I Did It. A Diving Polar Bear. Lorikeets on the Head.

Well, I survived driving my four kids to and from Illinois by myself for spring break. The trip takes 5 1/2 hours of driving plus stops. Actually, the kids were absolutely amazing. I couldn't have asked for better behavior or more cooperation. Life is funny like that. What I worry about goes well. What doesn't cross my mind ends up being the challenge. They watched their shows, and the baby stayed quiet. I listened to my music, and we were all happy. What I realized all over again is that Robbie is an amazing co-parent. My parents are all kind and loving and helpful, but their grandparent role has a different tone than a parent's. It was up to me to make sure the baby didn't flip her plate, or that Henry stayed seated during meals (no small task), or that the kids stayed on schedule and got bathed. Once again, I have new respect for single parents and military families. Taking on the major responsibility with four small children is no easy undertaking. The pace wears on a person. Granted, mom let me sleep a bit one morning after I nursed Vivian. Grandma Jane played cars with Henry while I showered, and I didn't have to cook for six days. THAT was a treat. Grandpa Mike helped Vivian navigate the tile steps time and again, and my dad happily held Vivian while I fixed plates for the others. I just know that I prefer traveling with my beloved spouse.

Highlights of the trip included a trip with Grandpa Mike to the rec center for indoor swimming. Olivia was finally tall enough to go down the curving water slide, and she loved it. Henry spotted two boys in Lightning McQueen Cars swim trunks. Henry approached the boys and introduced himself with, "I'm Lightning McQueen! Ka-CHOW!!!!" They didn't know what to make of Henry. My dad finally finished the multi-decade restoration of his 1937 Studebaker coupe. The interior was recently done by a really talented man, and the final look of the entire car is just amazing. Dad is really happy it is done. I can tell he's really pleased with it, and I know he must be proud of the outcome. Dad doesn't take shortcuts, and his car is one-of-a-kind with components designed and tooled with his time and talent...and treasure. I know my parents really appreciated my efforts to get all the way to Illinois and enjoyed their time with the kiddos. They were also ready to return to their own quieter existence when we left, and we were all glad to get home.

Olivia was hilarious. On our drive from Springfield to Kansas Ciy, Vivian ended up with a horrendous green diaper (maybe from her green colored watermelon yogurt?) that made the entire restroom stink to high heaven. Olivia was so embarrassed. Little Vivian made not a fuss about her stinky pants in the van. Shocking for sure. Once in our living room we told Robbie about the ordeal, and Olivia asked me to tell daddy about "those weird looking people." There were some bikers at McDonald's, and Olivia saw their skull and crossbones outfits and wondered why pirates were eating lunch with us. She later asked me if they kill people, and I had to give her the low down on Harley riders. So funny. She didn't stare, and she didn't say a word until we were a safe distance away from those folks.

Yesterday during our search for First Communion shoes we ventured to a shopping area where there was a T. Rex restaurant that we knew would make the kids' day. The place featured enormous dinosaurs that moved and roared. Henry and the girls were really excited to learn we planned to eat dinner there, and everyone left with a clean plate.

Today the forecast called for a high in the low 50s with a small chance of rain. Now this is not a day I ever would have chosen for a family outing. However, Robbie took the day off work to spend time with the girls during spring break. He wanted us all to go to the zoo first thing in the morning. They have a new polar bear who is 3 years old. His name is Nikita. The exhibit was amazing, and my children ended up in the most fantastic position to see the bear's action. He kept swimming large strong circles. Right where we stood, he'd approach the glass, rise up out of the water, then push off with his amazing paws into a backward dive. Vivian squealed, and the other ones were in awe. It was so cool. I could have watched for hours. As we prepared to leave the house, I had been unable to find my camera. I found it at home buried in my diaper bag, and I was just sick that I didn't capture those images. The young polar bear was over 700 pounds, and he was gorgeous.

Another extraordinay thing happened at 1 pm. We visited the lorikeets. They are small multi-colored birds that are quite lively. The kids received feeding cups, and a bird quickly landed on Olivia's arm to feed. Soon Henry had a bird crawl up his pantleg. He looked pretty uncertain about the situation, but he held still for once. He'd been running from animal to animal all morning at the zoo. so the stillness was a big change. Henry didn't know what to think when the bird got on his arm, and the cup started tipping. I was laughing the entire time. Vivian was chilled out in her stroller under a cozy blanket. She just took in the whole scene. Evelyn was quite brave. She fed a bird from her arm too, and she didn't even remotely freak out as I told Robbie I thought she would. The hilarious part came when two birds got on Olivia's little arm. Then a third appeared and landed on the top of her head! She started going, "Ahhh!! Get it off of me. Get it off of me." Robbie stepped in to help. He offered a finger to the bird, which encouraged him to leave Olivia's head. However, several strands of her hair got tangled around the bird's foot. He stood on Robbie with one leg and kicked his bird leg in an attempt to free himself from Olivia's hair rope. It was a funny move. She didn't scream, but she was nervous. God bless her. I was nervous too. Just before the bird on the head scene, I decided to raise the hood on my jacket. A bird landed on my shoulder, and I got the hee bee jee bees (I guess I've never seen that written.). We got a few poor quality cell phone pics, but I don't know how to get them off of my outdated phone. We laughed and laughed, and I don't think the children will soon forget their chilly trip to the zoo.