Beach "vacation!"

Not sure we'll ever top our latest road trip. But we don't have to, right? Right??

It began with a longish drive to Mammoth Cave National Park. We pulled in in the early evening and managed to avoid the predicted rain long enough for a beautiful (albeit short) hike in the woods above the cave system.

We also checked into pretty much the cutest little cottage we'd ever seen. Right out of a fairy tale, including no air conditioning. We were off to a good start, despite the tick Elise got on her pretty much the second she stepped off the beaten path (turns out, Daddy was actually right with his warning this time!).

The. Cutest. Cottage.

We'd all been to Mammoth Cave before, although Naomi hadn't been born quite yet at the time. It soon became clear that she greatly preferred it that way. Here's a list of the fears she confronted within the first 5 minutes:

-Giant spiders

-Dark

-Being hundreds of feet underground (10 would've been okay)

-Heights

-Those metal steps that are full of holes with no backs

-Close spaces

-Those metal platforms that are full of holes and cross over heights

-General creepiness

But not bears. Elise had heard, in preschool, that caves are crawling with bears, and pretty much the worst thing you could do was to enter a cave (this she remembered from our previous trip). Fortunately, this cave was bear-free at the time.

Our junior ranger!

Naomi did survive the tour, and even enjoyed the stalactites and stalagmites at the end. (The rest of us loved the tour, but kinda felt bad saying so.) Back at the surface, we grabbed lunch from the cooler, and chilled in the visitor center a bit. Naomi completed the Junior Ranger badge program and was sworn in (and she wore her badge faithfully for at least two full weeks), and everyone bought something, except Matt. By the time we were ready for more adventuring, though, it was about ready to rain. Five minutes into our hike, we were turning back--but at least our next hike would be indoors (i.e., the cave).

I was hoping Naomi would enjoy the cave more the second time, having "conquered" her fears. Plus, I knew it was a more level route, with wider spaces and less towering scaffolding. No such luck. After the ranger's dire warnings about who should and should not go on the tour. Naomi was in tears. "Please don't make me go!" she begged, feeling as though she fit into the category of people who either didn't want to take health risks or "just wouldn't be comfortable." I assured her that the warnings were for people with medical problems, and she'd be fine. Trooper that she is [required to be sometimes, due to her family of origin], she allowed me to drag her into the gaping hole that was the entrance to the cave. 

Bat not pictured. Naomi being
a trooper.

This time, she hated it even worse. Fortunately, the people around us were kind, and hopefully not too annoyed--several of them congratulated her at the end, at least.

However, with the light at the end of the tunnel literally in site, a fellow tourist pointed out a small, furry bat cleaning to a somewhat low ceiling. Naomi turned around in her tracks and went BACK into the cave to visit this sweet little sleeping bat. She loved it. After lots and lots of pictures, our smiling girl virtually danced out of the cave. So it ended up that no matter how terrible each tour was, there was something to like as she finished. Note: every time Naomi is scared, bring her an animal. 

Our next stop that evening was a random hotel in Tennessee, a few more hours down the road. I'm pretty sure the kids had ice cream for dinner (ice cream may have been promised a couple hundred feet underground during the second cave tour), and then we supplemented it with--you guessed it--cooler food at the hotel. 

Elise: I kind of feel like I want some lettuce. [unheard of for Elise]

Me: Here's a pear.

Elise: I feel like that will be too sweet. [also unheard of]

In between trips out to the car, we drooled over the microwaveable meal vending machine in the lobby. 

Kalina: I just want real food.

Me: Me too. But this won't really taste as good as it looks...

I almost caved in. Secretly, I was super proud that it only took about 2 days of "unreal" food before at least two of my kids were ready for my home cooking. I promised them real food once we got settled into our AirBnB in St. Augustine, and maybe Subway on the next day's drive, and then we went upstairs and made toast, apples and peanut butter, recombining the ingredients we'd been living on for (only) two days. The toast, at least, was warm and comforting--just like Mom's.

The next day, we drove the rest of the way to St. Augustine, Florida. The kids are champs in the car, and we all enjoyed listening to Elijah of Buxton, a somewhat humorous, exciting, educational, heartwarming, character-building book about a boy living in a free slave settlement in Canada. We did have Subway, and enjoyed every crumb.

We had just a bit of trouble finding our AirBnB and its parking spot, plus it was chilly and drizzling and getting dark when we pulled into the beach. Blech. Nevertheless, Matt, the hero, took the kids to beach in rain jackets until it really was too dark, while I tried to get organized. Throughout the evening, we kept staring at the forecast, hoping for a change from all the predicted rain.

How we all felt when
we arrived at the
beach.

The next day began with the beach and a much-appreciated grocery-store run (me). I couldn't wait to stock up on healthy favorites. Only one problem: due to inflation and a tourist town, a small head of broccoli cost $4, strawberries were $5, and nothing else was much better. I stared long and hard at all the selections, weighing the amount we'd be likely to eat, with nutritional value, with prep difficulty, with general acceptance--there should be a degree in these things. 

My best values:

-White peaches, which are never that good anywhere else, but were delicious in Florida, and "only" cost $3.99/lb. Comparable to the cruddy ones in Kansas that cost roughly the same.

-A colossal bag of popcorn. Chips were $4/bag. This 20-serving monstrosity cost me $6, plus had all the "wow" factor that a vacation treat should.

Back home, I proudly served a not-cooler-food lunch amid beach time.

The beach was amazing. Relatively flat but still with decent waves, and with white sand that didn't retain heat, it did feel like a paradise. However, no amount of sunscreen could keep the girls from getting burnt. We decided to pull them in and check out some attractions in St. Augustine.

See all the nesting birds
in the background?

We ended up at the Alligator Farm. The alligators were cool, but our favorite site was alllllll the nesting water birds that somehow chose the trees hanging over the alligator-infested waters of this little zoo as the ideal place to raise their young. We saw all stages of chicks, observed feedings, heard their calls, and avoided being sullied. Plus, the alligator shows and such were pretty cool, too, and we got to chat with a keeper for a while and learn what it's like to be one. 

