- Bentley was still in the bed this morning when I left for my walk. Robby said that she heard the door close and ran into the kitchen. I did come back for her after I had walked most of my walk. She did get a shorter walk, but it was enough for her though-she has still slept all day long.
- I didn't have anything grand on my list today, but I marked off most things. And just so you know a little secret-this is the 5th week of the month (by my count at least) so my house cleaning chore list is broken into 4 weeks which means that there has been no house cleaning on the list happening this week!
- We did school today-just a little, but they are getting the hang of things more, and I'm getting more excited about the school year...and more concerned about how I will get it all done.
- I had a mammogram appointment today at 1:45. Robby said that he would drive me and go and run an errand while I was there. I told him to take his time because even though I usually don't have to wait long, it still takes a while. I walked into the building at 1:40 and was back downstairs by 1:54. I had brought a book which never got opened, but I then just found a seat in the lobby to wait on Robby.
- We then picked up a cart of waters and gatorades at Costco and bought groceries at Kroger. Everyone helped unload, and then Campbell drove me to take Keaton to a friend's house to spend the night.
- Campbell then made au gratin potatoes for supper along with chicken patties. We ate and then watched some olympics for a little bit. I finished my last book of the month along with some school work, and now I might work on my Christmas list some!
July 31, 2024
July 30, 2024
- It was super hot this morning when Bentley and I went on our walk. I didn't even make her walk a mile before I dropped her off at home. It was even hotter still when Graham went to run this morning. He was only able to run 2 miles, but he then came back in and ran another 2.
- Campbell was the only one who had a day outing today-she met a bunch of her friends at the movie theater to watch Twister today. I know that she had so much fun with her people.
- The rest of us were at home working on school work. I wish we could just do 2 subjects a day and not add in all of the things, but that just wouldn't cut it. Maybe if we did school 6 days a week and on all but bank holidays. I love school, but I will have to start encouraging myself that it will all be okay next week because usually the first few weeks of school is tough.
- This afternoon seemed to go by pretty quickly especially since I helped Campbell with her school when she came home from the movie late this afternoon. Reagan was the first to leave to go and play pickleball in Benton, and then Anderson and Graham left to go and play pickleball in Maumelle. I don't know why anyone can't play pickleball in Little Rock or even some where near us. They are all having fun though.
- Robby, Keaton, and I left for a few errands-I had returns at Walmart and bought a few more college things while Robby picked up some food. Then we went to Tacos for Life for our supper followed by some new mystery shops. And finally, we stopped at Grannymom's house so Robby could help her with their tv.
- Back at home, Robby caught up on some work while I worked on the blog and some school stuff for next week. Anderson and Graham are on the way home, and I'm sure that Reagan has not even thought about coming home yet!
July 29, 2024-Happy 16th Birthday Graham!
- Graham took off from his normal running today, but when I went for my walk this morning, it was hot. And this was the first time, but once we did get to the driveway, Bentley refused to go anywhere but down the driveway. She has pulled and not wanted to go, but today was the first time that she actually won.
- Robby and I ran a few errands this morning including picking up 60 cupcakes and about that many ChickFIlA nuggets. We all had free nuggets and some of us had free brownies from there this morning, so everyone placed their orders, and we picked them all up.
- Everyone ate their late lunch, and then Campbell and Keaton started on their school work. They both have new Language Arts that started today so that was a bit of a struggle trying to figure everything out. They eventually did, and it will all be good-if they work hard.
- Reagan and I worked a little bit this afternoon on organizing her school things. I don't think that we will be able to organize things as well as I would like since we don't really know how things will work in her room. However, we will at least have tried to organize it.
- I then did some school work with Whitman, but soon it was time for all the big kids to go to Raymar for Bible study. Campbell made sure that it was okay so they could take cupcakes and drinks to celebrate Graham's birthday today.
- Reagan went out with her friends to eat and play pickleball after Bible study. She is going to miss spending all of this extra time with her friends when she goes to college-hopefully, she will quickly find her more fun friends.
July 28, 2024
- Reagan only had about 5 minutes to get ready this morning, but thankfully she is ready for college life and was not the last one in the car. When I went to wake up everyone, I thought that she mumbled yes to me when I asked if she had set her alarm.
- Keaton had spent the night with a bunch for friends so she didn't sit with us today in big church, but Graham did. I'm not sure all of his friends were there this morning, but I do like it when my people sit with us.
- Then Sunday school followed by lunch and celebrating Graham and Lilly's birthdays at Grannymom and Grandpa's house. Grannymom had a new yummy recipe for lunch along with a delicious chocolate cake.
- When we came home, Robby and I had a short nap because soon Campbell and Keaton went to their Bible study. There wasn't a ton of girls there tonight, but Campbell was able to drive there so that made her happy.
- It wasn't too much later that Anderson and Reagan headed to The U at Rock Creek. While they were all gone, I decided that I didn't have many things to do and read some. But after a bit of reading, I decided to work through some of my list so I ran around like crazy marking things off
- Graham skipped out tonight on The U, but he did go with us when we all met up at the Wilson's house for supper. Shannon had oreo delight which made Robby happy since it is his favorite dessert. Layne's cat is what made most of my kids happy though tonight. I think that everyone held the car except Whitman, who probably didn't even notice the cat, and Anderson, who is allergic.
- We stayed for a while visiting before coming home to start the week!
July 27, 2024
- This was certainly a slow Saturday morning for us. Graham was already out running before Robby and I did get out of bed. We then ran a few errands and picked up some candy for Keaton's sleepover that she went to tonight.
- We then came home and picked up Graham to take him for his early birthday lunch: Costco for a chicken bake. That wasn't really his birthday lunch, but he has been wanting a chicken bake for a good while. Robby and I tried the turkey sandwich, but it wasn't that good-the turkey had been and still was frozen.
- Graham had a free Nothing but Bundt cake to coupon for his birthday too so that was our next stop. Since that would have made us sad to watch him eat is little cake in front of us, we just bought one to share. Robby and I had a snickerdoodle cake, and man, if I could make cakes like them then I would be one rich woman...probably fat too.
- Anderson went to a friend's house to help them move. He worked hard enough that he came home for a few minutes to take a shower, and then left again to go and watch a movie with his friends.
- Robby and I came home for a little bit too, but we left again to take Keaton to a birthday party. Then we came home for a bit again before picking up the Wilsons and heading to American Pie pizza.
- Tonight was trivia night, and it was a lot of fun. Now, we didn't win, but we were not last and really, that is all that matters. The food was good and the fun was ever better.
- After pizza-and I had dried cranberry pizza and absolutely loved it, and who knew that was a pizza topping choice. I sure didn't. When we finished the trivia, we headed back to the Wilson's house for a few minutes to chat some more.
- Reagan ended up going to fish on Lake Ouachita with a few friends this evening. I don't think that she was expecting to leave the house, but I bet she had fun. She is still on her way back, but and I still have about 100 pages in my book to read tonight so maybe I will finish it (I won't!)
July 26, 2024
- Last night the boys went to play pickleball with Reagan-in their khakis and polos. Anderson said that he felt more like a Jehovah's witness in his dressy clothes. When they came home, I knew I would need to wash their pants before tonight, but I had already started the laundry.
- I just told them to make sure that they made sure that their clothes were in my laundry basket. I thought nothing more about that until this morning when I reached in and grabbed their soggy wet clothes.
- When the come home wearing a tshirt I can easily tell that they were hot and sweaty, but when they were in their dress clothes I couldn't tell that they were soaking wet with sweat. Their clothes were already starting to smell-gracious.
