September 30, 2019

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  • I didn't get on the treadmill to early this morning but did manage to finish just before school was to start. Graham was the only one awake this morning. He usually starts on his school work before picking up his ipad in the mornings. He hasn't been doing that the last few days. That doesn't mean anything really, but he just can't shake his cough. So tomorrow we are taking him to the doctor. Hopefully, his cough can improve quickly or he will be sent to boarding school. Kidding...kind of.
  • Our school day went well today. As usual it things were busy, but we managed and everyone was finished at a decent time. Whitman and Anderson started off so well, but then they slowed down! I am just not sure about those two, but at least they enjoy the day. 
  • Whitman's favorite part of the school day is when he has to work with someone-each day he has to work with me, he also has science with Reagan and then more work with one of her other brothers or sisters. I do believe that he enjoys this work because it is more fun than his writing.
  • We had our lunches, did some more reading and then I headed to the dentist. The dentist is one of my least favorite places to go, but that's what being a grown up is all about. I did discover while I was there that I am not 42. I am 41. For some reason, I had convinced myself that I was already 42 so I guess it was a productive visit.
  • After the dentist, I took the kids to Third Realm. They jumped for a while before we headed to the library to pick up books. Seriously, I know that it is crazy especially since I am not a reader, but library day is my favorite day. I love getting books-now I don't love having over 100 books checked out, but I do adore my books. There are so many good ones. 
  • We arrived home, and Robby had supper ready for us. Yep, he is pretty super. Then he headed off to a meeting. He was gone a while but Keaton and I worked some legos, Campbell and I read, Graham and I worked on a sweatshirt and I help Whitman take a shower. So we were productive back on the homefront.
  • When Robby came home, the kids stayed up a bit more. Reagan actually did most of her school work for tomorrow. It was soon bed for the kids and ice cream time for us.

September 29, 2019

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  • I was super relieved to hear my alarm clock this morning. Obviously, it meant that I had to wake up but it also meant that we had successfully slept through the night. With Keaton's little friends I am always concerned that someone won't make it through the night.
  • I had told them that they couldn't wake up until 7 and at 7, we heard them bounding down the stairs. We took that as a sign that we should get up and get moving. Even though we moved fairly quickly, we were still struggling to finish up in the kitchen when it was time to leave this morning.
  • Robby had made a big breakfast-biscuits, sausage, chocolate chip pancakes and gravy. So clean up did take a bit. It was a super delicious breakfast-we used to make waffles and pancakes more than we do now, but maybe we should start back.
  • We dropped off all of the girls at church. My people all headed to big church while I headed to the nursery. I stayed busy with a few fussy little ones so the hour passed by quickly. Then I rushed upstairs for my Sunday school class. Whitman was the only boy in our room today.
  • After church, we ran to get gas, and Robby picked up a pizza. We ate mostly at the gas station before heading to the soccer field in Benton.
  • This field had tons of bleachers so we were able to sit at the top which was in the shade. It was perfect even though we were pretty far away from the action. This was probably Reagan's best game yet. She has definitely improved. Her team won by 2 so it was a fun game to watch. Whitman enjoyed it because he found some little boys and played the entire game with them.
  • From there, we hurried home for about an hour. There was lots of cleaning and straightening. The kids helped some but by the time that Robby and I sat down, we had 10 minutes until we had to leave again.
  • Reagan and Anderson worked at the inflatables tonght and earned a little bit of money for their camps. It is always good to work. We had catfish for our supper, and it was pretty delicious. The kids enjoyed playing with their friends, and we stayed until it was almost dark.
  • At home, there were lots of showers before it was finally bedtime on Sunday night-the saddest part of the week!

September 28, 2019-Happy BIrthday (Party) Keaton!

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  • A lazy Saturday morning around here. After Robby and I had a good bit of laziness, we loaded up and headed out. We dropped off some clothes, picked up some boxes, got some free chicken minis, went to Hobby Lobby, then to the car wash, next a free shake and then Kroger.
  • We marked quite a few things off of my list, and when we made it home, I went to town on what was left on my list. I will say that party days are tough!
  • Keaton was waiting at the door when we came home and patiently waited until I was able to start helping her get things ready. Campbell and she counted Skittles so the girls could guess how many were in the jar. Then Keaton made brownies and cookies since that is what she wanted instead of a cake.
  • I did sit down during the last little bit of the football game and apprently I am bad luck for the Hogs. Robby then left for Third Realm with the kids while I stayed at home and worked. I got a few things ready for Disney and pulled out school for next week. 
  • I was still working when they came home. I then started working on supper for everyone-another easy meal for Keaton-spaghetti. And I just realized that I forgot to make green beans as Keaton had requested. I guess she didn't think about it either.
  • Soon girls started arriving-6 of them plus my Keaton and Campbell. We all ate, and then Robby, Whitman and Reagan went to a movie. The big boys didn't want to go. While they were gone, the girls played a few games. 
  • Then Layne arrived-she was tonight's gymnastics coach! It was so great. She had the girls doing all sorts of flips and tumbles. It was perfect and kept their attention for a long while!
  • Soon Robby was back after the movie, and we had dessert. Then it was present time. Keaton opened lots of American Girl doll clothes. She was thrilled with this. She also received lots of candy which the dentist will love!
  • It is currently 10 minutes until 11, and the movie still has about 50 minutes left on it! We possibly should have started it quite a bit earlier.  My plan is that as soon as the movie is over, the people will fall asleep! Cross your fingers for me! 
  • Update: It is not 10 minutes until 12, and the movie has finished. We have brushed and prayed. Keaton has also lost a tooth. I know that I am a bit on the tired side because I just told someone that I can take them home if they don't stop talking.