Then, back to the beach. But we still couldn't ignore the history (actually, I couldn't ignore the history, and there was no way I was going to let my children do so). On our second day, after visiting a beach that was supposed to have better shelling than our own--and kinda did--and where it wasn't supposed to rain--and it kinda did--we all toured the old Spanish fort, which became extra interesting to the kiddos when a history professor volunteer in costume began telling them the stories. Plus we could go up on the roof.

A cool spot on the
roof of the fort.

The stories were great, and the fort was fun to explore, but the girls were still eager to be on the beach, where we ended up spending all afternoon. Being a little bit intrigued, however, they also kinda wanted to see more history. So on Monday, with Matt working a 1/2 day, we headed to the historic district to take a tour that had gotten rave reviews by parents online. I figured it was worth a try--after all, they were supposedly going to fire a canon and it'd be way better than watching me try to lead them around and look stuff up on my phone. 

Naomi and I like
old houses. :)

Their attitudes were good, but I could tell they were putting on a brave face, and were anticipating another activity that Mom got way more excited about than they did. Plus it was hot.

But within about 2 minutes of starting our historic district tour, the tour guide had made them laugh at least a couple times, and then she kept them laughing all the way to the end. Not only did they learn a ton, but the girls delightedly retold it all, sometimes word for word, to Matt back at the condo. 

We also were able to walk around the old buildings in the historic district, shop for souvenirs, and purchase some amazing popsicles for an overall incredible morning. Win! Plus, they were excited to go to the Ponce de Leon Fountain of Youth Historical Site the next day. And we still had plenty of time for the beach.

We drank from the 
fountain of youth!
Except Naomi, who
was weirded out by it,
but also nervous she'd
get in trouble with the
docent if she didn't
actually drink.

Feeding an albino
peacock!

The Fountain of Youth site was also pretty cool (although Elise was a bit let down by the fact that the water came out of pipes), especially the peacocks that roamed the grounds and seemed to almost meow like cats. Sweet Naomi's anxiety reared its head when they shot a cannon again--no matter how many kind history buffs tried to explain to her that there was no cannonball and it couldn't possibly hurt her, she wasn't budging from her spot 50 feet away. I let them finish their thoughts, not trying to explain that it was probably the noise that actually bothered her the most, but that she probably couldn't put that into words yet and just knew that she really didn't want to see/hear it go off. [Sometimes the bigs don't understand that life actually is more difficult--in some ways, anyway--for their ultra sensitive little sister and I try to remind them that while they were super excited to see a cannon shot again, it was super stressful for Naomi, and that same situation repeats itself all the time. But it'll get better.]

I think this is Elise's
crab larvae. I think.

One of these evenings, we took the inflatable kayaks out to a wetlands for an evening paddle. We saw a couple alligators and a bird or two, plus some jumping fish. But mostly it was a beautiful evening on the water. And Elise was able to collect a plankton sample, from which she was able to observe, under her pocket microscope, her much-anticipated crab larvae! It was actually pretty cute with its big eyes and everything.

On the way to and from, we spotted a fruit/gator jerky shop that became a family joke. What if we own roadside gator jerky stand? Where we'd process the jerky along the side of the road, and then sell it. And where would we get the gators? Also alongside the road. Get it? Get it?? This kept us amused for quite a while. And presumably, will for the near future.

Also exciting: in one of the low-tide "tide pools," Kalina caught a skate. It was adorable and didn't even seem too concerned with us. We found a second as well. Naomi's toe got caught by a crab, and Elise, throughout the trip, got stung by jellyfish 3 times, bringing her total to 6. 

Elise in her happy place. Which
is pretty much the entire ocean.

The girls built large sandcastle systems (or in Naomi's case, fairy villages) complete with bridge, and Kalina dug down to the water. They mastered boogie boards (even Naomi tried them!) and Matt attempted to snorkel--but couldn't see much. 

We were sad to leave our beautiful beach condo and beautiful beach and lovely beach town, but our trip held many more adventures, and on Wednesday, it was time to begin them. We loaded up the van and met Uncle Brian at a kayaking place, snagging the only shady spot in the lot (yes, that's notable. "Park in the shade." -Me, everywhere we stopped), and then snagging Uncle Brian!

This site was particularly cool because we might be able to see monkeys--the remnant of a tourist stunt from like 90 years ago. We figured we had a 50/50 chance.

Yay! Gorgeous water, and 
so much fun to kayak with
Brian!

With incredibly little fanfare for such an amazingly beautiful spot, we loaded up our kayaks and pushed off into the spring-fed river. The water was clear as glass, such that we could always see to the bottom, even when the bottom was 50 feet below us. This was unnerving for at least one of us (the same one who doesn't like stairs with holes in them above large drop-offs), but pretty exciting for everyone else.

We partially fell in with a tour group that pointed out a momma gator and a couple of baby gators (which Naomi had really, really wanted to see), and also cruised past some turtles and plenty of fish. But not monkeys. Naomi chose this time to mention that 1.) She was ready to be done and 2.) Monkeys were the thing she wanted to see the very most. (But no pressure.)

We weren't seeing any monkeys.

Coming into the end of the paddle, we were all super hot and one of us was fading fast (honestly, maybe two of us...). We saw a small group of boaters pointing out something near the water. An alligator? We decided to check it out. 

It was so bright, I had
no idea if any of my
photos were turning out.

Thanks to three young guys breaking the law and tossing snacks, a cluster of monkeys had gathered near the water's edge for free handouts! Including cute little tiny baby monkeys clinging to their mammas. Jackpot! Obviously, you don't usually get this kind of display, because people aren't usually illegally feeding them. But we weren't going to see anything. We did keep a bit of distance because they can potentially jump into boats. Not that that wouldn't be fun...

Gorgeous night, just no gators.

That evening, we headed out to look for alligators at an amazing boardwalk over a swamp (no alligators; lots of amazing birds, though, and a few not-very-skittish, adorable marsh rabbits!), and then got to observe the bats leaving the bat house at the University of Florida, which was totally incredible.

