19 Kids and Counting

Although I've never watched this reality show with the above title for it's name, I thought it was a good way to describe my recent trip to a friends lakehouse in Wisconsin. We spent two days hanging out with Jacob's school friends and their siblings. Six women, nineteen kids between us, and...15 were boys. I know, watch out!

I think we were all a bit nervous about the numbers. Maybe that is why we all brought so much food with us. Boys are happiest when they are full, right? The food did help, but it must have been that all the stars were aligned that night cause it all went incredibly well. We spent most of our time by the pool, but a few of the die-hards went down to the lake to fish. Caught a bunch of beauties. Mrs. Arnett and myself seemed to be the fish-taker-offers. I even did a few worms. This is what happens when you have three boys - just suck it up and deal with it. Lesley has 4 boys, so she has learned to do the same.

We dreaded leaving, but God showed us it was time to go when a storm blew in suddenly. A tree fell a bit too close to the dining room window and for a short time we thought we might be stuck in Wisconsin. But, blue skies prevailed and we were home in time for dinner.

With three exhausted boys, I knew bedtime was just around the corner. But, as I tucked Jacob in, we heard the tornado sirens going off. So, we all piled down in the basement and listened to them for the next 45 minutes. I had 3 freaked out boys and Aiden went off the deep end when he thought he couldn't find his cuddly toy, Georgie. Daddy to the rescue. We waited while Tom rummaged through the rooms upstairs only to find that Aiden was, in fact, sitting on George. Good thing there was no tornado to sweep Tom away during the search!

It was a two day adventure that we won't soon forget and we can't wait for next year. Minus the tree snapping storms, of course!

18 of the 19 kiddos. Too hard to get everyone in a group. This is as good as it gets!

Road Trippin Again!

There is nothing like a good road trip. It's been about a year since we did a major trip in the car, but this year it's different. First, no minivan, which may be ok seeing there is less space for the boys to dump any unwanted books, games, etc. Second, we aren't traveling to another country. The time in the car is about the same, but since we are in the vastness of the States, we are only going two states away. To our home states of Michigan, but way north to the Upper Penisula, otherwise known as the U.P.

We packed up the car and headed out on a Friday afternoon, just missing Chicago traffic, but still having to endure Milwaukee traffic, which isn't too bad. We spent the night in Wisconsin and moved on in the morning, only stopping to pick up some famous Wisconsin cheese. Our plan was to reach our rented lakehouse by 3:30 that afternoon. But, after looking at the map and realizing that we were pretty close to Painted Rock National Lakeshore, we decided to do something spontaneous (Yikes! Us?!?) and head there today instead of taking a whole day to do this week.

We got there just in time for a boat tour. The weather wasn't pleasant. It was about 45 degrees and windy. Lake Superior at her best. A three hour cruise (I know you are singing the theme to Gillian's Island!) was interesting for the first half and then the kids just lost interest. Oh well. The shoreline was spectacular even with gray skies and the fish and chips in the restaurant after made up for the cold weather.

All that was about to change the following day when we woke up and headed to Lake Huron. The sun came out and we found ourselves in our swim suits. There is nothing like hunting for the perfect skipping stone with sun shining and the Mackinac Bridge in the backdrop. The boys soon discovered clay and I discovered that I would be doing lots of laundry this week!

We came back late and had smores. All the rules were out the window and it was 3 smores each. Little did I know that Tom gave Jacob the dark chocolate smores...he was up til 11!

The following day was what we had been waiting for - a trip to Mackinac Island. An island where cars are banned and the only mode of transport is on a bike or a horse and carriage. Bikes were out option. As soon as we stepped off the ferry we rented bikes. Me with Jeb in a seat behind me, Tom on a bicycle built for two with Jacob, and Aiden on a kids bike. It was fantastic. Jacob and Aiden would switch off, but Aiden couldn't reach the pedals, which made for a really easy for him! They made it all 8 miles around the island and their treat was fudge and ice cream. Remember, I said all rules were out the window?

I had forgotten about the old fort on the island, which was built in the early 1800s. I also forgot that it was built to keep the Brits off the island. I quickly realized this when they were demonstrating the canon and talking about how terrible the Brits were. Check out what my kids were wearing. Slightly embarrassing.

Oh, and not to be missed was the Soo Locks. We saw a couple of huge freighters go through, amazing to see them a mere inches from the side of the lock. But, the boys enjoyed seeing the tiny tour boat go through. Obviously, you need to be older to appreciate the engineering of the locks! And since we were near Canada, we decided to dust off our passports and visit for a bit. Our passports didn't get a stamp, but at least we are keeping up the international travel!

The rest of the week was spent hanging out at the cottage and also by Lake Michigan. The U.P. is so remote, so it was almost like having a private beach. We didn't see anyone the entire day. We did run across two turtles in the road, which Tom decided to put in the car. Did you know that turtles pee when they feel threatened? And they do it a lot. Nice. The capture was fine, but the release was a bit tainted...

And so we come to the end of another fantastic trip. Filled with dirt, bugs, crawfish, fishing (lots of it!), swimming and sightseeing. Now, off to do a load of laundry!

Check out the easy ride that Aiden has.

Ice cream at the end of the ride

Nothing like a sunset swim with daddy!

Except a sunset marshmellow (think this was #4!)