September 27, 2019-Happy 8th Birthday Keaton!

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  • Our morning routine was pretty much the same this morning as usual. For some reason, it never crossed my mind to put candles on Keaton's breakfast, but I am not too sure how worthy pop tarts are for candles. 
  • We did our morning reading and then had some time to clean up before all of our homeschool buddies arrived. Now, today was our science and egg drop day. The mommas all had science experiments for everyone to do-there was measuring out the solar systems, ooblick, mentos and cokes, exploding bags, elephant toothpaste and possibly even a few other things. 
  • The kids enjoyed all of these things, but what they really enjoyed was just playing with their friends. The kids were outside most of the day since it was beautiful outside.
  • I will say that the highlight was the egg drop. This year, Robby was able to climb on the roof to drop the eggs. He had rigged up a pulley and bucket system so getting the eggs was super easy. 
  • Most of the eggs did not crack-only Anderson's egg cracked in our family. He had probably worked the hardest in our family. He made a structure out of straws. It did work on a trial run, but we believe that the straws he used started to break which caused his egg to splatter everywhere.
  • Now, if Anderson worked the hardest, Reagan worked the least. She grabbed a jar of peanut butter this morning and shoved an egg inside. And would you believe that the egg did not crack in that jar?
  • Then there was Graham who packed his egg in a ziplock full of popcorn. It worked out well and was super easy (bonus points in my book.) 
  • Campbell had also worked pretty hard on hers. She had a mix of many supplies-cardboard, paper cups, bubble wrap, a walmart bag parachute. It worked very well and didn't cause her egg to crack.
  • Keaton filled a huge cheese ball bucket full of syrofoam and put the egg inside. Even though hers made the largest crash sound, it worked well.
  • And Whitman came up with putting his egg in a cup packed with shredded paper. He also added a walmart bag parachute. I did help him put a top on his so the egg wouldn't fall out. We had already talked about not getting upset if your egg cracked, but thankfully his egg was still intact.
  • Once our friends left, we cleaned up the house which is always a chore. Then I took Campbell and Keaton to Third Realm....and we forgot our socks. So we drove home to get them and also picked up Whitman and Robby.
  • The kids jumped and after a bit Robby ran to Walmart to pick up food for supper. We then came home and pulled out lots of food to make taco salad. The Wilsons came over and the company and food were both great. 
  • After we ate, we celebrated Keaton's birthday once again today with brownies and ice cream. I do believe that she had a pretty wonderful birthday. 

September 26, 2019

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  • Another day of school around here. I was expecting rain here this morning, but it never came. That was a good thing though because it would have ruined our afternoon plants. 
  • We zoomed through our together work and then worked on the rest of the day's school work. I did have a bit of a panic today when Reagan needed help with her math. I haven't had to help her figure out math in a long, long while so I was pretty worried that I wouldn't be able to help. But I still have it and was able to figure out her algebra....so far at least.
  • I was working with people until 12:45. Then we had to scurry around to get ourselves ready and pick up the house. The kids grabbed lunch and many of them ate as we did some more reading.
  • After we read, we went to Raymar for the church's homeschool day. There were lots of buddies there, and everyone enjoyed playing. Well, Whitman may not have. He liked hanging out with Brody. They did discover a dead rat that kept their interest for a while. When Brodie left, Whitman somehow managed to get himself chased by the other little kids. This did not make him happy at all!
  • On the way home, we stopped by Dairy Queen for our weekly burgers. It was much later in the evening when we did eat supper, but those burgers supplemented what was left of our bbq. We ended up eating that supper a bit late because Robby spent the evening mowing plus Keaton and Whitman spent their evening playing outside.
  • Graham worked on his egg drop thing for tomorrow-a bag of popcorn. So we decided to have popcorn during our tv show before bed.

September 25, 2019

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  • This was our second day of Bible study, and even though I know that I set my alarm clock for my treadmill walk, I sure didn't hear it ring this morning. I was still awake in plenty of time and able to do our dishes, laundry, pack lunches and empty trash cans (well, I didn't actually do that, but I did supervise it getting done)
  • We were at Bible study early enough that we had to sit in the car for a few minutes before going in. That was okay, because we needed to rest up before hauling in all of our snacks. Reagan wasn't super excited about her snack, but Campbell and Keaton could not wait to have thier snacks today.
  • The plan had been to go to a playground to play after Bible study today, but it was raining so we headed to Third Realm instead. The kids had fun jumping. We stayed for a little over an hour and by the time that we left, the kids were hot, thirsty and tired.
  • Though Reagan and Graham weren't too tired. They jumped on the opportunity to leave the house and do some shopping. Graham found some shoes that he needed-they might possibly be 2 whole sizes larger than the shoes that he is currently wearing. Reagan used her own money to buy a sweatshirt because that is apparently what you are supposed to wear now. 
  • I used my afternoon time wisely-filled another garage sale box, emptied two bins in the attic, read to Whitman, read to the little girls and worked on a shirt. By the time that I finished all of this, it was time to load up and head back to church.
  • Reagan and Anderson both ate hot pockets for their supper. Everyone else had friend night at church tonight and received free pizza. We also all had snowcones! Even though Anderson didn't get a snowcone, he did come home with a free pizza coupon.
  • When we did make it home, everyone had some ice cream before eventually finding their way to bed!