The next day, we headed to an animal rescue zoo. But not just any animal rescue zoo--this one was the only place in Florida (that I could find, anyway, and that was near enough) that would guarantee a manatee sighting! 

We drove a while, then hopped on a boat, and finally ended up at this cute little zoo, where some of the signs were misleading and we very nearly missed the manatee feeding! We ran up just as the volunteers was finishing sprinkling leaves of lettuce all over the feeding area. But it did the trick!

Look carefully for the anoles
on Matt and Elise.

Manatee nostrils are totally
a thing. Or should be.

The manatees were amazing, just for who they were. The coolest part was the nostrils. Or the soft, friendly eyes. Either way, we watched for a long time before they swam off, and then we wandered off to check out the rest of the critters. Beginning with the resident anoles, who at various times found themselves placed on Elise's and Matt's heads for pictures, until they once again gained their freedom. 

Along this path, I realized we'd never taken advantage of the underwater viewing portion of the observation area. Coincidentally (maybe), I saw one of our manatee friends returning to the feeding place. Should I, also return? Would this manatee actually show up there if I did? And stay there long enough to make the short trek back worth it? Was this just me being a crazy person?

I had to try, and somehow I got everyone to follow (but kinda far behind--I was super motivated and can walk pretty fast). Sure enough, as I climbed down the stairs, the manatee was ready to meet me at the viewing window.

Naomi in her
favorite hat,
with her new
favorite animal.

Fortunately, everyone else also arrived in time for some super fun close encounters through the glass, as the manatees seemed to actually want to interact. Naomi fell in absolute love, and resolved to buy a stuffed manatee at the gift shop (her first--and only--stuffie of the trip! She's growing up!). We hung around quite a while, and then finally saw the other animals, including the oldest hippo in captivity, who was actually an honorary resident of Florida.

The gorgeous spring

We then tried to kayak again, but were thwarted by the fact that the kayak launch closed shortly before we arrived. Oops! We instead headed to an amazing swimming spot at a clear (chilly!) spring. On the way in, we spotted four baby armadillos. [Did you know that armadillos generally have 4 clones as offspring???] On the way out, we spotted a couple snakes climbing trees.

The spring was gorgeous. And the people-watching was fantastic. Matt, Kalina, Elise, And Brian were able to snorkel around, with visibility almost as clear as the air. Naomi did an amazing job of swimming around in a life jacket and not being scared, and I kept an eye on everyone. With the water feeling fairly cold, though, no one lasted super long. Still, it was an amazing stop.

More yummy food, some good conversation and a few board games rounded out the day.

The next day we were faced with rain, but still managed to go back to the alligator boardwalk and see a giant one, in addition to lots more birds and a few smaller alligators. We were taking our time walking back to the car, though, when we heard a steady noise off in the distance. And saw clouds...and rain...headed our way. We ran for it, and sheltered in an old barn with a bunch of other people, reaching it just as the rain did. After a bit, the rain let up for a few minutes, and we ran the rest of the way back to our car. 

Amazingly, not too far down the road, another park was avoiding rain. We stopped for another hike, and were joined by a dynamic and intrepid park ranger who took us to see an alligator nest! He and Elise got along great, both having an affinity for anoles and a certain somewhat obscure YouTube channel called Journey into the Microcosmos. He took us and another group on a fairly long hike, along which we sometimes shared the road a bit with a family of 4 sandhill cranes, who didn't seem super bothered by our presence as long as we didn't actually approach. We arrived back in the car about 5 minutes before the rain this time.

Happy early birthday, Uncle
Brian! We even left him the
rest of the cake.

After lunch, a few games, and a grocery run, we headed out another hike to a gorgeous sinkhole, and then to an amazing pizza dinner. When we returned back, timing worked out such that Matt and Brian were dealing with some things outside while the girls and I were very sneakily able to make a birthday cake for Brian (his birthday was in about a week and a half--too soon not to celebrate!). Somehow, we managed to finish everything, and clean up, before the guys came back in. Surprise!

The next day, after a final amazing breakfast and a quick vacuuming for the van, which my emotional health really needed, we left for our friends' place along the Gulf coast, stopping at a very nice Waffle House along the way. Because that's where you eat in the south. Our friends had moved to their new area about 11 months prior to our arrival, and into their new home exactly 1 week. Phew! It was gorgeous, and a short walk/bike ride/car drop-off (woohoo!) to the beach. We didn't know what to expect when they cautioned us that "it's not a great shelling beach," but we definitely didn't count on the best shelling of the trip! We came back with piles of beautiful specimens. 

We used to play in our stream
together; now, it's the ocean!

We enjoyed catching up, a fancy dinner of steak and shrimp, and then celebrating their adorable nearly 1-year-old's birthday--a little too late at night for his tastes, unfortunately, but it was still fun. By the time we left the next morning, he was juuuuust starting to maybe warm up to us a little. 

We also enjoyed learning about what it's like to actually live in one of those beach tourist destinations. Turns out, like Kansas, it has its pros and cons. Hard to argue with snorkeling at a coral reef whenever you feel like it (except us--we weren't in town quite long enough), but also the prices, traffic, and scarcity of actual goods for actual full-time living would be tough to take at times. Not to mention the culture sometimes...

Not pictured: cousin Ed, who's
actually taking the picture.

Speaking of culture, our next, and final, stop was at my cousin Ed's place outside of New Orleans. His place backed up to a small part of an alligator farm/mini zoo, and once we had chatted for a while with Ed, Julie, and their 6 kids, we drove the 5 minutes to the farm. 

It was different from any zoo we'd ever seen (except for the reptarium 15 minutes away from our house that the girls and I had visited, but ironically, Matt never had). Although we weren't overimpressed with the conditions for the animals, we did see that the owner clearly loved his brood and was doing his best--the hurricane last year set him back quite a bit. He came out of a building with a couple other visitors, between them holding a couple large snakes and a 4-foot alligator, and started handing the animals to the children to hold. Elise got the gator first, thus fulfilling a goal of the trip (actually, it was to kiss a baby gator, but she decided this counted). They passed around the gator, snakes and a parrot, and also got to take turns feeding the porcupine and another furry animal. 

