12 kids 12 and under all under the same roof!
James 12, Jack 11, Micah 10, Danielle 9, Ashton 8, Isaac 7, Devin 6, Eliza 5, Aidan 5, Tommy 2, Cedric 2, and Gideon 1 all in order.
My sister Dawn and her hubby Brent came for a week. They actually went to Utah for a few days and Granny, Grandad and I played with their five boys. We swam at the YMCA one day with Gina and David. Gina made a yummy lunch at her house so that the kids could play ball in her backyard.
I took everyone to the neighborhood school yard and stayed for the morning. Everyone loved the freedom. I had to stay on my toes with the climbers.
Danielle and Isaac coordinated the hamster wheel.
The younger kids had a Star Wars game of pretend going. Apparently they were defending Na boo in the hidden fort.
Eliza is tiny but mighty. She can out monkey climb the boys.
I started to stress when I realized that my little nephew is an escape artist with selective hearing and that he had recruited a team player from the Stevens side. We had to double up in the already double stroller all the way home to keep everyone out of the streams, ponds, and road. Unfortunately the older kids that ran ahead explored all of the above for us.
2 Moms bowling with 7 boys and a girl. The men found time to golf while we took the healthy and oldest to the local bowling alley.
Micah and Thomas
Micah and Isaac
Devin threw a monkey wrench in the evening, or rather a bowling ball on his mothers foot half way through the game. Dawn displayed some severe pain initially but then improved her score on one foot the rest of the night.
James and Thomas
Micah took the high score for the kids without bumpers. He was pretty pleased.
Good form Dawn (pre-injury)
Can you tell we are sisters?
Eliza got a hold of the camera again and took all kinds of pictures. We kept a few. The crazy thing was the number of people that commented on how similar Dawn and I look. Growing up we didn't look anything alike, but now even our kids got us mixed up.
Park trip number 2
Has anyone seen Thomas was yelled out frantically about 4 times before we thought to look up. He was logically on the highest climbing wall, at two years old.
Everyone keeps asking me where Gideon is on the charts. Currently we are no where near the "normal" range or any doctors charts with the exception of one thing...one really round, Charlie Brown, cute noggin. Go Brain Power! Gideon is the same size as his pixie sister was at this age...hmmm maybe we should start readjusting his predicted growth from 5 ft 8 in. to 5 ft. 4 inches. I'm still holding out though for taller then Mom. He did welcome the longest newborn feet out of all my children.
If we are measuring agility and fear factor, Gideon is off the charts. His little feet could not reach in between green foot holds and so he would climb with his little tiny fingers in between the round holes, hanging until he could manage the next step.
Isaac and Devin
Sliding in chains
The big kid hangout
We had a nice adult dinner at Da Vinci's! We enjoyed conversation and a break.
We know how to strike fear into the heart of any waiter. Just bring 14 hungry children to be fed in a yummy restaurant. I was first on the scene and with no other adult initially walking in with me. I saw the eyebrows raise and jaws drop as the other hungry restaurant goers sat anxiously hoping we were not going to be seated within food throwing distance. I think we shocked even the most critical of on lookers by the time we were done. We didn't have any catastrophes other then one child puking into Aunt Amber's coat. Not bad.
Gideon and Satori
The entertainment was Dad's idea-forks and knives
We had a great spring break. We enjoyed the hot tub, paint-ball wars, board games, movies and even some weed-pulling. We fought fevers, runny noses and sore throats all week but it didn't slow us down too much. The kids are always sad when their cousins go home.
