Vitafam On Vacation

Keanu Saves The School Room

January 13, 2013 by LoraLynn

Usually it’s me who gets the harebrained ideas that send us off on adventure. So when Andrew does it, I have to make sure everyone knows.

Up until recently, this was the state of affairs in my school room.

In order to put it together, I needed some items from Ikea. We were getting school done in spite of things so I was waiting patiently until the day when we could drag the kids two and a half hours away for an excursion.

Admittedly, it isn’t like me to be so content with a room left in squalor but, honestly, there were a million other demands on our time and I was realistic about our schedule.

So when Andrew mentioned, “Hey, it’s date night tomorrow. Want to get the babysitter to come an hour early and we go to Ikea? Alone?”

I blinked a few times and quickly said, “Yes.”

Because… duh. Five hours of car time with my man PLUS a kid-free trip to Ikea?

You betcha.

Inevitably, we left later than we wanted to but I was calm because, well, Car Time. With Andrew. It makes me zen.

We’d been on the road for about twenty minutes when my zen hit the panic button. “The time change! We didn’t factor in the time change!”

Andrew replied matter-of-factly, “No big deal. They close at like, ten, or eleven, right?”

I did some quick research on my phone. “Nope. Nine.”

This changed everything. At our current leisurely pace and with a stop for food, we would barely have twenty minutes in the store.

We revised our plan. First, we needed to gas up the van. I ran inside and foraged for a healthy dinner.

That’s some kind of three course meal, huh?

Then Andrew did his best Keanu Reeves in “Speed” impression (which was actually better than Keanu Reeves did it because, seriously, does he actually emote?) and we squealed into the parking lot with exactly ONE hour to spend in Ikea.

Those of you who have been, you know what kind of insanity getting in and out of Ikea in an hour is. That store is 80 miles long.

We literally sprinted from the van to the door (and like a wimp, I was sore the next day because I opted for fashion over function and wore my cute date night boots.)

We had a list and a plan. And we made it to the checkout line in 45 minutes with two carts full.

That’s some crazy teamwork. And an embarrassing amount of knowledge about the layout of Ikea and the contents therein.

Feeling young and stupid again (because being old and stupid is incomprehensible), we grabbed a cinnamon roll for the road and headed back home, laughing and proud of ourselves (and a little sick to our stomachs after all that junk food.)

A few days later, my school room now looks like this:

But only occasionally. Usually it looks more like this:

Which is exactly how I hoped it would be…

Filed Under: Family Stories, Homeschooling, Vitafam On Vacation
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How To Have The Best Family Reunion Ever

January 6, 2013 by LoraLynn

(Prepare your eyeballs. I’m about to assault them with pictures of fun people you may not recognize.)

It’s important that you wear the proper attire to a family gathering. Matching is always appropriate.

Hold any child that deems your lap comfortable. Expect children to make the rounds between family members and choose favorites.

Anybody with an iPad or laptop to entertain the kids and garner relative silence in a house full of 38 people will be a hero. And it isn’t fun for the kids unless they pile as many as they can onto a couch meant to hold half that many people.

Games are a must. Winner of the euchre tournament gets bragging rights until the next reunion. Except more than likely, no one will remember who won since you all stayed up so late playing to the point of delirium.

Eat much and often. It’s important to keep your strength up for all the fun you’re having.

For the traditional talent show, you’ll need an audience.

A proper talent show should always include several songs. A rewrite of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” or a love song to Chik-fil-A and/or a Rusty Chevrolet are expected.

Story-telling should be included. A Shakespearean version of the The Three Little Pigs is appropriate and properly hilarious, while Grammy’s version of the little old lady who can’t get over the pig sty is regularly reprised. (p.s. If you squint closely, you can see the head of a sick aunt who, due to illness, was forced to view the entire show from above. No one is left out of the fun, even if they’re sick!)

Further talent offerings should include (but are not limited to):

Playing “Joy To The World” on the kazoo while balancing on a ball,

A demonstration of ping-pong paddle skills,

The requisite performance of “Sisters” from “White Christmas,”

An interpretive dance and a hip-hop lesson, in which everyone learned to isolate their shoulders and discovered which muscles were suffering from disuse,

And four-part harmony to old spirituals performed on, you guessed it, kazoos.

The cousins should band together for several musical numbers, one of which must almost always come from “White Christmas.” This year’s performance of “Choreography” was an unexpectedly delightful choice.

And finally, for a grand finale, an all-cousin cast of characters to perform one grand lip sync, preferably to another family favorite movie, “The Sound of Music.”

