weeks ending jun 27 and july 5, 2009:

Week ending jun 27: I have no earthly idea what happened that week other than we packed and drove to the OBX.
Week ending July 5: This week we were on vacation in Kill Devil Hills with our usual crowd of 16 (8 adults either from college or the spouse of someone from college, and their 8 children). Pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/constance.phelps/Obx209# We stayed in the same house as last year less than a block from the beach and with a private pool and hot tub in the back yard. Much of the vacation was just a fun repeat of the previous year. Differences included the kids trying out boogie boards. Meghan who is 10, tried boogie boarding by herself and was quite successful. The younger kids (4 and older) tried boogie boarding with a parent holding on the board as well. They all LOVED it. The usually reserved Nick got very animated when describing boogie boarding including hand gestures and onomatopoeia (“we went PTCHEW! Over the waves!”).
Other differences included Alex’s decisions to not participate in scheduled activities. On the 1st morning we told the kids we were going to the beach and Alex said he was not going. We told him that we’d driven all day the previous day to go to the beach so it was not optional. He went to the beach and had a great time. The next morning after going to bed a little late and getting up a little early Alex said that he was not going to the beach. It was my turn to cook for the whole crew and I’d planned to stay at the house and cook most of the morning, so I offered to let Alex stay there with me with the warning that I was going to be cooking, not playing with him. He said ok and stayed behind and amused himself while the other 7 kids went to the beach without him. I thought that he was pretty sensible giving himself a break from the mayhem to get some quite time. Then the next day he said he wasn’t going to the beach again, and for the rest of the week, everything we said we were going to do, he said he didn’t want to go. We made him go to the dunes, the beach, the aquarium, etc, and he loved all of it so much he literally jumped up and down at each one.Notable difference for Chloe was her insistence on doing everything exactly as Angie did it. We’d ask what Chloe wanted for lunch, she’d say that she couldn’t decide until Angie got to the kitchen and decided what Angie was eating. She also wanted to dress like Angie, go where Angie went, and play the same games as Angie. I must admit I’m a little perplexed by the usually brave and independent Chloe suddenly becoming a follower, but time will tell where this phase will go.