- And guess where Graham is right now-out playing pickleball-in his wedding clothes. Well, not all of them. He made Reagan stop to buy shorts so hopefully he also took off his button down shirt and is just wearing his tshirt. Nonna might cut him if he plays pickleball in that dress shirt-she had a time getting that thing ironed. I guess clothes that come shrink wrapped from Amazon resist giving up all of their wrinkles.
- Robby was gone way early this morning to check on the suburban battery. Thankfully, the battery was under warranty for 2 more months and was indeed a bad battery so that was an easy and inexpensive (free) fix.
- He returned home after I had finished my walk. I eventually had to wake up Whitman to do his school work with me. Bless the boy, he is so complaint and has seriously done more school work this summer than some kids do all school year long.
- Graham then drove me over to pick up his shirt from Nonna's house. He is looking forward to being able to drive by himself on Monday-though I hope he has no where to go by himself for many, many days and months.
- We didn't have too long before it was time to leave for Josh's wedding. My car went to pick up Grannymom and Grandpa while Robby's car left a few minutes later. We both arrived right at the same time, so that was perfect.
- The venue was beautiful, and we found our spots in the chairs. I thought that pastor did really well, and Kyndall was beautiful. The food was breakfast was different than we had ever seen-also they had a telephone that was passed around for everyone to send them a greeting or well wish on. Weddings are just completely different than we were married.
- It just so happened that we were sitting right by the cake and cupcakes. We were some of the first to eat the groom's cake which was delicious. The bride's cake was strawberry so I didn't have anyone sample that one.
- Graham and Reagan headed to pickleball, and the rest of us headed home. Once at home, Campbell had her dress off before and into her pjs before I was even in the door. Now I am sitting in my dress working on the blog trying to decide if I want to stay up late and read or just get some hot chocolate and go on to bed.
July 25, 2024
- Robby had already left the house this morning to get a new tire for the mini van. The tire had been losing some air, but surprisingly it had 2 nails in it plus a bubble (I think). So hooray for that tire, it did pretty good only losing air once a week with two nails in it.
- That tire is like the suburban-it just keeps going....well, not so much today. I didn't use it while the kids were gone on their mission trips so when Robby started it afterwards, it was dead dead. We thought just some driving around would help, but it still stutters to start so that might be tomorrow's project.
- And since we are on the subject on cars, tomorrow will be a week since we heard that Reagan's new to her car wasn't going to happen. Hopefully soon, they haven't forgotten about us and will find another one that will work for us.
- I didn't have a huge amount of things on my list today-but I did discover that my dress for tonight had a spot on it. This was after I had already washed it and ironed it the other day so who knows what it was. Ironing is not by forte by far-it is even harder without an ironing board, but I got the job done.
- Anderson and Graham went to play basketball this afternoon. With their basketballing and Reagan's pickleballing, we are a pretty athletic family. Who knew?
- Keaton and Campbell went with me early this afternoon to help plate the desserts for Josh's rehearsal dinner. The cakes were in their pans, and we had to put them in cups and them top them with their toppings. I knew not to wear my light blue dress, and the girls had on their dresses so I was the cake scooper and was a sticky mess!
- Soon Robby and everyone else showed up at the rehearsal dinner-it was a beautiful venue, and the evening was perfect. Chuys were for supper, and as soon as it was over Reagan headed out to play pickleball. Anderson and Graham decided that they were going to go as well so they are currently off playing pickleball in their khakis and polos.
- The rest of us are back home trying to thaw out since it was chilly at the venue. And since we had a Thursday night event, it feels like today is Friday so I think that I will be confused tomorrow on what day it is.
July 24, 2024
- Robby had McDonalds for breakfast for the early risers this morning. I think that only included all of the boys, but they all snagged some form of breakfast. Graham did wait to eat his until after he ran his 4.5 miles this morning.
- I walked just 2 while he was out running, and gracious it was a little bit warmer today. Bentley was ready to come in the house today, and I sure was.
- My list today was a bit shorter than it has been in a few days so that was nice. I even managed to read a little bit more today. This afternoon Campbell had to go to a friend's house so I let her drive to Nonna and Pops' house to drop off a shirt.
- She did well, but I think she is concerned that she is not going fast enough so she tried to speed up a bit today which I am not ready for. After Nonna's we went to the library, and from there Graham drove. He also did well-I only quickly encouraged him to brake while pressing my foot in the floor to brake and grabbing the door handle.
- The rest of the afternoon was quiet inside the house, but Anderson played with Whitman outside. I believe that they played Sports Golf.
- Later in the evening, they played some other game on the couch cushions in the bonus room. While they were fixing things after their game, Anderson reported that he found 3 cups, 2 plates, and a spoon. I guess that is where all my dishes are going.
- Reagan went to meet her friends at pickleball, Keaton is in her room, and the boys are all in the bonus room. I think that the ice cream is gone so it will be a fairly quiet night around here.
July 23, 2024
- I think that I could say that we all seem to be back in a routine after everyone's week gone and Whitman and my week here. It is kind of nice to be back in our little pattern-even if it is our crazy summer routines.
- This is the second day in a row that Graham has woken up early to run. Of course the last two days that he has done this, the weather has not been horrible like it was a few weeks ago when he was running at noon and it was 200 degrees outside.
- Whitman has started on some of his new school for next year. It is a brand new language arts program which I am super excited about. Today was really the first real day, and he didn't hate it. This is a program that says it does not go by grade level, so I could have probably bought Whitman the level below this one. However, I can already tell he is going to do great-the only problems he will have is with spelling.
- Each day this curriculum has me dictate 2 or 3 sentences for him to write down. They have crazy words in them already like "peasant," "autumn," and "daughter." He doesn't have a chance at spelling any of those correctly, so we will do those sentences but we will still press on with our other spelling.
- Everyone but Whitman went to eat lunch today with the church group. They said that even though they ordered online, it took nearly an hour to get their food. I don't think they cared though since there were quite a few people there to visit with.
- When lunch was over, the boys went to play basketball. They played until after 5, and the girls went to TJ Maxx and shopped about that long. Reagan found a few more dorm things, and then she went to the bonus room to put them up and was surprised at all of her collection of things. (And really, we haven't gone overboard at all.)
- Reagan went to Bible study tonight and then a movie so she missed out on the spaghetti that the rest of us had for supper here. When supper was over, I spent a good deal of time buying textbooks for Reagan next year.
- Now I'm going to find me a snack and possibly a tv show to watch-since everyone has been home, I just can not get into reading my books. I am not sure what is wrong with me right now, but I just can't read!
July 22, 2024
- This was the first day with everyone back home and chores and some school work to do, and getting back into the swing of things was a little bit difficult for my people. Hopefully, over the next two weeks they can start getting used to the idea that school starts soon.
- During the morning, Whitman did start his new language arts book. Today was an easy day, so I can't really tell how it is going to go. Though I think that it is going to be a perfect fit for him.
- This afternoon Campbell, Graham, and Anderson had dentist appointments. They all had cavities to be filled-I think Anderson had the most (4), but Graham's was the deepest. I wasn't sure that Campbell was going to get out of the car at the dentist-I thought that she might just refuse to go in. She really dislikes the dentist and having to have a filling sure didn't help her love or lack there of of them.
- Keaton had a dress came in the mail today which fit, so the Dennies are pretty much ready for Friday night's wedding. Outfitting all of us for something is fairly difficult which is one of the reasons that we have never had family pictures made.
- While all the bigs were leaving for Raymar Bible study tonight, Whitman and I played his new game again. I then made him supper before I took a short evening nap.
July 21, 2024
- This morning my alarm went off super early, but that was kind of nice because after my shower, I climbed back in bed for a few minutes before having to start waking everyone up. I was a bit stressed when I noticed that I didn't run the dishwasher last night, but I was happy when I opened it to find that we didn't have many dishes yesterday-I'm not really sure what or how we ate though.
