March 31, 2022

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• I was up a good bit last night in the middle of the night. I had a tiny tickle causing me to cough though I was trying not to cough so I didn't wake up Robby. This constant debate in my head-to cough or not to cough-made me just wide awake, so I played some of my games on my phone in the middle of the night for a good while.
• Eventually, I did put the phone down and go sound to sleep even missing Bentley waking up at 6:30 and getting into bed with us. I did eventually get out of bed a bit after my alarm rang this morning because there was just so much to do-and actually, when I look at my list, it looks like I left a bunch of those things for tomorrow.
• Reagan and Anderson headed off to school today. They had a long day since Reagan had to stay for her last class. She hasn't been able to find her class for the last few weeks and has assumed that the teacher hasn't been showing up. However, we did find out later that the teacher had been showing up, but the classroom had been moved! 
• The rest of us zoomed through today's school-I even tried to get some school pulled out for next week which is a bit crazy since Robby and I aren't even going to be here. 
• Robby did take Campbell, Graham and Keaton to get their second covid shot. They even did a bit of shopping for Whitman's birthday party. Earlier this week, Sams didn't even have vanilla cupcakes since they couldn't get any-so today they found some at Kroger saving me and Campbell from having to make some.
• The highlight of the evening was our first soccer practice. Robby had asked Reagan to help, but she reminded him that she had Dgroup tonight. Robby has a pretty good team-Keaton and Campbell are on it. That was the first practice-we did go to practice bundled up since Raymar is always windier and colder than anywhere else.
• Whitman's practice was an hour later and about 30 degrees colder. Bless Whitman has other strengths that aren't soccer for sure. He did enjoy being goalie, but he can nut do anything fast to save his soul. (We are going to work on that!)
• When we came home, we all huddled in the kitchen and tried to eat all of our leftovers-an impossible task. Then Campbell and I ran to go and put the neighbor's chickens up-I'm just like a modern day farm hand!

March 30, 2022

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• It seems like we have missed Bible study for quite a few weeks because it was kind of hard getting back in the swing of things today. When I finally woke Whitman up, he had about 10 minutes to get ready and grab his breakfast before we rolled out the door.
• As we pulled up to the church house, I told the kids that it might just storm and to listen to their teachers. I wasn't sure if they were calling for tornadoes or not, but I wanted to warn them anyway. Thankfully, none of our kiddos are too bothered by storms.
• Though on our way home, it sure did look like it was going to blow us all away. At one time, I even thought that I saw a cloud shaped like a tornado-I didn't, but it did make my heart skip a beat.
• We made it in the house just about 2 minutes after the rain started pouring. We didn't have too much down time this afternoon because soon Reagan was leaving.
• Today she started her first job-wowzers, my baby is growing up. Last week, or possibly the week before, a lady called asking if Reagan would like to work for them. They are photographers, who live just a few miles from our house, and need help getting their pictures ready. She is making above minimum wage and seems that she will be able to work anytime she would like. Hopefully, it will be the perfect gig for her.
• She was gone until church time while the rest of us went about our afternoon. I was able to work with everyone on their school work. Most folks finished fairly quickly though Whitman tried to do his work with his ipad in front of him (he just had math). I would work with Anderson and then come back to see Whitman had only done one problem. He eventually figured it out and turned the ipad off to complete his work.
• We went to church a few minutes early tonight to take Anderson to his Dgroup. While he was there, we ran to the library and then met Reagan to learn all about her afternoon. Afterwards, it was time for church. I logged quite a few steps tonight walking around with kids this evening.
• The car Reagan drives needed gas and so did the minivan, so we all met up with Robby after church at Kroger to fill up all of the cars. It wasn't pleasant! Yikes! 
• When we did get home, we all ate our suppers while catching up on the day. Keaton moved up to the preteens for tonight only, and Campbell moved up to the youth so they had lots to say. It has been a busy day for sure!

March 29, 2022

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• This morning I was the one staying in the bed until the very last minute. I still managed to fold my laundry and empty the dishwasher but just barely. It was a little bit easier getting the kids downstairs today though since Whitman was already awake, and Reagan and Anderson were heading to Comm Central.
• We did our morning reading-I have about 25 books that I have to finish reading to everyone before the end of the year. That is about 1 book a day for the rest of our school which is a lot of reading. 
• School was a bit disorganized today since as soon as Keaton and Graham were finished they went on a run. Whitman didn't want to be left out, so he joined them in the middle of his school on their last little bit.
• Speaking of running/walking-Campbell and Reagan also went on runs today. I have ponied up 20 dollars for anyone that walks/runs a hundred miles. I will say that this has sure gotten the kids outside a bit more. It really isn't too big of a commitment that I have made-I am just paying them 20 cents a mile....shh, don't tell them though.
  
• After school, I some how ended up working in the yard outside with Robby. We worked long enough to recruit Campbell, Keaton and Whitman to help a bit. Well, I did that because Robby kept wondering off having to do real work. I paid them off with a gatorade.
• Then Graham was our next victim followed by Anderson. I think that they might just be turning into pretty decent workers-when we asked them to just help us with 4 loads of leaves to the woods, Anderson replied, "that's all?"
• After a bit of work, some of us headed out to eat and to the grocery store. Keaton and Campbell went with us. We choose Cracker Barrel-hmm, we should have just gone with our On the Border-they never fail us. 
• Service was slow, my chicken and dumplings were cool, the girls chicken looked tough, the hashbrown casserole was salty, Campbell's plate was chipped, and Robby was given and charged for extra hashbrowns. And hey, we aren't usually picky when it comes to eating out. Of course we didn't say anything at all-the server man was nice at least. And my dumplings will be delicious tomorrow when I can put them in the microwave.
• Anderson and Reagan went back to the church house tonight for a school talent show. Don't be surprised but they were not in it. They seemed to enjoy it though-or maybe they just enjoyed their trip to ChickFilA that their father funded on the way there.
• When we finished our grocery shopping, we ran by another ChickFilA to pick up supper for Graham. Whitman just wanted a grilled cheese-really, why would he not want ChickFilA. Doesn't he know that some people call it Jesus food?
• Once we call made it back home, we unloaded groceries and finally started the last bit of the second movie I started last night. Ice cream is soon!

March 28, 2022

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• Oh a Monday after a break! Just delightful. Actually, today wasn't too bad at all. We seemed to move quickly through all of our school work. 
• The main difficulty today was Bentley. She wanted to play all morning long and would sit on books and step on computers trying to get our attention. Even though she was given lots of attention, she wanted her toy thrown over and over again.
• Anderson had a good bit of school work today but so did Reagan. I even let her skip her math to concentrate on her math for an upcoming test. 
• Everyone was finished with things by 12:30 except for me working with Whitman which I did later this afternoon. I did take Anderson and Graham to Pops' house to help him pick up sticks for a while. They even managed to get lunch and a few snacks out of the deal.
• When I did come back home, I worked with Whitman then walked on the treadmill. After I finished, I walked down the steps to see 2 things that I had ordered. The first was a handwriting book for one of the kids, and the second was scissors for Bentley.
• It didn't take too long for Keaton, Campbell and I to go to town trimming the mess out of that dog. We put Bentley on the patio table out back, and while one of us brushed her the others trimmed her toes, legs, tummy, ears, and tail. 
• I do think that she looks better though some 16 year old members of our family who shall remain nameless think we messed her up. She is a dog after all and her hair will grow back, but overall, Bentley must feel better with 10 pounds of hair gone.
• After her trim, she also received a bath. Now, I really thought about painting the dogs toenails too, but people toenail polish is probably not that good for dogs. Plus there were real things to do on my to do list like working on the kids' clothes.
• For supper we used up what all was in the fridge. Now, this did send Robby on a quick trip to the Dollar General to look for pepperoni. Unfortunately, they didn't have any, but we made do and had plenty of leftovers to add to the ever growing leftover section in the fridge.
• The kids went out to play a game for a little bit after supper. I had already played a game of Sorry this afternoon so I opted out for that game and instead found my spot in my chair in front of the tv for the evening.

