Early this morning, Mom and Dad took off for Columbus, Ohio to go work in the Temple. They left before we all woke up, I think around 6am. So, the house was quiet when we finally were up and going. We did the usual...breakfast, cleanup, adn played with legose and lincoln logs.
The kids were excited for this day because I had promised them that we could go to the Children's Museum of Indianapolis in the afternoon. Apparently, the first Thursday of every month, Target sponsors a family night at the museum...for FREE!!!! This free time is from 4 to 8pm in the evening...perfect amount of time. Love that!...and love that we just so happened to be in Indy on the first Thurs. of the month!
So, after 11am, we went swimming in the South Harbor pool, while Tirsa napped. We only swam for a few hours because we had to be showered and dressed to go down to Indy. By 3pm, we drove down to Indianapolis by way of rt. 31 or Meridian Road. I was able to show the kids all the beautiful homes on this historic street to Indianapolis. They were amazed at the size and granduer of many of the homes.
We arrived right at 4pm and had to search for a parking spot becasue every family was there it seemed like! But it turned out to be perfect because they had renovated and added a parking garage plus a skywalkway from the parking garage to the museum! Nice! They also added some huge dinosaur sculptures on the outside of the museum building...the neat things was that their heads went through the building's walls and you could see their heads once you were inside! I think another dinosaur was just opposite that...body inside with his head poking out of the building!! It was so cool!!
At first I let the kids break up into teams so that they could go see what they wanted. Jenika and Karina were together and Ethan and Daria...I had Alia and Tirsa. It worked out all right, but most the time Daria and Ethan followed me...Jenika and karina pretty much did go together to the different exhibits.
http://www.childrensmuseum.org/
It was fun! There were lots of new things to look at and experience and then there were the old standbys: the water clock, the carosell, the hands-on area Science Works(sponsored by Dow), the old trains, the underwater adventures section. Some of the new things to see were: A "Take Me There" section...featured a destination point in the world and you walked into that area as if in that country. The featured destination was Egypt...pretty neat! We also "walked through" a replica of the inside of a pyramid and wrote our names in hieroglyphics. There was also a great display of Dale Chihuly glass sculptures...awesome!!! You could even make your own in a certain area of the first floor. Just amazing to behold and stunningly beautiful!!
http://www.chihuly.com/installations/childrens/
As it neared 8pm, I made my way with Alia and Tirsa to the front of the museum...of course the others had wondered off right at closing time!! But I wasn't really worried because we were all dressed in bright lime green shirts and I figured I could spot them easily...besides the 4 older ones were told to meet me at the front and they are pretty good at following that kind of instruction. I waited there a while until finally, as the crowds got down to the bare minimum, a security guard ask me who i was looking for. I wasn't really worried, but she asked me for names, full descriptions of what they looked like, what they were wearing, etc. I told her but just said I was just waiting to see if they were still in the building before I wandered outside to look for them. But NO, she put out a "Code Adam" and had multiple workers on the job. I kept trying to tell her that I had told them to meet me at the front of the museum and I hadn't checked outside yet, so that they were just probably out there waiting for me. She was all business!!!....well sure enough, we simply walked out the front doors and there they were playing on various equipment and sculptures out front with the other bagillions of kids!! hahaha! The Security lady made me account for all of them and sent us on our way...She was helpful, but I think a big deal was made out of not so big a deal!!! hahah! Oh well...
We headed back to the car...we were starving, but happy that we had had such a good time. The older kids did mention that it didn't seem like it was exciting as they remembered it. Ahhh...yes...that is the downside of growing up and older....memories you have as a child seem so much bigger than they really are or somehow they are glamorized to such exciting levels!!! Even still, we DID have a great time there....did I mention it was FREE!!!!!!!
