Lulu is always eager to help kids do school!
She also is very loyal at guarding the bathroom.  Seriously…not hands…a tail. Our kids passed around a fun virus in July through August.  It included a day or two of fever and then feeling fine for a day or two.  Then, the fever would come back.  Usually, this lasted a week.  A couple of the kids kept having the fever but several doctor visits later and a few blood tests yielded nothing more than a virus.  Thankfully, everyone was better before we left for the beach.

This is a pile of taco shells on fire.  Forgot they were in the oven from the previous night when I set the oven to broil and make toast.   Thankfully, nothing but the taco shells caught on fire and I used my brain before taking a picture. Aunt B and I have had some pregnancy brain issues which meant a few kids lucked out and got to extend their birthday celebrations into August.  As you can see, they were totally (not) disappointed. This was the look of a puppy who needed mama time so bad she fell asleep on my computer chair. Silas decided to make a paper crown for Emmie and the result was pure happiness.
After over a month of being timid of Mark, Lulu finally decided he was okay and climbed over me to cuddle with him. My belly is still a great prop for her though.Zoe working on getting her id for SAT.

At the end of the month, I was able to take the big kids to a Samaritan’s Feet event volunteer.  For three hours, we cleaned out water tubs, washed kids’ feet and handed out new shoes and socks.  It was a ministry to a lot of kids but it was also a huge blessing to us.  

We headed out bright and early on the 21st to find a good spot for the eclipse.  Unfortunately, as we drove, we kept getting in to the pop up showers.  We made it to a decent spot and found a church where we could park.

Make sure the angel’s eyes are protected.

Unfortunately, as we sat watching the beginning of the eclipse, a storm started coming in.  We made a snap decision to load up and try to outrun it to see the total eclipse.

We didn’t make it to where there wasn’t cloud cover but we definitely got to see the effects of the eclipse.  It was like night time for two minutes and then quickly changed to daylight again.

Silly clouds!

We were all amazed even if we couldn’t see the shadow bands or diamond ring from the eclipse.  We’er anxiously awaiting and planning the next one in several years!

As we drove home and away from the storms, we realized that the eclipse wasn’t over.  Mark pulled over at an exit and we hopped out to watch the last few minutes as the moon crossed in front of the sun.

What a great memorable experience for our crew!

Earlier this year, we started making plans for the eclipse.  We knew we wanted to be close to totality and started out planning a camping trip in the mountains.  Then Tobin came along and we realized, camping in August at eight months pregnant would not be fun.  For any of us.  So, we went with plan B.  A weekend beach trip and a drive down to totality.

We went to Myrtle Beach.  It’s close and slightly more affordable since all we ever do is the beach and pool.

We ate out the first night at River City Cafe (it was directly in front of where we stayed).  Ya’ll it was really, really good.  One of the best burgers I’ve ever had.

Ace got this huge Pizza Burger.

And put the whole thing in his mouth!

Tried to stay with low carbs but the onion rings were calling.  So, I compromised and ditched the bun on my chili cheeseburger.  It was still very good.

The next two days were full of sand, sun, and pool time. I’m not kidding.

As soon as the kids woke up, swimsuits went on and didn’t come off until we were back in for supper.
Sand castles were built. Races to the ocean were had.

We ventured out one evening and got some family pictures.  Since it was August, it was still very crowded and so we got some other friends in our pictures…oh well. Beautiful sky! Quick maternity pictures which I’ll do on another blog post. And Mark and I managed to get pictures with each of the kids.  I love each of their silly personalities shining through.

We left out early morning to try and find a spot for the eclipse.

May and June were just plumb busy ya’ll.  We had something every weekend and pretty much every day.  So, when we realized the girls may not get to go to an AHG camp planned for June, Mark and I decided to give up our only free weekend (which also happened to be our anniversary weekend) for the girls and our whole family to participate in an AHG family camp.  And then a week before, I got an email asking me to plan and grocery shop for the meals for camp.  I agreed because I felt the Lord was telling me to do it.  But I didn’t agree with a joyful heart.  I grumbled and complained the whole week.  Got my ducks in a row, got the groceries for around 50 people and we loaded up and went.

We got to camp and were about a 1/4 of a mile from bathrooms (don’t forget I’m pregnant ya’ll).  There was no running water on the site. And we thought that we were missing a pole to a brand new tent.   I about had a two year old temper tantrum at the campsite.  Mark made the sleeping arrangements work with our small four person tent and other large tent. After calming myself and chatting with God and friends, I decided the self-pity needed to end and I had to just enjoy it.  We found out later that the camp coordinator was told there were bathrooms right near the site and that running water would be onsite.  And as we loaded up the following evening to beat the rain, we realized the missing tent pole wasn’t missing.  We had just misread the directions. God blessed us with an amazing sunset!  Just seeing this made it all worth all the headache. Watching the kids get filthy….trekking in pitch black dark to the bathroom and making new friends.  Once my attitude adjusted, it was a wonderfully fun trip!

Last year, we planned our beach trip the same weekend as the local symphony’s annual free performance, Pops!  Under the Stars.  We made sure not to miss it this year though.  We were blessed to be able to meet up with several of our church families…which meant our kids stayed entertained, we enjoyed music and there was enough food to feed a small army.  Church people don’t starve.
It was pretty sunny and some of our friends needed to protect their delicate skin from the sun! Emmie and selfiies…yes thank you! Of course, we had to get one in.   Tot wanted one too!  He loved all the pets but the fireworks were not his friends.  He made it through though.

Plotting, planning and playing.

Our littles were super glad that some church members were home from college and literally, attached to their backs!

And Ace really got into the music.

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We stopped at a rest stop for lunch on the way home from our Ohio and Kentucky.  Turns out, some Tennessee rest stops include their own adventures.

And beautiful views.

This was a wonderful trip for our family full of lots of learning and some pretty unforgettable adventures!

The Ark Encounter is not anything that I can really post and share a few family pictures and expect you to really experience it.  It is a true personal experience that you really can grasp the enormity of unless you are actually there.  Ya’ll, there are just no words to describe how amazing it is.

I’ll do my best to share some highlights from our trip to the Ark.  We got there before just before it opened and our achy feet and tired kiddos were ready to head home by around 4.  But, in the time, we managed to see and read as much as we could.

The woodwork and craftsmanship was just astounding.  I believe over 200 Amish craftsman had a part in this and their amazing art and talent definitely shown through.

This was a great infographic that laid out the plausible way the ark could have held “all” the animals and 8 people.  I can’t imagine the amount of research that went in to this.

Taking a quick break on a wooden beam!

The door to the ark.  Just one example of how Christ is the only door to Heaven.

After exploring all day, ya gotta take a break.   Ya’ll Bryant just went and sprawled out like this.

There is a small petting zoo on sight and the highlight for our whole family were the goats.  They were so sweet and we all enjoyed petting them all.

This girl was a trooper through the whole trip and by the end of it, I realized I could turn the back seat of our double stroller around and she could easily climb in and out.  This saved my back from a thousand pick up and put downs and she loved talking to mommy when she wasn’t knocked out cold.