home from the mountains....

Eleven of our kids, heading out to rent some canoes. They look nice on Abigail's new car. In this picture: Emily, Abigail, Mali, Samuel, Kathryn, Evelyn, Suzanne, Sonja, Jon, Char, and Camille. Let's see....Benjamin is in Afghanistan, Mirielle and Aaron had a class to go to (Aaron did come up for one night), Joe had college orientation, and Margaret wasn't feeling well plus she hates camping...)

For the first few days, we only had seven children. We rattled around, seriously. Paul and I kept looking at them all and saying, "is this IT?" From Kathryn down to Camille, seven kids, from age 14 down to age four. We set up five tents and the shade shelter, and headed to the beach. And marveled at how easy it seemed. It must be because we no longer have to haul the Pack'nPlay and the strollers and the bug nets and the diaper bag....or because we no longer have to chase a toddler while keeping a baby out of the sun...or pull stones from a curious crawler's mouth...or follow a new walker around every single step, especially in the water....no more washing off sandy pacifiers or changing poopy sandy diapers. Instead we relaxed while the two little princesses made friends and swam and played with Jon and their sisters. Suri was our baby. She was a good girl at the beach....

She slept in the tent with Paul and I, and the little girls. She was so good and cuddly! She jumped up on the sides of the tent when she needed to go out...came back in, settled down, and slept like a baby.

Anyway, after being there with seven kids for a bit, Aaron came up with Mali...then he had to go back home the next day. Then...Abigail came up with Samuel and Emily. We put up another tent...six tents, and no trouble. It is a good campground for us...our poor neighbors though. I did talk to them though, they didn't seem to hate us.

My little girls are all tired out from our trip home and playing dollhouse and having spaghetti for dinner and baths after, they need to be tucked in...I am tired too...from putting away clothes and bedding and food and doing loads and loads of laundry...

This, of course, is our real baby...Miss Camille. She loves camping.