Browns for a week

Brian's sister Amy had the opportunity to travel to Budapest with her husband Mark to stay with some friends and then also visit London. She had a dilemma with what to do with her 6 darling children. Hmmm, she called to see if I'd be willing to fly out to Minnesota and stay with her kids for a week for her to travel. Wahoo! On Tuesday, April 2, Amy flew Elliott and I out to the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport where she picked us up and drove us to their town of Rochester. 

Elliott at the airport early Tuesday morning. Our exciting adventure begins!

 Elliott is happy to be on the plane, despite his expression. He was a great flyer! He even told me when he needed to go potty and used the scary, small airplane toilet. He was pretty quiet and was entertained by the seat-back trays. 

 However, I did remind him several times that the window cover was not a toy and that he couldn't keep pulling it down and back up and back down and so on. 

 Our plane landed around noon, we found our luggage and then Amy picked us up and took us to their house. We spent the afternoon playing with the kids in the chilly spring weather of Minnesota. Elliott loved the playset in the backyard here with Miriam. 

 One of the bike chains slipped off and I was pretty amazed that I could fix it myself!

 In the backyard, notice that Elliott is bundled up for winter while Asher rides around in a t-shirt. 

 Lili shooting some hoops.

 It was a lovely bright afternoon and Elliott and I were happy to be there!

 It was awesome to have some time to watch how things are managed with 6+ children. I watched the dinner, after dinner chore routine as well as showers, pjs, and bedtime routines with Amy in charge of it all. I felt confident I could handle it for a week.  Then on Wednesday morning while I helped Miriam with her necklace, I accidentally dropped the flower charm down the bathroom sink. A quick trip past Home Depot and Holden and I took apart the pea trap and cleaned it out, finding several hair clips along with the missing flower charm. 

I was glad Amy hung around for a day before I was on my own. After dinner on Tuesday night, we took all the kids to Chuckie Cheeses. Chaos then ensued with Asher having an accident and Elliott climbing up into a tunnel and pooping in his underwear and refusing to come down. I didn't have any pullups or wipes since he is potty-trained. Amy backed me up with wipes and a princess pullup of shame that Elliott had to wear and I threw away the poopy underwear. We survived the week although Elliott regressed to wearing pullups again. So many kids and a new environment was apparently a little traumatic for my little guy. 

It was terribly exciting to have so many kids to play with and new things to explore. Amy and Mark have a small trampoline in their basement and it was awesome!

 With such a long cold winter, an indoor tramp is a great way to use up all that kid energy. Elliott, Miriam and Asher are enjoying it here. 

 Amy left on Wednesday afternoon and we didn't have any other catastrophes. On Thursday we went to the McDonalds with a playplace for lunch. I had a great navigator in Holden and he had to use the smartphone since I can only use stupid phones. Eliza, Jonas and Miriam driving the car. 

 Miss Lili on the swing.

 Elliott coming down the stairs. 

 Holden was such a big helper and watched all our stuff while everyone played. (Plus at almost 11, he thinks he's too big for kid stuff.)

This week was spring break for the Browns so all the kids were home from school. Being the awesome aunt that I am, I brought fingernail polish and stickers for some pampering. The girls were almost as excited as I was for this. 

 Asher was way more interested in playing with the happy meal toys. But he did allow me to paint his toes clear. 

 The beauties Lili, Eliza and Miriam with their striped, sparkling and flowery toes and fingers. 

 I decided to make some banana bread and quickly had helpful volunteers to help. 

 It looked like so much fun that Elliott and Jonas had to drag chairs over to help Miriam, Eliza, Lili and I. It was helpful to have the kids around to help me find measuring spoons and bowls and all the ingredients. 

 Plus, with so many stirrers, I hardly had to do a thing!

 Luckily the kids didn't get too bored - or at least they didn't complain to me that there was nothing to do. Elliott had a rough time playing with so many other little people around. Every time he set down a toy, someone else would pick it up, resulting in meltdowns and tantrums for Elliott. I tried to be understanding and patient since at home, when he sets down a toy, it sits there until he picks it up again. Only-child-syndrome I call it. But we made it through the week.

 Lili and Holden checking their emails for updates from Mark and Amy. 

 I think Asher felt a little left out of all the girlie stuff so while I painted nails, he played games on my kindle. 

As mother of a boy, I was terrified by the thought of doing hair for 3 girls, but I think I did quite well. 

 Ta-Da! Matching hairdos! And Miriam wore her pumpkin shirt since she knew orange was my favorite color. That is how sweet she is. Also, these girls are cuddly - if I sat for more than a few minutes, one or two would be snuggled up next to me. 

 On Friday we needed to get out of the house and so we went on a picnic to a bigger park downtown. We all had jackets and coats since the temperature was in the high 30s. And right after we got there, Eliza said she had to go potty. Well, the bathrooms were still locked for the winter, so I took her to the car and made her wear a pullup. Problem solved!

Holden at the top of the spiderweb with Lili climbing up. 

 Elliott on the playground with a random boy in the blue coat.

 Asher and Lili at the very top in what they call the jail. 

 Our awesome picnic! Everything stayed nice and cold without ice! Lili helped me make all the sandwiches and we had grapes and strawberries and cookies and pretzels from Trader Joe's too. 

 I think Miriam took this picture of Eliza and I. 

Friday night we deemed movie night and we made the living room super comfy and had popcorn.

 We watched Wreck It Ralph for the bajillionth time. 

 Saturday morning was LDS General Conference and with Eastern Standard time, it came on later so in the morning we made a trip to the dollar store where everyone picked out 2 items. We came home with a few whoopie cushions and various candy. Luckily for Amy, the whoopie cushions popped before she came home. I had printed out conference bingo cards and we pulled out puzzles to keep the kids entertained. I had to take a video of how loud the kids were to remember the craziness. The sound on the tv is pretty loud, but you can barely hear a few words in the video over the shrieks of laughter. I don't know how Lili could fall asleep over on the couch, but she managed. I tried to listen to conference, but mostly I just enjoyed having so many little kids around. 

On Sunday morning I braided Lili's hair and then braided mine to match!

 Sunday was such a nice warm day so between conference sessions, we all went out to play!

 Miriam, Eliza and Lili on the swings. 

 The girls on the swings with Asher on the slide and Elliott at the top.

Monday morning brought a return to school and Holden had to leave really early for an early bus to math. Then Lili and Asher left too. Later we all went out to the garage to wait for Miriam's ride to preschool. I managed to get Jonas and Eliza down for naps, but no luck with Elliott so I didn't get a nap either. Then all the kids returned home for after school snacks and to help me get ready for dinner. Holden was invaluable as I had never heard of perogies and wasn't sure how to cook them, but with his help we figured it out.

 Then Tuesday was our last day alone as Amy and Mark arrived home around 6 in the evening. Before Amy left, I asked her when on earth she ever showered. I didn't quite know how to fit it in while taking care of 7 kids. But she said after breakfast the kids could sit and watch tv or a movie and would be fine long enough to shower. By the end of my week I was exhausted and was getting sick and so I had all the kids pile in Amy's bed and watch tv while I showered and got ready. They sure are a cute site!

Wednesday morning a shuttle picked up Elliott and I and took us back to the airport. While waiting for our flight, I realized Elliott had a fever and he ended up sleeping the entire flight home. Back in Salt Lake Brian picked us up ans took us straight to the instacare. Elliott had an ear infection - his first ever and we got him some antibiotics. I was glad to be at home again, but I really enjoyed staying in Minnesota and getting to know my nieces and nephews better. It was lots of fun ans I was glad Elliott and I were able to help.