Best laid weekend plans

Life has been just nonstop lately, as is expected with seven kids and one on the way. In pre-Covid days, we spent a few days at an indoor water park at the Dells in order to help us just get away and relax/recuperate for a few days. We wanted to do something similar this year but didn't think an indoor water park yet prudent (maybe it never will be?), but we found a spectacular-looking airbnb with its own indoor pool less than two hours from here. So we decided to book it for a couple of days and told Abigail she could bring her friend along since we've been trying to get the two of them together for some special time for months. Relaxing weekend, here we come!

Not five minutes after leaving the Wards, where we had picked up Carrigan, we were T-boned while turning onto the on-ramp :-(

Praise God, other than the airbags giving a couple of them a good smack in the heads, no one was hurt. And despite the scary situation, the kids all did great listening and being patient as we waited for the fire dept, police, and tow service to come and check everything out, take information, tow our van away. The Wards very gratiously came and took most of us back to their house (Mike and the big two rode back to their house in the police car). Later that evening, after rearranging their schedules and feeding our large crew, they took us to our Airbnb, 20 minutes away, in their two vehicles. We are so grateful for these wonderful friends who didn't hesitate to adjust their evening's plans to help us out when we needed it.

Sadly, when we got to the Airbnb on Friday night, the pool heater was not working, so it was very frigid. The kids amused themselves in other ways while we tried to communicate with the owners to get the heat turned back on. Success, and by the next morning, it had warmed up enough to get in. Non-swimmers enjoyed viewing pool activities in the convenient spectator area.

This door lock was no match for our Spice.

One dilemma that created more stress for the weekend was how we were going to get our crew of nine back home on Sunday. The Wards again came to the rescue on Saturday afternoon and stayed with our kids while Mike and I drove an hour and 15 mins to the Madison airport to pick up a rental Transit and then back to our Airbnb near Milwaukee.

Mike and I wish we could Rip Van Winkle ourselves back to redo our trip there, but the weekend was super fun for the kids, despite that large hiccup in the beginning. According to Ford, our van is a total loss because of damage done to the undercarriage that is nearly impossible to replace, as well as the airbags being deployed. So we will begin the arduous process of looking for another ride large enough to accomodate our family. They're in super-high demand right now (and thus super inflated) because of some chip shortage, so any prayers appreciated! I'm trusting that God knows our need, though thank the Lord we have two other vehicles we can get around with in the meantime!

Spontaneous

After a nap on Tuesday, I looked in the mirror and the state of my long hair. If I forget to braid it before lying down anymore it gets a matted affect upon waking. And I thought, I'm just going to cut it off.

So I watched the first YouTube video that popped up and did.

15" at its longest! Mike (and the kids) had a lot of fun with that remnant pony, but I'll spare you. Once you see it, you can't unsee it.

After a a little trimming/cleaning up... It's Day 3, and I have zero regrets. It feels so light and healthy and is so much more manageable. Washing it used to take so long, as I pulled the loose hairs from my fingers so they wouldn't go down the drain. Ick. It's amazing what a new 'do can do!

Christmas in February with Mike's family

We finally found a time that worked for all of us to get together- on Teddy's birthday. So we celebrated that and Christmas together this past weekend. It's always a joy to get to spend time with family!