Memphis Zoo

So I'm gonna be honest....getting to the Memphis Zoo was a complete hassle.  No hard feelings towards anyone in the family, but it did take 1 hour and 45 minutes just to get out the door (See previous TN post re: not knowing what is going on with a lot of physical bumping, which includes which cars, what time is departure and what we are wearing).

I never thought I'd wear the same bright t-shirt as 25 others to the zoo but let me tell you---GOOD idea.  It was so easy to assign the kids a buddy, an adult and then just scan the crowd.  Nobody got lost or left behind. Miracle.

I loved this outing once we were there.  If you are ever in the Memphis area, this is a must do. The zoo is amazing, different animals than I am used to and all their "homes" are built and presented so beautifully.  I enjoyed watching Eli's excited face as he walked with his buddy (Elliot) the whole way.  His green shirt was a little big on him, and it was lunch time and it was nap time and it was HOT.  But he smiled and let his joy shine through, just like always.  Floating as he ran.  Prancing as he saw something new.  Come on, if you know Eli-you can just about imagine.

Here are a few snippets. You can't miss us, we are wearing bright green.  (Eli's buddy Elliot is only 5 weeks older than him.  Although they do not look like they are only 1 month apart-they stick together pretty well)

I love this stolen moment-a relaxed pose from a mama of 3 boys

These guys are totally cracking jokes about our green t-shirts

I love this stolen moment

This makes life totally worth it

We are looking pretty good for TOTALLY hot with no naps and a late lunch.  

Another favorite stolen moment

so...he rode home in his underoos.

PS-I was totally wiped out too.  What you can't see in this picture is that I am also asleep in the front seat.  We are parked in front of Uncle Chris's house with the AC blasting, for over a half hour we all slept.   As we tell Eli, we were all recharging our batteries for our next adventure.

We are back

We just got back.
15 minutes after we returned the boys crashed.

The way Hugh looks is exactly how I feel.  We had so much fun but sleeping in the same room with 1 or 2 kiddos has taken a toll. 
 I'm looking forward to my own bed and more than 2 or 3 hours in a row of not waking. 

The Green T-Shirt

Two years ago on our trip to Tennessee we made tshirts for fun.  First Andy's siblings silk screened the front and back and then we all had a chance to tye die-so each shirt was a little different.

This year Andy's dad took the extra time to silk screen the shirts before the trip.  This allowed us a chance to wear them all together, which really came in handy when we were a group of 25 meandering through the zoo.

This year on the front:
The shape of the state Tennessee.  "Roederpalooza: Collierville, TN  2013"

On the back:
The word "menagerie" with the pronunciation and definition "a collection of wild or unusual animals"  

Followed by the emblem that was on the tye die shirts: a menagerie of animals with the words "Established in 1970"  (The year Andy's parents got married).

So there ya go.  I'm already wondering what color we will have next time. 

Rise and Shine

Full moon last night.

Now rise and shine.  Good morning from my favorite spot.

Last year at this time....

We leave tomorrow.  We are packed.  Time to share my favorite place with all my boys.

Let me tell you about it...

Let me tell you a little bit about the trip we just took.

-With day trips here and there we spent 25 + hours in the car with our 2 littles.



Do not be fooled.  This did not happen all that often (only after a 11 am-4 pm zoo trip, therfore it was the hottest part of the day and skipped naps)


-26 people (11 of them kids), 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 2 living rooms, 1 kitchen, 2 Refrigerators, 1 "bonus room", 1 fenced in backyard, 1 awesome pool with 1 busy patio, 1 snake, 3-5 black widow spiders, 6 full coolers and 6 (maybe more) cars.

-You gotta roll with it.  You arrive, you unpack, you bump into people.  You wait for the bathroom, you put your towel down, you use someone elses's goggles, you bump into people.  You ask when we are leaving, you watch other people just wake up, you bump in to people.  You eat, you cook, you clean up, you bump in to eachother.  You swim, you play, you bump in to eachother.  You shower, you put on your matching family shirt, you bump into eachother.

-There is no leader.  Everyone knows nothing of what is going on.  There is rarely a plan.  And then we all pull it off.

-Someone is always competing, followed by rubbing it in the opponents face and then re-challenging.  Boys are always competing, playing hard and then laughing.



Even the littles!



-Kids are up from 5:30 am until 11:30 pm at night.  Adults are awake from 5:30 am until 4 am (No lie).  Some kids sleep in and get woken up by their excited cousins.

-Everyone wants to be together.  I try to steal a moment to read here and there but usually happens when the boys are sleeping.

-Music is blasted loud and long.  All different genres. 

-We went through 4 gallons of milk a day.  Gobs and gobs and gobs and GOBS of sunscreen.  Multiple pounds of cheese and fruit!

-The Big boys (Andy and his brothers) are always "rigging" something up-planning, buying and putting it together. All. Week. Long.   A pool shade tarp.  A net to catch the homerun derby balls.  An outdoor movie theatre.  Various spicy dips to eat late at night.  Yard games etc.

-There are 5 moms in the group.  (1 of them is the original mom who is also considered a grandma)  We all have different parenting styles and try are hardest to help and respect eachother.

-Hugh was definitly louder than Adelia.  I don't think anyone would question that. 

-Eli was in his true element. He left me alone the whole trip.  His behavior was a 10/10.  I am so proud of him.  He blossomed in the water and I am so proud of him.

-I'm happy to be home and in my own bed.  Was I ready to leave? No.  And I'm ready to go back.  More to come with more pictures of our outings. 
So many more pictures to share with a recap of some of the really neat things we did together, plus what is on those green tshirts?...you think you've seen it all.