Adventures in Babysitting

This weekend we attempted a challenge, taking care of five kids under 5 for the day. We had the Rikalo kids over Friday night while their parents had a getaway. We had pizza, bathed and got them to bed relatively unscathed, though we were tired afterward.
On Saturday we woke up and had eggs and pancakes for breakfast before the real challenge began when the Day girls joined us. We somehow managed to gather all of our stuff and load up in the Suburban by 9:30 for a trip to the beach. Five kids, two adults, and a wagon of stuff. We arrived and sunscreened all the kids as they excited the vehicle and sat in the back. The it was off to the beach, while Judah helped pull an Charlie helped push the wagon. What helpful gentleman. The girls held hand and led the way and Jamie brought up the rear with the lunch cooler.

After some rolling in the grass hills we hit the sand. The kids all were in bathing suits and immediately headed to the water to get their feet wet in the waves. Joe was able to join us after awhile and it was really helpful to have another adult for potty runs. We had a picnic lunch of pizza and grapes. Then the kids took a walk down the beach. Sadly Jamie and Charlie stepped on something pokey which made Charlie very sad. Be snuggled with me for awhile after that while the kids headed back to the grass. Soon enough it was time to pack up. We only had to stop once on the way home to get water out of the back for Brynn and Chloe. The boys went right to sleep and the girls had quiet time.

After quiet time the girls and I headed out to the pool and sunshine. They ran through a makeshift sprinkler and tried to swim. It was too cold though so I tried adding some hot water to no avail. These were the same kids in the sound that morning. After awhile they got dressed and the boys started waking up. Jamie made popcorn for snack and we continued to play and enjoy the sun. We ended in the front with wagon rides and chalk when Jentry arrived. We made dinner for the rest of the kids and did baths as Rikalos arrived.

Friday also happened to be my Birthday. So to celebrate Jamie arranged for Mallory to babysit so we could go to the iPic theater in Redmond for Iron Man 3. It was a great end to the day!