Summer Trip 2009

Quote of the day:
"Patty... I love you, but it's past lunch time." -Joab

A good first day, although we barely fed the children (or ourselves). Left the house around 8:30am. It felt weirdly normal. We decided to take the scenic route out of Massahusetts, which was great and awful. It was a nice setting for the kids first journal entries. Arrianna wrote about the Boy's incessant talking and suggested leaving him on the side of the road with a sign, "Free Kid: Beware".

 We drove past some beautiful swamps, rivers, and little villages. Joab liked pointing out "dilapidated" houses and barns along the way and we were sure that taking the scenic route was a good idea, but then we ended up on some kind of winding little mountain road in the middle of a foggy rainstorm. Eventually we made it back to civilization (big, flat roads and chain restaurants). After lunch we stayed on highways and made it to Buffalo without incident. We also made it across the Canadian border without any trouble. Finding our hotel was slightly more problematic, but we got there eventually. For some ridiculous reason (lack of food?) we decided to look for dinner on the way to Niagara instead of eating near our hotel. Bad move. We ended up eating an hour or so later after finding parking near The Falls. The kids were great, though. Julie was the only one who really got cranky when hungry. Our first view of The Falls was a huge mist rising up over the horizon. The kids didn't complain as we drove in circles looking for parking. We ate (for the first time in 7 and a half hours) before walking down to get a closer look at the falls. It was late, but still sunny out.

The view of the falls was great. You could hear the pounding of the water over the whistles of the traffic guards and music of a live band. We walked along to see the horseshoe falls as the sun set and they lit up the falls. It was late and we were tired, but we stuck around until the fireworks at 10.

Joab danced like a wild man to James Brown while the girls talked to Patty in Spanish (mostly complaining about Julie). Then we found seats in the grass to enjoy the show. The fireworks were nice, except that they're all the kids seem to remember :) We got to bed at around midnight, and the kids were up by 7:30.

Quote of the Day:
"I think this trip is bringing our family closer together... I don't like it." -Freesia

Today was a traveling day. We were relieved to cross back into the U.S., and not have to worry about whether the gas prices (in Canadian money, charging by the liter) were reasonable. The border crossing was smooth, and they asked fewer questions than it took to get into Canada.

The kids wrote in their journals as we drove back through Buffalo. Most of the writing was about Niagara Falls, but Arrianna wrote about crossing the border into Canada the day before. The border guard had asked a lot of questions, and in her head Arrianna was thinking, "Canadians are nosy!"

The drive to Indianapolis was nice. We stopped in Pennsylvania to play a little football (or to tan, depending on whether or not you were Arrianna). We had lunch in Ohio and later played a quick game of catch at another rest stop. Being outside playing around seems to help Julie stay awake to drive. It also helps keep the kids worn out. They did a lot of napping on the drive, some voluntary and some imposed.

We had dinner at around 4:30, not wanting to repeat yesterday's long wait between meals, and then Joab had one more nap on the way to Indianapolis. There was one close call with the highway patrol, but in the end he decided to pull over the car behind us. The kids went swimming at the hotel and we had an ice cream snack before getting ready for bed. The kids are traveling like pros. Tomorrow we go to the Children's Museum and then on to Chicago.

Total Miles Driven
Julie: 1,027
Patty: 0

Quote of the Day:
"No, you said, 'No direct contact'." -Freesia, when told she was not allowed to throw things at people

The Children's Museum in Indianapolis has FREE garage parking! The museum was great, although Patty was not happy with the amount of dinosaurs (they scare her). The kids loved the place. We were surprised how long the exhibits held their interest.

They dressed up like scuba divers and sharks, played in a full-size train car, flew to Egypt, dug for dinosaur bones, and met Anne Frank. We also saw a show in the Planetarium. We'd definitely want to go back. We had an early dinner on the road, where everything started to go downhill. The food wasn't great and the service was mediocre, but we were still happy at that point. We drove well for about an hour, then hit a crazy traffic jam in the middle of nowhere. The cars weren't moving at all, when one of the kids let us know they needed to use the restroom. There was no rest stop in sight. It was not pretty. It was windy, and no one is proud of their role in the fiasco. Luckily we had WetWipes on hand. We're in Chicago now, looking forward to an early night.

