April 7, 2017

(click here for today's pictures)

• The alarm went off before 7 this morning. I jumped in the shower and Robby went upstairs to wake up the kiddos. They were all sleeping soundly but did jump up quickly and were soon getting their clothes on. 
• Campbell had laid out her overalls last night and spent a good deal of the morning looking for her hat from Hayley's party to complete her farm attire. She did sleep great last night and that ear drum has held so hopefully she is on the mend.
• Everyone made their breakfasts-Graham and Reagan eating a Wednesday morning bagel even though it isn't Wednesday morning! I was about to get myself a bagel but when I realized that we didn't have any flavored cream cheese. We were in the car a bit before 8.
• We picked up Jodee and Kennedy in Maumelle and then headed on to Cave City. We did have to stop briefly for Campbell to potty. Anderson and Whitman jumped out as well though I don't really think anyone really had to go. I think they just saw the opportunity to go potty and took it-probably fairly wise.
• We arrived at Brood Farm right after the others and we were not the last so that was good. We hopped out of the car and found our buddies petting the baby goats.  Once everyone arrived, we walked to see the pigs.
• The first thing that happened was slopping the pigs-that was nasty and interesting. We couldn't pet the pigs since they like to eat everything-even little fingers! Then my group rode a hay ride out to the chickens.
• There we fed the chickens pieces of bread while waiting on the other group to arrive. There were over a hundred chickens and 8 (I think) different varieties.  Then we all went into the chicken coup to gather eggs-each kiddo was able to pick an egg up and put it in the basket.
• Then my group went back to the pigs and filled out a quiz about them. We did miss the question about pigs being nocturnal-they are kind of in the summer time when it is so hot. Also their worst sense is their sense of sight in case you were wondering.
• After the pigs, we all stopped to have our lunch. The kids ate and then played a bit of basketball before we went back to the goat area. There the kids sat on blankets while listening to a story about a goat. The goats would walk around looking at us as we sat-it was really neat.
• Then we watched a momma goat being milked. I was quite surprised at all of the milk she made. Afterwards, we all tried some milk (tasted just like regular milk). I think that Graham and Anderson were the only ones who had any. After the goat's milk tasting, we had some goat's milk cheese. It was also pretty good.
• By this time, we had seen everything at the farm and headed on with Sara's dad to a cave. The cave was once opened to the public many years ago but now is closed and privately owned. We were able to get it open for us and Sara's dad gave us a tour like he did when he was a teenager.
• He did tell us that they used to make up stories to tell the people in the cave but he also pointed to where an Indian Chief was buried so I am not quite sure if that is the truth or not. The cave was damp and dark. We all did have flashlights and everyone stayed close. Some of the crew, did duck under the old handrail so they could go near the underground river to touch the water. 
• Whitman was fine in the cave at first but then he decided that he was ready to go. Anderson was also a bit ready to go-just like when we went to Mammoth Cave and he was a baby-though he didn't cry this time. He was just ready to get out! 
• After the cave, it didn't take too long for us to make it to Bald Knob where we had shakes at the Bulldog. I let everyone have their own shake except for Keaton who only wanted a Sprite. I opted for no shake but a small onion rings. 
• We were on a time crunch on the way home because we had to get Graham to a birthday party in Benton. In Maumelle, I threw Jodee out of the car and then threw everyone but Anderson and Graham out of the car and into Robby's car. He had some errands to run on that side of town so he took some help.
• We dropped Anderson off at Grannymom's house. He was super excited about getting to spend the night and could hardly wait to get out of the car. We were only there a few minutes and then we were back on the road.
• We were about 20 minutes late to the party but I was still perfectly pleased with our time. They were already giving instructions so Graham ran to listen. Anderson had already told him to wear a jacket and even though he was probably a bit warm, he was perfectly prepared for the game of splat ball.
• I dropped Graham off and then ran back home since I was fairly close. The others had just arrived so I unloaded the car and cleaned up a bit before we all loaded back up. I dropped off Robby and the little girls at the Wilson's house and Whitman, Reagan and I went to pick up Graham.
• They were still playing when we arrived and we watched them play until time was called. Graham was exhausted and had apparently been running for two whole hours. He had a blast and has decided that he wants to play splat ball many, many more times.
• Then we beelined it back to the Wilsons for supper. Shannon outdid herself with taco salad and oreo cheesecake. It all was delicious and we ate while watching the Hog baseball game. We stayed until Campbell and Whitman were about to fall asleep on the couch and then it was home.
• My crew was so tired that we didn't even make them take showers tonight. We gave Campbell her medicine, made them brush their teeth and shoved them into bed!