The last few trips we’ve taken have looked something like this:

Gather your packing list, some plastic grocery bags, and a Sharpie marker.

Enlist some helpers. Give them each a bag with their name on it, written with the Sharpie.

All together, give them instructions on one thing to put in their bag. Example, “Put four shirts and four pairs of shorts in your bag.”

When they return, check the contents for any child whose clothing-selection judgment may be questionable.

If the child has a little buddy, have them gather the same items for their little buddy.

Check off that item on your list.

Note: Wait until all children have returned and the column that reads “4 complete outfits” is completely checked off. Then, and only then, give the next command. For example: “Now gather 2 pairs of pajamas.” I strongly discourage you from sending some faster children on to the second item on the list while the slower ones are still gathering the first items. I’ve done it that way, and it gets confusing REALLY fast. In my experience, it’s better to just take it slow, and keep everyone doing the same thing at the same time.

Another Note: If you’re staying overnight in a hotel en route to your destination, you may want to put one outfit plus one pair of pajamas in some separate bags labeled “HOTEL,” “THURSDAY,” or something that will indicate that you need to keep those bags separate from the rest. This allows you to keep the bulk of your packed bags loaded in your van for your short stay, while still having the necessities in the hotel with you. If you want to save specific clothes for a particular day of your trip, pack them separately and label those bags with your marker too. In our case, we had one bag marked “CHURCH” and another bag marked “CAVERNS.”

And One More Note: I also recommend rolling complete outfits together, instead of folding them, especially for little ones. Rolled clothing stays packed neater and takes up less space in the bag, plus little children don’t have to guess which shirt and shorts combo will match properly.

Eventually, you will end up with a dozen (or depending on how many children you have, a couple dozen) bags that look like this, all nicely labelled with a Sharpie to take the guesswork out of what’s in them.

Be sure to thank your wonderful helpers for all their hard work! Then let them go have a snack or watch a video while you gather up the toiletries, sippy cups, diapers, cameras, and your own clothes (etc.)

Now, you can start stuffing those bags into suitcases…

…being sure, if applicable, to pack the select few overnight items separately so you can relax and carry just one or two bags when you check in to your hotel at 11pm.

Don’t feel guilty for enlisting your children’s help in gathering items to pack. I used to think I was being lazy if I wasn’t doing it all myself, and especially if I was not gathering things along with them. But I’ve come to realize that micro-managing the task of packing ten people is one big and tedious job! Things have gone much more smoothly (and quickly) since I’ve decided to accept and enlist help, and devote myself to guiding, inspecting, and overseeing the process.

The children enjoy helping out too. They truly want to help and serve, and they love having a cheerful, sane, non-frazzled mother. They love the benefit of being able to travel to different places, something that we wouldn’t do very often if it was a hassle and burden. I’m so thankful for my houseful of helpers!

We returned last night from a wonderful, adventure-filled, weekend trip. Prompted by a desire to visit my brother-in-law and his family, we made a few stops along our travels for some field trips. We’re tackling the highlights of our trip with one post at a time, starting with this one.

Friday, we visited the National Air and Space Museum at Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center just outside Washington DC. We were so blessed to be given a private tour. As we were about to join the free group tour, this wonderful gentleman asked if we were all one family. When we confirmed that we were, he very kindly offered us a tour of our own! The children asked tons of questions along the way, and our guide quizzed them on a lot of info they’ve been learning in homeschool, as well. Our tour guide not only made the museum come alive for us, he also happened to be a brother in Christ. What an encouragement to meet fellow Christians in our travels!

The children have agreed to help me out with this post. They each chose their favorite display (two displays for Handyman), and are sharing some interesting facts about the aircraft.

SR-71 Blackbird, by Handyman (age 11)

The Sr-71 Blackbird was made in the 1960s. It was a spy plane, Surveillance and Reconnaissance to be proper. It could fly at the speed of Mach 3, 3 times the speed of sound (The speed of sound is 700 miles per hour, so you can figure out how fast that is). It could go a mile every two seconds. It has a skunk painted on the back of it because it lets out black smoke. It had enough space for two people and the rest of the room was for gas. When the pilots were getting ready to fly, they would put just enough gas in to get it in the air and then they would refuel in air. When they designed the plane, they did not have computers so they used something called a slide rule.

Caudron G.4, by Writer (age 13)

This is the Caudron, one of the first planes ever built. It was used as a spy plane during WWI. This plane required two people to fly it. One was the pilot, and the other was the lookout person and spy photographer. Both the Allies and the Central Powers used this type of plane. However, when enemy planes encountered each other, the pilots would shoot at each other with pistols. The mechanics hooked a gun to the plane, making the lookout person the gunner, too. Then the mechanics added a radio antenna so the pilots could communicate with people on the ground. The job of communicating was given to the lookout person, who now was the scout, photographer, gunner, and communications officer- all at one time. Needless to say, this system wasn’t a very good one for the lookout person!

Restored or Preserved? by Happy (age 8 )

Restored (Hawker Hurricane)

Preserved

The first picture of the newer-looking plane is the Hawker Hurricane. It was flown by teenagers in World War II. There were a few other planes that were flown by teenagers as well. The Hawker Hurricane was restored in this museum and the second plane was not. It was preserved. Preserved means it stays like it was when it was done fighting in the war. Restored means that it was painted over and over again to make it look like when it first came out of the factory.