We got an extra hour from the time change, so we were able to wake up a little later. We drove through Chicago, letting the kids know we were not doing the city justice. We had watched a dvd on the Sears Tower, and they were pretty excited to see it. Chicago was beautiful. It was 75 degrees and sunny. We definitely want to go back to visit.

The rest of the drive was uneventful except for when Julie drove the wrong way on a one-way street (on purpose) to get the car wash we had paid for. The hilly scenery in Iowa was a nice change. Then the kids watched The Field of Dreams on our way to The Field of Dreams. It was cool. They'd had no idea what it was before the movie, and afterward could not believe that they were really going to see it. Kristine met us at the Field, and we played catch and ran the bases. Patty showed the kids how to give 150% with some very unnecessary dives and rolls to pick up the balls that she hadn't caught.

Joab wandered (very far) off into the corn in search of the players from the movie. After he came back safe and sound the first time, Arrianna joined him for a second trip. It was just cool. After that we drove out to Kristine's brother's house. They fed us awesome food that we ate outside (the weather was perfect), and the kids had a blast playing with their little ones. We also got to do some laundry! It was just a really good day.

Quote of the Day:
 "I don't get Iowa--it's superclean." -Joab

Today we got to see Kristine's home town.
We stayed with her mom and dad, who had 4 adorable little kittens playing on the front porch. We were all instantly in love, and we were all heartbroken that we couldn't take one home.

After we met Kristine's mom, Kristine took us out to see the farm she grew up on. But not the house she grew up in. They move houses in Iowa. Whole houses. It's crazy. The house she grew up in had been sold and moved somewhere near a lake, and her parents had bought a new house that they had moved onto their land. Then she took us to her uncle's farm where the kids got to see all kinds of animals. Peacocks greeted us when we drove up, and chickens followed us across the yard to see the ducks, guinea, and horses. We saw a wild bunny, and then petted some mini Shetland ponies and a dog. The kids were also impressed with the farm cats and kittens. We were hungry at this point, so we drove out to Sac City, IA to have dinner at the Sac City Cattle Company. Food was so good. Patty and the kids had amazing steaks.

Then we went back to the house and hung out while the girls baked peanut butter fingers with Kristine's mom and niece. It was really nice. The kids played with more little ones, and they all terrorized the kittens.

Quote(s) of the Day:
"I could fit in the urinal!" -Joab, upon returning from the men's room (he assured us that he did not go in)

"You and your condensation, Patty." -Freesia

"Let's get some popcorn. This is some action!" -Arrianna, after Patty made a comment she had to apologize for

We woke up at an unGodly hour (in God's country of all places), but we didn't have a phone on us so we didn't know until it was too late. Kristine's sister baked chocolate chip muffins and cranberry orange bread for breakfast. It was delicious. She also packed up the rest of the peanut butter fingers for our trip, although Julie and the kids were doubtful that Patty would let them have any. The kids played out in the yard for a bit before risking life and limb to wake up Kristine. Then we headed out for a long day of driving.

It took a couple of hours to get out of Iowa. Freesia used the time to finish the first of her summer reading books. Julie snuck the kids (and herself) some peanut butter fingers when we stopped at a gas station, and Julie locked the van so that everyone could get their piece before Patty could stop the unhealthiness. South Dakota was a lot greener than we thought it would be, but not as pretty as Iowa. It looked kind of scruffy until we hit the Missouri River, but the kids missed all of that. They passed out, along with Patty, for a two hour nap. Since the kids were sleeping, we ignored most of the billboards advertising all kinds of tourist traps.

We stopped at a local "AAA Approved" restaurant (whatever that means) where all of the quotes of the day came from. The kids were just cranking them out. Julie fulfilled one of her trip goals by having a slice of homemade rhubarb pie, and the kids all had ice cream (Patty must have forgotten about the peanut butter incident, but she was happy to get some more sunflower seeds).

We gained another hour of time heading toward Rapid City, so the kids had time to swim in the hotel pool before bed. 

Total Driving Miles/Time:
Julie: 2326 miles
Patty: 15 (seconds)

Quotes of the day:
"This is the best day of my life." -Joab
"Leave me and my spelling alone." -Arrianna
"Don't try to act like you don't know me. You're in the same car with me." -Patty

Got an early start with some laundry, an oil change, and a car wash. Then headed to the Borglum Museum - tour on the life and works of the man who carved Mt. Rushmore. Definitely glad we stopped by. It made Mt. Rushmore more meaningful for all of us.

