August 31, 2020

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• Monday and the laundry from yesterday just kept appearing. I did pull out the beach towels for Whitman to fold later in the day for his chore. It makes me cringe to let him fold them, but he needs chores and since they are just going to get unfolded, I have to just let it go and deal with sloppily folded towels.
• Everyone got right to work on their school this morning. Reagan had her zoom class today, and I guess that she had no problems getting on it. For this part of her English class, they have three quizzes to do each week on the computer. That is fine-except they have to do one on Monday, one on Wednesday and one on Friday. That makes me crazy-why can't you just do them all and be done with it? Urgh. Ha! Good thing I am not the one in the ninth grade.
• Whitman took his sweet time during school today. I believe that I was still passing him papers all the way until 3 this afternoon. By 1, I am pretty much done with school so I just make him do a paper every so often. I think that he would actually prefer to do his school like that, but it would drive me crazy.
• The electrician came today to finish up the generator things. That is good to have finished, though I think there is still some things Robby needs to do. Also there seems to be lots to do with all of our other projects-bolts the wrong size (new ones bought), holes not drilled correctly (fixing this week), and no posts delivered yet (hopefully Wednesday). There seems to always be something related to the camper-Robby is still loving every minute of it though.
• I marked quite a few little things off of my list today. Though my list if a few pages long! I so enjoyed this rainy morning and wished that it could have stayed rainy. However, if it did, I wouldn't have been so productive today and would have had myself a good ole nap!
• I had made chicken enchiladas a while back and froze them. Tonight I pulled them out, and folks weren't too impressed at all. They just seemed soggy. I was a bit disappointed in them too. That is an easy meal to make, but it definitely is not a freezer meal. 
• After supper, Robby and I worked in the garage some and worked on the camper some before I came in to play a card game with Whitman, Campbell, Graham and Keaton. I do enjoy playing games, but not so much when the kids act so hateful-tonight was definitely one of those nights! 
• So as soon as our card game was over, it was bedtime for everyone! It was already that time, and really it was past bedtime. They are all still going strong upstairs tonight! And I can't decide if I want a shower or ice cream tonight before I go to bed.

August 30, 2020

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• Well, back to reality this morning-dishes and laundry. There was lots of laundry to be folded and gracious it does just keep coming out of the dryer. I am not sure how it gets in there, but it just keeps coming.
• We are loving this church at 11 right now. I know it isn't going to last forever.  I reloaded some things into the camper, and Robby worked on cleaning out (that is the nice way to say that.) It didn't take too long before we were scurrying around waking up kids and getting dressed for church.
• Church was down today, but the music and sermon were excellent. I will say that the Lord's Supper was different-prepackaged juice and bread...but I wouldn't call it bread. It was more like Styrofoam that melted on your tongue. It was definitely a new experience.
• After church, we went to Grannymom's house for lunch. Lunch was delicious. We hung out some after lunch. I even played a few card games before it was time to head home.
• This afternoon I pulled out school for 4 kids and even snuck in a very short nap. People were screaming at each other and woke me up. I did just lay really still and let them scream until they stopped so I could go back to sleep.
• Robby was outside though working (I eventually did got and help him.) The first job was the rewire something that messed up during the blow out. He did that and even secured a few things. Then he saw one more spot that was messed up so he used some flex seal tape and spray to fix that (though it still needs another coat.) It was super hot out there so we were both ready to go to the pool.
• Robby was still actually working when I started gathering kids and telling them to get in the car. We had to wait on him briefly as he poured gasoline on himself-he was trying to get the flex seal that he spilled on him off-it didn't really help though. He is taking a shower now and we shall see-earlier tonight he looked as if he had been a mechanic for 20 years and he had tattoos all over his arm that had been smeared. 
• The pool was nice tonight. All of the buddies were there-that would mean that our group had 27 folks there tonight and some dads and kids were not even there. I won't miss a lot about the pool when it closes next week, but I will miss our night time visits there.
• Once we came home, I pulled out leftovers from the fridge. Everyone found something-and for some reason I have a ton of cheese dip leftover from last night and barely any chips. Urgh! It was fine though, I used a tortilla for my cheese dip.
• As the kids showered, Robby and I did some recon work in the camper checking to see what one more snapped wire might go to. We couldn't find anything at all so that was good news. Then it was finally bedtime for the crew.

August 29, 2020-First Official Arkansas State Park

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Before I start my blog, let me just talk for a few minutes about how chill my kids are. This weekend they have sat in a visitor’s center of a State Park during a tornado and experienced a tire blow out with some time sitting on the side of the road/back of a gas station. They have been so patient and flexible during both events.

I guess I will start with the exciting part of the day for the blog. We had left Shelley’s house and were zooming on down the road headed towards home. The drive was fine-the kids were playing their ipads, and it was smooth sailing.

And then we heard a loud boom! We didn’t swerve at all, but there were lots of shouting in the back, “What was that?” There shouts were met with Robby’s shouts of “We’re okay, we’re okay.” We pulled over and were even able to pull over on the entry ramp side of Interstate further away from the big rigs.

That new tire pressure system of Robby’s didn’t seem to help today. Urgh! Before Robby even got out of the car, he was calling AAA. They said that it would be an hour, so we cranked up the air and waited. Graham and Robby did get out to look at the tire only briefly

It did take only about 45 minutes for the man to arrive. When I saw him knocking on the door, I immediately thought that I hope that he has help! He didn’t. This man probably fought in World War II-Robby says that is exaggerating some, but I’m not too sure.

He looked at the tire (inside rear wheel) which was shredded, and he looked at the ground which was soft from the rain. He told us to drive slowly to the next exit and go behind Popeyes. Thankfully, the exit was just a quarter of a mile down the way.

We crawled to behind the store and parked the rig. Had we been thinking we would have pulled it around the other way so the worker man and his assistant (Robby) wouldn’t be in the sun. We turned off the car and the generator so this tin can quickly heated up. The man slowly, very slowly crawled under the camper to get the spare.

Let’s talk about the spare-this thing didn’t come with a spare so getting a rim, a spare and having it all put on wasn’t cheap. Thank goodness, Robby decided to do all of that though or we would still probably be on the side of the road.

As they man was under the car, Robby was busy grabbing things he needed-tools, supplies, Robby was running back in forth trying to help in any way that he could. There wasn’t much I could do. I handed Robby his hat-that was about it. I did keep reminding the kids to be still since there was a man laying under the car.

On the driver’s side of the car, it was cooler due to the shade so Keaton and Campbell hung out with me there. It took about 45 minutes for the man to change the tire. Getting down the spare took the longest time. Of course they had to take the first tire off before getting to the inside tire to change.