September 24, 2019

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  • I was again up early before the othesr for my walk on the treadmill/time to watch my Hallmark movie. When I had finished, most everyone was stirring except for Reagan. We soon were all in my bedroom reading our morning school work.
  • Our work together time was briefly interrupted with me havng to stop and make the 3 boys get off of my bed. I actually told them they they couldn't sit on my bed during school for the rest of the week. 
  • We then finished up that part of our morning and moved on to their individual school work. The boys had to finish quickly because they had a class to go to this afternoon. 
  • This was the first of 5 classes that they will have. Today they learned about drywall and painting. They painted, glued, drilled and did a ton of other things. And they were super cute in their construction hats and vests.
  • The girls all have snack for Bible study tomorrow so when the boys left, we went to town-first Keaton made cookie brownies, Campbell got everything ready for her cheese dip tomorrow and Reagan made rice krispy treats with Robby's help.
  • Soon all of our goodies were finished and the girls, Whitman and I jumped in the car and headed to the library. There we checked out a ton of books and also checked in a ton of books. The kids also made cute little fall leaves. I was so busy helping Whitman with his that I forgot all about taking any pictures. 
  • We then met up with our boys at Third Realm. The kids all had fun there. Our passes this time are for not just an hour but for as long as you want to stay. So we were there for at least an hour and a half. 
  • Robby picked up most eveyone except for Reagan who headed to soccer with me. We were there a wee bit early, but that was fine. While she practiced I walked and walked and walked around the fields. The fields are huge but it still took me 12 laps to make 2 miles. The treadmill is a lot easier and quicker.
  • Meanwhile back at home, Keaton was working hard on her meal. She, with lots of help from Robby, made chicken sandwiches, french fries, edamame and another cookie brownie for our dessert tonight. It was delicious!
  • We watched a Bates before we headed to bed tonight. It has been a while since we all hung out in the living room watching a show. It was nice way to end our crazy busy day. 

September 23, 2019

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  • Monday morning and I started it off a bit differently-with a walk on the treadmill. Yes, I want to lose a few pounds, but even more than that I want to watch all of my Hallmark movies that I have been taping. 
  • I was finished in time to empty the dishwasher before waking up the crew and starting our Monday school routine with them. I had specified exactly what I wanted Anderson to do today hoping that it would speed him up-it did not! Ha! 
  • It was a filled morning since Sara stopped by to pick up some books plus Pops dropped by to drop off some cake. Even with all of guests, school was still finshed on time by most everyone. 
  • I had even finished my work in time to try my no bake cookies once more. Robby found a new recipe so we whipped that up before lunch time. They worked this time and were delicious. Now, I know making those cookies sure don't help with the treadmilling I did earlier.
  • Not only did I make cookies today but so did Reagan. She made some mroe of her Rolo pretzel creations that she made the other day. We did buy different pretzels since the once we had the other day were pricey. Reagan wasn't pleased with our alternative pretzels.
  • We were able to work together this afternoon which I was pleased with. However, our afternoon work together time has been shorter than I would like. I just don't think that we will finish our Latin as soon as I would like to.
  • We did do our daily jumping today. The kids enjoyed it. Graham was not going to go since he still isn't 100 percent but did decide at the last minute to head out with us.
  • After jumping, I took Campbell, Keaton and Whitman to Target. They all had some birthday money to spend-Keaton had 8 dollars and Whitman had 20. Now, you would have thought that this would have been easy, but it was not! Not at all! 
  • It was entertaining though. We looked at everything in the store. Neigher really play with toys though we looked at all of them. Our first stop however was the clothes. This is where Whitman saw some Minecraft pjs that he eventually bought. He really wanted them, but also wanted to buy something else. At the end of our shopping trip, I did explain that he could have them and some candy, he was sold. (I would have paid any amount of money for this shopping trip to be over.)
  • Now, Keaton looked and looked trying to spend her money. She eventually opted for candy. Though I sure didn't want her to get candy, there was nothing else in the store that she seemed to want. And when she mentioned chap stick too, I decided that again I would happily pay the extra to get us out of there. 
  • When we were checking out, Whitman commented on how long we had been in the store, and then he added that he thought it would have been nighttime by then.
  • Back at home, we heated up lots of leftovers for supper. We have enough leftovers to eat them for supper tomorrow night too. And as soon as the kitchen was clean, Robby and I left the building. We headed to watch the Downton Abby movie. It was really pretty good, but we might just need to rewatch the series.
  • Once at home, it was time to pick up and send everyone to bed. It is now almost 11 and at least some of the kids are still going strong upstairs. Gracious, we need to work on an earlier bedtime around here.

September 22, 2019-Happy Birthday Robby! (and Happy Birthday (celebration) Keaton!)