Then we saw the real thing. It was pretty cool. We thought it would be raining, but seemed to be under a lucky patch of sunlight. Sadly, we did not find a North Dakota license plate and debating its existence. We weren't able to do Crazy Horse justice. We got a glimpse and decided the day was too long to stay, so we trecked on to Casper, WY to visit cousin Garrett.

Had no problem finding Garrett's place. We met Kaylee and he arrived soon after. Garrett showed the kids his new truck, which Joab loved, and his new tattoos. The kids were great, but there lack of nap showed. Joab's mouth kept going, but his brain seemed to be set to Random. After dinner we had to hit the road again for our only night-driving of the trip so far. We made it to Billings, MT by about 11 PM. 



Total Miles Driven:
Julie: 2880
Patty: about .5

Quote of the Day:
"We're not using the bathroom; I know this trick!" -Arrianna

"You kicked it into the clutches of evil!" -Freesia

The day started off a bit disappointing, as the kids--dressed and ready for a morning swim--found out that the hotel pool was closed for cleaning. They showered and changed into play clothes instead, as we wanted to get out of the car a bit on the way to Spokane.

We started the see the Rockies more clearly, and the kids were shocked to see snow on the mountaintops. We stopped at a rest area to play a game of soccer with the Rockies in the background. It was a strange game, with Freesia asserting that it was rugby and she was going to tackle Julie, and Patty and Julie deciding to play holding hands to give the kids a chance. Hilarity ensued, but all survived.

We were not quite as lucky when Julie decided we should take a break by climbing a hill/mini-mountain somewhere in Montana. Not only was it ninety degrees out, but the innocent-looking plant life turned out to be highly aggressive. We only made it up about 50 feet when Patty decided that Arrianna was right-this was ridiculous. We made it back down the steep hill and spent about 15 minutes getting rid of the thorn-like things that attached themselves to our shoes and socks, somehow covering the inside of everyone's shoes as well as the outside.

Got a decent start to the day and headed for Riverfront Park in downtown Spokane. We played a little while at the "World's Largest Radio Flyer Wagon" and then continued towards Seattle. Long driving day, and decided to crash in our room instead of trying to go out in the hopes we'd have more energy to enjoy Seattle the next day. Read three chapters of Harry Potter. Hopefully we'll make it before the movie is out.

Despite our decision to get more sleep instead of going out yesterday, we started the morning off in a bit of a funk. Julie and Joab were obviously tired, resulting in a cranky Julie and a hyper Joab (fabulous combination!). Luckily Seattle is an awesome city and by the time we'd found parking and started walking toward the Space Needle, Julie was in a better mood.

Weird Seattle fact: The parking lot takes plastic, but the monorail is cash-only (unlucky for us). We decided to make like we were in Boston and walk from the Space Needle to Pike Place Market (unlike in Boston, however, we waited patiently for crosswalk signals). It was a nice walk and easy to find--we just followed the monorail. We had a quick breakfast at Starbucks on the waterfront, and then ate our way through free samples of peaches, cherries, gouda, sugar snap peas, mango, and strawberries at the market. It was awesome. We also saw some flying fish and a monk fish "jumped" at the girls. We bought a bag of giant sugar snap peas for snacking, and headed back toward the Needle. We decided on the Experience Music Project, which was amazing. Patty got to see Kermit in the Jim Henson exhibit, and everyone got to try out different instruments in the Sound Lab of the Music Project (after we checked our bag of peas). The building itself is ridiculously cool.

We decided not to push our luck with the tired J's and headed back to the hotel after the museum. So glad we did. We ordered pizza in, showered, read a couple more chapters of Potter, and put the kids to bed at about 6:30.

Quotes of the Day:
"I don't get donuts every day!" -Arrianna's explanation for wolfing down 2/3 of her donut in about a minute

"Then why am I wasting time?" -Freesia when she found out how much time she had left to write her journal

"Don't do that! Even in a car I'm scared of rats." -Julie

"Ask somebody if we could kindly use their restroom." -Joab while we were driving through the creepiest mountains in Oregon

Today we left Seattle and headed down to Portland for lunch/donuts. It was ridiculously easy to find food in Portland. The girls had Thai Pineapple Fried Rice, Julie had a falafel wrap, and Joab and Patty shared a lamb wrap--all from food carts along the street. The food was great. Then we headed over to Voodoo donuts to see what the fuss was about. The donuts were crazy (one was topped with bacon) but delicious. Somehow they managed to put about a pound of frosting on each donut without them becoming too sweet. The kids were annoyed that we only let them eat half of their donuts, but for once Julie followed the same rule so the protests weren't as strong.