Check the box on
holding an alligator!

Only in Louisiana, right?

We could've held this
bird all day.

We watched him hoist a giant alligator snapping turtle, we played with kittens, we helped put a wandering goat back in its pen. And we heard stories about all the alligators the guy keeps as pets and usually interacts with (he kept his distance this time, though, it being breeding season).

After dinner and some more chatting, we headed to our hotel, choosing to find another gas station after police cars with their lights and sirens turned on started pulling into the one we were initially at. Despite a long check-in process, and after eying all the rules posted around (thankful for them), we were in our room and mostly asleep within an hour. 

And then it was time to go home! We were excited to be driving through yet another area of the southeast--the Mississippi Delta. And we were excited to see our cats, and were ready to be in our own beds again. Less excited about the 12-hour drive we faced.

But the scenery was interesting, especially when we started listening to Roll of Thunder Hear My Cry less than 50 miles from the town highlighted in the book. In fact, it was a relatively uneventful drive, until...

With only about 1 1/2 hours left to go, we took a wrong turn. We didn't realize until we were almost to Springfield. From which it was about 2 2/12 hours to home. This was frustrating, but honestly, it was about the only thing that went wrong during the trip. Understandably, it was a bit of a low point for Matt, who'd done all the driving (I did offer!!). We agreed it was nobody's fault (or everybody's fault, which is pretty much the same thing). 

This guy deserves a beach trip
to recover from this beach trip!

We still made it home, but only to mild threats of "next year, we're vacationing in Branson." Which honestly didn't make any of us very excited. We felt better after hearing from friends that the turn we missed was suuuuppper easy to miss. 

Now that several weeks have passed, and we all agree that we may actually travel again sometime. I can think of at least a few of us who are totally ready to return to Florida--although we're still not sure we can top this trip!

Old St. Augustine. We felt like
we were in Spain!

Kalina did all the
knots, and could
probs be a sailor.

Girls Trip!

Yay! Girls trip! Just really
cold, though...

I've often told my girls that there are few friends closer than a sister. Aw. Naturally, I'm hoping that this will inspire them to always get along, in the big things as well as the little (and really, who can determine whether it's a big thing or a little thing if "she took the pencil that I was using like three minutes ago?" Which is one of our most common arguments.). 

But I've had an ulterior motive, and that has traditionally been to pave a smooth-ish path to my somewhat annual visit to my sister's. The girls have, historically, been able to somewhat understand, or at least not argue against too much, my desire to visit my sister when I mention to them that someday, if they live far apart, they'll probably want to visit each other, too. Unless someone nabs one pencil too many, of course.

Fudge and cheese!

It's been tough leaving little ones in tears over the years, but we have all survived, and I've had some pretty great times visiting my sister. We left off for a bit after the move to Kansas in favor of other adventures together, but last year, as the pandemic seemed to be slightly more under control than it had been previously, we decided a visit would be in order. We scheduled it for the migration in March, because Nancy always has the best birdwatching stories and I like birds, too. Yay! 

In the month or two leading up to the trip, airfare costs skyrocketed. I'd been on the fence about whether to fly or drive, but high prices sealed the deal. As it dawned on me that the minivan holds more than 1 person (plus luggage), I looked at my amazing, somewhat mature (except for the pencil issues) and fun girls, and I realized the sister trip needed to get a lot bigger--three more sisters needed to be included as well. We figured out that travel and sleeping arrangements at Aunt Nancy's would all work, and set the plan in stone by officially inviting the girls.  

Thanks for the brownies,
Aunt Debbie!

Girls trip! Woohoo! I stocked up on snacks and audio books, and we dug out some fidget toys and all the best stuffed animals (Naomi). Then we packed ALL the bedding we wanted, because we had plenty of room for once and could travel in comfort. Naomi had: a pillow, a sleeping bag, another sleeping bag, a small comforter, and a giant dog, plus her beloved stuffies. The other girls didn't need quite that much comfort, but we did stick in several air mattresses.

Since it wouldn't be as much fun for Kalina if she had to miss her orchestra rehearsal, we left right after. An easy, 3 1/2-hour drive later, and we were meeting Uncle David and Aunt Debbie for Culvers, and they were spoiling us with all we wanted to eat, even frozen custard even though there was plenty of dessert back at their home. Girls trip!

Aunt Debbie had a few crafts ready for us, so we crafted, snacked, and chatted until bedtime. After breakfast in the morning, we enjoyed some more time together before making our way northeast toward Nancy's.

It did seem ironic that we left behind relatively nice spring weather to travel in potentially freezing rain and weather that would hopefully get "up to the 40s or maybe 50s." Fortunately, our drive ended up relatively uneventful, and we listened to a great audio book pretty much the whole way. 

Easy-peasy, until my phone's GPS just stopped working, leading up to pretty much the only major-ish city (more like a major town) along our drive. At first, I admit, I believed Kalina's poor technology/navigation skills were to blame, but we soon cleared her name. The kerfuffle cost us 20-30 minutes, but in the end, McDonald's in hand, we were again on our way. As a bonus, I got to reminisce about my college internship days, which were spent in part of the area we were driving through.

As an added bonus, Nancy had been sick the past couple days! Which meant that she was sick enough to call in sick to work, but not so sick that she wasn't super fun to be with. Case in point: as soon as we arrived, we headed out to a cheese/fudge store, because that's what you do in her state. Let the party begin!

The cheese/fudge store was amazing, naturally. We stocked up on curds and blocks. Naomi found her requisite stuffed animal of the trip, and we each got to choose a flavor of fudge (plus an extra for the group). Could not be better.

Then, we were able to head straight to a favorite birdwatching area, where we checked a few species off our previously non-existent list, despite chilly, rainy weather, thanks to a warm car and a couple sets of binoculars. We also saw a bald eagle nest. Amazing! 

Of course we had to play
Wingspan!