After such an exciting and lengthy performance, nothing but a cozy pile-up on the couch will do. Again, the more cousins on the couch, the better.

Finish the weekend off with a healthy dose of Vitamin C (to avoid the plague everyone seems to carry) and a piece of Grammy’s cherry pie.

Collapse in happy exhaustion wherever you can find the space.

Then count the months, days, weeks, hours, and minutes until we can do it all again…

Filed Under: Family Pictures, Family Stories, Vitafam On Vacation
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A Christmas Post-It, Just In Case

December 26, 2012 by LoraLynn

Dear Children,

It’s entirely possible many of you won’t remember this Christmas. There were moments in it that some day I will want to tell you about. That you will want to hear about. But we are all aware that my brain is like a sieve and since I haven’t finished a proper sentence out loud since roughly 2007, I thought maybe one of us should jot it down, just in case…

We spent the weekend at Gran and Pops’ house. They gave you thoughtful gifts and stole all my birthday ideas, so now I’m stumped. Ellen, you got a purple bike with pink streamers, which suits you perfectly.

You rode it round and round in circles in the driveway. Then you laid claim to an old digital camera and made it your own. You entertained yourself for hours with pictures and video that you took all by yourself.

Willa, you cried because you didn’t get a bike. But your very own sleeping bag was a pretty big rite of passage that you didn’t have enough sense to appreciate. Until it was nap time and you asked to sleep in the “new sleeping bag that Gran and Pops gave me.”

Finn, you got a push toy and immediately began pushing it around the room. I fought the urge to wrest it from your grasp lest you learn to walk in a single weekend. You spent the rest of the day falling behind, onto, or inside of your push toy.

You traveled better on this trip than you have in the past and we all declared you the best baby in the world for surpassing our decidedly low expectations.

No, we never spoil you at all.

And then there was the boys’ gift. Gran scored a great deal on a Playmobil pirate island for Sam, Ian, and Adam, a toy you’ve dreamed of owning. That was the nearest to tears over a gift I’ve ever seen you fellas. You leaped in the air with joy and then bounded into Gran’s lap for a heartfelt thank you. Gran beamed with pride and giggled right along with you. You spent the rest of the day locked in the sun room, putting together tiny pieces and singing pirate songs.

All six of you older kids slept in one bedroom. It took you at least an hour and a half to go to sleep each night. We’d walk in to stop the giggles and feel the steamy warmth that six wriggling bodies can produce in a small room.

You’d fuss over covers, declare the other person to be hogging the bed. You’d throw your stuffed animals in the air to see who you could hit. And inevitably, somebody had gas. But, oh, how you laughed and got into trouble and woke up entirely too early.

We spent Christmas Eve lunch with Memaw in her tiny house. She’d never met Finn before, so they stared each other down and declared one another “good.”

Mira, you tensed when we walked in the door and were greeted by three unfamiliar faces who all said, “Awwww, hey Mee-rah!” But you shook hands politely and even gave a friendly wave. You said hello to Memaw and then curled up in my lap for some reassurance. I was happy to oblige.

Later, you got brave and decided to explore the house. Memaw saw you and reached for your hand. You smiled and reached back. And I saw your daddy’s eyes get all glisteny.

Memaw led you from room to room, telling you how much she loved you and how pretty you were. She even dabbed your neck with her perfume. You smelled like sweet old lady for the rest of the day and I thought it was wonderful.

Willa, of course, got squeezed the hardest of all the children because she’s Memaw’s namesake and Memaw never thought anyone would name their baby after a “Willy Gladys” so that merits the biggest squeeze of all.

Memaw is tiny, but she squeezes like a boa constrictor and sometimes you’re not sure you’ll survive. But you do. And you are always glad to feel the strength in her frail frame, the intensity with which she loves. And you’re also glad to feel the air return to your lungs when she’s done.

We made it home late Christmas Eve, just in time to pull out the nativity set (I know – total Christmas FAIL) and put Baby Jesus in His rightful place. I made the special blueberry muffins, we sang some carols, I got a little misty-eyed, and we called it Christmas morning.

And it was lovely. I hope you remember. But if you forget, I wrote it down for you (and me).

Just in case…

Filed Under: Family Stories, Mothering Thoughts, Vitafam On Vacation
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A Family Beach Trip You Can Actually Enjoy

September 26, 2012 by LoraLynn

This was our very first family vacation… Ever. We’ve crammed a lot of living and a lot of kids and a lot of crises into the last eight years. A family vacation never seemed to fit into that. We’ve traveled, of course. But not for the purpose of Vacationing with Kids.