March 27, 2022

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• Sunday mornings always seem to be a difficult to get up and get going. They were today-it isn't as impressive since our kids are big now, but we still manage to get decent and scoot out of this house in one hour on Sundays.
• Big church and then Sunday school-even though it was the last part of Spring Break there were still a lot of kiddos there today. Then we had Sunday lunch at Grannymom's house. She had a chicken taco soup which was super delicious. I had hoped that we were having soup, so I was perfectly pleased.
• Once at home, Robby and I went right to sleep. Man, I will never understand why on all the other days of the week, I don't have to have a nap, but on Sundays I just do. Maybe because I have always taken naps on Sundays-even when I was too old to have a regular nap, my mom told us that we were to take a nap on Sundays. I still need Sunday naps for sure.
• By the time that our naps were over, people were starting to leave the house-Reagan left with her 3 dollars for supper along with Anderson, who had a 2 liter, and Graham, who had 2 dollars for supper. We are super thankful that their life groups are all the same directions-hers starts 30 minutes after the boys, so she has plenty of time to drop them off.
• Campbell left next with Brett for church at Rock Creek. It is always a win when my big people are choosing to go to churchy things. Some things are non negotiable-like Sunday school, but others we might have some give and take on-but so far, prayers are working and they are choosing church.
• After most of the people left, Robby and I started on supper. Well, there wasn't much to do at all since tonight we were just having hamburgers. I did make some beans which were ok-I just can't seem to make beans like I think that they should taste. I probably should have added some of that leftover bbq meat in them-that surely would have helped.
• I soon had to leave to pick up the boys. It took me a minute to find the house that Anderson's was out. Then I had to wait on him to finish the game of knock out that he was in. Then we drove to where Graham was and we had to wait for him to finish the game of knock out that he was in. 
• Then we headed home for second supper-well, I don't think any of the boys or Reagan ate since they had their own supper. They all sure did show up for dessert though. The Wilson and us, however, did enjoy supper along with Keaton and Whitman, and also Campbell and Brett when they came home.
• We visited until the weekend was plumb over. Then it was time to start on the laundry-ugh. (And I'm having a laundry crisis currently. Reagan spilled ink on her brand new sweatshirt the other day. I was able to get that out. The very next day she spilled spaghetti sauce on it-I have not washed it at least 4 times. And it's still there. Currently, it is soaking in oxiclean awaiting a trip to Nonna's house.)

March 26, 2022

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• I think that most of my kids stayed up entirely too late last night-it was Friday night so they were able to do that. However, this was also their last night to do that for a while, so it is probably a good thing that they did stay up late and take advantage of it. This Spring Break week we have been letting them stay up late so they are getting better and better at it!
• Even though they stayed up late, Campbell and Anna were up early this morning and so was Anderson. I am not sure why those silly girls were up early-they weren't hungry because they didn't make pancakes until probably 10 or so.
• Anderson was up because his grade of friends were meeting at the trampoline place. He was happy to go there and jump for 2 hours. Robby took him and ran to Sam's as well.
• While they were gone, I did my dishes and laundry. Nonna and Pops came over-they had some laundry for me (Nonna had gotten some spots out of some shirts) plus they hadn't seen everyone in a few days. 
• Once they left, I did sit down and finish my book. I also was reminded of why I don't read too often-I seem to be a bit ocd about it. I did finish that book in less than 24 hours so I probably don't need to get another one very soon since there is a life to live.
• Robby came home with the groceries and then left to pick up Anderson again. When they returned I left with Keaton, Campbell and Anna to go to the little church down the road so they could ride their skate boards.
• I think they had fun. Keaton did fall one time, but she got back on that thing and rode some more. I should have taken the dog, but I completely forgot about that. Instead I looked at another book that I had (it isn't fiction so it isn't that interesting to me-meaning I won't finish it in a day or week...and really, I am just skimming the pages!)
• At the half time of the first ball game this afternoon/evening. we had the kids come and help. They did some chores and then helped with the making of 4 sheet pans of pig in a blanket. We may not always support the winning team, but we have food at our parties!
• The shindig tonight was the Ferguson's house. I believe that there were 6 families represented there tonight-so once again it was quite a party. And even though it wasn't a supper-there was still plenty of food: chips, pretzels, popcorn, cake, ice cream, chex mix, drinks, pizza rolls, pigs in a blanket.
• We watched the game outside-well, I didn't watch it; I just chatted most of the game. I usually feel like I am not a good luck charm so it is best that I stay away. Even though the game didn't end up like we wanted, we all still had a good time. 
• Once we came home, the kids went through showers, and then it was finally bedtime for all.

March 25, 2022

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• As the week has gone on, I have become less and less productive. It is my Spring Break after all as well. I did walk on the treadmill, empty the dishwasher, fold the clothes and go to the library before any of the kids woke up this morning so I guess that was a decent start to the morning.
• I guess that isn't such an amazing feat since I had to wake everyone up except for Graham at 11 this morning. He was still laying in his bed when I went up to start waking up the crew.
• Anderson and I did have to do a bit of spring break school work today. It didn't take him long at all so that was good-there is a lot more school work that he could have done this week, but that sure didn't happen. Reagan has as least done some of her school work this week-they have plenty of time on Monday though to get things done.
• My trip the library today did lead to me spending a good bit of the day and hopefully the rest of the evening reading. I have been not so patiently waiting for my book to become available so I was glad that it arrived.
• I also realized that I have now checked out more books than can possibly be read this school year. We just have about one more month of school so I don't think that I can get any more books from the library for us to read in our group time. That makes my heart sad-I have about 300 books on my "for later" list. Most of those are books to read to the kids during school time.
• Grannymom and Grandpa came over today for lunch-we had lots of leftovers from last night so we made a little bit of a bent in them. That was good at least. I was certain that we would have a ton of baked potatoes left over yesterday and had even looked up some ideas to reuse them; however, there were hardly any left which was a good thing.
• After they left, I went to pick up Keaton's little friend to play for the afternoon. They spent a good deal of time in the kitchen cooking and outside playing volleyball. The volleyball net is still up, and everyone has enjoyed playing on it-in and out all day long.
• When Keaton's friend left, we picked up Campbell's friend to come over for the evening. They haven't yet cooked anything, but have been outside playing volleyball and on the trampoline. At one point this evening while all of the kids except Reagan were outside, Robby and I left to pick up supper.
• ChickFilA was on the menu for some, but quite a few of us didn't want that so we opted for pizza. We ordered extra pizza so we will have some for tomorrow. Right now there is basketball on tv, everyone is inside and I am cuddled up under a blanket and am about to pick up my book (I have two to choose from-one about essay writing and the one I really want to read.)

March 24, 2022

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•  I think that I could get used to this Spring Break living-well, yesterday I worked hard, and today, not so much! Ha! I did my normal things this morning, and then I had to wait on the kids to wake up. 
• I needed to do some school work with Anderson (we never did), I needed Whitman to read a book (he did), I needed to put some medicine on his knee (did that too), I needed folks to start doing their chores (eventually happened), I needed to go through Whitman's clothes and switch out to his summer clothes (did that).
• But I had to wait for what seemed like forever for these children to wake up. My goal had been to work on some more of the kids summer clothes this week, but that just isn't any fun at all. I was able to go through Whitman's new clothes bins quickly, but no one else has bins of extra clothes to go through so theirs is just cleaning and straightening. Maybe tomorrow...and really maybe not!
• This afternoon I took myself a good little nap-we had worked plenty making desserts for tonight and then I had spent a good deal of the morning cleaning around here. 
• While I was napping, Robby worked some in the yard-the big boys had even picked up some sticks this morning for quite a long time. Reagan was out and about with Kennedy. They ran to Target and Goodwill-Keaton was disappointed because she super wants to go back to Goodwill soon.
• The highlight of today was definitely having a houseful of people here to celebrate the Hogs win. I did not have too high of hopes for the game tonight, but I was pleasantly surprised. I think that count was 35 folks here for supper tonight-we haven't had a big crew over in a while so the evening was a lot of fun.
• This evening when all our folks left, Keaton went to town cleaning-I think that she cleaned most of the kitchen herself. I hadn't asked for any help yet-she just did it. I knew she was my favorite! (Kidding, they're all my favorites.)

March 23, 2022

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• I tell you, spring break is tough. I have walked more steps today than I did when we were at Silver Dollar City, and I haven't even taken the dog on a walk today. Last night before bed, we had completely filled the bar with about 5 loads of clothes for me to fold. 
• So that was the first task of my day. Well, actually I worked on that for most of the morning long. I would only fold 20 things at a time and then go and do something else. I did finish before noon so that was a good thing.
• I was able to work on some school things for next week plus some things for this summer. While I was sitting there working on my computer, I realized that it was super cold in this house. I had to stop and had me some hot chocolate.
• I didn't realize that if it was cold inside, then it sure would be cold outside. I took Bentley outside to potty, and I almost froze to death. I sure didn't wait for her to potty out there. She wasn't quick so I took her back in.
• I stalled most of the morning trying to avoid the laundry and the treadmill, but eventually I did have to finish them both. After finishing the treadmill, Robby and I ran some errands. We went to Sams, Walmart and Costco. We had intended to go to Kroger to, but we just ran out of time.
• Our next mission was to clean the camper. It doesn't take long, but it isn't our favorite thing to do. However, it about 30 minutes Robby and I had cleaned that camper pretty good.
• We then heated up BBQ for our supper. I did got outside to play a game of Newcomb (I'm not sure at all about the spelling there) with the kids. Reagan didn't play since Kennedy is over, and they were chatting upstairs.
• Once supper and game time was over, Robby and I went back out to the camper to restock it-4 laundry baskets full of stuff to take out there and put away. That didn't take too long either and soon we were back inside watching a Hallmark movie. Keaton and Whitman are pretty interested in it too tonight!

March 22, 2022-Spring Break Week 2022

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We were up early this morning so we could make our way to the Walmart down the road. They were having a Blackstone even there with Todd Toven. Robby has a blackstone for the camper, and he would love to have another one at home if we had a covered patio. 

