We are not in Utah anymore, Toto

Ways to know you are not in Utah anymore:
1. When taking the kids out in public, everyone looks at us like having 4 kids who are obviously brothers and sister is a stare-worthy event. Multiply by two when Karen and I go somewhere together with all 8 of our kids.
2. Tornado sirens are common-place. I think I could deal with a lot of rain, but adding a tornado siren ups the panic factor by quite a bit.
3. Walking on grass may mean being latched onto by ticks. I actually considered using the flea/tick medicine for Chewie on the kids. Decided against it.
4. Lots of green. Trees, grass, vines, bushes. Everywhere. I thought I was into living green things, but I'm starting to feel like the stuff is going to take over.
5. Putting on chapstick=dressing up. I've been wearing the same pants for a few days now. Having this job means deciding whether you would rather haul clothes and shoes across the country or wear the same things a lot. Guess which one I picked.
6. Having a car means I have borrowed it from Karen or it is early or late enough that Steve isn't using it for work.
7. We have no internet or cable at our apartment. The boys are constantly glued to the Wii or the same 7 movies I brought out here. We have memorized a lot of Kung Fu Panda and can recite it on demand.
8. We live in a two bedroom, one bathroom apartment. The boys share a queen bed and Kayla gets her own twin. Topher usually ends up on the couch in the living room because he is so excited to be with his brothers that he can't be quiet and go to sleep.
9. Crazy schedule. Eating out at 11 p.m. is normal. Steve works from 11a.m.-10 p.m. daily but Saturdays when it's 8:30 a.m.-10 p.m. and has Sundays off. Going to a movie means staying up until 2 a.m. When the movie is Eclipse it is totally worth it. (Four of the women from the office are going to the 12:10 a.m. showing on June 30th.)
10. The kids have had 5 sleep overs with their cousins and play with them every day. I think they'll have withdrawals when we go home.

We are here! We are here! We are here!

We made it to Ohio with 4 kids, two lay-overs, 2 security checks, one throw up scare on the plane (me), and one nauseous but relieved woman who's just glad to see her husband. Plane rides make me sick. The first trip from SLC to Cincinnati was bumpy. I gripped the arm rest and a barf bag while my youngest whooped and laughed a row behind me. I found a little relief when I put my forehead on the chair in front of me and mumbled, "Help me." The second flight was really nice and short and surprisingly turbulence-free. When we made it to the Columbus airport, Steve met us at the baggage check and, quoting Kayla, "You half ran and half skipped to Daddy. No one should have to see that from behind." Thanks, sweetie.
While Karen and I were out walking on a little trail by our apartments with all eight of our kids and two others from our office, I was reminded that we are not in Utah anymore, Toto. We both commented on the big, angry looking clouds that were coming our way. Suddenly, we heard a loud siren start up behind us and realized that it was a tornado warning. Rain came over us in a sheet of water and Karen and I ran to get the kids ahead of us who were riding scooters and bikes. A ranger in a truck came by and picked up me and Topher, but I had lost sight of Karen and the rest of the kids. He took us back to our apartments and went back to collect a sopping wet Karen with 9 kids and several bikes and scooters from someone's garage. Silly, mountainless place. We're out in the open just waiting for any old tornado or wayward storm to carry everything off.
We are adjusting pretty well. It's great to be with Steve again and the kids have Karen's family to play with and I have Karen. We had a dessert night last night with the office and a game night with Karen, Aaron, Cat, Cordon, Ben, and me. Steve fell asleep on the couch. We were up until 1 playing Settlers and Shanghai. So fun. Dragging a little today, but it was worth it. Miss you, Mom and Dad.