Day One of the Patterson Cross Country Trip

We’ve always talked about doing a cross country trip with our kids.  Joe had done it when he was a kid and wanted to do it with our kids.  Old enough that they would have great memories but not too old that they wouldn’t want to spend a few weeks on the road with their parents!  We planned it this year since Joe’s camp would be complete in June and we’d have all of July to travel.

Anne had just finished studying the parts of the United States this year in school and enjoyed it so much.  She will get to see and experience what she just learned.  She is also keeping a journal of this trip.

Ever since we decided we were going on this trip, the kids have added “a good cross country trip” on their list of prayers during family prayers.

The planning of this trip was mainly all Joe.  He put together everything we were interested in and put our itinerary onto an excel spreadsheet – start, destination, duration of trip, mileage, etc....  Everything looks great on the spreadsheet, the challenge is seeing if we can stick to it the schedule.  That would be something, huh?

Destination: Hyndman, PA

The end of the school year was busy and preparing for this trip was really put on hold until the last minute.  I had laundry in the basement waiting to be folded for about two weeks.  I was really wondering if packing was ever going to happen.  Joe was also really busy with camps and wasn’t around much.

For some reason, I work well under pressure and got all the kids packed and brought everything we’ll need for the next few weeks, I think.  We’ll see – won’t we?

This past week, I had my two nephews staying with us because they were attending Joe’s football camp.  This was also Tommy’s first camp ever as well.  I was a bit nervous about how he was going to do, but he did so well and really enjoyed it.  It certainly helped that his cousins were there with him.  Anne also went to football camp, but helped Daddy by being the water girl.  Joe said she was such a great worker, she deserved to be paid for her time!

Our first destination is what we call, the Farm.  This is where my nephews live.  This particular weekend is special because all of Joe’s brother’s families are gathering so we can all compete in the Grand Loop.  It’s a foot race around the surrounding mountains with obstacles  - about 3 miles in length.  It’s the kind where you get really dirty!  We’ve been talking about this for months as well and we were all so excited to race!  We were just hoping no one got hurt because we still have the rest of our cross country trip to do.

Joe arrived from his last day of camp at 8pm and we made it on the road at 10pm!  It was great traffic and a smooth drive.  We made it safely.  We all went straight to sleep looking forward to what is to come the next day! 

Sleepy

I'm sure most parents out there have pictures like this of your kids.

After a long day, we were sitting at the dining room table eating and Bernadette falls asleep in the middle of it!  Definitely worth whipping out the camera. 

I have a video of my son, Patrick nodding off at the dinner table while eating his dinner.  That was so funny!  If I can figure out how to post it, I would.

Loved By All

Max is 5 months old now and still very popular amongst his siblings.  They all do their part and check in on Max when he's laying down, sitting in his high chair or hanging out in his car seat.  Sometimes, I leave him some where and when I return he's got a stuffed animal or some other toy with him.  My kids seem to think it'll make him happy.  Recently, a small pink bunny rabbit (from Bernadette) found it's way into Maxi's car seat and then into his mouth.  It's ear was soaked through. 

Then I notice the kids know what to do when Maxi is crying.  They'll ask me where they can find his binky or they put it in his mouth to calm him down.  The other day Maxi spit up all over me and Tommy ran and got his burp cloth and handed it to me to clean us up.  I didn't have to say a thing. 

The other day, we were in the grocery when we spotted Anne's third grade teacher from last year.  I was busy checking out and she took Maxi into her arms and carried him over to her to show him off to her teacher. 

I will find the kids playing with him when he's all alone just to keep him company.  I find this...

or this...

These things make my heart warm.

There are times when Max is left alone and I'm left to hear him crying in the background while trying to get dinner on the table - last night.  It makes for another level of stress.  I finally had everyone sitting down at the table and ready to comfort the little guy and enjoy a yummy dinner.  I scoop him up in the middle of saying grace when I notice how wet he feels and then slimy.  I see the reflection in the mirror and notice that what I'm feeling is a huge poopie bomb.  He just started solids and they seem to be explosive lately.  I was actually waiting for this, since keeping track of bowl movements is one of the many things I track in my kids' lives, and that he hadn't had a substantial one in a couple of days after solids.  It always comes in an inopportune time!  The kids thought it was the funniest thing and were so intrigued by how the poop was coming out of every where.  It almost seemed they were applauding Max for "a good one"!  In a way, so was I.  They started to comment on how relieved he must be feeling, way to go Max!  That's all I need is a constipated baby.  Been there, done that already.

Wheelin' Around

When the weather is so fabulous outside, it would be a shame not to partake of it, right?

Our kids are at all stages of riding bikes.  So, we took them to St. John's track to ride their bikes.

Patrick has just learned to ride a two wheeler and he was looking forward to riding freely on the track.  He had his Lightning McQueen bike helmet on and I'm sure he was imagining he was racing on a real racetrack.  As soon as he took off we heard a huge pop and then we saw Patrick fly off his bike.  His tire popped.  That was the end of his biking for the day.

 

End of the bike?  Not sure yet.  Poor little guy was so upset.  He was more sad about not being able to ride than being flown off the bike.  He was fine and didn't get hurt. 

 

 

 

Anne was just biking around and around.