Upon leaving the Museum parking lot, we drove around looking for a place to eat and consequently I was able to drive the kids around the downtown Indy area. We saw the State Capitol building and Post Office, the monument on the Circle and other neat buildings, monuments and fountains. As we left the city I drove into a KFC to get food, but while looking into the restaurant and the kind of people that were coming in and out, I opted to drive out of the city and into the suburbs that I knew! yikes!
We ended up driving all the way back up to Westfield and eating at a Chick-Fil-A. This was a new experience in and of itself for the kids. I remember eating at them occasionally in the West and had forgotten that we didn't really have them in the East. So, we ordered a few things and the kids absolutely loved it!!! The CrissCut French Fries especially. We didn't get home till LATE!!! But at least everyone went straight to bed without complaint! It was a fun day!!!
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Day 7 ( Wed. Aug. 5, 2009) Road Trip
RaeAnna and kids left from their hotel this morning to go back home in Ohio. We moped around missing them! :( But, after breakfast it was back to playing with legos and climbed trees!! I had some good talks with my dad.
Later I think the kids did some yardwork or gardening with Grandpa...I was doing some house work with mom...probably laundry. After lunch, Grandpa took kids to Forest park, driving our big red van, which Ethan has called "The Marooner" (I guess because of its color). While at Forest Park, they saw the pools...Olympic size and Diving, played on the playground, watched a baseball game, got watermelon and popsicles.
Mom and I enjoyed some peace and quiet while they were gone...while we talked and cleaned at home. That night, the kids played the electronic football game with Grandpa yet again!
Ya know...it's really nice sometimes to just spend time together, with no place to go and with no activities to arrange...it's nice to just take it easy and spend time talking and....just "being" together.
Later I think the kids did some yardwork or gardening with Grandpa...I was doing some house work with mom...probably laundry. After lunch, Grandpa took kids to Forest park, driving our big red van, which Ethan has called "The Marooner" (I guess because of its color). While at Forest Park, they saw the pools...Olympic size and Diving, played on the playground, watched a baseball game, got watermelon and popsicles.
Mom and I enjoyed some peace and quiet while they were gone...while we talked and cleaned at home. That night, the kids played the electronic football game with Grandpa yet again!
Ya know...it's really nice sometimes to just spend time together, with no place to go and with no activities to arrange...it's nice to just take it easy and spend time talking and....just "being" together.
Day 6 (Tues. Aug. 4, 2009) Road Trip
Chris and Jess left this morning. It was fun to see them and be with them. As always, it never seems to be enough time together. So, it was Roylances and Wimmers who were left at Mom and Dad’s house.
Again, it was all about playing legos and climbing trees. They did go downstairs to play foosball and other things in the basement. Unfortunately one of those other things was the weight lifting set. The boys of course had to try their hand at it and since it was set to WAY too much weight, they thought they would change the weights off the end of the barbell. This they decided to do while the bar was sitting up high on the rack, rather than on the ground. UGH! As Ethan began to take his weight off, the bar flipped up and all the remaining weight fell onto Tommy!!! Somehow his hand got stuck and he ended up having the skin between his thumb and forefinger torn….ouch!!!! So, Annie took him to the Redi-Med where they super glued it! He was in hysterics when they left, but had calmed down just fine by the time they got home.
Adults talked and kids played. Dad also brought out the Electronic Football game for all to enjoy! They had a great time with that. It was kind of a gloomy day….but later, Dad took all the grandchildren down to the South Harbor playground and we had ice cream under the pavilion. The kids wander around the lake front as well, and Dad and I had a good talk.
Once we got home, Grandpa took boys on a hike in the woods at the end of the road, while we prepared ham and corn on the cob for dinner. It was getting late, but we still decided to go back with RaeAnna to their hotel and swim. It was the smallest pool EVER!! I swear once all 11 kids and I got in, it might as well have been a giant bathtub!!! Hahahaha! Too Funny! It was a small room with a small pool….and very loud and echo-y!!! oh my! We only got to swim for about an hour or so, because it closed at 10:30pm. Oh well….we went up to their hotel room and changed and snacked and watched TV. We had to say our goodbyes as they were going to leave straight from the hotel in the morning. I had a good chat with RaeAnna, as I always do, and then we went back up to Mom and Dad’s house to sleep. It is so hard for me to say goodbye!!! The kids were bummed too…they love their cousins!
