Ostler Reunion 08: Day 5, Swimming and the drive HOME!

Sunday we woke up with the intent to take it easy. Check-out was not until 1 pm, so that would give us plenty of time to pack up and leave. We had decided that it would be a good time to take all of the kids swimming, since time had just not allowed for it any earlier. So we got up, got some breakfast, changed into our swim suits and blew up more arm floaties, rings and boats then you can imagine.

The kids almost ran to the pool they were so excited. There was a group of kids already there playing at one end of the pool. David got in with Kaden, Kylie and Eddie (Eli only pretended like he was going to go in-big surprise there!) and I sat on a bench with Johnny.

After we had been there about 10 minutes a couple of the little girls (They were like 5 or 6 years old, they weren't THAT little) from the other end of the pool came over and started jumping in on the side we were on. And I decided it was time for Eli to go in. But in order for that to happen I would have to grab him and take him in with me. Right as I was stepping down the steps, I looked at the water and there was something floating in it.POOP!!! YUCK!!!!!!!! One of those girls had pooped in the pool!!!

David tried grabbing one of the hotel towels to fish it out with (can you say GROSS!?!?!) but then noticed it was more then just a little bit of it. There was a big ol' log down on the bottom on the other end of the pool. We QUICKLY exited the pool and jumped into the shower-floaties, life vests, swim suits and all!

It was time to leave. I packed all of our stuff up and headed to the car. I didn't clean it out the night before, so I had to do it before I packed for the drive home. By the time all of this happened, I was pretty cranky. And I do believe that crankiness wore off on my kids. The drive home was AWFUL!

They have NEVER behaved like they did on the drive home. We thought they were bad on they way down there-this didn't even compare! If any of the boys even LOOKED at Kylie should would start whining and making these HORRIBLE noises. And it didn't take long for Eli to start acting the same way. Even Kaden was cranky and whiny. (Which really doesn't happen that often.) When we stopped for lunch I switched the car seats around so that Kylie was in the middle row with Johnny and the other 3 boys were in the back. Then NONE of her brothers could bother her. It didn't help. If I asked one of the boys to do something Kylie would then say..."EEEEELLLLIIIIII MMMMOOOMMMM SSSSAAAIIIDD TOOOOOOOOO........" In a very AWFUL sounding whine/moan/cry/scream. I really just don't even know how to describe it.

And since Eddie was sitting next to Kaden now, he wouldn't leave him alone! I would hear Kaden cry out and look back and Eddie had his head pinned in his lap hitting him and pulling his hair! What the heck?!?!

At one point I seriously thought David might beat my children. He was SO angry. When Eli wouldn't stop hitting Kaden, David SLAMMED on the brakes and went to the side of the road (you could smell the tires-yuck) He then got out and threw his arms in the air a little and opened the back door yelled at the kids enough to scare the crap out of them and then continued on. After that they behaved a little better. They weren't perfect by any means, but they did act more like they normally act on road trips.

David accidentally passed all of the towns that had places that we would feel safe enough going into to eat at dinner time. And it was 8:30 by the time we got to Baker city, and most places were closing at 9. And I was NOT going to eat from a drive-thru. We ended up finding this little restaurant that had little trains going all through it along the ceiling. The kids loved it. (I think they just liked getting out of the car for a minute).

After eating we changed kids into PJ's and set them up with blankets and babies in their seats and we headed home in almost absolute quiet. It was GREAT. We got home around midnight. It only took up 13 hours to make it home! And we thought the 12 hour trip on the way down was bad!

It was a lot of fun getting to see all my aunts and uncles and cousins. I wish we would have had a little more time to visit and such. It was worth all the stress and frustration. (and believe me there was a LOT of stress and frustration) It is sad, but I am happy to say that I don't have to worry about making another trip like this for a family reunion for 2 more years.

David with his 100 oz of Mt. Dew

Ostler Reunion 08: Day 4, F.U.N.

F.U.N. Family United in Numbers. That was the theme of our reunion this year. Everybody made T-shirts for their individual families in different colors that had a number on the back. The number corresponded with when you came into the family. My dad, the oldest of his siblings, was #1 and it went all the way down to Johnny who was #73! We all wore them on day 4 (Saturday).

