March 25, 2019

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• The Monday after Spring Break went much better than I could have ever expected. I really worried when I walked thought the house and discovered that everyone was still sound asleep upstairs. It was after 8, so I am not sure how Graham and Anderson were still asleep.
• We started our reading while everyone was eating their breakfast in my bedroom. I am not really sure what all happened today, but I was finished with my stuff by 11:30. Anderson was even done with his work by noon so all of the stars must have been aligned.
• Everyone ate-well, actually everyone worked on their lunches while I read. I am not sure why everyone have stopped eating sandwiches, but no one eats them anymore. Today's lunches were a bagel, lots of breakfast burritos, a wrap and a hot dog. I guess my people really enjoy their breakfasts since they were still eating breakfast at lunch time.
• Then it was time for some chores. At the first of the week, chore time is fairly short because the kids pick their chores from a list. Once all of the easy chores are gone, then things take a bit longer. Since it is Monday, there were plenty of easy ones to choose from today.
• After chore time, we did some afternoon reading. Today, I went ahead and requested all of the library books that I want to finish reading this school year to the kids. We are about to finish our science book so I will be able to read a little more of other things. 
• I then walked on the treadmill until it was time for us to load up and meet our buddies at Third Realm. The kids jumped hard and enjoyed their time there. On the way home, we listened to our book and will hopefully finish it tomorrow or the next day. 
• I did some of my computer work this afternoon-planning Whitman's birthday party mainly. Then Robby and I worked on getting our supper ready. We had left over bbq which everyone approved of. Whitman even ate all of his sandwich so we know that it was a hit. 
• Afterwards, the kids had their showers followed by some down time before it was finally time for bed!

March 24, 2019

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• I guess that we did sleep in a bit too long today, or maybe I shouldn't put two french braids in Campbell and Keaton's hair. I had about 15 minutes until it was time to leave when I hopped in the shower. Usually, that wouldn't be an issue but I had to wash my hair. Since I usually just wash my hair on Sundays and Wednesdays, it was a must do today. I am not sure if that is sharing too much information or not. 
• We made it to church in time to see the grands. Campbell and Keaton had cute hair and I had clean hair so all was well. The sermon was good this morning-both of them. Whitman did get a bit tired at the end and not so quietly asked me, "is this the last song?" 
• The Hispanic church was selling Mexican food in the parking lot today so that is what Pops' bought for our lunch. It was pretty good or maybe it is more accurate to say "it is good to try new things." There were tamales, enchiladas (nothing like what we would call an enchilada) and some other something or another. Nonna had rice and beans so there was plenty even for my non-adventurous eaters.
• After eating, we watched the end of a basketball game. My kids have enjoyed watching basketball this year-even the little girls. They are all about checking their brackets. So far, I am ahead and it looks like it will stay that way for a while. I am pretty sure that I will not stay in the lead so I am living it up.
• Once at home this afternoon, Robby and I had our naps. He did get up briefly when our Girl Scout cookies were delivered. We snacked on them alone upstairs until the kids got word that we were eating cookies. Soon the bonus room was filled with people eating the cookies. Except I order Somoas because I know that no one will eat those cookies since they have coconut in them!
• Reagan left next to go to her life group tonight. They were climbing Pinnacle. I love her life group leaders, and she always has fun when she is there. There were only 6 kids there tonight, but they still had a blast.
• During her life group, the rest of us went to Third Realm. The boys just sweat when they are there-it is so good for them. When they finished, we ran to Walmart. Campbell still needed cleats for soccer so I bought her a pair. We also grabbed Whitman a birthday present from Jason. The girls enjoyed helping me pick it out. 
• We did grab supper on the way home. Robby vacuumed a little bit upstairs and then it was time to leave to pick up Reagan. Robby drove so I went in to get the girls and Noah. They were awaiting some cookies that were in the oven so we stayed a few minutes. On the way to drop of Noah, Robby did stop to pick me up a Starbucks drink. 
• Once at home, everyone had a snack and then it was time to for bed for the crew. Whitman had already finished off the water that was in his water bottle. I refilled it (a tiny bit) and he was just downstairs trying to get some more. I made him potty and gave him another sip of water but am expecting wet sheets tomorrow!

