Jack Douglas Maynes is FINALLY HERE!!!

HE'S HERE!!!  Safe and sound and in one perfect little piece!!

JACK DOUGLAS MAYNES

born Saturday, August 25, 2012

weighing in at 6 lbs 14oz and was 20 1/2 in long

This little boy is so sweet, and mellow!  We almost worried about his hearing because he hardly flinches at loud noises which is going to be a definite bonus in our house.  He rarely cries.  He loves to be touched and held, and will let just about anyone hold him as long as he's fed and changed.  He LOVES to eat, and started nursing without any problem!  He's really just been the perfect baby as far as we're concerned.  We were happy to have such a pleasant delivery, with very little complications and with nothing really to speak of by way of difficulties.  He's been such a blessing already.

Here's how he got here:

Saturday morning, we got up bright and early to get kids ready to go to Aunt Jen's house.  I had the little letters and boondoggle keychains I'd made them all ready to go.  (I wanted them to have something to remind them of me, or hold when they were homesick, or sad, or whatever... mostly to ease my mind obviously :) )  I was able to give those to them.  I was so happy when I heard Erika repeating to Nate what I had told her about the necklace, "when me sad, me hold it and think about Mommy".  Awwwww.  Yes, that was a highlight of my morning.  The other kids seemed to like theirs and I was happy I'd taken the extra time to finish them the night before.  I always give the kids a little letter when I go off to have a baby.  They deserve to be thanked for all that they did to help us get ready to have the baby, and they deserve to hear how much I love them and will miss them during the next few days while I am in the hospital.  I love doing that.

 We had it all planned out, we needed to leave here by 8:30 to get the kids breakfast, then to Jen's and then us to the hospital by 10:30.  Well, at about 7:50, the hospital called me to ask if we could possibly be to the hospital by 9:00!!  I was anxious to have this baby and admittedly the tone in the lady's voice made me think she was going to cancel the appointment altogether, so I figured I'd take what I could get.  We quickly piled everyone in the car, right then (the only thing we hadn't done was hair!  mine and the girls', so kinda a bummer, but whatever, we're having a baby!) 

So we made like crazy people and hauled it out to West Jordan to dump the kids off with some McD's.  Then even faster to the hospital.  We actually got there right at 9:00 on the dot!  Couldn't believe it!

They started getting me hooked up to everything, we did all the paper work, sat a lot, remembered that Nate still hadn't given me a blessing so we did that then as well.  It was a long 2 hours... always is, but this time, I was too anxious!  And apparently I'm "thick skinned" as the nurse called it, when she couldn't stick the needle into the bones in my hand.  Seriously, she did a horrible job, and I tried to be patient because heaven knows how many people I screwed up on when I was doing phlebotomy.  But seriously, I was in pain!!  I could imagine myself in the hospital bed after the c-section and needing pain killers right away because of my hands!!  It took 2 nurses and 4 tries to find the vein that they ended up leaving my IV in.  Although they had hit a valve and had to keep backing the needle out and moving it around.  Such a pain.  I wish there was a way to stay hydrated without eating or drinking.  My veins are good when I've been able to drink enough before hand.

At about 11:00, Nate got dressed for the surgery and they walked us down to the OR.  This is when my body starts to freak out.  It's so funny.  I just start shaking like crazy.  I look cold, but I'm really just nervous.  It's totally annoying though.  You don't want to be shaking when they stick that mile-long needle up your back!  

Speaking of... the epidural this time was amazing!  Almost no pain!!!  And usually this is when I lose it and the pain overtakes me.  So this was quite the little miracle for me!  I felt the numbing almost immediately.  I really wish I could give the anesthesiologist a tip!  He did fantastic!  And that's saying a lot considering I've had 7!

I couldn't believe how fast they got me open.  I let go of Nate's hand so he could stand up and snap a few pictures:

The moment that they took him out and he started to cry was a very special moment.  Hearing your baby cry for the first time is always special, but there was something about Jack's cry.  I feel like he and I had been somewhat distant at the end there and my focus was so much on getting him out that when I finally had him out, and could hear him, it hit me, that that baby crying was MY baby!  It felt unreal.  I totally started bawling because I was so excited about it all.  

