Getting Out of the House

I'm really sorry that I have no pictures to post. With as much as I have to say, and without pictures, that probably means few will make it to the end of this post. 

THE CAMPING TRIP

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. The first night of all four us and Lewis sleeping in a tent together was far worse than I ever imagined. It wasn't because it was too crowded (although it was), it was because the temperature dropped below 39. Silas woke up 3 times, Micah woke up 5 times, and I woke up 2 times on my own to worry about my children being warm enough. We were in our tent from only 9 until 7. You can do the math.

The next night, after consulting a professional fireman, we turned on our space heater. We woke up when Micah crawled out of his peapod at 6am but it was fun to wake up to such a happy baby. Both Silas and Micah loved being outside all weekend.  I was surprised at how much I enjoyed being with old friends. They were more fun than I had remembered. It was also great to share our campsite with the Bradleys, even though they slept in the car the second night. We had some great hot dogs and hamburgers and pudgy pies. And no one threw up, not even once.

THE BIG TRIP TO PHOENIX

Flying with Silas and Micah surprised me. They were exceptionally well-behaved on the airplane. Micah slept on every flight (although he didn't fall asleep until landing in LR on the way back) and Silas tried very hard not to kick the seat in front of him. Joel and I found new and creative ways to haul carseats through terminals and by the time our last flight was over, we were like a well-oiled machine.

Being in Phoenix also surprised me. No- I should say that being in Mountain Standard time surprised me. I didn't know until this trip how dependent I have become on such a rigid nap/bedtime schedule. I'm pretty sure I cried more than the children. I cried the most on the day that Silas woke us all up at 4:30am. I thought it was 6:30 so I let him get up out of bed only to realize an hour later (when I was making sure it was at least 7:30 before I let him out of our room) that I was sorely mistaken. This went on all weekend. Now throw in a myriad of wedding activities and 2 cars for 8 (2 in space in-efficient carseats).  I was very proud of the entire Fank. family. All the adults were long-suffering with the children, but more impressive, was how patient everyone was with each other. The possibilities for strife were endless and honestly, I came pretty close to losing it with the little ones. But Papa, Gamma, and Emily came to the rescue every time. The wedding would have been a disaster without their help. The wedding, by the way, was really lovely, and it was so great to see all the family members, meet Christina and see some of Joel's friends from highschool. Another highlight was going to the Neighborhood Church with Emily. This experience was so unique that I won't write about it now, but it's definitely worth sharing.