March 23, 2019

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• It was a lazy wonderful Saturday around here. Whitman was the first one in our room this morning, and he needed someone to pour his milk. We did that and were soon back in the bed. We stayed in the bed as long as we could this morning because there is only one more Saturday until soccer games and yard work start!
• After Whitman ate his breakfast, he ran back in our room incredibly proud of himself. He had a powdered donut mustache and was super anxious to show it off to us.
• Campbell and Keaton were anxious to play with the neighbors. They had me text and eventually rode down their to ring their doorbell. I am not sure if they answered the door or not, but Campbell and Keaton didn't show back up until 2ish this afternoon.
• Robby and I watched the Hogs play their basketball game. Anderson came in our room to watch some and when he was in the room, they would do better. We encouraged him to stay and he did for a while, but eventually he left and the score went kaploot.
• All of the kids eventually ended outside to play. They played and played pretty hard and loud until the neighbors had to go home for lunch. By this time it was well after 2 so we soon loaded up and headed to Third Realm. 
• It was pretty crowded there, but the kids still had a blast. Afterwards, we ran by Sonic to get a drink. Then we went to the other side of town to pick up a few groceries, our Dairy Queen hamburgers, and then a Academy run. 
• We had to go to Academy because Anderson and Campbell needed new cleats for soccer. There was no way I was going to squeeze Anderson's foot in the pair that he wore last year. And Campbell tried on one pair that was too small and one pair, the next size up, that was too large. I wasn't able to find Campbell any that fit her, but Anderson did find a pair.
• We also had to stop there because the pair of slides that Graham had on disappeared today at Third Realm. I do think that is was just an accident because there was a pair of similar slides near his. His were Nike though so I am not positive on my assumption. Keaton has a really eye catching pair of slides so I do always make sure that she puts them under someone else's shoes. From now on, we will have a bag to put all of our shoes in. Graham was able to find a new pair that he liked, within my budget, so we all left happy.
• Once at home, showers were started while we worked preparing supper. There were hamburgers, hot dogs, baked potatoes, mac and cheese, corn, and beans. We were working hard on clearing out the fridge just a little bit.
• We all ate, worked on the kitchen and then everyone finished showers. We eventually ended up all in the living room catching up on our Bates tv shows and eating Little Debbie snacks. 

March 22, 2019

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• My phone buzzed around 8:30 with this text, "are you awake?" I quickly answered no. It was my Graham already trying to work on his school work. I am very grateful for his "get up and go"-ness but not on the last day of spring break.
• Soon I had poured Whitman's milk and text Graham back that I was indeed awake. I helped him as I folded my laundry pile. I read to Whitman some this morning and let him read to me along with doing a few other things around the house.
• The kids were anxiously awaiting for the neighbors to come out, but they never showed. I eventually snuck out the door headed to the grocery store.
• I did actually stop at Painted Tree before going go the grocery store. I enjoyed walking through the place and taking pictures of things that I would like to make some day. Then I finally made it to the grocery store. Yep, twice in less than 12 hours-I do love the grocery store! It made me happier than Painted Tree.
• When I came home, Robby and the kids were gone. They had all headed to Third Realm for a bit of jumping. It was pretty crowded, but they still enjoyed it.
• While they were gone, I text the doctor from the study since Keaton now has a hive like rash all over her body. Her antibiotic can cause hives, but she finished her antibiotic today so it is kind of late. The doctor said start right on benedryl and zyrtec. Hopefully, that will help but hasn't really as of late tonight. She is not really itching so that at least is really good. 
• The neighbors did come out this afternoon right as we were about to leave. The kids did play for about 30 minutes before we finally had to have them load up. Tony had smoked a huge thing of meat for us tonight that we ate on for supper. We brought the corn and Shannon had the slaw and tater tots.
• Then we all went to work making our own batch of cinnamon rolls. We wanted to share our knowledge from the class that we went to. It was fun and took all evening long. It was after 10 when we were finally getting to enjoy the fruits of our labor and eat some of those cinnamon rolls. They are pretty good-hopefully, I am able to get one before they are all gone tomorrow.

March 21, 2019-Pioneer Woman Trip 2019

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I know that the kids had a great day at both of their grandparents houses. The bigs took a quick trip to Hot Springs to go to Mid America for a bit and even eat some pizza. The littles spent the day taking care of Dana’s dogs, going to Hurts for a snack and the dollar store for a treat. They also made a craft, and Campbell and Keaton even went to aerobics.

