The NC Excursion

The 4th of July vaca!

I have worked on this post on and off for the past few days so if I'm talking about what I'm currently doing, that is what I was doing in that moment it time.  I preface this post mainly because I'm eager to post this I didn't feel like editing. So bear with me. You're the best!

I'm not sure if I like the Blogger app or not. Mainly because I am not very good at proofreading, and I tend to have more errors when I'm typing on my phone. However, I do like being able to get a little bit of a head start on a post if I have some down time while I'm out and about and all I have is my phone. Maybe one-day I will grasp proper grammar and have the skills to proofread appropriately.  Until then my grammar geek friends suffer and endure, but know you're much smarter than me. For realz!

Well we are wrapping up our trip here in NC. Currently, we are relaxing at my in laws.  My father-in-law has the day off and my mother-in-law has the day off tomorrow.  The kids are in and out of the house. Chris is dissembling the swing set so we can drag it back to New York with us. He's a hard working man that I don't deserve, people. I'm not even exaggerating.

I am super excited about having a swing set in our back yard.  Even with a little playground walking distance from the house can be a pain when I am wanting to get things done around the house...or if I just dont feel like sitting in the heat for a couple of hours. I'm a total wimp that struggles with suffering silently...it's a flaw I'm trying to correct.  But it will feel like luxury to sit outside for a little bit, step inside when I'm hot, go outside again...and so on. Also, having the potty in close proximity!  Potty training is a part of parenting that completely eludes me. I feel that someone needs to go every 20 minutes. With the swing set in our yard I don't have to gather everyone up to take a child to the bathroom. I am so excited about this generous hand-me-down. 

Yea, yea, yea....you get it. I'm lazy.

Doing "homework". Writing their names.

But more about our vacation.  It has been slammed packed full of late nights, early ish mornings, and limited diet monitoring.   And my kids have managed to keep it together so far.  My sister was generous enough to leave us with the coolest niece for the week. She lives about 3 hours away. We arrived at 10:00 Saturday night and with all the excitement and energy that needed to be burn no one fell asleep until 1:00 ish. And we were all up and ready for 9:30 mass Sunday morning.

The kids always seem to behave better for others.  Less squirming than normal.  Chris and I sat behind my parents and the kids.  After mass the kids played at the house until we headed to my in laws to swim for a few hours. And we returned to my mom's house for dinner.  My kids got to catch fireflies for the first time which was very exciting, and enjoyed playing in the mud that Pop-Pop made for them.

Mud in the wheelbarrow.

Monday we took it easy with some playing outside until we headed to my in laws to swim again. Tuesday was the same other than going to $1 kid movie before going swimming.

He LOVED being thrown.

Don't be fooled.  He's not crying.

Wednesday we took a break from the pool. My dad came over while the kids played. Chris and my dad hauled some things away for my mom. I mowed some pretty tall grass.  And picked up some rock my mom needed for the patio wall her and my dad are building. It was an enjoyable full day around the house.

I think Simon looks just like Chris.

Thursday my mom was off so we did a little bit of shopping. The kids and Chris went home half way through because they just couldn't hang. Wimps! We went to La Hacienda for dinner and watched Saving Mr. Banks after the kids went to bed.

Friday was the 4th. We hung around the house for a bit and let Simon take a nap before we headed to my in laws for a little party. The kids swam. Hamburgers and hotdogs all before we headed to see fireworks. I attempted to paint the kids' faces. They liked it well enough. We left to see fireworks...ok the fireworks themselves were awesome! We had great seats. No one was around so the kids were jumping around with excitment. And the presentation was really great. Parking wasn't even that bad other than people driving without any sense. We parked on the side of the road and started walking to the park. People were driving really fast in my opinion considering how many people were out specifically with children.  And Amelia can not walk a straight path to save her life.  I know this to be true since I had to grab her several times to avoid being hit by a moving vehicle. There aren't any sidewalks...just ditches with terrible weeds and scary wildlife. So managing the 4 kids while carrying chairs and a blanket and dodging cars was quite stressful. On the walk back we did have my parents' help but it was really dark. People had been drinking and a fight had broken out in the middle of the street. The good thing about the fight is it stopped traffic making it much easier to make our way to our truck. Silver lining?

Happy Birthday USA!

Saturday we went to the zoo.  I took my camera to NC and didn't use it once.  (I kept forgetting to charge the battery.  So I have some ok pictures from our phones.) The zoo was fun. A little stressful because it was a Saturday and a holiday weekend but we made it through. My friends Libby and Laura met us there with their families.  We walked so much. The kids did awesome! Very little whining. No melt downs. A few tears that quickly ended. We even chose to skip the shuttle back to our parking lot. It added another 1.5 miles (I think don't quote me) of walking. Everyone was sweaty and sore by the end.  The kids slept HARD and so did the adults, but we still managed to wake up and go to 9:30 mass on Sunday.

He LOVED the turtles...and the polar bear.

They climbed on everything!

I considered going to a later mass but Chris was dissembling the swing set later and my mother-in-law was taking the kids shopping so we got up and went at 9:30. The kids were pretty good other than Simon yelling Amelia's name loudly when he saw her sitting with my parents. And after communion pointing at the door and yelling "GO"! I was stopped by a lady (I didn't know) that seemed overjoyed about our fourth baby. She just thought it was wonderful and was very happy for us. It's reassuring to receive joyful comments. We did shop, and later had dinner with all the parental units.

Monday was a slow easy start before we headed out to my in laws again. My father-in-law had the day off and Amelia and Owen were staying the night. Chris loaded half the swing set into the truck and we took it home before heading out to dinner at a Japanese restaurant in Greensboro.  It was delicious.  I burnt my mouth because I wasn't patient enough to wait for my skillet bowl to cool down.  After putting Simon to bed my mom, Chris, and I watched Austenland.  Funny!

About to enjoy some Japanese food!

Tuesday we picked up the U-haul trailer before heading to pick up the rest of the swing set. When we got to the house my dad had started pressure washing the set that was already there. It took nearly 4 hours to wash the whole thing. Chris and I ran to his aunt's house to pick up some furniture that goes with the bunk beds she had already given us. And we had everything loaded in the truck and trailer by 11 pm that evening. 

Wednesday we hit the road an hour earlier than we did for our way down and made it home 30 minutes later than we did arriving to NC. Coming home was a rougher trip. My kids are generally very good in the car. I'm sure our rough trip was much better than people who have kids that don't travel well, but it was still off putting. Simon serenaded us with his whine/cry/scream while saying "get out, get out". Amelia dramatically needed to poop when no restroom could be found. Once we did make it to a restroom miraculously she no longer had to poop. Owen wasn't too dramatic but did feel the need to instigate throughout the trip. But we made it home safe and sound so really that's all that matters.  We did take a gamble on a local pizzeria for dinner somewhere in Pennsylvania.  It was really good and they had $.30 wings that were delish....I just wanted to roll around in them.  

When we got home Chris immediately started emptying the trailer and truck into our garage, and he took the trailer back.  I can say that my house was clean for a week and a half...of course we weren't home.  The children are back to their tearful protests.  C'est la vie.

We had a wonderful time.  These "vacations" are never long enough.  

Some extra pictures for your viewing pleasure!