So this summer got off to a rocky start.  Jeremy went out of town on a business trip the day after school ended, which isn't too big a deal now that there are no babies to contend with, plus it's nice to not have to feel guilty about how I don't keep a very clean house or cook very good meals.  He left last Saturday and the next day as we were getting ready for church Zack was being such a pill.  I finally got very angry at him and next thing I knew he had hit me.  Now I hate to sound all indignant because I've spanked him a million times, but I was probably feeling unsettled with Jeremy gone because my feelings were SO hurt that I started bawling.  A half hour later when it was time to leave for church I was still bawling.  I considered just staying home but couldn't bear the thought of missing out on the 2 hour break I'd get from them during primary, so I tried to pull myself together and we left.  When we got to the church we walked in next to my darling friend Becky.  She cheerfully asked how I was doing and to my horror I started bawling again.  She looked at me so tenderly which only made it worse.  I cried all through sacrament meeting and then managed to pull myself together enough to be able to play the piano in primary.

That was the worst day, but the next couple days didn't go much better.  The kids just want to do what they want when they want to, and if I have the audacity to ask them to do a chore I am the biggest jerk in the world.

I earned several day passes to Lagoon by working there during the school days they were open, so I decided to try and take the kids on Wednesday.  That day reminded me why I love them and why it's all worth it.  First of all it was a very exciting day because FINALLY all the kids were big enough to go on most of the rides.  We kept discussing when we would split up like we normally do so the big kids could go on all the big scary rides, but after several hours I realized, we don't need to split up!  I was excited, so excited that I kept going on rides that I knew I shouldn't due to a severely queasy stomach.  After several wild rides I wasn't feeling too hot, but then we discovered yet another ride we could all go on together.  So we went on the roller coaster and right away we went on it again.  For some reason that's when my stomach hit a wall.  My head started spinning and I was sweating bullets.  I had to sit down perfectly still. The kids went on some rides in the general area where I was sitting.  Suddenly I knew I couldn't hold it in anymore and I hurried behind a planter and puked.  This was the moment when I realized that my kids really do love me.  Trev saw me bent over and came running over.  When he saw the puke he demanded my phone so he could call someone.  In hindsight this was so funny.  I asked who he was going to call and he said he didn't know, but I was really sick and he needed to call someone (I wouldn't give him the phone). He ran and told the other kids we needed to leave immediately.  They all gathered around all concerned.  The little kids, bless their hearts, weren't quite sympathetic enough to be willing to just leave.  So I told the big kids I would be so appreciative if they would just all go together on a few more rides.  So they all stuck together and went on several more rides, checking in with me in between each one.  At one point Trev could see I was chilled from my drying sweat and he draped his jacket over my shoulders.  We finally convinced  the little kids it was time to go (it was 9 at night, it's not like we were being unreasonable!).  The kids were all so solicitous and tender  the rest of the night.  They all got showered and ready for bed and they let me go right to bed.

By the next morning things were back to normal (fighting, crying, whining, lazing about), but I'll always remember that day that they took such good care of me.