I laid there in awe of it all as they sewed me up.  Seemed to take so much longer this time.  And I was totally jealous of everyone who was enjoying my baby.  The nurses were really loud and boisterous as they weighed him and measured him and that's always hard for me.  To think everyone else gets to be part of that and I don't.  But just as always, I tried to put that aside :).  Nate was there with him and I knew Nate would enjoy it enough for both of us :).  I was happy to have him here and knew that I would get to hold him eventually.  Dr. Thackeray and his assistant talked about all the steps to sewing me back up and the entire c-section marveled at how well I have healed, how good everything inside of me looks and that I could "have 2 or 3 more kids!"  They were amazed.  This made me cry too because I realized that Heavenly Father is the one that has made all these c-sections (and thus, all these kids) possible.  He gave us a doctor who could do a good job, then be sensitive to the needs of my body enough to know that we were fine having another one.  Only certain doctors are willing to do this many c-sections.  It's a huge blessing we found him.  And I don't think it was a mistake at all.  It's such a blessing to feel that tender mercy of the Lord's.  I will stop wondering if this is what he wants for us.  I know it is.

Once I was sewn up, they wheeled us to the recovery room.  They let me hold Jack down the hallway.  I was happy about that and I got to watch his cute little eyes squinting with each overhead light that we passed under.  So cute!

This is the one moment in time that makes the torture of the pregnancy all worth it. This very one.  The one where I get to see my precious little one, hold him in my arms, and feel him looking at me.  Rubbing little Jack's cheeks and chin and knowing that he was given to me from our Heavenly Father to love and to care for, and knowing that I already love him more than life itself.  I already feel so much love that I would do anything for that little guy.  It's incredible how it all works.  This moment is the one that makes it feel like we are together and the rest of the world has stopped.  I couldn't trade this moment of my life for anything.  With all of my babies.  I cherish it.

We usually share this time with Daddy by having him give the new little one a blessing.  And that we did for Jack.  It's such a sweet thing.  You could just feel the Spirit so strongly.  I know this little guy has a special Spirit.  I hope we can be the parents he needs.

Dr. Thackeray sat down and talked with us a little in the recovery room.  He always does this, and explains how good everything looked.  This time he mentioned that he had decided to make a new incision on my uterus since the only one had gotten kind of thin and because my bladder was sort of in the way.  He said this is perfectly normal and especially for someone who's had 7 c-sections.  He mentioned also that he had sewn up 2 layers on the uterus because it was a thicker spot.  (This was all very interesting and I wasn't sure why it mattered, but later on in the week I am finding that the "incision pain" really is higher, and not down by my outside one... in fact I feel almost no pain in the incision on the outside of my body.  Probably because of scar tissue.... but anyway)  Then he presented us with this little gift.  I thought it was adorable so I made Nate take a picture.

We made it up to our room, on the 3rd floor.  And shortly after that, the visitors started rolling in....

I couldn't believe how many visitors we got with him being our 7th baby.  It's really nice to know that there are supporters out there :)  And that we have their love.  Not that I don't think anyone else does, I understand not being able to make it to the hospital.  It just really is meaningful when ya can.

Jen had the kids all day Saturday and most of the day Sunday.  She took them up to Nate's parents' house and they got to play with their cousins.  Charity and Kelly got to ride with Grandma and Grandpa up to Payson.  This seemed special to me because a lot of my favorite memories with my grandparents were on long drives.  I imagine Grandma Ruthie teaching them new songs and talking about her childhood.  I think they enjoyed it.  Erika had the privilege of attending a shower with her Aunts.  I guess she was a little shy and spent most of the time on Jen's lap, but I thought it was cute that they took her.

Thanks to Jen, Nate was able to spend the night there with me that first night.  The whole first day had been really nice since I was not feeling any pain at all.  I knew it was coming eventually, but it hadn't yet, so we took advantage of it.  That first night, we noticed that my IV line was causing some slight swelling in my arm (COMPLETE UNDERSTATEMENT.  My arm had a lump the size of an Easter egg growing on it!).  It was extremely painful and the minute I looked at it, it brought tears to my eyes.  We called the nurse down, found out it was "infiltrated" and luckily got to have the thing removed permanently!  My hand was totally bruised and actually quite painful every time the blood pressure cuff was inflated.  So it was a relief to have that thing out of there.

The first night went well.  Jack and I were buds all night.  But I did enjoy the fact that he would actually sleep in the basinette thing.  NONE of our babies have EVER slept in those!  He was such an angel... still is... from day 1.

Sunday morning came, after the usual hourly interruptions from nurses, phlebotomists, inventory takers, you name it, and I was still feeling pretty good.  Just very tired.  I did want to get up and take my shower and everything, so I insisted that they remove the catheter, which they did!  YAY!  And I was able to shower and get all nice and clean before our Sunday visitors started rolling in.  Nate's parents and Meg and Sierra came first.  That was a lot of fun to sit and visit with them.  I love one on one (or however many people we were :) ) time with them.  And I love letting Ruth hold our babies... she has a special love for them, and I love witnessing that.

It was while they were visiting that I started to kind of feel some of the pain that I had been anticipating all day.  It's funny how it just creeps up on ya.  I requested my drugs and we got started on that crazy roller coaster. 

A little bit later in the day, my favorite visitors of all, and Jack's too :) showed up!  Jen brought the kids up to swap cars with Nate.  Nancy and her family came as well.  It was SO FUN to show off Jack to his big brothers and sisters who had been looking so forward to meeting him!!  The love and the Spirit that you could feel in that room was priceless!!  I loved it :)

We had planned to let the kids all hold them going oldest to youngest to avoid any big fighting.  Charity was first.  You can see how cool she felt.  

And you can imagine Kelly's dismay when people started passing him off to other people, when it was supposed to be her turn.  She even cried.  I can't believe how anxious, how devoted, and how in love they were with this little baby before they had even held him!  Now that is the power of family.  They all witnessed my ups and downs with the pregnancy, they all had to be patient with my sick days and towards the end there, they all had to do the things that I was unable to do.  They all worked hard to get him here and therefore were subjected to the love that you start to feel when you serve someone.  I think it's such an incredible system Heavenly Father has created to encourage love, and to build up relationships.  It just fascinates me.  

Noah announced that "He doesn't have eyebwows!"  And kept asking me why he didn't have any :).  I couldn't help but laugh because.... well... look at Noah... he barely has any himself :)  They're so light ;).  But totally cute if you ask me.  That he made that observation.

Erika has waited for this day forever!  We've talked about holding him and loving him the whole pregnancy!  She was on a cloud holding her little Jack Jack.  I loved watching her enjoy that moment!

Oh, and FINALLY Kelly got her turn!  She was happier when she was holding Jack :).  She worked so hard to get this baby here.  She and Charity both (well, all of them- I can't even single any of them out!).  But Kelly worked very hard.  She did so much for me the past few months.  I really don't think our home would have survived this pregnancy without my big kids!  She also worked very hard on that blanket that Jack is in.  She picked out the material, brought it home and cut the fringe all by herself, and then tied it ALL BY HERSELF, all the night before he was born!  And then brought it with her to the hospital to give to him as a gift from Kelly :).  How sweet is that!!  She is so thoughtful.

I still need to get a picture of him in the one that EVERYONE made for him!  That one snuck in the pocket of my bag and got overlooked at the hospital... we thought we'd left it home.  So it wasn't in any of the pictures or moments there at the hospital.  Kind of a bummer.  But we'll get it out!

Awww, Bradley and his little bro!  He told me the day before that he "knew what his job was going to be!  He's going to be in charge of teaching Jack how to walk and talk."  And that he was going to get started on it the next day!!  What a cutie.  He's anxious for Jack to be bigger and playable :), but he LOVES to hold him.  It's so cute to see my handsome big boy with my sweet little one.  Just adorable.

Look at that scrunched up little face!!  SO SWEET!!  I love all his ripples when he was born.

And finally Luke!  He was so patient and waited his turn so well.  I loved listening to him giggle about each noise and each little, tiny body part.  He's so funny.

We tried to get some pictures of everyone enjoying him together.  Kinda hard with so many :)

They really couldn't get enough of him.

I was amazed at the level of patience I had maintained while they were there.  I was mostly just glad to see them! Things do get chaotic though, with so many people in such a tiny space though, so it was time to to go.  I was sad to let Nate go too.  I hate having the evening all to myself sometimes.

But Jack and I made good use of the bonding time.  I took a bunch of pictures of him, we played dress up.... and he of course ate a lot :).  The kid is an eating machine!!  It's been fantastic to not have to worry about whether my milk is coming in or not.

I don't know why we didn't get pictures of Brent and Sarah with Jack, but they were there, we tried to do a photo shoot and it was the one time that Jack wasn't happy... go figure!  We decided we'd try for Tuesday.

there's his Steve lip when he cries :)

Monday was pretty hectic in the morning.  We had so many unexpected little tests and stuff.  They redid Jack's hearing test which he had failed the day before and he passed.  Then they took him down for his circumcision which I had totally not been prepared for!  None of my other boys did theirs in the hospital.  I made sure to say a little prayer for him that things would go well for him.  That always scares me for some reason.  I was glad I didn't have to watch this one though.

Thanks to Sarah watching our kids, Nate showed up a little later, that was a relief.  I was able to shower again, and with the change of meds, from Lortab to Percocet, I was feeling much better as far as my pain level goes.

We had more visitors on Monday, Grandma Hatch came earlier in the day, then after a day of just Nate and I together there, Aunt Heidi and John.  Then Grandpa Hatch and Steve showed up again too.  That was fun.  Nate went home and got the kids, and we were able to hang out with them there for quite a while.  They brought a Family Night treat, Keva juice, with them and Nate gave a lesson on Prayer while I went in and out of consciousness.... I barely even remember we had it.  I hope the kids got more out of it.  But I thought it was so cute that Kelly had been so devastated when she realized we might miss FHE if I'm in the hospital on Monday night.  I'm glad they chose to include me.  It seemed even more chaotic with everyone there this time than the time before, but I think it was as a result of the ringing in my ears from the drugs.  I knew it was getting late too, and I had really not had enough sleep any of the nights, so it was starting to catch up with me.

Tuesday came and we were all a little relieved that we would be going home.  This is all new for me, considering I usually want to stay the extra day, but they usually kick me out.  We did the opposite this time.  Sarah came up in the morning and we tried to get a few shots of Jack, he was still not the most cooperative little baby, I cannot figure that out!  He's been an angel otherwise!  Then Nate came up around 10:00, thanks to my Mom watching the kids.  And he helped us with the photo shoot and helped me get things all ready to go.   I always feel so dumb when I sit there and cuddle our new baby while Nate has to run up and down the hospital and outside to load up the car.  He really does all the grunt work.  He's sweet to do it without complaining and to make it feel like it's really no big deal.  It would be a big deal to me, so he's got another one up on me if it's not ;).  

We really couldn't believe how long it took them to get us out of there!!  We must have sat there for 2 hours just waiting for all the little things to get done.  I was very impatient!!  

Jack looked so cute and little in his new car seat.  (I LOVE our new car seat btw.  I'm so glad we decided to spend just a little more than we usually do, for a few more conveniences... I hope it was all worth it :) )

When we got home, we started the fighting over who gets to hold him next :).  It's totally a fight I'll let happen, because it means they love their sibs.  I'm happy that they are all happy to have him here.  The kids and Nate had worked so hard to keep the house clean, I was so relieved and felt so blessed to have been able to come home to a home that is filled with the Spirit.  THat's always a plus when you're coming from where I had just come from.  Really, giving birth is one of the most Spiritual experiences I can think of.

Luke was happy to have my Kindle home too :)

We're all so happy that our Jack Jack is home and that we can now start to teach him and love him and do all the things we've planned to do with him :).  We just love him!!  HOpefully he's happy to be with us!

Jet Skiing with Grandpa Hatch at Pineview Reservoir

Yesterday was our big jet skiing trip with Grandpa!  It was SO MUCH FUN!!  As we were loading up to go we couldn't help but notice the threatening clouds, and my Dad said there was a 30% chance of rain. So we weren't sure how cold we would be or how it would go, but we were too excited about the trip to call it off.    So it was on with the show!

Nate had called ahead to see if we could bring Buddy with us, and the guy he talked to said dogs were allowed.  So we loaded up Buddy and brought him along.  It wasn't until we drove up to the ranger station that we were bombarded with "No Pets" signs.  As we waited for my Dad to pay and go through, we made the decision that it wasn't hot enough to worry about leaving him in the car and just taking him out every couple hours for a breather.  But when we got up to the booth to pay, the lady actually asked if we had any pets and then proceeded to tell us it is against Utah State Law to leave an animal in a vehicle, and that the dog was not allowed at Pine View Reservoir at all.  We then made the hasty decision that I would drive Buddy home and come back.  I was the one that had limited abilities as far as enjoying jet skis goes.  But what a CRAPPY deal!  Especially since we had even called first.  As we were unloading the last few things from the cars, the woman from the ranger station came back over to us and tried to help us think of a new solution to "hide" Buddy from one of her co-workers, and while that was nice of her, we'd already set up our spot and didn't think we wanted to haul all of our stuff to a different side of the lake.  So anyway.

After unloading, I gave in to Nate's brilliant idea, to just ask someone in the neighborhood if they would watch Buddy and offer to pay them the money we would save by not having to drive him home.  We do drive a suburban, so gas to drive home and back is NOT cheap.  I really should learn to listen to my husband more often... or at least more quickly.  He is usually right.  (please don't tell him I said that, it will ruin my reputation)  So I gave Nate the go ahead and he took off with Buddy to see if there were any good Samaritans out there.

He returned with a funny story about a guy who "used to do that for people" until things went haywire and he ended up with a lawsuit for some dogs that had run away.  But also the news that a kind-hearted soul had offered up a spot in his dog kennel (apparently he had six dogs of his own), just for Buddy for the day.  He had some nice things to say about Buddy, refused the money Nate offered, and sent Nate on his way.  It was SUCH a blessing!  I'm so grateful for good people.  And so grateful for my husband who is not afraid to ask.  He's brave.  I am not.

So anyway- we got started on the real fun of the day!!!  Grandpa's new Jet skis!!!!  The kids immediately got started on riding out with Grandpa.  That was a lot of fun to watch!  Charity was first and since she was first got completely outdone by her younger siblings when they all started comparing who went the fastest :).  Grandpa let them scream out their speed as they went.  It was cute to hear that Noah went faster than some of his big brothers and sisters :).  And even Erika wasn't too scared.  I was happy that they had been brave and were making it a fun outing.  I can't imagine if they had been otherwise.  We would have spent the day pep-talking them into going out and then probably just sitting there watching.

They loved putting on the life jackets and being able to play in the lake when it wasn't their turn.  Luke and Kelly were the only ones that had to share life jackets and Luke seemed completely content with not having one.  He wasn't AS into the jet skis as everyone else.  But I think that is partly due to the fact that he would find himself easily entertained by other things and then miss the jumping up and down, "I wanna go next" moments.  He just wasn't assertive enough.  But he sure seemed to be enjoying himself, so I didn't say anything.

During the beginning when everyone was getting used to the lake, and after Nate had come back after taking Buddy, I got brave (or crazy, you decide, I use the terms interchangeably now days), and decided it was okay for my 38 1/2 week pregnant self, to go out on the jet ski.  I said a little prayer that I would know when to stop and what was safe or not, and hit the gas.  I probably shouldn't say "hit the gas" because I don't even think I made it over 20 mph.  I was nervous about me and my little one.  But it was STILL a LOT OF FUN!!!  It's been YEARS since I went out on a lake like that all by myself, wind in my hair, water splashing around.  Felt good!  There were a few moments when my hand slipped and I'd stop suddenly or start too quickly and those seemed a little more on the "unsafe" side, so I decided to cut my turn short, but seriously, that was the most fun I've had in a while!  And surprisingly, didn't affect my pelvic bones AT ALL.  I read about the pain I've been having the other day and was surprised to learn (from many people's comments and stuff) that riding a bike felt better than trying to walk for a lot of them, with this kind of pain, but now I'm starting to believe it.  The positioning of my legs and stuff, didn't seem to affect anything.  I was glad.  So anyway- that was my big moment.  I didn't get to go out on them again until the incident with the engine and the rope, when I had to bring my Dad back to shore.  It was worth it though, and I did love the opportunity.  My sweet husband said I "looked cute out there" and my Dad said that yes, I did look like a dork driving around so slowly, but that he's "seen fatter on these things".  So I think I covered all the bases :)

Charity tried going out on the skis, she tried her best but didn't quite get up.  Then she tried the knee board, and then Nate tried it and had a freak accident where he smashed his hand in between the step ladder and the board.  I'm still not 100% sure what happened there, but it sounds painful.  Took them forever to get his hand out!  I just sat there wondering what they were doing clear out there in the water, with Nate and my Dad in the water and Kelly on the jet ski with her flag up.

