Elise and kids come for a visit

Elise's Arrival, plus the Zoo

When we do things together as a family, it becomes obvious that having lots of kids and grandkids is wonderful--and sometimes exhausting. Elise arrived Tuesday afternoon. Even though she had jet lag, she was a good sport and agreed to do the zoo on Wednesday. We were able to get Sara and Adrienne and their kids to go, too (the zoo was Adrienne's idea). Adrienne and I bought a pass last year that expires the end of June. We've used it enough to pay for it and a little more. The traffic at the zoo was surprisingly light. I don't think I've been to the zoo when it was less busy--it was busier even during Covid when we had to wear masks.

Max, Mav, Ori, Oli, Finn (background), Effie, Adrienne, Harvy and Elise.

Kids always love having their picture taken by the elephant--even though it hasn't spit water since Covid started. Max, Ori, Ila, Mav and Effie.

I usually don't like carousel pictures because it's hard to see the kids, but these turned out so cute--Elise took them. I stayed with the bag and stroller. On left: Mav and Bev. On right: Elise and Harvey.

It was so bright that I had a hard time seeing the picture
as I was taking it. In every picture I either cut out Harvy, or Ila.
On the lion: Bev, Ori, Oli, Effie, Gunnar, Max, Mav, Finn and Ila.

Flaming Gorge for the Weekend

Camping with 8 small children is quite a feat--even when there are five adults. We do it for the memories because it can be hard. Traditionally, we always try to take Elise and her family camping for a weekend when she comes. The boys (and Bev) love the boat and are always so excited to have the opportunity to sleep in the trailer. Last year we had to let them sleep in the trailer in our driveway because we weren't able to get away, but this year, we made the trek to Flaming Gorge with Elise, her 4 children, and Nick and Sara and their 4 children.

Max is quite the thinker--he said to Roy, "It's a lot faster to get to the gorge than it is to get to Utah. When we left, it took us an hour to get to Atlanta, then we had to wait 4 hours, then we had to fly for four more hours. That's 9 hours! It only takes 4 hours to get to the gorge." He also told us that Mount Everest is 6 miles high. I didn't know that, so I looked it up to be sure. He only overstated it by 1/2 mile. He likes facts and his book choices are usually non-fiction.

During a long car ride, sometimes things get messy. Elise asked Mav, "What's this half eaten banana in your car seat? Mav: "I think it's yours." Elise: "How could it be mine? Mav: "You know--when you were young!"

We had a lot of fun on the boat and at the campsite. We find that the kids love playing at the campsite at least as much as they love boating.

The kids slept pretty well in the trailer, but with Mav, Max and Bev still on Georgia time, they got up pretty early the first morning. Later, Ori found her dad sharpening his knife. Nick asked Ori, "Who woke up first." Ori replied, "Mav...are you mad? Nick answered, "Why do you think I'm sharpening my knife." Ori obviously understood the humor because she came in and retold the story to me with a cute little smile on her face.

I slept really well because I was smart and took my fitted earplugs.

It's hard to tell in this picture, but the winds were scary strong--
probably 45 mph. We had changed our mind about launching the boat
after reading the weather report, but at the campsite it wasn't very windy, so we
decided to go ahead and launch and tie the boat up in the slip for the night.
Roy had paid for a slot so we wouldn't have to do everything the next morning.
I was driving the boat!

Immediately after arrival, Harvey climbed the ladder to the bunk bed, which was a good warning to move the ladder. He could get up with no problem, but he'd probably also be willing to try getting down if no one was watching. The other kids made their way to the play ground first thing.

On the boat:

Camden loved the boat. He is a very calm andhappy baby. Above: Sara, Camden and Avie.

Harvey liked the boat too, and didn't complain too much about his life jacket. On left: Bevy, Elise, and Harvey. On right: Grandpa with Mav.

Above: Grandpa with Harvey (surprisingly, he didn't

like touching the wheel)

Nick with Camden, Grandma with Harvey

Luckily, it was only windy the evening we arrived. The water was beautiful the rest of the time. On left: Max and Ori. On right: Grandma with Harvy

On left: Beverly, Elise and Harvey. On right: Nick and Ori

Avie, Beverly, Effie
When we finally got the tube out, Mav, Max and Ori
got on for a ride. Effie wanted to go, too. Sara told her that
her turn would be next. Effie kneeled down, put her head on
the floor of the boat, and wailed, "I can't wait that long!"

Sleeping children: Sara with Avie, Elise with Effie and Harvey, Maverick

Effie loves Elise! She was sad when she couldn't ride with grandpa and grandma to the lake, until she found out that Elise was going with them. Also, after being upset about not being first to ride the tube, Elise told her she'd ride it next, with her. Then Effie was super happy.

(The next few pictures are the 2nd day on the lake. The first day we spent about 3 hours boating, the 2nd day we were on the lake for about 8 hours. The water was brisk, but if you were brave you could get used to it. The sun was hot enough that it was nice to get in.

Max--standing up was easy, but it scared him
so he kneeled right back down. He would have been fine,
he was really balanced.

Paddleboarding: I didn't think to take a picture of Nick, but he was pretty good at it.

On left: Elise. On right: Avie

Sara and Ori

Sara with Camden

Max

Back at camp:

Ori, Effie, Bev and Avie--all wearing the t-shirts grandpa
and grandma gave them for Christmas.

Ori, Sara, Max, and Mav. Just as I was taking this picture,
Ori started leaving. When she saw my camera, she went
right back to her original spot.

Effie. Note how clean she is here. Everywhere
we went she seemed to find the deepest mud to play in--or
she'd pour sand all over herself (her mom calls her a hot mess).
She obviously
doesn't mind being dirty.

There are horses in a field next to the campground, which is fun for the kids, but not so much for the adults when the horses get close to their tents in the middle of the night. At least they aren't cows. Last year a cow came close to Sara and Nick's tent and Sara was absolutely convinced it was a bear.

Left: Ori and Effie. Right: Effie, Max and Ori

Around the campfire with Roy, Nick and Camden, Ori,
Elise and Harvey and Max. The younger kids were all asleep
already, so we definitely had to have another fire the following evening.

This is a camping mat. At least they're out of the dirt and off
the rocks here. Beverly, Mav, Avie, Effie and Ori

Cute cousins--Effie, Bevy, and Avi

On the way home Harvey was being really good. Beverly said, "Harvey's eating something." Elise assumed it was a toy, so we drove on. When we stopped at the park for a break, she went to pick up Harvey and found he'd eaten about 1/4 of a chocolate bar--paper and all. It obiously made him pretty happy.