part 3: it's gettin' hot in here

Our Saturday morning began with a trip to Target to pick up some new flip flops for Hannah and some more appropriate wedding clothes for Mike. Breakfast from the Starbucks and then off for Washington, D.C.!

The route was straight forward, just as Ray had described it, and we had relatively little traffic. Unfortunately, our car started to over heat on our way into the city! So, with the temperature in the upper 90s, we rolled down the windows, cranked up the heat, and prayed for the best! Mike had a new thermostat with him for the car, but had left all of the tools he had packed at his mom's house since space was at such a premium. A few phone calls and he had the groom's mechanic set available for his use after the wedding. We made it safely into D.C., found a parking spot and hopped out to enjoy the sites of the Nation's Capital!

As we approached the Washington Monument and I began snapping pictures, I realized with a sinking heart that my memory card wasn't in the camera!! I had room for about 5 pictures! I scrolled through the saved pictures and deleted as many as I could. Thank goodness for cell phones to help capture some extra images!

I used to live in Maryland, and I think that we made a couple of trips into D.C. I distinctly remember one trip when I forgot my tennis shoes and got horrible blisters from my sandals. And even though I'd been there before, there's just something very awe inspiring about the buildings in D.C. And sharing that with our kids was even more amazing!

All of the people in blue shirts in the picture below were part of a World War II veterans group.

Very humbling.

Look closely, there's Marine One!

Leah's Kindergarten class had studied a lot of architecture last year, and she really seemed to enjoy talking about whether the buildings were new or old and looking at all of the ornate carvings, such as these eagles.

The walk from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial didn't seem that long. But the walk back ... was really long! We were all exhausted by the time we made it back to the car, and it was later than we had hoped it would be. (No surprise there! This is the Russell family we're talking about!) And, of course, traffic was worse since it was afternoon. Traffic which did NOT help our over-heating car.

Mike was very resourceful, putting the car in neutral when we were stopped and keeping the RPMs up. But it was HOT and it was tense and it was very nerve wracking. No one wants to break down away from home ... but in Washington D.C. when you're supposed to be in your hotel getting ready for a wedding?!?!

We finally rolled into the hotel, a hot, sweaty, tired mess of people with roughly 80 minutes to shower, dress, and feed 4 children and 3 adults and make it to a wedding!

Mike braved a trip to Wendy's for food while I showered all the kids, ironed all of our clothes, and Torrie showered. While the kids ate (and I continued to iron) Mike showered and then it was my turn. We were ready to roll out of the hotel just in the nick of time. Mike was driving in his undershirt, since we were still driving with the heat on and I didn't want him to have pit stains walking down the aisle! We pulled into the church parking lot approximately 5 minutes before the wedding was supposed to start! While Mike was putting his shirt and tie on in the parking lot, the rest of us rushed in to assure Robin that Mike had arrived and grab seats. Whew!

After a lovely ceremony (in a lovely air conditioned church), we waited for the bride and groom to return to the church and took a picture of the entire Russell clan that was present at the time. While everyone else made their way to the reception, we detoured for a couple jugs of water and a memory card for the camera.

After adding a gallon and one half of water to the car, were finally able to put the air conditioning back on and relax! Unfortunately, my bad luck streak didn't ease up quite enough ... I had grabbed the wrong kind of memory card and my camera wouldn't read it! So, while we had managed to get enough pictures of our trip in D.C., we have only two pictures from the wedding reception. I wish I'd had enough memory on the camera to get a video of Mike's super-fast changing of the thermostat in the car - which he did in his shirt and tie during the wedding reception!

Once we knew the car was really fixed, we were able to relax and really enjoy the celebration of Ryan & Erin's wedding. The kids danced up a storm ... Cody has some pretty slick moves!