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  • Robby woek up singing this morning, and I guess that was good since it is his birthday. However, I was still in bed when his shower singing woke me up. That was fine though because my alarm didn't wake me up!
  • We didn't waste much time this morning getting ready because breakfast was donuts. We ate our donuts in the parking lot while Robby ran inside of McDonalds to get him a birthday breakfast burrito. 
  • Then it was to church to say hi to Nonna and Pops. Since Grannymom and Grandpa are gone, Keaton had to sit up front with us. Since we also had Cash with us, our row was just about full-I loved it.
  • After church, we had more donuts for Robby's birthday. The first graders sang Happy Birthday to him. When church was over, we rushed off to Nonna and Pops's house to eat lunch and celebrate Keaton and Robby's birthdays.
  • Nonna had them cake plus they had lots of presents. Robby opened pellets for his grill, spices for his grill and even some meat for his grill. Keaton was super thrilled with her gifts-legos, a light, clothes, a cup and quite a bit more. She was super thrilled with all of her gifts.
  • Graham was feeling a bit under the weather this afternoon. However, he was determined to play dodgeball tonight so I doped him up. He took a nap and a shower while we were gone and said that he felt much better.
  • Campbell helped me this afternoon by makng brownies and stiring my cheese dip. The rest of the kids vegged out this afternoon while Robby and I went to watch Reagan play her third soccer game. 
  • The team that they played today was a bit pushy. Her team did pretty good but still lost the game 3-1. They were super close quite a few times and worked together so, so well. Reagan always plays on the side opposite of us so we can barely see her. Though we did clearly see some parents almost have a fist fight during the game.
  • We rushed, and I mean rushed home. We did stop to get Reagan a Starbucks drink though. We came home around 5:05, left with everyone in two cars at 5:10 to go to the Heltz and then Robby left their house with a van load of middle schoolers at 5:15.
  • Anderson, Graham, Reagan, Ethan, Kennedy and Cash all went to Rock Creek tonight for their dodgeball tournament. They won their first game, but lost their second. The boys all had a hamburger and coke and stayed to watch the winners play.
  • Meanwhile, the rest of us were at the Heltz for our life group. The kids enjoyed playing outside, and Whitman really likes playing with the Ferguson boys. Robby had to run and get the dodgeballers, but they made it back in time for dessert.
  • Once we came home, everyone helped clean up the house and things are now ready for our Monday morning to begin. 

September 21, 2019

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  • It was another busy day around here. We did wake up and start doing a few chores around the house before we all jumped in the car and headed to soccer.
  • This was our first kid sporting game that was out of town. We had to go to White Hall for Reagan's soccer game today. It wasn't too bad of a drive and soon she was warming up for her game. 
  • The game was really good-her team won by 7 points. Hopefully, tomorow's game will be just as good. Reagan did say that she played her best game today. It did seem that she was always up against one of their best players today. Though I will say that those fields are so big that I can barely tell which one of the blue uniforms is Reagan.
  • We ate lunch at Burger King on the way home. Then Robby dropped Campbell and Keaton off for their job-they had to take care of Dana's dogs this afternoon. While they were doing that, Reagan and Robby ran to Walmart and Sams. The other kiddos stayed and helped the dog sitters.
  • Then we picked Cash up and headed home. We didn't have too long at home, but I was able to pull out school for next week and make a Hogs shirt. Unfortunately, wearing my new shirt didn't help the hogs any tonight with their ball game.
  • I then ran to Shannon's house, and we picked up supper for everyone. We got Chinese which I used to love. However, I just think that Chinese isn't our thing anymore. The food was good, the best we have had in a while, but maybe pizza or Mexican would have been better.
  • We watched the game and during halftime I tried to make some no bake cookies. As all of my cookie making goes, it was a failure. I am just not cut out to be a cookie maker. Don't worry though, I am going to try again. Maybe tomorrow.
  • The kids had to shower when we came home, so it was nearly 11 when we put everyone in bed. We have a few less than last Saturday night (Reagan's birthday party), but the kids are still wound up upstairs. Hopefully, they will get to sleep soon.

September 20, 2019

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  • Last day of school for the week around here though my Anderson still has some work to finish tomorow. Things were kind of quiet around here this morning. Everyone quietly did their work, and soon we were eating our lunches. 
  • Whitman was so happy that he finished his work before noon today. It did help that he had a few easier things. However, I did make him do his math first so maybe that is the key. We shall see.
  • Robby helped everyone find their lunches. We are dealing with ants in the kitchen. We have been for quite awhile and have tried everything possible. Robby put out lots of food/poison for them last night so they were swarming everywhere in the kitchen today. Hopefully, that does the trick.
  • We ended up skipping our afternoon reading to meet the buddies at Third Realm. The kids enjoyed jumping, and I ran a few errands. I was able to mark a few things off of my ever growing list while I was out.
  • We then came home and I joined Robby sitting outside in our lawnchairs. I am not too sure what all he did while out there, but I snoozed! It was perfect napping weather.
  • We then loaded up and took the big boys to basketball. They played hard tonght while Robby and I went to eat and ran through Kroger to buy a few things.
  • After this we came home and heated up the kids suppers-chicken pot pie for Reagan and hot pockets for the others. Everyone did some Friday night vegging while Reagan made a yummy dessert for us!

September 19, 2019

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  • School went pretty well this morning and afternoon. Whitman was the only one doing school this afternoon. Sometimes I think that I should cut his school off at a certain time, but then other times I figure that since he doesn't seem to mind at all, and isn't actually doing any work most of the time, then I should just make him finish. 
  • Ahh, and let's see Campbell did have a meltdown about her math today. Who knew that division would cause such a problem. I discussed with one mom today, that maybe a 4th grade education is all that we need. I see posts on our local facebook page and can tell that a 4th grade education is just about all that most of the people in our area have. 
  • And Graham finished his work super quickly today, but after finishing school the only thing that he can find to do is get into trouble. He may have finished school quickly but earned himself a few chores. He calmed down and my living room floor is also nicely vacuumed.
  • While we are going down the list-Anderson. He plugs along on his school work. He is in no hurry and doesn't mind working in the afternoon. I will say that I had grand plans of the kids doing a little bit of work of Wednesdays to help out with their work load. However, life is just busy right now, so that hasn't happened yet.
  • Reagan flies through her work sometimes she does it so quickly that I wonder if she is really doing it. I have even made sure that her math answers are not near her. School is just easy for her which I am grateful. However, I do wonder if she could be pushed a little bit more.
  • And finally, my Keaton. She also can fly through her work or spend time making a fort. She tries her best to help Whitman move along or will work alongside of Campbell so they can finish together. 
  • Around lunchtime, Keaton headed off with Nonna and Pops to do some birthday shopping. She was super pleased when we caught back up wtih her at Third Realm this afternoon. However, the past few days she has been saying that her back hurt and was miserable tonight. I was a bit worried about her at bedtime. She had fallen asleep on the couch and by the time I got her into bed, she was sobbing. After rubbing her back for a while, she did calm down and is hopefully sound asleep now.
  • Robby spent his day watching his grill. He used his grill for the first real time today. We have made other things, but tonight's pork shoulder is what the grill was bought for. It couldn't have been any better! We were super pleased and all super starved by the time that we ate at 8 tonight.
  • I took Reagan to soccer practice tonight. There had been lightening so all of the fields were cleared when we got there. We waited for 45 minutes until they finally did call practice because of lightening. As we drove off, I did see more lightening. 
  • We used our free few minutes at Walmart to pick up a few things for our trip. Then it was back home. We raced the storm home and helped Robby shove the grill in the garage right before the rain came. 
  • The Wilsons came over tonight to help us eat our supper. Once the kids were in bed, Robby and I cleaned up the kitchen, and then he cleaned our kitchen floor. There is nothing that I love more than a clean kitchen.

