August 31, 2019

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• Robby was up very, very early this morning to have the oil changed in the car. I had intended to get up near the time that he left, but instead jumped up right before he made it home.
• I went to work on the laundry and dishes while Robby cooked some chicken. I was able to pack a bit more before Keaton, Campbell and I took Graham to a birthday party.
• It was a swim party so he had a blast hanging out with his friends. While he was there, Keaton had her hair cut. She was so excited through the whole thing. Then we did some speed shopping around Kroger. We have more to buy tomorrow but at least we made a dent in our ever growing grocery list.
• After picking up Graham, we came home. I worked on unloading our groceries and when I had finished, Whitman asked me for lunch. It took me a little bit to make his lunch, but seconds after I sat it down in front of him, he said, "well, I guess I am going to get my lunch." The silly boy didn't see it!
• Robby and I worked in the yard for a while. He worked longer than I did-though I did struggle with the weed sprayer thing for far too long. It just doesn't like me-when Robby would get it ready for me, it would work perfectly. He would get back on the mower and the weed spray would start dripping out again. This happened over and over again.
• Chase came over to spend the night. He had just been here for a little bit when we left for Third Realm. We did pick up the big Heltz 3 to jump with us. Nothing like showing up with 10 kiddos-pretty fun. Everyone had someone to play with!
• Reagan went home with Alyssa after jumping, and the rest of us headed to the pool. The water must have been a bit cold, but that didn't stop anyone. The kids all swam and ate-they finished 4 boxes of pizza and 3 packages of cookies. 
• On the way home, Chase said to Anderson, "you don't know where Highway 5 is?" I am not sure what they were talking about. Anderson replied, "no, I don't know that but I know Route 66." 
• We came home around 8 and started on showers. After showers, Graham and Chase did some basketball trading. Then they watched a movie while Whitman and most everyone else watched some of The Greatest Showman. Well, they watched it, but I snoozed through it-there is nothing better sleep than cuddled up with a snuggly kid during a movie.

August 30, 2019

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• I was up way earlier than usual because I headed out to sit with my mom this morning during my dad's surgery. The surgery took a little bit, but we were entertained with lots of visitors and frequent trips to the cafeteria. 
• My dad did fine during the surgery and seems to be doing fine tonight. He still has at least one night of a hospital stay along with a pretty good recovery period in front of him. I was there until 2 when I rushed home like a mad woman because I was just going to have 20 minutes at home before we turned around and left again for the night.
• The kids had done pretty much nothing all day long. I am glad that they enjoyed their day off of school. Now, Campbell and Keaton had helped do some power washing this afternoon. Our flower beds are newly mulched and the sidewalks are power washed. I wish that I could use that power washer inside the house to clean things. If I could do that-these are the things that I would clean-my kitchen cabinets, my carper and my bathrooms. Wonder if that would be possible?
• After being home for just a bit, we sooned turned around and left for Third Realm. We had been offered a pretty good deal yesterday for more passes. However, today we found out that the deal that sounded too good to be true was actually too good to be true. So tomorrow will probably be our last day there for a while.
• From there, we headed to the Salt Bowl tailgate. We lucked out with a free parking spot. We were right by a sign that mentioned that violators would be towed which greatly bothered Graham. We assured him that we would not be there long enough to be towed (we were in a parking lot so we really weren't doing anything horrible.)
• We loaded up and freebies-balls (for our Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes), cups, pens and notepads (mainly just me there) plus there was lots of food-chips, candy, snowcones, hot dogs, cashew chicken, cokes, waters, ice cream sandwiches, popsicles. I do believe that my kids feel that the Salt Bowl tailgate is one of their favorite days of the year.
• Reagan stayed with Candice for the game. We were having no part of that-too hot and too pricy for us. So we headed to the pool. Most of our buddies were there so the kids all enjoyed thierselves despite the 30 minutes we had to wait after thunder.
• We stayed pretty late and then came home in time for everyone to look through their bags of goodies. I should have taken a picture of my bag of goodies, but quickly put everything away (6 balls, 15 little boxes of lemonheads, 8+ ChickFilA gift cards, 2 free hair cut coupons, a free car wash, 2 bags, candy, credit card holders, and some chips. It was a pretty good haul.)
• Reagan didn't get in until 11 so after looking for something to eat and not being able to find anything, she headed upstairs to bed. Robby and I still have a few more things to do around the house before calling it quits for the day.

August 29, 2019

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• Ahh, what another wonderful day this was. It is after 10, and we have been busy all day long, but it has been a good busy. (Though our to-do list seems to be growing by the minute.) 
• School this morning, and the principal had to even get involved. My big boys were fooling around, and I made sure to put an end to it. Well, as things go around here, me "putting an end to it" did really nothing. Though when Robby walked in the room and told them to straighten up and go back to their desks, I never heard another peep out of them.
• School went a bit longer today, but my sweet Graham volunteered to make everyone lunch. He and Keaton took orders and made everyone grilled cheese sandwiches. They were so proud of themselves, and lunch went incredibly smoothly. It was much easier than everyone grabbing their own things. I might just have to make Graham and Keaton our lunch chefs.
• This afternoon was fairly short. I was able to pack some before heading out. Today was my first day to volunteer at a pregnancy place in Benton. I plan on doing it every other week and was relieved to find out that my main tasks will be folding clothes and putting diapers in bags. This things I can do!
• While I was gone, Robby took the kids to Third Realm to jump for a little bit. I ran home to put on pants, picked up Candice and then headed to Third Realm to change cars with him.
• Afterwards, I went to church for a women's event. It was super fun, and I even had a play a game on the stage. And yes, my team won. 
• While I was there, Robby then took the kids to ChickFila for free sandwiches. After that, they came home and worked on putting new mulch in all of the flowerbeds. I just looked at it in the dark when I came home, but it looked super good. 
• The kids were still up when I came home, we rehashed this day and talked about what all was going to happen tomorrow and then it was bedtime for the crew.

August 28, 2019

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• Let's see, I really can't remember too much about this morning. We started the same as usual-grabbing breakfasts and reading in my room. Then it was off to do work. 
• We were a bit rushed today so no one did their spelling with me, but even though I left around 11, I was still able to have most people finished up.
• Reagan met Ms. Paige for lunch at ChickFilA. She was a bit nervous about doing this, but I told her that was really a neat opportuntity. While they were eating, I ran to Dairy Queen and then to Walmart. My goal was to get some mulch from Walmart, but had no luck! It may not be meant to be!
• I didn't think that we would be home in time for our afternoon reading, but since we were I didn't let the opportunity pass us by. My goal is to finish two of our textbooks by February just leaving history to haul to Florida.
• There were some chores and then it was time for everyone to leave. We loaded up for Third Realm-I bet you aren't surprise there. The kids jumped hard.
• When it was over, we hurried home to grab some supper. Robby had made pizzas a few weeks ago so we thawed them out. They were great tonight for our quick supper.
• Then it was on to church. I am in Whitman's class. Tonight everyone was able to say their Bible verse but then they all weren't able to say the days of creation. So we worked and worked on that next-they couldn't still really do it, but we counted it anyway! They are first graders, after all!
• We stayed pretty late after church tonight. It was just us and 3 other families but we did all completely fill the playground. Reagan always wants us to stay late so she should have really enjoyed this evening.
• We did stop at the store on the way home to buy some ice cream for our dessert. Even my Reagan who doesn't care of ice cream anymore ate a tiny bit of ice cream. Robby and I even had some tonight when the kids went to bed. In case you were wondering, he had cookies and cream and I had a coke float (my new favorite ice cream treat.) 

