shiver me timbers

this morning sarah and i met up early and headed down to st marys city for a pirate program for the big girls. they started with a pirate story.

then we headed down to the ship.

traveling with kids is always an adventure. especially with 6 girls, there is often someone pouting, upset, or some other sort of drama. today was no different. :) thankfully we don't let that stop us from living the life.

no one seemed super thrilled with the pirate program, even though it was cute and i think they did a good job. as often happens with kids, as soon as it was over they talked about how much fun it was. :/

walking the plank to board the ship.

checking out the beds. i tried several times to get all 5 in the pic and looking at me, to no avail.

climbing around the ship and checking out the beds.

friends! 

most of the time. ;)

they showed us how to shoot a cannon and we all had to cover our ears in preparation.

how dare i try to take a picture of this one?

orrrr this one. 

with her pirate sword and treasure map.

seriously, i am awful, what is wrong with me?

i stopped my horrible picture taking and we were off to find our treasures.

slightly happier after finding the treasure - pirates booty, capri sun, and treasure chest.

only slightly happier though.

at least addie was pretty happy.

treasures make everything better.

this was the first kids program we've ever done there, and i thought it was pretty fun. 

i'd totally do another.

after, we let the girls run around the meadow.

 they chased poor animals and screamed to their hearts content.

sarah and i got to sit and chat in peace for a good long time. and even though it was hot, there was a nice breeze and it rained a little, so it was really a perfect summer day.

frankie asked to check out the stocks.

she was afraid to try the big one, so i demonstrated for her.

she still didn't want the top shut, but she did try it out.

sarah and i laughed about how people from the past would think we were so ridiculous if they saw us smiling and posing in the stocks.

delaney tagged along on one of our bathroom trips. she is so slow and sassy. she's got a mind of her own! thankfully she's usually pretty sweet.

they ran around the flower gardens.

 

we played till 2 and then it was time to head home. we took rests and mama did some google work. it is amazing how hard it is to squeeze in even 2 hours a day to devote to an outside job. i am trying though!

at 4:30 we headed over to chicfila for our reading prize meal #2. kimmy and lexi met us there for some nuggets, and then matt met us later. the 4 adults (ahhh! lexi is an adult!) were talking at our table next to the play room, when a nice lady brought our baby to us and said she had been outside following a police officer to his car. !!! when we go to chicfila, we usually let the children wander from table to playroom and back again, a few dozen times per trip, so we didn't think anything of delaney wandering away from our table. 

the thing is, miss delaney is addicted to daddys phone. she doesn't get to play it a lot, but when she gets in her head that she wants it, she wants it. so when matt showed up, she asked for his phone, and i told her it was still in the car. so i guess she was going out to get it? none of my children have ever done that, (at least that i can remember or that i'm claiming;) it was so embarrassing. at least she believes in safety first, i mean, she was following a police officer.

after dinner the rest headed home and i headed to church for activity days. we cleaned the nursery toys and talked about being clean physically and spiritually. i am a firm believer in a clean space being closer to the spirit. not that it always happens, but i believe it's best and worth working towards.

tomorrow is another fun filled summer day!

sail ho!