Traveling fun as a family of 6

 We decided to take our 1st family outing as a family of 6 - so we headed to Vicksburg, MS for a quick trip.  It's not too far from home, and David has been wanting to visit the battlefield.  When I told the boys where we were going, Alex asked about the details - how far, where are we staying, etc.  He asked what was in the town, and when I told him a battlefield he said "I knew it!  Daddy loves those places..."

 During the 1st part of our drive through the 16 mile long tour of the battlefield, Alex decided that he wanted to run from one stop to the next through the field.  Nate joined him, and they started out very enthusiastically.  However, by the end of the run the tall grass and hills started to get to them (but thankfully they made it!)  Note the two small kids in the lower right of the picture...and they ran to the white building in the upper left part of the picture...

Visiting the USS Cairo

 

Anna and I mostly stayed in the car, since it was pretty hot and she started getting a little fussy

 And we read the brochure after this picture was taken that no climbing on any weapons is allowed....oh dear!

Anna sits in the shade while her brothers play at a park

And of course, the best part of any trip is the chance to swim in the pool at the hotel, right?  Even Anna enjoyed the pool!

And certainly I shouldn't encourage this, but I couldn't resist taking a picture of Will after he "labeled" his seat in the minivan.  Why did I ever let him hold a Sharpie marker?  Anyway, just in case you are wondering which seat is Will's seat in the minivan, now it is forever marked as his.  He was warned not to EVER do that again.  And yes, those are the ground-up crumbs of 2000 goldfish on the floor.

I wasn't exactly sure what to expect on the trip, but I figured that Anna would do fine in a different setting since she is a sweet natured baby.  However, sleeping in a hotel is a whole different story.  And I used to think traveling with 3 kids was a lot, but now I know that traveling with 4 kids is even more exciting!  I have to say, however, that I am very grateful for the marked change that I noticed in my daughter from the last time we stayed in a hotel together (in China) till now.  In China, poor Anna couldn't tolerate being held for long at all and cried until I put her in the crib.  Now, it is a totally different story - she would cry the minute I put her down in the crib in the hotel room, and she only wanted me to hold her.  We were all grateful to come back home, but I literally heard Anna let out a big sigh when I put her to bed in her own crib that first night back home.  I love that she is such a wonderful part of our family, and she completely feels at home with us now.  So - we had a great trip - BUT we are all thankful to be home!