Mama Bear Goes on Two Road Trips

Aron left for a fishing trip yesterday with his twin brother, Michael, Joel and two of his brother's kids. Sometimes in the afternoon, I noticed they hadn't taken any blankets and that my niece's sleeping bag was still here. I normally would not worry about something like that, except the weather forecast said it was going to be around 38 degrees overnight. My first thought?

MY POOR BABIES (and, by extension, my poor chilly niece and nephew)!

I had to call my brother-in-law because Aron's TRACPHONE is crapping out AGAIN (not a recommended buy), and of course the two of them are all like men get: "It'll be alright. We'll be fine. The tent will be warm enough. We'll cram two kids in one sleeping bag." And so on.

So what do you think my overprotective butt did?

I'm headed down today with my other 3 kiddles, but of course you know me and I HAD to make the drive last night, as well. I can't stand the thought of shivering children. And Michael forgot his flip flops, and it should be warmer by Sunday, so I took them also.

It took longer than we expected to get down there ... about 2 hours each way. I called it "Practice for Wyoming" ... except times 4!!! We got down just as it was getting dark, and it was beautiful there. I love camping out and haven't gotten to for so long (babies + camping = not always such a great outcome). They are camping right by the lake! We had some hot dogs roasted over a campfire, then we had to leave about 9.

My 3 little peeps eventually crashed on the way home, and I was left to admire the stars and sing 70s classic songs loudly and play my leg guitar like my dad used to do.

Sometimes I'm a Planner and sometimes I just Jump. Life is an adventure! Looking forward to what today brings out in nature!

Need Your Advice: Microwaved Food

I need your help, readers! I have a dilemma about where to stay if we get to travel with my husband. He's been going to Wyoming for work a lot and we miss him! If he's not physically there, he's here in town working until midnight, which pretty much sucks. So we are hoping to convince his boss that it's a great idea for his family to be with him for 3 weeks. You know, for moral support and all that. Because he's getting burnt out, people.

So here's where you come in. The "ranches" out there are too expensive, but they have kitchens. There's a cabin for $225/night that will barely sleep all of us and has NO TV or WIFI! I love the homey feel and can live without TV, but come on!

Then there's the Holiday Inn Express ... with a pool, so that would kill some time. And a nice deluxe suite for only $125/night. The catch is that it only has a microwave and a mini fridge for food.

I'm thinking hot dogs, PB&J, Ramen noodles, shopping often since I only have a teeny fridge. I'll have to bring my own bowls and Tupperware and utensils.

I'm looking for more creative ideas for eating microwaved and refrigerated foods. Please help!

Hiding Babies in Pantries

Step One: Find a great hiding place for said toddler, like in the pantry. Hide him behind boxes of cereal.

Have him stay quiet so his siblings won't find him. He jumps out and scares the crap out of said siblings. He wins!

SeaLife Aquarium Kansas City Field Trip

Head here to find out about Homeschool Week at Crown Center and how SeaLife fits into that!

Dang, this post contains just about all the categories I have for my blog posts. It's about EVERYTHING. That's what happens when you spend over 5 hours at Kansas City's Crown Center with 5 children (division problem; the answer is one hour per kid)!

Okay, FOCUS, Kerrie. I have to focus JUST on the SeaLife Aquarium for you today. Get ready for lots of pictures (no flash allowed, so they aren't all fabulous, but you'll get the idea).

We went on a field trip with other homeschoolers on a Monday and were supposed to get in at 11:00. I had Googled the place before we went so I could get a little map and find out what to expect. Tickets are normally $19/adults and $15/kids if you just walk in the door, cheaper with a pass (only like $200 for a family of four ... holy crap!). With our homeschool group we paid less than $7 per person. I got me and my peeps in for $38.50 to be exact.

My Nasty Carpet

Sometimes I have to use this blog for good and not evil and give props to good companies in my area. One of those places is The Carpet Guy, Inc., a Kansas City carpet cleaner! Mark is the guy who runs it and you can grab his info at his Facebook site here. The price is right, he's fast and the carpet doesn't take days to dry. You know my carpet is looking like crap most of the time with all these kids (and their pals) running around, so if I think someone rocks, they certainly do. Here are some before and after shots of my lovely carpet for your exciting viewing pleasure: