Get Your Kicks on Route 66...or Hwy 27, whatever works....

We got home from the beach last night around 11pm. You should know that the trip down to Panama City Beach took us approximately 7 1/2 hours...give or take. Going home? We left the condo at 9:30am local time (10:30 GA time) and got home at 11:02pm last night. That's right, folks...12 1/2 hours later we arrived in Georgia at what had to be, at that time, the most beautiful house I'd ever seen. It's amazing how a sore bottom and ears weary of hearing children fighting in the backseat can transform any place into 'home, sweet home!!' What made the trip take so long? Well, let's see...

(a) a one-hour long stop at Alvin's Island for souvenirs
(b) a gas fill-up and potty break.
(c) a stop to re-secure the cover on dad's wheelchair (it turned itself on and almost rolled out of the back of the pickup; good thing it was pinned down.)
(d) a stop to move the cooler off the top of my car after the whistling almost sent Casey and me to the nuthouse....I couldn't take it!
(e) another potty break
(f) another fill-up that turned into a snack break
(g) hot boiled peanuts. On the side of the road
(h) a trip through Blakely, Ga, looking for lunch. The Garmin (Serena is her name) took us to three restaurants that don't actually exist (Casey said, 'wouldn't it be funny if this second restaurant (Mama's Place) were at somebody's house?)...when Serena said, 'arriving at location on right,' we looked to the right..and saw a house. With no sign. Grr.
(i) another fill-up
(j) leap frog so dad could get in the front after Serena tried to take me down a dirt road that didn't look right at all. Dad and his faithful atlas decided it was time to comandeer the course.

I wish I could have gotten to a keyboard on the way home last night to record some of the conversations in the backseat...but given the fact that (a) I was driving and (b) it is now illegal for people my age to do anything on a cell phone while driving except make and receive phone calls (good for them....hard habit to break for me, I admit.), I had to wait until now.

For those of you who were previously unaware, my father invited us to accompany them to the beach for a few days for a nice getaway and so that my bonus babies could spend some time with their other cousin, Evan (visiting here from NC for a couple of weeks). Off we went. For the trip down to PCB, Casey and I had the girls and MeMa and Papa had the boys. We swapped on the way home so everyone could benefit from the newly installed (thanks to Casey) portable DVD players in MeMa and Papa's truck. Somewhere around ArmPit, Georgia, I got put in the driver's seat because Brenda (aka MeMa) was falling asleep at the wheel. Off we went.

The following conversations are in no particular order...but a couple of them made me almost lose control of my vehicle...and one or two were as convicting as a sermon...so there ya have it.

Do you have fast glue?
Corbin and Evan both got wooden swords at the beach (I'm not sure whose idea this was, but....yeah.) Casey and I both bet that they wouldn't last 10 minutes once we got home before they got broken. We were both wrong. Corbin broke his sword before we ever left the Sunshine state (aka FL.) In his attempt to repair said sword, the following conversation ensued:

Corbin: Evan, check in your pocket to see if you have any fast glue.
Evan: I do not have any fast glue at my home.
C: But check in your pocket to see if you have any fast glue.
E: But I do not have any fast glue at my home.
C: That is not the question!

Let's Wrassle!
Somehow we got on the discussion of the military and the army, and Corbin asked Evan if he knew the song, "I'm in the Lord's Army." Evan confirmed that he did. They started singing the song. In case you missed VBS, Children's Church, or Children's Choir for the last several years, here are the lyrics:

I may never march in the infantry,
ride in the cavalry,
shoot the artillery,
I may never zoom o'er the enemy
but I'm in the Lord's Army (Yes, Sir!)

I'm in the Lord's Army (Yes, Sir!)
I'm in the Lord's Army (Yes, Sir!)

I may never march in the infantry,
ride in the calvary,
shoot the artillery,
I may never zoom o'er the enemy
but I'm in the Lord's Army (Yes, Sir!)

Simple, right? (Yes, I hear some of you singing along! Way to go!)

Now...for the alternate lyrics (brought to you by my nephew and Bonus Baby)

I may never march in the infa'try,
ride in the calvary,
shoot the utilities,
I may never wrassle (not wrestle...that's what people up north do..down here they wrassle) the enemy,
but I'm in the Lord's Army.

Just so you know, Evan made sure to add his credentials (I guess in an attempt to validate that these were indeed the words to the song..."One time I went for 4 days to 2 Vacation Bible Schools!") Who knew?

The A Word...
I'm not sure how, but the kids discussed EVERYTHING....including profanity (not sure how it came up....but I veered them in a different direction as quickly as possible.)I think it started when I mentioned not watching a particular movie without the TV Guardian because of all the bad language. Corbin told Evan that "Becky doesn't use bad words because she goes to church. Like, every Sunday. Like, all the time. Except that one weekend when she had to miss because my daddy was sick. And he was upset because he couldn't go to church."

It's amazing that even little kids associate every part of your life as a whole and they know what should and shouldn't go together. They recognize hypocrisy (even though they may not know what the word means) when they see it, even though we may call it "making an example," "teaching a lesson," or even "being an adult." Kids see right through it. Someone told me one time they liked me better than someone else...when I asked them why, their response was, "because you act the same all the time, no matter who's around." Wow. I don't say that to my credit. That's my goal in life...as a teacher, a wife, a daughter, a bonus mama, a sister, and ultimately as a Christian. I don't ever want anyone (especially the three sets of eyes...well, six if you count my nieces and nephews) to be able to look at my life and recognize that I'm churchy when it's church time (or when it makes me look good to some) and worldly when it's to my benefit. What a checkup for me. I have some changes that need to be made...soon. Disclaimer...this blog is aimed at noone in particular, (well, except me.). Promise, cross my heart. It was more convicting to me than anything. Please don't read into it about who I'm judging and who I'm trying to act better than. I'm not. If the shoe fits and you feel it's time for a change in your life, good for you---put the shoes on and walk around in them. If you get a laugh out of what Corbin said and nothing more, good for you. I'm glad I could make you laugh :)

So...now we're home. There is schoolwork to be done. Ansleigh volunteered (I promise!) to mop the kitchen floor this morning. She threw in a cabinet cleaning for good measure. Skyla helped me scrub the toilet and the tub, mop, and refill the toilet paper holder. She has appointed herself as MeMa's new housekeeper. Ivy came in and volunteered (again, promises..no coaxing!) to mop the bathroom floor. I let her. And I'm okay with that. :) On to fixing lunch for the motley crew and doing some more laundry. :)