Again, it was all about playing legos and climbing trees. They did go downstairs to play foosball and other things in the basement. Unfortunately one of those other things was the weight lifting set. The boys of course had to try their hand at it and since it was set to WAY too much weight, they thought they would change the weights off the end of the barbell. This they decided to do while the bar was sitting up high on the rack, rather than on the ground. UGH! As Ethan began to take his weight off, the bar flipped up and all the remaining weight fell onto Tommy!!! Somehow his hand got stuck and he ended up having the skin between his thumb and forefinger torn….ouch!!!! So, Annie took him to the Redi-Med where they super glued it! He was in hysterics when they left, but had calmed down just fine by the time they got home.
Adults talked and kids played. Dad also brought out the Electronic Football game for all to enjoy! They had a great time with that. It was kind of a gloomy day….but later, Dad took all the grandchildren down to the South Harbor playground and we had ice cream under the pavilion. The kids wander around the lake front as well, and Dad and I had a good talk.
Once we got home, Grandpa took boys on a hike in the woods at the end of the road, while we prepared ham and corn on the cob for dinner. It was getting late, but we still decided to go back with RaeAnna to their hotel and swim. It was the smallest pool EVER!! I swear once all 11 kids and I got in, it might as well have been a giant bathtub!!! Hahahaha! Too Funny! It was a small room with a small pool….and very loud and echo-y!!! oh my! We only got to swim for about an hour or so, because it closed at 10:30pm. Oh well….we went up to their hotel room and changed and snacked and watched TV. We had to say our goodbyes as they were going to leave straight from the hotel in the morning. I had a good chat with RaeAnna, as I always do, and then we went back up to Mom and Dad’s house to sleep. It is so hard for me to say goodbye!!! The kids were bummed too…they love their cousins!
Day 5 (Mon. Aug. 3, 2009) Road Trip
We slept in this morning, and even missed the continental breakfast! Geesh! But we did get everything packed up and ready to go by 11am! Ahahhah! Rebecca called and told us Grandpa and Grandma were going to head out early if we wanted to say goodbye, but it just wasn’t going to work with 11 children who hadn’t eaten yet!! Oops! We had said goodbyes the night before anyway, so I was okay with it.
We checked out of the hotel at 11am and then went down the road a bit to a Denny’s for breakfast at 11:30…hahahah! We ordered a bunch of food and some of us shared…it was yummy! Then on to Mom and Dad’s house we drove. We had a good time talking with Rebecca and Amber before they left in the afternoon….Rebecca had a flight out and Amber was driving back to St. Louis, so she drove Rebecca to the airport.
In the meantime, the kids played rugby, croquette , Frisbee, Legos, and climbed the tree in the back yard. The little ones had to be kept out of the gravel rocks that surrounded the deck…they kept wanting to play in it! It was also fun to see Alma Cooper, Scotty, and Alia play so well together. Scotty seemed to take charge and the other two followed close behind. If someone, got out of line they let each other know, but then went back to playing! It was cute!
Later, Larry and O’etta Dennis called and said they were in town and came over for a chat. The kids however were chomping at the bit to go swimming, so my dad and brother Dennis ended up walking over to the South Harbor Pool with them…Uncle Chris went too….Annie and I joined later. It was fun to see Chris do some awesome dives off the diving board during adult swim…Ethan really enjoyed that!
Dinner was yummy…a “Hot and Now” deal from Little Caesar’s Pizza!! Yum! I hadn’t had Little Caesar’s in soooo long! They just don’t have them in the East. Later in the evening, Chris brought the TV outside on the deck and we watched some of Scot’s Rugby video, and then the movie “Forever Strong”. It was a fun day! We stayed the night at my parent’s house, in a couple of beds and an air mattress. RaeAnna took her kids back to a hotel in town.
