This could get mushy.....

I just love my family! 

We have been so busy for the past few months with house building stuff, that we just haven't had two seconds to spend all together.  Nathan has been working at the house from 6 am until he can't move any longer every day that he isn't at work, and after work on most work days.  Meanwhile, I have been at home taking care of things here, making suppers, getting baths done, doing laundry, and putting everyone to bed.  Then, packing when I can so it won't be so much to do all at once. 

Nathan and Dad finished up the perimeter drain they have been working on the past several days at about 10:30 this morning. --Nathan left the house before 6 this morning, I think, I wasn't exactly awake.  But since he was getting home so early in the day, we decided to go somewhere for the rest of the day.  When I said Daddy was coming home so we could go somewhere, you would have thought it was the first time we had ever done something together.  The girls packed up all kinds of things to do in the car.  Mr. Z kept saying, "I want Daddy to go too".  When I told him we were all going, he didn't seem to comprehend what I was talking about.  I think this day together was LONG overdue.

So, we headed to IKEA.  We are pretty sure its ok to take foster kids out of state for the day.  At first we were under the impression we couldn't without permission, but then someone (I think Sarah) said we could go for the day, so we took that as good enough and haven't asked for clarification since!  Even though the only thing we had on the agenda was picking up some things for the house, we all had so much fun. 

We stopped at Wendy's for some lunch to go.  Then, we ran into Home Depot to pick up a tarp to cover up our IKEA finds.  We don't have a Home Depot close to us, so we rarely are there, but they have the neatest carts!  There was one shaped like a truck with a spot for the boys to sit with steering wheels so they could drive.  I didn't think Z was going to get out.  W liked it too.  We got about 5 minutes away when Nathan said, "Did you get the stuff out of the cart?!"  Of course I hadn't, I was loading up W, and he didn't, he was loading up Z.  Plus it was raining a little so we were hurrying to get into the car.  He turned around and hurried back.  It wasn't hard to spot our cart, it was still in the parking lot and it was shaped like a giant orange truck.  Sure enough it was empty.  Not only had the tarp we just bought been in there, but my diaper bag was in there too.  So, Nathan went in to see if anyone had turned it in.  No one had.  Poor W had to get through the day with un-thickened formula (thankfully I had formula in the car), but it was in the same bottle I just kept rinsing out.  It won't hurt a kid to drink the wrong consistency of formula from a somewhat dirty bottle, right?

Finally, we made it to IKEA.  The girls loved helping to pick things, especially when something was for their room.  Z looked all over that store like he had never been in such a place.  When we were looking at the rugs, he kept walking in between them and then popping back out, giggling the whole time.  When we were leaving, Addison decided it must be supper time, so Hannah quickly suggested we eat at Cracker Barrel.  I don't know why they love that place so much.  But all the kids did great.  Z told us when he had to potty, he is learning that we react pretty quick when he says those magic words; "I've got to potty!".  W did great today.  He rode in the stroller all through the store and never cried the entire time in the car.  Hannah was a great help in the baby entertainment department too.  The girls even were on hiatis from arguing today.  The only time they got in trouble was when they were having a little too much fun and were so loud in the car, we couldn't stand it any more.

So, we had a fun day.  And I love my family!