Our big Engaged Encounter event this weekend was a smashing success! We had a fantastic weekend and all of the Martins are now officially suffering from exhaustion hangovers. On Friday, when our company arrived (Kelly and Karla and their three kiddos), I was showing the kids where they’d be sleeping when 3 ½ year old Sean looked around at the toys in our family room (neatly placed in boxes and on shelves) and said, “Wow! This room is going to be a huge mess in no time!” The kids set right to work. Matthew and Zachary LOVED our “sleepover friends.” It was especially cute to watch 18 month old, Ryan and Zach tottering down the hall together and passing toys back and forth.

The meeting part of the weekend went great – long (especially for the kids who hung out with babysitters in the childcare room) – but great. We were at the church Friday from 6pm-9:30PM, Saturday: 8:30AM-10:30PM, and Sunday: 8:30AM-12PM. Thankfully, the weather was nice enough on Saturday that the kids could play out on the playground a bit. That would have been a miserable day for them (and the babysitters!) if they had been shut in the small childcare room all day.

The highlight of the EE festivities was a huge dinner and dance on Saturday night. 85 people came (including the visiting couples for the Unit Board Meeting and our Seattle EE families). We had a fantastic time! The kids all came out and danced too – we got some great pictures of Matthew and Annie dancing. (He went for an older woman – she’s six). And no party is complete without a conga line!

I got all spruced up in my new coral-colored sundress, with black ¾ length-sleeve cardigan, black wedge sandals, and pedicured coral toe nails. I was feeling pretty dang cute and sassy until someone asked me if I was pregnant. Yeah. Wow. Look, I recognize that the current style trend is the empire/high waist clothing; and I know that with my perma-post-pregnancy-mommy-pooch, I run the risk that the maternity-style apparel really does just look like maternity apparel on me, but seriously! Do you ask every gal who walks out of Old Navy if she’s with-child?! ‘Cuz I’m telling ya, with the cut of clothes these days, we could all be walking around about 4 months along and you would never know the difference. My advice: unless you’re sitting in childbirth class together or you’re present at the birth, DON’T ASK IF A WOMAN IS PREGNANT!!!
And, for the record, if you still have any doubts, I’m NOT pregnant and thoroughly enjoyed some white wine with my salmon on Saturday night and some red wine with my chili on Sunday night!

After the meeting concluded on Sunday, we took the kids to the fine dining establishment of McDonalds for lunch and some run-around-time, and then we headed into Seattle. We went on the “Seattle ice cream cruise” – a cute, old passenger ferry that is now privately owned (by Captain Larry). He takes the boat out on the hour every weekend for a 45 minute cruise around Lake Union. The weather had been a little if-y – it was really stormy in Issaquah, but thankfully it let up for the boat ride. After the cruise some of the EE people (and my parents and Chris who also joined in), walked up to the Fremont troll. http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/WASEAtroll.html The Carper kids were all over Mr. Fremont Troll – Matthew, not so much.

Sure enough, when we got home last night and were trying to put our VERY over-tired children to bed, Matthew kept needing to communicate to us how much he didn’t like the Troll. I reassured him that the troll was a statue, was far away and wouldn’t get him. Those explanations weren’t cutting the mustard. So finally, in my own fatigue and wine-induced state (look, it only takes me a glass or two, people, especially when I’m tired) I said, “Matthew, you don’t need to worry about the troll. He’s a good troll. Actually, he’s a very helpful troll. You know the car that he’s holding? Well, it’s a broken car. See, the troll collects broken cars, eats them and then poops out brand new working cars. He’s really quite talented and handy to have around.”

Matthew thought about this for a moment and said, “OK, but he only has one eye.” I reminded him that he has two eyes, but one is hidden under his hair and the troll should really consider getting a haircut. Then, we’d be able to see both of his eyes. Matthew considered this and then informed me that actually no; the troll DOES only have one eye.

“Where’s his other eye then?” I inquired.

“The shark ate it,” he told me matter-of-factly.

“Um, OK…go to sleep.”

Matthew was too distraught over the broken-car-eating, new-car-pooping, one-eyed, shark-victim Troll to go to sleep. Mike ended up staying with Matthew in his room, until he – they – finally gave into fatigue. (Mike was out way before Matthew. I’m fairly certainly he fell asleep to questions of “But Daddy, why does he poop out the cars?” and “What about the shark that ate his eye?”).

After a weekend of going, going nonstop, getting up at 6 every morning to make breakfast, pack lunches, and prepare dinners I’m pooped (and not the brand-new-car kind…that, would be rather convenient – painful, but convenient).