Thursday, July 14, 2011

Packing for a family of 9...Whew!


We've had an incredibly busy but good week here. I had Classical Conversations parent/tutor training all day Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and while I was in training, the kids went to various 'camps'. Keely and Noah did Logic, the middle girls were in the geography and drawing camp, and the younger two in 'play camp', where they learned some American history songs and made some cute crafts. Sam did amazingly well in the nursery, and I was blessed to have the peace of mind of a wonderful, loving lady who made me completely comfortable leaving him in a new situation. The kids all had a great time, and I had the chance to work on my skills of making eight lunches each day and trying to get us all out the door on time, with supplies and homework. Whew.

On our way to the practicum on Tuesday, I heard something that made me smile from the back seat. As we drove by a Great Clips, Lily said, "I don't like Great Clips." Noah asked her why, and she responded, "Because Mom took me there once and I got a bad haircut." Noah thought a minute and said, "Lily, that's a logical fallacy called a 'hasty generalization.' Just because you had one bad haircut there doesn't mean that all Great Clips are going to give bad haircuts." Yay for Logic Camp!!


Today is devoted to packing and packing and planning and list making and packing. I haven't had the energy to even think about preparing for our vacation, so today is the day. We leave tomorrow morning at 6 a.m., and I've much work to do yet! I'm trying to get all the laundry done so I can determine if the kids have enough complete outfits for our trip. If not, I'll be making a flying shopping trip this afternoon. How's that for waiting til the last minute? You can lay to rest any ideas about me being super-organized super-mom!


This is actually about 1/3 of the kids' clothing for the trip. I still have lots to gather...

We'll be heading to Colorado for family camp (our first time ever to go!), and breaking up our drive with one afternoon and night in Dodge City. We plan on going to some wild-west type museums that will be fun for the kids. Typical homeschool Mom that I am, I've had the older ones reading books about Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday and the Santa Fe Trail so they can appreciate what we'll be seeing there.
As for keeping everyone happy in the car for the 26-28 hour round trip....Well, I have a plan to help that I hope is successful! We just purchased the Narnia books on CD (the Focus on the Family Radio Theatre ones that are excellent), and I've picked up some goodies to distribute every three hours or so while we're on the road: gum, small toys, activity books, etc. We also allow our kids to watch movies on their iPods or on the portable DVD player--in moderation.

If you think of us, please pray for safety on the roads. Things will be settling down for us after we get back home, and I will post that school schedule then.
Now, back to packing....

6 comments:

Heather L. said...

Can't wait to hear how family camp is!!! Ours is next week too. I hope the travelling goes well.

Franck Barfety said...

I love it Noah! You all have a relaxing time!

Anonymous said...

Hey Candice. We just got back from our family trip to Montana this week. I stole the Duggars idea when I packed for the 8 of us. Sort out each days clothes and put in a grocery sack labled by the day (Mon, Tues, etc.) It was so helpful for me to just open the suitcase and pull out the "days" clothing for everyone.
Have a wonderful trip & I pray that you feel great they whole week!

Julie Gertner

Anne said...

Have a wonderful time! And I've heard/seen that the easiest way to pack for numerous family members (or at least small ones!) is to put an entire outfit in a gallon ziploc bag. Just grab a bag and go. :) I might use that for our trip in August. So glad you get to go this year...can't wait to hear all about it. And by the way, I still think you're a super organized mom.

Dianna said...

Our Family camp in Montana is week after next. Be careful what you start:) The kids wouldn't let us quit going even if we wanted to! Not that we do, it is an amazing, wonderful, relaxing, spiritually refreshing time. I hope your week is soooo good!

Andy and Amy said...

I hope you all had a great time at camp. We sure enjoyed meeting all of you. I also hope your trip home went smoothly. It'd be great to see all of you again soon. I'm sure you don't feel like packing for 10 anytime soon, but if you ever want to come to Colorado Springs, we'd love to have you!

Amy