After a QT dinner, we played a few board games (how did Naomi and Elise pound me and Nancy so soundly at Pass the Pigs, a game of chance??), made plans for the next day, and headed to bed to be ready for it. 

Sometime on the drive, while staring at a map, the girls had gotten wind that we'd be relatively close to Lake Michigan at Aunt Nancy's place, and were excited enough about the prospect of spending a cold day trying to birdwatch there that they deemed the extra drive worth it. So in the morning, after breakfast and a few more board games (we really tried to cram them in!), we hopped in the car and headed even further east. 

Birdwatching!

First, pizza. We found a riverfront place and spotted a few waterfowl as we waited for our food. Then, birdwatching on Lake Michigan! The only problem was the temperature. And the drizzle. We saw an adorable grebe and a few other cuties before taking refuge in the car. Fortunately, we had brought some brownies, courtesy of Aunt Debbie.

Back out again, we wandered along an actual beach, enjoying the experience of sand despite the unfriendly climate. And that was actually enough for all of us. We checked the box on Lake Michigan birdwatching.

Naomi amused and
warmed herself by
jumping and having
me try to get pictures
of her in mid-flight.

But we weren't yet done with Lake Michigan! In a lovely neighborhood perched on something of a cliff overlooking the lake stood a (small) lighthouse that we were able to visit. A tour guide told us about some of the history of the lighthouse, which included a woman lighthouse keeper who climbed all those stairs many times day and night, while raising kids and presumably doing all the cooking and laundry and wiping noses and getting everyone to the dentist on time. But...she earned as much...as a man!! Plus bragging rights. A true triumph. 

And then it was time to climb. Kalina and Elise were old pros, having climbed one in North Carolina. Sweet Naomi? Not so much. Fortunately, this one had two things going for it: it was only about half as high as the North Carolina lighthouses, and she could hold my hand all the way up.

She did actually make it higher,
but that landing was too
crowded for a picture. Go
Naomi! You're unstoppable!

Did I mention I'm afraid of heights, too? But through Naomi's tears, and pleas of "I can't," we both just kept following Aunt Nancy and Kalina and Elise, slowly and steadily with plenty of stops, never stopping to peek out the windows to see the view. In time, Naomi had made it to the top of the actual stairs--a landing where a super-scary ladder that would take us to the very, very top, where the light was. No one blamed her one bit for not wanting to climb that ladder. And we counted it.

Fortunately, so did the lady at the front desk when we arrived back down (a trip that was, if anything, scarier than our ascent because you have to look down all the way--although we did peek out a few windows this time). She wrote out a certificate that Naomi still proudly displays in her room today, certifying that Naomi had, indeed, climbed all 84 stairs. Which she totally did. Ladders aren't stairs.

The top!

Next we walked the grounds a bit in the chilly drizzle. Naomi enjoyed the big stone lions, but to be honest, after enjoying the view for a bit longer, we decided we'd had enough fun for one day and headed home. On the way back, we were all pretty tired, but managed to play a word game and not end up annoyed with each other, for a win.

Fudge, board games, showers, bed.

The next day, the girls and I would need to make it back to Des Moines, so we only had the morning to spend with Aunt Nancy. We decided on the nearby zoo, with a side order of fried cheese curds, without which our Wisconsin trip would not be complete.

I figured if we really pushed it, we could have as many as 3 1/2 hours at the zoo and still make it back to DM at a reasonable time. Nancy assured me that would be beyond enough, and that I should potentially adjust my expectations. It was, after all, a free zoo in a somewhat underwhelming city. She was betting that 2 would cover it.

The tiger comes in for a
snuzzle! Just like a certain
cat we know!

The first (significant) thing we saw after entering the gates was a tiger getting his breakfast to-go, in a paper bag, hung in a tree. He had to rip it open in order to devour the raw meat inside. We enjoyed not only this sorta-realistic scene, but then the cat-like behaviors afterwards, that even made us miss our own cats. We texted photos to Matt, and then Nancy and I remarked how pleasantly surprised we were, so far.

Next was the primate house (it was chilly out, and the house was warm). Here, we watched lemurs and monkeys performing their early-morning acrobatics. More pictures were texted to Matt.

Nearly indistinguishable from
the logs, you can see a pre-
wrestling polar bear.

"Wow!" he commented. "Looks like an amazing zoo!" And he was right. We dined on cheese curds in front of wrestling polar bears, watched an aardvark that reminded us of the armadillo we'd seen at home, saw the zoo's signature badgers, watched flamingos sleep and occasionally itch themselves, and so much more. This was the coolest zoo ever, plus you didn't have to walk far to see anything. We ended up using the full 3 1/2 hours--the perfect amount of time. Nancy was fine being wrong.

We were super sad to leave Aunt Nancy. Just, very sad. :( Thank goodness for a good audio book. Plus we stopped for ice cream.

Me: Who wants ice cream?

Girls: Me! Me! Me!

Me: Great! Here's a McDonald's! Although of course there's always the chance they'll be out of ice cream or their machine will be broken or something!

[The light, good-natured laughter of girls who are getting ice cream and will laugh at any of Mom's jokes because of it.]

Me, to the drive-through thing: We'd like ice cream (listing all of our choices)

Person taking our order: I'm sorry, our machine is broken.

Stunned silence.

Fortunately, there was a Dairy Queen across the street. And they had not run out of ice cream. 

[Relieved laughter]

Later, we pulled into my friend's house in Des Moines shortly after she'd returned home from her symphony performance. Her family was starving, and we were excited about a second shot at supper, as our gas station fare had left more longing than satisfaction. We ate at a restaurant together (mac and cheese all around for my girls, and I got something real and healthy), and then enjoyed just a few minutes back at her house before her girls had to hit the sack, with the Monday after spring break ahead of them. I sent mine to bed, too, so Allison and I could chat.

The next morning, we were banned from going upstairs until after 7:30, which I totally get, as we would've added a lot of chaos to an already tricky morning. Then we basically ate and left. And then arrived home. In time for piano lessons that afternoon. Party's over, girls. But it was a great one!

