Spring break, part 2

We spent the second part of our vacation at Brad and Allison's in Mooresville. We got there pretty late at night, so the cousins didn't get a chance to spend time together until the next morning. Noah and Ethan were up early and had to WAIT while our kids slept in a little.

The weather was beautiful the first day we were there--in the 80s. It was supposed to get colder and rainy later in the week, so we spent time outside that day. Brad had to work, so we walked across the street to Lake Norman where they have a paddleboat. The oldest four were on for a short time, but they were saying it wasn't steering right. All of my kids were begging me to let them go swimming in the lake, but I was mean and said no. As the kids got closer to the dock, Ethan jumped in. :) They came back to the dock and then started wading close to the shore. Sammy found a worm, which she was proud of.

I don't know what she was thinking, but she pinched the worm into two pieces and told Glen that if he ate one piece, she would eat the other. Glen took it from her, stuck it into his mouth, and (apparently) swallowed it. He did open his mouth to show that it was empty. This is her face when she realized that she was actually going to have to do it:I have to give her credit; she didn't try to get out of it. She put that worm into her mouth and started chewing. I could hear the crunch from the dirt inside the worm. As she was chewing, Glen pulls the worm back out of his mouth where he had been keeping it under his tongue. This is Sammy after she realized she didn't have to FINISH the worm. She's not throwing up, just spitting. :)The kids got a little sunburnt in that beautiful weather. The next day, Brad was able to get off work a little earlier, and we went to Ray's Splash Planet, which was a small indoor waterpark. The bigger kids spent most of their time on the one big slide. Tate and Chase had a lot of fun in the Vortex pool and playing on the smaller waterslide. You'd think that when I had everyone pack their swimsuits just in case, I would have thought about bringing Tate's prescription goggles, but I didn't. He didn't complain, though. Here is Brad with Noah and TateThis slide was surprisingly fast and fun. Glen and Britta can do this weird thing with their shoulder blades where they stick them out perpendicular to their body, and they both swore that if you were on your shoulder blades and your heels you could really fly down the slide. I took their word for it.

That night, we went to Lancaster's for barbecue. It was great! We waited a little longer for a table so we could sit in the bus. :) The bigger kids sat together at a table, which made them feel very important. Someone put hot sauce in Sammy's Sprite. She coughed ALL THE WAY HOME, pretty much nonstop.
We had to check out some of the race garages. Tate and Chase both had their picture taken next to their favorite drivers' cars.

They had a model of the seat that the driver sits in which the kids all had to try. I couldn't believe that Glen was able to squeeze in too. Brad took a video of him getting out. :)

Friday night was Pizza and Movie night. Allison made delicious homemade pizza, and there was candy for dessert. She and I left to go scrapbooking and left Brad and Glen with crazy kids and a bad movie. :) We had a good time!

On Saturday afternoon we went to Fun Station 2000, which was kind of like the Play Station. The play structure was smaller, but there were more games and rides. They had three carnival-style rides. The kids got nice and worn out. We also went to Rita's that night for Italian ice and custard. Yum!

We stayed in an apartment over Brad and Allison's garage. The garage is set back behind the house, so we could look down and see Noah's window. The kids worked out a deal where Noah would turn on his light when he woke up in the morning, and when Sammy saw it, she would get dressed and go down to the house, and he'd let her in the window. :) Completely innocent, but more fun than using the door!

On Sunday morning, I took the only picture of all 6 cousins together--with the doughnuts. The sprinkles were the first to go.

Right before church, I remembered to get a picture of Brad and I together. His description: "This is you and me getting old." :) I agree, I look a little tired.
We went to their church which we'd heard so much about--very contemporary and casual with a great message. They meet in a movie theater with very comfortable seats. Glen said it's good that our church doesn't have seats like that. :) We left right after church, sadly, and headed back to Fort Wayne for another overnight stop at the Dupees.

Home the next day! It was so special to reconnect with so many old friends and spend precious time with family.