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When you start getting messages asking if you and the children are all right, you know it's time to dust off the old blog. When I was pulling these pictures I realized that I hadn't taken a single photograph with my real camera in all of July. I guess that's what interstate moving with six kids will do to you.
I've been swamped here getting the house set up and starting our homeschool year off and just finding a new rhythm for all of the routines that go with managing a fairly large household. Like, where do I store all the shoes? What day should we clean the bathrooms? These burning questions will plague me for at least another fifteen years or so.
Lack of household routines can't stop birthday celebrations though. Chris took David and Henry to Busch Gardens, per David's request--and the free annual visit for military they offer--to celebrate. I think he thought he would be celebrating there himself, but the boys were not quite up for the extent of roller coaster riding he had envisioned. They had fun though and rode all the slightly less terrifying rides and ate a truly ridiculous amount of park food that more than made up for the free admission.
We did official birthday celebrating for both Chris and David this morning and the spider in the box prank (aff link) that David has been planning for weeks went off without a hitch. Chris really jumped when the spider sprang out instead of the Swedish fish he was expecting. David also made a pretty amazing, if not wholly appropriate birthday card, that also got a lot of laughs. And of course, David asked for the same birthday cake he's asked for since he turned five because he likes to eat the same things that he already likes, just like he prefers to re-read only the books he already likes. Maybe one day he'll branch out into other cake worlds--coconut maybe? Or upside down? Maybe the trouble is that he hasn't been exposed to the whole variety of what a cake can be. I guess I should get baking and start cultivating better cake appreciation skills in my children. At least Timothy doesn't seem to have any problems eating whatever cake-like substance comes his way.
All in all it's been a very successful birthday weekend so far. Chris has gotten to do several of his favorite things: go to an amusement park, clean out his new and so, so dirty garage, and even assemble some IKEA furniture. Okay, only two of those things are his actual favorites.
Now if I can just finish getting the house set up the way I want it (i.e. all the homeschool supplies find their homes where I don't have to look at them) maybe I can get my camera back out and share some pictures of the new place. It's not Vermont, but it's ours.
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PS I know the boys are all in desperate need of haircuts. It's on my list. With the way Margaret's hair is progressing she will be needing her first haircut sometime around her own eleventh birthday.