Life comes to a screeching halt

Today was a crazy day. Tim and I were on the phone dealing with some pre-travel issues for Germany. We were stressed. Katey has been snotty since Tuesday, but there was an afternoon and evening with things planned so life had to "get done" despite life's issues, until it happened. I loaded up the kids for piano, dropped off the snotty one at Mom and Dad's and arrived astonishingly on time for their lessons. Carter told me in the car he was not feeling well, but I didn't really believe him. He steps out of the van in the street in front of our instructor's home and he is crying. I begin to think maybe he really is not feeling well. As if he realizes he needs to prove it to me he promptly vomits in the road, three times. Wonder what will bring life to a halt? Puke. Our piano instructor who is expecting a baby and the mother of a toddler of course passed on giving us a lesson today. A friend whose daughter I was keeping for the evening had to make other arrangements at the last minute. We were planning to have dinner at Mom and Dad's, Mom sent it home with me. We couldn't expose anyone else to him. Tim met me and took him home, I made the run to Walmart for Sprite and Saltines and we all settled in for an unplanned night at home wondering if anyone else would follow suit. He spent the evening playing Wii and being perfectly well. Who knows. I am just glad I don't feel nauseous. We'll see what tomorrow brings. All I know is that if we have to have an unplanned halt to life's crazy routine, I prefer snow.

History night

We had our History event with our local homeschool group. Laurel and Matthew made a DVD presentation about Germany. Carter read his book he made about Creation. They did a great job!


Here is their presentation. A little clarification...prior to the completion of the Berlin Wall, people living in East Germany could escape to West Germany (and then often out of Germany completely) through the weak border in West Berlin. A little confusing here. The kids are really looking forward to seeing the wall memorials in person. One of the many things that will likely broaden their world as a part of our travels.

Avatar

Haven't seen it?? Neither have we. We learned our lesson tonight. Its a small town, one theater....buy your tickets in advance. We arrived 25 minutes early, but not early enough apparently. We did see Book of Eli. I recommend it highly. Maybe we will get a chance to try again for Avatar. I am assuming since its still selling out it will stick around a while.

Home from Disney

It was a long week. We got caught up in some bad weather on the way home so our trip was a little longer than expected. Record low temps in Florida made it a cold visit and so the picture of the kids above was taken as they stood and tried to appear as though they weren't freezing. We had a good time, although Carter preferred to just stay at the hotel. Disney is great for some but we'll stick to camping for a while. They really are the most happy just riding bikes and digging in the dirt- and its A LOT cheaper!

Passports- our Germany trip preparation continues!

While Tim is on break from Murray State we took the kids to get their passports. I have to mail mine in for replacement since its in my maiden name. We chose to take our own photos (kudos to epassports.com) and saved the $15 per person photo fee. It was funny trying to get the kids NOT to smile for a picture (no teeth can be visible). This was our second major financial investment for the trip. It seems everything multiplied by six is expensive. Here are their very serious photo poses:

A few pics

We had a wonderful Christmas. They were all eager for Christmas morning this year. The first pic is them waiting on the stairs for us to get everything ready for the morning to begin.

Really cool gear!

To fully understand this post you must know that the kids love to camp and that despite their repeated pleas we have not gone the bunk bed route (one broken arm this year was enough).

We got the bigger tent this year, and then they grew. They no longer can sleep on the kindergarten mats and be comfortable. Add 6 cots and suddenly our big tent hmmm...not so big. We hoped to find a deal on some off season kid sized cot gear so we can sleep well and all still fit in one tent. Little did I know I would stumble upon what my kids will likely term the "coolest cots ever." We are all camp gear junkies so I know I am in trouble. I blame it on Tim's hike, but its true. We will pay for cool quality gear when it comes to doing things outdoors. Did someone say coats? I am not up for admitting to that one on here yet. So when the rest of the crew sees this I am guessing they may have me watching for the next big Cabela's sale. Bunk beds AND camping combined...could life get any better than that?? Too cool, oh how tempted I am.