August 27, 2019

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• Once again I was the one of the last ones up this morning. I have learned that my first tasks in the morning do not need to be brushing my teeth, putting on my socks or getting out the laundry like I would prefer to do. Instead, I know hussle up the stairs to start waking up the girls. The sooner they are awake, the sooner that we can get our school together time started. 
• After I wake them up, then I am able to brush my teeth and get my socks on. This morning as we were reading, my Campbell started to fold the laundry. She finished all of it before we had finished our reading. I guess that she figured that if she didn't do it, then I would ask for folks to do it after I finished reading.
• Today instead I asked for them to help me with the dishwasher. I had asked everyone to do 20 things, but I guess that it was so incredibly full that a few folks emptying 20 thing didn't seem to make much of a difference. When I did make it to the dishwasher later in the morning, it still seemed full to the brim-but at least most of the silverware was emptied. 
• Whitman was as slow as Christmas today. Everyone else sped along with their work. Some days I feel super confident about all of our school work that we do, and others not so much. I will say though that after our trivia game Sunday at Nonna's house, I do know that my kids are trivia wizards. 
• After lunch, we read a bit more then headed off to the library. I know that I have said it before, but going to do the library and getting books is one of my favorite things. And then tonight, I get to reuqest most books which also makes me supper happy. (I know, I need a hobby or something. Library books shouldn't make a person this happy.)
• The kids made slime at the library, and they also redid the rock candy experiment that that did last week. They seemed to enjoy it all, but it just meant that we left wtih 6 cups of slime plus 6 cups of sugary liquid that should turn into rock candy. It could have been a messy ride home, but thankfully everything stayed in it's place and there were no spills.
• After the library, we headed to Third Realm. Our time there is growing short so we definitely don't want to miss any this week. The kids will be a bit bummed when all of this is over-I am on the fence. I enjoy the momma chatting time and especially love that the kids are getting so much exercise, but I will be glad to gain back my afternoons. I love being home...possibly I am a hermit.
• We ran home for a few minutes before turning around for Reagan's practice. Robby, Keaton and Campbell went with Reagan and me. We dropped Reagan off and then Robby dropped the little girls and me off at Walmart. We ran into Great Clips for Campbell to have a hair cut. All of my girls have been begging for one so today was Campbell's day. 
• Robby ran to the gas station so we would have enough gas to get home. He also picked up a few things from the grocery store while we were getting hair cut and doing some shopping of our own. 
• Reagan again was chatty after her practice. She played in the midfield today and seemed to enjoy it. She did say that she was soar and her coach was highly encouraging the girls to run-I guess we will start on that after Third Realm is over. She was again a sweaty mess after practice. She even wondered aloud how come all of the Dennies sweat so much.
• We came home with food for supper so as some showered, Robby made quesadillas for our supper. We had it all ready fairly quickly and were able to sit around the table it eat our supper tonight. Afterwards, the some more kids had showers and then we had some downtime before bed. 
• The kids have been staying up pretty late the last few nights. The only thing bad about that is, it takes them a while to wind down once they are in their beds so the boys were still going strong late last night and I can still hear them tonight!

August 26, 2019

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• We were moving a bit slow this morning, but still started our school routine just about 10 minutes late. There was lots of scurrying around trying to get breakfast and get into my room for us to start school. 
• Everyone found their breakfast and settled in to hear some reading. Today we read about earth's perfect atmosphere along with the American Revolution plus there was a slew of other books that we read from this morning. 
• After we finished reading, everyone started on their work for the day. It was a perfect storm for Anderson-he had numerous things today that didn't take him anytime at all. Math was a review, grammer was just the front of one page, writing was accidently done on Friday, and his other writing was just correcting errors for a final draft. He was finished super early. I did try to encourage him to do a few things for tomorow, but just guess how that went over!
• Even Whitman was finished at a decent time today. Reagan sat down with him and helped him through some of his math. He can do it, but will just stare into space for a very long time. He was finished by lunch which is super early for him. 
• Everyone ate their lunches while they were playing Minecraft. That game has had a resurgence. The kids had all stopped playing it, but now that is what they are all playing. Even Whitman can play along. Though when they play, they are often pretty noisy, and it usually involves quite a few people yelling at each other. 
• After lunch we read a bit more. Then I worked on a few things on my list-reading to Campbell and Keaton, reading to Whitman, fixing a doll bed and a few other things. Then it was time to load up and head to Third Realm. 
• This is our last week so I figure we will come quite a few times. When we left today, A boss man told the kids that they could all have a tshirt or hat. I made all of the kids thank him and thanked him myself as well. I am not really sure why he did this-possibly they are going out of business is all I can think of! Ha! 
• We did run to Walmart to pick up green beans for Campbell's supper. There was no fresh ones there-well, they had fresh ones that had already been snapped and bagged. We bought them despite the price. Let's just say I paid about 5 dollars more than I wanted to pay for green beans!
• When we did make it home, Campbell and I went right to work on her meal. Now, I will say that this idea of mine having the kids cook is just a lot of work. I know that it is so good for them but really it is a lot of work! She made chocolate crinkle cookies, chickfila copycat chicken nuggets, Mrs. Louanne's green beans and masthed potaotes. Her meal was excellent-even Anderson approved. 
• Keaton and Whitman played outside while Campbell worked. After supper, they all headed back outside plus Campbell. Everyone that was inside had their showers and all of my boys worked on their designs for our egg drop which is coming up with our homeschool buddies. And when I say "coming up," I really should say "happening in a little over a month." I love that they are planning ahead!
• The evening ended with everyone having some of Campbell's cookies before bedtime. It was a pretty perfect day around here.

August 25, 2019

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• Church morning around here. I am not sure why I was the last one ready today-it might have had to do with me combing Campbell and Keaton's hair along with helping Graham make his smoothie. I threw on my clothes, dabbed on my makeup and then just had to wait for the hair dryer to dry my hair. 
• We then all headed to church. The kids all seemed to enjoy their Sunday school classes right now. Whitman is with us, and we have a pretty good first grade group for our Sunday school class. 
• We had our lunch at Nonna's house. They had bbq which is always a hit. Her brownies were super yummy, and I probably could have eaten the whole bag myself, but that would be bad! 
• After lunch, the kids, Nonna, Jason and I all played a "short" game of Trivial Pursuit. The game went fairly well until the end when the boys started laughing about the country named Djibouti. By the end, every time we didn't know an answer, we would just shout out "Djibouti." Robby said that it was fairly difficult to nap during all of our commotion.
• I did get my nap when we came home. It was only about a 30 minute nap since I had to run to church for a meeting. Afterwards, I met Robby and the kids at the pool. They had gone to Third Realm during my meeting.
• We ate pizza and swam tonight. Well, Robby and I didn't get close to the water since we were sure that it was chilly! The kids enjoyed being with some of their buddies at the pool. The evening was pretty pleasant. 
• When we came home, everyone showered and then had a bit of downtime before it was finally bedtime for everyone. 
• I tucked the kids in first and it was a good long while until Robby finally went up there to tuck them in. The longer he waits to tuck them in, the rowdier they get. I heard Robby go up the stairs and then the entire house heard him hollar to scare the kids. After he spooked them, they were all screaming back as well. As loud as all of the screams coming from upstairs just where, I am sure that someone wet themselves!

August 24, 2019

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• This was a pretty lazy Saturday. Robby and Graham went off this morning to run a few errands. They didn't go where I wanted to go-the grocery store. I could have boughta few things, but I could always buy a few things-even right after leaving the grocery store.
• I did read to the girls a book and read to Whitman so those were things off of my list. There was also laundry to fold this morning. Then I was pretty much out of things to do. I even ended up being a bit productive and sewing a mickey head on a shirt for Keaton. I had almost finished it when I decided that I needed one more thing from Walmart to complete it. (It is done now and really cute.)
• Nonna and Pops brought Reagan back from her night over there. They did quite a bit of shopping looking for a comforter for Reagan, but they had no luck. After they left, we had had our lunches. Reagan dove right into her leftover steak from last night.
• We didn't have too much time until time to leave. Today was Reagan's first soccer game, but it wasn't really a game. It was just a scrimmage. They played a team from Byant on Reagan's practice field. The other team won, but I think that Reagan had fun. She plays defense and seems like she really enjoys it. I will say that soccer is just a lot of kicking the ball. I like to watch Reagan kick the ball, but other than that I guess I could take a book. Maybe I will get more into this real soccer business as the season progresses.
• On our way home from the game, we ran into Walmart so Robby could buy sausage for supper while I bought some webbing for Keaton's shirt and bought a tshirt for Campbell. Then we hurried on home. I should have gone to the bathroom at Walmart because it is a long way from Walmart to our house...the soccer field does not have a potty! 
• We then had a few minutes of downtime before we started making waffles for supper...except we didn't have any syrup so the waffle plan was scraped. We just ended up having biscuits, sauage, eggs, apples, grapes and strawberries which was still quite an excellent meal.
• As we were cleaning up, we decided to go to Third Realm for a little bit of jumping time. Everyone decided to go so we all went. It was kind of crowded but not too crowded and not scary at all. 
• Once we made it home, it was time for showers for all. Robby worked on a tv while the kids all played Minecraft until bedtime. 