The first thing that we did that morning was head to the Salt Lake Cemetery. My aunt (#2) passed away last summer, so we had a little bit of a memorial for her. I was out of town during her funeral, so it was nice to be able to be at this.

After this we broke for a couple of hours to get some lunch and then we all met at a park to play games and enjoy each others company and have a BBQ for dinner.

It was HOT. And for being a park-there was NO shade. So I spent most of my time under the pavilion with Stacey talking and trying to get our kids to sleep for a little bit. (She had more luck than I did). It was fun to see my kids play with my younger cousins and make friends. Kylie found a great friend in my cousin Saydria. They are only a couple of months apart and are both very girly girls. I had to laugh when Chelsea told me to watch out b/c Saydria can be a little bossy, b/c I had just witnessed Kylie bossing Saydria around and telling her what to do, and Saydria doing just that. I guess you can't be too bossy for Kylie!

After food was done and people were just sitting around and talking, Stacey and I went to get some ice blocks. There was a beautiful hill right next to us that was BEGGING to be played on. We went to Albertsons and Stacey was disappointed that they only had 15 ice blocks there. I thought it would be plenty. I was wrong. We got back and my dad, who has NEVER before done this, grabbed a block and asked what to do and was suddenly gone. Down the hill. We hadn't even opened all the bags yet! That was fun to see. It quickly caught on and we (I, Stacey already knew), realized that 15 wasn't enough. But everyone did a fair job at sharing.

We were one of the last to leave the park (David had to look at my aunts 15 passenger van-he wants a 15 passenger but since I said I would NOT drive a van that big, he says he will settle for a 12-HAHAHAHAHA Good luck with that one!) When we got back to our hotel we saw Ryan and Ashley were waiting in the parking lot for us. (By the way-thanks for saving us that spot right at the front!) and they got out of their car to give David a present. Behind Ashley's back was a 100 ounce container of mountain dew. Yes-100. The thing is MASSIVE. Ryan had found them at a gas station and decided David needed one. (He got one too, but his was filled with water).

So David started guzzling a bunch of Mt. Dew at 9:30 at night. Smart one dear. Needless to say, he was up most of the night.

Ostler Reunion 08: Day 3, 7 Peaks/Pictures at the Park

Day 3 was the official beginning of the Ostler Family Reunion and I believe it was the most stressful. We got up and went to 7 Peaks. A water park. Yes, we took 5 kids, 5 and under to a water park. Can you say STUPID?

Kaden was SOOOO excited. He couldn't wait to go down the slides. And he loved every minute of it. Kylie flipped out and screamed for a short while after David took her down the first slide. Eli didn't scream, but he didn't like it. Eddie enjoyed himself, but for some reason David didn't really want to take him on very many. And I got to stay in the shade with Johnny for most of the day.

At one point I was ready to pack up and leave. I was going to leave David and Kaden at the water park and take the other back to the hotel for a nap. But then guilt set in. All of the other kids were having so much fun, and just b/c of my stress level and impatience, I wasn't going to let Kylie and Eli and Eddie make any memories. So David took Kylie and Eli for a little bit to see if they would go anywhere near the water. They did for a bit, but then they flipped out when he tried to get them to go into the lazy river. So he brought them back. At this point my uncle Mike came and told me that his wife Chelsea was in the lazy river and that I was to go find her. I declined, (I had 5 kids to look after), and then was told that was not an option. That there were enough people to keep an eye on my kids. David insisted that I go b/c I had yet to touch the water. And he assured me that he could handle keeping an eye on all 5 kids. So I picked up a tube and I started to leave. As I was walking away I turned around to see Eddie RIGHT behind me and David off dealing with something else-TOTALLY oblivious to the fact that Eddie was not with him. Nice job keeping an eye on all 5 kids David!

A little before the park was supposed to close the kids got a second wind or something and decided to be a little happier. So David took them on a couple more rides before the park closed.

