the black hills: day three.

on sunday, we laid pretty low around the house.  it was wonderful and relaxing, and the kids had an amazing time.

they all rode the mini gator while their cousin david launched a pretty respectable surprise attack.  laurelai was not amused.

 sisters enjoyed each others' company.

then all the kids got to take a turn on papa tony's four-wheeler.  finneas did his best impression of a backpack.

 then the boys did what the boys do best: finneas whacked at a bunch of rocks with a sword, then atticus took some flying leaps off the highest peak he could find.

super smash brothers.  sons of thunder.

and another set of brothers, todd, todd's beard, and their older brother mike.

this is hardly related in any way, but we ate lunch at this local bakery (salmon BLT with chipotle mayo?! now that's ingenious) and they not only had gluten-free sandwich buns available, but the buns were so good, i freaked out at first that i had inadvertently eaten a regular wheat bun.  because a gluten-free bun tasted like regular bread.  now, that is noteworthy.

in pregnancy news, i turned 24 weeks while we were away, and got a couple of scenic head(andbelly)shots taken.  perfect for my linkedin profile as a professional preggo.  also, excellent proof that my hair really does look crazy most of time because of our godawful humidity in iowa.  take that factor out, and my hair actually does the stuff of legends: lays flat.

and the sweetest moment of the day was when the big kids felt the baby move for the first time (atticus was in awe), and they sang him the ABC's.

MELT MY HEART RIGHT OUT, WHY DONTCHA?!

the black hills: day two.

the first full day we were at todd's parents' house was the fourth of july, and i actually remembered beforehand to pack the kids some red, white and blue clothing.  look at me go, i was actually on top of stuff for once!  so we dressed the kids all up in their patriotic gear and headed for the parade in town.  (except i forgot to pack appropriate clothing for myself, so i somehow wound up wearing purple to a fourth of july parade...)  

after the parade, we did the next most patriotic thing we could think of: we headed to a flintstones-themed park with todd's brother, mike, and his son, david.  just like the founding fathers did on the very first independence day.

the kids had a blast on this yabba-dabba-dune buggy thing.

finneas IS bam-bam.

and coincidentally, laurelai IS pebbles.

all the kids had fun on the train, which ran the perimeter of the park and allowed us to see the many species of plastic dollar store dinosaurs and what appeared to be deer bones tucked among the rocks.  the kids were duly impressed and freaked out, and atticus kept asking to make sure that none of the dinosaurs were real or alive.

when we got home, the kids played in the pool and the hot tub.

todd practiced his hair-whip for his upcoming sports illustrated spread.

and, though laurelai wasn't a huge fan of the water, she did dabble in it a little while i scowled around in the background.  because i'm a fun-hater.

and that was day two of our trip!

our trip to the black hills: day one.

okay, after an unexplained hiatus, i'm back!  we took a vacation last week to visit todd's parents in the black hills, and it was really nice to unplug for a bit.  plus, i really hate letting the internet know when we're far from home for extended periods of time; it just feels like i'm asking to be robbed or something.  but i'm especially paranoid about internet stuff like that, so maybe that's just me.

anyway, now that we're back, i can fill you in on all the fun we had - and we had a LOT of fun.  even the seventeen-hour trip there was pretty stellar, with a few great stops and lots of great music and books and movies on the way.

we hit the road at 6:30 in the morning, and i'd had the kids' breakfasts packed in the van beforehand.  all they had to do was get up, get dressed, grab their pillows and blankies, and hop in.

our first stop was at a rest area in minnesota that had a playground so the kids could stretch their legs and brains for a bit.

we stopped for a picnic lunch and a walk at falls park in sioux falls.