At some point when the bad tire was off, Robby told me where he wanted to put it, so Keaton and I started unloading everything from one bin so he would have room. We were shoving stuff inside for the boys to throw on our bed-last week, we so neatly arranged that bin! Well, I do enjoy organizing!

It did get a little warm in the car, but soon Robby was saying to turn the generator on. We were back in business….but we weren’t. Robby put the car in drive and nothing. He checked the emergency brake, and he had taken it off. Then he looked at me and said, “don’t let the man leave.”

We both barreled out of the car heading towards gramps. Thankfully, he wasn’t moving that fast. He asked about the emergency brake, so Robby put it on and back off again. Nothing. Then he said that possibly the rim was wrong.

I don’t know much about this stuff, but I do know getting a rim on our tractor tire was an ordeal. Off went the generator, off went the air, off went the car as the man told Robby to call AAA again. Ugh! Double ugh! We didn’t know what that meant, but soon the man started taking the tires back off.

By this time, our camper had turned into an oven. People’s cheeks were red, and sweat was dripping down faces. (Robby and the man were dripping wet with sweat as well, but I wasn’t as worried about them.) I passed out water, and we got out to stand in the shade for a bit. When I noticed that Whitman’s face was as red as his shirt, I decided that wasn’t working so we headed into the gas station.

We wandered around a bit before I finally asked the gas station lady if we could just hang out for a bit since we were having some car problems. She said certainly so we stood by the freezers and cooled off. I had planned on buying icees but they didn’t have any so we just waited.

Now, Graham is my questioner and was full of questions, but he was fine. Now, Campbell was a bit worried. Robby and I were obviously a bit stressed, but we thought we were staying pretty relaxed. Bless Campbell though-she wasn’t comfortable in the gas station (there was a homeless man hanging around that the gas station lady ran off.) She was worried about us having to be towed (this was when we didn’t know what was happening on the second go around). It didn’t matter how calmly I explained that we there was food and a bathroom along with a hotel right across the road. I went on to tell her that Pops, Grannymom and Shelley were all near by-the more I talked the wider her eyes became.

We had not been in the gas station for 15 minutes when Robby text saying “let’s go.” We hurried along back to the camper. He already had the air going and it was cooling off. We then thankfully headed off down the road.

Reagan had planned a skating event with 10 of her closest friends today at 3. Poor thing-we went from having plenty of time to me telling her I wasn’t so sure if we would make it all to me telling her maybe we can be there by the end to us pulling into Little Rock right at 3. She was relieved that she would make it, even if she was a bit late.

I will stop here in the blog and quickly jump back to the morning. Without the generator not running the whole time last night since we were "moochdocking without 30 amp service, the camper was a bit warm so we did have some bed switching. Anderson, who usually sleeps in the top bunk, crawled down to sleep by Whitman where there would be some more air. So I gave his fan to Campbell who happily used it.

We all slept well though and awoke to doughnuts that Shelley had bought for us. It didn’t take long for all the kids but Reagan and Anderson to get in the pool. They swam for a good while before we finally loaded up to leave for home.

It wasn’t long before there was that loud boom! I hope that is our one and only blow out. I did play it super cool, but I just don’t think that my heart can take that many more times!

As soon as we did make it home this afternoon, I pulled out my car while Reagan changed. I then took her to meet her friends to ice skating. She had played a part in planning the get together, and then was late! Thankfully, we were able to get there at all though.

While she skated, I ran to Walmart for some shopping. I still am on the hunt for a few things that I just can’t find but did have plenty of time to look. Robby was at home unloading the camper some and trying to figure out a few new camper things.

It wasn’t too long before I was heading home with a car full of girls. As soon as they climbed out of the car, Robby and I went to work on heating up pizzas and cheese dip. We some how had quite a bit of cheese dip even after my crew and Reagan’s friends all had our supper.

Robby and I were able to work on the camper. It is mostly cleaned up and ready to go again-I’ll need a day before I am ready to go again though. Ugh, a covid dog might have been easier than this covid camper.

The Wilson’s came over tonight, and we were so glad that they did. It was good to sit and laugh with folks after a long day. Reagan’s friends mostly hung out in the bonus room but did do some playing outside. They were all picked up around 9, but the party here lasted much longer. It was a pretty good end to an adventurous few days!

August 28, 2020-First Official Arkansas State Park

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I had just finished the blog last night, while Robby was chatting with Grannymom on the phone. Two cars had pulled up and soon a lady knocked on the window. She told me that we were under a tornado warning. I had been watching the map and knew what county we were in, but we hadn’t received the warning yet. Soon though the kids’ ipads starting going off.

We waited until the ranger came to unlock the building, then we followed the other folks. They had already checked that the campsite bathrooms weren’t a storm shelter and had called the ranger for advice.

We entered the visitor’s center-not the main part, but what seemed like a meeting room. She turned on some lights for us and then went to check for fallen trees. So we sat on the floor while the kids played on their devices. There were about 6 other folks at the visitor’s center with us-they are actually staying in the motor home a few sites down. (Not many folks are here tonight-just two others sites are full.)

We hung out there for about an hour and a half. The tornado warning was extended so it was nearly 7 when we left. For a good while the wind was pretty crazy outside-not exactly crazy enough for us to move out of the room with all of the windows that we were sitting in.

By 7, when the warning expired the winds had calmed, and we left the visitor’s center. We kind of wished that we could have done our waiting in the main part of the visitor’s center so we don’t have to go back tomorrow.

I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed the tornado adventure. We will always remember our first state park to visit in Arkansas (yes, we have been to some but the count starts over now). This will definitely be a trip to remember, but hopefully the adventure stops with the hurricane!

On our drive back to the site, we did notice a few limbs down along with at least one tree down. The tree was down across the same road that we had just driven across right before we turned back towards the visitors’ center.

Our site was a pull through site. It didn’t take Robby long at all to hook everything up. It would have taken a shorter amount of time, but he was having to climb over puddles of water. Soon, I was heating up our spaghetti.

Everyone ate supper which was delicious even though we did forget the crackers. Then we changed into pajamas before settling in to watch a movie. Along with the movie there was also ice cream. Now, during all of this Reagan was diligently working on her biology homework.

We finished off the tub of ice cream and finished the movie (it was a classic, but classics seem to have plenty of foul language!) Afterwards, it was time for bed for the crew after 11! Everyone slept well last night. Robby and I did wake up a few times, but always went back to sleep quickly.

I know that it rained at least twice during the night, but they were brief, and it was cloudy but dry this morning when we woke up. Soon Robby had bacon frying, eggs cooking and biscuits baking. This bacon was the best yet-thanks to new bacon presses-all 2 pounds of it.

The spot was pretty perfect-overlooking the water. The water was all pretty low, but still the kids were happy to get out and explore for a little bit before and after breakfast. We had breakfast cleaned up and Robby had just finished unhooking when the rain came.

