Now A Family of *gulp* Six.

When Roman first joined us, I wrote a blog about the kid subculture. It's this crazy world where you know the name of every color Wiggle, Barenaked Ladies also make kids' albums, and which tv shows are on Disney Jr. vs. Nick Jr. vs. PBS. Generally, my boys and I have not minded revisiting this world again. Here's what we have learned & confirmed: Caillou is still annoying. VeggieTales songs stand the test of time. JoJo Siwa is new to us, and also annoying. But her bows are apparently awesome to 6yro girls. Disney continues to rock the animated world. We didn't see "Moana" until the kids joined us, and I swear it's one of Roman's favorite movies now.  The "Banana Boat Song" (day-oh!) is still one of the best songs to entertain kids. Little Boy giggles throughout it. In our house, there's more to watch on Nick Jr than Disney Jr. (gasp!) More trips to the zoo! Charlie even admits he can do things he never got to do, like m...

We have had quite a few adventures the past few days. Monticello was a hit with Roman (except for the garden walk - he'll be quick to tell you that). The next day we stopped at Montpelier, James Madison's home, which was sorta on the way to Richmond. That was also very interesting and I would have liked to spend more time there. We made it to Richmond around 2pm and decided to hit the Civil War museum. As usual, I would have liked to spend more time there - but with 2 kids who have short attention spans, it was best to move along. We discovered at the museum (part of which is run by the National Park Service) that they have a "junior ranger" program; do a certain number of activities and earn a badge. They also have "trading cards" particular to a place, usually 2-3. I think Ro would have preferred just getting candy or something, but both kids liked doing the activities. Wednesday was battlefield day. We started at Fredericksburg and did the short walk ...

Our vacation has been good so far! We are the kind of planners where we have one definite thing we want to do, and then explore the area or wait until we get somewhere to decide what else we might do. With 2 kids, swimming in the pool is mandatory every day! Saturday was our long day in the car, but we got to Berkley, WV about 4:00. The boys loved the suite because they had a tv to themselves, and Cartoon Network (we don't have that at home)!  We swam twice, before and after dinner, to reward the kids for being awesome in the car. The Easter Bunny came to our hotel room, too, both hiding eggs and leaving some candy and little toys for the kids. Sunday we had breakfast at Cracker Barrel, and it always pays to chat up the locals. We told a man we were going to do the coal mine tour, which he said was a great idea for the kids. Then he told us about the New River Gorge, which had the longest arch suspension bridge in the US/Western Hemisphere (there's apparently one in Japan a...

Enough stress, deep thinking, & angst! We are having fun this summer, too. First, my news: In the first 2 weeks of Weight Watchers I've lost 5.5 pounds! Even had a 24-hour period where I blew it in terms of restaurants, but back on the horse & doing well. Now, my kids - when they're not annoying each other: Playing dress-up Helping Dad wash the car Eyeing the sprinkler before he runs through... Sparklers on the 4th of July!

Already I have a bunch of videos I could share of bouncing, sledding, snow angels, and general goofing off (not to mention 2 of our "pet" squirrel!). But this one just shows the joy they had on Day One of break. Watch it a couple times to keep an eye on both boys.

me: You know what's cool? You can play flag football all the way until you're 15. You don't have to do tackle unless you want to. Ro: "That's good. Because I'm not really that kind of boy." --------------------------------- me, before first game: Are you nervous? Ro: "No. (pause)... Well, I kind of feel like Harry Potter right before his first Quidditch match." --------------------------------- me: Charlie, do you see Ro-Ro out there? Charlie: "HI ROMAN! HI ROMAN!" everytime we cheer or clap... Charlie: "YAY ROMAN! YAY ROMAN!"

I'm sure you're not surprised to learn we went swimming this morning as soon as the pool opened at 9. Yeah. After that and an early lunch, the 3 oldest went to a kids' program. Charlie fell asleep in my lap at 11:30am after eating some mac & cheese. Really cute. When he awoke, Doug and I and C. went into Grand Rivers one more time to poke around. The 2 brothers & their wives went golfing, and parents-in-law also poked around here and there. We all met back up at the dock where the boys were feeding the turtles at the end of their program. We had a dinner of hamburgers and leftovers here at the condo, and ice cream to top off the week. Since we & the South Dakotans are heading out tomorrow morning for our homes, we went our separate ways to pack & organize, or in my case, track down the kids' stuff in two different condos & the car. Tomorrow we load and it's a leisurely drive to Dayton, as Charlie can't do much longer in the car. And then home...

Today was an interesting day. Doug went golfing with his 2 brothers & Serena, and Kathy offered to take the 3 older boys to a movie since it was a really hot day (no mini-golfing). Charlie & I went on our own adventure to the Nature Station . It was really fun, like a "Kentucky backyard" and we saw 4 different kinds of owls, bald eagles, vultures, a groundhog, deer, a bobcat, turkey, and the coolest - 2 red wolves (a very endangered species). Inside the Nature Station they had tanks with turtles, snakes, and flying squirrels, along with a kids' play area where you could examine animal skulls, skin, etc. and about 6 different pelts to touch. Charlie loved it. We got back and after lunch, C. took a nap. And then the grumpies arrived. He woke up once yelling for me, but fell back to sleep. The second time he awoke he was just pissy. Crying at everything, changing his mind, whining, the worst. I took him for a golf cart ride and we went to look at the turtles by the r...