- We made it to church in plenty of time. Last week all of the youth were gone on their mission trips, but this week they were all back. They sat right in front of us, and they were all there today. Obviously, this is a good thing, but it so stressed me out when someone comes up looking for a seat, and then there is no room for them so they have to make the walk of shame back out to find another seat. With the pews, you could always squeeze someone else in, but not with these new chairs. Robby and I even moved over a seat today trying to give someone some room so they could avoid the no seat walk of shame,
- After big church, we headed to Sunday school. They had cookies for a big snack today which made all of the kids happy. Church had gone long, so Sunday school time was kind of short. Then we were finished, but our big kids were upstairs chatting with their friends for a while.
- Lunch today was at Nonna and Pops' house. They had pork tenderloin, and we also celebrated Graham's birthday. I think that he was pleased with his birthday present's-cash! We stayed there chatting for a little bit, and then came home.
- Robby turned on the news to watch about Biden not running again for president-lots of history making moments happening lately. We both also snoozed some. Keaton and Campbell were going to leave at 3:10, but about 3:05 a friend called me. I chatted for a while, and then realized it was past time to leave with the girls.
- I went upstairs, and they were both sleeping soundly. I tried to wake Campbell up, and she promptly told me that we didn't have to leave until 3:10, and I told her that it was 3:18, and she still didn't seem to care. Once they did get up, we were soon in the car, and they were only a few minutes late to their Bible study.
- A bit later, Anderson and Graham walked to the car. I asked about Reagan, and they said that she said she wasn't going. I was confused because at Nonna's house she had mentioned her friend's were coming. I text her, and she was going, but I guess she was asleep too when the boys asked her. We need to do a better job about alarm setting and communicating on these Sundays.
- The Wilsons came over this evening. We made a fancy supper of grilled cheese, but we did top it off with ice cream since this is National Ice Cream Day-though Tony agreed with me that I think National Ice Cream day rolls around fairly often!
July 20, 2024
- I woke right up at 7:20 this morning and could not go back to sleep, so I wandered into the kitchen and started folding the 5 full laundry baskets full of clothes. By 8 or so, I had the dishes emptied and all of those clothes folded. That was a good feeling; however, I am well aware that the kids' rooms still look like they are leaving for a trip tomorrow. Even Anderson's area is full of clothes.
- After the laundry was taken care of, I did pretty much nothing for the rest of the morning. I tried to nap some, but never really went to sleep for long. Annie came over to play with Bentley around noon so that helped reverse Bentley's depression some from everyone leaving her last week.
- This evening Robby and I had a few errands-we came home with milk which the big boys seem to guzzle right now. For example, last night we had chicken for supper, and they said that was a good milk meal. I don't think that is right, but at least they are getting their calcium.
- We also came home with supper for everyone-2 pepperoni pizzas, 3 tacos, and 2 wraps. Since these were all mystery shops, the kitchen was full of people circling while Robby had to take pictures of all the food.
- We also brought something fun for the boys' room: an air conditioner. Even though it was not over 90 today, it still got up to 82 in the boys' room. That's just too hot, plus they have all of their devices on which just generates more heat. Our real air was working hard and blowing out cold air, but it just can't keep up with rooms in the eaves of the house.
- After eating, we worked on the air conditioner. It was surprisingly easy to put in, and it fits perfectly right by Anderson's bed. They shut their door, and it quickly cooled their room to 68. I'm sure Graham will have to start wearing a parka, but I think that they will both enjoy this air conditioner.
- Last night we started Whitman's new board game, but it was late, everyone was tired, and we weren't really sure of the rules. Tonight though, Whitman and I had studied up so we knew exactly how the game worked-Whitman, Robby, and Anderson won the game this evening, but I bet that Whitman will want to play again very soon.
July 19, 2024-Mission Trip Week (Las Vegas, Austin, and St. Louis)
- Ah, it is so nice that all of my people are back under my roof. However, even though it was just a week, Whitman and I will have to get used to having everyone home again. We had our own little order of things, and even though all things are better with all our people, it is still different.
- Whitman and I woke up drove to Pinnacle Mountain this morning. We charged up that hill and gracious, it is a little steeper than I remembered. I thought that it was just rocky the last little bit, but nope-that whole trail is rocky.
- The Central High football team was coming down the mountain as we went up, so there were lots of people coming down to give us lots of time to take a few breaks-and we needed it. I have never been so relieved to see those numbers on that trail.
- Whitman pressed on, but he did need some encouragement. When we made it to the top, we sat that cooling off a bit, but the weather was absolutely perfect today for the middle of July. Then we trekked back down the mountain-that is when I knew that I am not as spry as I used to be. My knee and ankle would hurt every other step down. Whitman started to get tired and stumbled three different times. but we made it!
- Unfortunately, Whitman gave our last adventure a 2 out of 10. Oh well, you can't win them all. The coke that he drank on the way home surely helped raise the score some. We got gas, and then went to Nonna and Pops' house to eat lunch.
- After lunch, I hurried home to make Texas Road House rolls-they were not perfect, but they were the best that I had ever done. I then cut up quite a few veggies-green beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli, and carrots to roast with some air fryer chicken. I ran like a crazy woman doing this while tracking everyone on their way home.
- I was at church a little bit before 4 when Campbell and Keaton came in-they had a wonderful time on their trip. Their favorite part was when it flooded and the girls had to do all of the work at the civic center.
- Robby and Graham pulled in about an hour later. They also had a good trip and were glad to be home safely. We then had to frantically rush to Benton to return a rental car before racing to the airport to pick up Reagan and Anderson.
- We made it to the airport right as they were landing, but we were inside waiting with everyone else by the time that made it down the escalator. They both enjoyed it all as well though Reagan was a bit disappointed that she wasn't able to go to the homeless village that Graham worked at.
- We came home and as the kids unpacked and laundry started, I worked on supper. The kids ate, and the Wilsons brought over cake. We visited while Robby told all of his stories.
- When they left, we started to play Whitman's new board game, but it seems to be pretty complicated so we will have to study up on that and play tomorrow.
- Right now the girls are pretty tired, Graham is already asleep, Anderson is showering, and Whitman could probably go another few hours before falling asleep!
July 18, 2024-Mission Trip Week (Las Vegas, Austin, and St. Louis)
- This is the last night that this house will be quiet for a little while. I think that Whitman will be excited to have every one else home. I know that I will be as well-I have not been apart from Robby ever this long. And gracious, Bentley, she just goes to the girls' closed bedroom door and whines. If they were gone much longer, we would have to go to the vet and get her some medication.
- I had to wake Whitman up this morning so we could go and pick up Grannymom and Grandpa. I had a gift card to Main Event so we went to bowl with that gift card. I have signed Whitman up with the kids bowl free program, so he can bowl 2 games free only having to pay for his shoes. His shoes were 5, but Grannymom and I were bowling also so I expected to pay full price for us to bowl. I don't know what that would have been, but I was surprised when they just charged us 15 for all of us to bowl.
- I thought I had a deal and was pleased, but little did I know it would get better. We bowled two games-only one real game. The other game was some type of bowling game where we tried to hit the bumpers when they lit up a certain color. Whitman was much better at that game-or at least he understood what we were doing.
- The place was so crowded with kids when we came in that I regretted not calling and checking if they had groups coming. However, by the time we finished bowling it had emptied out some, so we went to the restaurant to use more of the gift card.
- They had a deal where you could buy one entree and get a 10 dollar play card. We all did that-Whitman and I split a pizza earning him a 10 dollar play card, and Grannymom and Grandpa split chicken fingers earning another card. The food was good and pretty plentiful.
