"I'm Gonna Miss the Sea" — LAUGHTER IN THE CHAOS

Yesterday, we set sail on a maiden voyage as a family of 6… we dropped all the things you’re supposed to do on Sunday and loaded up the cars and took off for the river….ALMOST, right as we were about to pull out of the driveway, Clay checked the mud motor on the duck boat.

It wouldn’t turn over…..

Clay has come to call situations like this, the Archey Curse…just when you think all is good, something breaks down, has a missing part, comes broken, is dented, won’t start … you get the idea. I used to balk at this, but sure enough, I’m a believer now. We’ve opened many Christmas gifts that come missing parts - even this past Christmas, Kate’s seat adapter to her hover board was welded upside down; not screwed in wrong, but completely welded to the wrong side of the bar.

Anyway, back to the boat…. while Clay tinkered and tried not to go all Clark Griswald, circa Christmas Vacation on us, I unload the kiddos and left him to cool off. Kate decided she’d risk it and partake in lunch in hopes for a quick fix. It wasn’t. I’m pretty sure I saw Clay come in for an afternoon cocktail to take the edge off things.

I’m thankful he’s such a handy man - because, finally, after a trip to Home Depot and Interstate Battery - we were off! I felt like banjos should have been playing or the theme song to the Beverly Hillbillies but we got there, piled into the boat and took off down the river. It was actually more like throw everyone and everything in the boat and just let us get out of the way. We are kind of a spectacle.

“I can’t wait to go swimming with the crocodiles” “Mama, you have my goggles, right” Lilly was right in her element. She was soaking it all in. Kate, on the other hand, is my timid one (she gets that from her mama) and wants to know everything about everything … “can the boat sink” “can the alligators get us in the boat” “is this life vest on correctly?” I was (am) the exact same way.

It’s crazy to see how drastically different their personalities are - I love it and can’t wait to see the future dynamic of all 4 of them.

Running up the river was great - the cool breeze, the warm air, the cold beer….

Thankfully, once we saw the millionth alligator, Lilly changed her mind and no longer wanted to swim with the crocodiles…

We decided to pull up on a little beach area to let the twins play and the girls fish.

Just as I was setting up the twins under an umbrella, I look up to see Lilly completely naked. Not a single thing on. I mean, little lady likes to let it all hang out. We finally convinced her she needed to get some clothes on when we heard another boat coming our way. Seriously, you gotta wonder what goes through her head sometimes.

All in all, the twins did good…. once you took their life vests off, gave them a snack and got the sunscreen out of their eyes. (opps!) We enjoyed yummy snacks (can’t go on a boat without Cheez-Its). We giggled and talked about nature. We got our hands and all other parts muddy. We had fun. We made a wonderful memory.

Was it crazy? Yes!

At one point, when both babies were crying, did I wish we were home? Yes!

Do I hate applying sunscreen to 4 kids? Absolutely!

Did I feel overwhelmed by what I needed to plan for and pack? Sure did!

Would I do it all over again? A million times!

I had to catch myself as we were driving there and remember that it’s about the experience and the memories you make with your family. That laundry and dishes can wait; the house can be tidied up later; you don’t need to go to the store - the kids can eat cheese and crackers for lunch the next day - that all doesn’t matter.

This matters…

I think the biggest accomplishment was the fact that Clay and I didn’t argue one time while on our adventure. A miracle, really! That shit was stressful!

As we were riding in, Lilly was sad our adventure was over and said “I’m gonna miss the sea.”