Morningside Mania

Whoa dude! Just yesterday, I had a friend ask me if having four kids is hard. I just kind of shrugged and said it wasn't that much harder than three. And truly, especially now that Baby G is past being a super needy infant, it's really not that much more exhausting than having three. After taking 8 kids to the park with me this morning, though, I'm wondering if moms of 8 kids shrug and say, "Eh, it's really not that much harder than 7." And I suppose 8 isn't that much harder than 7, but I am telling you, somewhere between 4 and 8, a line is crossed. Because 8 was definitely harder than 4!

We survived, though, and it was fun! It just takes a lot more coordination to manage 8 kids at the park. Luckily, we weren't far from home. So the person who suddenly needed to go #2, 5 minutes into our excursion, could meet Bill part way and go home to use the bathroom. The rest of the people who "forgot" to piddle before we left, were able to simply use the port-a-potties that are available at Morningside Park. They are by the ball diamond, visible from the playground, but not super close, for anybody else who might need to use the facilities. Not ideal, but certainly functional, especially since it was only the boys that needed to use them.

You may be wondering where I just picked up four extra kids. My nephew spent the night with us and then ended up spending the day too, since I passed the stomach bug on to my mother-in-law, who was supposed to be caring for CJ. Sorry 'bout that, Rita! The other three extras were the oldest three children of a friend who watched some of my children while I took a class a few weeks ago. I owed her big time! They were our neighbors when we lived in our Little House on Prairie, and the kids never mind spending some extra time with their pals!

The playground at Morningside Park is also the school playground for Harvey Dunn Elementary School. Between the Harvey Dunn PTA and the City of Sioux Falls, somebody did a great job of picking out the equipment. In addition to the usual slides and swings, there just seem to be a lot more options for climbing and hanging. The weather was beautiful, so even Baby G made it out of the shade and into the swings today!

Thanks for helping me push the swings, Rocco! I was getting tired of it!

"Finally, a chance to play with the big kids!" Baby G says.

Over under over under.

It was a little chilly this morning and we didn't have a jacket for poor CJ, so he had to settle for Leah's purple hoody. Hey. Warm is warm.

Buddies.

Who can spin and stay on the longest?!

Ari was amazing on this monkey bar! My poor child, on the other hand, was lacking some of the upper body strength necessary. Sorry, Leah. It's not your fault.

Unfortunately, by noon, the fair weather had passed and storm clouds were rolling in, literally and figuratively. Instead of the usual four crabby and hungry children, I now had eight crabby and hungry children that I needed to corral. I texted Bill for backup because I also still needed the sign picture that you see at the top. He walked over and helped me get everyone down to the sign and then back to the house for lunch. We made it!

In the end, though, 18 thumbs up!!