Today began with a quick trip to Paducah to the Wal-Mart. I don't think we could get any more Kentucky-ish. We had a few things to pick up that the local IGA didn't carry. Roman did not go because Aunt Kathy offered to take the 3 older boys downtown on the golf cart & to check out the shops. Roman came back with a stuffed turtle named Mario, a smaller one for Charlie named Luigi, and Alek named his Yoshi (all names from Mario games). Not sure what Ian's turtle is named. All the boys are thrilled with them. I love boys who don't mind showing a little love for stuffed animals. When we got back from W-M, I went with C & R to go swim with their cousins while Doug did some work. When we finished up and headed back for lunch, Scott & Serena had arrived from Atlanta. They went swimming with the boys AGAIN, while I decided to nap with Charlie for a couple hours. The afternoon brought... you guessed it... more swimming, then dinner out at the Yacht Club here on resor...

We decided to go adventuring today. We started at the north end of Land Between the Lakes National Park. As I was looking at the local brochure-map, something I had overlooked seemed to jump out at me - Fort Donelson National Battlefield ! A Civil War battle site, just 40 minutes away! So we decided to head down there and work our way back up the LBL area. We did swing through the Elk & Bison Preserve , and we saw a herd of buffalo by a pond and 4 female elk. On our way out, just as hope was almost lost, we caught sight of a male elk with big, big antlers. Very cool! We had packed a lunch and so we had a picnic before we headed into Fort Donelson. By the end of the first 3 stops, it was so blazin' hot that we decided to head back to the condo & swim, maybe stopping at the Nature Station on the way. Charlie, Roman, and myself all fell asleep so clearly there was no other stop! Once we got back to the condo, Roman went off to the beach with his cousins & we took Charlie...

Our place in Land Between the Lakes is very nice. It's a "loft condo" and our bedroom is in the loft area, which Roman loves. The deck is on stilts and overlooks the bay, which is cool. We watched turtles swimming around by the banks last night as burgers cooked on the grill. Very nice. But because we're on central time, Charlie woke up at 5:30 Central Time. Not cool. The closest pool has a slide and is really really warm, not sure if that's condo or weather related. It's supposed to be high humidity and mid-90s through Wednesday. The boy cousins have begun playing like they just saw each other last week, not last Christmas. Although Charlie can't keep up with the older ones, and we all feel kind of bad for him. In the Land Between the Lakes there is cool stuff like an 1850s settlement with costumed interpreters, a Nature Station, and a bison and elk preserve where they're trying to restore it to original landscape. Obviously need to check all that ...

I could blog about how cool the Lego Castle Adventure is at Henry Ford Museum , or I could just show you the pictures. But just posting pictures isn't really blogging, is it? So I'll put little captions too. Being a member there (for the past 3 years) has been worth every penny. Roman would go there every weekend if he could. Trains, planes, cars, the Weinermobile... and the best special exhibits. Um, not much to say about the entrance. Except you had to cross a drawbridge over a pretend moat. This knight greeted us at the entrance. Made entirely of tiny little Legos. Dragon protecting its treasure - and a baby dragon that is right behind Charlie (you can see a little bit of red from its wings). Again, the dragon & most of the treasure made out of Legos. The throne room of the castle. The "stained glass" is all transparent colored Legos. An interactive game where Roman could select what type of Lego wall he'd put around his castle for defense, then wind up th...

We made plans to go camping in Frankenmuth this weekend, hoping to hit Indian Summer weather. Either way, we would go out to dinner Friday and host my family at the campground on Saturday. Yeah. Well, I don't think we're going to have warm weather again, although you never know in Michigan. It ended up being rainy and in the 50s all weekend. Needless to say, we spent all of our time at my parents' hotel in the pools & didn't venture outside except to go back to the campground for bedtime! With a pool & arcade, though, even the smallest of children can be amused. Plus my brother & his family joined us for the day, so the cousins ran around and exhausted each other. We weren't sure what we would do back at the campground once we put the kids to bed, but it turns out we had one of the longest nights of sleep we've had in years. We just went to bed when they did! Roman amused us to no end, telling us tall tales about finding his first chest hair (at 6?!...

This morning we were pleased because there was nowhere to go in a rush. Which is why Charlie decided that 5:30am was a good time to start fussing. Luckily with a little head-rubbing, he went back until 6:45am. The joys of parenting. We got up and started packing (and blogging) right away, and finally checked out at 9:30am. Headed to Riverside for some last-minute fun before the airport. We had an hour, and darnit I was going to go fishing. We all headed over to the Fishin' Hole and got a couple cane poles and a cup of worms for a half-hour period. Ro grew bored quickly (no surprise) and when Daddy caught 2, and he caught none, Ro decided to go to the playscape with Charlie and Grandpa. I took over his pole and had my worm stripped but then caught a little one. We figured that was good fishin' for 20 minutes, and so turned in our poles & extra worms and headed in for lunch. Off to the airport after lunch, and while our flight was pushed back about 30 min., it was no big deal...

