Orange Beach

The focus on swimming lessons was mainly for our family beach vacation to Orange Beach!  Happened back in June.  And by family I mean our pack of 8, plus all grandparents, plus my brother and his family, plus one of Dave's brothers.  Whew!  Even with the crowd, we all had a blast!  The kids enjoyed the beach and the pool and did well the whole trip- even in the car and sleeping all together in regular beds.  Pretty sure at least one kid fell off the bed each night, but it didn't phase them, and I loved not messing with pack n plays!  

Boys all snuggled up in the big bed

With so many adults there we were able to accommodate all the kids easily on the beach- from holding them in the water to building sandcastles- we had it all covered.  We spent most mornings down on the beach then switched to the pool for the afternoon (I only clean up sand once a day).  They LOVED the big water slide and lazy river.  Hours of fun.  

My beach baby/water baby/part fish

Chillaxin to the Max

Andrew completely asleep on the beach

Leah and I swimming in the indoor pool

The adult children even got some kid free hangout time one night for ice cream and shopping :)  Besides that we had fun hunting for crabs at night, watching movies, and pigging out.  

Movie Time!

Allison and Andrew hanging out on the balcony 

One special event was meeting up with a family of quints we've only known through our online parent support group.  So fun meeting in person and seeing what life will be like in 17 years!  They were so nice and great with the kiddos.  

Really the only issue was Caroline throwing huge fits every time we made her leave the water, but, hey, I'm used to that business.  I can pinpoint the Caroline wail a mile away.  Now on to the next trip.

The van packed FULL on the way home- awful pic, but best I could get

New Adventures

Doing activities and outings has gotten simpler over the last few months.  So, needless to say, we've been doing a lot!

Our annual appearance in West Columbia's San Jacinto Day parade was rained out, so we rallied with our own parade around the neighborhood.  All you need is a decorated wagon, some themed outfits, and candy (we may have just eaten it ourselves).  People did stop and ask what we were doing, so the idea worked, right?

They've been out for ice cream cones (so so so messy), a few select restaurants, and the zoo (with actual interest in the animals).   Even a few simple outings on my own- and we all survived!

One outing I'd been thinking about for a loooong time was the first Kids 1K race.  To "train", we started with walking around the block and learning to stay together and listen, then tried to make it without stopping to throw a fit or rest or anything.  Come actual race day, they were awful.  Threw fits at the beginning and we ended up cutting the course and still coming in last.  But they did enjoy the popsicles at the end, extra snacks, and playing on the playground while I raced.

Can't forget the strawberry picking outing that ended with a trip to the ER; we learned Caroline is allergic to fire ants.  She kept fussing while we were in the fields and I thought she was just being her charming self.  After carrying her around a bit I looked over and she was covered in hives!  Thankfully I wasn't alone and we rushed to the nearest ER; they took great care of her and were so accommodating with the rest of us.   Watching out for ants from now on!  And I guess Caroline is wanting to keep me on my toes because at the last dentist visit she had an infected abscessed tooth that had to be pulled.  She handled it like a champ!  She's pretty darn cute with her missing front tooth too, if I do say so myself.  

They started swim lessons back in May.  The first lesson was a DISASTER.  Could not have gone any worse.  Threw fits about getting in the water, then after fighting them for 25 minutes, they decide it's fun for the last 5 minutes.  Then repeat the fits x5 to get out of the water- add in some running away from me, me getting in the water fully clothed to fish them out... you get the picture.  Their teacher was very nice and let us try a couple more times to see if it got any better before banning us from her home.  Luckily- it did!  They LOVE swimming and their lessons now and they're really catching on- especially the girls.  They were even jumping off the low diving board last lesson.  

First lesson- trying to escape

Who knows what will be next?!