- I knew I would go over my 50 dollar gift card when I saw the 43 dollar check for our meal. I added my tip and handed the lady my gift card. Then I had out my credit card, but she said that the gift card covered it all. So for some reason, we were able to use my 50 dollar gift card for 65 dollars worth of things today (6 games of bowling, 2 meals, $20 of points)-we aren't sure how that happened, but we left quickly after that.
- Actually, we didn't. Whitman went and played his games some. Then Grandpa watched Whitman play a few games even playing one himself. I played some next with him, and eventually, he ran out of points on his cards. He really enjoyed the day and came home and organized his Minecraft cards that he earned today.
- We took Grandpa back home, and then went to Costco with Grannymom. I found our vitamins and then possibly a shirt for Anderson, but most importantly we bought some cookies as we were leaving. Whitman and I came home and ate our cookie, and then he found a recipe to cook.
- For supper tonight, he wanted to make pizza chips out of tortillas from a cookbook. We did that and while they baked we played a game. They weren't quite ready at first, so we put them in longer. I'm sure you can figure out where this is going-we burned them!
- However, it didn't take long for us to make them again, and by the time our game was over, we were eating our pizza chips. He must have really liked them because he came back for more. Now I am reading and enjoying the last little bit of quiet in the house-actually, this house will be quiet for days since the kids will sleep forever when they get home.
- Whitman and I had one last fun thing tonight-we went to Sonic for some ice cream this evening. Robby is usually the fun parent, but I've tried hard this week! He was certainly surprised when I asked him if he wanted to go out to get ice cream!
July 17, 2024-Mission Trip Week (Las Vegas, Austin, and St. Louis)
- Whitman and I started the day at the new Museum of Fine Arts. It was pretty impressive; it is no Crystal Bridges, but really it is pretty close. There was a scavenger hunt there that we did, so that was fun. And maybe because of the scavenger hunt or maybe because we just aren't overly impressed with art, we were only there for about 45 minutes or maybe even less.
- We had fun though, and we really had fun when the prize for the scavenger hunt was an ice cream scoop at Loblolly. We drove right there, and Whitman got himself a chocolate chip cookie dough scoop. I didn't get anything, but I did see exactly what I want for my birthday-a 12 scoop flight. I can think of nothing better and have already hinted to Robby (though I better remind him a little closer.)
- Whitman wanted to eat his ice cream in the car, so as he ate, I drove to the other side of town towards Cinnaholic. They had their simple cinnamon rolls on sale for 2 dollars today. Robby and I had eaten a roll there before, and we were not impressed. However, today's was delicious. It probably wouldn't be worth 5 dollars, but definitely worth 2. It was so good that I devoured mine on the way home.
- Once at home, the rain had finally cleared so I had took my walk with Bentley. Whitman and I did spelling, and I worked on Reagan's desk shelf. It is from the Wilsons and was white, but Reagan really wanted a wooden one. Well, after a bit of work and Dana's direction, it is going to look pretty close to wood. I still don't know if she will use it or even be able to use it, but I only spent 7 dollars.
- Whitman had a swim party tonight with all the kids from church. Sara offered to take him and bring him home since she was passing right by here. That was great, but it meant that he had to leave early and come home late.
- That was fine with me because as soon as he left, I headed to Walmart to do some shopping. I think some of the kids will want food when they get home Friday, so I have things to make a meal or that can be put off to Saturday if need be. Plus I was able to do a bit more dorm room shopping.
- When Whitman came in, he told me all about his evening, and then we played a round of Mario Cart. Now, his is showering, and it is almost bedtime.
July 16, 2024-Mission Trip Week (Las Vegas, Austin, and St. Louis)
- Another morning with Whitman sleeping in late. It is Tuesday, and I have pretty much exhausted my weekly list of chores plus I am knocking out other random things on my list. School is ready for the next few weeks, and I will finish two books tomorrow.
- I do have a painting project that I started today and hope to finish tomorrow. Plus I have thought about organizing everything that Reagan is taking to college, but I think she needs to do that. Thankfully, Whitman and I have a few more big activities to do over the next few days.
- Today we went to the movies. He loves the movies, and since this was Inside Out 2, he told me all about the first movie. His explanation was so thourough that I felt that I had seen the first one. We got popcorn for free, and even smuggled in some candy and a coke.
- After the movie we picked up Sonic for our supper, and then we played a game while eating. Tonight we played a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory game.
- Last night Reagan and Anderson went to the Vegas strip and walked around. Reagan really enjoyed it and even said it was like NYC. Today they went to Hoover Dam. I think that they have a VBS that they do each day.
- Robby and Graham went to a homeless village and did some yard work. They also went to a laundomat and talked to some people. Robby rewarded his van full of kids a Sonic drink on the way back.
- And Campbell and Keaton had a lot of rain near St. Louis where they are. So much rain that Campbell sent me a video of her walking through water inside of a building. The Civic Center where the girls stay had some pretty good flooding. They sleep on the 3rd floor so it didn't effect them too much.
- They did spend the morning trying to get things off the floor and help the Civic Center people. The boys stay at another place, and they lost power for a bit. The leader even tried to get to the girls at some point this morning but the roads were so bad that he could not. It does look like they were able to do some things today-or at least they left the Civic Center eventually.
July 15, 2024-Mission Trip Week (Las Vegas, Austin, and St. Louis)
- Whitman slept in a little bit today-well, it was 11 when I woke him up. I know what time he went to bed, so I guess he just needed to catch up on his sleep since he didn't stay up crazy late. That did give me plenty of time to do almost all of my house stuff this morning.
- I even took Bentley on a walk-bless her, the first mile she is all spunky, and then she pulls towards the driveway whenever we pass it. I guess a 2 mile walk is good for her because it wears her completely out, and really she hasn't done anything else all day long.
- I even did a few school things today-we have 2 more off weeks, and then we start real school. My people are so not going to be happy, but honestly, I will be. It will take us a few weeks for things to get settled though-we have Reagan's move in and the big boys won't start their college classes for a few weeks after we start, but we need to get back to a routine.
- For lunch Whitman and I went to Nonna and Pops' house to eat. We ate and stayed there for a while. We even got a laundry basket out of their shed. I was originally going to replace mine, but the more I think about it, that might just be Reagan's new laundry basket.
- The new car didn't show up today-they are checking on something which is certainly good because we want it to be okay. Keaton though text me and asked for pictures-she may be more excited than Reagan.
- Whitman and I had our supper and finished our Monopoly game. I lost-he had one row of hotels which just caused me to lose all of my money. I had more property groups though and could have won, but I somehow never managed to have enough money to buy houses and hotels. He already has pulled out our game for tomorrow night.
- On the mission trip front, I have heard little from people today. Reagan wrote to ask me about some college things, and I have talked to Robby, but other than that I haven't heard anything. Robby will fill me in on his day later tonight.
July 14, 2024-Mission Trip Week (Las Vegas, Austin, and St. Louis)
- I shall begin with what I know about the mission trip people: Anderson told me that they went to church in the morning and then went to an event in the evening at a church that they are helping with. I tracked Keaton and Campbell and could tell that they went to church this morning, and then Campbell sent me pictures of her at the arch so that was also a stop today. Graham reported in that it was not too hot.
- I have chatted with Robby, and he added that Graham and his group went to church under a bridge and then passed out 100 sandwiches that they had made. They played at a gym for a little bit, and then they went to a church this evening before eating pizza for supper.
- Whitman and I have had a full day-church this morning where I again should have brought my sweater. Then Sunday school were we had to do a craft which was pretty involved for all my first graders.