After the last two years of adoption and bed rest and new baby, we felt the whole family was ready to for a break. So we took a vacation and we had a ball. We did some things right and we learned what we need to do better next time. For example:

Take Some Help – Look, it wouldn’t be a vacation if we simply moved our family circus to a different location. I can stay home and manage us a lot better than on the road. So if we’re going to leave our safe little nest AND try to relax, we’re gonna need an extra set of hands.

We are lucky in that I have three lovely sisters who were eager to score a free vacation in exchange for being their usual helpful selves. I never dreamed we would need all three sets of hands but HAVE MERCY we were glad to have them. I don’t think any of us were prepared for the level of work it took to get our gang some R & R.

That being said, I know not everybody has siblings handy. However, it can’t hurt to ask a teen or college student you love if they’d like a free trip to the beach. We had the room, we fed them well, and we made sure they got plenty of time off to do their own thing.

The key with this? Communication. After a few days, it started to feel like nobody was getting enough rest so we sat and pow-wowed about how to make it better. We broke our day up into smaller sections and made sure that everyone knew when they were Responsible and when they were Free To Relax.

(This was especially key for me because as The Mom I felt guilty that someone else was doing my job. Once we all had appointed times for helping and for resting, I could truly relax during my breaks.)

Pack Less Clothes, Pack More Food – I only took two outfits per child, plus their swim stuff. This worked just fine. Doing laundry is like breathing for me, so it was no big whoop to do a load or two a day to keep us all relatively covered.

Oh sure, Willa wandered around wearing Sam’s shirt and no underwear for a day or two, but she was on vacation! I had no problem letting her be breezy.

I did discover, though: we eat more on vacation. We play harder, we burn more calories, and everyone feels peckish all the time. Even though most of our packing space in the van was dedicated to food, we were at the store by Day 2 completely restocking.

I used the crockpot to handle most of the cooking and we avoided eating out the entire week. I think Andrew was a little sad not to get some fried seafood, but his wallet was happier.

There were goggles handy to help me survive cutting the onions for dinner!

Easy Sun Protection Is Key – Spray-on sunscreen is a must. We went through a can a day. It was the difference between thirty minutes of smearing stuff on kids and ten minutes.

Finn had a special tent that protected him from UV rays.

Also, next year, I’m buying the long-sleeved sun shirts for the twins. They had major reactions to the sun. They didn’t burn exactly, but they had funky rashes. I did buy them hats, which they look adorable in, so everybody wins.

Adam is sporting my hat, but doesn't he wear it well?

Make A Plan – We knew we wouldn’t want to spend the hottest part of the days out in the sun, but we neglected to plan properly for how to fill those long stretches indoors. It occurred to us, oh, about two days before the vacation was over, that we could have easily prepared a few things besides Wii Party and some board games.

On our last day, we held the First Annual Vitafam Variety Show. Everyone demonstrated a talent, a dance, acted out a Lone Ranger scene, or showed us some fancy dives in the pool. There was even a grand finale that involved a Newsies sing-along. (That footage is going in the vault for blackmail purposes.) The kids had a ball and now have a whole year to plan their talent for next time.

Pools Are Great – Because we didn’t really know how everyone would feel about the ocean, we spent extra to make sure we had pool access. Good Decision. A pool made it super easy to rinse all the sand and salt off of the kids. They loved being able to play in closer proximity to each other without being beaten up by the waves. And it was in the shade some of the time, which was nice relief from the intense beach sun.

For the next few years at least, we’ll use some extra pennies on a pool. It made it a lot more fun for everyone. And it proved our efforts to make this The Year We Learn To Swim were totally worth it.

Pile Some Stones – We took some time to talk about all that God has done for us in the past few years and to set some goals for the year ahead. The kids aren’t really used to retrospective navel-gazing, but this was a good chance to teach them. We also collected some seashells to put in a jar that we can point to and remember our beach trip.

Vacations are always a great time to make a stone pile like the Israelites did, to look at where we’ve been and to pray for grace as we go forward.

And as long as we’re going together, we’ll be just fine.

All the pretty pictures were provided by Southern Rose Photography. The rest of the pictures are courtesy of my iPhone.

Filed Under: Vitafam On Vacation
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Beach Day

September 25, 2012 by LoraLynn

This is our older four kids about twenty minutes after we arrived at the beach. I honestly thought they might hesitate a little bit, stand there and take it in. Instead they were all four in the water before I had a chance to catch up to them.