August 23, 2019

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• What a wonderful day it has been. There was very little school work done today-just some reading together, a little science-y experiment and some catch up work for Anderson. Other than that, things were pretty slow around here.
• I woke up later than I had planned, but still had my laundry folded, dishes put away, kitchen swept and read to Whitman after only being up for an hour. I really probably needed a few more things for me to do today-other than cleaning or anything productive like that.
• I did run to church for a little bit. Our Sunday school cabinet was completely filled with junk. I have about 15 minutes on Wednesday that I used to throw a lot away. So today, I was able to finish it up. I left a lot of mess in the cabinets but at least they are organized. I also hung up some things on the wall which is more than I have done in many, many years. 
• I made it home back in time to eat lunch with everyone. Nonna and Pops arrived about that time to pick up Reagan. She already had a list of things that she wanted from amazon for her birthday, but she still wanted to go shopping to see what all she could find for her future room reno. 
• Robby took Campbell, Keaton and Graham to Third Realm this afternoon. I did the treadmill but also spent some time pulling out school for next week and for the one day that we will get to do it the next week. That chore really took me most of the afternoon. I am not so sure what took my longer than usual today, but I must have been moving like a sloth. I might should think about doing two weeks at a time, but if we somehow get off track then things would just be a mess so maybe that isn't a good idea.
• This evening we took the boys to basketball practice. They have missed the last few weeks so they were anxious to go back. While they were at practice we ran to Grannymom's house for a few minutes. On the way to pick up the boys, we did run by and get our car washed for the second time today. Can your car really be too clean?
• We ate supper tonight at Arbys. I am now stuffed but possibly still looking forward to some ice cream tonight-it is Friday night after all!

August 22, 2019

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• Aw, the last day of school for the week. I feel like I don't have a whole lot to talk about on the blog since we have started back to school. Our days are just full of school and little else it seems.
• This morning did seem to fly by-even though I had less work to do with everyone today, I was still working at 12:15 with Whitman. Some days he is focused and others not so much, but every day he at least has a good time during school. His favorite is when he gets to work with a big brother or sister. 
• I guess everyone has their strengths and favorites. Reagan's writing seems to be very well while Anderson struggled some with that but is a pro at math. Graham doesn't have a problem with math and flies through his writing as well. Campbell has finally gotten her long division! And I have noticed lately that Keaton has some pretty nice handwriting when she slows down.
• We ate lunch-I don't think that any of my kids would willing choose a sandwich. Now, I did make Whitman a grilled cheese only because he had asked for one for breakfast and didn't get it. Reagan had a toasted hamburger bun with cheese, and I think that hers was the closest anyone had to a real sandwich. I just don't know where we have gone wrong!
• I had planned to walk on the treadmill but was distracted wtih some trip planning. I guess everyone has their priorities, but if I don't make the treadmill one of mine, I will have to have my jaw wired shut!
• We jumped with our people today at 4. The kids went through a phase where they weren't too crazy about going to Third Realm, but right now they all love it. The little girls are getting pretty good at their gymnastics moves. We just have one week left on our passes-part of me can't wait and the other part will be a bit sad to see this activity go.
• We all went to Reagan's soccer practice tonight. We dropped her off and went to Pinnacle. We walked on the short little trail by the playground twice and even had some time to play on the playground and throw the football.
• Reagan once again enjoyed practice. After we picked her up, we grabbed some supper at Wendys. I ate a spicy chicken sandwich-it was good, but a bit too spicy for me. I didn't think that it would be that spicy. I had to douse it in ketchup so I could eat it. I probably should take some tums tonight...or eat some ice cream (it does about the same thing for me.)
• Once at home, we chatted with the neighbors and Robby cut the boys hair (all but Graham's). Then it was eventually bedtime for everyone. The boys seem to still be going strong upstairs though.

Augut 21, 2019

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• Today was fairly similar to yesterday. The kids are still getting used to Robby being home every day. I was asked at least twice, "Dad is home?" He usually hides in the bonus room until lunch time when we will see him for a few minutes.
• The kids did great on their school work. I have figured out what I want to do for Anderon's spelling, and Reagan did one section of her ACT. She did fine for never having taken a test before. Whitman still took forever, but he is at least cute.
• We all had our lunch before doing another round of reading. We knoked out a Jr. Ranger book and are moving steadily along in our Latin book. Whitman is a pro at only one Latin phrase-Ego Amo Te (I love you.)
• This afternoon flew by becuase in the middle of it, we loaded up and headed to Third Realm. Not too many more weeks to go, and the kids always love seeing their buddies. Though I know that I could accomplish a lot more if I wasn't leaving the house every single day. I love days that you just don't leave the house at all! Those are my favorite days ever.
• After lots of jumping, we ran home briefly before leaving again for another Wednesday night. This is the first normal schedule one so it was new to everyone. I again have another good first grade group. We just have one kiddos that needs some extra attention (and he's not mine.)
• Reagan badly wanted to stay longer after church tonight so we did stay which made her happy. All of the kids were out playing gaga ball. Once it was time to leave, we rushed home so Robby and I could meet the Wilsons for an evening walk.
• We were racing the lightening that seemed to be all around us. I was afraid that we were going to be blown away-or maybe I was hoping that a storm would come and we could stop early! 
• When we came home, I made the kids ice cream sandwiches which they kind of liked. I am not sure though since no one really asked for seconds on the ice cream sandwiches! Then it was time for bed for the crew-one more day of school this week!

August 20, 2019

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• School again. It seems like we are doing school all of the time now. I guess that it what we are supposed to do. Actually, I love it! It is chaotic and crazy, but I know what is going to happen each morning and that makes me happy.
• I didn't know however that at 7:03 this morning that Keaton would come in our room and ask to make muffins. Campbell had made them yesterday, and I guess that she wanted her turn to cook. That was fine since we were stocked up on muffin mix (were-not stocked up anymore though). 
• Since she started early with her muffins, they were ready by our time to read together. Everyone ate as I read about Venus and the French and Indian War today. I tell you, there are plenty of books to read about the French and Indian War and not too many of those books are interesting! Now, Venus I am finding a bit more interesting.
• We then started on our work. For some reason, I became really far behind today. I work with everyone at least once during the day. Reagan I work with the shortest amount of time because I just have to check that she has finsihed her stuff and grade her math. Campbell I work with the longest because 3rd and 4th grade are just tough. Everyone else fall somewhere in between. 
• So from 8-9 we read, that leaves me 3 hours to finish. That comes out to 30 minutes a kid and yes, I definitely watch the clock. Back to today, I was almost an hour behind at one point, but was somehow able to catch up. At noon though I laid down on the floor and felt like I had run a race. Who knew that school could be so hard?
• About that time, Robby and I decided that I needed to get Reagan new cleats for tonight. Yesterday, she tried on one pair that was way too small and then we tried on another pair which was the next size up but they were way too large. Since we weren't able to find what we needed from that garage stash, she and I loaded up for Academy.
• We were able to find shoes there for her but it did involve me having a man climb a ladder and also get on his hands and knees looking for the shoes. I was so happy that I could have hugged the man becuase I sure didn't want to pay 20 more dollars for other shoes.
• We then hurried home to pick up the others and then headed to the library. We were going to make sugar crystals today, but they were kind of a flop. Half of the kids were able to make them, but the others weren't. That was fine though because after the class, the kids had the meal again today. Whitman was the only one to eat his apple, so I brought everyone's apples home with us-yes, I added them to the full apple drawer in the fridge.
• After the library, we headed to meet all of the friends at Third Realm. Our jumping days are coming to a close, but today we hit 100 visits! Now all of the kids have not been there all 100 times, but that does mean that Robby or I have been there 100 times. 
• We jumped, and then ran home for a little bit. Robby heated up some hot dogs for our supper. We scarfed it down before taking Reagan to her first soccer practice. I don't think that she was nervous at all, but we might have been a bit nervous for her.
• Robby and I hung around for a little bit but then drove to Pinnacle after dropping her off. We didn't climb the mountain today because it is so blasted hot. We did however, sit in the shade and play on our phones until practice was over.
• When we picked her up, she was super chatty which means that she had fun. She also was incredibly wet with sweat. She said that she didn't know that she could sweat that much! I didn't either!
• We ran to Walmart on the way home, and then were home for the evening. The kids had some downtime and ice cream before bedtime. Whitman is a bit spooked lately in the house and at night. Tonight he called me upstairs because he was scared. I laid beside him and told him that he had two big strong brothers in the room with him, and his daddy was downstairs. I then added, "and who else protects you?" I was going for the "Jesus" answer, but instead he looked at me and replied, "Momma!"

