June 22, 2013

(click here for today's pictures)

Donut kind of day!

• With Keaton waking up at Grannymom's house and Reagan waking up at Nonna's house, it felt like we had an empty house.  So we loaded up in the little red van and headed out for doughnuts.  We ended up picking Keaton up before breakfast.  Then all of us ate our fill of doughnuts.  
• The kids all wore the hats from Krispy Kreme and enjoyed watching the doughnuts.  I took as long as I could eating my doughnut because I knew that when we made it home, it would be yard day! 
• Once at home, Whitman woke up to eat (I may or may not have pinched him) but the poor thing had to eat in the stroller outside.  We just propped up his bottle and rolled him into the shade (remember his past burn!)  
• We were working on the ditch by the road and Keaton would continually walk in the road.  She would look at us knowing that she was doing the wrong thing and would keep going.  That little booger.  In her defense, Robby and I were standing on the road and the boys were going up and down the street on their bikes.  
• Campbell spent her time doing something that Reagan would never ever do-picking up worms with her hands.  I was working on my part of the ditch and wondered why the dirt was so odd looking and a few minutes later, I heard Robby calling the kids over to see the worms.  Before long, we had buckets and buckets that the kids were filling up.  Personally, I am pretty sure that my babies are playing with baby snakes.  
• The ditch was finished before 1 so we went in for lunch.  Afterwards, I put Keaton to bed, the other kids watched a movie, I fed Whitman and got him to sleep and then stalled as long as I could before going outside again to work.
• My sidekick, Campbell, came back out with me.  And we started raking the front yard and around the kids play set.  Robby continued to work on the upper part of the yard.  We raked and raked and I had the best looking dirt around-until the monsoon came this evening and knocked down a zillion tiny branches!  
• Graham was back outside and was able to see Robby cut down a tree and then we started working on cleaning up that mess.  Pops saved me from a bit of work by bringing Reagan home.  Reagan was wearing a new shirt and was happy to see everyone but ready to go in and watch her tv show.   
• The boys set outside and split a drink-until they started fussing about taking turns.  So we had them come to where we were and start throwing rocks over the fence and hauling branches to the burn pile.  Robby called me a softy but I didn't make them work too long.  I want them to not think of hard work as punishment and I also want them to want to help us around here.  But on the other hand, maybe a little hard work as a punishment is good for them.  
• Speaking of punishment, that Reagan straight up lied to me tonight.  I probably should have given her a real punishment instead of a talk.  She had been bothering Anderson in the car and Robby made her sit in the car until everyone and everything was unloaded (no, it wasn't hot in the car).  So when I went to pick up some trash in the van a lollipop wrapper was wet.  I asked her and she quickly said that Anderson and Campbell did it.  So when I asked everyone about it, fingers were pointing all around the room.  We quickly got to the truth and Reagan was at fault. 
• Back to this afternoon, Keaton and Campbell were outside watching me haul limbs.  They weren't anywhere near since Robby had the chainsaw out and they were terrified of the noise and when you throw in the thunder, they were beside themselves.  We finished and started picking up all of our yard stuff.  Robby parked the tractor in the shed just as it started pouring.
• We thought it would just be a quick summer shower but after everyone got cleaned up and it was still raining or more accurately pouring, we had to break the news to the kids that swimming wasn't going to happen tonight.  Anderson took it the worst and Whitman really took it the best.  
• Since we had sandwiches for lunch and we have never made out our menu for the month like we plan on doing every month, we went out.  We had Mexican down the road and the kids were so good that we received multiple compliments as we left the restaurant.
• So many compliments that Robby went to the grocery store next door and bought them ice cream.  One lady from the restaurant was inside buying herself ice cream and said that the kids deserved some.  We went to Pops' house to eat the ice cream and the kids enjoyed getting to eat out of cone and no one complained about having to load up to head home.  
• Once at home, everyone pajamad up and it was bedtime.  This was the first time in 3 nights that the big 4 have all been back in the same room since Graham slept in our room for 2 nights and then last night Reagan was gone.  I think they miss each other when they are gone-or at least I hope they do!