We drove on to the visitor’s center and explored the other side of it today. There wasn’t much but it was all done well-we even bought a Christmas ornament! Then it was on the road to Marianna. Our phones didn’t quite have service yet so we did have to turn around once.

But we did see that we drove right past the famous Jones BBQ. We had to turn this rig around and go down some backroads to get there, but we made it...only to find out that they were out of BBQ for the day. We will now have to find a way to get back here earlier in the morning. We could have this morning, but we hadn’t really thought about it!

Our next stop this morning was the Bass Pro in the Pyramid in Memphis. Quite coincidentally, we just read in our history book about Egypt, the city of Memphis and the pyramids. I thought that was pretty cool, but I guarantee you that I was the only one who remembers this!

We walked around there for a good while. Surprisingly, we didn’t find anything to buy at all. Though we would have probably bought some fudge if they would have been handing out samples.

When we left, we heated up some bbq in the camper for our lunch. Then we headed on towards Ikea. I do love Ikea! I think that my kids do too-Whitman would have really have loved it if he could have gone to the play place like he wanted to (silly Corona!)

We did lots of shopping-except we didn’t find what we were looking for. We weren’t really surprised by that since we knew that they didn’t have any desks at the stores. We did overhear a worker saying that they only had 2 desks-one was the most expensive and the other wasn’t really an option. Hopefully, we can get some soon though from somewhere or at least drive back through Memphis and stop back at Ikea...or maybe even visit a different Ikea.

Now, we didn’t leave empty handed-we did buy kitchen scrub brushes, scissors, a blanket, a fake plant, a drying rack, sand toys, a bag or two and of course some chocolate bars and even cinnamon rolls. The restaurant was closed or we would have figured out how to eat some sweedish meatballs too!

We then fought the rain as we went to two different Michael’s stores looking for boogie boards. Our search didn’t pan out, but we had thought that we better try. Then it was on to Les and Shelley’s house. They had pizza ready for us. The kids gobbled it down like they hadn’t eaten in a day or two. I am a bbq pizza fan, and it was delicious.

After visiting for a bit, the kids went out to swim. By the time they put on their suits, the clear weather had started to sprinkle, rain and then pour. They played football in the pool for a good bit-well, until the weather cleared. That is when Reagan put on her suit and got in-which is when lightening started happening.

The kids did have to get out. They put on their pjs, and we went back in to visit a little bit more before bedtime. We pulled out the beds and everyone had some downtime before it was finally time for bed tonight.

August 27, 2020-First Official Arkansas State Park

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I think that trip days are my favorite days. Robby was up before I was and started working on my chores. I quickly got caught up and had time for my shower before our school day started. I believe that Keaton and Campbell were already finished with their school work this morning, and Graham had finished everything but his math. Everyone was on a roll.

We did seem to fly through school. I even had a few breaks to take loads of things to the camper for the adventure. Before I realized it though, it was time to take Reagan to her class at Comm Central. Today her class was at Wildwood. 

While she was there, we did some last minute things around the house. Sara brought Reagan home and as soon as Reagan’s feet hit the ground, we pulled out headed to Mississippi River State Park.

The plan was to also stop by the Louisiana Purchase State Park, but that pesky ole tropical storm, once hurricane Laura, was hot on our heels. Robby had fought the wind the entire trip-he had to have both hands on the wheel at all times.

When we drove by the Louisiana Purchase spot, it was raining so we had to pass on that. It is my goal to make it to all 52 Arkansas State Parks-it wasn’t too much further down the road when we came upon our spot for the night-Mississippi River State Park.

First we drove by the visitor’s center which was about to close. The plan is to hit it tomorrow. Then our campsite was about 5 more miles down the road. It hasn’t rained any here yet-the wind is crazy strong so I figure that rain is coming quick. 

Robby had some work to do, and I had my blog to work on so we drove back up the visitor’s center so we could get cell service. As we worked the kids ran around outside-the boys played football and the girls and Whitman just ran. 

Our campsite is really nice. It is a small loop, and we have a pull through. I wish that we could set outside tonight, but I think the rain will prevent that. We do have big plans for the night-spaghetti and possibly a movie though the kids have been watching a move the whole trip here.

August 26, 2020

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• It was sure nice and cloudy this morning-I sure didn't want to get started on my day. I will have to better tomorrow since I already have plenty of things to do. It must have been because of the early bedtime last night, but I had most people awake before 8 this morning. Some were even working on their school before school really started.
• We were able to do our reading together this morning which is just my favorite part of the school day. If I could read the entire day long to the kids and count that as school, I certainly would. However, I guess that they have do a bit of math or other things.
• Reagan had a bit of extra work today. She seemed to have finished most of the things already for Comm Central. She was so stressed trying to figure how to send things to her teachers. She will do great, but just needs a bit of confident. Now, I will say though, she does look so cute in her glasses.
• Grannymom and Grandpa ran over for a little bit this afternoon. When they left, Keaton went to town baking 3 batches of her cookies. I think that Campbell was a bit sour that Keaton was the one cooking-she has already planned on what she is going to make tomorrow.
• I worked with the kids on packing their clothes-I will say that packing since the camper is a whole lot easier. Now, watch me forgot my clothes tomorrow! (And of course, I still haven't packed a lick for me!)
• I did make a real-ish supper tonight-we did all sit down together. As I was making supper for tonight, I also made supper for tomorrow night. It may be a bit stormy tomorrow, but we are still planning on having another fun adventure...we just need the rain to hold off for a few hours! 

August 25, 2020

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• This day was filled with a lot of firsts: the first thing that we did was start on our school this morning. We didn't do our work together since we had to leave early. Everyone woke up decently and went right to work on their school.
• Keaton has so much work right now-I would feel sorry for her, but she rocks it out without any problem. This was Reagan's last day with just a few classes to work on (She is doing math, apologetics, and history at home. Bible and Spanish will also be done here but will start soon.)
• At 10, we left to pick up our Bible study books. This is the first year that Whitman will have his own book. He is about as excited about that as I am! (Which isn't much at all!) Well, seriously, their Bible study books are excellent, and I do certainly know that those books at the most important thing that they do during the school day.
• After we received our books, I had some extra time so I took most everyone home. Reagan and Keaton went with me next for the next first: we picked up Reagan's glasses. She was quite impressed with how well she could now see. Over and over she said that things weren't blurry anymore.
• We then still had time so we ran to Hobby Lobby to pick up a pair of shoes for Reagan. She needs them for a party so that was the reason for that purchase. Then the next first-dropping Reagan off at Comm Central. She just has two classes there (science and English) so she doesn't have to arrive until 12:30. 
• I didn't think that she was going to get out of the car-she had to walk through all of the kids to find someone to take her temperature so she could go inside of the building. As she was walking up though, two of her friends saw her and came up to her so that was good.
• I think that she had a good day-she chatted about her day on the way home. She said that it was "like school, but not school." I am not sure exactly what that means, but when she came home she pulled out all of her papers and tried to figure out exactly what all she needed to do.
• Another first that happened today is that we are now a three car family. If we ever plan on pulling a car with the camper, then we needed to have a car that could sit 8. Robby found a van that can do that, so the current plan is for that car to become his while the suburban will eventually become the kid car. 
• It was a busy day around here-so busy that we even moved bedtime up earlier than usual. 