Then Nate tried the skis and didn't have much luck.  I really think by then he was just too tired.  We should have tried the skiing first thing because after Nate, when my Dad was headed out to ski, he decided it was too choppy and they came back in.  That was after quite the fiasco with the rope getting sucked into the engine.  That was a total bummer because it put the jet ski out of commission for the rest of the day.

Up until this point the grayish clouds had been covering the sun.  It was actually really nice.  I was grateful for the breeze, the cooler temps, and the fact that we wouldn't burn as much.  But the sun did come out.  That's when the wind came also.  Oh, how I hate wind!  The water got choppier, and the sand got more annoying :).  But we kept on at it!  The kids were still having the time of their lives!  We got out the "Hot Dog" tube, and after the pump for it broke, Grandpa ended up blowing it up himself... still can't believe he did that... and the kids had even more fun on that!  My kids looked so cute out there on the tube, just floating around, holding on for dear life :).  It was a lot of fun for me to watch.

All the while that the kids were going out on the jet skis with Nate and my Dad, I hung back on shore with the extras and we got a lot of playing, eating, munching, sand castle building, and whining and crying in.  I forget how fun it is to just play on the beach.  ......And how cranky, tired kids can get in the sun :).  I think Erika and her mood swings almost pushed me over the edge a few times.  Her mood can swing faster than a pregnant woman's.  She's got to be like the world record holder, seriously.  And she had a lot of hang ups on this outing.  An owie on her knee that kept re-bleeding and requiring a band aid that was no where in sight (!!!!  I can't believe I don't have band aids in my car!), needing to pee and not wanting to use the lake (that is socially acceptable right?), even though the bathroom was like a mile away... and can I just stop right here to tell you how hard it is to walk through that sandy beach with an almost full-term baby and a full bladder inside of you!!  HOLY MOLY!!!  I was crying as much as Erika when it came time to potty!  P A I N F U L!!  Especially with this dumb pelvic pain (I'm not sure if I want to call it what it really is... it's a weird name :)).  So I tried NOT to go to the bathroom, as much as I could.  I have a very strong bladder.  So ANYWAY, I fought with Erika quite a bit and ran out of distractions a lot.... but overall, I think she had a lot of fun.  She loves the water!  They all spent most of their time in the water, it was a lot of fun.  I should mention how grateful I am that my kids were getting along so well most of the day, and that they helped entertain each other, and were really good at taking turns with each other!  That was definitely a plus!  We had plenty of goodies and until I moved myself away from them, we did a LOT of snacking :).  That was fun too ;).

I couldn't get a "favorite thing" out of the kids (even after I clarified that I didn't say, "favorite pee"), they all kept saying, "ALL OF IT!"  But here's what I saw: Bradley loved going out with Nate, they would go really fast, and turn and twist, and make whirlpools, he was so proud of himself when he'd get back and tell us he went 53 mph or whatever his latest speed was!  SO cute!  He's become such a daredevil these last couple of years.  It's fun to witness.  I'm glad my Dad got to see it too, he was surprised that Bradley was being so brave and thought he was going to be the more timid one.