The kids were not too sure at all why in the world we were planning on going to a Walmart for 4 hours to watch a man cook. However, I do think that the enjoyed it-well, they enjoyed watching him cook the first thing, they enjoyed the candy I let them buy inside Walmart, they enjoyed walking around Walmart alone, they enjoyed sitting in the car on their devices, and they enjoyed the cookies we had Graham go in the store and buy them.

Robby and I enjoyed it too-Robby left with a hat and some sauce. Plus we both left with a full stomach. First the guy made street tacos which were by far the favorite. We even had seconds of that. Then he made tortellini with spinach, sausage, peppers and tomatoes. Campbell ate a bit of hers, and Keaton didn't even want any but did go through the line to get some to give to us-so we had seconds of that as well. Next up was bacon fried corn-just what it sounds like: corn and bacon. It was good, but man if you had seen that grease, it made it hard for me to eat it. (Thankfully my stomach survived.) And finally, it was a cajun dish-rice, sausage, celery (nasty), onions and possibly other things. Robby tried this one, but we were not fans-it was probably good, but too spicy for me and too veggie for Robby.

The weather was a bit chilly when we arrived. Thankfully, Shannon had blankets there that we used to wrap up in. At the end the sun did come out which warmed us up for sure. That was nice-the sun would have been nice afterwards as well.

We made it back to the camper with the sun still shining. The kids played outside for a few minutes while we worked inside getting things ready. And then, the rain started. It was slow at first, but while we were loading the car-pouring, absolutely pouring. 

And not only was it pouring but it was crazy windy too. It took Robby 3 tries to get the car on the dolly since he kept sliding-all of this while Anderson and I were just standing in the driving rain. Anderson, Robby and I were drenched. At least Robby and I had on our rain jackets. But I guess that didn't help-he had to change clothes. Anderson changed his clothes as well and even had to change his undies he was so soaking.

By the time they were in dry clothes, the rain had pretty much slacked off. Of course that is how things are! We didn't really have to drive in too much rain on the way home. It would start for a little bit and then stop, but it never was anything really heavy. 

We stopped once for Robby to go to the bathroom. Or maybe we stopped for the dog to go to the bathroom. Either way, we stopped and even I went to the bathroom. I know that I can get up and go anytime in that camper, but really, that isn't as easy as it sounds. Usually, I have to dog in my lap. Plus to get to the bathroom I have to climb over all of the legs and cords in the aisle. Then in the bathroom you feel like you are going to absolutely die-turbulence plus just hearing trucks go by you feet way is enough to cause a panic attack. By the time I manage to walk back to the front to my seat, some child is sitting in it. So yes, I try to wait until we are stopped to go to the bathroom. (It really isn't that bad, but it is still challenging.)

Once at home, it took us almost exactly 30 minutes to have the camper completely emptied out. The kids just walk and forth between the house taking loads. Most of the loads are laundry. Thankfully, everyone is willing to work (well, they really don't have a choice), but they are lots of help, and we get it all done quickly. Currently, 4 loads of laundry have been washed-all of them are still in the washer and dryers waiting on me.

The big boys are upstairs screaming on their xboxes. Whitman and Keaton just made pizza crackers for their suppers. Reagan had cereal and has migrated to her room. Campbell is texting me trying to convince me to let people come over. And Robby is sad that our trip is over and catching up on work. My next move is to work on the laundry (not folding) and then possibly eating Keaton's leftover soup.

March 21, 2022-Spring Break 2022

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We had planned on pulling out around 9ish this morning, but it ended up being a bit later than that though. That was fine since we are on vacation, and there is no schedule. Robby was awake before me. He then went outside to start unhooking while I did around inside trying to do what I could to get the inside ready.

Once I was ready, I walked with him to take out the trash, let Bentley potty and ask about propane (they didn't want to sell him any.) When we did leave, Robby said that there were 3 different choices of roads to get to Fayetteville. He said that he tried to pick the easiest (least curvy) route, but I am not so sure that he did.

Well, Keaton, Graham and Anderson all complained of being a bit car sick so the front of the camper was kind of full on the drive. It wasn't horrible though, and we all survived. Robby did have to stop once to go to the bathroom so that give folks a chance to walk around a little bit.

Thankfully, the rain only sprinkled on us a little bit which made the drive a bit easier. When we arrived at the Road Hog RV Park it didn't take us any time at all to find out spot, unhook and back in. It also wasn't raining then either. 

After a bit, we started on lunches. Ramen for Reagan, hotpockets for Keaton, Campbell and Whitman, mac and cheese and a corndog for Anderson, and leftover pizza for Graham. He asked if we had a toaster oven in the camper which we do not. Then he wanted the air fryer-it isn't that convenient to get out, but since we did for him, I decided that I was going to use it too.

So I made pizzas on tortillas for Robby and me. It was actually pretty good-it was warm which was pretty important since the weather has turned chilly again on us. After eating, we decided that who ever wanted to could go to the mall. We took Bentley on a quick walk before leaving-that is when it started raining.

We then dealt with the rain for the rest of the day. Reagan really likes a store at the mall here (remember the girls and Robby drove up for the day one time) so we went there first. She tried on a sweater but decided that it was too expensive. I encouraged her to buy it anyway...because she was pretty much offered a job today (Someone called us asking about her-more details to come when we find out more.)

The mall was a bit sad and didn't take us long to walk around. We spent more time and more money in Aldi afterwards. A half gallon of chocolate milk was 89 cents-Anderson didn't understand why we didn't buy more than 2. We even found some cheesecake and cookies for tonight.

Back at the camper, it was absolutely pouring so we didn't even give Bentley the chance to leave to potty before we put her up. This time we were heading out for supper at the grilled cheese place. Graham has been wanting to return there for a long time, so today we did.

And really, we were kind of disappointed. Robby and I are never really folks that just love eating out. We usually leave a restaurant and say that we can mark it off of the list. This was one of those places. Now, the sweet potato fries were delicious along with Keaton's black bean soup (that she didn't like). Bless Whitman, he just got the kid's meal grilled cheese, but he didn't like the sourdough bread or the cheese inside. Anderson's was the adult version of Whitman's and agreed. Robby and I felt like we needed sauce on ours.

Now, we are glad that we went and glad that we tried it and we will definitely try the sweet potato fries again. After our supper, we came back to the camper and turned the heat on. The rain did slack off for a few minutes so the kids played outside for a little bit. Then we found our spots and settled in to watch a movie, American Underdog.

That is actually what is about to happen right now. I am sure that there will be cheesecake and cookies in the middle of this movie. And we will probably even have a late bedtime tonight!

Update: we did have to have a break in the middle of the movie for cheesecake and cookies because the rain came down so hard that we could no longer hear the tv even though it was on the max volume. Currently, the rain is pretty heavy, but not extremely. I even took a very quick shower since it was thundering outside. Right now everyone is in their beds-tomorrow is a bit earlier than usual for us.

March 20, 2022-Spring Break 2022

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I told Robby this afternoon that this has been a pretty perfect day. There is just something about this camping thing that makes me so darn happy. We were busy with a theme park this morning, and this afternoon we spent relaxing at the campsite. I would live in this camper if I could.

Anyway, we weren't in a hurry too much this morning. We woke up leisurely-though when people realized that their friends were headed to the playground, they were up and out of this camper pretty quickly. Robby started on chocolate chip pancakes and sausage for our breakfast. I had made some pancake mix up before we left the house, but it i had been a while so I had forgotten how much we needed and had to make more.

The Crafts decided that they were going back to the park for a little bit today, so that did spur my people on. We said bye to the Fergies as they drove away, and we were not too far behind them. We were just headed to Silver Dollar City one last time.

We could tell that the crowds were much thicker today. We did, however, still find a pretty decent parking spot. We then went into the park and went straight to Outlaw Run. The kids all got in that line while Robby and I walked around the park looking for lemonade and scoping out any treats that we might want later.

Reagan really wanted a pretzel and even went looking for one today, but we never found her one. On one of our walks, we did find some skillet hash. I am not sure what the proper name was, but it was delicious. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, and sausage cooked to perfection. 

After Outlaw Run, we met up with the Crafts where Graham, Campbell, Keaton and Whitman rode the water ride with some of them. Reagan and Anderson had more sense because they didn't want to walk around with wet shoes. 

Thankfully, they weren't too soaking wet after the ride today. We then moved on to the last few rides of the day-Thunderation for everyone. Then another Thunderation for Keaton and Graham followed by Wildfire for them. Cambpell, Anderson and Whitman opted for Time Traveler as their last ride. Reagan hung out with us eating our skillet hash and our two more loaves of cinnamon bread.

Back at the campsite this afternoon, we mostly all set outside and watched ballgames. I did some napping in my chair while Robby worked on the water and even crawled around on the roof. I did try to stay awake when I saw him on the roof, but it was just so hard. 

Keaton, Graham and I played a game of Phase 10 this afternoon. I did beat them just in time to help Robby start on supper. Tonight we had pizzas made on the blackstone. They were really perfect this time-Robby has perfected them. It is a difficult meal to make though because he wanted to make sure that he didn't burn any.

There was more ballgame watching and dog walking this evening. We eventually did load up with all the kids except Anderson and plus Alyssa to go to Krispy Kreme. We picked up doughnuts, and then ate them outside because Bentley was with us. 

