- It was kind of difficult getting out of bed this morning because yesterday we had slept in so late. Campbell and Keaton were already stirring above us getting ready for church. Keaton told me that we had to dress well today because we had been gone so long-it was almost like a first impression.
- Thankfully, I think that we did make a good first impression at church today-people seemed to like us. Keaton and Campbell were there much earlier than Robby, Whitman, and I so they had already saved our seats this morning which was nice.
- Then we had Sunday school before heading to Nonna and Pops' house for Sunday lunch. Nonna had tacos and all of the fixings which is one of my favorite meals. Campbell liked it too-but that is what she ended up having for supper tonight too!
- Robby and I ran some errands this afternoon, and when we made it home, we both quickly fell asleep on the couch for about 30 minutes. Then it was time for us to start our evening route.
- We picked up one of Keaton's friends, and then took Keaton and her friend to life group. We then did some sparking which we haven't done in a long while.
- Finally, it was time to start pick up. We picked up Whitman and his friend and then Keaton and her friend. Then we dropped both of them off and made it home. The kids love their lifegroups, but it does make our Sunday nights a little crazy plus we had to skip our Sunday night dinner with the Wilsons because of our taxi service happening.
- When we did make it home, I started trying to mark a few things off of my list for next week. This will kind of be the first real week without everyone here (last week didn't count because we were just getting home from the trip and leaving again.)
September 13, 2026
September 12, 2026-Partying at Degray and Happy 21st Birthday Reagan
Robby and I woke up at a decent time this morning, but we sure didn't leave the bed for the longest. He did get out of the bed to take Marley out, but she is turning into a good dog and went back to sleep, so I eventually also went back to sleep too. It was wonderful for sure.
We then started moving pretty quickly. Robby went to work on the outside things while I started to put away and pack up some inside things. Within an hour of us getting out of bed, we were pulling out of the campground.
I had to run to Arkadelphia to pick up a camera from Reagan so I was able to see her and wish her a happy birthday in person. Then we caught up with Robby in Malvern for the gas station. When it was time to get back on the interstate, we saw that it was stopped so Robby and I both headed out different ways following our gps's.
I some how got pretty far behind him, but I eventually did get on the same road. Then I went one more different way to get to my next gas station stop. By this time, I certainly needed to go to the bathroom so I was glad I had a gas station to stop at.
Once we made it home, everyone started helping unload the camper. Of course, with just a 2 night trip, unpacking didn't take too long at all. Things went pretty quickly plus there was only just one load of laundry to do so that made things super easy.
A bit before 5 I left to go eat at Tacos for Life for a friend's birthday, and then we went to play mahjong for a bit. I actually won one game which was fun because I'm usually not a winner.
Robby took Campbell to pick up the car at church, and then they grabbed supper. She then met some friends to go the fair. I left my party and picked up Robby. Then we headed to the Wilson's house to watch the football game. We watched most of it before deciding that even though the company was good, the game was not worth our time so we headed home.
September 11, 2026-Partying at Degray and Happy 21st Birthday (party) Reagan!
On our Utah trip, Robby and I would wake up before our alarms most days. This would happen even when our alarms were set to go off early. Now, that hasn't been happening at home this week, but I was little worried that would happen this morning in the camper. I was so happy when I looked at the clock this morning, and it was already 8:30. That was wonderful.
Robby took the dogs to potty, and then I got dressed. We decided to go and walk the dogs, and we had not gotten too far when it was started raining. We knew that the rain was coming, but we thought we had a little bit of time.
We hurried back to the camper and settled in during the rain. And it rained and rained and rained. We kept looking at the weather hoping that it would clear and hoping that the 6:00 shower that they forecasted was wrong.
Thankfully, after a 2 hour rain shower, it finally cleared, and the sun came up leading to a beautiful day. We all loaded up and headed to get ice and of course Sonic drinks. We filled 4 ice chests with sprites, waters, diet cokes, and cokes. Then we came back to the camper for a little bit.
Around 4:40, we loaded up the 7 pans of watermelon, the 6 pans of cookies, and the 10 bags of chips along with the 4 ice chests and headed to pick up 25 pizzas. We had the food and just needed Reagan to supply the people!
The party was at a professor's house, and it was the perfect location. They had a lake completely stocked with all kinds of kayaks and canoes plus a little pavilion. Reagan and her friends were there when we drove up, and they were all working hard getting things ready.
Our big boys showed up soon along with Shannon, and they all went to work helping get things out of the van and set up everything that we had. Then people started showing up. The party officially started at 5:30, but the group picture happened at 6.
I counted 59 in the group picture, plus Shannon who took the picture. When I counted everyone else that was not in the picture that showed up later, I think that there were 67 people at Reagan's 21st birthday party.
After our group picture, Reagan prayed, and then the kids started to eat. They ate and ate, but we still had plenty of pizza left. We also had plenty of cookies and watermelon left. My boys and Brett all had cookies and pizza for later. Reagan and some of her friends took watermelon and pizza. Plus I gave two pans of watermelon away to the teachers who were there.