August 19, 2019

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• Mondays can go well or they can go not so well. Thankfully. this Monday went very well. Whitman even finsihed his work by lunchtime. Anderson is working a bit slower, but still finished near lunch.
• We have almost all of our school routine going now. The big 5 haven't started their Bible study yet, but that will begin in September. I have one thing that I have not started yet with Reagan, Anderson and Graham. Then we are also not eating lunch together and reading during lunchtime. I love that time but am not too sure if I can start that up since that time is nice to just catch up.
• After lunch, everyone again gathered in my room for some more reading. The plan is to finish a few books early this year so I am trying my best to get things accomplished. Though I am struggling to find one more thing for Anderson to start to work on his spelling so that definitely won't be finished early or even on time!
• Anderson worked on a cake this afternoon for Nonna's belated birthday. It was the same lemon cake that he made last week. He was very happy to make it for us to eat tonight. I really think my kiddos enjoy cooking. Now if I could just get them to heat up the leftovers like I usually do.
• We headed to Third Realm late this afternoon. All of the buddies were there so the kids were busy the entire time. Afterwards, we came home and worked on cleaning out the fridge for our supper.
• Then we loaded up and went to Nonna's house to celebrate with her. We put candles on the cake and sang. Then we all dug in. The cake was again excellent, but some of the kids also wanted ice cream. Whitman does not like the lemon cake because he thinks it tastes like banana.
• After we ate, we played a grame of Trivial Pursuit. Campbell and Nonna's team one, but that was just because Robby and Pops were giving them hints. Not that I am bitter or anything! Nonna then opened her presents and not too long afterwards, we headed home for the evening.

August 18, 2019

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• Another Sunday morning around here. Things were pretty calm-it probably helped that we had plenty of breakfast choices due to our stops at the bread thrift store on the way to and from Branson.
• Whitman did walk through our room early. He said that he had to go and change clothes-this means that his pants and sheets are wet. Later, we heard the whole story from Graham. Whitman was in Graham's bed so when Graham felt that the bed was wet, he climbed into the floor. Later, Whitman woke up and asked to lay on the floor by Graham who being the good brother that he is said yes. Graham also said that he was already wet himself so it didn't really matter. I have said it before, but who knows what all goes on upstairs during the night.
• Our Sunday school class went fine today. Our difficult kiddo seems to not be a real problem at all so that is a really good thing. Everyone seems to be enjoying their new classes so that makes me happy.
• We had lunch at Grannymom's house and celebrated Cash's birthday. Quiche was on the menu which is exactly what Campbell and Anderson said that they wanted for their December birthdays. 
• After we ate, Robby worked on their tv while the kids played games. Whitman and Grannymom even worked on some stretches for him since he has an good inch and possibly and inch and a half to grow before Disneyworld. 
• On the way home, we went to get our car washed and moments later as we were nearing the house, a monsoon came. The wind was crazy-nuts enough that I worried about a tree falling on us. 
• We came home, unloaded and I laid down for a little bit (about 20 minutes). While I was laying down the thunder was incrdibly loud, the wind was blowing and the power went out for a good 5 minutes. It was a pretty exciting afternoon.
• As soon as the storm was over, Robby loaded up the crew and headed to Third Realm to jump. All of the buddies were there. I stayed home and worked on school for next week. Then it was time to meet up at the pool.
• The weather seemed decent on the way but it sprinkled for the first hour that the kids swam. The sun was out but it just sprinkled away. They loved it. The Fergusons were there to so my kids enjoyed playing with all of their littles. 
• We ate supper at the pool-sandwiches-and even stayed until closing. They close at 8 on Sundays which is the perfect time because when we come home, we still feel like we have some downtime before bed. 
• There were lots of showers and I worked some more on school stuff before we sent everyone to bed. First I had to remake Graham's bed-all of his sheets are super clean. I probably should have told Whitman to stay in his own bed tonight!

August 17, 2019-Sixth Silver Dollar City Trip

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If you are just skimming the blog tonight, make sure that you do take time to read the last paragraph!

Most everyone in our room woke up at 5 this morning. Whitman had been coughing for just a little bit-well, enough that I debated getting him some water. Graham went to the bathroom, then I did and after that Campbell did as well. I didn't think that we were ever going to get to sleep again, but soon Robby was telling me that my alarm was ringing. 

We hit snooze for a bit too long, so we scurried around just a little bit this morning. We did eat the hotel breakfast, and really it was the best breakfast we have ever eaten in Branson apart from Billy Gails.

When we had finished, we quickly loaded up the cart, packed the car and drove to Silver Dollar City. We were still there before the opening time. Our usual routine is to go to Time Traveler and Thunderation the first thing in the morning. Instead, we hustled on to Powder Keg. Robby rode it twice wtih Whitman. We really need him to grow another inch to help out our Silver Dollar City trips. If he was just an inch taller, then he could ride almost all of the rides by himself. (Plus he needs to grow an inch at Disney for Rock n Roller coaster.)

Next we went to Fire in the Hole followed by Outlaw Run and Wildfire. Everyone did the seat thing where you pull yourself up to the top. Graham and I were together, and he didn't help me at all! That stinker. My hands were burning by the time the ride was over.

We were starting to wrap up by this time so we went to Time Traveler but the line was too long for that so everyone rode Thunderation. The next stop was supposed to be the big swings, but they were being cleaned. So we rode the pirate ship and teacups down at the bottom before heading back up to the top of the park.

You can't leave Silver Dollar City without cinnamon bread so we gladly ate our normal share plus Reagan and Anderson's share. Whitman had made a deal with Robby-Whitman wanted to ride some wet rides but Robby offered up Grandfather's Mansion instead. Whitman was super pleased with that idea so it was a win for everyone.

Then it was back to the car. We drove a bit, and then I started fixing our lunches. I was still working on lunches when we arrived back at the bread thrift store in Harrison. We were in there yesterday, but I still found a few more things today. 

We did stop nearish to Conway for a potty stop. I am not really sure where it was that we stopped, but I did drive home from there, and it was at least 30 minutes to Conway. We did stop at Walmart and Kroger on the way home. Reagan needed a soccer ball for her upcoming soccer practice (we have at least 17 soccer balls at our house, but none the right size.) And then there was a sale on cheese for we bought a couple or maybe more like a dozen.

When we did arrive home, Reagan and Anderson were already home from their one night retreat. Candice was nice enough to bring them home for us. They seemed like they had a good time. Anderson was exhuasted and said that he had very little sleep. Reagan also had little sleep but she does well with no sleep.

We all unloaded from our night away, and then headed to the Wilsons' house for supper. After we ate, Anderson asked to go home. Reagan wasn't showing any signs of sleep deprivation and played a round of kickball with the others. When they all came in, we devoured some ice cream-Blue Bell was also on sale today!

We then came home for showers and bed for the crew. As we were tucking everyone in tonight, Reagan casually mentioned, "I got saved last night." Robby and I were both a bit surprised and exstatic to hear this. We could not be more excited for her! Wonderful, wonderful news!