Right now, Robby is making the beds, I'm working on the blog, the girls are all visiting with the Heltz girls, Anderson is showering, Whitman is on his ipad, and Graham is loving on Bentley. Tomorrow we move this party back to Arkansas.

March 19, 2022-Spring Break 2022

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Camper sleeping was still good last night even though it took me a good bit to go to sleep. Once I did get to sleep, I slept soundly throughout the night. Well, we did wake up briefly when we heard a kerplunk. Robby jumped out of bed, but thankfully it wasn't her (top bunk), it was just Whitman (bottom bunk). He was already getting back into his bed. Robby tried to tuck him in pretty good so he wouldn't fall out again.

The morning was kind of slow. As soon as the kids woke up, they headed outside with all of the others. I think that Keaton and Graham were the first ones awake and outside today. Soon everyone was outside-most folks cooked a big breakfast this morning, but we just snacked on our breakfasts. We toyed with the idea of making pancakes for lunch, but by then there were ballgames on, and we opted for an easy lunch as well.

We headed to the park around 2 this afternoon. It was nice to see folks leaving for the day when we were just getting there. The only think on the must do list for today was cinnamon bread which we did easily accomplish. The first order of business was Thunderation. We all rode it-it is not my favorite ride at all. There is one part of the ride, the I hold my head during. Otherwise, it just shakes the fire out of my head. 

After that ride, we met up with the others at the Flooded Mine. Well, this wasn't all of the others-there were just 20 of us. My score was crazy high-I believe it was 600,000. High enough that I possibly should sign up for some shooting competition. I must have just gotten lucky since I'm not too sure that I have any real skill in that department.

From there my crew went to one of the big roller coasters. We picked up some Heltz along with way. We went one place and the line was crazy long so we went another place. The kids did ride the log ride while Robby and I sat down to eat some of our cheese, sausage and crackers from our bag. We were living it up with fancy snacks today.

Then they went off to the Barnyard Swings with Wes. They were all seated on the swings when that ride stopped. It worked out well for them because they were given Silver Dollar City's version of a Fastpass. They used those at Time Traveler where the lady didn't take them up. So they then went to Powder Keg to use them. 

That worked out perfectly because as soon as they were finished with that ride, we met up with everyone else. They were all donning their ponchos and getting ready for the water raft ride. Our kids all headed that way as well. They were able to go on that ride twice-while we sat and ate our loaf of cinnamon bread.

As soon as they were off the water ride, we high tailed it back to the car. That is where I passed out the girls' loaf of cinnamon bread and the boy's loaf of cinnamon bread. They ate those on the way home. Once we were home, the kids all changed into dry clothes while Robby once again went to do a load of laundry. Robby and I both worked on shoving newspaper into all of the soaking wet shoes-I pretty much cleaned out all of the Silver Dollar City newspapers on the way out of the park. 

Soon it was time for the Hogs to play tonight. Andrew set up a projector at our campsite and Casey made the fire. We hung lights and it was a party. As the game was on, Robby worked on our supper-quesadillas. It is a Dennie family favorite for sure. 

The game was an eventful one for sure. We had our tv going which was super behind compared to the huge projector tv. I was facing our little tv so I always knew what was happening before it happened. I am that kind of person-I always read the last few pages of a book first so this did help my anxiety during the game. Actually, I had the Hogs losing tonight on my bracket, but I was still rooting for them to win.

After the Hogs game, we all watched the end of another game before starting to pick up for the evening. We had the outside to pick up plus the inside-laundry to fold, dishes to wash, beds to make. It was a lot. It is just about midnight-Robby and I are still waiting to get into the bathroom to get ourselves ready for bed. 

March 18, 2022-Spring Break 2022

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Oh, sleeping always just seems so wonderful in this camper (well, there was that time last year in Florida when I was eat up by itchy bugs and stayed awake most of the night slathering creams on my body and taking showers.) But, last night the sleeping was great.

Bentley was not happy about being in her kennel. Robby even let her fuss for a few minutes before we put her in bed with us. She went right to sleep and so did we. The rain was mostly a pitter patter throughout the night, but sometime during the early morning, the rain started up pretty good. 

It would start raining really heavy (Casey said it was even hail) which would briefly wake us up for a second, but we would then go right on back to sleep. This happened a few times before it was finally time to wake up. The rain came and went a good while this morning.

We would walk around outside some during the breaks, and the kids were pretty anxious to get going to Silver Dollar City. We really had low expectations today despite hoping that the rain would keep the crowds away. This is spring break week for quite a few states plus the park hasn't been opened too long this season. (Yesterday, the weather was perfect and the park was absolutely packed).

We did not have a fancy breakfast as Whitman calls it. Fancy breakfasts are made outside and have all of the yummy breakfast foods. It was just cereal and the like today. All too soon it was time for lunch-all of my people had paninis. 

We have a little panini maker in the camper which makes one at a time. That is plenty, but when yours is 7th on the list, it takes a while to get your sandwich heated up. I do believe that the reason everyone wanted the sandwiches warm was because it was downright cold today. The high was early this morning and the temperature just continued to drop plus there was more wind as the day went on.

Around 12:15 we left to head to Silver Dollar City. The others had left a few minutes before. There was no traffic today getting into the park so we hustled to stay warm all the way to the entrance. The app is nice because we were able to see how long the waits were.

This is the first year that Keaton and Whitman have been able to ride every single ride here (Wildfire and Time Traveler have been the ones that they have not yet been able to ride.) There wasn't a wait at Wildfire and since none of the Fergies and Crafts kiddos ride big rides, we headed there first. Of course they all loved it.

Then we went to Powder Keg where they were next in line as the rain began again which shut down the ride. The rain continued off and on for the rest of the day-it was just a slight little mist, but enough to make you cool. We then let the kids ride Outlaw Run before meeting up with the rest of the crew at the dog show. It was a cute little show and a warm little spot for a while. When we did leave, the noticed that the temperature had really cooled off while we were inside. 

We then walked to the smaller section-some kids rode the swings followed by the teacups. Then it was on to Time Traveler for my crew. They had so much fun that they rode it twice. Then it was on to Fire in the Hole with some of the Crafts. We all rode that ride.

Afterwards, we sent Campbell, Whitman and Keaton to ride the Barnyard Swings while the rest of us found a warm-ish spot to eat outside. We had some turkey, bbq, mac and cheese and a roll. It was a yummy little snack which gave us energy for the walk back to the car.

Now, while we were seated there-we did look over and saw the new water ride. We have told the kids that they would be able to do it. However, when we started to think about tomorrow's forecasted beautiful weather, then we decided that we should give them the option right then since tomorrow's lines will be certainly long.

They all decided to go-some took off coats, some put some on. They all had a strategy about how to stay the most dry. We assured them that they we were going to head straight to the car after the ride. We were able to see them float past us twice. Once they looked dry and once they did not. I think the report was that Reagan was crying she was so wet and miserable. Campbell, who really wanted to get wet, stayed pretty dry.

We hightailed it to the car, only stopping to get a coke and a hot chocolate on the way out of the park. Once we made it back to the camper, there was almost a fist fight for the first shower. Whitman won since he was the first one to get completely naked. I had to let him take a shower first.

Since most folks were wet, we also decided to do some laundry tonight. It is chilly enough that only Keaton and Campbell ventured out-there is only kids out there since the adults seem to have more sense. We had tortellini for supper. Well, the kids did. Robby and I had potato soup which was super perfect this evening. 

Robby and I took a short walk this evening with the dog, and it was just plain cold. Currently, the camper is cozy, dessert is cookies later on this evening, and Robby is about to bring in our warm laundry for me to fold.

March 17, 2022-Spring Break 2022

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It has only been since December that we have used the camper, but it feels like it has been forever. Robby and I have worked quite a bit this week getting everything back in working order. We didn't have too much to do-I just had to reload and restock all the things. He had to make sure that every little thing was still working. By this morning though we were ready!

When it was time to wake up the crew this morning, there was no one that was up bright and chipper. Anderson and Reagan headed off to Comm Central for their two classes. We were making skip her last class today-we have our priorities in the right order.

The rest of us started on our reading aloud. I read history and then science. Then we finished the book that we had been reading. Oh, it was really the best book. You know a book is a good when even Graham is upset that it is over and wanted there to be a sequel. 

Everyone did their school work finishing all of their lists for the week. Soon everyone was indeed finished including Whitman. Campbell did take a break from her work to give Bentley a bath. Since she did that for us, I let her save a school thing for next week.

Robby took some of the kids on a candy run. They grabbed a few things that they needed for the drive up to Branson. Soon everything in the camper was finished, and everything in the house was also finished, and we were just waiting on Reagan and Anderson to come home. 

As soon as they drove up, everyone else was already in the camper-well, Whitman did get in the camper about an hour early. That was fine though because the games were on in the camper and stayed on the entire trip to Branson.

We had a pleasant drive to Branson. We didn't get into much traffic at all except in Harrison, and we didn't have to stop at all. There are really only three reasons that we have to stop now-to fill up with gas, for Robby to use the restroom or for the dog to go potty. We didn't need any of those things on the way up here.