September 18, 2019

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  • Today was our first day of Bible study so everyone was up early this morning. Not only was this the first day, but this year the kids are doing their Bible study at another church nearby, so we left even a bit earlier than normal.
  • Drop off was fairly smooth-I did have to find everyone's classes which wasn't too bad. They are at a nearby church and though the church is small they now have a school that meets there, along with our CBS, plus 2 days of Mother's day out along with a homeschool co-op. What a wonderful use of their facilities. 
  • I then road with Candice to our Bible study. We thought about going to Starbucks or some where else fun instead of Bible study. We did however, do the right thing and head to our own Bible study.
  • After Bible study, I picked up the kids, and we went to the Heltz' for lunch. The kids played inside some and outside. They have a big dog and a small dog and bless, my Graham is a bit terrified of dogs. He didn't crawl up in a chair or anything, but he sat right beside me!
  • We came home long enough for some chores and reading before heading to Third Realm. Yep, you read that right. They had a homeschool deal, but we even found a deal better than that. I will try to be a bit more relaxed this go and not keep a record of when we go. We decided that the kids need exercise, and this is a good way to get it.
  • We couldn't stay too long because we had to run home before heading off to church. We picked up supper on the way home and then headed to church for the evening. 
  • I let the kids play on the playground for a long time tonight after church. The kids were one of the last ones there so I know that they enjoyed that.
  • Once at home, we had ice cream and everyone got ready for bed. As it was almost bedtime, Robby was working on some meat. Whitman was the first to see it and asked "what is that?" He was quite put off by it. When we told him that it was tomorrow's supper, he said that he was having pizza.

September 17, 2019

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  • It was back to school this morning-we had to do everything after the kids' slow day yesterday. People went right to work even though there was a bit of drama. They know when Robby heads to Conway, and things can quickly get crazy. I didn't let it though and things went very well today.
  • Everyone except for Anderson and Whitman finished before lunch. They set their work out for later when everyone started on their lunch. After lunch, we did some more reading.
  • Then it was time for the library. I am not exactly how many books we returned today, but it was a laundry basket full. I ran to the library last Tuesday so our books were just from a week. We do have a large book turnover right now since we have over 150 books checked out.
  • The library craft today could have been cute...but none of ours turned out that cute! Ha! The kids enjoyed it though. I wanted them to make pretty fall leaves to hang up in the house, but no one chose to do that. It was a bit labor intensive so I even forgot to take pictures. 
  • We did run by ChickFilA on the way home-not for a snack because the kids had just had a snacky lunch at the library after the class. Reagan had big plans for her supper tonight, and she needed lots of nuggets and fries.
  • Once at home, we finished some of our chores and school work. Then it was time for Reagan to make supper for everyone. She had seen ChickFilA pizza-pizza crust, ChickFilA sauce, mozzerella cheese, chicken nuggets and waffle fries. We weren't too sure about her meal, but it turned out suprisingly well. 
  • After supper, we did a few things to get ready for tomorrow. It is our first day of Bible study so things will start getting busy again. 

Septebmer 16, 2019

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  • Reagan, Robby and I were up way too early this morning. We got ourselves ready and snuck out of the house. We dropped Robby off at church to bring back Grannymom's car. Then Reagan and I fought the traffic to get the Children's for her last Nutrition Center visit.
  • She wasn't looking too forward to it. Things started off well-they were busy measuring Reagan when the worker asked if she was feeling ok. I looked up, and Reagan was incredibly pale. They sat her down, gave her some water and got a wet washcloth for her neck. 
  • Reagan had been instructed to fast, plus all of the attention and fear of a blood draw almost sent her over the edge. After propping her feet up, she quickly looked better. They drew her blood without any problems at all and then gave her an apple juice and breakfast sandwich. 
  • After all of that, Reagan went off to do a bone scan and then about 2 hours in psych testing. During all of this time, I planned 2 weeks of Sunday school, made over 100 timeline cards for history and even read an entire book. 
  • We ate our lunch, and then there was more psych testing. We finished there around 2:45, but had to go to the hospital for two more test. I was expecting to be there until after 5 so when we made it home around 4, I was tickled. Reagan was pretty pleased too with her check and Starbucks drink that I bought for her on the way home.  (Though she is less than pleased with the fit bit type thing that she has to wear on her ankle for the next week. She does look like she is on house arrest.)
  • Meanwhile, Robby was manning everyone back at the house. Whitman grabbed tomorrow's work in addition to today's work so things were a bit confusing at first. They got it all figured out. 
  • Everyone had a decent amount of school work but finished in time to have plenty of free time during the morning. Anderson even said that he was a bit bored today. That won't happen tomorrow since we have a full load of school.
  • When we did come home today, Robby was cooking chicken on the new grill. It was delicious and was given two thumbs up by all of the Dennies. We all ate at the table, and then the boys left. 
  • They went to check out a new Trail Life group. It is similar to Boy Scouts, and they are planning on trying it out this year. When everyone was back home, the kids had showers and then it was eventually bedtime.