They adored the ocean. They only came out once the twins discovered they were allergic to sunscreen and their little faces swelled up like chipmunks.

Not to be outdone, some of the so-called “adults” in the crowd decided skimboarding was a good sport to take up at our age and we’re all displaying some nasty sand rash now. I’m pretending it’s the result of catching some air whilst surfing the totally tubular waves.

Willa wasn’t nearly as impressed with the ocean at first. She held up her legs and screamed. But she has come around. She and Mira wander from waves to sand happily.

The internet here at the beach is ridiculously slow, but that’s probably a good thing. Everything in my brain is sort of slow, too.

We play in the waves in the early morning and evenings but sit inside during the hottest part of the day. Our week is almost up and I’ve still got so much vacationing left to do.

So glad to be here …

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Mira Meets The Sea

September 24, 2012 by LoraLynn

I remember sitting and dreaming about her. We were on our long-awaited getaway and I sat on our porch, stared at the ocean, and cried for three days. I could feel that I was standing on the edge of Something So Big.

And yet the baby in my dreams was tiny. And there were continents and oceans between us.

We didn’t know her name, we’d never seen her face. But I knew she was close. She was coming. And so I prayed and cried and thought about crossing the ocean to meet her.

And then we did.

She is home and she is mine. But some days, there are still soul oceans between us. Some days, her heart remembers Africa and the woman who gave her life. Some days, she and I can’t get through the waves to hold one another.

But this week, we brought her to the ocean, the one I begged God to shrink so I could get to my baby.

She delighted in the waves, she embraced the sand, and she sings at the ocean, just because she can.

And I can only raise my hands and whisper, “Glory” because He washed this Miracle up on my shores.

Linking up with the Parenthood today. Join us?

Filed Under: Adoption, Mothering Thoughts, Vitafam On Vacation
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To Be Centered

September 18, 2012 by LoraLynn

A few weeks ago I attended a blogger event at Cahaba Clayworks. Andrew and I were in the throes of fixing up the house and it seemed like really awful timing to leave for an evening, but I was committed and Andrew thought a break would do me good.

We sat and watched two masters spin clay while they tried to explain their craft in short easy sentences we could understand. One of the potters explained Centering: the clay needs to be evenly distributed in the center of the wheel so that it won’t wobble and the creation will look the same on all sides.

I quickly discovered that centering the clay was the trickiest part. When I watched the expert hands at work, they seemed to just gently press in and the ball of mud was centered. Then with light fingers they would pull a vase or a cup out of a lump. It was mesmerizing to watch.

But when I sat down at the wheel and tried for myself, I learned that they were actually applying a great deal of downward force on the clay to get it centered.

The wheel would spin wildly and I’d feel the clay be slightly off kilter under my clumsy fingers “ga-loop, ga-loop, ga-loop.”

With some instruction, I leaned in with my shoulders and pressed down with all my might. Suddenly the clay began to simply hum as it spun. Only then could I begin to make something truly lovely.

And that’s sort of what I’ve felt like lately: like the off-centered, off-key lump of clay. Imbalanced by all the spinning and not quite feeling as smooth as I ought.

I need to be centered.

But now I know: only with great pressure can the clay find the even spread.

And so my Potter presses down hard and I cringe and squish and fight, but the spin and the pressure are beginning to take effect. And then once I am centered, He can begin creating with me again, making me into something less lumpy, more beautiful to the eyes.

Fortunately, we’re going to spin our little world over to the beach tomorrow.* The beach is my centering place, where I go to remember I am dust (or mud) and God is so much bigger than all the plates that spin on this planet.

The last time I was at the beach, Mira was the unknown child I longed for, the one I knew was close but so far across the globe. The last time I was at the beach, Finn was outside my field of vision. The last time I was at the beach, I couldn’t have imagined that life could spin any faster. But it did.

So we’re gonna go rest and I’m gonna process and hold my babies and my big kids and swim and think and cry and laugh and soak up my people.

And maybe when I come back, I will hum like I ought and you’ll be able to see the Potter’s fingerprints once again.

To remind me of my day of pottery, I got to bring home a lovely plate for me and one for you.

*Giveaway Closed* Leave me a comment and tell me where you go to find your center, to balance out the rough spots. I’ll pick a winner this weekend and send this lovely plate to you. Thanks to Rachel at Grasping For Objectivity for including me! Go here to read more about the beautiful place we visited.

