"Daddy can we go swimming?" Ben asked hopefully, already wearing his swim trunks and goggles. "I said to Dunner that you would take us!"

"Ben, I can't take six kids to the pool. It's too many to watch."

"But I telled Dunner!"

"Well maybe you should have asked me first. If you're patient I can get your pool set up in the backyard."

"That's a little pool daddy. It ain't the same!"

"Well I don't know what to do for you then."

"Could we have the sprinkler? I would like that! Could we daddy? And waterguns?"

"How about after lunch? It'll be a little warmer then it's too cold for that right now."

"Okay! Hey Dunner! We get to do the sprinkler!" Ben hollered as he ran up the stairs.

Adam sighed and turned the dishwasher on, already exhausted. The kids were well behaved and were getting along alright, but he'd been at work until well after midnight and then had woken up early to take care of them. He didn't mind having them all at once but he simply wished that they would all decide to take a nap.

"Hey uncle Dum!" Isa greeted. "I got gum in my hair."

"You did what?"

"Got gum in my hair," she repeated, holding up a tangled, messy strand. "Right here. It's grape."

He stared at the mess for a second, almost in panic. Her hair was so long and the gum was stuck just above her shoulder and he couldn't just cut it out like he'd had to do with Avery's once. This was bad. Austin and Danny were going to kill him.

"Uncle Dum? Hello? Are you gonna help me?"

"I don't even know what to do Isa."

"I can't live with gum in my hair!" she shouted angrily. "You're the grown up! You gotta fix it!"

"Why is there so much of it?"

"Well see me and Colt and Sarah was having a contest about who could put the most gum in their mouth. And I won. And then I was laying on my back and I blew a bubble, but it kinda got away from me. I tried to get it out but I just made it worse. So what do we do?"

"We Google!" Colton announced from the doorway. "That's what daddy always does when he doesn't know the answer. Mama says it's like he's flying to the BatMobile but I gotta remind her that daddy doesn't have a cape."

Isa laughed heartily and they followed Adam over to the computer where he pulled up the search engine and typed in the query that apparently almost every internet user had typed at some point or another.

"Colton, go see if we have any peanut butter."

"I'm on it, daddy."

He went back into the kitchen while Isa pulled a chair up next to the computer and squinted at the screen.

"You're gonna put peanut butter in my hair?"

"Yeah. It will help to get the gum out."

"Gross!"

"It's okay, I'll wash it out too."

She groaned and wrinkled her nose as Colton brought the peanut butter back into the room with a huge grin on his face.

"Now don't worry, Is. This is just like the time in kindergarten that the kid put glue in my hair. Except this time at least I am not laughing at you."

"I'm real sorry about that Colt. Uncle Dum, is this gonna hurt?"

"No. It might pull a little but-"

"Help! Averylin's choking!"

Adam ran up the stairs as fast as he could and skidded to a halt outside Avery's room, just in time to see her finally cough up a piece of gum. She breathed heavily and stared at it for a moment, her eyes wide. Then she and Sarah both burst into tears.

"That was so scary!" Sarah wailed, tucking Avery into her arms. "I thought you were not going to be okay Averylin!"

Avery took a deep breath then reached down and grabbed the gum off the floor, popping it back into her mouth.

"Averylin Grace!" Adam said, fishing the gum back out of her mouth. "No more gum for you."

Avery just cried harder and held onto Sarah, as if her friend could make it all better again.

"Where did you get this gum, Avery?"

"Coley! Room."

Sighing heavily he went into the boys room and found their Easter baskets exploded all over the floor, the plastic grass stuck in every nook and cranny, and unwrapped candy on the beds. Ben and Junior had chocolate all over their faces and looked up at him innocently when he walked in.

"What… who… why are you kids determined to make me crazy today?"

"My ma said that there's six of us an' one of you," Junior started, taking the chocolate out of his mouth and inspecting it. "And we have to be good. So we were entertainin' ourselves!"

"But who told you to get into the Easter candy?"

"Sissy did!" Ben and Junior replied in unison, pointing at Avery who was standing in the doorway, eyeing a sucker.

"Yes Uncle Adam, it's true. Averylin said "candy please" and then Colton Matthew and Benjamin gave her some and then we all ate some and then we had the gum contest and now you know the rest of the story. Are you very, very mad at us?"