PS: Piano lessons ended up canceled. No tears were shed on our end, but I did make them unpack right away instead of leaving it for days.

New Year, New Rooms

A sleepover in Naomi's new
room!

 So this is definitely a milestone, right? For all four and a half years we've lived here, the girls have shared a room! Of our 5 bedrooms, they have occupied one. Our pet bunny has another. Guests, wrapping paper and our sewing/yarn/felt crafting things share another and Matt has one for his office and weight lifting equipment (and school/craft things inhabit the closet). That leaves one for Matt and I--perfect for our eclectic life.

Except then Elise. Who, rather vocally, needed a little space. [To be honest, I can totally relate. We're all here, all the time, all together, 24/7. We love each other and have fun together and generally get along really well...but who wouldn't need a little space? But don't tell her I said that...]

I admit that it's a little unconventional for the girls to share in the first place, but it's totally made sense for us. Kalina and Elise began bunking together one weekend when I was off visiting my sister, and Matt moved Elise's bed into Kalina's room. Normally, this would've kinda irked me--that's a big decision to just go ahead and make. But to be honest, room cleaning and mess organization for me are in the same category as watching my kids get teeth pulled. I'd rather pretty much anyone but me do it, so if it was going to happen, I realized I was kind of okay missing out on this one. 

Not only did the girls actually sleep just fine in a room together (although it made "downtime" much more complicated), but Kalina, who had wrestled with night terrors for years, actually slept peacefully. I think I can count on one hand the number of night terrors she had after Elise moved in. 

Naomi, being a baby, received her own room in an effort to try to limit the number of people awake in the middle of the night at once (although we totally still had our back-to-back midnight parties at times). By the time we were preparing for our move, however, and as Matt was commuting back and forth to his job in Kansas City, Naomi had developed some nighttime anxieties. Our move was the perfect chance to plunk her in with a sister. Or better yet, both sisters! And they've shared quite happily and harmoniously ever since, until Elise got other ideas.

One of my favorite moments from the room-sharing time period was one morning when Kalina and Elise were griping about how they'd had to comfort Naomi and find her stuffed animal in the middle of the night. I never heard a peep, and realized that possibly all the comforting, finding of stuffed animals, and general fixing I did when they were littler had paid off by nurturing sweet sisters who found that they, too, could take care of littler people. Sometimes they even asked me for advice: "What should I do if she wakes up and needs a drink?" ("Whatever you do, don't get me," I kinda wanted to reply.) To be honest, since they've shared a room, I've pretty much only had to go in at night for the occasional honest-to-goodness illness.

Unless you count hushing them up to go to sleep when they are telling stories to each other after bedtime. Because that has happened a lot. 

We enjoyed a Chinese dinner
to celebrate a couple
birthdays!

It's not just because Elise started to complain that we're giving them their own rooms. After all, she's been pestering for a lot of things, a lot of times, a lot of years, that she's never received (yet). To be purple. Skiing every weekend. Moving to the beach/mountains. Not doing math ever again. Various pets (yes, there are a few we actually don't own--yet).

To be honest, though, moving into their own rooms started to sound like a good idea, as we've wrestled with everything from different bedtimes, to all the "stuff" that needs to be crammed into one room, to the fact that sometimes a little space can do everyone a little good.

This wasn't the first time the idea had come up. A year or so ago, when Elise began wanting her own room, and Kalina also thought that might be nice (for her to have her own room, too, not just for Elise), we discussed it a bit in the car while Naomi was at home. Sweet girls that they are, they very thoughtfully decided that while, yes, they did want their own rooms, they knew Naomi would have trouble with it. They generously decided to give her a while longer.

And it's really made a difference! Although Naomi still doesn't want her own room, especially for sleeping, I feel like she's at least able to manage the idea of the possibility without becoming too anxious. It's helped that we've assured her (and we've insisted suggested her sisters assure her) that we'll do a lot of slumber parties for a long while.

Matt and I spent a long time determining whether to just move Elise out, seeing as she was really the only one complaining. (But would that be fair to Kalina?) And we did some problem-solving with the older girls, keeping the idea from Naomi at first so she wouldn't worry. And we began to figure out how it could, in fact, actually work (because, somehow, other families with 5 bedrooms manage for their kids to each have their own room).

But oh my word, the work that would need to be done. I remember moving out of our St. Louis house, and realizing that now, the next owner would get to find all the tiny Perler beads, and rainbow loops, and itty bitty stickers that we had, despite all our vacuuming, inadvertently left behind. I remember that that was one of the only things I was glad to leave in that house: all the tiny objects crushed into the carpet.

Now, we've filled our carpet again, at least in the girls' room (and the bunny room). Sometimes I don't know if one giant under-the-bed monster is as scary as a million teensy, colorful, plastic ones.

Plus, as Naomi was still pretty little when we moved here from St. Louis, and movers would do the lion's share of the work, we didn't really pare down our possessions much as we settled into our new home. Clearly, we would need to now.

And Matt would probably need to disassemble the beds. And find a new spot for the guest bed he'd assembled. And I'd have to find space for my sewing things. And so on.

So we made a plan: This fall, 2021, we'll bite the bullet, and everyone will move into their own rooms. 

We soon realized the flaw in our plan: fall is beautiful, and we want to be outside. Then comes Christmas, when top priorities change really quickly (yay!). But given a few days of Christmas break covid-exposure quarantine, we were all set to go!

Elise had stopped complaining about room-sharing the second she came to know we actually did intend to move everyone around. And once we began finding bins and making keep-store-toss piles, allllll those little gripes we'd heard over the past year  magically transformed into a solid stream of cheerful, can-do fortitude, even as we spent, like, 6 straight hours digging, shuffling, transporting, organizing, and lifting bulky objects. (Her sisters did awesome, too. Sometimes the transformations in Elise are just a little more obvious.)

The girls and I took a
trip to the
Cosmosphere with
AHG!