Not only was it the perfect location, but it was also the perfect evening. Keaton, Campbell, and Whitman all kayaked. Anderson did a lot of paddleboarding-that was his first time to paddleboard. Graham didn't get in the water. I think that Reagan had the best time tonight-I know that we did.
When it started to get dark, we started to pick up. Cleaning up didn't take too long plus we had lots of empty pizza boxes to bring to our trash can. Once at the camper, we unloaded some things and then took the dogs on a walk. Now, it was just 10, and we had the whole night ahead of us!
September 10, 2026-Partying at Degray
This was Campbell and Keaton's first day of Mother's Day Out so they were up early plus we took some first day of school pictures as well. As soon as they left, Whitman and I started on school. I thought without the girls there to bother him, I could help him knock school out sooner.I was wrong though. I have just given the boy way too many things to do in the day. He doesn't mind so we will be pressing on, and like today, what we get done is what we got done.
I was able to print out some more curriculum this morning-poor Whitman. Plus I got school out for next week which is something I have been doing for what seems like forever-pulling school out every Thursday for the next week. This afternoon Robby and Whitman headed to Degray just as Campbell and Keaton were getting home. They girls had a good first day, but they hadn't finished at church. Around 5, they had to head back to work tonight too.
This left me with no one home, not even a dog. Plus I didn't have my computer so I could/should have been productive, but I was not! And it was wonderful.I did run by Nonna and Pops' house on my way to church to pick up 7 pans of watermelon. We have 6 pans of cookies and 7 pans of watermelon.
Once I got the girls, we headed on to Degray. Now, of course, since we passed a Buccees, they had to stop. I just sat in the car and listened to my book. They were back in no time, and in no time we were pulling up to the camper.
We unloaded all of the watermelon, and thankfully it all fit in the fridge. Then we took the dogs for a walk-next up is a shower for me.
September 9, 2026
- It was really a fairly uneventful morning. We did our school work, and I tried to get a few things done around the house. The most eventful time was working on Campbell's math which we only did half of.
- The girls finished school before Whitman did, but we all still left the house around 1 to go to Nonna and Pops' house. I brought 2 watermelons for them to slice for Friday. Pops wasn't sure my watermelon was enough, but we shall see.
- When we came back home, I was exhausted and laid down for about 30 minutes. Then I had to hurry for the rest of the afternoon to get everything done. I managed most things, and then it was time for church.
- Campbell and Keaton spent forever getting ready for church tonight. You would have thought that we were going to a wedding or some fancy event-not Wednesday night church. They really were super happy to be back.
- After church, Robby and I went to Shannon's house so she could help me make a few dozen cookies-I think it was around 17 or so. We will have plenty of cookies at least on Friday. We were there a bit late because making that many cookies isn't quick.
- When we came home, there were a few more things to do, and now I'm headed to bed!
September 8, 2026
- It is strange how after being gone a bit, you can so easily get back in the swing of things. There are still some things that I need to tweak since we are down quite a few kiddos from this summer. I need the littles to do their chores earlier and to take a bit more responsibility.
- Don't get me wrong, they do help quite a bit, but no one ever does much without being asked and when I do ask, they eventually do it but usually I have to remind them.
- Campbell left early this morning to go to work at church. While she was gone, Keaton and Whitman worked on their school work. It was a little bit of a long day, but we managed to get all of school finished, plus a few extra school things done.
- When Campbell came home, she started on her school. She had to make a schedule for her college classes about when she needed to complete things. Things will continue to get busier for her as work starts very soon.
- This afternoon I ran some errands with Robby. Then we came home-he worked in the camper while I played a game with Whitman. Robby and I just reloaded the camper, and now I'm going to finish my game with Whitman and then hopefully read some of my book.
September 7, 2026
- This was not yet a normal day-we haven't had a regular day at home since dropping Anderson off at school. Even if we had been home, this wouldn't have been too regular of a day because it is a holiday.
- We didn't really celebrate any because Robby, Campbell, and I headed to Ouachita for Tiger Preview Day for Campbell. This was her first official college visit, and I think that she really enjoyed it even though she thought it was too early for a college visit.
- We went to the education department. Right now Campbell is thinking about Occupational Therapy which falls under education. The dean was excellent and she made teaching and all the other things sound so good.
- Campbell won the trivia game which included a bag of Ouachita swag. While she was at that meeting, we made the rounds and saw Anderson and Graham. Robby had already seen Reagan during a meeting before.
- We then went to the lunch where Graham and Reagan snuck in and ate with us. It was fine, and then we went on a campus tour. The tour was great-it so helps to have a good guide. Then we were about to leave when Campbell remembered that we hadn't stopped at the bookstore.
- She quickly found herself a shirt in te bookstore. Then we headed to Sonic for a pre-drive home drink. The drive home was quick, but I was sleepy. When we made it home, I laid down for a few minutes.
- Then Jason came over to drop off a shirt. When he left, I went to town trying to do a few things from my list. We had just sat down on the couch when the Wilsons wrote mentioning that they had cookies so we ran over there for a few minutes!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)