September 15, 2019

(click here for today's pictures)

  • I had suggested the girls going to bed at 2. When we heard them in the kitchen eating more pizza at 5, I also suggested them going to bed. They didn't but did go outside to watch the "sunset" as Reagan said. Bless, she may be 14, but she doesn't yet know the difference between a sunset and sunrise.
  • Surprisingly, everyone stirred very well. Campbell and Keaton were up very early. They dressed quickly and quietly and found their way up to the bonus room with the other girls. We wouldn't let them up there tonight, but this morning the girls were fair game.
  • We left a few minutes earlier than usual which was nice to not be hurried. Robby had cooke a big breakfast-chocolate chip pancakes. Breakfast for 17 kiddos is not an easy feat!
  • Also getting 17 kiddos to church is not an easy feat. We could have put my backseat in the car, but that seemed like a lot of work. Instead we just double buckled a few girls in my car, and Robby took his car as well.
  • I think Reagan would agree that she had another successful sleepover. I know that she is exhuasted and hopefully all of the girls stayed awake during church this morning.
  • We ate our Sunday lunch at Grannymom's house. She had hamburgers and all of the fixings along with some delicious peanut butter pie. We weren't able to stay too long because we had to hurry to get Reagan to her soccer game. This game was at Natural Steps again-thankfully.
  • It was hot, hot, hot out there today. Reagan did well even though her team lost. They just lost by a bit, and I believe that I heard that the team they played was undeafeted last year. As long as Reagan has fun is all that matters.
  • After the game, we hurried home so she could have a shower and Anderson could change into his swim suit because it was soon time for them to go to Lifegroup. They had a pool party tonight-and I think that they both enjoyed it.
  • Their Lifegroup was fairly short. By the time Robby and I dropped them off, bought hamburgers, got gas and came back home, there was just a few minutes until time to leave again. 
  • He went to pick them up while I worked on straightening an attic and wrapping some Christmas presents. You can never get too far ahead! 
  • Tonight as I was getting cake for some folks dessert, I noticed a trail of ants leading to my banana bread. There are a few places in my kitchen where the ants have not gotten so that is where I was keeping my banana bread. I guess they smelt it out though-2 and a half loaves in the trash can. Urgh! At least I had just eaten a supper yummy piece with cream cheese on top for my supper!
  • Robby spent most of the evening working on the dishwasher-where the ants seem to be hiding and it is also hard to close as well-and working on the fridge-doesn't drain so water freezes and then drips on floor. The kitchen will hopefully be in good working order when he has finished!
  • Tomorrow will be a busy day for us because Reagan has a nutrition center visit tomorrow which should last all of the day long!

Septebmer 14, 2019-Happy 14th Birthday (Party) Reagan!

(click here for today's pictures)

  • I wasn't too ready to wake up and get started this morning, but there were things to be done. Laundry and dishes first followed by some work in the kitchen. I iced Reagan's cake-I wish I could ice super smooth, but it will do.
  • The morning went by pretty quick, and soon I was heading off to the Vintage Market with Shannon. We had more fun than Robby and Tony who spent some time mowing their yards. I didn't buy anything there but did convince Shannon to buy a few things.
  • We did hit up the grocery store on the way home and both filled up a buggy! I think I would prefer to buy groceries anyway. 
  • I made it home in time to pick up the kitchen again. I did sit down during the Hog game. I watched a very brief bit of it and then took myself a nap. During halftime though, we all worked on straightening the house.
  • Reagan's party was the main even happening today. She had quite a crew-Sara, Kennedy, Logan, Alyssa, Emma, Ava, Lily, Camryn, Cate, Kaleigh, plus one that hasn't even arrived yet.
  • Robby had raced off to get pizza for everyone. He was in a hurry trying to pick up the pizza and arrive back in time to take the others to the movie. They made it with plenty of time though they did have to eat in the car. 
  • They watched Overcomer, and everyone thought that it was a pretty good movie. Robby did say that Whitman got a little bored towards the end. He prefers musicals!
  • The girls ate their pizza and went right on up the stairs. I really never heard much from them until Robby and the crew came home. I had to ask twice for them to come and eat cake. They pretty much devoured the cake before opening presents.
  • Reagan opened up quite a few fun things-lots of notebooks! Then all of the girls headed back up the stiars to not be seen or heard from again. I did tell Reagan that my 2 I think that they should go on to bed-that is reasonable isn't it? 
  • I once again straightened the kitchen and soon it was bedtime for my other 5! Keaton and Campbell really wanted to go upstairs to be with the girls. But surprisingly, Whitman really, really wanted to as well. And Graham and Anderson could not have stayed further away. I am sure that will soon change, but for right now I am thankful that only one of my boys wants to be near the girls!