Adam sighed and looked down at Sarah who was on the verge of tears. He could be mad at the rest of the kids but there was no way he could ever be mad at Sarah.

"No honey, I'm not mad. I think that we'll put the candy away for now though."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, dropping her head.

"Sarah, it's okay," Adam assured, reaching down and picking her up. "I promise, I'm not mad. It's just been a long morning. It will get better. Maybe we should all go outside and I'll start the sprinkler. How does that sound?"

"Well you have to put up mine and Isabeth's hair."

"Isa's hair! Crap I forgot. Hey kids, who wants to see Isa with peanut butter in her hair?"

They all laughed and followed him downstairs, where Colton had coated the strand of Isa's hair with peanut butter and was patiently working the gum out.

"I'm almost done," he said, with a sigh. "I read the directions a lot before I started. Am I doing it right daddy?"

"Well that's a lot of peanut butter, but I think it's helping. How are you doing Isa?"

"I smell like a sandwich."

He chuckled and helped Colton with the rest of the gum, and in a few minutes it had all been pulled free.

"Okay, let's wash your hair and then we'll go outside."

Colton ran upstairs to get the shampoo and Adam made quick work of washing Isa's long hair in the kitchen sink. She complained that the water was getting in her eyes, but she started giggling when he put on a terrible British accent and acted like she was a client at a high end spa.

"Alright madam," he said once she was done. "Let's put your hair up so you don't get anything else stuck in it."

"Like what?"

"Like a garden gnome."

She hooted a laugh as they went upstairs where the other kids were changing into their swimming clothes, except for Avery who was just running around naked.

"Averylin, let me help you please," Sarah pleaded, holding up a small pink swimsuit. "It is very unladylike to run around in your birthday suit."

"And gross," Colton added, snapping his goggles onto his face.

"Avery, let Sarah help you get changed please."

"Oh daddy," Avery sighed, but obeyed him anyway.

Isa followed Adam into the bathroom, clenching her fists when he started to brush through her hair.

"Hey, this doesn't hurt!"

"Yeah, I'm magic."

"And you can do a pretty good braid! How do you know this? You're not a mom!"

He laughed and finished up the braid, smiling as she inspected it in the mirror.

"Thanks Uncle Dum. I'm gonna go change."

"Okay. Have Sarah come in here so I can fix her hair too."

"Okay!"

She ran out of the room and Sarah and Avery appeared a few minutes later, the latter with her swimsuit on, but backwards.

"She insisted," Sarah explained, standing in front of him and letting him put her hair up without complaint. "Averylin is strange."

"Yes she is. All done."

Grinning, Sarah turned back around and threw her arms around him.

"Thank you Uncle Adam. Can we go outside now?"

"Yep, let's go."

Isa joined them in the hallway and they trooped downstairs and outside, where the boys were already unwinding the hose and bringing it out to the middle of the yard.

"Daddy, I don't know where the sprinkler is. But we did find the water guns!"

"Okay. Now if I turn the sprinkler on do you guys promise you won't get into any more trouble?"

"Yes!" six little voices promised.

"Alright, here we go."

The kitchen was clean, lunch was on the table and the candy upstairs had been cleaned up and sufficiently hidden. Adam was currently mentally composing a letter of thanks to whoever had invented the sprinkler, both as a lawn care device and a strategy for child entertainment. Basking in the feeling of his good fortune, he poured six cups of juice and had just taken them to the table when he heard a blood curdling scream from outside.

"Daddy! Help!"

He ran outside with his heart pounding in his chest, having never heard screams like that before.

"Dunner's hurt!" Ben reported, tears streaming down his face. "His leg is gonna fall off!"

At the dramatic proclamation Sarah and Avery burst into loud tears and held onto each other. Colton and Isa were huddled around Junior, who was laying on the ground with blood flowing steadily out of his knee.

"He slipped on the grass," Isa explained, brushing Junior's hair back from his forehead. "And he slid right into those rocks Indy has around the garden. And it was a sharp one. It hurts him so much."

"Let me see, kiddo," Adam said, crouching down and inspecting the cut. It was deep and bleeding but it was a clean cut and there was no need for stitches.

"Ben, I need you to go inside and get a clean towel from the kitchen. Walk carefully so you don't slip."

"Okay daddy."

"Sarah, go ahead and go upstairs to the bathroom and get the first aid kit. Do you know where it is?"

