I'm writing a book...

In my spare time I'm writing a book. Here it is so far.... Life with a Dozen + one

Chapter one - The Walton Family

"Bp bp bp bp bp bp beep". That was the sound of Elizabeth's phone. "Dinner Time," Mom called. Elizabeth walked into the kitchen while texting. Olivia was babysitting down the street. "Elizabeth, can you go pick up Mark from soccer?", asked Mom. "Sure" said Lizzy. She put down her phone and got into her Dad's car. She could drive but she didn't have her own car. Baby Amy was sleeping. Brandon and Brian were screaming and Sidney, Mega and Drew were waiting for their food. Riley was giving everyone full plates. Will was trying to finish his last problem of weekend homework. It was Saturday, September 5th, 2009. They had just started school about four weeks ago.

Mom put Brandon and Brian on the couch in the family room, gave them each a sippy cup and turned on Elmo. "ELMO!" Brandon screamed happily. "MELMO!" Brian hollered after him.

As you can see this family has not one, not two, but 11 kids! Wow. I'll name them from oldest to youngest... Elizabeth 17, Olivia 16, Mark 14, Riley 12, Drew 10, Will 9, Megan 6, Sidney 4, Brandon and Brian, twins almost 2, and baby Amy, 4 months old. The happy parents: Jack and Sarah. They lived in a big house with three floors.

The Dad was in his office. He is a Radiologist. Elizabeth and Mark got home and everybody ate fruit salad and spaghetti that Riley made.

Chapter two - The Long Drive

The next day after church Mom and Dad called for a family meeting in the living room. Their living room was small for the whole family. "You father has something to say," their Mom said. All the kids looked at their dad eagerly to hear what he had to say. "We're going to Las Vegas for a family vacation!" Everybody screamed for about 10 seconds. "When?" asked Will. "Tomorrow", his Mom replied. "We tried to tell you earlier" she said, "but this is one of the only times that everyone is here!" "Can we go pack?" Mark asked loudly. "Sure," their Dad said, "and I will too". Then everybody ran to their room while talking about packing. All of them have their own bright and colorful suitcase. The only people that shared were the parents, Brian and Brandon, and Megan and Sidney.

Olivia's room was organized and tidy so she could find all her cute elegant clothes. Elizabeth was jealous. Her room was opposite. There were clothes scattered everywhere but she cleaned it up fast. She has had 17 years to practice cleaning. About two hours later everybody was done packing.

"What time are we leaving tomorrow?" Olivia asked her dad. "At about 5:30" he replied, "so you should get some sleep because you're going to be in the passenger seat passing out snacks and activities. "OK" she said and went to her room.

The next day at school all the Walton kids were jumping up and down in their head. They were so excited they couldn't help it. When they all got home it was 4:13. When their Dad got home at 4:30 they all put all the suitcases, books, snacks, papers, journals, blankets, pillows, phones, cameras and iPods in the car. It was 5:5. Their mom made the kids get in a line so she could check them. First in line was Sidney. "Do you have your backpack?" asked the Mom. "Yep," Sidney replied. "You're good." Mom said, "Now go pick a van." When everyone was done they all got in a van. In the blue van was Mom, baby Amy, Olivia, Brian, Drew, Will and Mark. In the gray van was Dad, Elizabeth, Riley, Megan, Sidney and Brandon.

"I want a fruit roll up" Will asked. "Me too" Drew exclaimed. "OK, two fruit roll ups comin' up!" Mom told them. Mark was listening to his iPod. Amy was asleep and Brian was watching Elmo on the portable TV.

Meanwhile in the gray van Sidney and Megan were playing with magnets on a little magnet board. "Can you pass my camera" Riley asked " I see the sunset and I want to take a picture of it." "Sure" Elizabeth said, "there you go". Her camera was bright orange. Brandon was sleeping with his fingers in his mouth. Lizzy was texting while she passed stuff out.

It was about an hour later until they got to the airport. All the kids carried a suitcase, a backpack or both. Mom pushed the three headed stroller with Brian, Brandon and Amy in it. Dad carried his and his wife's suitcase, Brandon and Brian's suitcase and Amy's tiny suitcase. They all walked in the airport swiftly because they were so excited. 'I wish they all had leashes but everybody would think we were crazy' the Mom thought to herself. She was worried they would lose someone again. Once they lost Megan and Sidney in an airport and found them in the bathroom. Riley with her bright orange suitcase and backpack told her parents "Thanks, this is going to be so much fun!"

Gymnastics

Gymnastics is so much fun! Last year I did it, too. This year I started out in a 7-8 level 1 class, so my coach moved me up to a 9-12 level 1. I spent 2 weeks in that class and after everything I did my coach kept saying "I'm going to move you up to level two class!" I'm exited about being in a level 2 class. Last Thursday was my first week in my Level 2 class. My coach thinks I'm really good.

Gymnastics is fun because we get to go on bars, beams, trampolines, ropes and we get to do stuff like cartwheels and back bends, that we do on the floor. I like bars because I can do pull overs real easy. They are fun. I like beams because I can do cartwheels off them. I like trampolines because the trampolines there are really bouncy. The rope is fun because I can climb up to the top and ring the bell. I also like doing the stuff on the ground. Just this week I learned how to trust myself when I do a back bend! I'm so excited.