When we arrived at the campground, the Fergies and Crafts were already at the playground. My crew joined them as Robby and I found our spot and unloaded the car. We leveled and were soon walking back to the playground. It is a neat little playground with a basketball goal so even my big boys were pleased.

We chatted for a good while before eventually walking back to the camper and turning on the oven. Tonight's meal was a winner-manicotti and garlic knots. The manicotti is a Dennie family favorite. I really like to too because it was frozen and all ready to go with no prep (plus since its in a throw away pan, the clean up was super simple.) 

Since our supper didn't take long at all, we were able to focus on all of the basketball games. During one round of games we went to Casey's camper and made some s'mores. During another round of games, Andrew brought over cake. 

By the end of the evening, it started to rain a little bit so the party broke up quite a bit. Currently, Robby and most of the kids are standing under the awning outside watching the Hogs game on the tv. Whitman, Reagan and I are inside where it is nice and warm and dry. From the sounds of things, it sounds like things are going our way right now!

March 16, 2022

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• I woke up well before my alarm clock this morning. Robby went to the bathroom-well, I thought he did, but he never came back to bed. I eventually figured that he was running, so I finally got myself out of bed-by this time it was well after my alarm should have gone off. 
• The kids had just as much trouble getting out of bed as I did. I had to work hard to make sure that everyone was out of bed and doing what they were supposed to be doing (I did come home around 12:15 and found Reagan still in bed which made me made as a hornet-in her defense she had been up already this morning, but I was still pretty hot.)
• Anderson worked at Raymar from nine until noon. Robby took him there, and I picked him up after Bible study. Keaton, Campbell, Whitman and I finished with Bible study and then ran (literally) into Hobby Lobby to buy a notebook for Keaton. She had been watching it for weeks waiting on it to go on sale. We made it to Raymar just as Anderson was finishing up so that all worked our perfectly.
• I was home long enough to do a tiny bit of homework with Anderson before it was time for me to leave again. This time it was Reagan and me going to North Little Rock. 
• Since Reagan didn't do as well as she needed to on the ACT, there is another test that she can take so she can take her concurrent class next fall. Two parts she needed to pass-Reading and Math. Today she took the reading part (10 dollars, take it anytime, just 20 questions). It was at Pulaski Tech, and it took us forever to find the building that it was in. 
• She got the score that she needed so we now have to start studying for the hard part-the math section. That is fine though, we have all summer long-though my goal is May. After the test, of course she had to have some Sonic on the way home.
• I was then home for about 30 minutes before leaving again to take Anderson to his Dgroup. I dropped him off there before running to the library. I ended up at Nonna and Pops' house since I had a little bit of time. I visited with them before meeting everyone else at church. Reagan drove her and the other kids.
• After church, Reagan went to meet her Dgroup at ChickFilA before coming home. The rest of us went to work on cleaning the house and finishing the last bit of packing. Afterwards, the kids had their supper and I finally sat down to eat mine at 9:15. I was super glad that I started my Wednesday off with a Wednesday bagel. 

March 15, 2022

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• I guess because it was dark and deary outside, but I was in no hurry to get out of the bed this morning. I barely heard my alarm clock, and only did get out of bed when I realized one of the kids were already awake. 
• When I did get out of bed, I had about 15 minutes until it was time to start working together. Well, the kids sure wouldn't care if we did that later than usual, but I have a schedule that I kind of like to stick to. I quickly threw on my clothes and woke the kids up for the first time (Anderson was the one who had been up before and was quietly playing on his xbox with his school bag packed and ready.).
• I then did the dishes and speed folded the laundry. Thankfully I had time for both. Plus Bentley needed to potty. Usually I let her do all of her business, but I didn't have time for that today at all. She had to wait-and wait she did until much later in the day.
• Reagan and Anderson headed to school while the rest of us were doing our reading. Everyone knocked quite a few school things out today. Whitman only has 8 things to do tomorrow and Thursday. That is huge-and I have to remind myself that this is why we start school so early-so we can relax a little bit at the end of the year.
• We are in full packing mode around here. Whitman, Keaton and I are all packed and ready to go. That is nice-all the kids (except Whitman) can do it themselves with the help of my packing list so I don't have to worry about them usually. I just have to motivate them to get it done on my timeline and not theirs.
• After I walked on the treadmill, Robby and I did some more shopping. Seriously, when will it end? We are going to be gone for nearly a week so we will need a few things, and hopefully we have bought enough things that we will have leftovers for the next camping trip. 
• Robby had a meeting at church tonight so he was gone for a while. Anderson and I worked on his paper. Then Keaton and I made pizza crescent rolls for our supper. We didn't make quite enough so Campbell made a pan of brownies for the nightly dessert. 

March 14, 2022

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• Oh, man it was super hard for me to get out of bed this morning. Robby said that he didn't sleep well, and I didn't really either. Well, I would wake up cold and then wake up again sweaty hot. I am not too sure how long that all lasted. Despite all of that, I still managed to wake up at a decent time.
• I started waking up the kiddos, emptying the dishwasher, taking the dog out and speed folding my clothes. Soon it was time to start our work together stuff. I am trying really hard to finish reading a book this week-I still have 20 percent so I don't think I am going to get it done.
• Last night I had assumed that I would be doing school until at least 3, but I was finished a good bit before that so that was super nice. Mondays are the craziest day-everyone is home, and everyone has a lot of school to do. (For example, each week Whitman now has about 35 things to do-today, I had him do around 15 of those things.) 
• After helping Anderson and then Reagan, I ended up playing Clue with Graham, Keaton, and Campbell. I have not played Clue in a really long time-maybe so long that the last time we played it, no one could really play it. Now they can all figure it out, and it was pretty fun to play. Campbell was the big winner for that game.
• I then walked on the treadmill. Actually, the treadmill is getting a lot of use lately. Robby does his hour every single day. I walk 4 times a week for 45 minutes. Keaton and Campbell have started walking on it too. I decided that this a good habit for them and decided to encourage it. I told them I would give them 20 dollars if they walked/ran 100 miles. Today Graham decided that he definitely wanted in on this challenge as well.
• Robby, Whitman and I went to Walmart for a crazy long time late this afternoon. Whitman needed a hair cut plus the mini van battery was not working. The test on the battery lasted an hour and a half (only to find out the battery was bad and we needed a new one) while we shopped. 
• And shopped we did-we tried to buy everything that we could think of for this weekend. And we did-except for all of the things that we have to get at Sams and Kroger!
• Back at home, we unloaded groceries before making supper. We are trying to clean out the fridge so tonight we had to make orange chicken so we could finish off the rice and noodles from the last time we made the chicken. 
• Then Robby and I worked on camper food before we came back in for pie! Since today was PI day, we celebrated with some chocolate pie. Campbell didn't think that she liked pie, but she decided that maybe she did after all. I knew I like pie-I have been thinking about pie for days.

March 13, 2022

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• We did pretty good this morning for it being time change and all. To even make things more difficult there were 2 loads of laundry to fold plus Whitman had to have a shower this morning. We manged just fine and were even at church in time to catch our breaths before church started.
• After church there was Sunday school. I went all out this week-even brought a tent for us to do our Bible study in. The tent always seems bigger at home when it is crammed in one of the kids rooms. However, with me and 10 first graders in it, it didn't seem too big at all.
• Lunch today was at Grannymom's house. She had a Mexican feast plus Oreo Delight. We watched the ballgame for a little bit and even played some cards. Whitman spent most of our time at Grannymom's house walking around outside playing with her last bits of snow.
• Once at home, Campbell went to work baking brownies for Reagan to take to her lifegroup. If you don't already know it, Campbell is an excellent sister. Then Keaton and Campbell played Clue in the kitchen. Whitman stayed in the kitchen with them the whole time along with the dog so it left a quite nap time for me.
• Soon it was time for everyone to start moving-Reagan went to her lifegroup. Anderson and Graham both had Lifegroups as well tonight. Theirs started 30 minutes before Reagans plus there were both in the same neighborhood as Reagans. Having another drive is really nice-she dropped off Anderson and then Graham and then got herself to hers.
• Brett came and picked up Campbell to go to Rock Creek tonight. As they were all leaving, Robby and I went to work on the camper. We got that thing into shape-well there is still a lot of work to be done. However, I reloaded it with all the things I had to take out because of the cold (medicine, food staples, etc.). I even did a little bit of cleaning out of extra things while Robby worked on dewinterizing it and making sure that everything still works.
• Soon Robby had to go and pick up the boys. Keaton, Whitman and I headed to the Wilson's house for supper. Tony had cooked sandwiches on the blackstone-he had made a lot, but we ate a lot. When Reagan arrived, she ate one and said that it was the best sandwich she had ever had. 
• We watched a few camping videos before finally heading home. Graham did sneak in the back of the big van and tried to scare the living daylights out of me. Thankfully, I don't scare to easily and just shouted back "stop it" when he jumped up screaming from the back of the van as we were driving down the road.