Septebmer 13, 2019-Happy 14th Birthday (Celebration) Reagan! (again)

(click here for today's pictures)

  • That silly alarm clock of mine keeps waking me up every morning! I did manage to roll out of bed around 7:49 this morning. Which isn't that impressive, but what is impressive is by 8:10, all of us were in my room with breakfast doing our reading for school. 
  • My Keaton folded all of the laundry while we were reading this morning. I didn't even ask her. I had worked with most everyone yesterday doing things that we have to do together like spelling or english so today was a bit lighter for me. I was able to empty the dishwasher, put away my laundry, pull out school for tomorrow and do some straightening all during school time. That was quite wonderful.
  • Anderson still took until after lunch. He even saved something for tomorrow. Whitman took until about 2 finish his work. Some days I have a bit more patience than others and will even try to help him finish. Today, I didn't have any so I just let him do it in his own time. Everytime I would walk in the room and say, "do you work." He would jump a foot high. That boy is in his own little world sometimes.
  • This afternoon we did some more reading (trying to finish science and one other book before February). There was also some reading with Whitman along with some potty cleaning and treamilling. 
  • Campbell, Keaton and I did spend some time this afternoon working on a little something for Disney. They had a blast helping me, and I am getting pretty excited. I even tried to buy some shirts online the other night, but am not so sure that is the best price, so Hobby Lobby I will have to go.
  • Tonight we celebrated Reagan's birthday at Nonna and Pops' house. They had pizza plus Nonna made a huge cake. Reagan, well everyone, enjoyed the sparkler candles. Reagan opened up quite a bit of loot and was super excited about everything that she had. 
  • Once we came home, the kids had their showers. We let them stay up fairly let since it is Friday night. Robby and I are actually just watching the news right now plus I ight be able to get a Property Brothers in before bedtime.

September 12, 2019-Happy 14th Birthday Reagan!

(click here for today's pictures)

  • Reagan took me up on the offer for no school this morning, so the main activity happening in my kitchen this morning was 5 sweet brothers and sisters working on breakfast for their big sister. Well, Anderson wasn't too into helping and actually only made the picture because he was in the right place at the right time.
  • I was suprised that Reagan was actually awake this morning. She said that she was hungry so fairly early, she came down for her breakfast. When she did, the kids all jumped out and shouted. "Happy Birthday."
  • Since we were not doing school, it made the morning super nice! I enjoyed the school break just as much as the kids-except I did manage to do some school. I worked with half of everyone today on their tomorrow's work together work. This should make my day a bit easier tomorrow. I could possibly be convinced to skip a day of school every day of the week-except that would mean we would need to school all year long.
  • Campbell, Keaton and I went to Walmatr and Kroger this morning. They were my bargain finders. Keaton found cheap school boxes while Campbell found a pretty cheap plate. I didn't need either but we bought them!
  • Once we were back at home, everyone had to help with the groceries. Then I worked on my garage sale stuff as the kids played Nerf guns. This was pretty much what they did most of the day-nerf guns or ipads. There are Nerf bullets all over this house!
  • I left this afternoon to go and do my volunteering at the pregnancy center. It was super busy there today. I put zillions of diapers in baggies and even learned a bit on the computer. I loved it! Next time, I will take one of the kids to go with me.
  • I hurried home so I could take Reagan to practice, but Robby decided that he wanted to escape so he took her instead. She received her uniform and was proud to show me how sweaty her shirt was. 
  • On the way home, they stopped by ChickFilA for Reagan a birthday supper and even ran to Walmart. Meanwhile, I walked on the treadmill, baked Reagan's birthday cake for Saturday, made supper and helped the girls make Reagan cookie dough for a present. 
  • Campbell, Keaton and Whitman even spent a bit of time outside with the neighbors before coming in to eat supper. Once Reagan came home, she finished her supper and then we had strawberry shortcake for one last birthday celebration-one last celebration today. There are more coming!

September 11, 2019

(click here for today's pictures)

  • I shoudl have woken up a bit earlier this morning as always. However, I didn't want to wake p so early that I felt like I should walk on the treadmill. I immediately went to wake up everyone-Campbell and Anderson were the only ones awake. Whitman and Graham were curled up in Graham's bed while Keaton was sleeping up against her wall, and Reagan was sound asleep in her bed. 
  • It didn't take too long for us all to start stirring. I knew that we had to move quickly this morning so we started reading as soon as the last breakfast was made. I read for our hour, shouted out some instructions to everyone and hopped in the car with Reagan.
  • She had an orthodontist appointment today, and it seemed to take forever. She really didn't want to get a permanent retainer. However, they went on and on telling the benefits of them. They also said that we could get one next time. I was almost convinced to wait, talk it up to Reagan and then get one next time. I asked Reagan what she thought and she shrugged her shoulders and said, it's fine. So a permanent bottom retainer she received today.
  • When we were finished, we climbed in the car and she immediately suggested that we get a drink. She asked for Starbucks so I said sure. Today she had a moccha cookie frappe today, and I thought it was pretty yummy. I even said that I might get me one some day.
  • After we bought her drink, we headed home to finish school. Reagan went right to work and finished before I did. I guess that I had a lot more school to do than she did. I was quite surpried that things went fairly well once I got home. I worked through lunch as the kids grabbed their lunches and by two everything was done. 
  • The afternoon was flying by when I stopped to help with Robby's new grill. We tried it out tonight and everyone wasa pretty excited about it. We just had chicken breasts, and though we over seasoned them, they were pretty yummy. 
  • We ate our supper a bit early - around 4:45. It seems early but at 5, we had to leave for church. Graham has to be there early so we had some downtime before we started. The kids were happy that I let them stay late and play outside before heading home. However, when it was time to leave, Graham couldn't find his Bible. The kids all got out and looked for it, but alas it wasn't to be found. I am sure that it will turn up. 
  • When we made it home, Robby had ice cream waiting for us. The kids had their ice cream fill while we all stayed up a bit late tonight. Keaton tried to convince us to stay up all night to celebrate Reagan's birthday. We told her that it was a good idea, but told her no way!

