Fun with cousins!

For four nights and three full days there were thirteen people in our house. The house was very messy and cluttered with suitcases, sofa beds, air mattresses, Christmas gifts, etc, but it was filled with people we love very much. About five minutes after everyone left this morning, Nadia asked me, "How long is it until April?". She knows that I plan to take the kids to Chicago in April. The kids love spending time with their cousins! Oliver enjoyed playing with Grace, and the other five kids enjoyed doing a variety of things together including riding bikes, jumping on the trampoline, bowling, playing Monopoly, ice skating, playing Bubble Talk, playing Pandemic, playing Quirkle, etc. On Monday we went ice skating in Sunbury where the kids take ice skating lessons. There were 13 of us, but Maurice didn't want to skate. Amazingly the minimum size for the group rate there was 12, which was perfect for our group. The group rate is a true bargain as it only cost $48 total for all of us to skate (and that included our skate rentals). We could have skated up to 4 hours total, but we didn't last that long. We had a snack at McDonald's after our ice skating adventure, and then we went to see a movie. It was the first time in 12 years that I went to see a movie at a theater (not counting the $1 ones in the summer). That excursion was far more expensive that ice skating, but Grandpa graciously bought our tickets. The four guys plus Adam and Ian saw Rogue One (a new Star Wars movie), and the six girls plus Oliver saw the Disney movie Moana. It was Ian's first time seeing a Star Wars movie in a theater as he hasn't seen the Force Awakens yet. The Moana movie was shorter and started ten minutes before the other movie, so Wendy and I left the movie theater with five of the kids while the others were still watching Rogue One. We assumed we'd get home about 35 minutes before the guys, but when we were about five minutes from home we witnessed a pickup truck flipping over into a cornfield.

 I pulled over and called 911 while Wendy got out and walked across the street to check on the people in the truck. While she was over there the guy pushed his feet through the passenger window so that he and the passenger could climb out of the vehicle. They said they were fine and asked Wendy not to call 911, and said they were calling someone to come pick them up. Wendy came and told me that the driver was drunk, and so we stayed on the line and the 911 operator transferred us to a police dispatcher. We gave her the license plate information as two vehicles came to help and one truck successfully flipped the truck back over. The truck was still in the corn field when the police arrived. The vehicles who came to help immediately hightailed off the scene. We talked to one police officer, and then had to wait awhile until we were told we could go. We received a phone call later in the evening, and Wendy was told that the driver was cooperative. So in the end we got home the same time as the guys because of the drunk driver incident.

Paul took two days off (Sunday and Monday), but he needed to go back to work yesterday. He was able to come home earlier than usual. He got home a little after 5:00 yesterday (in contrast to 7:10 tonight) so he could go bowling with us. We usually don't go bowling at night, but we bowled in the evening so Paul could be included. Six of us bowled one game, and six bowled two games (my brother came along but didn't bowl). All the kids used bumpers. Wendy and I were wishing we had also used bumpers, ha ha! In the first game, Paul won on the adult alley (which included Susie) and Ian won on the child's side. Adam came in second on that side. Paul also won the second game. It was his first time using the bowling shoes I gave him last year. The rest of the day we stayed at home. The temperature got up to 55 (wow!) so the kids were able to spend a lot of time outside on the trampoline, playing ladderball, riding bikes, playing with various balls, scooters, etc. They also played inside as well and enjoyed a lengthy Facetime conversation with their cousins in Turkey.

 Originally we planned to go down to Paul's parents today to do our gift exchange with his side of the family, but he said he needed to work today. The kids were disappointed, but the part that was the hardest for them was needing to wait until next week to get their guinea pigs that they have been eagerly anticipating for months. So I called Paul at work and asked if he could bring home the cage his parents got them so that I could take the kids tomorrow to get their guinea pigs. They were THRILLED when he came home with the cage. If it wasn't so late (7:10) I would have taken them up to the pet store tonight, but they were up past their bedtime last night due to the bowling outing so I didn't want to keep them up late two nights in a row. TOMORROW is the big day when we become pet owners for the first time in our 15+ year marriage. The only experience I have with pets is with cats. Hopefully the guinea pigs will be a good fit for our family. We plan to go to Paul's parents on Sunday (because if he takes one day off a week that is the day he takes off the most often).

Wendy let me try out her zoom lens. It's a nice lens, but it's not one I'm thinking I want at this point. It was great to be able to try hers out because even to rent a lens isn't cheap. As I was going through the photos I took the last two days I realized that in hind sight I wish I had used a smaller aperture when taking photos at the ice skating rink, and I wish I had brought my speed light (external flash) to the bowling alley. I have so much to learn!

I thought so much about my mom this weekend. She so enjoyed family gatherings like this, but I know she's in a much better place. I kept thinking about how at this time last year we had no idea my mom was so sick. We had no idea it was our last Christmas with her. Susie, Wendy, and Drayton each wrote in the journal I have started about my mom that I am doing for the kids - primarily for Oliver but really all three of them so they will be able to know about Grandma. We love you, Mom and miss you something fierce.

There are over 40 cups, glasses, and mugs in my dishwasher right now. That is a first for me! It seems we had more than 13 people staying here, ha ha! Especially considering I did other loads of dishes while everyone was here, and also considering my three kids had their cups in the refrigerator and weren't placed in the dishwasher yet. When hosting a larger group I am all the more grateful for modern inventions like dishwashers, washing machines, and dryers. I have done far more laundry today than I usually do in a week since I was washing more bedding than usual. We were using the vast majority of what was in the linen closet - most of which goes many months without being used. I was glad I bought extra pillows this summer and that my mom got us the three air mattresses a couple of years ago. I also am again struck by what an amazing woman my mom was. Hosting a group this size is exhausting, and she did it last year with 4-5 liters of fluid pressing on her lungs. Incredible. Aside from vacuuming, laundry, dishes, etc. today, I also took the kids to the library. They enjoyed doing a winter craft. What a difference it was to go from 12-13 people in the house to just the four of us. I wish my sisters and their families lived closer, but I am grateful for the time we are able to spend together now and then. We always see Wendy and her family at least once a year, but we often go more than a year in between visits with Yvonne and her family. Lord willing, we'll be seeing Wendy's family again in a little less than four months.