March 12, 2022

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• We did sleep in for a little bit today, but for some reason I couldn't go back to sleep. I read all of the internet and then decided that I should get up and be productive for a few minutes. Eventually, I even moved on to the treadmill for a bit this morning. I didn't want to, but I am really trying to walk 4 times a week...and since this is the last day of the week, I felt like I had to.
• I then ran to pick up Campbell and Keaton. They had tons of fun spending the night at their friends' house. They were just finishing waffles and a game of Clue when I arrived. 
• I brought them home and soon the Hogs game was on. During it, I did show Whitman how to make mac and cheese. Now, I am pretty sure that he isn't able to make it by himself, but at least I have shown him what to do. He had difficulty cutting through the butter so I at least know what we need to work on. 
• The Hogs didn't do as well as we wanted-I tried to help by taking my nap the last few minutes of the game. I was able to sleep despite the yelling. At one point, everyone was yelling so that I thought that we were about to make a comeback. I didn't open my eyes though until the game just had a few seconds left, and then I saw that my nap didn't really have an effect on the outcome of the game.
• After the game, Campbell, Keaton and I dropped Robby off at Grannymom's house to work on their taxes. Then we drove to Academy to find some soccer shoes. Gracious there was nothing there. Campbell did find some shoes that she was willing to pay 20 dollars for-I had a set limit that I would pay so she had to come up with the extra money.
• There were no choices for Keaton except for black, and they didn't have her size. She is more frugal than her sister so I don't think she would have chosen anything extra even if she had that option. Thankfully, we were able to find her some that will be delivered this week-crossing my fingers that they fit since it is different size.
• Campbell also ended up with a shirt and sports bra. She asked for the shirt but needed the other. Keaton didn't get anything extra, but she had just gotten a shirt during basketball practice. There were tons of people out shopping today at Academy.
• Well, there were more people at Sams which is where we went after Grannymom's house. It was absolutely crazy there. It was so crazy trying to push the cart at Sams, that I didn't get one when the girls and I ran into Walmart. We should have-3 two liters, 2 things of cheese, 4 boxes of cornbread mix, and 6 bags of muffin mix-it was a lot for us to carry. But we were able to move around that store quickly since we didn't have a buggy.
• After putting up the groceries, I started on supper. Potato soup, cornbread, chicken roll ups and leftover mac and cheese. It was all pretty good, and at least killed hunger. 
• A bit later in the evening, the Wilsons came over to help us eat our dessert-a turtle cheese cake that we couldn't pass up at Sams. It was just calling our name and wouldn't let us leave the store without it. I have always loved cheesecake-and this one was especially delicious.

March 11, 2022

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• After doing all of my morning chores, I had a bit of time this morning to wander around the house trying to figure out what I could do. I knew what I wanted to do-nothing! But I felt like I needed to be productive and useful.
• I did a few things, but not much at all really. It was soon time for Keaton and me to head to Maumelle to drop off some homeschool books. I was under the impression that they were going to give me a check while I was there, so I made sure to go early. They didn't which was fine because this meant that I had a bit of time when we came home.
• There was Bible study with Campbell, Keaton and Whitman. Some biology work with Anderson. I even started on some work that I wanted to do-getting the kids summer school stuff ready, but soon Campbell walked into my room saying that we had to leave in 20 minutes.
• Graham and Anderson chose to stay home today and watch the Hogs play. I understand that even though I told them that I hoped LSU won as I was leaving. We took the Kamps' girls with us too and met the Powells at the Arkansas Foodbank.
• I really enjoy going there. I know we are probably doing some good while we are there, but the real reason is that I like to see my kids work-and work hard. (Also it makes me feel good when I see other kids (teenagers) not working as hard as my littles. (All the kids with us worked super hard today)) 
• All of the kids worked hard-our job today wasn't that hard. There were 3 huge bins (4 feet tall, 5 feet square) of canned food without labels, Most of them had a code on the bottom that said corn. Those cans were removed from the bins, then we put labels on them before putting them in boxes.
• Reagan is a speed demon. She was putting labels on the cans while I was handing her labels. We did thousands of cans-not exaggerating in the least. Amber was struggling to make sure that we had plenty of cans. Other than our break, Reagan only stopped when we ran out of labels. 
• Campbell and Keaton were working at another table with Lily and Eden. They worked continuously as well-though not as fast. And Whitman-it took him a while to figure out what he could do, but when he did-he worked hard. He retrieve the made boxes and delivered them, he would load them and often he would carry the box of 24 cans of corn to another table. Our box makers were from another group and didn't come back after their break-so I looked up once to see Whitman figuring out the tape gun and making boxes. 
• It was about 3:15 when we did run out of labels for the second time, and the man said that it was starting to snow, and we should go. I tried to have us finish the things we were working on, but he just said to leave it. Amber and I expected a lot of snow to be falling when we stepped outside, but there was just an occasional flake.
• However, by the time we loaded into the car and headed down the road to Wendy's, it was like we were driving in a blizzard. The kids earned Frostys as a little treat. But my treat (well, other than a frosty) was the beautiful weather. This snow was just gorgeous. 
• Campbell and Keaton ended up spending the night at Sara's house. I did hear they did a lot of playing in the snow. When we came home here, Whitman and Reagan were outside for a very long time. 
• This evening we did go to the Wilson's house for a little bit and watched some basketball and ate oreo delight. Reagan and Whitman opted to stay at home-and she stayed downstairs with him the whole time. Or it was the dog that she stayed downstairs with? 
• We came home pretty late but this is no bedtime night so the kids are all upstairs on their devices. Reagan is probably loving having an empty room tonight.

March 10, 2022

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• Some days I wake up before my alarm goes off, and I have a bit of time to just lay in the bed and do nothing before starting the day. Now, even on those days I should already be out of the bed and working, but choose not to. Today though, when I did wake up, I was just awake. It didn't help that Bentley did lick my face this morning. 
• After this I didn't stay in bed too much longer. There were the dishes plus the laundry to fold. I even had time to brush Bentley for a little bit. She doesn't seem to be shedding as much right now, but not shedding much still means handfuls of hair. She is little diva though because when you brush her, she just stands so still and tall. And I think that she really enjoys it.
• Reagan and Anderson went to school this morning. They weren't there too crazy long since Reagan's last class didn't happen. I'm not a complainer, but her last class has probably happened 50% of the time. I probably shouldn't give her credit for it, but since I'm paying for it, it will be counted. Kind of reminds me of my classes at Fair where I learned to be craps and throw some gang signs.
• Anyway, the rest of us flew through our work together. I had saved one little work together thing for tomorrow, but I just don't see how that will happen at all because tomorrow is turning into a busy day.
• Everyone did well on finishing their school-even Whitman who I had to get a little fussy with. He spent 15 minute just staring at a page. All he had to do on that page was write 6 words-I finally snatched his paper from him and told him to go and read. Ugh. Sometimes he can be so focused and other times not at all.
• We finished in time for Keaton and Graham to make some cookies. We delivered two pans of cookies after we finished baking them. We made well over a hundred cookies. Campbell even made a dessert and delivered it to some folks yesterday-maybe we are becoming a little bit like Nonna's friend the cookie lady.
• Keaton and I went to the pregnancy center for a bit this afternoon. We spent the entire time that we were there making bags of diapers. Keaton kept telling me that we had plenty, but I told her we were going to completely fill those baskets up, and we sure did.
• Back at home, we were going to have to wait to make supper tonight until after Reagan's D group, but it was cancelled tonight. So that meant that supper could be earlier. Keaton saw on my phone that we made homemade pizzas a year ago today-and that was already what was on the menu for today. 
• The kids all enjoy making their pizzas-it does take a while and makes a mess of the kitchen. I felt like I had been in the kitchen all day long tonight by the time that supper was finished. Our pizzas were pretty good-we didn't dally eating, because I had mentioned that I needed new leggings so we headed to Costco to buy some.
• I had seen leggings the other day there on a very good sale-but I talked myself out of them since I didn't really need them-I thought. Except today, I realized that one of my pairs have a whole so I did neat them. It was a profitable shopping trip-Keaton, Campbell and I bought leggings, Campbell also got a shirt. 
• And after getting gas at Kroger, I found Campbell a jacket for 3 something. We didn't have much time once we came home because after I worked on the blog and all too soon it was bedtime for the crew.

March 9, 2022

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• This morning I woke up a little bit before my alarm clock-well, the dog was staring at me so it was kind of hard to sleep much longer when I could feel her warm breath on the side of my face. I think that she was trying to tell us that she was indeed ready to go outside.
• I was able to wake up the kids....or at least I thought I did. Then I went to work on my laundry and getting myself ready. The house was fairly quiet this morning so I was able to get a few little things done. 
• We were again a bit late to Bible study this morning. No one again seemed to be too concerned. It was actually my fault that we were late-I made a bagel. I used to have a bagel every single Wednesday morning on the way to Bible study, but at some point I just stopped. I am not sure why I stopped because a bagel and cream cheese just makes me so happy. It was worth being a few minutes late for sure.
• Now, I mentioned that I thought I had woken up most people. After sitting in my room for a few minutes and not receiving any texts containing pictures of the kids' finished school work, I begin to text. Apparently, Anderson was not yet awake. Graham was on his xbox and at least Reagan said that she was awake. I had to eventually text Robby to make sure that school work was getting done.
• This morning kind of cemented my thoughts about us not going to CBS next year. But then this afternoon made my question it all. I was able to work on quite a bit of school work plus the I had time for the treadmill and a nap. I'm just not sure what we are going to do.
• Robby took Anderson to his Dgroup tonight. Just about as soon as Robby came home, the rest of us left for church with a stop at the library first. Tonight was a big night at church for Keaton, Campbell and Whitman. They had a missionary kid talk to them plus they all had free pizza for supper.
• Graham even snagged a pizza box to bring home. Kind of odd since tomorrow's meal is scheduled to be homemade pizzas. Oh well, we do have a lot of pizza lovers. Basketball is on tv and I think that I might even take a little nap before bedtime!

