work making a video of Wyatt's jubilant return.  Lorien posted the picture below on her instagram account.  I think the caption said "Back from Outdoor Ed and can't wait to watch TV!"

                                                              

May-hem

Tonight was the last Open House at school.  We had Wyatt and Clare's last week and Adell's tonight.  Open houses are exhausting.  Sure it is awesome to see all of your kid's cool projects but trying to compliment them on their hard work over the din of 30 other parents trying to compliment their own children is not so awesome.  

BUT we did it.  We saw three different classrooms and about a hundred little projects.  They were all off the charts amazing.  Great school work Wyatt, Clare and Adell.  

                                   

                                   

Turning Three...

Three years old.  This little stinker has been part of our family for three whole years.  I can hardly believe it.  Seriously, where has my baby gone?  

Who is this big boy who jumps over the hard floor patches (between area rugs scattered around the house) and plays trucks all day long?  

Who is this big boy who yells out all of the names of the different kinds of trucks as we pass them in the car?  

Who is this big boy who gets so excited when we drive by an "auction site--my favorite!" (construction site)?

Who is this big boy who insists upon saying "I have to go to the bathroom" instead of using the word "potty"?

Who is this big boy who knows all the words to the Mighty Machines, Paw Patrol and Blaze and the Monster Machines theme songs?

Who is this big boy who can ride a strider bike around the neighborhood and do "tricks"?

Who is this big boy who says "thank you sir" to me when I hand him his lunch across the bar?

Who is this big boy who loves to eat out at a restaurant and wants to order by himself (even Burger King)?

This big boy is Colter William and we sure love him.  Happy Birthday Colter!

Keeping it real...

On Mother's day I got to talk with my Mom.  She complimented me on how clean my house looks in Facebook photos.  I laughed and said I only posted pictures where the trashed house wasn't visible.  To show her how things really look I posted this the next day...

Every room is a mess.  Every surface is cluttered.  There is a gallon of water spilled on the floor...way to win at water rationing.  The kids are doing their homework (real win!).  The couches are stripped of cushions.  It is awesome.  And it is every day.  

Just keeping it real...horrifyingly real.

Mother's day...

Just to keep the "over acting" theme going here.  This was one of my Mother's day gifts this year.  Will and the kids put on a play with villains and damsels in distress.  However, they were missing their hero.  I got to be the hero and save the trapped damsels.  The whole thing was super cute.  Colter (while the villains were plotting) kept shouting "Yhea, kill, kill!"  

Hilarious!

The villains plot...

The damsels are tricked into helping an old lady (Will)...

The damsels are trapped and put in a pot for cooking!

I don't have any pictures of me saving the day but, rest assured, I did.  Lorien narrated the play--no pictures of her either.

I also go a cute necklace and shoes from the kids, got to take a lovely, long nap, and had two delicious meals prepared for me.  My family sure knows how to treat a gal on Mother's day.

May 1st...

What a day!  Clare and Adell have been counting down the days till May day for a while.  They had a lot to look forward to.  

Adell had her talent show (see post below) and Clare had two exciting events.  First, it was her classroom's turn to go to the one room school house.  The kids get to dress in period costume and attend school in the 1800's.  It is very cool.  

That same night was also the Daddy-daughter dance at school.  Since Clare is the only daughter in Elementary school this year she got Daddy all to herself.  They dance the night away and had a lovely time.  

Exciting day complete.

More love for the stage..

Like I said before, my daughters love to put on a show.  Lorien has been practicing her part for the school musical since January.  Because the school musical is an after school program Lorien can participate as a homeschooler.  (Also because we go to church with the play director and she is a good family friend...it helps to know people in high places.)

Lorien was cast as Veruca Salt in Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory.  She was bursting with excitement from the moment she heard what the show was going to be.  Originally, she hoped to be cast as Violet Beauregard but when Lorien realized Violet turned blue and was out of the show rather quickly, Lorien set her sights on the part of Veruca.  

Our Middle School has a pretty awesome musical program.  The director is a very talented singer and performer herself and she teaches the kids how to put on an amazing show.  Lorien really loves the process (even if it is a little time consuming sometimes).  The results are so, so, so fun.  I know I am biased but I really think they do a fabulous job.  

I spent two hours curling Lorien's hair for her opening show...

Only to have it fall limp right as the curtain went up...  Good thing her acting didn't ride on her ringlets. 

She was funny, loud and obnoxious (appropriately so).  I kept telling people she was born for the part and didn't have to "act" at all.  I kid--sort of.  It was a great show. 

And then there is Adell.  

Adell has been watching her brother and sisters on stage for several years now.  Every time there is a talent show or play Adell asks when it will be her turn!