 

atticus clearly needed to use his six-year-old-boy legs more than he had been able to do in the car, so he took advantage of all the rocks that were laying around.

after our lunch stop, the littlest kids conked out for a bit.  laurelai preferred to hold my hand in order to fall asleep; finneas just pulled a classic finneas move and sucked his fingers and rubbed his face with his blankie.  i really do thank god for babies that will sleep in the car, even if just for short stretches.  lord knows atticus and penelope never would have done this (and on the trip to south dakota when penelope was sixteen months old, not only did she not sleep, she spent six hours each way screaming bloody murder.)  which is partially why the next two pictures are so beautiful to me.

thanks to the perspective in this photo, my arm looks downright freakish.

our next stop was at chamberlain, where there was a decent lewis and clark exhibit at a rest stop, and an overlook across a lake where the crew of the lewis and clark expedition made camp a few times.  it was beautiful.

next, we drove through the badlands loop.  

and this is apparently the face i make when we're basically on the edge of a huge cliff and my preschoolers seem to have a death wish and keeping them corralled is a nightmare.

laurelai took a turn behind the wheel when todd just wanted to relax and sight-see.

the vidivan proved itself reliable yet again, so we took a glamour shot in front of a huge rock as a 'thank you.'

but the best, most fun part of the day was when finneas pooped his pants, not once, but twice while we were driving through the badlands (where, newsflash, there are no toilets for miles and miles.  he just kept saying, 'I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!' and 'I WANT TO GO HOOOOOME' and 'OH MY GOODNESS!')  he finally got to take what is probably the most scenic poop a van voorst has ever taken.  even at the time, i could not. stop. laughing.  it was one of the most comical real-life moments of my life so far.  (and thank goodness i decided on a whim to bring the potty chair along, just in case!  i think it did his little heart good to know his mama wasn't mad that he pooped his pants, and that he had a civilized potty to sit on.)  the clean-up was a bit, well, disgusting and inconvenient (we may or may not have had to drive for a couple hours with a turd in a plastic bag in our van), but whatever.  we survived.

and that was our last stop before arriving at todd's parents' house late, late that evening.  it was a great day of travel, and it was only day one of our vacation!  stay tuned for more photos throughout the week.

the weekly what's up (the 'the crap has hit the fan' edition).

oh, wow.  this week.  all i've got the energy for is a quick list, so here it goes.

• the mower is still in the shop.  it's been eight days and they haven't even looked at it yet.  according to the guy who glanced over it and did the paperwork when i dropped it off last week, we may be looking at a $10 fix, we may be looking at needing to replace the whole mower.
• the computer is still acting like a d-bag.  sometimes it won't turn on, sometimes it turns itself off, the keyboard is being the dumbest.  my mom is trying to nurse it back to health, but for the love, it's driving me nutso.  anticipate my presence on the blog to be spotty or even non-existent next week as we wait on parts.
• the van doors are still calling all the shots.  most of the time lately, i've had to have the big kids all file in through the driver door and climb to the back, at which point i lift laurelai over the driver's seat to penelope, who hoists her into her car seat and buckles her in.  penelope then buckles finneas and then buckles herself.  if i had to sum up the process in two words, it would be 'efficient' and 'adorable.'  har har, jokes.
• i think finneas broke his toe.  it's all swollen and he won't put weight on it or wear shoes.  i have no idea how it happened.
• finneas fell on his face and knocked his two front teeth loose.  it's too soon to tell if they've died, or if they'll fall out, but they're definitely loose and positioned much differently than they were.
• finneas was jumping on the couch, fell, bonked his head against the window, and broke it, so i have to call a guy to come out and replace the glass.  luckily, if you haven't noticed the pattern, finneas is basically a bowling ball, so he was not badly injured.
• i read a trisha yearwood cookbook and i regret every second of it.  

and that was our week.

and, oh yeah, i guess i could include some bullet points that aren't springboards for complaint... a couple things that i got excited about this week:

• still pregnant!  feeling the kiddo move consistently, not being sick anymore, looking actually pregnant and not just like a heavy drinker.  i'm in a sweet, sweet spot, my friends.

• i got a checkup from my fave midwife, who goes by Mrs. Doctor.  she says all is well in baby land, although she did suggest that we spend a little time pretending the baby is a girl (he's not), and that his name is alice.