August 24, 2020

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• Today was the first day of school for a lot of folks. However, this was the first day of our fourth week. I am glad to be marking things off, but we are about to add Bible study to our list of things to do. All of the other kids will breeze through theirs, but Whitman will have his own book this year, and that just makes me want to cry. (And not happy tears like I am proud that he is growing up-nope, sad tears like I don't know how it will ever get done.)
• School went fine this morning. Things were crazy though-I guess it always is. Sometimes things seem crazier than others-Keaton has questions, Graham doesn't understand what he is doing, Whitman has new math, Reagan is trying to get on a zoom, Anderson was ready to check his math and my phone is ringing! I completely understand why people go insane!
• I eventually answered Keaton's questions and helped Graham understand what he was supposed to do. Graham helped Whitman understand his math (I think). Reagan's zoom didn't work for a while, but she eventually did get on (this was her first class from Comm Central-not the best way to start.) I let Anderson check his own math which I don't usually do, and I was then finally able to return my phone call. Sometimes it is just a bit crazy around here-and by sometimes, I mean from 8:30 until 12:30!
• Things were calmer this afternoon and that all happened with lunch. Nonna and Pops brought over lunch. Sandwiches which we ate like we had never had one before. Campbell was excited tonight about eating some of the good ham tomorrow for her lunch. Whitman did come to me asking me to read him a book which I can't pass up. I read some of my book which rarely happens. There was some measuring happening outside which I helped with. Campbell made crepes for an afternoon snack while Keaton and Graham ran an errand with Robby.
• Robby found a free meal for Keaton and Graham while they were out. The rest of us had McDonalds which killed hunger. Then Robby and I worked outside some-picking out the color of the new shed roof, cleaning out the underneath bins of the camper and putting some things inside the camper. I did forget about a zoom call for me tonight so I was late for that.
• We did save time for a game of Oregon Trail before bedtime. Whitman and Keaton had been wanting to play so we played a quick round-and I say quick round because Whitman and I were out on our second turn, Keaton was soon out next followed by Anderson and then Graham. That just left Campbell and Robby who didn't last very long and soon also died of dysentery. 

August 23, 2020

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• Usually on Sunday, church is first, but since church was at 11 today, I headed to do some shopping before 9. Reagan needed a few things for school, and her sisters wanted to tag along.
• Reagan drove us to Target and did excellent. She might have driven a bit slow on Bowman, but since no one was behind her it didn't matter one bit at all. 
• Our first stop was Target-she wanted a pencil case, and they had none that she liked. Thankfully, as we were about to leave empty handed, I suggested looking at the make up bags-and there we found one. It was even labeled as a pencil case so we left happily. 
• We tried Old Navy next, but they were closed, so Walmart was the next stop on the list. We didn't need a ton of things, but did manage to fill up all our hands by the time that we left. Finally, I ran into Lowes to grab one thing for Robby before we headed home.
• The boys were all awake by the time we came home. Robby had already done some work outside. They still had to put on their clothes, but we still managed to leave for church earlier than we have lately.
• Not too many folks in our service, but I guess it did fill up a little bit. The preacher was very good, and I always enjoy sitting on my full row during church.
• Pops is a bit under the weather so we didn't go over there for lunch. Instead we came home and pulled out some leftovers-I don't think that we will ever finish all of our leftovers. I am not sure how people eventually get rid of them-we eat some, we add some over and over again.
• As we were warming up lunch, Graham text me to come up to their room in a minute. I had no idea what I was walking into-was someone sick, did someone want to talk about something serious, was something broken-nope. The boys had just rearranged their room. It looked, they were pleased so we were pleased. They have plans of getting desks at IKEA soon like the girls-except all desks are out of stock everywhere I look!
• I then had a quick nap in the camper this afternoon. Then Campbell, Keaton and Graham went to the neighbors house to take them a quick meal and see their new baby. All of those kiddos were just smitten with the baby-Graham didn't want to hold her at first, but did by the time that we left.
• We then had just a short amount of time before going to the pool. A big group of buddies were there so everyone had a good time. The adults talked and we ended up closing the place down-well, almost. It was just our group left so when we did leave, the place did close down! 
• Back at home, some folks had a tiny snacky supper before showers and eventually bed-bed hasn't happened yet, but hopefully it will happen right at 10! I hear that my boys were up pretty late last night chatting in their room.

August 22, 2020

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• When I woke up, Robby was already laying under the camper. He worked most of the morning and even some of the evening on securing our tanks. I will say that 50 years from now, the grey and black tank will still be securely mounted under that camper. They shouldn't be going anywhere at all now! They have now been reinforced 3 different ways. 
• I worked on laundry and emptying our vacuum cleaner closet. Our late morning project was adding shelves in the closet for all of my cleaning supplies. A few months ago, Robby would have never have attempted to make shelves, and now making those things were no problem at all.
• We worked until 1 on this, then picked up quickly and headed to the pool. Anderson didn't go since his ear is still bothering him a bit. He did say that it is better. 
• On the way, we stopped at Arby's which took forever. We did still swim for 2 hours so the kids had fun playing with their friends. We brought Noah home with us for the night, but also we made a few stops on the way home-Icees at the gas station, screws at Lowes and to Grannymom's house to pick up our Whitman,.
• Once at home, the kids played our large Jenga game while I worked on filling up my new shelves. It didn't take long-especially when I have 4 of some things like dust spray. 
• Eventually, we did feed the kids tonight-Robby ran to Sams to pick up buns and pizzas. We did frozen pizzas from Sams and weren't really pleased at all! They did kill hunger, plus we finished the evening with popcorn!
• The kids are currently watching a movie upstairs even though it is well past bedtime already!