August 16, 2019-Sixth Silver Dollar City Trip

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This morning I asked Whitman if he was excited about our trip. He had been picking out Disney pins for our upcoming Disney trip and questioned if I was talking about our Disney trip. I told him that we were about to go to Branson in a few minutes. He looked at me and replied, “well, that is the first I have heard about that.”

I guess he hadn’t heard much about the trip since I packed for him which is just easier right now since he prefers to wear long sleeve shirts with his shorts. This little run to Branson is a bit different for everyone because Reagan and Anderson are staying back at home. They had a church retreat tonight so when we left for the trip, they were still there. Well, Anderson was there seeing us off while Reagan was still in her bed. 

As we were about to back a way, I thought that Whitman was about to cry when he said, “I am going to miss Anderson so much.” I told him that he could go and give him one last hug and out of the car he jumped. 

We left a bit earlier than planned today since we threw in a few extra stops on the way up. Not only was packing a bit different for this trip, the whole dynamics have been a bit changed as well. First, since this trip will be just one night, it does seem silly to bring all of the things that we bring. However, most things are already packed so it wasn’t any problem to load them in the car. I did omit my panini maker. I am still trying to figure out our new packing pattern so it neve hurts to practice.

Then not having the big kids does make things a bit different. The others seem to have stepped up. For example, they make sure that Whitman is with us and are even a bit more helpful. Maybe we should always take separate trips-no, not really. I do like having all of my people with us.

Our first stop today was something that has been on my to do list for a few years. We went to pick apples! We went to Cadron Crest Orchard in Guy. The kids and I went there with Grannymom and Nonna in 2016. They had less apples this time, but we still managed to spend a little bit.

Once we made it there, we waited in a line to find out where we needed to go. Then we were off to pick apples. They had lots of cooking apples, but we were interested in the eating apples. When we climbed in the car, I told Robby that the man said that one bag full was about 40 dollars. Robby was quick to ask why we had 4 bags with us. 

We then drove to the trees and went to town picking. We did lose Campbell briefly only to discover that she had practically filled her bag full. Bless. She was going to town getting apples. Whitman was so excited that we were going to get to pick them “like the pumpkin patch.” 

We walked back to the stand and paid for our apples. The kids could not have been more excited about the apple picking. Once we loaded the apples in the car, we headed back to the main road. The gps took us down a few back roads which was a pretty drive.

Other than our apple picking, we only stopped once for a gas/bathroom stop. Then I made lunch for everyone as we zoomed on down the road. The ride didn't seem very long at all, and around 3 we were walking in to Silver Dollar City.

I will say that we were a bit surprised be the weather. It was overcast and pleasant. We weren't hot at all. I joked that I could have used a jacket but it wasn't really that cool. It was so comforatable though. I hope that tomorrow will be just like that except I have looked at the weather and saw that it will be near 100 tomorrow!

There were a few folks at SDC today. We waited for about 20 minutes to get on Fire in the Hole and passed out Powder Keg because the line was super long. The bigs did the Barn Swings and Outlaw Run. We then went to the Fireman's Landing and did a few of the rides there.

The next stop was the other kiddie area. Everyone but me did the big swings. We stayed in that area doing most of the rides that were open there. Then it was back up the hill to Time Traveler for Graham and Campbell and Thunderation for the rest of us.

We did stay for the show at the end of the day. The park closed at 6 so we had really packed quite a bit into 3 hours. The show was a bit loud but that was good because Robby and I were able to sing along so we could embarrass Graham. We didn't stay until the end but as we were leaving they did start singing a patriotic song. We said that if they started with those songs then more people will come and stay for the show.

We then headed to the hotel. We are actually in a name brand hotel tonight which is strange for our Branson trips. Robby even commented that the wallpaper was all the way on the walls in this hotel! We heated up our bbq sandwiches for supper. We added to that chips, bean dip and corn chips to complete our meal.

After we ate, we cleaned up and headed out again-Krispy Kreme was calling our names. We always discuss good customer service when we come to this Krispy Kreme and compare it to the service at our now closed Krispy Kreme. I had an apple crisp which was delicious. After we ate our fill, we headed back to the hotel.

Everyone had showers and then we wtached some tv for a little bit before finally hitting the sack!

August 15, 2019

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• Even though I always have plans to wake up a bit earlier, I just can't do that. I can however, wake up, get myself ready, wake the girls up, straighten my room, take the clothes out of the dryer and empty the dishwasher in less than 15 minutes. So that at least does still get our day started roughly on time.
• We moved right on through our school work today. It helped tremendously that most of the kids don't have spelling. I have come to realize that Whitman will have to do spelling every single day if I have any hopes of finishing his book this year. He is just so, so slow!
• I even had a break this morning and was able to fold the laundry and fill out a few forms for Reagan and Anderson's weekend church retreat. We ate our lunch as we did some work-Keaton and Whitman were doing their science with Reagan, Anderson was working on his science, Campbell and Graham were already finished and on their devices.
• We did some afternoon work, and then all loaded up. I will tell you that some of my people were not too happy about leaving for an afternoon of shopping. I really wasn't either, but I do love marking things off of my list.
• Our first stop was Target. The girls want new bedding, and Reagan knows exactly what she wants. I couldn't find the sales at Target like I had seen in the ad, but that was fine because Reagan could not find what she had in mind there either.
• The next stop was the Dollar Tree. I did let the kids all pick out some candy or food something or another. Their choices are always just so odd-they picked cookies, popcorn, chocolate bar but few packages of candy. I was glad that we had the ice chest with us to keep all of their foods from melting.
• Then it was to Walmart. We did what all we needed to do there and even loaded up on a few things that are cheaper than Kroger. And finally, it was time to stop at Third Realm to meet the friends. The kids jumped hard until it was time to leave. 
• We rushed towards home, stopping at Burger King to pick up their supper. Of course I didn't get home with Reagan's nuggets (that I had paid for.) I felt horrible, but did make sure that she had plenty of fries to eat. I offered to make her something or help her find something, but she just pulled out nuggets from the fridge and ate them. 
• I then rushed off to meet my homeschool mommas for a planning/chatting session. Robby was also out tonight at a work thing so the kids were home alone for a little bit. They all did fine and I only received one text while I was gone. 
• I made it home before it was bedtime. The boys were still going strong late into the evening!  I am not too sure what makes some evenings a bit more wild than others, but this night they were definitly on the wild side! 

August 14, 2019

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• This was our 11th day of school which I only know because Whitman has a chart that he is keeping up with. I am sure that all teachers are constantly tweaking things, but right now he has to do some work with a brother or sister each day. (Not Reagan because he does science with her and Keaton each day) This includes his chart, a calendar, reading, and some history. That at least is something that is working well. 
• We did our work together, and things went smoothly. I am steadily reading through hundreds of library books with the kids. Not really hundreds, but I do have about 120ish checked out with 25 on hold to pick up next week. I just can not stop. I seriously have a library problem. I guess I really don't have a problem since my total fines are just 80 cents. 
• After our working together, everyone started on their work. I will say that Graham knocks his out quickly every day. It takes Reagan a while to do hers but she has a ton of work. I did look and she has almost finished everything for tomorrow as well. Anderson is also doing pretty well at getting his things accomplished. He still has a tendency to get distracted (like Whitman).
• At lunch time, I had almost finished working with everyone except for Anderson, Whitman and Campbell. We haven't gotten all back in the swing of things because we still aren't doing our normal lunch routine. Today, we had a working lunch and everyone finished up what they had left during lunch. It worked really well for me and the late finishers as well.
• After lunch, there was a few minutes for chores. Then it was time for another round of reading aloud followed by a quick run on the treadmill for me. I don't have that many shows taped on the tv to watch while I am on the treadmill so I kind of get bored fairly quickly. One can just watch so much Rachel Ray.
• We met some buddies at Third Realm. I had planned on skipping today but since someone asked us and the kids had already asked, so we loaded up and jumped for a little bit. The kids had fun-or at least the kids got hot and sweaty. 
• Once we came home, we had about 25 minutes before we had to leave again for church. We had sandwiches for our supper which worked out well since no one really had sandwiches for lunch. 
• Then it was the church for the first Wednesday night of the year. It will be interesting to see how things go-tonight was water night so it was lots of fun. I am working with the first graders so I have one set on Sunday mornings and another set on Wednesday nights. Whitman seems to do fine in the children's department. He is not overwhelmed at all. And Anderson, the only other one who has really a different schedule, said that he enjoyed their service tonight.
• Once we came home, it was showers for all of the wet kids tonight (water night) and then a bit of downtime before bed. Church does get out earlier this year-7:15 instead of 7:30 and I could definitely feel those few extra minutes tonight. It was wonderful, but the kids were begging to stay longer becuase it was still light outside and they wanted to talk to their friends. Reagan even said that it was the only time for them to be social (I guess she forgot her trip to Third Realm today, and yesterday, the pool party yesterday, and library class and mainly she forgot that she can always be social becuase she has 5 brothers and sisters.) 