Thankfully, this year her TK teacher signed the class up to be in the school talent show.  Adell practiced with her class (and at home) diligently.  She was one of the few kids who got the choreography down without needing an adult to do the moves in front of her (brag, brag, brag).  Adell had two shows (one during the day and a second at night).  Daddy and Colter got to go to the day time show and I took the girls to the evening show.  It was awesome.  Adell was the cutest little dynamite dancer on the stage.  And boy was she ever excited and proud.  It was adorable.

Too many stars in the family...

All of my daughters love to be on stage.  I know they get it from their father.  Well, maybe, I always had childhood fantasies of being a rock star and performing for screaming crowds but when it came down to actually getting up in front of people...I was too scared.  I never did drama or anything of the sort.  I did participate in my elementary school lip sync a couple of years but that is it.  

Lorien has been in a school play every year of her life.  Clare participates regularly in the after school drama program and Adell just loves to show off for crowds of all sizes.  

So far, Wyatt takes after me.  He might dream of screaming audiences but he doesn't seek them out.  However, he does do a mean talent show group act.

A couple of weeks ago (April 3rd) was show time for Clare.  She has been in three school plays so far (Jack and the Beanstalk, Pinocchio and now Rapunzel).  She loves it so much!  She auditions for a big part every time and usually gets a couple of medium sized parts.  She is always adorable and always right on point.  We all love to see her hard work come together in a show.

That is the flush of personal pride right there.  She had every reason to be so flushed.  She was awesome.  I wish the school put out a DVD of the performances.  We will have to settle for short iphone videos for lasting memories.  (and the family blog)

Clare and her friend, Rachel, are usually in the plays together.  They have a great time.

So Cal...

So we did do one big, crazy thing over spring break (aside from trying life with 10 children in the house).  

Let me back up, most of the time we don't do anything for school breaks.  

With five children it is easier to stay put and enjoy the comforts of home without the stress of school.  Moreover, vacations that don't involve visiting family are a financial luxury we are not budgeting for just yet.  Spring break 2015 was shaping up to be another week at home.  It was Monday and the kids and I had spent an hour at the library stocking up on books, movies and books on CD for the week ahead.  I took the kids to McDonalds--one with a play place because I am not an animal--for lunch and was watching them play when Will sent me a text: "Let's go to SoCal for the next couple of days."

That seemed exciting.  After a little discussion I headed home and started packing up the car.  We left the house around 6:00 pm for the drive south.  Will had meetings in all of the Southern California offices and I had plans to see my Aunt Colleen and Uncle Richard who live in the area.  Originally, we were going to stay in an hotel near Will's first stop for his meetings but one of his friends offered to let us crash at his house for the night...  

So around 1:00 in the morning we bundled all of our sleeping children into Will's friend (and co-worker's) house.  Will had early meeting so we missed seeing him off a few hours later but we got to explore the area and go to the beach before heading to my Aunt's house.

First, we found a sweet little park right at the end of the street where we were staying.  The kids played in the fresh air while I cleaned up the mess we had made at our host's house and packed up the car. 

Then it was Panera Bread for breakfast. (Hot chocolates around!)  We were quite the motley looking crew.

We needed some sunscreen and snacks at Target before we headed to the beach.  I love, love, love Southern California beaches.  They are just right there, everywhere!  You don't have to cross a mountain range to get to them (neatly avoiding carsickness).  You don't have to pack a winter parka and a bathing suit for a few hours of play (neatly avoiding carsickness all over jackets and blankets).  AND the water is a heck-of-a-lot warmer than any ocean I've ever touched.  I cannot figure out how the ocean water up here in Northern California is part of the same body of water as the Southern California beaches?  I think there is a glacier hiding just under the surface of our coastal water because it is limb-numbingly cold.   

Anyway, we just drove up highway 1 and parked as soon as we could.  Perfection.

Lorien did not cope well driving through half the night and sleeping in a strange bed.  She spent most of the time sacked out on the sand (and had the sunburn on the back of her legs to prove it).

It was glorious!  After several hours of sand in our cheeks we headed over to my Aunt Colleen's house.  Colleen and Richard are Saints in our family.  They keep their home open to visitors all the time--regardless of how much lead time you give them before stopping by. They are kind and fun and seem genuinely happy to see us even though our children trash their house within seconds of arrival.  Bless them, bless them forever.

Two minutes after we got to Aunt Colleen's house it started raining.  The kids couldn't believe it and had to go out in the rain.

Colleen and Richard also have the coolest back yard with a pool, lovely garden AND a tree house!  More paradise?  Yes!

The cherry on top of our visit was Uncle Richard showing Colter the cool cars Uncle Richard fixes up.  They were super cool!  Colter never wanted to leave the garage.  