 

Then there was Tommy.  He doesn't know how to ride a two wheeler yet and couldn't practice since the bike was broken.  He decided to practice his long jump instead.

 





Bernadette was practicing her pedalling on the red tricycle.

She pedalled around the track VERY slowly.  It was really cute.  I don't think she made it all the way around, but she started pedalling in little circles about 3/4 of the way through.

Max and I were hanging out on the grass.  He is almost at the point where he can sit up on his own.  He'll topple over if he leans over too far. 

Max's first time sitting in grass.  Oh look, do you also see a dimple?  Cuteness...

Bubble Blowing

Soon after we were hit with the late snow we received the absolute opposite weather.  We skipped the warm and breezy weather to some hot weather.  I had to go dig out the Summer clothes! 

I took Bernadette outside to enjoy the weather.  We brought along her nifty, no-spill bubbles container that she got for her birthday.  This way, she could use it indoors and outdoors and I don't have to worry about spills.  I used to make homemade bubbles in a cup and give it to her while I was cooking and she would always spill it on the floor.  Since it's clear, I can't see it on the floor, especially if I'm not paying attention.  Last time it happened, I almost did the splits in the Kitchen while I was 8 months pregnant - woah!

I remember doing this when I was young.  I think we made our own bubbles too, however I put it into a tall clear glass.  In the midst of our bubble blowing, I lifted the glass and took a big gulp of it thinking it was water.  Yuck!  I then tried blowing bubbles from my mouth - fail.

There is something so fun about blowing bubbles.  Bernadette will blow them and then try to catch them.

Look how cute her puckered lips are with that serious look she gets when she blows.

Serious turns into much joy after producing a lot of bubbles.

We repeat this over and over again and it doesn't get boring.  More giggles and smiles.

Looking a bit lightheaded after blowing a ton of bubbles or just soaking in all the fun?

Looking forward to more warm days...

Late Snow

Goodbye, Winter!

We were well into March, anticipating the joys of Easter arrival and the hints of warmer weather ahead when we got a surprise in the weather forecast!  They were calling for snow and not just a dusting like we got this past Winter, but a significant snowfall.  I was so hopeful for some real snow storms this year.  Every where else seemed to get lots of big snow to talk about, but we ended up being right at the border of it all getting the smallest accumulation to just a tease of snow. 

The news was playing it up as a huge storm, but I was doubtful.  The forecasts changed a few times that made me skeptical.  But when we woke up the next morning - there was snow!

The kids didn't have school and already knew how they wanted to spend their day.  We did notice the snow was beginning to get wet.  The Weather Channel said it was going to change to rain later that day.  So my kids got ready to go outside.

As I'm posting this picture above, Bernadette says, "My snowsuit is so awesome and look at my boots!"  She's so right.

There was snow gear every where!  Looking for the matching gloves, hats and boots!  Again, I sat on the floor and caught my breath after the whirlwind of getting 5 kids dressed to go outside.

I just want to comb her hair and put it neatly into a ponytail, however there was no time for that - have to get outside NOW!

Enjoying probably the last snow of the season.

There was talk of good packing snow...

...makes for a good snowball fight.

I got a series of facial expressions from Bernadette when I asked her how she was liking the snow.  She is so animated when she talks.  This one was my favorite.  I'll have to post the others another time.

The snow turned into rain by the time they were done making snowmen.  The snowmen look a bit dirty, huh?  They didn't last a day when the sun came out the next day. 

So long Winter...see you next year.

4 months

Max is now around 4 months old.  I was getting him out of a bath and the light from the window was just begging me to take some pics as he was kicking and cooing with a big smile on his face.  I run downstairs to get my camera bag and snap away.

He is very active, this boy!  He is always moving something around or swatting at things.  He is learning how to use his body, for sure.

I love pictures of baby feet - so precious.  I get too impatient to get a good picture of them, but I tried again and this was the best one I could get. 

As I was fiddling around, I noticed my portrait lens stopped working - auto focusing.  Very sad.  I loved that lens.  Why isn't it working?  I may have to get another one.

Max just had his 4 month well visit at the doctor's and he's grown 3 inches and is in the 90% for height.  He is growing, that's for sure!  He's in the 25% for weight.  He's leaning out already.  I wonder if he'll continue to grow tall or slow down and start scoring low on the growth chart like his siblings?

His giggles are so much fun to listen to.  He's got a great laugh.  We all spend so much time trying to make him laugh because it's so darn cute. 

I will start to feed him solids soon.  I used to be so eager to start, but I'm waiting till, perhaps, 5 months or he hits 15 lbs first.  I also have to dust off the ol' high chair.

Max also got his first cold this past month.  Thank God it wasn't a horrible one.  He developed a really flemmy cough and was a bit drippy, but he was happy through it all.  I'm surprised he didn't get sick sooner since there's been some kind of virus circulating our house this entire school year!

He is quite the drooler too!  Not too sure if that's because of teething, the cold or just the way he is. 

Max's hair is also getting quite long.  He already needs a haircut.  Can't see it in the picture but I'll make sure to get some of that in here soon!  Most people comment on how much hair he has.  It makes him look like a little man.

Anyway, off to make some lunch for the kiddos!