Semi-Controled Chaos

We just returned from Brayden's birthday dinner at Red Robin with all five kiddos, Travis and Stephanie, and Mom and Dad. Fortunately, we arrived in the nick of time to be seated early and not have to wait the 45 minutes that would have had to happen by the time we left the restaurant.

Long story short, the kids were really pretty great. Great enough to earn us a compliment from the lady and her mom seated next to us - that our kids were charming and we handled them well. Another words - she noticed they weren't sitting still like we hoped, but we didn't ever lose it in trying to correct them. They all figured out what they wanted, ate it and liked it, and only the least-likely-to-make-a-mess kid, Traig, came home with something on his shirt, therefore ensuring that all of the other outfits can be perfectly recycled for church tomorrow.

Bless Michele's heart, she actually ironed two sets of outfits for each of the kids knowing we would be heading out to dinner and also for church. Even with that done, it really takes quite a bit of time to lay them all out, get all of the kids in them with their coordinating accessories and shoes - and then fix everyone's hair (particularly the girls). I'm glad I started early, and I'm glad John had enough patience to work with them to get a group picture. (But, as you can see, getting these five to all smile at the same time is nearly impossible).

With that said, all children had strict instructions to change immediately upon returning home - there's such a feeling of satisfaction to know everything is ready to go for tomorrow's (latest) church service.

Needless to say, Brayden felt very honored by the evening as the I-Phone pictures demonstrate.