- Grannymom had lasagna for lunch-at least I think it was lasagna, I can't really remember. I know that we had salad, biscuits, and peanut butter pie with it. After lunch, we headed home where I worked on my list of things. Robby called so I chatted with him for a long while.
- Then I ran to Sonic for Whitman a drink and burger. We worked on our Monopoly game while we ate. Afterwards, we made a paper airplane launcher with her crunchlabs box.
- I did some reading and worked on the blog, but next we are going to have a mario cart tournament. I used to think that Whitman didn't talk much to her brothers and sisters, but he must because he has been pretty chatty with me since no one else is home!
July 13, 2024-Mission Trip Week (Las Vegas, Austin, and St. Louis)
- The alarm clocks went off pretty early this morning for Robby and me. I went upstairs to wake up Campbell, Keaton, and Graham, and we were all off to church by 7:10. We first dropped Campbell and Keaton off since they had to arrive at 7:30.
- We then drove to the back of the church house and dropped of Graham and Robby. Robby got settled in his van, and then I left heading towards home. I didn't have long to wake up the others and get to the airport. I did stop at the library on the way-priorities.
- Back at home, I woke up Anderson and Reagan and soon we were heading to the airport for their flight to Vegas. Now, I just drop the kids off for camps and mission trips-I don't stay and wave to the bus as it leaves. One main reason is that I am not going to stand around for an hour or more until they do leave. Another reason is because the kids could care less if we are there are not; we have already said our goodbyes, and I have already given my final instructions.
- I don't really know much about the day from anyone-Campbell and Keaton made it to St. Louis around 4 I think. Campbell was happy that they didn't have to pack up their stuff every day like she thought that she would.
- Reagan and Anderson landed a few minutes early, but Reagan said that turbulence was horrible. It has been a long time since she has flown plus they did have a lot of mountains to fly over.
- And Robby and Graham didn't arrive until later than all of the others. They did stop at Buccees where Robby bought some nuts. He drove a bus full of girls. I had urged him to bring his huge noise cancelling head phones, but actually he said that bus was so quiet at times that he had to turn on the radio. This is Robby's first church trip-we can say that people probably don't travel like we do.
- Whitman and I have had a big day. After I dropped the kids off at the airport, I ran an errand, and then came home. I did a few things around the house, but at 2 we met all of the friends at the pool. We stayed there for 3 hours, and it was a perfect afternoon.
- Back at home, I made him an english muffin pizza while I had an egg, cheese, and tomato on a english muffin. While we ate, we played Monopoly, We didn't come near to finishing, but we can play some each day until we do.
- He has already showered for tomorrow, and I am going to watch a little bit of news before reading some more tonight.
July 12, 2024-A Night In Arkadelphia
- Let's see, I have so many things to say on tonight's blog, but it is nearing midnight so let's see how well I can do before I decide that it is my bedtime.
- Robby and I woke up and hurried to eat breakfast at our Holiday Inn Express-we stayed there because of the cinnamon rolls of course. Then we didn't have too long before heading out to OBU for the Joyworks and Praiseworks finales.
- Now, on the way I reminded Robby that it would be about 2 hours. He said "nah, it wouldn't be that long." During the second choir, I told Robby that the high schoolers looked really young and said that there were no big boys like Anderson and Graham. But that didn't matter much because I was like "yippee, we are going to get out early."
- I was wrong, there was a whole other choir that had to sing. It was indeed over 2 hours long. However, those children-so many that when 2 of the choirs were on the stage it was packed. Hundred of kids. Those kids were just amazing to watch.
- The first was the orchestra which was outstanding. Then the 3-6th graders-this is where I even got teary eyed, and I didn't even have anyone in that choir. Next up were Campbell and Keaton's group-the 7th-9th graders. And finally the 10th-12th graders that I was not expecting, nor was I expecting the 7th-9th graders to join the big kids for 2 more songs.
- Just seeing that many kids worshiping was amazing-and I know I say it every year, but this is the camp where I decided that I was going to marry Robby. I was going into the 6th grade and came back to tell people at school that I was going to be Mrs. Tara Jo Dennie. He was a counselor at the camp, and I guess I was also going to change my middle name.
- Campbell and Keaton had a blast at camp. It is a lot of choir for my non musical people-praising Jesus is one thing, but sitting in choir for hours at a time is another. They both had graphic design and art as well during the week, but oh, they were chatty on the way home which is a sign of a good time.
- On the way home, we stopped at the crazy busy Sonic-of course everyone who just sat through a 2 plus hour performance needed a snack. Then it was on to Subway to get the rest of our meal, and then to Enterprise for Robby to rent a car for tomorrow's trek to Austin. (The car is just rented in his name.)
- Then it was home-I believe that Campbell figured out from when she walked into the door at 2:30 this afternoon, she had 16 and a half hours until she had to be at church in the morning. Plus she was gone for over 3 hours this evening to work at church so our turn around time was pretty quick.
- Their bags were emptied in the mudroom and everything washed. I used both machines, and put blankets and their comforters in the next two loads. While the first loads were washing, the girls napped, and I helped Anderson and Graham.
- Graham had all of his things laid out so I put them neatly in his bag. He just needs a bit more help with the folding part. Anderson is flying so I wanted to make sure that he had all things as well, so since his clothes were stacked on his bed, I put them in his suitcase.
- From when we came home, until when Robby and I left to run an errand I was working on packing and unpacking people. Robby and I left to go to Sams and pick up Reagan's dress from Grannymom. When we came home, the girls were already mostly packed again.
- Anderson and Graham then left to go to church at Rock Creek. Then Robby and I left with Keaton and Campbell. They worked at church tonight earning money for next year's camps, and I think that they had a good time doing that.
- Robby and I participated in an Amazing Race with about 25 other couples. It was so fun! We started in the Walmart parking lot where I had to write down 3 of Robby's top 10 tv shows. I encouraged him to go with a theme and we nailed that-Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, Chicago Med-now those are probably not really his favorite tv shows, but we finished the challenge quickly.
- Then we had to roll a dice to 10 different times to determine if we had to go left, right, or straight. Where we ended up, we had to run in and buy something. Lowes it was-and I grabbed a dollar things of baking soda on the way in that we bought.
- The Benton River center was next where we had a choice-to make 3 different basketball shots without missing one or to take turns running a mile. We chose the mile-Robby ran a 1/4, then me, and then he started his run again. And by the way, a quarter of a mile is not joke. Robby had to walk, but I didn't, but either way our lungs were burning by the end, and it took us to the next stop before we could catch our breath.
- We then went to Small Cakes where Robby had to sing a love song to me to the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. AI to the rescue there, but once he was done, he had to eat a cupcake before he could get the next clue. We were still huffing and puffing, but I helped him gobble that down, and we were off again.
- Next we had to get someone to roll down their car window which took us much longer than it should have. Then we had our next choice-we could get 2 out of state licence plate pictures or go in a store and find 4 different plates. We zoomed over to the hotel and quickly go those out of state licence plates.
- Finally it was our last clue-we had to unscramble a clue which said "This is the place, Gaither Vocal Band" Then it gave a time so we found the music and it said something to the affect of "where you say I do, say goodbye, and dedicate your child." Off to church we then drove.
- Robby parked right in the front of the church house, and we joined about 4 other couples looking for an unlocked door. Someone opened the door for us, and Robby and I headed straight for the sanctuary. They were in the balcony, so we hurried up the stairs beating the other couples who walked in with us.
- We were the 7th couple to arrive out of about 25 so we were pretty proud of ourselves. If you do look at the pictures, you will see that Robby and I took our picture with the trophy before the race started so we can still call ourselves winners.
