JUNE 27th, 2010

10:00 A.M. Church Services - we had them all ready and had them practice the song they sang in Sacrament Meeting - and arrived at the Church EARLY!!!



Aren't they the cutest bunch of kids!



It's 108 degrees out there today - kids are playing and adults are laying around trying to get cooled off in the AC - thank you Lord for Air Conditioning!

JUNE 26, 2010

SATURDAY NIGHT BATH - IS THIS WHAT BIG FAMILIES DO?



Actually, it's a redneck bath night compliments of two toddlers with poopy diapers. The two babies jumped into the pool before we could check their diapers. Upon checking them both, we found they had double contaminated the swimming pool. So we grabbed them, stripped them down, and put them in the tub.


Then we drained the pool, reloaded it with fresh water and half a bottle of bath wash - much to the delight of the contaminatees - they've been playing and having a ball as they wash the pool, their bodies, their swimsuits and their hair.



One of them said "We should let the poopy babies in the pool more often! Bleh!

June 25th, 2010
Friday afternoon - what do 11 kids do in one house? This morning they swam in the kiddie pools, but it's way too hot out there right now.

I'm in the kitchen: Cookie, Riley, Emma, Jude, all playing Uno. There's a lot of laughter and yelling. At one point, Jude gets smacked with a bunch of cards....he tried to throw a sulky tantrum, but the girls shamed him into getting up off the floor and rejoining the game.

Now I've wandered into the Family room: Gabe, Calvin, Eve, and Hyrum are all building and playing the marble game. Calvin and Hyrum are racing their marbles....but Calvin is getting frustrated because Hyrum grabs his marble half-way down and quickly drops it into the finish line cup. I've had to threaten Hyrum with a 4 year old, 4 minute, Super Nanny time-out if he does it again.

G'Thunk has a small marble maze made for him and puts a marble in the top. When it hits the bottom, he does his victory yell while throwing his hand and arm up in the air.

Sarah is strumming on her guitar that she got for her birthday yesterday. She's already learned 4 chords and has a blister on her thumb, so she found a tiddly-wink type toy to strum with to save her thumb. She's got "Mary Had a Little Lamb" down real good now. Now she's working on "Baa Baa Black Sheep".

I've followed G'Thunk into the Dining Room where the piano begs to be pounded on. After doing his duty to the piano, he's gotten distracted by something else that begs to be pounded on - Sweet Pea, the dog. G'Thunk is now climbing under the coffee table in the Living Room, reaching for Sweet Pea, who is making evasive maneuvers.

Jenny is in the Living Room, with earphones on, trying to concentrate on a paper she has to have done and sent in by tonight.

Little Joshua is blissfully asleep upstairs...recharging!

WHO NEEDS A TV WITH ALL THIS ENTERTAINMENT?

JUNE 18, 2010

Liz and I have spent the last two days cleaning and taking care of kids. We've gotten a lot done, but we're both getting pretty tired.

Liz said she wanted the two of us to go up to Saratoga tomorrow, spend the night, and go to church Sunday morning. I've been contemplating it on and off since I got here, but have shoved it aside. But when Liz said "we're going", I couldn't handle it. I burst out crying. It finally came to me - Saratoga is where I left my Tony. I brought a very sick man to Idaho. So Saratoga Springs means Tony to me, and I don't want to go there with him gone. It's hard to explain - I know if I went, I would cry, but deal with it okay. But I don't want to know Saratago without Tony - it would take him away somehow.

I feel the same about the Rigby house - I have the opportunity to go inside it (a friend's daughter now owns it), but I still have Tony in that house and don't want to know it any other way.
So, we're not going to Saratoga Springs - I think I just want to leave Tony there, in my "once upon a time" land.

More pictures taken by Corinne:

Karen and Corinne

Liz, Annie, Brian, Jen and Joshua

June 14, 2010

It's a cloudy, coolish day - very humid. The kids are having a ball playing with each other.

Yesterday we went to Liz's church, then came home and quieted the kids down. Then Corinne and Bill Zembrowski arrived, then Brian and Annie. It was so wonderful to see them again, and since the kids were doing "quiet time", we had some good quality visiting time while we waited for Jenny and her kids to arrive. All I can say is that the Zembrowski's have been our dear friends for 37 years, and they are still the most fantastic people I know!

Jenny got stuck in some thick Sunday traffic on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and was arriving later than planned, so we went ahead and ate - feeding the kids first, then we adults were able to have a kid-free meal. The kids were slowly revving up as they anticipated Jenny's arrival. When Jenny drove in it became a madhouse! Kids, grandma, mothers, all yelling hello's and hugs and tears.

Corinne took some pictures that I'll post when she posts them on facebook. Liz cooked a fantastic Lasagne dinner and Corinne's family brought some exceptional desserts.

Today everyone is just playing, and Jenny and Liz will hopefully get a nap to get rested up for their trip to 6 Flags tomorrow.