August 21, 2020

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• My first mission this morning was a doctor's appointment for Anderson. I wasn't able to get one early in the morning but did snag one in the afternoon. Since I didn't have that to do this morning, I woke up Campbell and Keaton to take them to Walmart.
• Campbell had to find a birthday present for a friend-she did that without too much looking around. There were also pants for Keaton and shoes for Campbell along with a whole cart of other things that we needed-or at least thought that we needed!
• When we came home, it was time for us to work together for a little bit. Even though we didn't do school today, I still read a tiny bit to everyone before we did a few science experiments.
• The kids then started on their chores-by the time that we were finished with our chores, the house was looking decent-ish. I wish that could stay a little bit longer though because as soon as chores were over Graham and Whitman made oobleck. 
• What a mess-it was everywhere. Graham and Whitman had read that you can not wash oobleck down the drain because it will clog the pipes. So they were NOT going to rinse any off of their hands. So Graham just sprayed the water onto his hands over the trash can and then just on the floor. What in the world? I quickly explained that after getting as much as possible off of their hands, then it is okay to rinse some down the sink as long as we weren't pouring clumps of it in the drain. Who knows, the pipes will probably be clogged tomorrow!
• Next up was the pool for everyone except Anderson. When our pool time was over, Robby met my at Grannymom's house for a quick exchange. We dropped off our Whitman to spend the night over there. Then I hurried to the doctor with Anderson.
• We didn't have to wait very long at all at the doctor. Anderson does have swimmer's ear along with an infected ear drum. This earned him ear drops and oral meds. I am sure glad that we still went to the doctor even though he tried to tell me that his ear was better today.
• While we were doing that, Robby took Campbell home to change clothes and then picked up two friends to take them to a birthday party. He brought Sophia home to play with Keaton and we all made it home about the same time.
• Robby and I worked on some stakes for the camper building while the girls played. They were anxious to work on their shirts-Keaton and Sophia helped make matching shirts. With the cricut and the heat press there isn't much that they can really help with, but they did as much as they could and were so pleased with their shirts.
• Next up was supper at the Wilson's house. Shannon had spaghetti which we all seemed to devour-it wasn't leftovers so my crew was happy to eat it! The kids all played until it was time for me to take Sophia home and pick up Campbell. 
• Shannon went with me-to the party and then to drop off two girls before getting back to her house. It took us at least an hour to make our trip, but did make it back in time to visit some more before we had to go home.  We made it home late and all m kids still had sheets to put back on their beds!

August 20, 2020

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• Woohoo! Today we finished our third week of school-12 days down. Not too shabby at all. Well, Campbell and Anderson both have some work to finish up tomorrow, but really that is what our Fridays are going to be for this upcoming year. 
• School went really well today. I guess by the end of the day, Reagan started to get a bit nervous about Comm Central. I am not sure is if she is nervous or maybe excited-but she has packed her backpack and is making a list of things that she thinks she needs. 
• Next we have Anderson who doesn't feel too great today. I think that he has swimmer's ear. We have been doing drops since last night which have not helped at all, so I guess that we will try to get a doctor's appointment tomorrow. At times he has said that his ear was throbbing. Urgh, I hate that.
• Graham has had a good day-especially since we played his new game tonight (5 Crowns).Whitman, Campbell, Keaton and I played with him. It took nearly an hour, but it is a fun little game. The last (and only) two camping trips, we have been pretty busy and haven't had time to play many card games, but hopefully we will have time to do those things soon while on a little trip.
• Campbell continues to live her best life. She has worked most of the day gathering things for her friend's birthday tomorrow. She is the most thoughtful and the messiest of all of my kiddos.
• Keaton was super excited tonight because her friend is coming over while Campbell is at the birthday party tomorrow. They have big plans-as in they are planning to make shirts tomorrow. She was so happy when I told her that they could actually make shirts. 
• Whitman took most of the morning to do his school. That is expected these days-I know plan on sitting with him from about noon when everyone else finishes until 12:45ish when he finally finishes. Our normal lunch time has slowly crept backwards to near 1 which is fine. Maybe someday lunch will move back late enough that we will only need two meals a day!
• Tomorrow will probably be a busy day-hopefully we will be able to get everything accomplished though the first priority is Anderson a doctor's appointment!
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August 19, 2020

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• Oh, gracious hearing that alarm ring before 7 wasn't fun this morning. The whole morning long, I was questioning my judgement on making an eye appointment for 8 in the morning. Today's eye appointment was for Reagan. She has been telling me that she can't see the signs when driving. 
• I wear contacts that are stronger than they should be, so my eye sight is probably a bit better in regards to distance. I just figured that was the reason that I could see signs better than Reagan. After a thorough eye appointment, she is indeed near sighted....
• But just a tiny bit. Her prescription is -.50 (comparison mine and Robby's are about -1.25 to -1.50). The eye doctor said that he usually doesn't prescribe glasses for -.25 but does always for -.75, but the -.50 area is iffy. 
• He urged me to not do contacts because she doesn't really need them all day long and probably wouldn't wear them. I wasn't really sure what to do, but Reagan said that she would wear glasses "some." So I took the gamble that she would at least wear them when needed-which includes driving-and we picked out some lenses. 
• Two things-I don't know how people afford glasses without insurance and my taste in glasses is different than Reagan's taste in glasses! Ha! They will be cute on her-hopefully she will wear them some.
• All of this happened early enough that when we did get home, we were able to have a normal school day except for our morning work together time. When I realized that we were going to be able to do this, then I was proud of myself for booking such an early eye appointment. 
• School went well, but a few of my people have saved their hardest work for tomorrow so that will be a delight! Ha! I tried to encourage them to do just a bit more today, but just received blank stares. Surely, they will eventually figure things out like that out. Oh, well, at least we don't have to do spelling with most folks tomorrow.
• Robby was doing his work outside so I did join him occasionally this afternoon. I helped some-the yard is looking good again. It is now been mowed, the trench is filled in, logs are piled in piles, branches gone and camper parked in its new spot (it just needs a cover now though)
• We did some running around tonight-Kroger where we didn't buy any real food, but did save a lot of money. Also there was a stop at Lowe's for wood. I have an idea for shelves for my cleaning products. And finally after making the kids eat leftovers 3 nights in a row (the same leftovers!) we decided that we needed some real food-ChickFilA for the kids and On the Border for Robby and I.
• After we ate, Robby and I went to the camper and worked for a bit-I made placemats so things won't slide off of the table while driving (cards/food). Then we worked on moving a heater vent. We almost finishing that task when we realized that it was after ten and nearing eleven so we went in to put the kids to bed. I am not sure why we did that because I am can still the girls talking above my head and it is almost midnight!