Our last day of fun before heading home. This morning we decided to join the grandparents at their resort for breakfast, then headed out to Animal Kingdom. This is our least favorite of the parks and we're not sure why; although I think because we have an awesome zoo near our home, perhaps we're not as thrilled as others to see the animals. We rode the Safari in Africa and got some great shots of the animals - even Charlie liked it! We then wandered through Asia and had ice cream at 11:15 for snack. Yay vacation! Roman wanted to go to Dinoland so we headed that way. They had a huge play area that looked like an excavation site, and Roman and I played in there for awhile. Then we checked out the rides. It looks like an old-fashioned midway, which none of us are too keen on. Roman wanted to ride the Triceratop Twirl, and he and Daddy did that while the rest of us scoped out a place for lunch. Went to Restaurantosaurus and had hot dogs and fries. Charlie was in a much better mood ...

Whew! Another long day, and I finally have to admit that even I am tired. Today was Charlie's day to melt down, but that was later. Here's our excitement: Went to Magic Kingdom again, fast-passed Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. Roman really wanted to do Aladdin's Magic Carpets again but this time with Doug, me, & Baba, so we did that. Then we wandered through the Swiss Family Treehouse with Grandpa while Baba stayed with Charlie. Then it was off to the Crystal Palace where our breakfast with Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet was held. It was a good choice - we had a table for 6, good seats, delicious breakfast buffet that lasted us pretty much to dinner. Except for Charlie. It turns out his apple spice muffin was going to be the last bit of food he had for the day. We went back and Doug, me, and Baba did "Pirates" one last time. Doug and I decided to surprise Roman and buy him the Pirate Mickey-Ears which he had been pining for since Sunday. He wore the...

Today was a long day. Boys slept until 7:30am which was just awesome. Decided to go back to Epcot to do the rest of the park. Doug fast-passed "Soarin'" and Roman, Grandpa & I stood in line to meet Mickey, Pluto, Minnie, Donald, & Goofy. I love the way Disney does their character stuff now; with one 35-min wait we got to see all the major characters. Epcot also listed the countries where other movie characters would be located, and we were able to catch 2 of them later in the day - Mulan & Snow White, as well as Mary Poppins again. Roman would have nothing to do with meeting these ladies. We aren't sure if it's because they're girls, or because they would actually talk to him and that blows his mind. I tend to think it's because actually talking to the real characters scares him; Doug thinks it's just because they're female. But he does want their autographs, so it's Mama & Charlie who get to see the ladies. Speaking of ladies...

Whew. For not doing much of anything, we sure are pooped this evening. Made arrangements to meet up with my coworker who hooked us up with our condo at 9am. Boys up at 6am. Nice. Ro and Doug went out to swim in the condo pool. Jackelyn & her husband came by, we started to chat around the pool, but it started to rain. So I decided to go over and see her condo while Ro and Doug went to the arcade to wait the storm out. I got there with Charlie and it started to rain. Harder. And harder. And then it hailed. So that was interesting. Went back to our condo but now Charlie needed to nap. Made arrangements to meet my parents for lunch, Ro and Doug watched "Clone Wars" on Cartoon Network while I read a scrapbooking magazine. Met up for lunch, and it rained. Some more. Decided we were going to go to Downtown Disney shopping. That bus took forever to come, though, so we decided to go to Plan B: Epcot. That bus showed up. Got to Epcot and it rained. Lots more. We went on "The S...

Due to the late night last night, the boys slept in until 7:15. WOW. We didn't get up and around to meeting grandparents or getting to Hollywood Studios until about 10am. Which is fine, because this is the first trip ever with no firm plans. Baba's knee was acting up today so they only stayed through lunch, but she iced it well and is ready to cruise another park tomorrow. Here is our day: Fast-passed Star Tours, watched part of the Jedi Training Academy. Indiana Jones Stunt Show, which blew Roman away. He had a look of nervous awe the whole time. Lots of pictures in & around Star Tours. Lunch at Pizza Planet. Take the "back streets" to The Great Movie Ride. Saw Lightning McQueen & Mater; Roman did not want to stand in line. During the Great Movie Ride, Grandpa & Charlie stayed outside to wander and Grandpa reported Charlie stuck his hands in every movie star's handprint or footprint - that had water in it! Grandparents headed back to the hotel, clan V...

While he has been taking a handful of steps between objects for quite some time, Mr. I'll-do-it-when-I-want-to Charlie hasn't struck out on his own. Until this morning. He was standing by the fridge, watching me as I talked to Doug behind him. Next thing we know - boom! - he's toddling across the room to me with a big grin on his face! We shot this video just after that: And then, after he turned the corner (in the video above), I moved and caught this video of him coming back to me: A few minutes later he walked from the windows all the way across the room to me again. Awesome! Side note: We're off on vacation starting tomorrow. Disney World! Will be posting again on the flip side. Happy Easter, everyone!