A new tradition, and a good one!

There is a family we know from college (yeah, I'm talking about you....) and we are currently tied for numbers of children. They are beating us right now, being due for number 5 this fall. We can hardly wait to see what the name will be!

This summer marks the beginning of something very cool. They have watched our kids while we went on an overnight twice now (I think? maybe more?) and this year, they went on an overnight on their tenth anniversary. The kiddos stayed here, so that made eight kids, ages 8,8,7,5,4,3,2 and 1 in our house of 967 sq ft. We were saved by a large family party and a hostess who was happy to use their van to transport said children to our house, and that wiped out all the kids real good. They slept great, ate great, behaved great, and we all went blackberry picking and bike riding this morning. They were a little tired, but mostly they were fine. I love summer. We go outside so much more. The blackberries are wonderful in 90 degree heat.

So, I do believe this will happen every year, no matter how many kids we all have. The kids don't care that our house is teeny (they might when their arms and legs get bigger, but they don't care now), and they had a great time. The best part about lots of kids is that they entertain each other. We're all trying to raise them right, so they generally have good manners, especially at other people's houses. It helps we put the fear of God in them before we drop them off. :)

Here's to an awesome summer tradition! Everybody find a partner family, and you try it, too! It's good to get away once a year. Really good.

No, you may not leave breastfeeding babies with us for more than three hours...