June 12, 2010

It's a misty, humid day here in New Fairfield, CT. Liz took Riley and Cookie on the train to New York City to see the sights - I wondered if Jude and Calvin would feel slighted, but they didn't mind at all. Jon mowed the lawn and is running errands, while I watch the grandkids and read.

I found the book"Auntie Mame" by Patrick Dennis - excited to read the book (which is good) after watching the movie, and assumed it was a real story by Mame's nephew Patrick Dennis. Looked him up on Wikipedia - found some interesting facts (one of which is that Mame is fictional...so sad"). So if you're interested: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Dennis

JUNE 11, 2010

We arrived safely at 6:30 p.m. Today was a MUCH better day - got off that horrid Ohio Turnpike and onto some beautiful roads and scenery of northern PA! We went through rolling mountains of trees - with blue sky and white clouds above. The kids were pretty much plugged in all day to their game machines and DVD player, so I listened to "The Trial of Mary Lou", chuckling all through it, then some talk radio, then golden oldies. No demonic outbursts (even though I was really worried, because I had insomnia the night before, not getting to sleep until 3 a.m. Luckily Liz called me at 9:20 that morning and woke us all up, or we would have snoozed the morning away) But I felt rested and alert and did well.

When we crossed over into New York, I got SOOO homesick for Tony.....we spent 2 1/2 years in Connecticut, then 6 years in New York, so I was flooded with memories of our time together in these states. Lucille (theGPS) directed us through little backroads through small towns through New York and Connecticut to get to Liz's house. IT WAS AWESOME! As I wound around the narrow roads, with trees canopying the stretch of road, I felt like I'd come back home.

Enough of that sniffy stuff - - we pulled into Liz's and Jon's to a yard and driveway full of wonderful kids. It was sooooo good seeing Liz and Jon again, and all the little Vancies!! My, how they've grown! They've got a nice place here - quiet and trees all around - neighbors, but you have a lot of privacy because of the trees.

All in all, it was a very good trip - now we can't wait to see Jenny and kids, and Mary's daughter, Hannah - they'll be coming Sunday, as are Corrine and Bill Zembrowski, and their son, Brian and his girlfriend.

JUNE 10, 2010

Day Four - random things from a very long day:

Riley's losing her purse full of her camera and mp3 stuff (luckily her mp3 player had fallen on the car floor) really got me down. Not so much that she left it there - easy mistake - but it was left in an LDS run establishment, and wasn't recovered.....sigh.....I really feel let down by our fellow man!

At the Nauvoo restaurant, Jude had made an ice cream cone, but when he'd licked it to a flat-top, he didn't want to eat the cone. He ended up shlurping up all the ice cream in the cone and swallowing it all. He got red in the face and said he was having a cold throat attack. As the ice cream went down, he clutched his chest and said he was having a cold heart attack. I think he'll think twice before swallowing that much ice cream at once.

Today we hit some pretty irritating places - at one gas station, the bathrooms didn't work, so we went to the Wendy's next door. I stood outside the bathroom, waiting for the 3 kids to come out (a one seater), when I heard Calvin yelling at the top of his lungs. I went in, and he and Jude were fighting over the hand dryer. Because there was a long line of women waiting for the bathroom, I shouted in a demonic whisper and told them if they didn't stop fighting I was going to chew my finger off and spit it into the trash can....WHERE IN THE HECK DID THAT COME FROM?!?!? I've been chuckling semi-hysterically about this one all day long.

We've named our GPS "Lucille". Sorry Patricia Lucille - it definitely was named because sometimes it just gets confused about where it is! hahahahahha

The last stretch of today was stop and go traffic in the middle of nowhere that lasted about an hour.....it was sooooo frustrating, because I had to pay $15.00 in tolls for that wonderful experience!

Now that the kids are done swimming and plugged into the Disney channel - I got to watch the Glee finale and am definitely relaxed - I'm ready for another day. I need to get us all to bed because WE GET TO SEE LIZ AND FAM TOMORROW - YAYAYAYAYAYAY - AND JENNY'S FAM SOON, WITH HANNAH YAYAYAYAYAYAY

JUNE 9, 2010

Day three has gone wonderfully! We got up when we wanted to, then drove for 4 hours to Hannibal, Missouri. We didn't stay long - would have loved to have taken a riverboat ride, but not enough time.

Then on to Nauvoo, Illinois - what a BEAUTIFUL drive - first over the Mississippi River, then following it north on the Illinois side until we got to Nauvoo. We only spent a little over an hour there - got to see the General Story, Brigham Young's House, The Nauvoo Mansion, then to the park where the kids dressed like the 1800's and played with 1800's toys. They had great fun.

I told the kids that I just gave them a taste of Hannibal and Nauvoo - that when they're older, they can go there again and stay longer to enjoy more of it. I think that if we'd stayed any longer at either place, they would have gotten bored fast. It was hot and humid, so getting into an air-conditioned car was a great incentive to get on the road again.

The backroads of Illinois were a nice change from the Interstate travel we've done and will be doing again tomorrow.