After Portland we drove out of Oregon over creepy mountains. Oregon was weird. The landscape seemed to be a funky combination of all the landscapes we'd driven through so far. Then we got into northern California where there is apparently no (human) life. Driving through the Redwood forest at twilight was scary. Freesia was pretty terrified. We decided to wait until the next day to get out and see the amazing trees up close. The kids slept as we wound our way along the California coast, so they never had any idea of the danger they were in with Julie at the wheel.

We began the day with a drive through more of the Redwood forest. Freesia continued to look quietly terrified and Arrianna continued to be loudly terrified. Admittedly, being so close to trees so old and large was a bit creepy. Arrianna looked convinced that real giants were going to come stomping out and we had to reassure her that they wouldn't. Still, when we got out of the car to take a short hike into the forest she carried a water bottle in each hand in case she needed to beat down an attacking bear. Joab, on the other hand, couldn't get enough of the forest and wanted to continue hiking deeper into the woods.

We drove past a sign for a "Drive-Through Tree" and thought that it was the one we had read about before the trip. It wasn't. It was much smaller. The guy at the gate didn't think we'd have any trouble making it through and just advised us to fold in the mirrors. He was way to casual about it. Once in the tree we realized that Hank is really big and the tree suddenly seemed very small. Patty offered to get out and direct us, but the doors were already closed in; she would've had to climb out the trunk. We inched through the tree with Julie putting her hand out of the windows to check how much room there was between the folded mirrors and the tree (usually about an inch and a half). Eventually we made it out. A truck that had gone in before us asked if we'd made it through unharmed and seemed surprised that we had. (We were surprised, too.) We let the kids play in a hollowed out tree house for a few minutes before continuing on to San Francisco.

The kids watched a Modern Marvels episode on the Golden Gate Bridge as we drove down the coast. It was kind of amazing. They built the bridge in the 1930's with no federal money--residents of California agreed to put liens on their houses and farms to help finance the bridge!

With a greater appreciation of San Franciscans and northern Californians, we headed across the bridge to our hotel. After checking in and finding parking we headed aimlessly into Chinatown looking for a restaurant that Julie and Patty used to frequent, with only a vague idea that it was on a corner and maybe yellow. Miraculously, we found it and had some excellent lemonade along with dinner. We also picked up some sweatshirts for the kids as San Francisco was its usual chilly in the evening. Then we picked up Patty's parents at the airport and headed to bed.

Had a late night last night picking up Abuelo and Abuela (aka Patty's parents) from the airport, so we slept in a bit this morning. Patty took her parents and a couple of the kids on a few errands in the morning. Then her parents rested while we read some Harry Potter (on chapter 20 of Book 6). It was nice to take it easy. We headed out again around lunchtime. We're staying in the middle of the city, so we ate at a nearby foodcourt where Freesia and Joab both tried samples of calamari (we didn't tell them what it was until after they ate it). Then we headed over to the main event of the day: a catamaran sail around the bay.

It was perfect. We went down to Fisherman's Wharf where the kids tried to take in everything around them. The boy was happy for about 5 minutes just playing on one of the light poles (he was tired). The kids were shocked when they realized what we were there to do. They kept saying that they had never been sailing before. Arrianna was super-nervous.

There were a few other people on the AdventureCat sail, but we had the only children. It worked out well as most of the adults stayed inside on the comfy benches while the kids wasted no time hopping onto the nets between the hulls to look down at the water.

It was nice to lie down in the sun in the middle of the boat, especially with all of the walking we've been doing. It's a great relaxing but invigorating way to see the city, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Alcatraz. The kids totally took advantage of being able to 'run around' and feel adventurous. 




After the sail, the grandparents did a bit of shopping while we headed over to Ghiradelli Square for some ice cream and chocolate samples. By this time everyone was thoroughly exhausted and we headed back, with a short detour down Lombard Street (the crookedest street). Hank, the van, outdid himself on these San Francisco hills, and it was the first time since we got him that Julie wasn't annoyed that he's an automatic. Wrapped up the day with some Indian food in our hotel room and a little bit more Potter.