Daddy & Kaden:
Mommy & Leah:

After a REALLY long day, we headed back to the hotel. Late night wedding receptions always call for late night pizza, and then it was bedtime. We had planned to venture to Ocean City, Maryland on Sunday, but decided not to push our luck or our budget. Ray came to the rescue again and suggested Sandy Point State Park in Maryland on the Chesapeake Bay that was much closer and still fit our need for a beach!

mundane travel interlude

We left Friday for Virginia. We got on the road a little later than we had hoped, but had an uneventful trip.

I LOVE TUNNELS!

The cool view from our hotel room (top floor) and Mommy with her Baby Boy.

About an hour out from the hotel, we got a phone call stating that the other family members were heading to the park to get ready for the rehearsal dinner. Uh oh ... going to be late for a dinner we didn't know we were supposed to be at!

We checked in at the hotel, unloaded all the luggage, and piled back in the car. Luckily for us, the bride was very thoughtful and chose a shelter right next to a large play ground. We had some great food, and the kids got to run off all of their pent-up energy. While we were there, Ryan (the groom) asked Mike if he would be willing to act as an usher and walk the Aunt Robin (mother of the groom) down the aisle. Of course! But we hadn't planned on that when we packed Mike's clothes for attending the wedding, so a quick shopping trip was added to our list of things to do so that Mike would be appropriately dressed for the job.

After the rehearsal dinner, we made a quick stop at Uncle Ray and Aunt Robin's. While there, Ray talked us into going into Washington D.C. to see some sites the following morning. Mike & I had talked about doing just that, but decided it would be too hot. Ray assured us that the route was short and quick and we knew the kids would really appreciate their school lessons even more if they had seen some of the wonderful sites for themselves. (After all, Leah & Kaden do love Rocco Momma!) Then it was back to the hotel for some shut-eye ... with the alarm set for bright & early to pack in all of our activities!

part 2: did somebody call a doctor?

After arriving in PA (at approximately 4:00 a.m.) we had a day to spend there before leaving for Virginia. Upon waking up, we immediately noticed that the rash on Hannah's face looked worse, and the Benadryl didn't seem to be as effective. It was decided that we could NOT take Hannah to a wedding looking like she did, even if she wasn't complaining. So, off we went to WalMart and their version of a Minute Clinic.

After many many many many minutes of me shopping with Leah & Kaden, Mike returned with a diagnosis of poison ivy for Hannah and Cody. Oral steroids and prescription cream for both of them.

New prescription count: 4
Vacation prescription total: 5

We made the best of the rest of our evening in PA and met up with Mike's old friend Sean and his 3 kiddos for ice cream at Handel's (mmm, they have the best sherbet and their chocoholic chunk is divine...). While the kids were running off some energy outside the ice cream place, Leah stepped back ... ON KADEN'S TOE!

Were you expecting anything less?

More gross stuff came out of his poor little toe, and we were in serious need of more bandages in our car! We stopped at Walgreens to gather some wound cleansing supplies, and then finally made it back to Mike's mom's house for the night, with this Mommy more than ready for bed!

part 1: family vacation (just like the griswold's)

We were scheduled to leave for our vacation on a Wednesday evening. Tuesday, when I picked the kids up from the sitter around 5:00, I noticed that Kaden's left big toe was red around the nail and looked slightly swollen. I *knew* it hadn't looked that way the evening before at bath time. (Note: He had fallen on the sidewalk several weeks before and injured that toe, but it had healed over without any trouble.) As the evening progressed, the redness seemed to increase, as did the swelling. It was painful to touch, so when Mike came home, we left the older 3 kids with my parents and headed to Immediate Care. The doctor there "examined" his toe (he didn't even touch it!), declared it to be an infection related to Kaden's earlier injury, and sent us home with a prescription for oral antibiotics and instructed us to to Epsom salt soaks.

Oh, poor Kaden! That was by far one of the absolute worst nights we have had as parents. He tossed and turned and cried and cried. The toe was obviously causing him TONS of discomfort, and he couldn't even get comfortable enough to fall asleep. We finally forced some Ibuprofen down him and he was able to fall asleep, though it was fitful.