Now we're in Montrose, Illinois -relaxing and swimming and getting rested for two straight days of travel.

Yesterday, I had a tough time with my orientation - although I was driving due East through South Dakota, I felt like I was driving North and North East. It was freaking me out. Today the compass in my head finally swung the right way, and I did fine.

Also, I feel like David Seville with very loose dentures - instead of yelling "Alvin" all the time, I'm yelling "Calvin" over and over. Not that he's doing anything wrong - he just focuses so hard on what he's doing, that it's hard to get his attention.

(More pictures from today will be posted tomorrow)

JUNE 8, 2010

Whew, Loooong Day! But wonderful!

The kids loved Mount Rushmore - even wanted to go in the Museum and watch the video. They were so excited. What a contrast to a father and son that sat in our row at the movie. The kid walked in with so much boredom on his face, that his neck couldn't hold his head up, so his head bobbed limply to one side as he tried hard to convey to his dad that his being there was the pits!

And the kids were very good about not begging to go to all the other attractions in the area - except when we passed a waterslide park, Riley said: "I want to live in South Dakota and Mom be rich."

The tedium of crossing South Dakota was broken by stopping at Wall Drug - the kids loved it!

We got to our hotel here in Rockport, Missouri at 10:00 p.m. - popped popcorn in the microwave, so kids are watching some Disney channel and eating popcorn.

I'm ready for a shower and zzzz's.

JUNE 7, 2010

"RAINY DAYS AND MONDAYS WILL NOT GET ME DOWN"

or

"SWIMMING IN THE RAIN, JUST SWIMMING IN THE RAIN"

Can I just say that my GPS, gameboys, and diet Pepsi are my best friends!

We traveled for 12 hours, with only two breaks in the rain. We started out stopping in Ashton to give Grandpa Bainbridge hugs, then on up through my favorite drive - following the Gallatin River! It was awesome with the low-lying clouds. Even the kids were impressed. ( At this point Calvin asked, "Grandma, are you sure you know the right way?)

Then up into Montana and east then south down into Wyoming. I felt myself grousing because the roads were so wet I couldn't use my Cruise control - but remembered the pioneers and what they had to endure - having to travel at least a month to get as far as I got in one day. Shame on me!

The GPS is wonderful! The kids have been great - it wasn't until 6 p.m. before Jude and Calvin had an altercation about the gameboys - which were promptly put away for the rest of the day. Riley is a jewel - a lot of help!

Thanks Patti, for letting me take your kids.

And thanks Charley, for letting me take your gameboys.

And thanks Brad for the GPS and the money it takes for us to have this summer fun!

So, Riley - how was your 1st day on the road?

It was trying because we had to sit for a very long time and we only got three or four breaks (including bathroom and stopping by G-pa Bainbridge's house to give hugs), and (not including lunch and dinner breaks), we were traveling for 12 hours.... luckily we had some entertainment: a portable DVD player, little nintendo DS's, and a game boy. Calvin got a little annoying because every 5 to 10 minutes he would ask "How many more miles till we get to Devils Tower??" ( And yes... We got to see Devils Tower).......... "How many more miles till we get to the hotel"

Sadly when we finally got to our hotel, even though G-ma made sure all the hotels had pools and Internet, when we got there, the pool was an outdoor pool and we had no internet service. But get this, we got dinner, come back it wasn't raining..... we come back... still not raining... we get done eating in our swimsuits and it was raining AGAIN....... but we still go swimming, I just tried to stay under water as much as possible.

I got to touch the GPS!!!!!!!!! and the Nintendo DS's had touch screens!!!!!!!!

Calvin - how was your day?

I liked to go to devils tower on monday the seventh of june 2010.Right now i am in a hotel.THEY HAVE A T.V. HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!f

Jude, how was your day?

first we went to Grandpa Bainbrdge. After that we went to Devils Tower . Then we went to a hotel. WE WHER SWIMMING IN THE RAIN!

WE'RE ON OUR WAY! WE'RE LEAVING AT 6 A.M. - HAHAHA PATTI, I THINK THIS IS THE FASTEST I'VE EVER SEEN THESE KIDS GET UP EARLY, EXCEPT FOR CHRISTMAS! IT'S A RAINY DAY, GLAD I DECIDED ON LONG PANTS FOR US ALL, SINCE WE'LL BE GOING THROUGH MONTANA AND WYOMING TODAY.

"All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go...."

We're excitedly getting last minutes things done for our trip:

* got my summer haircut

* got the kids "R WE THERE?" T-shirts

* got the car serviced

* got things lined up for the Family History Center and the Family Crisis Center, visiting teaching, piano playing for church.

* burned on CD "The Trial of Mary Lou" (never travel without it!)

* taught Brad how to water my plants (may they rest in peace!)

* defrosted the freezer and used up the meat so Brad can load it with his TV dinners (have you ever seen the movie "Adam"? Yeah, it's real!)

* moving Marina over to Patti's place so she can walk to campus.

* programmed my GSP for the trip.

Whew - what am I missing? S-C-A-R-Y!