- We then came back home and started to work on packing some more. The boys showed up a bit later, and even though they had just eaten they enjoyed some doughnuts from Nonna and Pops. It has been a lot today, and Whitman and Bentley have gotten the short end of the stick.
- Whitman is fine though because I have plans every day for him next week-he will be so busy, he will be glad when the others come back home. And Bentley, she was so unsettled tonight-every light on, suitcases littering the floor, everyone talking about something, people going from room to room-she even got a bit whiney. I'm sure she senses that something is happening around here.
- Okay, it is not 12:30, and there is even more excitement to share-Reagan did get a new car today. New to us, and it won't arrive until Monday, but she at least has wheels for college.
July 11, 2024-A Night In Arkadelphia
- Robby had his Dgroup early this morning-I slept wonderfully until about 4 last night when I woke up. It was probably because Robby and the dog were both on my side. I tossed and turned quietly so as not to wake up Robby until his alarm went off-and then I did have to wake him up.
- Once we left for his thing, I went back to sleep and slept a good while longer. Then I finally did get up and start to work on my things around the house including taking Bentley on a walk. We did 2 miles again today-she did some better, but every time I passed the house, I thought seriously about dropping her off. Maybe I will develop some arm muscles from pulling her.
- The boys went to play basketball this afternoon-they were pulling out when I realized that I had told them to use the wrong car since Reagan needed a car while they were gone and we were leaving before she got home. They graciously didn't mind switching cars.
- Reagan left next to go to Sonic to play cards with her friends. They then went to Loblolly for a little bit, but she she came home so the boys could leave again to go and play pickleball. The white van is at home as well, but no one is ever too fond of driving it-Anderson would take it though if he had to, but Reagan would probably just convince someone to come out to our house and pick her up.
- Robby and I left this evening to come to Arkadelphia. It just so happens that he had a free hotel room expiring so dang it, we weren't going to let that happen. We have to be at OBU tomorrow at 10 so we will get a head start on traffic.
- We also ate out fancy at a local Italian/Mexican place-yep, we had chips and salsa with our manicotti. It sounds different, but we were pretty surprised by how much we enjoyed everything. We drove around Ouachita on our way back to the hotel looking for Campbell and Keaton, but they were in worship. Now we are sitting in the bed both typing on our computers, and once we are not so full we will start on some cinnamon rolls for a snack.
July 10, 2024
- Another day for me where my afternoon was completely busy. Maybe I like being busy all day or maybe I miss my reading time-I haven't yet decided. Today though I did have fun.
- I did my morning things while all these people here were sleeping-well, Robby wasn't, but he was in his office so it was just Bentley and I in the rest of the house. I did walk 2 miles today with Bentley because I knew it would be difficult for me to find time to come back outside. Really, when I say that I walked 2 miles with Bentley, it is more accurate to say that I walked one mile with Bentley and I pulled her the other mile.
- Around noon, I ran a few errands with Robby. I also had to exchange a pair of pants for Whitman. I was super happy when he tried the pants on at home, and they fit. Robby also swung me by the library to pick up some more books, but since I haven't read any today, I'm not sure if I needed more books.
- When I came home, I immediately left again, but this time with Reagan. (Her ear still doesn't hurt, but she says that it isn't any better-she has to be looking at you to hear you her ear is so stopped up. Today will be 24 hours on an antibiotic plus we picked up her 3rd medicine this afternoon at Sams so hopefully she can tell a difference by tomorrow,)
- We started at TJ Maxx and found a lamp, towels, and big pillows for her bed. Then we moved on to Walmart-I eventually had to stop putting things in the cart because I didn't want for Robby to have a stroke. However, we made a huge dent in the dorm room shopping. We have things left on the list, but nothing really huge. Move in day will be here before we know it.
- After unloading at home, Robby and I left again to drop off Reagan's dress at Grannymom's house, and to pick up her medicine from Sams. Then we ran home to make her take her medicine, and to pick up Anderson to go and eat supper.
- Supper and then Kroger and now it is already bedtime around here. I haven't heard much from Campbell and Keaton today. By their pictures, they are having a great time though!
July 9, 2024
- My list wasn't as long today, but it was a good thing because I didn't accomplish nearly as much as I would have wanted to. I did my morning things, and the big boys went to play Top Golf with some friends. Then they went to watch one friend buzz his hair so I was fully expecting Graham or Anderson to come home with less hair. That is one thing I would be a bit shocked about, but also I would be fine with-pick your battles.
- Reagan and Whitman had check ups today. Reagan abhors the doctor and never would willingly go. Since she has come home from Beach Camp she has been saying that her ear it stopped up. I offered drops that I had, but she refused and said that it didn't hurt.
- However, she said that when the doctor looked in her ear today, she was shocked at how bad it really was. She questioned Reagan a few times about if it really did hurt. They prescribed her 3 medicines (though Sams was out of one which I will get tomorrow), so hopefully she will be all fixed up before flying on Saturday.
- Reagan only had 1 shot while Whitman had to get 3 plus a finger prick. He did fine with all of that, but he was referred to GI. He has reflux quite often so she prescribed him some meds and said he should go and see a GI doctor.
- Before the doctor, we ran to Grannymom's house and afterwards we picked up pants for Whitman at Old Navy (which didn't fit) so we will have to return tomorrow to exchange and try them on.
- Then we went to Sams to pick up their medicine. It was strange to me that Reagan had never said that her ear hurt, until she told me that maybe a pretzel while waiting on her medicine would make it not hurt. She got a pretzel and even a dress from Old Navy-I'm just a softee.
- When we came home, I did one school thing for Campbell. I'm really just adding more work for her, but I think this is worthwhile so we will make it work. Then we had some supper-Graham made himself a chicken breast in the air fryer. He really liked it so I figure that he will be making that all the time now.
- Reagan went to Bible study tonight, and then went to play pickle ball with some friends. Robby had settled in on the the couch when the Wilson's called to ask if we wanted to go on a walk. We walked near Chenal and almost walked 3 miles.
July 8, 2024
- I had some sourdough bread rising last night so one of the first things that I did was bake it this morning. Now, it is fine, and I think that it is pretty close to right, but I don't think that I have it perfected or anywhere close to perfected just yet. Even though, the boys still munched on it all day, and it was gone by supper time.
- I walked this morning while Robby was mowing. It was pretty steamy out, but later after the rain, it was much more pleasant on my second walk.
- This morning we dropped Keaton and Campbell off at church to go to music camp. They are both in Praiseworks this year which is the big kid part of the camp. They are getting to do art and graphic design which I think they are both excited about.
- Campbell did write me once from camp asking if Dad had spelled her name wrong or if the camp did it. Her name was spelled "Campell"-I'm sure she will love that, but at her other camp this year she tried to get them to make her name tag say Campbalambadingdong so I don't think she will mind too much.
- Reagan went to Sonic today to play cards with her friends, and the boys spent a good deal of the day outside playing basketball. They even got Whitman to join them after supper.
- This afternoon I worked steadily through this week and last weeks chores, but I also did a lot of reading. It is my summer break as well after all.
- And speaking of school work on summer break: Whitman and I did his spelling, but I gave him the option about math. I told him that he could do math with me or make cookies with me. He chose cookies-they turned out pretty good, but really flat. I think that when I softened the butter I did it too much or maybe he didn't use enough flour. I was busy making supper at the time so I wasn't really watching. Either way, one pan is almost gone already so I think even though they are flat, they are still decent.
July 7, 2024
- We moved around pretty quickly this Sunday morning. Whitman always hops out of bed quickly when Robby wakes him up for church. He came through and was dressed and on the couch when I went to double check that people were awake upstairs.