*Dear Creepy People: Aubrey will be house-sitting for us while we’re gone. She is Ferocious. You’ve been warned.

Filed Under: Mothering Thoughts, Random, Sponsor Love, Vitafam On Vacation
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Road Tripping Down Memory Lane

July 22, 2012 by LoraLynn

The three girls took a jaunt with Finn and me this Saturday to visit Aubrey. (Mira was asleep when I snapped this photo.)

While we were there, Aubrey gave me the handprints that we had done of Mira months ago.

She also gave me some of Sam and Ian that she made years ago. Sob. My babies!

I had a quick errand to run and left my people with Aubrey’s people. This is the first time we’ve left Mira with anyone other than The Approved Few. When I came back, Mira was asleep in Sara Grace’s lap. I think she’s gonna be just fine, y’all.

I was in a hurry to hit the road before Finn’s next feeding, so I tossed everyone in the car and headed out. As I pulled on to the interstate, swigging my large iced tea, I had a flashback to almost exactly five years ago. I was a nursing mother with four kids. We were in between states, living with my family in a town two hours from Andrew’s job, house hunting, and generally insane.

I would take long road trips with the kids by myself and would have to go on a liquid fast because I couldn’t stop to pee. I couldn’t logistically figure out how to get four kids three and under into a bathroom stall with me, so my plan was to just drive to the bitter end or explode trying.

The end result was pretty epic blog fodder. These blog posts usually ended with me pulled over on the side of the road at a particular liquor store, nursing a baby.

Five years later, I giggled at the memory, pondered where life has taken us, and kept driving. Then Finn took up to caterwauling.

Fortunately, wouldn’t you know it, my very favorite liquor store was on the horizon.

And so, sure enough, once again, Wayne’s Package Store saved the day for this solo parenting excursion. A quick search revealed that I’ve used it as an emergency stop off point for several babies. Who knew it would become such a part of my children’s legacy?

I wonder if Wayne’s could use this as a marketing strategy…

Filed Under: Family Stories, Mothering Thoughts, Vitafam On Vacation
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Poop On A Plane

March 4, 2012 by LoraLynn

While we sit around and wait for Finn’s birth day, my twins, my very first babies, have a birthday on the horizon, too. Here’s a story about them I’ve never told you…

Sam and Ian, 10 months

When Sam and Ian were 10 months old, I took an airplane trip with them… all by myself.

Our floors had to be refinished and my youngest brother was due to arrive any day, so a trip Back Home seemed appropriate. I bought two tickets, one for Sam to ride in the carseat and one for me to hold Ian on my lap.

And then I discovered I was pregnant. It should have been my first clue this trip wasn’t a good idea.

When we checked in to the airport, the ticket clerk informed me that Sam had been tagged for an extra security screening. Sam responded to this insult by filling his diaper on the way to the checkpoint. I pulled him out of the stroller and handed him to the TSA guy.

Who held him at arm’s length and was grateful for the rubber gloves he was wearing.

I tried not to grin as the man grimaced and handed me my baby, declaring him free of all terrorist motives. Although that diaper he was wearing could have been a weapon of mass destruction.

I pushed the double stroller with a car seat piled on top to the gate and made sure everyone was freshly changed and fed before we boarded.

This was wasted energy. Ian pooped during take-off.

The flight attendant watched Sam so I could go dispose of the mess (Which, have you people ever changed a diaper in those tiny airplane bathrooms? I had to sit on the toilet with Ian in my lap. I gagged a lot.)

It was on my way back to my seat that I realized flying, baby poop, and early pregnancy didn’t mix. The poor flight attendant took one look at my green face and reached out for Ian. Then she flung a barf bag, some ginger ale, and a wet paper towel at me and shoved my head between my knees. “You don’t look so good, honey.”

Approximately 18 sips of ginger ale and 200 cheerios later, we arrived at our destination. I was asked to wait to unload my little circus until the last passenger left the plane. They said it was so they could “help” me but I suspect it was to keep me from slowing others down.

I sort of blacked out for the long walk from my gate to the baggage claim, but I know somewhere in there I made a pit stop and had to figure out how to pee with one baby strapped to me and another on my hip. And a backpack on my shoulders.

I emerged wearing pants, so that’s a victory.

At baggage claim, I discovered we’d taken so long to claim our bags, they’d been stolen by someone else. Now I had no clothes. And the twins’ nearly-finished scrapbooks, which I had foolishly checked, were gone forever.

Happily, I was reunited with family and got to meet my new baby brother, so the trip wasn’t simply an opportunity to lose my luggage or my dignity.

