I missed Aug.!!

I am so frustrated I missed posting in August, it was my goal to post at least once each month. Well we are all doing pretty well no one had been sick for a while and that has been nice. School is back in and we are steadily getting used to the routine of things. Cross Country has started and Kaiden of course loves it while the other kids tolerate it.

Our Family Vacation!

Out trip to Virginia went really well, the drive did not feel nearly as long as the one to St. Joe. We did get a blow out on the way there but Kevin quickly fixed it and the kids sat very patiently on the guard rail on the side of the road, we were only about 20 miles away so the doughnut tire got us there safely and the next day Kevin replaced the tire. It was really great to be back with Julianna we really missed her.

We spent a day at Virginia Beach the kids loved riding the waves, I got tossed under a few times when I was busy watching kids and not the ocean! The kids made fun of me because I spent the day telling them "never turn your back on the ocean" and then I did and got pulled under, thankfully we all had fun and no one really got hurt other than a few scraped knees. There was a cheesy little circus performance on the boardwalk in the evening and the kids really liked that. The man on stilts freaked them out a little, at first they didn't see him approach and then when they realized he was there they all took a startled step back. It was hilarious! On the way there and back you have to go through a tunnel that goes under the bay, definitely not my favorite thing!!! I bit off every single one of my beautiful long nails, so now they are all ragged and nasty again.

We went into Richmond and toured the Maymont estate it was built 3 years after the house we live in now so it was fun to see what our house would have been like in that time. It was around 100 degrees that day and most of the estate tour was outside so we were all drenched in sweat and very tired by the time we got home, the kids agreed that even though it was super hot it was fun and they loved it. Keith proclaimed it to be the best day of his life. After we got back to the Galitsky's Kevin took the bigger kids to the pool and I put the little guys down for a nap. By bigger guys I mean all of mine except Koen and all of Jen's except Elsie! So he had 8 kids at the pool! Let's here it for Kevin! It was nice to have a pool just down the street the kids spent a lot of time there.

On Friday we decided to go up to DC and go to an aquarium and then in the evening drive the monument mall, it was just to hot to hike around another day. On the way up we stopped at a gas station for a potty break and they didn't have a public rest room, once we got back in the car I commented to Kevin on how oppressively hot it was outside. We started talking about the pioneers and how no matter what happens in our life it is no where near like having to pack up your belonging and walk out into this open unending field pulling a cart. No roads, no A/C, I really appreciate that I am not living in that time. We found a McDonald's to do the bathroom break and when we got back in the car it wouldn't start! I was pretty sure it wasn't the starter because there was no clicking sounds when he turned the key, so that left battery and alternator, or something extreme! I took the kids into the play place and Kevin went to work 4 hours later we paid an outrageous amount for a new battery and were back on our way. It was to late to go to the aquarium so we went to dinner and then drove over the bay bridge ( it was a very questionable bridge and for a minute I didn't think we would make it). We also went to the Peeps store (I hate those things but it was fun). We got to the Temple just as they closed the gates, it was still pretty to see from a distance, we then decided to drive down to monument mall and take a look around. We got to the Washington Monument around 12 midnight the kids were tired but they were troopers and since it had cooled down to a balmy 90 degrees we got out a hiked around a little. Evelyn really had to pee and her shoes were hurting her foot so Kevin carried her and Koen and then he added Keith who was walking like a drunk he was so tired. Evelyn peed her pants before we could get to a bathroom and so she finished the trip with a pillow case skirt. When we got back in the car traffic was not to bad so we drove around and then headed back to the Galitsky's. We got to their house a little before 3 am so the next morning Kevin let me sleep in while he packed the car, then he took a nap while I took the kids to the pool and we hit the road around 5pm. We got home at 3am and it was great to be home, church was hard the next day but our nursery kids are great and it was good to be back!

It was a very relaxing time, and now we are busy getting everything in order for school! We start here on the ninth of August, and this year all but one will go! Just me and Koen kicking it around the house what will I do...

I will try to post pics as soon as I get them from Jen, I didn't have my camera with me!!!

It feels like we have moved again!

We have so many new pieces of furniture and organizational things in our home that I feel like we have moved again. I have spent the last week cleaning and throwing things away and trying to get the house more organized so that when school starts again things will run smoothly! A friend of mine gave me a set of 8 lockers that we have by the back door and we will be using these for the kids to keep jackets, backpacks, and other misc. items that they take with them when they are on the go. I also have a ton of totes and desks that we had to find a place for as well as another table! It has been fun getting things out and unpacked and put away. It is also nice to finally have a couch to sit on. When we moved from Missouri we left our couches and so it has almost been a year without comfy seating at our house.