Enola Gay, by Cowgirl, age 10

This is the Enola Gay. The man who flew it named it for his mother. The Enola Gay dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in Japan, causing lots of damage to the city and leading to the end of the war. Inside the plane, there were little tunnels that you had to climb through to talk to the other flight crew. On the day that they dropped the bomb, the pilot crawled through those little holes to tell the entire flight crew what they were doing because most of the crew didn’t know!

Air France, by Handyman, age 11

I chose this because just as the SR-71 Blackbird, it is fast. It could go at the speed of Mach 2 (1400 Miles per hour). It was a passenger plane, and for just one flight it cost $12,000 dollars. It would actually be cheaper to buy a car and drive to wherever you where going (Gas cost included). When the plane landed, the pilots would have to bend the nose down to see where to land.

And a few more pictures…

Space Shuttle Discovery

In front of the Discovery

Satellite

Tower

In the Tower

 And finally, our van as seen from from the tower!

Our family highly recommends visiting the Dulles Air and Space museum, and even more highly recommends taking a tour! To learn more about each of the collections on display, you can visit the Air and Space Museum website.

Coming soon… cousins, soccer, strawberry-picking, and the Luray Caverns.

joined the ranks of his mother and three older siblings, and has gotten his first pair of glasses! Unlike the rest of us, however, he is not a single bit nearsighted. These glasses are purely for reading and close work, because our optometrist discovered that Happy can’t cross his eyes. Suddenly, it all makes sense: the squinting and creased forehead while reading, but the perfect scores on my homemade eye test (also known as “reading the microwave clock.”)

Doesn’t he look handsome? And smart? He chose this pair specifically because he felt that they made him look “like a genius.”

Writer and Handyman are…

researching baseball history.

Handyman, our family’s baseball enthusiast, has requested that Writer, our story-writing enthusiast, write a story about a fictional professional baseball player. Writer knows very little about baseball, so she’s recruited Handyman to be her baseball consultant and research assistant.

Sonshine is…

sneaking the binky again.

We’ve tried to do away with it except for naps and bedtime, but with our home well-stocked with binkies for his baby brother, the temptation seems to be too much for our little guy. What’s that? Why yes, the binky IS upside-down. Because that’s how he likes it.

I am working on…

doubling the laundry in my attempt to finish ALL our weekly laundry today instead of Friday. We are traveling to visit my brother-in-law and family this weekend (Hooray!) and laundry for ten always makes things a bit tricky when traveling.

(Sorry, I can’t bring myself to take a picture of the massive mountain of laundry before me. It’s depressing.)

I am reading…

The Resolution for Women by Priscilla Shirer, for a book study that I’m doing with my dear friend Leslie. Iron Man is reading the men’s version, The Resolution for Men by Stephen Kendrick, with Leslie’s husband. Both of these books were prompted after all of us were deeply moved by the movie, Courageous.

It’s Not that Complicated by Anna Sofia and Elizabeth Botkin, along with Writer, because she’s at an age where it’s important. If you know a young lady who wants to know how to relate to boys in a healthy and biblical way, this is a wonderful and insightful book.

Brother Andrew: God’s Secret Agent by Geoff and Janet Benge, with all my children as a family read-aloud. As with all the titles in the Christian Heroes Then and Now series that we’ve read so far, this book is inspiring and captivating.

I am craving…

the homemade rice-a-roni that we made last night.

My children have been deprived of the boxed Rice-a-Roni all these years, and never knew what they were missing. After trying out this homemade version last night, I suspect that it’s about to become a regular side dish on our menu! I used basmati rice (pre-cooked in the rice cooker) and whole grain spaghetti, and it still tasted like the boxed version that I remember.

I am feeling…

very blessed.

Wouldn’t you?

There are three types of people:

A) those who need to be coaxed into exploring the water,
B) those who are naturally at ease in water, and
C) those who need to be restrained in water.

Our family is a picture of variety. All three types are represented among us.

As of Saturday morning, Conductor belonged in Camp A, but he now seems to have moved into Camp B. At first, he was reluctant to leave the steps of the pool. After about 15 minutes of coaxing (see? coaxing… a clear sign of a Camp A kid), he discovered that his feet could touch the floor of the family pool, and that hopping in water is fun. He spent the remainder of the day hopping like a Veggie Tale character (clearly,  a Camp B behavior). He also discovered the joy of dunking his face in the water (signs of impending Camp C, perhaps?)

Sonshine is Camp C sort of boy. No fear. This is not necessarily a good thing. He had to spend a little time OUT of the water, just to give Mom and Dad a small break from the exhausting job of protecting him from himself.

Strawberry? She’s in Camp B. Years ago when she was still four or five, she was in Camp A, but no more now that she is a BIG girl. At six, she is practically a young lady!

Handsome is 100% Camp B. He LOVES the water. He happily floated on his back (supported by Daddy, of course), kicked his feet, laughed and played.

Given a year or two, he may turn into a Camp C boy, but as a baby utterly attached to Mommy and Daddy, he’s still satisfied to be safely held during water time.

As we often do on trips like this, we intermittently used a buddy system. When we were all together in the family pool, we assigned big kids to play with a little buddy. Iron Man and I held the two youngest at all times and watched all the other little children like hawks, of course, but it was helpful to have an extra set of eyes and hands. The older kids enjoyed playing with their buddies as much as the younger ones did.

We gave our older children freedom to explore the water slides without us, but we would not let them do so alone. There’s safety in numbers, so they always stayed in pairs. They also came back to check in with us after every water slide adventure.

It was a wonderful Saturday!