"Yes."

"Go ahead and grab it for me. I think we can just butterfly this."

"Butterfly?" Junior breathed. "I'm a boy."

"It's not a real butterfly kiddo," Adam chuckled. "It's just a big band-aid."

"This really hurts," Junior sighed, causing Isa to cluck her tongue and hold his hand tighter.

"I know. It'll be okay."

"I brunged the towel, daddy! You gonna wrap Dunner's leg in it to keep it on?"

"His leg isn't going to fall off Ben."

"Sure looks like it. Then you could be a pirate Dunner!"

Junior just looked at him and rolled his eyes while Adam used the towel to staunch the blood flow.

"Ow! Ow! That hurts!"

"I know. I need to try and stop the blood. Isa, I'm going to pick him up and I need you to hold the towel on his leg, okay?"

She nodded quietly and did as he asked while Colton turned off the water and grabbed Avery's hand so they could all head inside.

Settling Junior on the couch, Adam took a better look at the cut on his knee, glad that the sprinkler had been running so there wasn't any dirt in the wound. He used the bandage Sarah offered him to cover it up, then dabbed the rest of the blood away with the towel.

"Okay, I think it's time to admit defeat. Everyone on the couch, it's movie day."

The kids all climbed onto the couch together, Isa with her arm around Junior. He leaned against her and she kissed the top of his head, whispering to him that it would be okay.

Adam brought their lunches out to them and turned on a movie while they all sat there quiet and subdued. He was certain he could get them to take naps after lunch, especially after a morning of playing in the water.

"Here bub, let me get your juice for you," Isa said softly, reaching for Junior's cup and giving it to him. "Do you need anything else?"

"Could I have a pillow to put my leg on?"

"Yeah. Sarah, you have to help me. Pick up his leg and I will put the pillow under."

The girls bustled around until Junior was comfortable, even covering him with a blanket so he wouldn't get the shivers. Most of the color had returned to his face and he seemed no worse for the wear, but Adam figured it might be a good idea to call Austin anyway. He went into the other room and picked up the phone, hitting the speed dial for her cell.

"Hey Dum, how's everything at PeeWee's playhouse?"

"Well do you want the good news or the bad news first?"

"Oh great. The good I guess."

"We got the gum out of Isa's hair and we didn't have to use scissors."

"And the bad news?"

"Junior fell outside and gashed up his knee pretty good. He's fine, doesn't need the doctor or anything but I thought he might feel better if he talked to you."

"Was he crying?"

"Sniffling. Sarah and Avery were more distraught and Isa has suddenly turned into Florence Nightingale, which to be honest is kind of freaking me out a little."

"She's got a soft spot for her baby brother."

"Yeah, I can tell."

"Are you okay? Sounds like your day was nothing short of eventful."

"I'll survive. But the grandmas aren't allowed to send Easter baskets ever again, that's for sure."

"Oh Dum. I'm so sorry."

"Eh, don't be. It's fine, the kids are all okay. It's just normal stuff. Want to talk to Junior?"

"Yeah thanks."

He handed the phone off and sat down in the recliner, forgetting his own lunch and basking in the silence for a while. He could feel his eyes sliding shut and he let himself fall into a light sleep, keeping one ear tuned in to the kids, just in case.

"Don't forget the fairy wings," Isa whispered as Sarah's small tongue poked out between her lips as she perfected her drawing of a flying unicorn.

"Do you think he will like it?"

"Uncle Dum loves everything us kids do."

Sarah gave a short nod as Adam stirred, waking from his nap. The girls stared down at him as if they had never seen anyone wake up before.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"Not long," Sarah replied, giving a one shoulder shrug. "The other kids fell to sleep."

"Oh," he said, looking over at the couch where the rest of the kids were curled up and snoring. "Where's Colton?"

"He had to go to the bathroom."

"What have you two been doing?"

"Sarah drew you another tattoo," Isa explained, pointing to his arm. His eyes grew wide when he looked down and saw the childlike drawing in permanent marker on his arm.

"Do you like it Uncle Adam?"

"I… I… um…"

Sarah's eyes started falling to the carpet so he quickly switched tactics, pulling her up onto his lap and kissing her cheek.

"I love it. It means a lot to me that you would share your drawing with me."

"It does?"