August 18, 2020

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• Well, I wish that I had gotten up a bit earlier this morning, but I still managed to empty the dishwasher, fold the clothes and clean the shower before we started school. Imagine what all I could do if I really did wake up early-some day!
• It is surprising when I think this is our third week of school. We are knocking those weeks out. I am sure that we will be gone a few days here or there soon, so everything we can do know is a bonus. Now, with Reagan starting a co-op that will make leaving a bit tricky. She will have an online class on Monday, a few lunch time to afternoon classes on Tuesday and an afternoon class on Thursday. 
• I am sure that we can figure out someway to escape for a few days during the weeks-but when we throw in her soccer and teaching Sunday school that all may not happen as much as I would like. I kind of enjoyed the corona shut down! 
• School went pretty good today even though we were finishing around 1. Whitman seems to be doing better at getting his stuff finished. He is doing everything that Keaton did last year which is a lot-now we aren't on track with spelling and are already falling behind in his new book, but that keeps me sane so it is worth it.
• At 1:30 we loaded up for the pool. On the way we picked up Brett. The kids all swam until about 4:20 which is when the big kids went to the park. Well, Whitman went too-first he went without asking or telling me. I retrieved him and did later let him go but made sure that he understood that he had to walk to the park with me and walk back wish someone else.
• Once we came home, we all pulled out the leftovers and found something different than last night. Then it was time to work. We went outside and burned branches and leaves until it was dark-or even past dark. 
• The kids worked super hard and we really have most of the branches gone. The logs are still there, but hopefully they will go away soon. The yard will look a lot different in the morning when I see it in the day light.
• The kids all worked super hard-Reagan was probably the hardest worker. I do believe that she knew that if we didn't hurry up and finish then no one would have any downtime tonight. We did finish in time for us all to even settle around the tv and watch a Bates before finally going to bed.

August 17, 2020

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• Even though my alarm did go off this morning when I wanted it to, I continued to hit snooze for as long as I could. I still managed to wake up in time to get things ready for school plus I started on the laundry. 
• The laundry did take a while today. Every time I had a few minutes break during school, I would start folding again. I think I folded about 3 of the 4 loads that were clean by the time that I had to leave today.
• School went fairly well. Robby did sit in our bedroom for some of school today. His observation was that there was lots of whining. I had to make sure that I wasn't the one who was whining-it wasn't me that he was talking about.
• I had kind of lost track of time so Reagan and I had to leave quickly. Today was her day to go to UAMS for a MRI. The big 3 have done a study and earned a bit of extra cash. The study deals with abuse/drug use/reasoning skills. I'm not really sure what it all entails, but she got some cash and was pleased.
• She was super pleased when we did pick up some Chick Fil A on the way home. Once at home, I had a few minutes before the next activity-signing a lot of papers (refinancing). Keaton would come in every once and watch us sign our names over and over.
• Afterwards, we pulled out leftovers for supper. Everyone ate their fill-and we even declared tomorrow night as leftover night as well. The kids went out to play with the neighbors while Robby and I went out to work on the camper.
• We ended up working in the camper, but we were sidetracked with filling in the trench (we just started that project) and moving branches (barely made a dent). We did finish cleaning the camper, but it was after ten when we went inside to tuck the kids in. I wanted some ice cream, but Robby was already munching on candy so my ice cream will have to wait for another night since I didn't want to eat alone.

August 16, 2020-Longpool

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I was another good night of sleeping in the camper-and it is always a good thing not to see the grey tank laying on the ground in the morning time as well.  It didn't really rain as much as we had thought that it was going to, so things weren't too wet this morning.

Though as the storm as coming, we piled chairs and tables and everything else under the tent. Robby wisely grabbed the rug so we wouldn't have to deal with that being wet early in the morning. He was the first one awake this morning and was soon followed outside by Campbell and Keaton.

I was close behind them. Soon breakfast was pulled out-today's smorgasbord included powdered doughnuts, chocolate doughnuts, pecan twirls and honey buns. Who could ask for anything more? This breakfast even soon woke up the big girls who were sleeping soundly.

People seemed to migrate to our camper all weekend long which was wonderful. It didn't take too long for our picnic table to fill up first with kids and later with adults. We would load a few things every little bit. I would run in to put a few things away but still made plenty of time to visit.

At one point, I swept the floor with at least 10 kids still in the camper. I am not sure how productive that sweeping really was with all of those feet still inside! It was nearly 1 when we pulled out. Our first stop was at the dump station.

Robby did the deed, and then rinsed the tank out. Casey pulled his rig behind ours and waited while we did this. He ended up following us home just in case we needed anything-remember that silly ole grey tank! 

As soon as we pulled out of the dump station, I went to the back to make lunch. Let me tell you, I felt like a stewardess in a Nascar race. It took all I had to stand up while Robby was flying up and down and left and right on the road. Now, in his defense he did say that what he was driving in was similar to the pig trail. 

Maybe I don't have my sea legs or my camper legs yet, but it was difficult. Now, I didn't make lunch to easy since the people had lots of choices-ham or turkey; croissant, bread or tortilla; pepper jack, American, colby jack, or swiss. Noah, who was also riding home with us, said that it was like a restaurant.

It didn't take long at all to make it home-we did stop for gas on the way home. When we pulled into the driveway, Robby and I told the kids that they could go in for a while. We worked on moving cars, looking at the electrical work that was done and leveling the camper.

Then I called the kids back to help unload. It just took them about 2 or 3 trips each and the thing was all unloaded. Campbell and Keaton had rode home with the Crafts, but I did have Camryn and Noah who worked in their place.

Robby and I did work for a bit longer, but eventually ended up inside. Sara had come to pick up Noah so we only had one extra kid, so I felt like I could take a nap! I snoozed until we went to pick up the girls. Then we rushed back home to grab supper-so glad that I had lots of extra food left over from the camping trip. 

Then we went to the Wilson's house for our Sunday night meal. We had a decent leftover Mexican spread. The kids ate and then went upstairs and finally outside to play. The grown ups talked and as always we probably stayed out too late since we still had to take Camryn home.

After dropping her off, we started urging the kids to go to bed. It took a while to get everyone in bed. I guess that they were quiet-Robby and I wouldn't know because we headed to the camper to make our bed with clean sheets. We also put clean pillowcases on all of the pillows in the camper-10! That is quite a lot of pillows. It took a good minute or two.

There is just one load of laundry in the dry, one has been folded and three are in the floor of my bedroom waiting to be folded. It was a super fun trip-my kids had a blast and Robby and I did as well. We would definitely repeat this trip-even though I am about to class my ankle off scratching my mosquito bites. 

 

August 15, 2020-Longpool

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We all slept incredible well last night. I was a bit afraid that he might have trouble sleeping after discovering our problem. However, he was asleep before I was, and we all slept well. I knew that Robby was awake already and assumed that he was in the bathroom. After waiting and waiting for the longest time, I finally knocked on the door because the bathhouse bathroom was my next stop.

He wasn't even in the bathroom. He had already chatted with the guys, and they had a plan for the problem. We went ahead and started on our breakfast-sausage, eggs and biscuits were on the menu for today. We are pretty good at the breakfast cooking around here-or maybe I should say that Robby is pretty good at the breakfast cooking.