August 13, 2019

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• I started the day off a bit (a lot actually) stressed about getting everything done today. I was actually dreading the day. I had no reason to be worried at all about the day. It was hectic and busy, but everything just worked out perfectly.
• Now, I sure didn't think that it would be a perfect day when I had to wake everyone up at 7:50 this morning. I couldn't find Whitman at first, but then discovered him laying on the very edge of Anderson's bed. He was wedged in between the wall and the mattress. 
• We didn't do our main work together today because we had to leave a bit early for a homeschool buddy swim party.  Someone is always waiting on me to work with them, and I wasn't able to finish working with everyone today before it was time to leave. I still had work with Whitman, Campbell and Anderson.
• I was in a bit of panic mode trying to get us all out the door. I did tell Whitman about an hour before we leave that if he didn't finish his phonics and math, then he would not go with us. I would have thought that this would have lit a fire under him. It did-briefly. He seemed to fly through his phonics but then slowed down on his math. Sweet Campbell who had plenty left to do herself sat down with him to help him get it all done.
• A lot of the homeschool folks showed up at Amber's house to swim. Our pool is closed during the week right now. It was a super hot day-hot enough that everyone had to get in the pool. Whitman decided that he wanted his floatee for the first bit that we were there. That was perfect because I didn't have to watch him! He did eventually take it off so I had to be on pool duty though.
• We took a group picture and one of the mom's posted it as "first day of school." It wasn't exactly our first day of school, but it was sure a fun day swimming with friends. We left a bit earlier than everyone else, because we had a homeschool event at the library.
• The boys weren't too excited about making dough during the library class. However, they were the ones with dough up to their elbows. It was basically playdoh made with kool aid. At the end of the class, the lady said that next week they were going to make rock candy. Graham was quick to say that we needed to have all of our homeschool buddies come.
• They really all enjoyed it when they were told that they were serving lunch at 3 which was in just 15 minutes. We found some more books, and then found the lunch. They had bbq sandwiches, an apple, mango juice, and chocolate milk. Everyone left with a full tummy and plenty of books for all.
• Back at home, Robby loaded up and took everyone to Third Realm to jump. They all had fun there, and I worked hard around here marking things off of my list. I was able to finish quite a few things, but after an hour of being home alone I don't really know what to do with myself. 
• Thankfully, the kids were home fairly soon, and I didn't go stir crazy. Graham was anxious to be home because tonight was his night to make supper. He had chosen fettuccine Alfredo and corn for his main meal. It didn't take long for us to whip that up. Soon he was happily serving it to everyone.
• The kids had their showers while I finished up working with the last few folks for school. Then Graham made his dessert-s'mores dip. He was so excited about it and was beaming as everyone went on and on about how good it was.
• We then had a bit of quiet time before it was finally bedtime. I am pretty exhausted myself!

August 12, 2019

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• Today was the first day of our full school. I was a bit apprehensive about it, but you know what? It went pretty well. We worked together twice, we finished everything and no one got hurt in the process. Seriously, it was a good day.
• One thing that I realized quickly, well I was reminded of quickly, is how much time doing school really does take. From 8 to noon, I sat in the floor working with people or ran around the house answering questions. There was no time to fold the laundry that set just right beside me. And I can forget about the treadmill or anything else in the morning.
• The afternoons aren't too much different. We work together in the afternoon-a shorter time but still about 45 minutes. Then I read to Whitman plus read a chapter of a book to Keaton and Campbell (didn't get around to that today). All of that leaves little or no time to do much at all. 
• I was able to walk on the treadmill this afternoon for a little bit. Except the air conditioners were not working (We are on some entergy program which cuts of the air during periods of high usage to save energy.) I tried to walk but it was pretty hot in the bonus room and was just getting hotter. I just made it 15 minutes before succumbing to the heat.
• Robby had taken Keaton, Whitman and Campbell to Menchies to use up one of Keaton's gift cards. They all enjoyed their ice cream, very much. Then they ran to Kroger to pick up some more ice cream to take tonight. 
• My crew met them at Third Realm. Our buddies were all there too, so the kids all had a great time jumping. My people want to go there every single day. That is fine with me because it gives me some momma chatting time.
• Once we came home, we were only home for a little bit before we went to the Crafts' house. They grilled hot dogs which were pretty yummy. We did a lot of Disney planning and note taking. It will be interesting to see if things work out like we planned it. 
• The kids did less planning and more playing. They were incredibly loud which must mean they had a wonderful time. Dessert was ice cream and even some from Menchies. It was all delicious. 
• We stayed out way too late so when we came home, there was lots of showers and laundry to work on. Then it was bedtime for the crew. We got in bed a bit late tonight, so hopefully everyone will sleep soundly!

August 11, 2019

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• Since Whitman has become afraid of a few things in the house lately, he has joined us in bed a bit more often. Not only is he afraid of my shower/closet area which causes changing clothes and showers to be a bit difficult, he is now also afraid of being in the living room by himself first thing in the morning. This really works out to our benefit though because that means that he comes to our room and snuggles with us.
• He asked me repeatedly to wake up the boys this morning. I had to remind him that Graham was at his sleepover, but I did eventually go and wake up Anderson-only because it was time to have everyone start getting ready.
• We made it to church on time. Reagan was quick to get moving this morning since she was wearing her new cute outfit that she bought with Grannymom last week. She looked like the teenager that she is-big hoop earrings, hair in a huge bun-she was adorable.
• Graham found us at church after his sleepover. They had a great time. The mom of the house that he was at wrote me and said, "Graham was so polite and sweet. He's such a nice young man." Now, isn't that good to hear?
• Today was promotion Sunday at church. Most every one stayed right where they were or near their old rooms. Anderson did move up to the youth. He was a bit uneasy about where to go this morning. He said that he found a friend and was just fine. 
• Whitman also moved up from preschool to children's department. He did just fine and didn't bat an eye at the change. It probably helped that he had great Sunday school teachers-Robby and me. 
• We had lunch at Nonna and Pops' house. It was Mexican casserole which everyone seems to enjoy. I think that I enjoyed Nonna's cookies though more than the actual meal. Everyone seems to be able to make chocolate chip cookies better than me.
• I am not too sure if I have updated on my oven lately. Robby bought me a good oven thermometer. It consistently reads at least 50 to 100 degrees lower than it should. Now, have I ever adjusted the temperature of the oven? Nope. One day I plan on that and hopefully my cookie and baking problems will be solved. 
• This afternoon Robby and I had about one hour for a nap. It didn't take us long to fall sound asleep. Now I did have my alarm going off steadily the last bit of our nap. It was trying to wake us up since he was taking the kids to Third Realm. This was their 93rd time to go there.
• Afterwards, they went to the pool and I met up with them there after my church meeting. The weather was a bit warm tonight-warm enough that I had to get in the pool for a little bit. There were lots of friends there so my kids all swam and had a good time.
• Currently, folks are find their bedtime snack while we are listening to Whitman cough. Robby took him out of church today because of his coughing. He coughed all the way home tonight. He doesn't have fever and says that his ears don't hurt. We finished his antibiotics but this cough is a bit crazy. He might just earn himself a doctor's appointment in the next day or so!

