Pulaski Paradise...

This past week we hit the road for our first trip since Thanksgiving. As opposed to our Idaho trek though, we only had one day of traveling this time, not three. It was so nice knowing we'd be at our destination the same day that we left and all the craziness in the car would soon end. The kids actually did fairly well. We planned stops about every 2-3 hours so they could get out and burn some energy. It was strapping them back in that became a problem. I had looked on google maps for some parks we could play at during our scheduled stops but they all ended up being pretty sketchy and dirty (I couldn't really tell those things from the map) so we stopped at a store or rest stop instead. I rented eight short videos from the library and also bought some 'last thirty minutes of the trip surprises' so that we would survive the 12 hour drive to Pulaski, TN. Pulaski is about as rural as I've ever experienced. No street lights, no neighbors close by, no cell service, no internet, etc... In a way it was kind of cool because we were all disconnected but we also felt a little nervous not being able to reach anyone if we needed to.

So why Pulaski?? Well it's about halfway between Clark's sister's family and us and we found an AWESOME five bedroom rental home that had everything we needed/wanted there. Plus it was dirt cheap compared to rentals closer to Nashville. The rental description titled the property 'Pulaski Paradise'  and paradise it was.

I mean, what's paradise without seven kids under six?

The mommies on the bus go shhhh, shhhhhh, shhhh...

The babies on the bus go wah, wah, wah....

Trying to sing the verse about windows but Sam had to speak with Zachary about an owie...

and Ezra had to give Leah a big kiss...

Now they're back on track...

It was nice having lots of kids around the same age because we could all entertain them pretty easily with the same activities.  Of course we had to have the 'saggiest diaper' competition.  Zachary took home the gold.  We were so proud...

The property itself was pretty awesome.  It was on 125 acres and had a ton of stuff to do.  Here is the view from the driveway.  It had three floors but only two were liveable and one of those two was just a loft for sleeping.  The main floor had a screened in porch that wrapped around the entire house which was perfect for all the kids especially because the inside living area wasn't all that big.  The bottom porch was open and just had a bunch of chairs and games.  Like I said, we were pretty tucked away.

Clark's brother and his wife also flew into Tennessee to join the fun/chaos.  They were enjoying breakfast outside on the porch our first morning.  We would LOVE to have a porch like that...

Like I mentioned, the inside living area wasn't all the big for all of us but Adley and Clark still managed to fit all the Legos in the middle of everything.  This was just one of the many cool things Adley did with his uncles...

  There was a little lake on the property that wasn't swimmable but had a few boats to row around.  We were out for a morning walk and thought it'd be fun to put the kids in....

but then I suddenly realized that it was a bad idea.  Having all three kids in a rickety boat that may or may not tip/sink/capsize caused serious anxiety for me and I wanted to get out as soon as we got in.  Don't let our smiles fool you.  The kids thought it was cool though since we talk a lot about boats and have never been close to or in one.

I think the biggest hit of all, even more so than the boats, was the mini golf!  Everyone loved it and there were about seven holes with moveable cement blocks so you could make the hole however difficult you wanted.  When it wasn't blazing hot outside, it was fun to go hit the ball around.

Right next to mini golf were some hammocks which Ani loved.  She also loved doting on the triplets.  She took them for walks and held their hands everywhere.  Leah loved having a girl around to do something beside playing with trains and trucks.  Ani took all the kids one afternoon and informed me she'd be at the benches babysitting them.  What a good little babysitter she was!

(Even though it was super hot, Leah refused to take her hat off.  One month ago we couldn't get a hat near her head without her screaming.  Weird...)

Down on the lower deck we played some corn hole and ping pong.  Zachary was cheating and trying to convince Sam to do the same.  Sam knew better though and wasn't about to do such a thing...

Zachary was really getting into it and Caleb couldn't focus on playing because he was counting his giant checkers...

Action shot of Adley scoring on Aunt Amy!  It was like a $50 fine if we lost a ping pong ball so when it rolled off the porch poor Adley had to go on a hunt through the long grass.  He always found it though!

Uncle Bob out with the older kids.  I felt more comfortable taking a picture from this angle where there was ground beneath my feet.

This was Caleb after having a meltdown during mini golf.  He could not part with his trains but he had too many in his hands to carry while also holding a golf club.  He was getting super frustrated and freaking out.  Nothing a hug from Dad couldn't fix...

I don't know what Zachary was doing but he was going to town banging that thing on the porch.

And now to the highlight of Pulaski.  Beside the hammocks, mini golf, ping pong, corn hole, shuffle board, boats, and the wrap-around-porch, there was a GIANT hill.  We knew it existed from the pictures so we all agreed that a slip n'slide was in order.  We purchased a 10x100 box of black plastic and knew it was going to be awesome.  Of course once we laid it out on the massive hill, the men thought it needed to be longer.  So they headed out and bought 100 more feet of plastic for a slip n'slide totaling 200 feet!

After a few trial runs, we realized the black plastic was scorching hot and the ground was pretty bumpy.  Luckily Tisha had brought some blow up tubes and we went down on those.  It took some skill to steer yourself to try and stay on the plastic but after a couple times we got the hang of it.  The slip n'slide was crazy fun, fast, and definitely worked everyone over.  That night we could all hardly move and had grass rashes, bruises, and cuts.  We decided the next day we'd just use the white tarp at the bottom of the hill and take it a little easier.  The next morning, the older kids played on the slide for a few hours and even the trio went down a few times on our laps.  We just couldn't cycle through them fast enough so they cried for 99% of the time they were out there.  We put them down for a nap and enjoyed the slide without them.  For the next family reunion, we're thinking another 100 feet of plastic will make for a perfect slide.  :)

We had such a good time and were exhausted pretty much the whole time we were there.  From getting up early with the kids, playing outside in the heat, and staying up late talking, candy and sugar were essential to help keep us awake.  We had really simple meals planned and didn't spent hardly any time in the kitchen which was nice.  We had a massive amount of candy, chocolate, and cake and spent our last night there getting nice and fat.  We even had to opt out of making rice krispies and a second funfetti cake which we had planned to do.  That's how much candy there was.

Our family of five shared two rooms and a bathroom.  Zachary and Caleb roomed together the first night which ended up being a disaster.  So Caleb ended up sleeping in our closet and slept awesome.  He naps in our closet at home (because he's so loud when he wakes up and wakes the other two) so I think he just likes pitch black, enclosed spaces.  Who knows.   He somehow smuggled some trains in there with him so at 5am he was running the trains on the wall and door.  Not very quietly either.  Poor Leah slept in the bathroom but I think that was the quietest place so she ended up sleeping pretty well too.  It just meant we couldn't open the doors to the bathroom because her pack n' play was there.  :)

We didn't play any games or watch any movies which I knew we wouldn't so none of us brought any.  We really just enjoyed hanging out and spending time together.  Since all the kids were in bed by 7pm we had lots of time to relax and eat our candy.  Pulaski Paradise was totally chaotic at all times but not stressful at all.  We loved it.   Thanks to Adley's picture-taking skills, we were able to get a picture of all the sleep-deprived adults. 

It was so great to see family since we don't live near anyone and can't wait to do it again! Pulaski maybe?