Actually, as I look back, I spent those 6 hours doing all those things. As I made trip after trip in and out of her room, Elise was ploughing through 4 1/2 years worth of carefully stowed trash treasures, many of them smaller than her fingernail. Although she may have sorted 100 items, the volume of items she actually moved and dealt with could probably have fit in a milk jug. She did an awesome job--she even collected a whole baggie full of beads to reuse--but this kind of attention to detail did not fit into my schedule. 

"Let's get your bookshelf situated!" I'd suggest. And Elise would cheerfully and energetically clear off her shelf so we could move it. And then go right back to her sorting. Actually, this kind of dedication was amazing to see and I was so proud of her...the problem was probably me. 

Meanwhile, Kalina, with the advantage of a room that had already been cleaned out (by me), except some gift-wrapping supplies in the closet (no one gets their own full closet--that would be impossible) was doing the same thing with her rock collection. Even as I was suggesting, "Why don't you lend me a hand moving all these books," she was organizing her entire set of shelves by fossil/rock type and, potentially, value. Occasionally I was able to drag her away, but it was clear that until her rocks were settled, she would not be. Enjoying the clean, open space of an underused room, away from the uprooting of 4 1/2 years of clutter, she had little motivation to move.

Naomi started
violin!

Naomi, however, was my right-hand girl, wanting to actively help, despite not actually looking forward to the change, but not knowing quite what to do (who could blame her--I barely did!). So part of my job was to look for small, manageable jobs for her to help with. We soon discovered that she was great with moving piles of books, rocks, and whatnot wherever they need to go. She could do it thoroughly, And efficiently. And completely without stopping to sort tiny, irrelevant items. So Naomi quite literally pulled her weight, and helped save my sanity as we sorted out picture books that we probably didn't need upstairs any longer. *sniff*

The long and short of it is that pretty soon, the girls' bedroom and bunny room had been half emptied into the hallway and/or basement, Kalina's new room had been emptied of all the sewing things into the master bedroom and its closet, and we could finally shift some things to where they needed to actually be, sliding-puzzle style. 

And this is where we had to stop, because by this time, the week was over. 

The next weekend, we did actually finish the job. The girls celebrated with three slumber parties in a row--one in each girl's new room. Naomi has kept it going, always opting to sleep in someone else's room instead of her own. I'm wondering how long this will last--but fortunately, it's not much of a problem and the older girls know they can't complain too loudly or we will remind them that just a short time ago they were sharing and that can totally happen again. 

The cats' new bean
bag chair.

We allowed each girl a budget for new accessories (some needed clocks, lamps, adorable wall stickers, etc.), and Elise pitched in for an extra or two (like a giant bean bag chair that the cats claim as often as they can).

I meant to post this months ago, but at least the delay will allow me to give you an update.

Naomi, more than two months later, is still opting to bunk with someone every night. The older girls are holding their good attitudes fairly intact, but if you ask them how they really feel (out of earshot, of course), you'd probably find they have actual opinions about the situation. Matt and I have a permanent cot for her in our room, but she rotates around. She says her new room doesn't quite feel like hers, and despite having 3 mice and a bunny in there to keep her company, would still feel alone. However, she does enjoy hanging out on her bed, reading, in the daytime. 

Elise is making use of the privilege of spreading her things out across the entire room, and not just one section. Not that that stopped her much before... At the same time, a lot of thought goes into the arrangement of shells, books, and a variety of knick knacks, so she's not entirely disorderly. 

Kalina's room is always clean and orderly. I should give her credit, but I really think it boils down to genetics. She can also fall asleep effortlessly and doesn't have a sugar craving to fight constantly. I'm super jealous, and Elise probably will be when she's older.

Are we glad we made the switch? Eh. I'm bummed for Naomi--I was hopeful she'd adjust a bit quicker. I'm glad Elise has her space. And I'm glad Kalina has a peaceful place she can relax and do her schoolwork without having to stare at her sisters' clutter. Do we call it a win-win-lose? Or maybe it's a win-win-win-win-win, because it's actually super sweet to wake up next to Naomi a couple times a week!

P.S. I've been meaning to post this forever! Busy spring, I guess!

The mysteries of another pandemic Christmas!

More normal--but this
ornament, made last year, still
seems to fit. Plus it's
adorable.

Christmas felt more normal this year! Not entirely normal, as we again said no to a couple events and activities we would've loved to attend (our beloved Nutcracker, for one!). But it was nice to at least not feel the need to pre-check with the neighbors to make sure it would be okay for us to bake cookies for them.

Also, there was no astronaut when we picked out our Christmas tree.

The first major change was the major rush to Christmas shop. I usually prefer to begin my shopping the day after Thanksgiving, lest I get too caught up too early. And also since young kids have a way of changing their interests about 2 weeks before Christmas anyway (although mine are starting to level out, at least). But this year, having been warned about shortages and shipping issues, I started passing around the Christmas catalogs nearly as soon as they arrived after Halloween, and warning the girls that even Santa couldn't make guarantees this year. By mid-November, I'd even made a purchase! 

As would happen, the gift Elise HAD to have, and that I ordered promptly, and that was too big to comfortably send back, she tried at a friend's house and decided she didn't want after all. As it was already wrapped, I mentally determined she would make it work. Because that's what Elise does. But would she this time?!? Christmas mystery #1. 

The second major change from last year was the potential to see family! People were available! And not in quarantine! We made actual, concrete plans! But would it actually work?!? Christmas mystery #2.

And the third was that we put some of our Christmas lights in the backyard this year, in hopes that other neighbors would follow suit and we could have our own neighborhood luminary walk along the trail. We thought the idea was so good, we even put up posters! But would anyone participate?!?

Other than that, we baked our usual cookies, made and shopped for gifts, watched the performances, saw the people, created the crafts, read the books, sang along to the music, and generally celebrated the season. Here's what that looked like:

Christmas often starts with Thanksgiving in our house! Here are the lovely plates, bowls, etc. that all of the ladies/girls painted the day after Thanksgiving.