That was reserved for the journey back…

The twins and their new uncle

Our return was delayed because our floors were refinished in the wrong color and had to be re-refinished, plus my lost bags couldn’t be found. By then I’d figured out the trip was cursed and spent a lot of time on the phone with the airline, crying and eating pudding pops.

Eventually, though, I was back on a plane with my two toothless escorts.

Who both found take-off equally inspiring and promptly pooped in their diapers. Again.

Only this time, the flight attendant was a MAN who said it was “policy” not to watch children for mamas who needed to use the facilities. I asked him what he expected me to do for the next two hours about the stench my sons had created. He said he’d hold up a jacket so I could change them right there. In my seat.

I blinked up at him. “Really? You’d rather I do that?”

He squirmed uncomfortably and then said, “Yes.”

I was certainly not the most popular passenger on the plane by the time the aroma of both my boys’ britches had been recycled 800 times mid-air.

The boys really were excellent travelers, except for those excitable bowels of theirs, and never knew their mama was teetering on the brink. We arrived back home, dignity in tatters, and I vowed never to leave home again. Or, at least, to never leave without Andrew…

(That’s my sister holding the boys and not me, by the way. I’m a young mama, but not THAT young.)

Filed Under: Family Stories, Pregnancy, Vitafam On Vacation
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The Big Trip

November 8, 2011 by LoraLynn

With my doctor’s blessing, a trunk full of Epsom Salts, and a purse full of pills, Andrew and I snuck away with Adam and Ellen for a special trip to Legoland Florida. We’ve had it on the calendar for months and didn’t have an alternative for rescheduling, so we decided it was worth the shot.

Yep, it definitely was.

We took the twins to Legoland in California when they were five and it just seemed like a good age to make a trip with Mommy and Daddy. Since Adam was six in August and Ellen will be five soon, it was their turn. Fortunately, there’s a Legoland closer to us now. A long drive, but time well spent.

It took us forever to get on the road. We made a stop at a W@almart about fifty minutes into the drive because we realized that Adam doesn’t fit in his car seat. When he’s way in the back of the Beast, you can’t tell, but when you squeeze into a Honda Civic with him, suddenly you can see that he’s all knees and elbows. (In truth, he was able to put his legs up in the van but he didn’t have that option in the Civic, hence, the discomfort.)

An hour later, we emerged from the store. I have no idea how, but that place just sucks up the time.

Once we were finally about 100 miles down the road from our house, we made much better time. The one who suffered the most was Andrew, who had to take a business trip a few days before. All told, he put 2000 miles on his car and his butt in one week. He’s a hero for sure.

I consented to being pushed around Legoland in a wheelchair. I’m glad I did, since my body revolted at all the activity after a month of leisure and cried FOUL after our first day at the park. Eunice and Baby Seven were fine but every muscle in my body was screaming. Despite my lameness, I did manage to ride a few of the tamer rides with the kids.

Andrew drew the short straw and got to ride Everything Else. This was my view from the wheelchair. I don’t think he was hating it too much.

Ellen revealed her genetic tendency toward determination (thank you, Grandmother!) and rode all the roller coasters but one. She may have cuddled up close under her daddy’s arm, but she screwed up her courage, set her jaw, and muscled through the “sceh-wee pahts.”

Adam, on the other hand, was perfectly content to let his sister go on without him. He climbed on statutes and touched everything I would let him touch. Tactile-Boy was in total heaven and he didn’t need a roller coaster ride to prove it.

If you have younger kids, I cannot recommend Legoland enough for the age 4-9 crowd. It’s super family friendly and even Ellen could ride absolutely every single ride. The roller coasters are fun for all ages, but slow enough to be safe for smaller people. It’s way cheaper than Disney, a more comfortable size, and not quite as character-driven. Not that we don’t love us some M. Mouse around here, but we really like the more innocuous themes of Legoland, like “Kingdom,” “City,” and “Adventure.” More scope for the imagination…

We took two days to see it all. You can do it in one day, but the whole point was to get some special one-on-one time with these two kids. So we took our time, let them do what they wanted, and enjoyed not pushing to “do it all.” It was quality time, not quantity.

But it was millions of quantities of FUN, too.

p.s. I couldn’t all of these pictures watermarked. Be nice and don’t steal them.

p.p.s. Thank you to our Village of people who kept the other kids. You bless us greatly.

Linking up a day late with:

Filed Under: Family Stories, Pregnancy, Vitafam On Vacation
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