- Keaton thought it was icy cold in church again, but thankfully I was not as cold as I was a few weeks ago. Then we headed to Sunday school-Robby and I don't have to teach in July, but we still have to be there and corral the kids. There were a lot of kiddos today, but things went smoothly so I have no complaints.
- Pops had one of our favorite meals for lunch today-pizza, and Nonna had made her Jo Powell chocolate cake which is my favorite though I think that I have only made it one or two times. We ate and visited for a bit before heading home.
- We weren't home too long before I took Campbell and Keaton to Rock Creek for a Bible study. There were a lot of people there so I know that they had fun. When it was over, they were joined by their brothers and sisters and everyone else for church tonight.
- Reagan went out with her friends after church, but the others came home and had a few different things for supper-hot pocket, grilled cheese, english muffin pizza, and bbq nachos.
- While they were gone, I would do two things off of tomorrow's list and then read two chapters of my book. It is not the most efficient way to get things done, but it is more fun. I've knocked out much of tomorrow's list so I'm feeling pretty accomplished already.
- Campbell and Keaton are upstairs packing since they leave tomorrow, and I'm about to try my sourdough bread again.
July 6, 2024
- It was kind of nice being able to sleep in a bit on this Saturday since we had nothing at all planned. Robby and I were both up fairly early though. I started on the laundry which Robby kept going through out the night.
- I decided that I was not going to do it all at once, so I would do one other thing off of my list, read a chapter and then fold 25 things. It took most of the morning, but eventually I finished the laundry-the bar and table were completely covered with piles. Most of it is put away now-there are always some stragglers. And usually there is always one thing that is ours I know, but no one thinks that it is theirs.
- Robby, Keaton, Campbell, and I left the house this morning. We stopped to get a sandwich and then made a walk through Sams. We left with a shirt for Anderson and Whitman along with a huge pink blanket for Campbell. She wanted to buy it for right now, but I convinced her to save it for someone to give her for her birthday.
- We then went to Walmart where the girls had to buy snacks for this weeks camp and next weeks mission trip. Next up was a stop at Aldi because I had seen people raving about their cookie dough dip. We bought graham crackers so we wouldn't have to wait until we got home to try it. And it met all expectations.
- Once at home, I read some, but then Robby and I cleaned the camper. He vacuumed and swept while I cleaned everything. It takes maybe 15 minutes, and then we loaded all of the clean things back into it.
- We had just walked back in the house when the Wilsons wrote to ask if we wanted to pick up a cookie so we went with them. Crumbl had our favorite cornbread cookie this week so we enjoyed it and some others as we sat outside at a picnic table and caught up.
- Now I need to read about 3 chapters of my book tonight, and then I'm going to bed.
July 5, 2024-Celebrating the 4th in NW Arkansas, Oklahoma, and in Panama City
Robby woke me up this morning-he was already ready and had just walked out of the bathroom. I was sleeping so soundly that my alarm had been going off for 5 minutes, and I had not heard it at all. Since we had done most things last night, it didn't take long this morning to pull out of the campground.
We had put the tow dolly beside the camper, and Robby knew when we did it that it would be hard to get back on the camper since it was down a hill. With Anderson and Graham it wouldn't have been an issue, but we struggled plus we weren't able to get it back on the curb. He had to back the camper up to get to the dolly, but then because of the angle he couldn't fasten it on there, so he had to drive forward some so he could do all the things to get it on the hitch properly.
We then dumped and hooked up the car. I also let Bentley potty, but with all of that we were still on the road right at 8. We zoomed on back towards Little Rock. We stopped once for gas and icees near Tulsa possibly. Then we stopped again in Maumelle. While Robby pumped the gas there, I ran in for milk, cheese, and peaches.
Pops had moved the suburban for us but had also locked the keys in the car. That was good practice for Robby because we don't use AAA anymore and now use another place for all the car things. He called them, and before we could finish with the camper someone had come. I was actually inside-I heard they would be here in 9 minutes, and the next thing I knew, they had already left. It didn't take any time at all, so that was easier than expected.
As soon as we pulled into the driveway, Whitman told me that we should just rest and not unload the camper today. He was trying to get out of work, and I let him. He has about 1 shirt and 2 pairs of socks that were his in the camper, so I just did his things. Robby and I were both working-he was working on the car and all the outside stuff while I slowly unloaded the camper.
I believe that I did 7 loads of laundry this afternoon-the kid had left some laundry here plus there were their towels. Those 7 are done, and I am now trying to get another 4 done before bedtime.
Around 7, the campers arrived home. They all had a good time, and everyone talked the whole way home about things. It is always interesting to hear their take on camp. Reagan did say that she is scared of their youth minister. Anderson entered the chess tournament and lost his water bottle, but later it was returned to him-it had been in the senior cabin, Graham was second in almost every thing he did, but he is the tannest of all the Dennie 5, Campbell was second in the girls basketball tournament, and Keaton probably had the most fun out of everyone.
I am glad that they are home, but they all had a wonderful time. Keaton and Campbell will be home for about 72 hours and then they leave again. (Next week when they come home, they will be home for less than 24 hours before leaving again.)
Robby stopped at Sonic on the way home since drinks were requested. He also picked up a few chicken bites which they devoured.
When they came in, everyone unloaded so now I have a few laundry piles: sheets, 3 loads of clothes, sleeping bags, towels, and blankets. Two loads of clothes are in the washer, and hopefully I can wash towels and sheets before bed tonight since they will need some of them to sleep.
The kids are now working on showers and catching up on their phones. Reagan is downloading all of her pictures so that will be exciting to see all of her pics. Tomorrow will be day full of laundry around here!
July 4, 2024-Celebrating the 4th in NW Arkansas, Oklahoma, and in Panama City
Robby and I took a shorter walk this morning, but we did walk up to the tent sites. It was straight up a hill, and I thought that I just might die. If we would walk that little stretch every day we would be fit as a fiddle.
We then took the morning slowly before heading back to Pawhuska. There was a little more activity today, but it still wasn't crazy crowded. They had some areas where the kids could earn points by playing games, and then they could cash the points in for a little prize. Whitman did this and ended up with some bubbles.
I think that his favorite thing of the day was riding the mechanical bull. He fell off pretty quickly the first time, but the second he stayed the whole 8 seconds. And since we were nearby the ice cream shop, and since it wasn't crowded we did a repeat of yesterday's ice cream.
Next we came back to the campsite, and Whitman put on his new bathing suit that we bought while watching the Blackstone man cook. We went to the pool, and he swam for about an hour. They also had a rock wall on the edge of the pool that he did a couple of times,
When he was finished, we came back to the camper and heated up some leftover bbq for our supper. We ate that, and around 7 or even a little bit later we headed back into town. It was a happening place tonight-there were people everywhere.
We brought in our chairs and found us a spot right in front of the Boarding House. We just randomly picked the place, but it was a great spot because every Drummond (Pioneer Woman's family) walked in and out of the Boarding House hotel right by us.
They had a live band plus around 9:30 the fireworks started. Robby and I have been to a lot of fireworks-we were in D.C. during President Bush's inauguration when fireworks were exploding on all sides of us, we have been to Disney countless times, we grew up during the hayday of Jennings Osborne's fireworks in Little Rock, and we have been in Washington D.C. at least twice on the fourth of July. We have seen many firework shows.
But I do think that this one topped them all. It was like we were watching a firework grand finale that just kept going and going and going. It was quite something to see. It lasted over 20 minutes, but it just kept going-and they were not shooting one or two fireworks at a time, it was so many fireworks-my ears are still ringing!
After the fireworks, we even stayed for some more of the band. It was fun watching everyone dance and enjoy the evening. Around 11, Whitman was eventually ready to leave, so we headed back to our campsite. He put on his pjs while Robby and I picked up a few last things outside.