The kids started playing and did a bit of getting ready while the men folk went to work. Last night as Robby went to empty the grey tank into the woods, he was quick to notice that the grey tank was no longer attached to the camper and the pipe connecting to tank had broken. This was no good at all! 

I do believe that Robby slept so well because he knew that God completely took care of things-that grey tank could have fallen off in the middle of the road, but instead it happened at the perfect place with lots of people around to help.

I am not sure exactly what Aaron, Andrew, Casey and Wes helped with, but they all helped and all had something that we needed in the fix-blocks, tools, jacks. As of right now, the tank is more secure than it was before, and we should be fine to drive home. They still plan to reinforce it later. We will need a plumber to work on one connection, but until then things are working with just a slight drip. 

When they got close to finishing up, we walked to the water-It seems so long ago, but I do believe that Traci and I were the only adults taking the gaggle of children. The Kamps had brought all off their kayaks, so the kids enjoyed playing on them along with going down the little rapids.

It wasn’t too early when we went to the river so we came back after a few hours for our lunch. Today we had ham and cheese croissants-they were pretty delicious. After our lunch break, most fo the folks took off with the Kamps and Candice in the kayaks and tubes for a 5 mile float.

Reagan, Camryn, Anderson and Graham all went with the crew. They had lots of fun floating and all came back a bit sunburned. I heard that they found a rope swing. Anderson said that his kayak flipped at least once, but they did all come back with everyone and most everything they left with. We did somehow end up with one less life jacket which is odd since all of them were wearing them at all times. 

The rest of the kids were with the rest of the adults at the river. Most of them went down the “big rapids” which was a set of rapids further down the stream. They had to work pretty hard to get there and then work really hard to get back. Campbell, Keaton and Whitman were in this group along with Robby. 

We stayed out swimming until the sun was behind the rocks-around 5 or 6. Since there has been no cell phone service out here, our phones will randomly change the times making it difficult for us to really know what time it is. 

We did bribe all of the kids to come back for popsicles so they were mostly willing to come back. It didn’t take long for all of us to clean up and wait for the kayakers to come back. We assumed that they should be back by 7 at the earlier, so at 7:30 Wes went out to look for them on the scooter. 

He had just been gone a little bit when he returned behind them. It was nearly 8 when the group supper was ready and being service. Everyone had brought parts for the supper-we had cooked 10 pounds of taco meat. Because our crock pot would only hold about 3/4ths of that, we just served that much. We still had leftovers so I am sure that tacos are in our near supper future.

The kids were watching a movie outside, the adults happily talking, and Robby making popcorn for everyone when we first noticed the lightening. We watched it for a while before we all kicked it up into high gear. People were throwing chairs under the tent, packing up food and grabbing small children by the hand. 

It probably wasn’t that dramatic, but we were all working quickly to get things put a way. I do think that most everything is put a way or at least put where it will stay dry. We were shoving things in the camper and under the tent. It was quite a sight to see. I was a bit disappointed that our last night here was cut short by the rain. I think that the adults would have been able to chat quite a bit tonight if it were not for the rain. 

Alyssa and Noah did come to our camper during the storm and hung out with our kiddos. They stayed until almost 11. Andrew did come over twice-once to borrow the fan and once to borrow an adult movie. Ha! Robby and I could not contain our laughter as he tried to explain that he wasn’t interested in that type of movie.

It was almost midnight when we did get the crew into bed. They were pretty worn out tonight. When Reagan woke up this morning, she said that she felt old! We told her just to wait a few years!

August 14, 2020-Longpool

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I can’t really explain how wonderful waking up to the pitter patter of rain was last night. It was nice, until the pitter patter became a thud, thud. The rain was pretty intense along with some lightening. 

I guess all of us woke up at some point during the storms because we were awake around 5. Robby went to the bathroom. I went to the bathroom. We had just gotten settled back into bed when we heard a thud. I thought that it was Anderson falling off of the top bunk. Instead we then heard Campbell’s voice say, “there’s a step there.” 

She had missed a step on the way to the bathroom. She bounced right up, did her business and soon we were all sound asleep again. I was a bit worried that people would be wanting to go swimming at 8 this morning. 

However, my crew was still sound asleep until well after 9. When we did get up, things were pretty soggy outside-at least the ground was. The chairs were all under the tent so they stayed dry. 

Robby fired up the griddle and started frying bacon. Soon I had pancake mix ready for him. We had another great breakfast this morning. It was a lot of fun serving all of the kids pancakes-not only our kids ate, but by the time that we were done, most all of the kids that were nearby had also had a small pancake.

It took us all a good while to clean up after breakfast, but we also stopped to sit and chat for a while. There was the blowing up of the tubes plus everyone had to find water shoes. Bless though, my water shoe stash is pretty low. Most folks had to resort to wearing the free shoes that we were given while at Niagara Falls. By the time that we had left camp, Graham had already broken his. I had thankfully thrown in some spares though.

It was a short little walk to the swimming area. There were two main attractions for the kids-first there was the rocks that the kids could jump off of. They are probably about 15 feet in the air. Because of those rocks and climbing those rocks, everyone has to wear their life jackets. So that made for a pleasant day for me-no worrying about people. Well, not too much worrying about people.

Also as the river left the pool area, there were some rapids that the kids could float down. They enjoyed doing that over and over again. Since we didn’t get down there until after 11 we probably stayed and played until after 1:30 or 2. 

Then we came back to the camper for some lunch. By this time the Fergusons had arrived and pulled in beside us. They had already unloaded and had their lunch. The kids all spent time playing and were completely content for a long while after lunch.

We did eventually go back down to the water. Past the little rapids were some big rapids that the big kids went down with Wes and Andrew. I do think that they enjoyed it, but they weren’t too convinced that they wanted to do it again when they finally came back.

It was after 5 when we finally came back from the water. This time the Kamps had arrived to join our party. Whitman was probably the most tired because he had to work hard keeping up with the big kids today. Also his life jacket rubbed under his chin so he wasn’t too pleased about that. When he was little his life jacket would rub under his chin. He would always have a spot there in the summer and it took forever for me to figure out what it was caused from. I did doctor it up tonight so hopefully it will be better in the morning.

Robby again went to town on the grill tonight. We had hamburgers and hot dogs. They took a little bit of time to cook but were worth the wait. I do believe that most everyone had hot dogs and hamburgers tonight at their own campsites. 

The kids seem to be hanging out at our campsite, so it was quite full most of the evening long. If our picnic table wasn’t full of kids than inside our camper was full of kids. We only left our site to go to the Fergusons’ spot to make s’mores.

Everyone loved this. I guess having s’mores will be something that we do every time that we go anywhere in the camper. It is just a non-negotiable. Pretty much everyone stayed outside until 10 with just a few smaller kids going in for showers or bed. 