It was a short trip but a good one.  Will got some important work done, I got to take the kids to the beach and see family, and the kids got to go on an adventure.  It was awesome.  A million thanks to Sam for letting us destroy his house for one night.  And another million thanks to Aunt Colleen for letting us destroy her house for two nights!

5 boys and 5 girls...that's 10 kids folks.

Did I ever tell you I was one of 10 children?  Yes?  Well let me repeat myself, my Mother and Father had 10 children.  Not, six from her previous marriage and four from his (or any variation on that math word problem) they actually decided to have--and followed through with the decision--10 children.  I think I remember my Mom saying she wanted 11 children when she was a teenager.  My parents divorced when I was 12 years old and my Mother remarried a man who had one daughter--so I guess my Mom got her wish.  

Anyway, I do not have 10 children...and I do not want to have 10 children.  I was tricked into having 5 children.  I wanted babies.  I love babies!  But every. single. one of my babies turned into a child.  I think they are all planning on turning into teenagers and then adults too!  

It is madness.  

Now, this week was spring break for my kids.  We didn't really have anything planned so when my friend, Heather, called I was super excited to make plans.  Too bad her plans were a little different than I was expecting.  Heather had a death in her family and wanted to go out to the funeral.  Her husband was out of town for work and unable to return in time.  So I agreed (happily) to take five of her kids so she could go to the funeral.  

Bring it on baby.

Heather has kids that all (pretty much) line up with my kids in age and gender.  It is kind of dreamy.  Her children are nice and helpful and like all of the entertainment diversions I can offer (TV).  I knew it would be a cinch and it was.

First of all, I have two older children who I make work for me all the time.  Heather has two older children and just like that, my workforce was doubled!  Really, older children can be awesome.  Lorien and Nicole took the youngest children out for a good long walk one day.  The next day they took all of the kids (plus a neighbor girl) out for another walk to a rope swing in our neighborhood.  At bedtime, Nicole got all of her siblings into pajamas and brushed their teeth (I don't even do that with my own children).  After the kids got back from the rope swing adventure the oldest boys (Wyatt and Isaac) organized a big game of tag out in the greenbelt.  Then they came in and asked for a pocket knife to do some whittling...I said yes.  I also let them play with a gun...an airsoft-type gun (you can read a real cautionary tale about those guns here).  They promised not to shoot anyone or cut anyone so it seemed like a no-brainer.  Also, we are out of airsoft pellets so it was an empty gun.  They managed to find two plastic bbs in the yard, loaded the gun and couldn't find the bbs again.  So it all worked out.  

Really it was great.  When Will came home at the end of the first day (did I mention I only had all these kids for 36 hours?) he asked if it was just like home growing up.  Truth be told I had no idea.  Even though I am one of 10 children, I was never in charge of 10 children growing up.  Additionally, with the spacing of my siblings, the oldest two were out of the house by the time the youngest came along so we never had 10 children in the same house at the same time.  I just know our house was a fun mess all the time and we ate a lot of food.  Both of these memories were triggered by my caring for 10 children over 36 hours.  The house (which is never tidy to start out with) was kind of a crazy mess for 36 hours.  I think I changed a dozen toilet paper rolls.  My friend's kids did a great job of taking care of their clothes and stuff but my children took the extra company as license to move all of their toys out of their rooms and into every other room in the house.  

And the food.  Turns out 10 small people are hungry all the time.  We had plenty but someone was always coming up to me to ask for more.  I just kept on cutting apples and making pb&j.  No one went hungry.  Also, I think I helped them hone their hunter-gatherer skills.  They found food I didn't even know we had.  Heather dropped off a big batch of costco groceries with the children so I think most of their foraging was from that.

At one point I had my five children, Heather's five children and three girls from the neighborhood over.  We had reached the saturation point with children.  A bus load of preschoolers could have showed up and I wouldn't have noticed.  It was fun and funny.  

Adell and her counter-part climbing trees.

                                         

Colter and his counter part fighting...there was a lot of this kind of fighting all weekend.  Fun fighting.

                                          

Part of the game of tag the boys organized.

Here are all ten kids...kind of.  The youngest two boys (Colter and his friend) are not in the picture so we have two of the three neighbor girls standing in for them.  I wish I got a picture of all of them (neighbor girls too) it was crazy fun.  

So I survived 10 children for a day, a night and part of another day.  It wasn't so hard but I don't think I'll be permanently adding to our family ever.  I've always been impressed with my Mother for raising all of her children and enduring the endless parade of kid crap--and this experience renewed my awe for her.  I am really glad I got to help a friend (and even happier about the favor I get to hold over her head for as long as she is still my friend).  At the end of 36 hours no one died, everyone got a good night's rest (the most impressive thing, really) and I didn't lose a child.  I did lose one pair of boy's shoes.  I am still looking for those...they will show up...maybe.