After the water park we were all to head back to change and get ready for family pictures. We thought that everyone was supposed to eat as well. So we did. We ended up being 45 minutes late!!! Sorry everyone!

After pictures we went back to our hotel and went to bed early. We were TIRED. I think that that was the best night sleep we got the whole trip!

Sorry, no pics from the water park!

My dad with his kids and grandkids

(Lara and Nicholas couldn't make it)

My grandma and grandpa with their grandkids and 14 of their great grandkids!

Ostler Reunion 08: Day 2, Thanksgiving Point/Discovery Gateway

We didn't get much sleep that night due to kids, but oh well. The fun was about to begin!

We started off at Thanksgiving Point. At the Farm. I was worried about Eli, due to the fact that he is terrified of EVERYTHING. But he actually did great. The kids got to look at all the animals and they pet most of them. They even fed a few. They had a blast running around. There were pony rides, and a pretend little town to run in. My kids actually wanted to ride the ponies twice. Eli cried for a second the first time, but then he loved it, and joined his other 3 siblings for the second ride.

After that we headed to lunch with my dad, Dan and Stacey and Kids, Ryan and Ashley and kid, and David and kid. After lunch Ryan and Ashley took Teancum to Temple Square to walk around for a bit. While the rest of us went to Discovery Gateway (the children's museum). The kids had a blast. They didn't want to leave. They ran around in the "Kids' Eye View" a city just their size. And we lost Kaden for a little bit when he saw the medical helicopter outside and went out there for a LONG time. David was a little frustrating b/c he got caught up with all there was to do, and I think he forgot he had kids every now and then. Eli tried to build a little maze on the magnetic wall with pipes for his ball to go thru. He was doing a good job until grandpa came over and took over and Eli got pushed to the back. :) Silly grandpa!

After the children's museum we all went to the park for dinner. Dad brought a bunch of KFC and chips and such. After playing and eating too much, we went back to our hotel. David was going to take the kids swimming, but it was apparent that the younger ones NEEDED bed. So instead, I put the 4 smaller ones to sleep and David took Kaden swimming. After they got back I ran across the street to Dairy Queen and got David and I some ice cream and we ate it in the hall while we waited for Kaden to go to sleep.

Ostler Reunion 08: Day 1, The drive to Utah

The Ostler family had a reunion in Utah this year. So we booked a hotel and made the, what was supposed to be, 9 1/2 hour trek down to Provo.

Thinking we would outsmart our children, we decided we would load the kids up at 3:30 AM and start driving then. We have taken the kids on previous early morning trips, leaving at 6:30 AM, and that doesn't seem to work. The kids don't go back to sleep and then they are cranky for the rest of the day. So we figured by leaving at 3:30 they would definitely fall back asleep. WRONG! It didn't work. ALL of them stayed awake until about mid-day. And they were cranky. Kylie would not be satisfied. She pitched a fit if Kaden's pillow even grazed her arm. Eli, knowing exactly how to push her buttons, did just that. He threatened to hit her and she would SCREAM. (even though he was across the car from her, and couldn't even reach her).

We stopped in a small town in Oregon to run into a McDonald's. David ran the two older kids into the bathroom and then I went in to get some food for everyone. I stood in line for probably 2-3 minutes, with no one in front of me, as the employees walked around like they had no idea what was going on. Finally someone took my order and then I filled our drinks and stood waiting for my food. Realizing after a couple of minutes that it would not be ready for a bit, I decided to take the drinks out to the car so David could start filling sippies. I then went back inside and waited another 10 minutes. FINALLY my food was there, and we could get back on the road. So I jumped in the car and started handing out food. They forgot the fork and syrup for Eddies pancakes, and they just plain forgot my breakfast. David ran back inside, but by this point in time there were at least 15 people in line and no one would help him so we left. I got to feed Eddie with my fingers, and I got no breakfast. (Needless to say, I was NOT a happy camper. I had been up since 3 AM and I got no food!)