We're definitely sleeping in tomorrow.

Had breakfast near the hotel in San Francisco, then reluctantly left our nicest hotel of the trip to head off toward L.A. We made a quick stop in Monterey to show the kids where we fell in love (insert their gagging noises here). Had lunch in Monterey after the boy climbed a tree and the girls climbing some rocks by the ocean, then grabbed some Jamba Juice and took off again. We drove through Pacific Grove and Cannery Row, but didn't really have time to appreciate any of it.

The trip to L.A. was long and seemed to be full of stops for food, restrooms, and running around. Finally here and ready to sleep.

Woke up in L.A. Took Abuela and Abuelo to visit some friends, and drove to Phoenix a day early.

Patty threw up.

Oh, and the kids had their first In 'n Out burgers.

Quotes of the Day:
"I'm going to tell you what I'm doing: I'm trying. To convince you. To buy me. A tub of rice." -Freesia

Being in Phoenix felt a bit like being home, especially since we stayed with Mark. His girls still call our old room Patty and Julie's Room. Patty and the kids ran a few errands in morning while the grandparents shopped. We had lunch at Zoe's, and Arrianna managed to eat unfamiliar food (Greek, this time) without making any faces. Julie had a sweet tea (one of the few places they were available when we lived there) and everyone else went for a limeade. Freesia was successful in her attempt to procure additional rice and, although it was just a small bowl, professed her love to it. Strange child.

We had dinner at Pizzeria Bianco, the best pizza place in the country. We had called a few minutes too late to get a reservation back in June, so we showed up early to get in line. It was super hot. Mark and his girls met us at the restaurant and the kids finally met each other. They had plenty of time to get to know one another while we waited on our table, and seemed to hit it off pretty quickly. Dinner was delicious, of course. Joab had been waiting on this meal for months and it lived up to his expectations: "The pizza was fabulous and I loved it. I sav[or]ed every bite I took." After the meal Abuelo and Abuela walked around downtown a bit. It was still in the 100s, but bearable without the sun.

Back at home the kids all decided to camp out on the living room floor in sleeping bags. It was an idea doomed to failure, but we let it happen anyway. After about an hour Skyler and Ariel decided their beds were more comfortable than the floor, Julie told our three that if anyone else spoke they would miss the next day's baseball game, and everyone slept peacefully. 

Quotes of the Day:
"If I drive for half an hour..." -Patty
"...We'll get lost." -Joab
"...It'll be a disaster." -Freesia
"Who wants Patty to drive? Raise your hand." - Arrianna
"I want to see how this turns out." -Freesia, as she raised her hand

"Could you please get me more lemonade? Or Mongolian beef?" -Freesia

"You have nothing to fear but Mongolian beef. Ask your mother to buy you Mongolian beef." -Freesia's fortune cookie

"If you say Mongolian beef one more time...!" -Arrianna

Today we had a slow morning then had lunch at Pei Wei, where Freesia could not get enough of the Mongolian beef. She must've asked for more Mongolian beef about fifty times. Fortunately she was able to ask in such ridiculous and original ways that she did not get into any trouble, instead she had Patty ready to roll on the floor laughing.

After Pei Wei we dropped Patty's parents off at the airport, planning to meet them later in Texas as the next few days were going to be rough driving. Then we met Mark and the girls at the ballpark to watch the Diamondbacks lose 1 to 8 against the Florida Marlins. It continued Julie and Patty's pattern of never seeing the Diamondbacks win a game in person. Still, it was nice to get out of the heat for a few hours. The kids enjoyed sharing some popcorn and a bowl of ice cream. After the game the kids got to run the bases on the field (every Sunday is "kids run the bases" at the Diamondbacks ballpark). We were jealous.

We headed back to Mark's to pack and set off for the Grand Canyon.

Quotes of the Day:
"There's no reading at the Grand Canyon!" -Julie

"He's acting like a moose that can't drive!" -Joab (in need of a nap?)