Robby and I woke up in plenty of time this morning to get ourselves to breakfast. He wasn’t really impressed with the breakfast since there were no biscuits and gravy which is the gold standard to all hotels for him. I just had half of my bagel since I was still really full from last night and I knew that we were headed back to the Mercantile to grab a sweet breakfast item to eat.

After eating, we loaded up and then did drive back to Pawhuska. We could definitely tell a difference in the crowds being a bit thicker in the morning. By the time we left, there were lots more people and when we returned in the afternoon after the lodge, it was craziness.

I did do a little bit of shopping this morning. I bought a necklace, an ornament and Robby even convinced me to buy a shirt. Then we headed upstairs for a sweet treat. We ordered a cinnamon roll and a sticky bun. They were both very good, but there were so many choices that we kind of second guessed our choices.

From there, we headed way down the road to Pioneer Woman’s lodge. It is a super ways out of town-you wouldn’t be running back to town to grab some ice cream. There was a crowd there but we were able to wonder around opening drawers and cabinets. It was lots of fun and made me want to watch all of Pioneer Woman’s shows.

We then went back to town to eat at the P-Town Pizza. The wait was about 30 minutes, so we spent some time browsing some little shops nearby. The pizza place was neat. We tried the knot knots which were appetizers. They were excellent. Then Robby and I split a pizza that had tomatoes, goat cheese and balsamic vinegar on it. It had other stuff too but I really loved it. Surprisingly, Robby even said that he would order it again.

Then it was back in the car, and we zoomed to Siloam Springs. It was just 30 minutes more going that way and the Dayspring Store and the Little Debbie stores were calling our names. We knew that we had to hurry to get there since everything closed at 5.

The boys dropped Shannon and I off at the Dayspring store and drove off to get to the Little Debbie store before it closed. Now, it didn’t take long for Shannon and I to realize that we were at the factory and not the outlet. So we had to call the boys to come get us. They rushed back and dropped us off at the right place-just a few miles away. Then they ran to the Little Debbie store.

Shannon and I laughed to see that our store was really open until 6 so we had no reason to worry. We pottied and had plenty of time to browse. I bought a few little things, and soon the boys were back to pick us up. They had filled 3 bags each with goodies from the Little Debbie store. It is definitely on Robby’s list to return when we come back this way this summer.

We didn’t stop again until Kroger’s in Conway. There were a few sales that we needed to pick up plus Robby wanted to buy a butt for Tony to smoke. I am not sure what kind of butt was bought so sorry I can’t be more specific.

We rushed around Kroger picking up the sale items and then had to reload the car so we could get everyone and everything in it once we picked everyone up. We picked up the littles from Grannymom’s house. Then we met Brett and his grandpa at the gas station. He piled in the car, and we dropped off the Wilson’s and their bags and bags of stuff.

Pops and Nonna had brought the big crew home a few minutes before we arrived. They had all taken their showers and were slightly unpacked. It didn’t take us long at all to unpack everyone, and the house was quiet by 11.

March 20, 2019-Pioneer Woman Trip 2019

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I did manage to sleep later than I have any other day this week. We did comment that Whitman must still be asleep because he hadn’t been in our room asking for help with his morning milk. My first tasks this morning were the laundry and dishes.

Also the ants are back in full force in the house. Graham was the first one to spy them near his bed. I sprayed last night and then he made sure to sleep on the floor so none of the ants got him during the night. By the time that we went to bed, we had seen some ants in the kitchen. This morning they were in the bathroom downstairs. I sprayed liberally all over the place making sure to spray circles around all of the drawers and cabinets that contain food!

The kids started to wake up, well my big boys were already awake, so I started telling everyone what they needed to get started on. This was met without much enthusiasm. I did have to wake Campbell up because my car was the first one to leave the house.

Robby did have to run to get my gas since I used it all yesterday. Then Campbell, Whitman and I were off to pick up Keaton. She had spent the night at Sophia’s house and had a blast. She told us all about it-they made slime, they made pottery, they watched Tangled.

From there, we took Keaton to her last dermatology appointment. They were super pleased about how well her arms are looking. They have improved quite a bit. We still have a few more days of antibiotic left to finish. The doctor did just say to make sure that we keep her arms moisturized.