We bought our tree at a different tree farm this year (no reason, other than it was closer), and we LOVED the selection of white pines--Matt's and my personal favorite. We found one we could literally hug, that was the perfect shape and size, and that was not already chopped down, because we did the right thing and shopped before Thanksgiving (thanks to me for shoving us all out the door!). We also saw an amazing flock of white pelicans, possibly, flying super high in cool formations.

What wasn't our favorite: trying to decorate this tree. The ornaments kept sliding off, and you can see what's happening with the star. Plus, less piney scent than other varieties. But it's still beautiful, a month and a half later!

In the above photo, Elise attempts to get the star to stand up on our floppy, yet soft and huggable, tree. The first few attempts ended up looking like something out of a Dr. Seuss book.

I was so excited to have a second tree so that all our lovely handmade ornaments would be displayed! Unfortunately, so were the cats. Every morning for a while, we'd come downstairs to something like this scene. Amazingly, it all happened in the span of time between Matt getting up and the rest of us. The worst part was when the cats destroyed Grandma Jan's beautiful handmade wool ornaments... I think the only time any of us briefly reconsidered our kitten purchase a year and a half prior.

Our contribution to the trail luminary walk (the lights around the trees are a bit dim in this photo)! The girls created a poster, and then spent an hour or so taping them up on mailboxes around the neighborhood, often via scooter. Did anyone else decorate? YES! A couple friends, a couple people who looked like they might have done it anyway, and one neighbor who put lights on all the pine trees in their backyard--beautiful! Did it actually look like a luminary walk? Not so much. But we're hoping that we're starting a trend. Which would probably actually be the first trend I've ever set, in my life.

This idea was initiated, by the way, by a conversation the girls had with a nice neighbor lady on the trails. She suggested we do an event with hot cocoa and carolers and such. She got the girls all excited! And then it became my project, as many projects do if they have any hope of survival.

Alas, this one was lost. Although we nearly had interest from the HOA for the neighborhood that begins across the street from us, an event never happened. Nevertheless, we enjoyed a few after-dark walks on the trails to check out a few, widely spread light displays!

Kalina at her beautiful early December orchestra concert! While not a Christmas concert per se, it was still lovely to hear her play her music, and to see her glow.

Having sold coffee and tea to the neighbors to raise money for AHG, we thought it only right to deliver their purchases with a box of cookies and, my personal favorite, gingerbread cake (with orange-cream cheese frosting this year!). On roller blades.

We made a few cookies for ourselves, too. 

Unrelated, but possibly due to Christmas spirit, Kalina made crepes for us one morning, which was pretty noteworthy. We happened to have Nutella in the pantry and bananas on hand, soooo....

We love preparing and sending our Christmas cards! We do it assembly line style. This year, no one complained too much about signing the cards--even Matt! I think when even Naomi and Elise, who have yet to learn how to bottle up their whine well unless highly motivated, were trying to convince him it was really no big deal to sign 65 letters, he decided he could probably shoulder the burden as well.

Mandatory crocheting in the evenings as the girls made Christmas gifts for family (and a few teachers). They made dishcloths--even Naomi, for whom they were quite a challenge. She was frustrated watching her older sisters rush through them, but kept at it even when she really wanted to quit. And she's still crocheting every evening during storytime! So proud of her!

We really picked and chose our indoor events, but we were able to say yes to the luminary walk without much trouble! Almost better than the lights was the bagpiper, whose music we had to just about peel Kalina away from. Not as great: the Elvis impersonator, who was fun for about 5 minutes before just...not...being...that...great. And needing some new dance moves. And he had maybe one Christmas song, which to me is worse than being quite mediocre. 

Other covid-friendly attractions included the Christmas movies. I always feel like there should be some truly great Christmas movies out there--and there are. We've just seen them all already. Matt and I watched a couple pretty dumb ones before settling on one made in the 1940s that actually was pretty clever. The girls and I also watched some dumb ones, and I believe my credibility as a good movie-picker even slipped a bit.

It was a good thing we kept things low-key, as although Naomi developed a cold and laryngitis just in time to nearly ruin our plans, nobody got covid. The trek to Minnesota felt tenuous, but it happened. We couldn't wait to see everyone!

  

Although the snow wasn't packable at first, it was sled-able, and we took full advantage. Naomi loved doubling up with Julie, who was a adorable mix of slightly afraid and delighted at the same time. Another day, we were able to do some snow packing to make a snow alien, and Dean and Naomi had fun sled-racing. 

Gingerbread houses were fun to create! Amazingly, most of the candy actually ended up on the houses!

Matching jammies is such a fun tradition! 

Not pictured: Our amazing movie night, lots of great meals, board games, random cute things that both Julie and Dean said, and all the fun catching up with everyone.

A little Christmas morning silliness, back on our own turf! 

What do you have for Christmas breakfast when you haven't been home to buy groceries or make anything particularly yummy? Christmas toast! Using sprinkles. It worked, plus Kalina had a new cat mug for her hot cocoa.

From Naomi, Elise receives stuffed copepods to go along with her stuffed tardigrade. I'm not sure she needed anything else. But did she like the early-purchased gift for her Ninja Line?!? Maybe it was the joy of Christmas, but she very quickly decided it would work. And seemed to like using it. And has enjoyed it quite a bit since. I think we're in the clear. Thanks, Elise, for your amazing attitude, and for not making me try to return it.

Kalina asked for a dark medium-sized trilobite bent over a rock. Thanks, ebay! And Naomi hugs her Christmas puppy--a mini Holly that will travel easier than mommy Holly. She named it, appropriately, Minny.

The kitties got new bowls, with treats wrapped inside them! No one managed to open theirs until Christmas night, at which point it's entirely possible one cat opened both and devoured all 20-ish treats. Oops!

We had fun actually getting to see Grandpa and Marianne on Christmas this year! We enjoyed a lovely day together, and then two additional evenings of attempting to do a Zoom gift exchange with extended family (and eat the delicious buche de noel cake we'd made and decorated).

Unfortunately, that was close to the end of the fun, as a covid exposure kept us home, and visitors away, until after New Years. But that was okay--we'd already had a lovely holiday season. And stay tuned for our covid-exposure project....