Six kids. Twelve feet (or knees since two were still crawling). Six heads thinking/plotting and believing whole-heartedly that the toy held by the next kid must be mine! Twelve hands. Six voices. Twelve ears that didn't always work Six smiles...most of the time.
It goes without saying that six children living together for a few days can lead to conflict and even chaos. I'm not going to sugar-coat it...it was rough a few times. I almost cried. The sheer frustration of Rory not understanding/obeying what I'm saying and feeling like I had three other mommies who, although my friends, were also wanting my daughter to behave, was a lot for me to handle. Rory and Greggory have what I have labeled a "toxic" relationship. At the beginning Rory really did just want to wrestle with Greggory...he wasn't havin' it. After a few hours of being rejected by cries of unrest by Greggory, Rory realized if Greggory wasn't going to play with her, she would instead explore her artillery of "how else can I annoy him?". The interesting thing is that Greggory was still drawn to her. When she woke up from her naps he would call her name as she walked down the stairs into the living room. Outside I would watch as he initiated water gun fights, and asked her to "Come over here Rory!" I would also watch as Rory would repeat behaviors that she knew would send Greggory over the edge. A certain phrase repeated over and over, wearing a pair of goggles and standing right in front of him...staring, standing directly in front of the television when he was trying to watch Scooby-Doo. Being drawn to an unhealthy relationship...toxic.
All was not lost however, we did have our high moments. Little Molly is adorable. Mesmerizing blue eyes and loved to be read to. She's just under 2 and learning all our names. Greggory (being the oldest) got to go fishing with his dad and throw sticks in the fire after all the other kids were asleep. The kids laughed together. Rory learned how to cut with scissors. Rory and Braden shared a tent at night and the four of us (us and Braden's parents) listened each morning as they talked after waking up.
Rory: "We need to get our life-jackets on and go to the lake."
Braden: "No, the water."
Rory: "No, the lake!"
Braden: "Fresh water!"
One morning Rory woke up in a panic, "Where's Braden!" Braden sat straight up in the tent, looked at her, gave her a hug and then laid back down.
The weather didn't permit any swimming, but there was a boat ride, and some time running through the sprinkler.
Our long weekend was cut short when Emme got a runny nose and fever on Saturday night. She woke up crying before midnight and slept on and off until around 7 am at which point she passed out from sheer exhaustion. She's getting better now. Still a runny nose, but no fever.
The adults laughed, ate s'mores, played games and talked in between taking care of the kids. The boys played golf together and the ladies hit the outlets (which I missed since we left early).
All in all, the weekend served it's purpose. Billy and Alison were very generous in offering an amazing location for us all to be together and invest in our friendships. It would've been easier without our kids....
...did I mention that we agreed to come sans kiddos next year?
Here are some photos of our three days at the lake house.
Braden on the deck.
Group photo. Front row: Brad, Rory, Molly, Greggory. Second row: Sam with Emme on lap, Becca with Braden on lap, Heather. Third row: Alison with Anna on lap, Chris, Josh. Top: Billy.
Chris was super excited to play a board game with everyone.
Rory, Greggory and Braden.
Braden and the sprinkler.
Miss Molly. Two days before she fell and skinned up her nose pretty bad.
Baby Anna.
Billy got the kiddie fishing pole stuck in a tree when he tried to cast from the deck and tried for a good 20 minutes to free it. Didn't work. But those of us sitting on the deck were entertained.
A brief moment of peace between Rory and Greggory.
Greggory throwing sticks in the campfire.
The boys with their baby girls...and Chris.
Becca entertained the kids with some follow-the-leader.
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