And by the next morning, this is what his toe looked like:

After calling the pediatrician's office, we scored a morning appointment. I went to work, the older 3 went to the sitter's, and Mike took Kaden to the appointment. Mike called me at work and said that the doctor wanted Kaden to see a podiatrist ASAP. She made some calls and got Kaden an appointment right after lunch. I left work to meet them there. The doctor was fantastic with Kaden! Turns out that a sliver of toenail was left from his injury, and the infection had built up over the last couple of weeks. Kaden was a total trooper, and once that little piece of toenail (and TONS of puss ... the doctor even commented "That was a lot of puss for such a little toe") was removed, the toe was bandaged and Kaden was given the all clear to do any activity he wanted.

In the midst of all of this, the sitter was texting me regarding a rash on Hannah's face and Cody's wrist, but they seemed fine when they arrived home. Anti-itch lotion, Benadryl, Kaden's antibiotics, and lots of bandages in tow, we loaded up and headed for Pennsylvania.

don't try this at home!

The day after our big pool party, we invited Cassie, Joe, and "Baby" Hunter to join us at the Hendricks building in Avon for a BMX/Motocross event. The kids (especially the boys) had a fantastic time watching all the stunts!

A quick stop at the bounce houses, plenty of time at the water station, and then home to the air conditioning!

POOL PARTY!!

The second annual pool party for summer birthdays co-hosted by the Russell's & the Teany's was another HUGE success!! We were joined by all of our friends & family for an evening full of swimming, dripping cupcakes, singing, water sliding, laughing, and more swimming! If you remember last year, the day was full of rain until about 2 hours before party time. This year, it was HOT and steamy, and the rain didn't move in until well after we were all safe at home.

Hannah:

Bri:
Miley & Karlie:

Cassie, Joe, & "Baby" Hunter:

Mike S., relaxing:

Over all, not as many pictures as last year, but that's because we were all busy having fun! The kids still love the water slides (red being more popular than the super fast and dark yellow) and the pepperoni bread disappeared faster than last year. We had one brief rest break for everyone to enjoy their cupcakes and sing happy birthday to Emily, Elizabeth, & Leah, and then it was back in until they kicked us all out!! Thank you SO much to everyone that joined us to celebrate. I can't wait to do it again next year!!

budding photographers & disrobed Barbies

The kids have all been enjoying sneaking away with the camera to try their hand at taking some pictures. We have plenty of documentation of their toys and bedroom furniture, should any insurance needs arise ;-) Here's a sampling of their view of the world. *NOTE* Anyone offended by nude Barbie & Ken dolls should skip the rest of this posting.

Kaden finally has his own Barbie doll. For the first couple of days she remained clad in her bikini, but now she's in his preferred natural state:

Note the naked Ken doll on top of Leah's desk...

holiday world

Mike, Hannah, & Cody went to Pennsylvania for 4 days to visit with Torrie. While they were gone, Leah, Kaden, Dolly, & I made a quick day trip to Holiday World. We LOVE that place! Dolly had never been before, so it was a new experience for her. She was a little miffed when we arrived. Although she had heard everyone talk about how clean the park is, the first thing she did was step in gum! I think it's safe to say that was the worst part of our day ... smooth sailing from there. We spent the first part of the day in the water park. Kaden isn't quite tall enough to have free access, but we enjoyed the two lazy rivers, the ZOOMbabwe (which Leah did NOT like, because it's so dark) and the Watubee (a big hit with both kids). After drying off, we hit the rest of the park.

Kaden had plenty of shade with his red & blue hats:

Taking a brief rest break for food & hydration:

Finally got a picture of Kaden without seeing all the hot dog in his mouth!

This has to be one of the kids favorites ... not sure I understand why, but they love it!

And no trip to Holiday World is complete without pictures in front of the giant Santa!

We had a really wonderful day at Holiday World. Can't wait to go back with all of the family ... Labor Day, anyone??

We stopped for gas and chocolate milk on the way home (add a Starbucks iced Via to chocolate milk - iced mocha!) and saw this baby praying mantis hanging out on the gas pump!