We checked out of the hotel at 11am and then went down the road a bit to a Denny’s for breakfast at 11:30…hahahah! We ordered a bunch of food and some of us shared…it was yummy! Then on to Mom and Dad’s house we drove. We had a good time talking with Rebecca and Amber before they left in the afternoon….Rebecca had a flight out and Amber was driving back to St. Louis, so she drove Rebecca to the airport.
In the meantime, the kids played rugby, croquette , Frisbee, Legos, and climbed the tree in the back yard. The little ones had to be kept out of the gravel rocks that surrounded the deck…they kept wanting to play in it! It was also fun to see Alma Cooper, Scotty, and Alia play so well together. Scotty seemed to take charge and the other two followed close behind. If someone, got out of line they let each other know, but then went back to playing! It was cute!
Later, Larry and O’etta Dennis called and said they were in town and came over for a chat. The kids however were chomping at the bit to go swimming, so my dad and brother Dennis ended up walking over to the South Harbor Pool with them…Uncle Chris went too….Annie and I joined later. It was fun to see Chris do some awesome dives off the diving board during adult swim…Ethan really enjoyed that!
Dinner was yummy…a “Hot and Now” deal from Little Caesar’s Pizza!! Yum! I hadn’t had Little Caesar’s in soooo long! They just don’t have them in the East. Later in the evening, Chris brought the TV outside on the deck and we watched some of Scot’s Rugby video, and then the movie “Forever Strong”. It was a fun day! We stayed the night at my parent’s house, in a couple of beds and an air mattress. RaeAnna took her kids back to a hotel in town.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Day 4 (Sun. Aug. 2, 2009) Road Trip
At the Days Inn...our room had one big bed! hahaha! We also had a couch bed and the room was huge, so that was good. I slept in the king bed with Ethan, Daria, and Alia. Jenika and Karina were in the hide-a-bed, and Tirsa was on the couch cushions on the floor....what a site! RaeAnna and her kids stayed in their own room just upstairs.
On Sunday morning, we woke up and had the continental breakfast offered by the hotel...your standard carb packed breakfast! ugh! Everything was bread or cereals...muffins, doughnuts, toast, cold cereal....I guess there was some fruits. Anyway, the kids enjoyed it and it was complimentary so I suppose I shouldn't complain!
After breakfast we all showered and got ready for church. Thank goodness the ward didn't meet till 1pm! We were there in the first 2 pews by 12:30pm waiting for the other family members to arrive. They did and we fast filled up those 2 front rows. It was Fast and Testimony meeting, and Chris blessed his newborn son, Abrams, in company of Great Grandpa Clark, Grandpa Clark (my dad), my brother Craig, and my brother Scot. It was neat to witness 4 generations of Clark boys!!! My brother Chris bore a great testimony, my grandpa too. Then Clarky and Jenika got up as well....it was nice to hear from the younger generation as well.
After church we all met in the Relief Society room for pictures...it was difficult to get us all together! geesh! But we did it!! Annie and I went back to the hotel to change into more casual attire and then we headed up to Noblesville to my parent's house. It was perfect weather: no humidity, no clouds, warm with a slight breeze. We had all the food outside on the newly finished deck. We had a great dinner of Lasagna, meatloaf, salad, and garlic bread. Later after that settled in our bellies, we had an assortment of pies and ice cream.
Uncles and cousins played in the yard with the frisbee, croquet, and rugby balls.
It was fun to everyone together. Unfortunately, Craig and Scot had to leave....I guess they only had the Saturday and sunday off and had to get back to work and school....Scot had flown into Chicago and driven down with Craig, so they had to get back before it was too late!