"Yes it does. But this is going to wash off after a while, so do you think you could draw it for me on paper so I can keep it?"

"Oh yes! I will do that right now!"

She hopped down from his lap and ran into the other room, rifling through the bottom drawer in the desk to find a piece of paper that wasn't crinkled or already had an Avery scribble on it.

"I knew you couldn't make Sarah cry no matter what," Isa announced with a little snicker. "I also know you don't like girly stuff like that drawing. This has been a prank."

Adam stared at her for a split second before deciding she was probably the most clever child he had ever met. He laughed loudly and pulled her into his arms, blowing raspberries on her cheeks and tickling her stomach. She squealed and tried to get away, but was loving the attention too much to try very hard.

"Daddy's ticklin' Isa!" Ben shouted, stretching as he woke up. "Let's get tickled too!"

He and Avery jumped up from the couch and rushed across the room while Junior stayed on the couch, his face downcast.

"Dunner, c'mon!"

"Binyin, did you forget 'bout my knee? I cannot walk! Won't play sports never again."

"You can walk Daniel," Sarah corrected, her soft voice still somehow audible over Isa's laughing screams. "You just have to believe you can."

Colton was just coming down the stairs and heard what Sarah said, then started laughing. She shot him the worst glare she could muster up, which really wasn't that scary, but it shut him up quickly.

"Okay, that's enough tickling," Adam announced, winded from keeping up with the kids. "Let's all go and have a snack."

The kids all followed him into the kitchen, except for Colton and Isa who sat back on the couch together.

"I'm glad we're not fightin' anymore Colt," she said quietly picking at the loose thread on her bathing suit.

"Me too. I don't like when we fight."

"It wasn't nice of me to be jealous. I know you're my best friend and I am yours no matter what happens."

"Yeah. My daddy says that sometimes ladies need to be reminded how much someone loves them, even when they get told all the time."

"Will you love me forever, even if sometimes you get crushes on other people?"

"Nobody else has been my best friend my whole life. Not even Ben and he's my brother."

"Okay."

"You know what else? Last night at dinner we were talkin' 'bout our first memories. Mama said hers was riding a horse when she was three. Daddy said that he remembers cooking with my grandma. Ben said he remembers when he used to be an astronaut, except I think that was a dream and not a memory. But my first one was this time me and you were taking a nap together and my mama came to get me and you cried because you didn't want me to leave."

"Yeah, I was kind of immature back then."

"But see? You're in my first memory. My very first one."

"Even your brain likes me best."

He laughed and threw his arms around her, smiling when she did the same.

"I love you lots, Isa."

"I love you too Colt."

"If we was our parents, we would kiss after that."

"Gross."

"I'm glad we agree. Wanna go see what's for snack?"

"Sure. But if it's something we gotta share, you mind giving me the bigger half?"

"My daddy always gives mama the bigger half. So no."

"Oh Colt."

"You took care of six kids all day long, fielded gum in the hair, a choking incident and a bleeding wound, managed to feed them something other than junk, had them all read for half an hour and you made dinner for ten people. I don't know Adam, I think you could market yourself as the robot from The Jetsons."

"Shut up Austin, you're just jealous of my apron."

She laughed and flicked a pea at him, which he deflected, only to have it hit Avery in the face.

"Oh!" she exclaimed happily, as if it had fallen from heaven. "A pea!"

Grinning widely, she popped it into her mouth and rubbed her stomach.

"Love peas," she whispered, nodding her head.

"Those are good for you Averylin. Hey ma, did you see the drawing I did for Uncle Adam?"

"Yeah. It's too bad you're not a tattoo artist, I'm sure he'd love to have it permanently."

"Yeah. Daddy, could I draw you something too?"

"I think I'm done gettin' inked Sarah. But maybe you could draw me something that I can hang up at work."

"Ooh! I will do just that!"

"How about the rest of you kids, how did you fare today?" Lindsay asked, reaching over to stop Avery from spilling her drink.

"It was crazy-town," Ben reported with a sigh. "And even daddy burnt his hand on the oven earlier. It's been quite the day. I'm ready to hit the sack."

The rest of the kids murmured their agreement and Adam was sent three shocked adult looks in return.

"And they're ready to go to bed early? Cupcake, how do you feel about bein' a Manny full time?"

"I feel like I need a Tylenol and a foot rub."