When really, I think Luke was the most timid.  Although, I think when Luke would get out on the water, he felt safe enough to not say much about the speed.  He seemed to enjoy playing on the beach the most.  Spent a lot of time in the water, chasing his grasshoppper, eating (having a snack buffet is one of life's simple pleasures for Luke), and sitting under the towel on a chair (I think the wind was getting to him too :) ).  Kelly was a trooper!  She kept going and going and going... all day!  I don't think I saw her stop!  She played with Erika a LOT (thank heavens!) and LOVED going out on the jet skis!  She said she liked the "whirl pool" too.  Which I know her Daddy made really fun and exciting when he would take her out on the water.  He's such a fun Dad. After seeing the look on her face as she would be the "spotter" with the flag when the other kids were on the hot dog, I can say, she loved that too.  The authority!  with the flag in hand, hanging off the back, she looked so powerful :).  Telling Grandpa or Nate how fast to go.... yeah, she liked that part too ;).  Noah was a funny one too.  He loved going out on the jet skis, and bragging about his speed, but I kept hearing from Nate and Grandpa that he would constantly request slower speeds and "breaks".  So I'm not sure how that worked :).  He sure surprised me though, when he was out on the hot dog with Charity and Bradley, they were going pretty fast and had some pretty strong jerks from the rope, and he didn't even wobble!  I couldn't believe he was able to hang on so tightly!  Pretty cool!  He did a lot of eating as well.  And playing in the sand.  And had me take off and put on his life jacket about a GAZILLION times.  But he seemed happy pretty much the whole day!  Charity sure had fun!  She tried the skis and didn't make it, but she sure got daring throughout the day!  As I mentioned, she was a little hesitant in the beginning and I think only let my Dad go 10 mph her first time out, but she got going really fast as the day went on!  I think 58 was her top speed?  I was proud of her for trying.  She didn't love sitting on the back of the jet ski facing backwards to spot though. I will say that.  It's so interesting to me how different my kids are from one another.  These outings bring out those differences.  I love observing.  And even though Erika was a bit of a handful most of the day, she LOVED it all.  She would scream and squeal and get all jumpy when she would get back from a ride, and when it was her turn to go.  She looked so stinkin' cute in her little swim suit and life jacket too which just makes up for all the crappy stuff she puts us through ;).  I loved spending all that time with all of them.  They make my life complete!  I really couldn't help but think about how much more complete our family will feel when Wormie gets here, and how much I look forward to watching him grow and develop just like my other six.  It really is exciting to think about.  And to know he's coming to such a loving group of siblings!  He's going to love it, that's just all I can say.  He did really good on this trip.  Not much movement anymore, which freaks me out on a regular basis, but we didn't end up going into labor, so all is well :).

After a while, and when Nate was out with the kids, my Dad (wanting to make good use of the wind) got out one of his stunt kites and showed off to the kids.  I couldn't believe how strong the thing was! It withstood some serious winds!  And very cool to watch!  Erika loved it!  She just sat there staring at it.  I loved that Noah came over and sweetly asked me if we could drive home and get his kite.  Since he couldn't fly Grandpa's :).  What a sweetheart.  "I liked the drive up here!"  When I was trying to remind him how long it took to get there and how long it would be to go home and back.... funny boy.  Luke seemed fairly fascinated by the kite as well.  And Bradley too after he got the chance to throw it up in the air and watch it go!  My kids haven't seen a kite take off the way that one did!  Pretty cool stuff.

It was a great day!  I don't know what else to say!  It was a long day, we didn't get home until 7:00 pm, and I'll just leave out all the details about the screaming and crying we were subjected to as we were leaving, loading and getting into the car.  But seriously, the most fun we've had in a while!  I'm really appreciative of Nate and my Dad that they would wear themselves out so much for us and our kids.  They both looked exhausted by the end of the day.  (so did I, but when do I not?).  They worked HARD!  I hope it wasn't too hard for my Dad, with all of our kids, and he'll still want to take us out again :).  But really, what a great investment!  I am so glad he got the jet skis and that we get to enjoy them :).

Sidenote: we needed sunblock.  Everyone got fried!  My feet plumped up like a couple of Ballpark Franks in the sun.  Luke looks like we took the top of a mexican kid and stuck it on the legs of a Gringo.  Erika's going to be "wearing her swim suit" for months.  Noah was lucky he was wearing his life jacket MOST of the day, but his poor little eyes "couldn't close" when it came time to go to sleep.  Kelly hasn't said much yet, but I saw how crispy she was.  Charity got her first taste of Aloe Vera and frankly it didn't do the trick... her thighs are BRIGHT red.  Bradley was smart and wore a shirt all day.... his poor face though.  And Nate... well... he's his usual pink self.  And Me.... I'm afraid I'm not going to look it when they tell me to get undressed for my c-section in a couple days (YAY, it's getting closer!).  Nate says it will look like I'm wearing a white t-shirt and shorts.  Lovely.  But we had fun!!!!  And that's all that matters, right?  8-22-12