As I frantically threw clothes for four people into suitcases last Thursday - conveniently forgetting to pack any of my underwear, of course - the girls crowded next to Daddy. I'm sure he was watching something kid friendly. Maybe the new Alice in Wonderland that makes Alison whimper.
About three hours into our 6-1/2 hour drive to Northern Wisconsin, Mom got a call from Aunt Lynn Ann, asking if we'd like to go to a fish fry.
Have I ever mentioned that I get car sick? Just the mention of "fish fry" and I was nodding my head frantically NO, COUNT ME OUT.
But of course there was a miscommunication with Stephie who also decided against fish grease spending the evening with our entire extended family, so guess who filled in the reservation...
I saw horror on the other guests' faces when they realized there was an entire kids' table nearby.
Surprisingly, theirs was the quietest in the restaurant. (Probably because Megan took the kids to the bathroom every ten minutes. You know, just in case... Mom walked in and saw Alison laughing at her butt crack in the mirror, so I'm pretty sure the guests were impressed with their good behavior.)
We spent the next morning at another of my aunt's hoop house. Don't ask me what that means. It's like a greenhouse shed.
I spent the entire time talking with my aunts, highlighted by yelling to the girls, Don't pick any of the flowers off the plants!!! Thanks, Mom, for teaching them that flowers are for picking, by the way.
That night was the party. Of course there was a scuffle over whether or not to change the girls into dresses, but thankfully it turned cold and started raining. Because THAT shouldn't hinder the dozen or so cotton-headed, walker-toting guests in getting to the party without breaking a hip...
On the kid front, I had to do almost nothing all weekend, thanks to the Adopt A Triplet program.
Here are the girls with their new guardians: Left to right Jeffrey with Alison, Lexi, Emma next to Megan, and in the back Jake with Kristin. I swear I didn't pose this. Those kids would wait for my girls to filter out of the camper/truck/house and claim their adopted triplet like baggage.
It was AWESOME. Thanks again for the free babysitting services from your children, JaNae and Jen!
And because I can, I have to include a picture of Elliott on time out.
All of Grandma's great-grandchildren (the ones who could make it):
There are at least 12 who weren't there.
I forced the girls to sit away from their new best friends at dinner so I could make sure they were eating and not just spending the entire weekend in the restroom. To show the level of supervision, Alison - while sitting right next to me - picked up the remains of a chicken leg off my plate and ate it down to the bone. I noticed and stopped her just before she pulled the cartilage off the end.
She asked for another "chicken on a stick."
I figured What the hell and gave her another one. She ate TWO MORE chicken legs down to the bone.
After we showed off our caveman skills, there was the cake with the obnoxiously green frosting...
Before dinner, my uncle Dave had gotten up and said Grace and a few words thanking everyone for coming.
Thanks to the friends who were able to make it.... and thinking of the ones who have passed and aren't able to make it tonight, ... yet...
I decided not to stick around to see the zombies.
Well, I left because of that and because my intestines spent the evening reminding me why I shouldn't have gone to that fish fry the day before. I curled up and died in the CougarCamper.
Wisconsin had a few flowers in the ground yet, so we spent Sunday at my relatives' house out in the country where the kids managed to pick the rest of them. Emma and Alison concentrated on picking daisies while Kristin held up her weed she'd pulled up by the root.
Those jeans are CAKED with wet sand. CAKED. (Now do you understand why I hate sand?)
When the weather turned cool and windy, we had to strip their jeans off to wash and dry them. Ah, I really missed those days of having to bring a change of clothes...
It really is gorgeous up there. We stopped so the girls could laugh at the buffalo "looking at us."
On our way home we saw a turkey crossing the road, rabbits, birds, and the best one of the night - whitetail deer in a field.
I can see him! I see his deer twigs!
Erm... "antlers," girls.
So much to see, so much to do....
I told Mike he'd better get some sleep because the girls were coming home high maintenance after all the excitement and playing with the other kids.
If it wasn't for missing Daddy, I don't think they would have come home at all.
And of course they were much more willing to leave once my cousin Jen gave us all their Nerf guns aka "shooters" that they couldn't carry onto the plane. Bribery is the best.
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