"I'll give you two Tylenol," Lindsay offered with a shrug. "And I'll do the dishes."

"Lose some, lose some," he muttered, catching the wink she gave him.

"And sissy peed the couch," Ben continued with a small yawn. "Daddy forgotted she wasn't wearin' a diaper and she just goed. Daddy sweared and then we all had to sit on the floor while daddy used the doggy clean-up vacuum. Cole roped off the area."

Austin and Lindsay snorted with identical laughter while Ben looked proud of himself for being funny, even if he didn't know how.

"I pee-pee," Avery agreed, then looked down at her plate, her eyes wide. "Peas?"

"Different kind, Tink," Adam chuckled.

"Oh dear."

Her confusion was cut short as Junior fell asleep, his head tipping forward and landing in his mashed potatoes.

"Oh Daniel!" Sarah exclaimed as some gravy shot across the table. "You are so tired."

He managed to sit up again, blinking his eyes several times before bursting into tears of embarrassment and exhaustion.

"It's okay Dunner! It maked a cool splash, like when the divers in the 'Lympics jump in the water. You could be in the gravy 'Lympics!"

"I don't want a medal, I just want to be cleaned up!" Junior cried while Austin came at him with a wet rag.

"I think it's time for us to go," Danny said, noticing the tired frown that had taken up residence on Isa's face. "Not that we want to eat and run or anything but… well you know how things can get."

The kids all hugged each other goodbye knowing they would see each other in the morning, as the week of spring break had been carefully planned so they could be together every day. Colton walked the Messers all the way out to their car, standing on the sidewalk and waving until their car was out of sight.

"Okay kiddos, time for bed," Adam said, lifting Avery out of her highchair. She sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck, resting her head on his shoulder.

"But I got my second wind!" Ben argued, sliding down from his chair.

"Use that second wind to brush your teeth and get your pajamas on," Adam countered. Ben sighed but went upstairs, followed by Colton who was yawning loudly.

"Give me my child and go sit down. You've worked enough today," Lindsay suggested, holding her hands out for Avery.

"Are you sure?"

"Handling six kids is much harder and exhausting than playing with a microscope all day. Go."

He smiled and handed Avery over, then went into the other room to sit down.

"Did you have fun with your daddy today?" Lindsay asked as they started up the stairs.

"Oh, most fun. Love daddy."

"Yeah, you got pretty lucky to get a daddy like him, huh?"

"Yes, Avery do."

They made it upstairs to find the boys playing in the bathroom rather than brushing their teeth. Lindsay gently redirected them and all three kids lined up by the sink, yawning as she put toothpaste on their brushes.

"Mama, help."

"You could brush yourself sissy," Ben noted. "It's easy with that song what daddy teached us."

"But she can't sing while she brushes Ben," Colton reminded him.

"Oh yeah. Well sissy, I suppose you do need help."

Avery wrinkled her nose and opened her mouth to get her teeth clean and pretty soon everyone was ready for bed. The boys opted out of a story because they were both so tired, so Lindsay just kissed them both and shut their door partway.

Avery had reached the point of tiredness where she was particularly grumpy, and finding a pair of pajamas that didn't make her burst into tears was quite the feat. Finally they found something that worked and Avery was tucked into her bed with her stuffed animals.

"Goodnight sweetie."

"Night mama. In mornin'."

"I'll see you in the morning."

She slipped out of the room and went downstairs, finding Adam stretched out along the couch, his eyes closed as the TV played quietly.

"Incoming," she giggled, laying down with him and kissing his cheek.

"What do you want?"

"I've barely seen my husband all day," she pouted, tugging on his shirt. "I miss him. And his manliness."

"Go tell him that."

She snorted a laugh and leaned up to kiss him.

"I love you."

"I love you too but you're not getting any tonight."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure."

"I mean are you really, really sure?" she asked, playing with his hand.

"Yeah."

"Baby I think you should entertain some other options here."

"What's in it for me?"

"You know what's in it for you Maestro."

"But I'm tired."

"If tired stopped us we'd never do it."

He frowned and opened his eyes, knowing full well that looking at her would be his downfall.

"Okay. But you remember that I didn't officially use a veto this time."

She grinned and leaned in to kiss him, feeling victorious.

"I can talk you into anything. Buy me a pony?"

"Don't push it, woman."