Five on Friday: Things I Forgot/Things I Never Want to Forget

In last week's Five on Friday list I told you about the things I need to keep in order to easily pack for a road trip for a family of seven. The last thing was to "keep . . .

Here I am now, on vacation, and it's true . . . I have forgotten several things. I sort of knew that would be the case, I was trying to do way too much last week.  We have all the important stuff so I took my own advice to:

Maybe if I share what things I forgot here I'll remember next time. THIS time I forgot:

1. That I was so good at preparing the camping bin last time, I already had a small bottle of olive oil in there! So on this trip we have two small bottles of olive oil!! Though with my kids, the likelihood is pretty high of someone getting stuck in something and olive oil could come in handy to slip them out . . .

2. Foil. We make a lot of lunches to pack when we’re road tripping. We improvised (reused a plastic bag that grapes came in, for example) but when I saw some at the supermarket I bought it. This box will henceforth be kept in the camping bin.

3. A can opener! But I brought some cans that need opening! Oh well. Hopefully I'll see one at the thrift shop and remember that I need it.

4. My previous notes to self say “matches, newspaper, fire starters” but I only had matches. Why do I take the notes if I forget to reference them? Maybe I need to make a note to remember to check the notes that I made before.

5. Umbrellas. I should know by now that it rains every single time we camp.

While all this forgetting was going on, lots of really beautiful memories have also been being made.  That's right, this week's list is a double feature! Here are five things I truly hope I remember, both funny and sweet:

1. Best car game ever: the kids each say a body part to draw (Droopy eyes! Fierce lips!) and then they all draw it. The results are always amazing:

2. Our youngest daughter gasping, "I think I saw a sand cow in the water!" (after hearing that there were manatees--also known as sea cows--in the area)

3. Based on ages and interest, we sometimes divide into different groups for activities during vacations. Like when Daddy-O took the littles for a bike ride on Tuesday morning and I took the bigs to hit some thrift shops. No can opener but plenty of funny things to see plus a few thrift scores.

We questioned the placement of this--uh, statue?--on a chair. That could hurt.

4. “Mama you look so much beautiful when you’re underwater”

5. In spite of what I just told you about splitting into groups, this family really enjoys being together. I keep realizing that all seven of us are frequently physically close together in places we don't have to be--like the pool or the slightly larger Gulf of Mexico. Just all of us close together, hugging, holding, wrestling, giving shoulder rides, reconnecting and having fun. I hope that this, above all, is something that all of us always remember.