August 10, 2019

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• I was sound asleep this morning as Robby was making and even eating his biscuits and gravy. We are still on a quest to empty our freezers and are doing a pretty good job of it. Now, the freezers are one thing, but we can't seem to stay out of Kroger, and the pantry keeps being refilled.
• It didn't take too long for me to get ready, and off Robby and I went this morning to run to Kroger. I just love going Krogering-except when the sliced cheese is not on sale. I'm not buying full price sliced cheese! Don't take up any donations of sliced cheese for us just yet-I was able to buy some at Walmart this evening.
• It was indeed the perfect day to crawl back in to bed, but there was lunch to work on when we came home. Plus even a card game or two for me to play with Graham and Campbell.
• I headed off to a baby shower for a little bit, while Robby took the kids to Third Realm for a little bit of jumping. They had fun, but beat me home by a little bit. I ran to Kroger once again-after we came home from our first visit, we went through our receipts and found a few sales that we couldn't pass up.
• Graham had a sleep over tonight at Chase's house. He was so excited to go. Graham hasn't gone to that many sleepovers. He forgot his sleeping bag and was a bit stressed about that. Robby assured him that it would be fine, and judging by the pictures that we saw, he is having a great time.
• Campbell, Keaton, Robby and I ran to eat supper for a mystery shop. Reagan, Anderson and Whitman opted to stay here. I headed up chicken nuggets, mac and cheese (Anderson's choice) and mashed potatoes (Reagan's choice) for them. While we were gone, they had a few chores and a bit of reading to do.
• Once we returned home, the Wilson's came over to help cap off the weekend with some ice cream. The kids started watching a movie but didn't have a change to finish because we had gotten a late start on our socializing tonight!

August 9, 2019

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• What a wonderful morning this was-we didn't have school. On weeks when we don't have Bible study, we are able to have a free day on Fridays. And man, do I just love free days. Even though this was a free day, I did stay busy the entire time. 
• Plus there is always the Friday job of pulling out everyone's school for the next week. It is love hate task for me. I hate doing it because it is a bit tedious and I have to think through things, but I love marking things off and pulling out page after page to use. For example, I figured today that Keaton is 1/10th finished already with one of her work books. 
• Cash had spent the night so the boys had him to play with plus the neighbors were out fairly early. The kids all played outside for a little bit-when the boys all came in they were dripping wet with sweat. Graham even took a towel from the bathroom to wipe his sweat-then tried to hang it back up. (I did stop him.)
• At noon, we loaded up and went to Third Realm. The kids enjoyed jumping and had lots of fun there. Again, the boys were a sweaty mess when we left. I had brought an ice chest full of water bottles, but sure didn't bring enough for the rest of the afternoon.
• After dropping Cash off at his house, we ran to the pool. We are trying our best to get the maximum amount of visits in! We had some friends there today so the kids were able to play. My boys didn't have any buddies at the pool today since most of our friends are little girls. Hopefully, we can find them some more buddies.
• Now, we were just home for a bit before we did load up to take those boys to basketball. There they had fun playing basketball for an hour and a half. They played hard-Graham even jammed his finger. 
• While they were there, Campbell, Keaton and I ran a few errands. We had intended to get to Kroger too, but we just ran out of time. We picked up the boys when basketball was over. Then we hurried off to meet Robby, Reagan and Whitman.
• Robby had made all of us supper (grilled cheese for the girls and me, meatball subs for the boys). We ate in the car and then headed into the movie theater to watch The Lion King. It was pretty good-I don't remember all of the original. The first scary thing that happened in the movie caused Whitman to climb in my lap. After a little bit, Keaton joined him and we all snuggled until the end of the movie. Keaton did take a bit of a nap during the end of the movie. 
• Once we came home, it was shower time for the stinky boys and then bedtime for everyone! It was a long, but great day.

August 8, 2019

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• Everyone was back home this morning so it was school day. Since we had plans of leaving right before noon, we had to hustle. The day went pretty good. Graham did have a difficult few moments when he temporarily lost his ever loving mind! He recovered well and even finished his school work first.
• Even though Reagan was working with very little sleep, she was able to fly through her school work and finish two days instead of just one. I think that maybe she does better on little sleep. I used to be like her at slumber parties and stay up until everyone else was asleep. Now, I have some sense!
• Most things were finished when it was time to leave the house-Anderson still has two things left to do, Reagan had science with Keaton and Whitman to finish, and Campbell still has her math from today. (It didn't get any easier today.)
• We scurried off to the pool. Graham had run a lunch errand with Robby, so he came later. My kiddos enjoyed swimming. Well, Reagan and Anderson never really made it into the pool. They were expecting more buddies to be there, but they will have another chance tomorrow.
• Once at home, I read to a few folks and soon ran to get Cash and drop of Keaton and Campbell. Cash was spending the night over here, and the girls are spending the night at Dana's house. While the boys were busy doing whatever boys do, Robby and I spent the evening pressure washing. Seriously, we just could not stop. There is still plenty to do another day. 
• The boys did spent quite a bit of time playing Minecraft. It was kind of interesting to listen to since they were all hollering at each other. It does seem that Minecraft it the great equalizer-Whitman was able to hang and play with the big boys without a problem while playing Minecraft.
• I was a muddy mess after power washing, so I had to have a shower before we started on our supper. Anderson was pleased that we were still serving up his mac and cheese. He also made sure that we finished off his cake tonight. 
• The boys spent a good bit of time sumo wrestling with pillows under their shirts. We just let them have at it and prayed that nothing or no one was broken. They survived and are now watching a movie!

August 7, 2019

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• We weren't going to do our normal working together (science, history and all of our other things) because Reagan would be gone, and I didn't want for her to miss it. That was certainly fine with everyone else though.
• The whole house was awake by 8. Actually, Campbell and Keaton had already made two bags of muffins. When I asked everyone to get to work, they really jumped to it.
• Campbell is struggling with long division-it is really just the beginnings of long division, but it is tough for her right now. I have tried to explain it in every way that I know how. I am sure it will click with her soon, but I hope it happens sooner rather than later. 
• Anderson seems to be fairly focused so far this year and is rocking his work. While, Whitman can only seem to focus if he is "thinking about his ipad." Now, I usually always try to get him to race me. For example, I will tell him to try to finish one page by the time that Campbell and I are finished with spelling. He will never race like that with me. However, he and Keaton were trying to finish their pages before the end of a song today. Hopefully, that works for him!
• I picked up Reagan, Kennedy and Alyssa from a sleepover. They all had a great time. Only one of them stayed up all night-my child. She was going pretty strong when I dropped her off at Grannymom's house to go birthday shopping. 
• Grannymom and Reagan did well on their shopping. They ran to a quite a few places and picked up all of Reagan's birthday stuff plus an outfit for me to buy her. And they even did some driving practice at the church house. 
• Back at home, we had loaded up and gone to the pool for the afternoon. It was hot, but all of our friends were there. The kids all had fun swimming. We were planning on leaving at 3:50 but the thunder roared right before then so the pool was closed a bit early.
• Today was Anderson's turn to make supper so when we came home, he had to get to work on his lemon bundt cake which turned out to be delicious. I then had to call Robby in a panic saying that we needed milk-we were 5 cups short of the milk for our mac and cheese. It took a bit but eventually, Anderson's meal of hamburgers and mac and cheese was on the table. It was pretty good, and he did great cooking and baking. 
• The mac and cheese was pretty good-I was worried about it while it was baking. The kids said that it was good but not their favorite. I do hope that the like it decently because we have over half of a 9x13 left to eat. 
• Most everyone had taken their showers after swimming, but Anderson and Campbell still had to plus we had laundry to fold along with trash to take out. I also had a bit of school work to catch up on with Campbell. We did all of that this evening, and plus I still had time for some card games with Campbell, Keaton and Graham.