After 10, most adults migrated to their spots. The Fergusons came back out after they put their kids in bed and stayed and chatted with us until after 11. The kids were all going strong up until them. I could see Campbell getting her bed ready-I know that all of the kids are super tired tonight. They played hard today. 

Once it was finally bedtime, everyone seemed to quieten down really quickly. Since there is no wifi here, Robby doesn’t have anything to look at on his phone so he was asleep before I finished the blog.

Overall, it was a really good day. I had my expectations set pretty low for a day around the water, but I know that my kids had a good time and so did I. I can even say that it was a good day despite Robby’s words as it was almost bedtime, “I think we have a problem.” We do indeed have a problem, but that is tomorrow’s problem.

August 13, 2020-Longpool

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This was the day that my kids have been waiting for for weeks on end: Longpool. They have heard their friends talk about it for months and begged us to go with them once we bought the camper. They didn’t have to ask to hard since we are always up for an adventure. 

We did school this morning-it is hard to believe that this is already our 8th day of school. Most everyone was finished pretty early. Of course Whitman was my straggler, but since I read him 3 library books I did kind of slow him down. 

By noon, he had finished and everyone had helped me straighten the house some. The kids would have done anything I asked to speed up us leaving. Of course last minute things always do get a bit crazy. Camryn arrived at the same time that the electrician showed up.

We had loaded everything the night before and some of the kids had packed this morning. I didn’t really have a lot of add to the camper before leaving, but I did have my list on the table for the few things I might forget. 

Unfortunately, we did forget on thing, but fortunately, it didn’t really matter at all. We had intended to fill the black tank with ice on the way. Robby had already squirted a bottle full of dawn dish detergent in there, and the ice would help agitate the tank so it would be a sparkling clean place for us to keep our…

Well, we forgot the ice, but that was fine. Hopefully, that is the only thing that we did forget. We did load up with all of the kids plus Camryn for this adventure. The drive to Longpool was just about an hour and a half. I had never set up front in the camper, so I felt like I was driving too. 

Robby probably didn’t need any help, but I certainly did point out every car on the side of the road plus every brake light that I saw. Also, the cab on the top of the camper is hanging over your head which is not like my car. In it, I can see the reflection of the road which kind of can make my dizzy if I think about it. 

The drive here was really pretty once we left the main roads. We met the Heltz and followed them up. While we were driving, the kids all mainly sat up front playing on their devices. Graham did ask for a snack as he was opening a cabinet door-he quickly learned that was not the thing to do since most everything in that cabinet rained out on top of him. There are still lots of camper things that we all have to learn.

When we made it to the campsite, the first thing we had to do was to dump the sudsy black tank. That didn’t take too long then we went to the tiny little campground loop to find our spot. The Heltz’ have been here before and told us about how empty it is. However, when we drove around the loop, there weren’t many spots left-just 4 which was the exact amount that we needed. 

Wes beat us here so he had his kids sitting in the other 3 spots just waiting. There were even people circling looking for a site. We had the site closest to the bathrooms which is fine-they did notice that we have a little bit less shade, but hopefully it will be fine. 

There is an empty spot in the middle waiting on the Fergusons, while the Heltz are next and the Crafts are across the road a bit. It worked out perfectly for everyone. Once Robby backed in like a pro, we started to unload.

First there is getting level. Then we have to hook up the power and electric. Both slides and the awning have to come out. Next comes the fun stuff-the tablecloth, chairs and rug. Setting up the tent is the hardest thing, but it sure was fun to decorate it tonight with our new lights. 

As soon as the let the kids out the door, they ran to see their friends. So far there are 16 kids here and two families will arrive tomorrow. When they were all walking around the loop, it looked as if the circus had come to town or like a parade going down the street. 

This campground is indeed pretty full. There seems to be another large group. I didn’t count all of them as they were eating supper, but I sure did notice their full size refrigerator that they brought camping with them. I am new to this camping stuff, but this was the fist time that I have seen that!

Around 7 or maybe even after, I heated up our supper. Tonight we ate the BBQ that Robby smoked yesterday. We had that along with chips and baked beans. I am not sure, but I think that I was supposed to save the beans for another meal and have corn tonight., We wrote out a menu, but I can’t get to it on my phone since we have no cell service. (That is why I am writing all of my blogs out at night, but will be late posting them.)

The Craft crew brought their suppers to our picnic table, so it was quite a crew eating supper. Soon the parents all migrated to our area as well. The kids ended up in the camper for a bit-I took some deep breaths, and it was all fine. They weren’t crazy so we let them stay in. We did bribe them to come outside for a popsicle later though.

One thing that we quickly noticed was that this site doesn’t have nearly as many bugs as last week. There were a few large bugs that the kids had fun swatting out with the electric fly swatters, but there were hardly any mosquitos or moths or whatever it was that we had so much trouble with last week. 

It was after 10 when we all went inside our own campers for bed. It took a while to straighten outside since we are expecting some rain tonight. We didn’t want things to get soaking wet. It took a while for folks to get situated tonight. No one had showers, but the little girls washed their feet off before bed. 

Camryn and Reagan are in the overhead bunk tonight with Whitman and Keaton sleeping on the table. Graham is on the couch with Anderson also in the bunk again. Campbell has Reagan’s spot from last time-the lower bunk.

Currently, it is 11:30, Robby is taking a shower while Graham and Whitman are still chatting. Hopefully, we all can sleep in a little bit tomorrow. I know that I might can, but we much have time for breakfast-chocolate chip pancakes!

August 12, 2020

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• Robby was up early this morning again-there were lots of things happening. He was cooking some more pork butts and waiting for the electrician. The electrician never showed, but at least the meat did smell good all day long.
• Before we started on school this morning, I cleaned out my car. There were probably lots of things that I needed to do instead, but man my car was just bothering me. Later today, I drove Robby's car and that was the car that I really should have been cleaning out.
• School went pretty good today. I am not sure what happened to Whitman's focus, but he somehow had 5 pages of school left at noon. By that time, I had started on other things and had forgotten about keeping him on track. Around 6, Campbell finally sat down with him and helped him knock out the rest of his work.
• Keaton was my constant helper today. She helped me load up somethings in the camper. Then she joined me and Campbell on our shipping trip-Dollar Tree, Kroger and Walmart. We found most things on our list and came home with a car full of things. 
• We unloaded that set of groceries-I say that set, because we had a grocery delivery this morning that took me half of the day to finally put everything away. I had pulled out everything in one cabinet today for the kids to finish off during lunch, and for supper I pulled out everything in the fridge for us to finish off.
• After we ate, we went to town cleaning the house. I am not sure how well the kids cleaned, but we have tomorrow to do a bit more. There was some work on the camper tonight along with frying up 10 pounds of meat for tacos. At the same time Robby was chopping up about 10 pounds of pork. Our kitchen had never seen so much meat!