March 8, 2022

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• Anderson and Reagan left a little bit late today for school. She said she had to drive a bit fast to get there on time, but her brother mentioned that she was driving a wee bit fast on the way home. Hmmm, of course she was given a good warning about all of that, and I'll do a better job watching the next time she goes anywhere! 
• The rest of us did our school work. Graham did convince me to not read history today. I did do some math and figured that we had the exact same number of history lessons to read as we do days that we actually do our morning reading. I am sure I will end up with some extra history lessons, but that is what Saturdays are for!
• At 11:30 I was surprised to see that I was just about done with the school day. I still had to work with Whitman plus do Bible study with everyone so that did take my another hour. It  was kind of nice finishing a bit early. I probably should have made Anderson and Reagan do a bit of school when they came in, but that's what Saturdays are for. (Not really, we don't do anything on Saturdays.)
• I did walk on the treadmill about the time that Reagan and Anderson came home from school. They both had a decent day-Reagan had a test which she thinks she did fine on. Plus they both had a quiz and made a 90 and a hundred. So that sounded like a good day to me.
• The boys had a doctor's appointment today. Just their checkups which they haven't really had in a year. Also they all only had to have one shot compared to the multiple shots all of the girls needed last week when it was their turn so they certainly left in good spirits.
• While we were at the doctor, Robby and Campbell ran to pick up some more strawberries. Keaton and Campbell were such a big help and sliced almost two flats of strawberries. We did leave some that we might cut tomorrow or they might just eat them now. 
• The boys and I ran to pick up a few things at the grocery store. Then we went into Costco to buy some of supper along with a treat for them.
• Once we came home, Robby was already working on supper. It didn't take long for us to heat everything up and all to eat. It seemed like cleaning the kitchen took a bit longer than eating even.
• The Wilsons invited us to go to Sam's with them so after cleaning the kitchen we headed there. We weren't there too long, but did find a few things that we needed (biscuits and school waters) 
• While we were gone, Campbell spent a good long time making brownies-we are afraid that they might be a flop since we have been cooking them for an hour, and they are still aren't done. She was going to gift them to someone, but they will certainly be yummy for us. That and some hot chocolate sound perfect right now!
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March 7, 2022

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• Two loads of laundry to fold this morning was how I started my Monday morning. At least I had already prepared myself for this last night as I was trying to get them both dry before going to sleep. Since Reagan and Anderson had been gone this weekend, they had plenty of laundry for me.
• I was able to zoom through our morning reading and even able to read a good little bit from our books that we have been reading. Oh, it is just so delightful. There are quite a few parts that make me want to cry in it-in today's reading, the kids have left the place where they were staying and being taken in by the town librarian. 
• After reading, everyone did start on their school work. Reagan sometimes takes a morning nap, but I think that she worked all morning long on her stuff. It did seem like she had a lot of school work today; however, I know that she is working ahead on quite a few things.
• The kids always have a set list of chores to do each day. They also have at least one extra chore each day. For example, Reagan's today was vacuuming the downstairs. Keaton and Graham had the most helpful chore of cutting a flat of strawberries that Robby bought yesterday. Campbell didn't want to miss out on that fun, so of course she helped. And since Whitman was finishing up his school work at that time, he sure wanted to help. That was all fine because it was one less thing for me to do-though I did have to clean up strawberry juice from all over the kitchen.
• Once I finished school it was well after 2. That was fine because today we did not have to leave the house at all, and it was absolutely wonderful. 
• I did plenty of stalling this afternoon, and then I did walk on the treadmill for a bit. The kids were in and out this afternoon while I was working on supper. I slaved away-not really! I just heated up tons of leftovers, and after eating we hardly made a dent in them.
• After we all finished supper, some folk showered and some went straight to their devices. Whitman is currently making a trap to catch Bentley-I am not too sure how well that is all going to go over. And I am planning on watching a movie!

March 6, 2022

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• This Sunday morning we only had three kids sitting with us. Reagan and Anderson were on their way home from their weekend youth retreat, and Campbell was sitting on the other side of the church house.
• Now, last week Campbell and Keaton were a bit chatty and playing hangman during the church service, so I did make sure to tell Campbell before she left to sit with her friends that her daddy would walk in front of the stage on his way to come and sit by her if she was not paying attention.
• That girl did nothing but start at the preacher today during church. She was probably frightened every time Robby shifted in his seat worried that he was coming for her. She is sweet girl and usually does what is right.
• After Sunday school, we waited around for a little bit for the big kids who were supposed to arrive at 12:00. Unfortunately, there was a wreck which delayed them-as in they had been sitting so long that they had turned their engines off. 
• Thankfully, after Robby dropped us off at Nonna's house, the vans were already moving again. He picked Reagan and Anderson up and met us as we were finishing our lunch. Nonna and Pops had a breakfast spread for us including chocolate gravy. We ate until we were stuffed.
• Then we headed home for a nap. Keaton's friend's grandma did text and ask if Keaton wanted to come over this afternoon so before my nap, I met her and dropped Keaton off. She had a big day-they went to the park, went to the store and even baked some cake pops. She had lots of fun. 
• I did get in a short nap. Robby took Graham and Campbell to Rock Creek for church tonight. I think that Anderson was a bit tired-or he needed some downtime so he choose to stay home. 
• Robby and I spent a good bit of the evening working on supper-we had tostados, homemade refried beans, cheese dip, rice, and taco meat to make soft tacos. It was a decent meal which we topped off with some ice cream. 
• After eating, we sat around and chatted for a while which was nice. Unfortunately, though the weekend had to come to a close! Robby and I worked on the the kitchen and school is ready for tomorrow. There are two loads of laundry that need to happen tonight so I can be caught up tomorrow, but I am not too sure if that is going to happen or not.

March 5, 2022

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• Robby had said that we were going to sleep until 11 today. It was a good plan, but it didn't happen. Bentley was up first to go to the bathroom, and of course Robby and I had to go to the bathroom as well. 
• I guess we managed to stay in bed until 9 so that was decent at least. I did go out about 8 to take Bentley potty, but since I jumped back in bed that really didn't count. 
• I did begrudgingly walk on the treadmill this morning. I didn't want to, but I am really trying to walk 4 times a week plus I really wanted to finish the movie that I was watching. So I did that before setting down to watch the Hogs play with everyone else in the living room.
• I was awake the first half, but when the Hogs were down by so many points, I did go ahead and take my nap. And as I have said for a while, the Hogs do seem to do better when I am sleeping. Unfortunately, I did wake up the last few minutes when the yelling in the living room became a bit crazy.
• The outcome wasn't like the boys wanted it to be, but that was fine since we were soon headed shopping. Of course Campbell and Keaton wanted to go with us so the joined us. We went to Costco, Kroger, bought gas, Sams and Fulins. We didn't really buy a lot any where we went nor did we find any good deals.
• We had some orange chicken left in the fridge, so we bought some fried rice to go with it. Robby wasn't sure how much to buy, so he bought two orders of it-we now have enough fried rice for 8 more meals possibly more. 
• After supper the kids started on their showers, and Robby and I stared on a few movies. There has been talk of making snickerdoodles tonight, but I'm not sure if that is going to happen!