Evelyn now has a day bed a corner desk and her own room! Kaiden, Keith, & Koen are all in one room with a bunk bed and toddler bed they have three matching white dressers so the boys don't share drawers anymore which is nice. Keith had a tendency to throw clothes on the floor while looking for something to wear and I am hoping that not have to dig through Kaiden's clothes will help with that. Koen is doing great in his "big kid" bed he is pretty good at staying in it once I put him there, a nice surprise. Our upstairs foyer is officially the family room we have a couch and love seat up there with a small tv. It is a nice comfy layout, we also turned the closet into the "toy closet" and added a lock so the kids can't get into anything without permission. Julianna's room is still pretty much the same she has always had a really nice bedroom set, she was so happy when we moved Evelyn out of her room. Julianna likes her things to be just so and Evelyn likes them in a totally different way but they both like things neat it is funny to see the two different personalities.

We have the living room downstairs converted into a formal living room. I have a really nice couch and chair set in their with two book shelves and a TV cabinet that is solid maple. The whole feel of that room is really nice now and the kids have been informed that they are not allowed in their without an invitation! I made a mini craft room back by the Laundry room and the dining room has two tables and the computer desk for now but I am sure we will rearrange those things soon. Our room still looks like a bomb exploded in it but slowly I hope that everything will get in it's place. When I am all done I will take pictures and post them!

We will be leaving soon to go to Virginia for vacation. It will be fun to see DC and the beach, it will also be very nice to all be together again. School starts again on the 5th of August and I have mixed feeling about that. I am excited for Keith to start Kindergarten and I know he is looking forward to it, but at the same time it means he is growing up!

Off on an Adventure!

So my very good friend Jenny moved away on Tues. it was sad for me, I became very close with her over a short period of time. Jenny had six children and her younger five were all within six months of my five and most of them were the same gender as mine. It was great because whenever we would get together all of the kids had someone to hang out with, and the house was usually peacefully quiet with the sound of children happily playing! Julianna was friends with two of her girls Sophia who is her age and Nadia who is Kaiden's age, they play really well together and they look a lot alike so it seems as though they are sisters and not just friends.

Well right before they left Jenny and I had discussed Julianna going with them since we plan on visiting them in July for a week we could just get her back then. Kevin and I decided that it sounded like a fun opportunity for Julianna and so we let her go. I miss her and she has only been gone for two days so far! It is amazing what a difference just one child makes, I am sure she is having a great time. Julianna has had the opportunity to travel away from family before and she always does really well, she is good with separation. I was like that as a kid and never understood my friends who would get homesick, but as a mom I am homesick for my child! I know Julianna misses us but she is the kind of kid who will focus on the fun she is having and not on what is not available to her. I am proud of her for being able to go and excited for the adventure and fun she will have. It is also nice that her friends who have moved away will get a little more time with her, hopefully it will make the transition a little smoother.

Koen misses Julianna he cried for her last night! He also cried for Kevin who is away at scout camp just for yesterday and today. I was glad Kevin got the opportunity he loves stuff like that. Koen is attached to Julianna in a very special way they have a great bond. I remember having it with my little brothers and that love that they have for each other will help her out as she gets older, I know the love of my little brothers really helped me at times. We will have to do a long post when she gets back and post pictures and details of what she is doing. I know they went to the beach yesterday, Julianna has never been to the Atlantic Ocean so that would have been very cool for her!

Last Sunday we went for a walk and I used Julianna's camera and took a few quick photos. I think they turned out nice for snap shots.

Julianna is 10!

So Julianna turned 10 on May 18th and I am not ready for her to be so grown up! I love how helpful she is and so eager to learn everything. She loves to cook, sew, and of course scrapbook with me. I remember loving some of those things when I was her age. Her hair is slowly returning to blonde, she loves activity days, she loves going to the water park, and she loves hanging out with her friends! She started Gymnastics this last Wed. it was nice to see how quickly she picked up everything, and when the teacher would give her tips on how to do whatever it was better she would listen and then apply it and you could actually see her progress throughout her lesson. I can't wait to see how well she is doing by the end of the summer! There is only one other little girls in the class so it is practically a private lesson! Julianna has decided that being on the cross country team will make her a better gymnast so she will be running with Kaiden, Evelyn, & Keith this fall, we are excited for cross country to begin again.

Julianna got a lot of crafty things for her birthday, she also got a camera she had taken a million pictures so I will load some of those later. She went on her 4th grade field trip to the Cincinnati zoo, it was an overnight trip and she had a great time! Julianna has been wanting an American Girl doll for a few years now and Kevin and I have always told her no, I could never justify the cost. I told her that if she really wanted one she could save up and get one with her own money. She really fell in love with Native American culture after her trip with Bud & Leslie to New Mexico, so the doll that she really wanted was the Kaya doll. Most of the Grandparents sent money for her birthday as that is more cost effective than a gift so she was able to get her doll! It was great to see her think it through and make the decision and she take better care of the doll because she actually understands just how much she cost. Evelyn of course was sad and really wants on for herself but she is in the same boat Julianna was in a few years ago, mom and dad won't pay! The day Kaya came in the mail Julianna told Evelyn "don't worry we will share her" That really impressed me, after all the effort she went through to get her doll and she was willing to share with her little sister who might actually ruin her! It is great to see them growing together and developing a relationship!