"No, seriously. Is the ground made out of poop?" -Freesia

"You're a person, not a bunch of crows!" -Arrianna

Today we found out that you should always fill up in Flagstaff instead of waiting until Williams, where both gas stations were closed when we drove in last night. We ended up having to get gas right outside of the Grand Canyon entrance, which was painfully more expensive. On the way into the Canyon we saw two deer (or deer-like creatures) perilously close to the road. As the animals stayed safely in the grass, it was a cool way to start the day. The kids were in awe when they saw the Grand Canyon. We hadn't really given them any idea of what it was and they were impressed and a little afraid. Arrianna could not believe that Julie (and Dean) had once climbed down into it "without insurance!" She was relieved that we weren't planning to hike and, secretly, so was Julie. It was hot. We're planning to go back at some point and hike down to the river again (Julie, Patty, and Kristine did it one winter), but next time we'll camp at the bottom and come back up on a different day.

We didn't stay long at the Grand Canyon as we weren't planning to hike and still had a ways to go for the day. We drove off into New Mexico which was just as hot as Arizona and full of unattractive rest stops. There was no suitable grass for a soccer game, but it stayed in the 100s for most of the day so we probably wouldn't have wanted to play if we could. We ate in Albuquerque, but did not really explore the city as planned. We decided to drive straight through in an effort to get to Texas a day early. We made it to Artesia, near Carlsbad, at some point in the night and the kids were excited to sleep in a king-size bed in their own room (they only had a suite available).

Quote of the Day:
"That was direct contact. Julie, isn't that a violation of Educational Decree Number 21?" -Freesia

"Stop stopping us!" -Freesia on the way to the caverns

Patty woke everyone up early (9AM) even though we'd gotten in super-late and were super-exhausted. The place had a good breakfast, though, so we were well-fed for our hike into the Carlsbad Cavern. Julie was so tired that she actually let Patty drive! The caverns were a little farther out of the way than we'd expected, but they were also cheaper (kids were free for the self-guided tour). The kids were in a rush to get into the cavern at first, but then they got a whiff of the smell coming out of the cave and changed their minds. We went in anyway and found the probable source of the smell--a bat cave near the entrance apparently has bat guano (poop) up to forty feet high! After we passed the bat cave the smell got better, but the cave got darker. The girls were freaked out, but continued on into the near-blackness even after reading about the raccoons, snakes, and mice that live in the twilight part of the cave. The caverns were a serious exercise in self-control for Julie and Joab as you're not allowed to touch anything or go off of the trail. The inside of the caverns was amazing although we couldn't get any good pictures with our camera. By the time we got to the Big Room the kids could point out stalactites, stalagmites, columns, and popcorn with ease and were attempting to guess which stalagmites would soon become columns and what the columns had looked like when they were younger. The 56 degree caverns were a great place for a 2 plus mile walk when the weather outside was in the 100s again.

After the caverns we drove into Texas and found that there were almost no options for food or gas and no signs giving the milage to any of the towns ahead. It was annoying and slightly alarming as our gas tank edged toward empty. We made it to Pecos just before our gas light went on, but still had little option in the way of food. Since it was already 5 and we hadn't had lunch we went with burgers and fries even though we'd had Sonic the day before as well. Dinner wasn't much better. Julie and Patty alternated driving and reading out loud in our race to finish The Half-Blood Prince; the kids were quite emotional as we neared the end. We got to Austin at around 1 in the morning and were happy to fall asleep right away. We're staying with Patty's brother and his family, and the kids have been looking forward to playing with their cousins for quite some time.

We slept in today. It was lovely. When the kids woke up at around 10:30 they dressed and then we continued reading Book 6. The kids were so engrossed in the book that they refused to stop for breakfast (usually we don't say no to a meal). We had to force them to stop with one chapter to go at 12:30. We met Misty and the cousins for lunch in Austin and then took all of the kids, 6 in all, to visit their cousin Julianne at her college. Marching six kids under twelve into a college dorm was surprisingly funny, as was the look on Julianne's roommate's face when she came in to find the small room bursting with children. We took everyone to a McDonald's with an indoor playplace so that Julianne could eat and the kids could play. Everyone was happy for over an hour and none of the kids asked for anything other than water the whole time! We got them each an ice cream cone when they started to wander out of the playplace looking like they could fall asleep on the spot. It gave them enough energy to play for a half hour longer before we had to take Julianne back for a late class.

Back in Austin we got the kids fed, showered, and settled in to read the last chapter of our book. We're planning to see the movie this weekend and we'll have to get Book 7 tomorrow or figure out a substitute bedtime book.

I hate Florida.