March 4, 2022

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• I didn't have a ton of time when we woke up this morning. I went right to work on the laundry and was discouraged to see that I forgot to run the dishwasher last night. I woke up Anderson and Graham, and then it was time to do a tiny bit of school work with Anderson.
• Robby took Graham to Grannymom's house today to help with a little bit of yard work. He spent most of the morning over there working. He even earned a bit of money and had a burger so what could be a better morning.
• Anderson and I went to take his driving test this morning. We did two practice runs before parking. He told me that he was a bit nervous, but he probably wasn't as nervous as I was. When he did drive off with the examiner in the car, I walked and prayed and probably even did a bit of pacing.
• Seriously, I think that my heart can't take much more of these stressful events. Robby reminded me that I have 4 more driving test to go to. Well, 8 more counting the permit tests and driving tests-and that is if no one fails. Robby also mentioned that since he wrote in the baby books, it is my responsibility to do the driving portion with the kids. (In my defense, he wrote in the baby books because I don't like my handwriting. And I did write everything out for him so basically I am the one who did all of the hard work.)
• When he passed the test, we walked over to get his driver's license. We sat down and just waited an hour and a half for them to call our number. Aagh! I was sure not expecting that at all. I will be more careful next time I schedule someone's driving test. I will call and ask when a slow time is first. 
• We picked up Sonic to celebrate Anderson's license. Then we headed to pick up Graham from Grannymom's house. On the way home, I should have picked up myself another Sonic drink. I used to love the Sonic water with mango and peach. It was cheap and yummy. Lately, I just can't drink it at all. So today I tried a vanilla water which was just disgusting. It was like drinking watered down melted snow ice cream.
• At home, I had to kick the girls off of the treadmill so I could walk. They had both walked a mile today and were super proud of themselves. Robby said that he could only walk 30 minutes today. I realized why when I stepped on the treadmill-some one had set it on an incline. He was walking uphill!
• Reagan and Anderson spent the afternoon packing. At 5 we all loaded up to pick them up supper and then drop them off at church for a weekend at Spring Lake camp in Lonsdale. I know they will have a blast.
• The rest of us fought the crazy traffic to go to the Bryant Larry's. I ran in to put our name on the list and take Whitman to the bathroom. While I was inside I was told the wait was an hour and also noticed that they weren't having the buffet there. So we left Bryant and headed to the West Little Rock Larrys.
• There was still a crowd there, but we were able to find a seat and find some pizza. Everyone loved the pizza-especially the dessert pizza. While we were there, Robby gave the kids a choice to have some tokens and play games or buy a little something at Walmart.
• Whitman picked tokens-he came back with 2 dum dums and 2 tiny toys. He said that he knew he would have gotten more at Walmart, but he had more fun. That was true-Robby did save him a dollar so he was able to get something at Walmart afterwards too.
• It was like we had given the kids a hundred dollars to spent at Walmart-Graham choice sugar cookies. Keaton thought about raspberries, but she thought they were too expensive, so she opted for jolly ranchers. Whitman used his dollar for a little box of candy while Campbell bought two little boxes of candy and some sparkling water. 
• When we arrived home, Whitman crawled over the back seat taking at least 3 minutes to get out of the car. As Robby and I were staring at him, Whitman looked at us and said, "I just like to do things needlessly complicated." That is so completely true.
• Currently, Robby and I are watching Hallmark movie-actually I think that he might be snoozing!

March 3, 2022

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• Every morning Bentley gets out of her kennel and rolls around on the floor for a good while. This morning as soon as I let her out, she realized that Whitman was still in my bedroom sleeping on the couch. 
• Bentley still did her rolling around and stretching, but the entire time her tail was whacking the floor she was so excited. When she finished her floor rolling, she headed to the couch. She climbed on top of sleeping Whitman and licked him until he was wide awake. Whitman didn't stay long in my room after that. When he did leave, Bentley just laid on the floor and ignored me!
• Robby, Anderson and Graham headed home early this morning. We watched their progress during the day on their drive home. When the boys did get home, I could tell that they had had a really great time. They told me all about it.
• I stared school with everyone this morning. Campbell and Keaton did a bit of grumbling about having to work together when no one else was around. I reminded them that next year it might just be us next year when we are working together. (I hated to break it to them, that unless the Comm Central schedule changes it will definitely be just the three of us two days a week working together.)
• Everyone did their school work-Whitman even finished before noon including Bible study so that was a good thing. I was able to finish working with everyone else plus pull out most school for next week. 
• Anderson had not been home too long when I took him to Raymar to work during soccer tryouts. He said that there were quite a few less people there today than on Tuesday, but he also said that they stayed busy the entire time.
• I was able to walk on the treadmill this afternoon. About when I was finished, Robby left to pick up Anderson. While they were gone, I worked on supper. I followed by recipe and it turned out really good. However, I just made something like chili mac which I think I could have made from a box a bunch easier. 
• It was good and all, and even killed hunger. So everyone did eat. Well, Reagan didn't since she was at her D Group this evening. When she did come home, she scooped up some of our supper to put in the fridge for tomorrow for her. 
• Once things were cleaned up, Robby and I settled into our chairs to watch a little bit of tv.

March 2, 2022

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• We knew this was going to be a busy day when we woke up this morning, and the day lived up to it for sure.
• I was awake at 6 to go to the bathroom and briefly thought about going to walk on the treadmill. And that thought was brief for sure-I decided that if I was still awake in 30 minutes I would. However, since I rolled over and didn't look at the clock, I don't know how long I was awake. I do know that I didn't make it to the treadmill.
• When my alarm did go off, I did get up to wake up the kids and get myself ready. I even had time for the laundry and dishes before it was time for us to leave. Well, about 15 minutes before we were to leave, I decided that I really needed to trim Whitman's hair so he wouldn't look homeless.
• Usually, Robby is the one who does the hair cutting, but he had his own things to do this morning so I got to work while Robby was showering. Now most people wouldn't be able to tell that Whitman had his hair cut at all. But he no longer looks neglected at least.
• Of course cutting hair means a shower. So Whitman was just climbing out of the shower at about the time that we usually head to Bible study. Thankfully, no one was too panicked about being late-I would have been if I was kid.
• While we were at Bible study, the big boys and Reagan worked on their school work. Anderson and Graham even packed because before we made it home, they hit the road with Robby.
• In the middle of Bible study, I did call to see if I had jury duty tomorrow. Thankfully, I do not; now I just have to call 4 more Wednesdays to see about jury duty. 
• When I did pick up Campbell, Keaton and Whitman we followed Sara and met her crew at Rock Creek Trail. I had never been there, and it was really a fun little trail. We walked for a good little bit, but eventually had to turn around to head back to the cars. We weren't able to finish it so I really would like to go back sometime when we had a bit more time.
• On the way home, we did run by Kroger to pick up a few things-green apples for Keaton, wart medicine for Whitman, salad for Reagan and I don't think that Campbell got anything. It was some speed shopping for sure. 
• When we did come home, the girls, Whitman and I had about an hour and a half before we had to leave again. We did a bit of school, a bit of cleaning and a bit of just sitting. Then we dropped Whitman off at Nonna's house for a little bit.
• I then took Campbell, Keaton and Reagan to the doctor for their well child check ups. We have missed a little bit so I felt that we needed to go-I almost feel like we are wasting money if we don't take advantage of it. 
• Poor girls though-Reagan needed 4 shots, Campbell had 3 and Keaton had 1. I know that there little arms are going to be sore tomorrow for sure. Other than sore arms, they are all healthy.
• After the doctor, we ran to Sams-Campbell and I went inside Sams to pick up some medicine for Robby while Reagan and Keaton ran into Walmart to pick up some underwear for Reagan. When my people that don't ask for things, ask for things, I try to get them quickly. 
• From there, we went back to Nonna's house to pick up Whitman. Then on to the library followed by our evening at church. We did kind of hurry when church was over because we were hungry. We picked up Sonic which took forever.
• Keaton, Campbell and Whitman had Sonic. Reagan and I had salads from Kroger that we bought earlier in the day. We ate and watched the Hogs play basketball. We tried to find the boys, Robby, Grannymom or Grandpa on the tv but never did.
• We did take a long break to make a chocolate chip cookie recipe-it was supposed to be a ChickFilA copy cat recipe, and we all agreed that they were pretty good. We stayed up to watch the Hogs win-I know that my boys were pretty excited!

March 1, 2022

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• I try to start school each morning when Bentley's dog food thing yells and dispenses her food. It goes off at 8:30. Since it is Campbell and Keaton's voice screaming "Hey Bentley, come eat." We can all hear it all over the house.
• This morning I must have been a bit ahead of schedule since when I hollered up the stairs telling me people that we were starting school, Graham was quick to mention that Bentley's food hadn't gone off. He was correct, but by the time he did come downstairs it did.
• I also try to stop reading on Tuesday and Thursdays when Reagan and Anderson leave for Comm Central. That is at 9:20-well, that should be at 9:20. Today they were still in the kitchen at 9:26, and I was still happily reading.
• I finally had to stop to tell them that they needed to leave. I think we have talked about how I have them leave early so they get there in plenty of time and do not have to rush. This morning Reagan was convinced that they usually leave at 9:30. 
• I can't fault her there, one year I was convinced that Bible study started at a completely different time than it did-like 30 minutes later. We had just gone the week before, but this time I was incredibly late and confused.
• School went very well today. It didn't take long for folks to finish most things. I did let Whitman got outside to practice soccer when his sisters did. I guess I am just a sucker, but I figure that if they want to go outside for a little bit, that just might be more important than school. Don't worry, I still made him do everything-we just had to finish early this evening.
• Around 1, Campbell, Keaton, Whitman and I loaded up to go to church to pick up Anderson. He had to be at Raymar at 2. He drove there from church and did just fine. We ended up being there about 30 minutes early for Anderson and an hour and a half early for the other's soccer evals.
• That was fine with everyone. Bentley and I walked and walked and walked. Keaton, Campbell and Whitman played on the playground and ran around. They had a blast-Keaton and Campbell even stayed after evals.
• Whitman and I went home when he finished his tryouts. Robby had to leave shortly after that to go and help with the tryouts. He stayed until the end, and when they came home I had spaghetti ready for them. 
• Everyone ate and then started on their showers. I had some sweaty kids tonight, and I know that I will have some exhausted kids as well.