My next stop was dropping my little three off at Grannymom and Grandpa’s house for the night. They were super excited. Whitman even asked me to hurry up and leave. I think that they have ben busy with Dana’s dogs and even managed to go to Third Realm today.

Robby was dropping off the big three at Nonna and Pops’ house. This crew was excited as well. I think that they knew they were going to get to stop at Hurts donuts at some point, and indeed they did. We hadn’t even left the state, and my crew was finishing Hurts donuts.

After we dropped off the kids, Robby and I picked up the Wilson’s for our spur of the moment road trip to Pawhuska to see the Pioneer Woman. Our first stop was in Fort Smith at Ed Walker’s Drive In. It was pretty good-Robby and I split their French Dip sandwich which is what they are famous for. It was decent but pretty meaty!

We walked around the Hanging Judge National Site before getting back on the road to Oklahoma. We had thought that it would take at least until 8 before we made it, but we were there around 6. The Mercantile was still opened, and we were able to eat at the restaurant. We didn’t have to wait long at all and were able to browse while we waited.

Robby and I were here with the kids exactly two years ago. It was crazy, crazy crowded. It was so full that we couldn’t buy anything, and we sure weren’t going to wait in the line that wrapped all around the building. We kept telling the WIlson’s how full everything was last time, but they didn’t believe us. It probably helped that we arrived right near closing time.

Our meal was good tonight. The biscuits were excellent, but probably not as good as Joanna Gaines’ biscuits that we have frozen in the freezer. Robby and Tony had the chicken fried steak which was a bit bland. I had the spicy pulled pork which was really good, but again very meaty (I know, I probably should have expected that.) Shannon had the lasagna which was the favorite of the table. We were so full by the time that we left, that we didn’t even think about asking for dessert.

We then walked around the area. We passed the Pioneer Woman’s hotel, pizza place, office, and event place. There were also two areas that were under construction that she is probably building or expanding things as well. Then it was back to the car to head towards our hotel in Bartlesville.

The plan tomorrow is to do some shopping back at the Merc tomorrow, sample a few of the sweet things and even go down to the lodge for little bit. We might even squeeze in some pizza as well. It took us about 30 minutes to make it to our hotel, then we munched on cookies in the lobby. Actually, we did eat one just because they were delicious (chocolate chips, macadamia nuts, coconut and oatmeal-actually, better than any food I have had yet this trip.)

March 19, 2019

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• I didn't mark too many things off of my list today. I wish that I could some how explain to Whitman that it is spring break week, and there is no reason to wake up early. Since I was awake at pretty much the normal time, if not earlier, maybe I should have accomplished a few more things off of my list.
• Anderson, Graham and Whitman were the early ones to wake up. They all worked on their school work fairly early this morning. I really should make them do something like this each day of the summer since it takes them no time at all or maybe not since it is a bit of work for me too. 
• Whitman and I read this morning in my bed. I tried to convince him to go back to sleep, but not surprisingly, he would have nothing to do with that. Soon Campbell and Keaton were awake and had me helping them with their school work.
• Keaton and I ran to the Dollar Store this morning to pick up a few little presents to put in a birthday gift. I also ran in Michaels to buy something (for Christmas-yes, Christmas). We hurried home so she could return to playing with the neighbors outside.
• I worked around the house a bit this afternoon, but at 2ish we loaded up to head to Third Realm. On the way we picked up 4 extra kiddos plus Robby dropped Cash off to meet us. The line was long, but when we stepped in the line with 11 kiddos, the line became very long. The worker man was wonderful and quickly let the pass holders move out of the long line.
• The kids all had fun jumping. It took me a while to herd and count all of the crew to get them back in the car. We ran Cash home, then dropped of the Heltz, then ran home to give Keaton a dose of her medicine before taking her to her birthday party. Keaton was so excited to get to her party, and I am so happy that her arms aren't bothering her anymore so she can enjoy herself.
• Once we finally made it home, I had a few minutes of down time before we headed to the Wilson's house for supper. We picked up Reagan from down the road on the way there. Tony had made some delicious chicken and fried pickles that we gobbled up. Actually, I am the one that gobbled up all of the pickles. 
• We stayed out too late because when we came home, the kids still had to do some last minute packing and straightening. We managed to get it all done and get in bed at a decent hour-maybe tomorrow will be the day that we sleep in a little bit.