August 3, 2011 Life is a Day at the Beach

What is life like in our family of 11?  Will I ever be able to remember all the fun and frustration years from now?  Will my kids?  So, this is our attempt at capturing those memories.

Here it is, already August.  I don't feel like we've had much time just to hang out together.  I decided that today was going to be different.  

The four younger girls and I piled into the van and headed for Calumet Park via Skyway Dogs.  Calumet is the neighborhood closest to the Indiana border and not an area that I have explored before.  Perfect!  I love to be surprised, to investigate new neighborhoods.  Our trip was interrupted when the drawbridge over the Calumet River was raised just as we approached it.  We could see that this process was going to take some time, so we turned off the car and walked to the edge of the road.  We joined two avid bridge watchers, (I guess that's what you'd call them) who were happy to share their knowledge with us.  They explained that the ship being tugged and pushed down the river was a Canadian ship delivering road salt. 
The girls loved eating their Chicago style hot dogs (plus ketchup) at an outdoor picnic table outside of Skyway Dogs.  I got a shaggy dog...dog plus sauerkraut, yum!
The Calumet Beach was nice...not crowded, easy parking, bathrooms.  We jumped in the waves, built sandcastles, and collected rocks for hours.  Emma and Annaliese searched for sea or beach glass.  They found plenty, though it is getting harder to find now that most drinks are packaged in plastic.  They also found a goodly amount of fossil rocks, crinoids.  Linnea and I created a spiral shell- shaped sand fortress.  It took many disasters before we perfected our design.  We were wondering...does Lake Michigan have a tide?  Must look that up.  Sonja enjoyed it all.  
As we were sitting down to supper some kids walked by and admired the treehouse.  They asked if they could just go up into it.  I said "sure" thinking they would climb up, take a look, and be on their way.  They made themselves at home, even sweeping it clean.  Next thing I knew they were using our bathroom and asking to play the Wii.  Apparently they were out selling candy and sunflower seeds to raise money for their church choir to go on tour.  Hmmm.  Bought some of both, gave them cups of water, sprayed them with Off.  They played with our toys and swung on our swings.  The most outspoken boy said he'd never met anyone so nice.  Not sure about that; I'm thinking I'm a bit of a pushover.  Finally had to send the group packing...nicely :)  
I made my special bubble concoction this morning for Sonja.  (The secret ingredient is glycerin which I had to order on the internet.  Used to be able to get it at Walgreens.)  We created bubbles within bubbles and stuck scissors into bubbles without popping them.  Fascinating stuff.
So, my idea is to let the kids each contribute to this on-going blog.  I'd love to hear their impressions of life as a Miller.