Chaos and Camp

Thumbs up for summer camp!

Every week in the summer is different. Which is super refreshing and fun at first (towards the end I'm usually way ready for a schedule again). There's VBS week, with younger kiddos out of the house in the morning, there are various half-day camps, occasionally, and there are the weeks with nothing planned that end up planned anyway (but with trips to the pool, Hobby Lobby, fun places around town, playdates with friends, and random walks). There are also the inevitable trips and visits. 

Plus occasionally I like us to do math in the summer, and most days I assign some sort of a special chore, in addition to regularly scheduled music practice. As I commanded my kids to clean the baseboards, walls, doorframes, doors, and cabinets one morning, I realized that I wasn't sure I'd ever actually cleaned my own baseboards--or at least not more than a couple times. Only my mom's. It's totally a kid job that gets neglected when there are no able-bodied kids in the house. Another mommying mystery, solved: which adults actually regularly clean the baseboards? None of them! Why? Because it's not that important and it's hard on our knees! Why assign it to kids? So they learn to work/keep out of trouble/it's hard to mess up! Plus they're the ones who get them dirty in the first place! (Or, if you regularly clean your baseboards, just disregard this part. Also, I suppose now that I know better I will probably stay up on it, but for now it's totally a kid job. Please don't look too closely.)

And actually, cleaning the woodwork is a job they all actually really get into--especially Elise and Naomi and Magic Erasers. There's something truly satisfying about scrubbing dirt off polished wood. 

Anyway, summer is basically managed chaos (but good kinds of chaos!), which totally freaked poor Matt out when he first started working from home, and still does--especially when he actually tries to stay on top of our movements. I'm not sure why anyone tries, actually, because it all changes at any moment anyway.

Plus it helps that I purposefully schedule in plenty of down time. 

Chaos doesn't mean kids hanging from the chandeliers, by the way (except Elise recently hanging ribbons from the chandelier so it looks like a giant jellyfish--a big improvement). Sometimes it means everyone is peacefully reading one minute and then rushing out the door to piano lessons/pool/local attraction/playdate/etc. the next. 

Ah, summer!

But nothing challenges a chaotic summer schedule like a week of sending the older kids off to a 5-night camp. 

To prepare, we bunched all of our activities into the week before and week after (talk about chaos!). We also discussed all the "what ifs?" To help with these, we devised a code, knowing that the camp photographer would make her rounds every day.

In addition, watched videos on horses, as the camp was called Horse Wilderness. They would be doing wilderness things, and also horse things. Kalina, not being super into horses, was going to have to fake it. Elise, not being in 7th grade yet, was also going to have to fake it. [The camp was officially for grades 7 and 8, but by nudging Elise into 7th--which she could totally be in anyway. As long as no one asked too many questions. Plus usually once people meet Elise, they want to keep her, so she I knew her personality would work in her favor if need be.]

And finally, we packed. The girls packed from a rather sparse list, and we asked our friends about the rest. They actually ended up well-prepared, and not really over-prepared. Perfect.

And I wrote letters, one to be delivered to each girl, each day. I believe most kids got a, "Love you! Mom" type of letter. Not mine. They received 3 long, fun (to me!) letters from me, and another each from one of the cats. 

And then we were off! It took me an entire day to drop them get them to camp, and return home empty-handed.

The drive up was fun, getting excited about camp. We talked through scenarios and discussed what to do at each one. The girls read. I savored the last couple hours of me and my older girls. And finally, we made it to the iconic restaurant we'd agreed to meet up with our friends at, with whom they'd be attending camp (just the kids, though). 

After another drive, we arrived at the camp. And then, after I spent 4 hours in the car, plus a restaurant meal, it took all of 10 minutes to drop them off. I felt ripped off, and ripped apart.

I didn't mean to come back a zillion times after dropping them off, but it happened. First, to encourage sunscreen--after all, they were standing right in the sun! Seriously, girls?!? Then, to ask Kalina if she wanted the book that was on the front seat (she didn't). Next, to take their picture. Everyone was laughing at me at this point, self included.