We are looking forward to a low key summer, we might go to Virginia Beach later in July but we don't have any trips out west planned. I feel like we need to see a little more in the area we live, plus it is a lot closer! We are going to the water park quite frequently the kids went last night with Kevin and we are going again today. We also have been going to the park a lot and our school her does a free lunch program throughout the summer so we meet up with a few of our friends there and hang out on the playground. The movie theater does free movies on Wed so we do that as well. With all this awesome stuff in the community our summer will be anything but boring!

The Adventure!

Last July we moved from MO to KY and during the move Kevin drove the moving truck with two of the kids and I had the other three in the van with me. We agreed to meet at mile marker 80 in Illinois and get a hotel for the night. The only problem with that was the freeway splits at that point and there are two mile marker 80s, I of course went to the wrong one to meet up with Kevin. I was supposed to get the hotel while I was waiting for him and there were no hotels at this exit, also the gas light in my van had just gone on so I decided to drive up to the next exit get gas and rent the room and then go back to wait for Kevin.

The next exit had no gas stations and neither did the next, by this time I had gone so far and I wasn't exactly sure where I was so not know whether it was better to continue or turn back I decided to go on. I said a quick prayer that I would make it to at least within walking distance of a gas station and that we would be safe, as the miles ticked by this prayer became more a constant refrain in my head. I finally found a gas station and the attendant had just locked up and told me there was nothing she could do that everything was shut down for the night! The next exit also had a closed gas station, by this time I knew I had gone to the point of running the card dead any minute and I also knew where I was. There is a long stretch of nothing between Mt. Vernon IL, and Evansville IN and that is where I was right in the middle.

I drove the car as fast as I dared and coasted down every hill, finally that dreaded feeling that comes when the car is on fumes came and the car started to slow down. Once it got to a speed that I could run beside the car I had Julianna get in the drivers seat and steer and I pushed, for whatever little good that would do. In the distance I could see the lights of a gas station and also a hotel. When the car finally came to a stop I had to decide if I was going to wait on the side of the road with three of my children or walk what looked like a pretty decent distance to the hotel. In making my decision I took into consideration that it was close to 1am, I only had flip flops on, neither Keith nor Koen would be able to walk that whole way. I prayed to know what to do.

I put Koen in my backpack and zipped it all the way up, only one arm and his head stuck out, I then put it on so it was a front pack. I was worried that if I carried him on my back it might come unzipped. I then found flip flops for Keith and Julianna and explained that the car was out of gas but the gas station was close and there was a hotel but we would have to walk, I told Keith it would be an adventure. Needless to say he was scared, I was scared. We sang songs and were as far off the road as we could get (this means we were walking in high grass that was muddy do to rain) I tried to get Keith to walk but he was to scared and to tired so I ended up carrying him on my back. Our flip flops were more hassle than help and eventually we ended up barefoot, there were quite a few sharp sticks in ground so it was not a fun trek.

We finally made it to the road and were about 100 yards from the hotel when a car passed up, I held my breath hoping that they would just pass us by, they did. The car passed us and then made a U turn and came back, it was a young man he looked to be about a senior in high school or first year in college, he asked if he could help. I told him no we were fine that we were just headed to the hotel, he said he understood. He then parked a little way in the opposite direction we were going and watched us until we were in the hotel parking lot, he honked his horn as he drove by. I am glad that he was concerned for our safety and I was glad that he didn't try to help me, that would have made me nervous.

We checked into the hotel, we were muddy and gross. The clerk behind the counter asked what had happened and so I explained. The next morning I woke up early and told Julianna that I was going to get gas and the car, she waited in the room with Koen and Keith. I walked across the street to the gas station bought the only gas container, filled it and started the trek back to the car. A nice elderly couple asked if they could give me a ride and after a small moment to get a feel for the situation I accepted they were headed in the opposite direction so they dropped me across 4 lanes of freeway from my car. I got to the car safely, put the gas in and went to open the driver's side door when I realized that I had left the keys at the hotel. I walked back.

I got the keys, walked back to the car, zeroed the speedometer and turned the key, nothing happened. I then decided that I need to rock the car to get the gas into the lines, so I jumped up and down on the bumper and pushed it from the front and the back. Yes this would have been great fun to watch. It worked after turning it over a few more times while pumping the pedal the car started and I was on my way. I ran out of gas 1.32 miles from the gas station, God had answered my prayer of getting to within walking distance.

We hit the road after eating a hot breakfast at the hotel, and Keith decided that he did not want anymore adventures. We made it without further incident to KY, and Kevin did catch up to us eventually. To this day Keith will not agree to go on an adventure, but he also relies on prayer and singing whenever he is scared.

It was a great adventure and I am thankful that everything turned out so well for us and that we were safe. On a return trip to MO we clocked the distance from my gas light going on to the spot I finally stopped it was 86 miles. My van has never gone further than 25 after the light goes on, I have ran it out 5 different times. I know that I was blessed to have reached the only hotel in the middle of nowhere even if I had to walk over a mile to get to it. I also know that the Lord answered my prayer it was not luck, or a coincidence, or any kind of fluke.