are we crazy or does it just seem like it to us?

In an attempt to familiarize our littlest girls with camping & the work, fun & craziness associated with it, we drove 45 minutes to Sand Ridge State Wildlife Area this past weekend for a one night camping excursion.

good things:
playing outside for a long long time
strawberry marshmallows (too bad I forgot the chocolate for smores)
cozy beds
the smell of pine when we got out of the truck
a toilet
laughter
Murphie the dog frolicking with the kids
bug free tent
excited kids with good attitudes
I was able to put Eliana's arm back where it belonged

not so good things:
LOTS of ticks (I can't even guess the number we have discarded)
LOTS of gnats
Eliana's arm dislocated again during a tantrum
cold night (worrying that everyone was cold)

Overall, we were really glad we decided to go for it, even though it was a lot of work for one night. Unfortunately our house is a nightmare that feels like will never be clean again (yet here I sit). I'm sure I'm just over-reacting.
Enjoy the photos from the adventure!

the american way

So in the last few days we have done a lot of chatting with Eliana about Ethiopia. We are happy to realize that she hasn't forgotten everything yet. We have gotten a couple of descriptions of happenings & people & she even recalled the name of one sibling from her precious first family (we double checked & she was right!).
Anyway, this alongside Eliana & Maci's first relay into positive reinforcement. The big girl (E.) has been having a little trouble "holding her water" shall we say...she just gets busy playing outside or with her brothers & sisters & lets it all go. Generally I find out when I call her in for dinner, maybe a half hour later. Not fun. I have been teaching & lecturing on this point for about three weeks now (when it first became a problem) to no avail.
Meanwhile, the little girl (M.) has reached the point when she is ready for all out potty training.
So it began. Eliana badly wants Crocs. See, Caleb has them. And Mommy has them. And recently even Daddy got them (in size 15 no less). But Eliana did not need them. So she was told no. But I have relented.
If she goes seven days with dry underwear all day, my darling will get her Crocs. When I informed her in my best "short words & lots of motions" sort of way, she responded with a sharp intake of breath & asked if I meant the kind of shoes that have a lot of holes & then she fairly jumped out of her skin! And she made me say that Maci would get them too. Actually Maci is completely thrilled with the stickers.
But I think I saw the fake ones at Marshall's for $7.99.

Pizza What?!

We are still adjusting to the whole "feed the family of seven" thing. We were laughing our way out of Lone Star Steakhouse a month ago when we went for kids eat free night. Sonya and I both ordered about the cheapest thing we could on the menu (I think they were burgers at around $9) and all the kids got kids meals (with root beer/choc. milk and ice cream for dessert). The adults of course drank water and we walked out paying for 3 (only two eat free per adult) and a bill of $24. Not bad...a family of seven with most getting desert for under $25.

Well, tonight we topped that. We drove over to the local Pizza Hut. Tuesday night is the pizza buffet. AND they let the book it coupons work for the buffet. So we sat down, all seven of us, with the 4 accumulated book it coupons from our oldest daughter's year, and opened the menu. Yeah...three and under eat free with paying adult. Yeah, we can apply the book it to the other three kids (still one to spare). Yeah...for 14.02 we had seven people eat their fill of pizza, salad, soup, and warm pasta. May not be the healthiest, but definitely not a bad deal for the bargain hunter in us. It was nice to have a meal of no complaining and a general happy spirits (a treat for the kids...that is for sure). As a side, when we pulled up our youngest son said"The sign is pretty close to Pizza Butt" (yeah, he's 8). I guess that is what you get with too many pizza buffets!

We'd love to hear stories of cheap eats! Please keep in mind...we'll only be impressed if you are feeding larger families. (no stories of two at Taco Bell for $3)