The whole cabin! Elise has
apparently found a snail, and
the fun counselor is
interviewing it for the
photo. Because Elise.

Finally, I actually drove away, with Kalina loudly predicting I'd be back. Soon, it dawned on me that I hadn't told the counselor that the girls would be picked up by their friends' parents, which is kinda important. Back I went--but that was it! I turned on my audio books and hit the road. 

By evening, the camp had uploaded loads of photos from check-in and the first chapel service. And there I was! One of my many attempts to say goodbye was captured for posterity. More important, there were my girls, vehemently giving me thumbs ups in each picture.

Kalina makes breakfast

Why thumbs ups? It's all about the code we'd developed. We agreed that if the girls saw the photographer and wanted to communicate to me that the camp was actually a forced labor camp, and they needed to be picked up immediately, they were to smile and wave for the camera with one hand. If the girls saw the photographer and wanted to communicate to me that there were no bathrooms nearby (this was a legitimate worry for about 30 terror-stricken minutes during packing), she was to wave with two hands. If everything was fine, they were to give me a thumbs up. This made us all feel better.

Waiting for breakfast

I wondered if all week, all I would see in photos would be thumbs. Fortunately, that was not the case--they relaxed and had a fantastic time, from the looks of the photos. I did not, unfortunately, get a single shot of one of my girls on or even near a horse. But I did see that they cooked breakfast outside (Kalina tended the fire and checked the meal), did a perfectly coordinated Church Clap at chapel, and threw hatchets at a target (embarrassingly, I didn't actually recognize them until they got home and they showed me...). 

Church clap!

Another stalker-Mom moment happened every evening when I checked their account balance to see if I needed to add more cash. You know, for things like candy and slushies (cushy camp!). One night, I saw that Elise had spent something like $17 and I figured out that she had probably purchased a milkshake and a t-shirt. But which shirt? After checking out the store online, I found the camp horse shirt that looked just like Elise. Was I right? (spoiler alert--I was only wrong about the milkshake!)

This is a picture I
didn't recognize
until after they
showed me at home.
Because ax throwing
?!?!?

The girls had a fantastic time, adored their counselor (who also adored them--and regained hope after having been ready to quit her job after the previous week and was giving it one more just to see), slept under the stars 3 nights in a row (and got rained on the last one!), rode horses a lot and BOTH enjoyed it, went down the water slide, rode the giant swing (terrifying, apparently!), enjoyed the food just the right amount (they were really excited about my lasagna, corn and bean salad, etc. back at home), loved the other kids, learned an amazing new song they're still singing, and decided that of course they'd be going back the next year. (Surely there are amazing camps closer to home though, right??)

But Kalina and Elise weren't the only girls who had a fantastic week! Naomi started talking the minute they left and didn't stop until after they got back home. We loved hearing from her. 

Plus, she attended our favorite art camp with a good friend, Emily. As a bonus, the camp has a mini farm attached to it, and the new animals this year were bunnies. Every "recess," Naomi bonded with the same one. The whole recess. 

Naomi and her non-
bunny friend

Naomi and her camp bunny

Naomi and Emily, although they were only 8 and 9, were allowed to be in the upstairs area this year, with more advanced projects. They actually did a stained glass project that turned out beautifully (Naomi made an orange cat), as well as a hanging clay planter and one or two other things. They had a blast. 

You'd think we would've had a lot of extra time on our hands, but that wasn't the case. I'd found a sweet little paper flower kit and we poured over the complex instructions and completed a few steps every day, waiting to let the glue dry. We learned a lot and produced a poppy and a purple one by the end of the week. They were lovely, but time-consuming! We also worked on a couple badges, since Naomi's trying to fill her AHG flower this summer, having just moved up to the next level. And baked, and read, and chatted, and played games.

With a playdate or two and other random things going on, the week passed super quickly, but we enjoyed every moment of it. In fact, we might just send the older girls away for a week every year...

Naomi and her art

Our friends stayed the night after
camp! After lots of showers, we
had dinner and celebrated 
Kalina's birthday early, because
we could.

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.