After breakfast, I think we stopped at least every 30 minutes so Kylie could pee. No joke. That girl had to pee ALL the time. It was getting quite annoying. Once David just stopped on the side of an exit and had her sit on the edge of the suburban. But b/c she didn't have shoes on, she wanted to put her feet on David's sandal. And he let her! How stupid is that! I warned him that his sandal would be covered. But what do I know? Obviously more then he thought I did, b/c she drenched it. And he got to wear a peed on sandal for the rest of the day. (we did try to wash it off a little).

We thought that we would get to Provo around 3 (Utah time) and have enough time to shower and change before dinner at 5:30. Once again we were wrong. We ended up pulling into Sandy, UT just in time for dinner at the Mayan Adventure restaurant. Dan and Stacey had planned on taking their family there and we decided we wanted to join them. It was pretty cool. The kids had a lot of fun. (although, I am sure they would have had fun just about anywhere, if their cousins were there).

After dinner we finally made it to our hotel and we were exhausted. We had invited Dan and Stacey and fam to go swimming with us, and when they declined, we decided we had better just go to bed. So we did. At 9 PM we were in bed, and asleep.

It may have taken us 12 hours to get there. But we made it.

A day at the river

Saturday we went to the river with our friends, Larry and Kim and their son David and his friend Alec. We all came home very tired and very RED!!!Here are some pics....

Kaden and Kylie playing

Where's Alec?

Eddie in his own little worldKylie and Larry on one tube, Kaden and David on the other. (Kaden went from David's tube to Larry's while the boat was moving!!!)
Kylie on the boat
Johnny sleeping

Building sand castles

Larry on the wake board
Larry not on the wake board David on the wake board
Eli falling asleep on the boat

Yes, I let them go to Costco like this....

4th of July Weekend

I hope everyone had a good 4th of July!

David's brother Jeff was in Walla Walla for the weekend, so we went there to hang out with David's family.

We got there on Thursday evening and camped out in the yard. (Okay, David camped with Kaden, Kylie, Eli, and Eddie. I slept inside with Johnny.) On Friday we got up and the kids played outside ALL day. David set up the slip-n-slide, and Mike set up his pool. The kids were in heaven! That night David helped his brothers set of some very BIG fireworks (the kind you can only get on the reservations) while Kaden, his cousins, aunts and uncles and a few strays watched. Eddie and Johnny fell asleep. And I hung out with Kylie and Eli inside. (They are scared to death of the fireworks)

On Saturday we spent the morning filling water balloons, and Misti and I went to pick up a snow cone machine that she had rented for the day. After lunch we went out to play some games. JR had set up a fun obstacle course for everyone, and Misti and I had put together some other games to play. Then went on the swimming and slip-n-sliding ( I even went down a couple of times!). That night they set off some more fireworks (they bought too many). But this time they did the more legal kind, as to not attract the law enforcement.

On Sunday Jeff's family packed up and left and David and I and his brother Mike and fam hung out at their parents house a little longer. Misti and I were very pleased to just be able to sit and do nothing. (We had been in the kitchen ALL weekend long making sure everyone was WELL fed. And boy were they!)

I think that the weekend went pretty smooth, and that just about everybody enjoyed themselves. Thank you Misti for all the hard work you put into it!

The joys of laundry...

Yes, it is 1 am and I am on the computer writing on my blog. Why, you ask. Simple. I just spent the last 1 1/2 hours spraying WD-40 and then rubbing in dish detergent into a FULL load of laundry. One shirt at a time. Why, you ask-again. That would be b/c one of my children decided to stash a ROYAL BLUE GLITTER CRAYON in their pocket. Yup, you guessed it, I didn't catch it. And it went through the wash. And the dryer. So instead of switching the clothes over and heading to bed, I got to make a late night run to Wal-Mart. (We didn't have any WD-40, or Clorox 2). And then I got to sit at the counter and spray EVERY single spot of crayon. And believe me, it was ALL over. And of course it had been a large load of laundry. So now I am sitting around waiting for the load to-yet again-finish. So I can see if the crayon actually came out, or if I have to find a bunch of money to go buy new clothes. And yes, of course, all of David's nicer-new-shirts had been in that load, and ALL 7 of our brand new Undersea Adventures shirts (worn only once before).