July 3, 2024-Celebrating the 4th in NW Arkansas, Oklahoma, and in Panama City
The morning started with Robby doing some work, and then we went on a walk-I thought we were just walking the camping loop, but we kept going and walked to the front offices, then we walked to the swimming pool area, then we walked through the group camp area, and then finally we followed the road back to our campsite. Thankfully, it wasn't that hot but it was humid, and we were pretty sticky when we came back in.
We then had a little bit of lunch before leaving again to see Pawhuska. They were in full swing getting ready for tomorrow's 4th celebration. People were hanging lights, setting up tables, moving tents, and hanging banners-they have a street blocked off as well.
We made the entire block looking at everything that we could see-when we stopped to take a picture at the sign at the end of town, a lady stopped her car to ask if we wanted a picture all together. That was incredibly nice.
We then went in Pioneer Woman's Mercantile. The boys went upstairs and found a spot to sit, while I took my time and browsed through the store. Soon it was time for us to eat-we only had to wait 45 minutes even though it was like 2:30.
Whitman ordered mac and cheese which he rated with a 7.5. Robby and I split their chicken tenders (very good), tortialla soup (also very good, but it is summer so you can't be crazy about soup in the summer). and we also bought an order of their corn casserole (it was just plain). Oh, and we were also served biscuits, butter and strawberry jelly before the meal which was all very delicious.
The next stop was a walk through the Pioneer Woman Collections store. This store is new, and it houses her Walmart line of things. It is kind of neat to see her furniture and all. I like Pioneer Woman things, but I didn't buy anything on this trip. We do go back tomorrow so I may change my mind, but nothing spoke to me today.
Of course, we needed to just sample Charlie's Ice Cream shop. Robby ordered two scoops for Whitman, and the lady kindly asked if we were sure. She said that they were pretty big-she said just see after one scoop if you want more. For one scoop, she scooped and scooped and scooped-most places would have considered that 3 scoops of ice cream.
One scoop was plenty for him, but not for us but that left us in a quandary since we wanted 3 flavors but didn't need 3 scoops. The worker said that she can do half scoops so that is what we did-1 peanut butter scoop, 1/2 oreo, and 1/2 cookie dough. We sat outside at a picnic table and ate our ice cream. It was delicious!
We then drove all through town seeing the sites-there aren't many. Back at the campground, we got out of the car and explored a little look out tower. We saw the two biggest lizards I have ever seen. They were probably 10 inches long from nose to tail. One actually took off running at me-and I took off running as well!
Back at the camper, as I was taking Bentley out to potty, Robby saw a tarantula right by my feet. We then watched Robby shoo the thing way away from our camper with a broom. I have just about had all the wildlife I need.
We then watched the beach campers walk through the supper line on Instagram live. We saw Campbell quite often on the video, but we again missed Keaton at supper. She did do the super high swinging thing at the amusement park last night. Someone gave her a ticket, and I know that she loved every minute of it. We also saw Anderson in the video-and the back of his shirt was drenched in sweat! Drenched! And earlier in the day, we saw a picture of the seniors since they go to go out to eat for lunch.
When the live stream was over, we loaded up (even Bentley) to go and walk the Falls Creek trail. It was just a short little trail, but it came out at a part of a river-in the spring it would probably have falls, but there was just a drip right now. We still explored a little bit, but now we have checked the camper for lizards and tarantulas and are in for the night after one more quick walk around the loop with Bentley.
July 2, 2024-Celebrating the 4th in NW Arkansas, Oklahoma, and in Panama City
Robby was awake this morning when some of our campers went through the breakfast line. Then we were driving tonight and I was able to see all of them but Keaton go through the supper line. I also found a picture of Graham and one of Campbell on their instagram. Tonight they went to a little amusement park, so I am sure that was a lot of fun.
This morning we left around 11 or maybe earlier, I don't really know! Hooking up was fine, but it is just hot out there. We drove to Siloam Springs were Robby had a Panda Express order for us. That was also a good stop for gas.
And since we were so close to the Little Debbie store in Gentry, we had to stop there. Most importantly, I found an ornament for the food Christmas tree. And most fun was the whole case of birthday Little Debbie cakes that we bought for just 5 dollars. Robby plans to take them on his trip later in July with the 9th and 10th graders. We also bought about 6 other boxes of snacks for us-we did all of that for about 18 dollars so that was a lot of fun.
After our shopping, we hit the road again and drove on to Osage Hills State Park. It is a neat park which is very similar to Petit Jean without all of the scenery though. It still has scenery, but it is spread out with lots of CCC buildings throughout.
It took us a few minutes to back in and get level, but no curse words were said. Kidding, it wasn't bad at all. Robby did all the outside things, and soon we were digging into the BBQ that we picked up in Bartlesville. And I am not sure if Robby thought that all of the kids were with us or not, but we had enough food for all 8 of us. That is fine though because I already had a package of buns, and we can have bbq for the rest of the trip. (We have other meals that we have brought to make, but I doubt we will get to any of those on this trip.)
After eating, we drove around the campground to see everything. When we returned, Robby and I took Bentley on a walk around the camping loop. Now, we are all snug in the camper and praising the Lord for our air conditioners.
July 1, 2024-Celebrating the 4th in NW Arkansas, Oklahoma, and in Panama City
It was another good day here in Northwest Arkansas. I took Bentley on a short little walk this morning, before we left for the Amazeum. It is a bit like our Museum of Discovery, the Wonderplace in Little Rock, and the awesome Philadelphia kid's museum all rolled into one.
We were able to get in free with the reciprocal admission from our Museum of Discovery which made it even better. Whitman was just almost too big for the Amazeum, but it still had some things that he enjoyed. He was fascinated with the tornado and smoke things which they used to have at our museum and no longer do.
He is just the most easygoing kid, and I definitely think that he enjoyed wandering around the museum today. When we finished, we stopped by a gas station to buy him a drink and some candy. I know I have said it again, but he is just a bit spoiled.
We then came back to the camper and relaxed a little bit, Robby did the laundry while I read a little bit, and I might possibly have had a nap. Robby then folded most of the laundry before I realized what he was doing since I would have helped.
Once the laundry was finished, we all loaded up, including Bentley, and drove to pick up supper. We had Tacos for Life for supper, and even though Robby and I split our meal, I am stuffed. Whitman had a quesadilla and said that it was just about as good as Nonna's quesadilla.
After we ate, Robby and I took Bentley on a little walk, and now we have the second half of the Frank Lloyd Wright documentary to watch. Before we watch the show, I will take a shower-my eyes have been so incredibly itchy up here. This happens a few times a year at home, so it is just allergies, but we had to stop today for more eye drops for me. Maybe our move tomorrow will help a bit more too.
The other 5 left last night around 11 to travel to Panama City. Graham had an air tag in his bag, so Robby was able to see their progress as they moved own the road. Around 7:30, we started seeing credit card charges for their breakfast-we make a game of guessing who each charge is (4.53 from McDonalds, 6.87 from ChickFilA, 11.24 from ChickFilA) It is fun to guess who spend what, then Robby goes to his account and looks it up so we can see who was right.
We also played this game at lunch today when they were eating once again. Anderson just uses his own cash instead of the credit card-he did that last year too. I was trying to explain to Keaton before they left to use the credit card and just keep her cash for emergencies. I probably didn't use the best terms when I said, "Just use the credit card as much as you can." Robby was quick to pop out of his office and say "not as much as you can, but for just what you need."
We saw them all walk through the supper line at camp as well. Graham was the only one who spoke or even looked at the camera. He did say "hi, mom!" so he is currently my favorite. I could also see Shannon and Tony serving up food so I know the kids were well fed.
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