We had fun talking and reminiscing and listening to my Grandpa's stories. In the evening we had a little presentation by all the grandchildren. Clark was in charge of announcing each act. They sang a few songs: I'll Seek the Lord Early, The Lord needs Valiant Servants, Little Purple Pansies, and a few Pioneer songs. They did well. We talked of some old family vacations as well and had fun reminiscing. We ended the night with cookies and milk...of course!...Clark Family tradition!!!
Saying goodbye is always hard for me, but we had to do it and went back to the hotel. Such good memories!
On Sunday morning, we woke up and had the continental breakfast offered by the hotel...your standard carb packed breakfast! ugh! Everything was bread or cereals...muffins, doughnuts, toast, cold cereal....I guess there was some fruits. Anyway, the kids enjoyed it and it was complimentary so I suppose I shouldn't complain!
After breakfast we all showered and got ready for church. Thank goodness the ward didn't meet till 1pm! We were there in the first 2 pews by 12:30pm waiting for the other family members to arrive. They did and we fast filled up those 2 front rows. It was Fast and Testimony meeting, and Chris blessed his newborn son, Abrams, in company of Great Grandpa Clark, Grandpa Clark (my dad), my brother Craig, and my brother Scot. It was neat to witness 4 generations of Clark boys!!! My brother Chris bore a great testimony, my grandpa too. Then Clarky and Jenika got up as well....it was nice to hear from the younger generation as well.
After church we all met in the Relief Society room for pictures...it was difficult to get us all together! geesh! But we did it!! Annie and I went back to the hotel to change into more casual attire and then we headed up to Noblesville to my parent's house. It was perfect weather: no humidity, no clouds, warm with a slight breeze. We had all the food outside on the newly finished deck. We had a great dinner of Lasagna, meatloaf, salad, and garlic bread. Later after that settled in our bellies, we had an assortment of pies and ice cream.
Uncles and cousins played in the yard with the frisbee, croquet, and rugby balls.
It was fun to everyone together. Unfortunately, Craig and Scot had to leave....I guess they only had the Saturday and sunday off and had to get back to work and school....Scot had flown into Chicago and driven down with Craig, so they had to get back before it was too late!
We had fun talking and reminiscing and listening to my Grandpa's stories. In the evening we had a little presentation by all the grandchildren. Clark was in charge of announcing each act. They sang a few songs: I'll Seek the Lord Early, The Lord needs Valiant Servants, Little Purple Pansies, and a few Pioneer songs. They did well. We talked of some old family vacations as well and had fun reminiscing. We ended the night with cookies and milk...of course!...Clark Family tradition!!!
Saying goodbye is always hard for me, but we had to do it and went back to the hotel. Such good memories!
Day 3 (Sat. Aug. 1, 2009) Road Trip
We slept in!! Yikes! Well, we took all morning long to get packed up to go on the road to Indiana. I don't know when we finally left...2 or 3pm? Anyway, it was later than we hoped. I drove the girls...well Karina really wanted to be with the boys, so minus her. But Lizzy was delighted to be riding in our van with ALL girls...no brothers!! That meant Annie had ALL the boys plus Karina.
We took route 77 north and then I-70 west to Indianapolis. I suppose this was a longer way when I think back at it, but it was all highway and we took turns passing each other on the road!!! We stopped a few times for bathroom breaks and running around, but really we pretty much drove straight thru. We were lucky to have some yummy cookies made for us by a co-worker of Jon's....yummo!!! We also saw a Frische's Big Boy along the way....my mom always talked about these when we were young and how she loved them, but ya couldn't find them anymore!!...hahaha...well there it was right outside of Dayton, Ohio!!!
We finally arrived at the Days Inn in Castleton, Indiana around 8:30pm....late! Wimmers went up to my parent's house anyway, while Roylances stayed at the Hotel and prepped for Sunday. We were able to see my grandparents, Alma Card and Elizabether Clark...Chris, Jessica, Alma, and Abrams, Rebecca, Craig and Amber, and Scot. We had some fun playing and eating and catching up! We got back down to the hotel at about midnight! It was going to be fun being around so much family!!