August 6, 2019

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• Another school day around here. Today was a bit wild since the original plan was to go to Third Realm at 11. The air conditioner man was supposed to come in the morning so the kids knew that if he didn't come at a decent time then we wouldn't be able to go.
• By about 10, the kids were working well but I did tell them that we more than likely wouldn't be able to jump because the man wasn't at the house yet. I told Robby this and he said that we should plan to come, and he would text the man to give us a head's up. So then I told the kids that we would be able to go.
• About 10:15, the air man did show up so as he was working, I told the kids that we probably wouldn't be able to go since the man was just getting started working. About 15 minutes later as I was writing the check for the worker, I did tell the kids to start getting ready because we were in fact going to jump. My little people had a hard time keeping up with if we were going or if we were not. 
• They were all pleased though to be able to jump. It is really the favorite thing of the boys to do right now. I think that we will certainly miss it at the end of the month. However, I will be glad when this summer life settles down a little bit.
• After jumping, we all had to come back home to finish school.  A few folks were done but waiting on me to work with them. I know that Keaton had finished working with me but still had a few things to do. So as we all ate our lunches, we went to town on school work.
• I am not sure what happened because before I knew it, it was time to load up and leave again. Today was the first of the library's homeschool hour. I didn't know what to expect-there was just us and one other family. The kids all made pens with flowers attached to the top. They all enjoyed this-even Reagan who was sure that the class was too babyish for her. We will probably go again next week because why not!
• Once we came home, Anderson and Whitman still had to finish up. Whitman had to read while Anderson had to fix his math with me. I then just had time for a shower before I left again. I really had a few more things to accomplish on my list today but there just aren't enough hours in the day. 
• I had a homeschool meeting. I went to one class about homeschooling in high school. I didn't really hear any new information, but it was good to know that the info I have is accurate. At the general session, they did give out a prize to the person who was homeschooling the most kids-me! Ha! I even had to walk to the front to pick up my gift (a book). 
• After we finished there, the other moms and I went to eat before running to Kroger for a few things before coming home.
• Robby and the kids went to Jenna's birthday party. They were able to eat there and swim for a little bit. The kids all had fun swimming. They came home in time for showers and then eventually bed tonight. 
• When I came in, I went upstairs to tell the kids good night. Whitman was already asleep, but the others were awake. When I went in the girls' room, I quickly asked where Reagan was. The girls laughed and reminded me that she was at a sleepover! Yes, I did remember her leaving but had completely forgotten. 

August 5, 2019

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• Anderson and Graham are usually awake before everyone. This morning however, Whitman came in to our and climbed in bed between us. A bit later Graham came in the room, and Whitman was quick to ask him where he had been. Graham told Whitman and he had been sitting at his school desk and saw him run by. I guess Whitman didn't think that it was safe to go in the living room alone without a brother there.
• My alarm had already gone off a few times, but since snuggly Whitman was there I stayed in bed a bit longer. Eventually, it was time to wake up and start our second week of school. We had to wait a while for Reagan to get downstairs, but once we began we read for an hour and then started on our school work.
• School went fairly well today. Things were definitely slower today-not so much for the kids but definitely for me. I added spelling to everyone's list so that takes some time. Plus there was lots of help to given with math. Overall, things went fairly smoothly today.
• Everyone made their own lunches today. While we were eating, we decided to make a quick run to Third Realm. We gobbled down our food, picked up and headed out the door. The kids enjoyed jumping. Graham was super excited that he has mastered a flip. Keaton and Campbell spend all of their Third Realm time working on their gymnastics which is the current craze around here.
• After Third Realm the littles went to the pool, while I went home with the bigs. Once we pulled into our street, Reagan started to ask to drive. I was in Robby's car so things would have probably have been easier, but I told her that teaching to drive was Robby's job. The more I think about that, the more I think that is a good plan for me-I have 6 people that need to learn that skill so think that delegating will work out well!
• I walked on the treadmill this afternoon despite the bonus room being 80 degrees. All of our family have had some sort of air problems lately and it is now our turn. That will have to be solved tomorrow but at least it isn't in the main house.
• We were able to find enough supper in the fridge and freezer again tonight. We were steadily working through the fridge and freezer but are working much slower in going through the pantry. 
• And in case you were wondering, I did quickly find 20 things to throw away (or put in the garage sale box) today. I didn't take me very long, but I did realize that finding a whole 200 things might be a bit difficult. I might have to get the kids and Robby to help a bit.
• After we ate, we ran to the Heltz' house for some watermelon. The kids played some, and we all enjoyed some watermelon. Well, not everyone Keaton and Anderson do not eat watermelon. When we made it home, Keaton asked for a snack so I did offer her an apple. She was not pleased with that choice but must have been hungry because she accepted.
• The kids had their showers tonight. I was able to fold a load of clothes tonight, read to Whitman, read a chapter of a book to the girls, and trimmed everyone's fingernails. It was a bit nice to be productive. Now, if I really wanted to get ahead, I would get up right now and fold one more load of clothes and put away some dishes, but I guess I can find some time for that tomorrow.

August 4, 2019

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• We didn't have too long to lay in bed this morning because we had to make not just one but two monkey breads for my Sunday school class. Now, we knew that 3rd graders wouldn't properly appreciate the monkey bread, but it was cheaper than other options plus we knew that the Dennie kids do properly value monkey bread since it is our Christmas Day treat.
• It was a good thing that I got out of bed since Robby had forgotten exactly how to make it. Everything was ready to go, but he thought that the gooey syrup went on afterwards. When the first pan was in the oven, we ran back to bed for just a few minutes. All too soon the timer was going off so the other monkey bread was put in the oven, and we started moving around pretty quickly.
• Whitman had to put on two Sunday shirts today since he got tooth paste on his shirt. I can't really complain since he was actually brushing his teeth with toothpaste. As soon as the other pan of monkey bread was pulled out of the even we headed to the church house.
• I missed big church today because I went with Campbell to her New Christian's Class. I have helped in there before, and the class is super great. Laurie does an awesome job-the try to Lord' supper cracker and juice, they see the baptistery, even go over a tithe chart plus so much more since they are in there for two hours.
• We had our lunch at Grannymom's house. After we ate, Anderson and I played a game of Sequence. He couldn't find any one else to play with him and since that is one of my favorite games, I obliged. Most everyone went to Dana's house for a few minutes leaving Whitman and Reagan at Grannymom's with us.
• As we were loading up into the car, Reagan joked to let her drive. Imagine her surprise, when Robby got out and said "okay." By this time she wasn't too sure about the whole thing. We convinced her to try and once she knew where the brake was, we were off. 
• Whitman and I were buckled and holding hands in the back! She did really well for never having driven before. I don't even think that she has driven Robby's tractor. It took us a bit to get up the hill on Grannymom's street, and when we did get to the top there were lots of cars parked on the side so Robby didn't object when Reagan was done. 
• When she climbed back in the car, Reagan's first words were "it got hot in here." Ha! I bet she was scared to death. After picking up the others, we drove on home and once we made it to our street, again Reagan became the driver. 
• It took us a while to get home and down the long driveway. We made it, but when we stopped, Whitman shouted, "I thought we were going to die." Robby had made sure that the kids knew to hush it up in the back seat. We sure didn't need any backseat drivers!
• Once at home, we unloaded and Robby and I worked on supper for this evening. He browned some meat while I worked in the kitchen. Then we decided that we had time for a nap-Robby looked at the clock and said that we only had time for a 12 minute nap. That was kind of sad, but we did lay really still and quiet for 12 minutes. 
• Then we all loaded up for the Childrens and Preteen Open House at church tonight. The kids were seeing their new Sunday school rooms. During the meeting, Whitman asked if he could get another cookie. I let him leave to get one. When he came back, he had the awfullest look on his face. He had bitten into an oatmeal raisin cookie. He was disgusted that he grabbed the wrong thing and had to choke down the bite. (They were delicious.) Campbell did go and get him another one so all was well.
• Afterwards, we headed to the pool. This was the first time in a long while that Reagan has actually swam. It was a bit warm, so I don't blame her for getting in the water. Now, Anderson and Graham don't always swim either, but tonight they had Cash with them so they were on cloud 9. The boys all played hard, maybe a bit too hard, but they had a blast.
• We dropped off most people, but Graham, Campbell and Keaton went to the Wilson's house late this evening. We didn't stay for too long but long enough to visit for a little bit. We made it home at 10 just in time for the last 3 to take their showers and hop into bed. Tomorrow school starts at 8 (hopefully) and the kids will be doing 2/3 of their school work. Wish us luck!