We took route 77 north and then I-70 west to Indianapolis. I suppose this was a longer way when I think back at it, but it was all highway and we took turns passing each other on the road!!! We stopped a few times for bathroom breaks and running around, but really we pretty much drove straight thru. We were lucky to have some yummy cookies made for us by a co-worker of Jon's....yummo!!! We also saw a Frische's Big Boy along the way....my mom always talked about these when we were young and how she loved them, but ya couldn't find them anymore!!...hahaha...well there it was right outside of Dayton, Ohio!!!
We finally arrived at the Days Inn in Castleton, Indiana around 8:30pm....late! Wimmers went up to my parent's house anyway, while Roylances stayed at the Hotel and prepped for Sunday. We were able to see my grandparents, Alma Card and Elizabether Clark...Chris, Jessica, Alma, and Abrams, Rebecca, Craig and Amber, and Scot. We had some fun playing and eating and catching up! We got back down to the hotel at about midnight! It was going to be fun being around so much family!!
Day 2 (Fri. July 31, 2009) Roadtrip
We rested well at the Roylance home in Vincent, Ohio!!! RaeAnna and I of course talked, looked at catalogs and clothing styles, cooked and cleaned together! And the kids played of course. It was kind of a rainy, glum day so they played inside mostly. They played with legos and gameboys and downstairs. They also lined the upstairs steps with pillows from around the house and then broke out the sleds!!! It was hilarious to see them come flying down and land in the pile of pillows at the bottom. hahahah!
We did some laundry too and just hung around and had fun. By the afternoon it was beginning to clear up, so they took us to the Marrietta Water Park. We were very excited until we got to the entrance and noticed they were holding everyone there. They were considering closing early since no one had come all day! NOOOOOOOOO! (silent prayers being said by 11 childern and 2 moms) They finally gave us the go ahead...YES, they would stay open another 2 hours! YAY!!! What a fun place!! It was like a mini water park complete with a few small waterslides, a pirate ship that spewed water here and there and had kiddie slides too, a "lazy river", a lap pool, and pools connecting all these fun things. They even had a sprinkler area or a play fountain I guess you would call it....basically sprays of water coming out of a concrete sidewalk area at different angles and heights. We had so much fun! They has some little contests too....hula hooping, cannonballing, etc.
As they were closing, Jon met us there because it was right next to the hospital where he works. He had some sad news of one of their friends passing away, but even still he ordered Papa Johns Pizza for us and we enjoyed it on the grassy hills next to the parking lot!! What FUN!!!
Later that night, we played and talked some more and talked about our plans for the next day....heading up to Indianapolis to go to G&G Clark's house!!! :) Good Times!
We did some laundry too and just hung around and had fun. By the afternoon it was beginning to clear up, so they took us to the Marrietta Water Park. We were very excited until we got to the entrance and noticed they were holding everyone there. They were considering closing early since no one had come all day! NOOOOOOOOO! (silent prayers being said by 11 childern and 2 moms) They finally gave us the go ahead...YES, they would stay open another 2 hours! YAY!!! What a fun place!! It was like a mini water park complete with a few small waterslides, a pirate ship that spewed water here and there and had kiddie slides too, a "lazy river", a lap pool, and pools connecting all these fun things. They even had a sprinkler area or a play fountain I guess you would call it....basically sprays of water coming out of a concrete sidewalk area at different angles and heights. We had so much fun! They has some little contests too....hula hooping, cannonballing, etc.
As they were closing, Jon met us there because it was right next to the hospital where he works. He had some sad news of one of their friends passing away, but even still he ordered Papa Johns Pizza for us and we enjoyed it on the grassy hills next to the parking lot!! What FUN!!!
Later that night, we played and talked some more and talked about our plans for the next day....heading up to Indianapolis to go to G&G Clark's house!!! :) Good Times!
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