September 10, 2019

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  • I knew that this wouldn't be the smoothest day since we are out of the school routine. Plus, I knew that waking up to the lights still off wouldn't help any. The boys were up before 7 this morning, and with no internet they were not too quiet at all.
  • Soon the whole house was up. Now, that is a good thing but there wasn't a whole lot to do with the power out. I was still going to let Reagan sleep until 8 so we couldn't start school yet. I was a bit excited about school by candlelight. Well, it really wouldn't be candle light since we have windows and the sun was shining.
  • It was about 7:30 when that silly power did come back on. I was probably more disappointed than the kids. No power would have been really fun at least for the first part of the day.
  • We started school right at 8, and I read to everyone until 9. Then every body started on their individual work. I thought everyone was moving well but didn't realize that Anderson and Whitman were falling behind. They ended up still having work to do after we came home from swimming at Ambers.
  • Around 12:30 everyone had their lunches, then it was time to load up to meet all of the buddies. The kids had lots of fun swimming even though I was not happy about having to pull out the swim towels again!
  • I ran by the library on the way home today to pick up some books. Since we checked out 20 books, I got to grab a prize. I ended up with 5 dollars off of their basement book sale. I have always wanted to go so now I guess I have an excuse.
  • Once at home, Anderson and Whitman went to work on their school while I tried to knock things off of my list. Campbell worked on decorating our nightly prayer journal, and Keaton went to town cleaning out one of her shelves-without being asked! I wish I could got some other people to do that!
  • Robby took Reagan to practice tonight. He ran some errands including buying our much needed milk and tortillas. I walked on the treadmill and even played a basketball game with Graham, Anderson and Keaton. Whitman came out to watch us and set himself up a lawnchair.
  • Supper was ready when Robby and Reagan came home. She was a sweaty mess after her practice-I think that she really loves it. She has her first game this weekend (we missed last weeks game), and I know that she is excited.
  • Robby bought himself a new toy so we worked on putting it together all the way up til bedtime. Then it was lights out for the Dennie kids. Hopefully the lights stay on tonight though!

September 2019-Back to Michigan! Trip By the Numbers:

Days: 6
Hotels: 5
Greenfield Village Visits this Year: 3
Model T Rides: 3 (plus a 1924 fire truck ride)
Meals in the Car: 
Imax Movies: 4
States: 6 (AR, MO, IL, IN, OH, MI)
Most Miles Walked in a Day: 9.5
Hotels without a Toaster: 1
Ice Cream Stops: 3 (two were McDonald’s so they shouldn’t count)
Bakery Items Bought: 16
Maximum Amount of Guests in Hotel Room (per Indiana state law): 5
Guests in our Hotel Rooms: 8
Meals in the Car: 5
Cookies Eaten by Dennies on Architectural Boat Tour: 34

Miles Driven: 2,039

September 9, 2019-Back to Michigan!

(click here for today's pictures)


At 3:30, Whitman was trying to crawl over me to get in the middle of our bed. He was also whispering at Robby, “Scoot over, Daddy.”  I was able to get him to just sleep on the edge so Robby could have a bit more room. However, when Robby got up to use the bathroom a few minutes later, Whitman was quick to hurdle over me so he could get in the middle of the bed.

Time changed helped us a little bit today. Robby was already up by 7 this morning, so we did get an earlier start than usual. The big boys and Robby loaded up the car while the girls, Whitman and I grabbed something to eat. The boys joined us and ate their food, and soon we were on the road headed towards home.

We hadn;t had ice cream at all this trip, so we needed to mark that off of our list. And since St. Louis was just a little bit out of the way, we ran by or some Ted Drewes ice cream. It was a fun and much needed stop since it was our first stop of the morning.

Before lunch time, we finished our book that we were listening to. I don’t think that the kids found this one as interesting as I did. It was about the runner/missionary Eric Liddell. We will be watching Chariots of Fire soon. 

I did spend some time registering or trying to register the kids for basketball. I had a bit of trouble getting the boys signed up. We did ask Whitman if he wanted to do it this year, and his response was a firm “no!” Maybe someday!

Around 1 we did stop for a gas stop. It was already getting warm, and I was missing the cool weather that we had been experiencing.I then drove for a little bit through some beautiful farmland in Arkansas. 

We did stop at a McDonalds about an hour and a half away from home. We all got one more treat (even though we had just had ice cream). When we climbed back in the car, Robby did say that he wished we were still in Dearborn because of the heat here. I would even take Chicago as long as I had a pair of long underwear with me.

It didn’t take too much longer for us to be near home. We were actually in NLR when we had to stop for a potty break. It was possibly because Cambpell and Keaton had ordered a huge coke from McDonalds. I explained to them how they could repurpose their cup, but they wanted no part in that. I was actually relieved that they asked to go to the restroom because I also needed to be relieved. 

Once we made it home, we released the kids. They usually have to work unloading the car so they were quite confused at what we were doing. We had to think about how to pack a few things differently and even loaded a few things up a different way. It didn’t take too long for us to have the car emptied and most things put away.

Then we had the kids help with their bags. Soon after that it was super time. We had our leftovers from our Fazoli trip last night. Then pajama time and lots of laundry folding for everyone. Right now, everyone is still awake, but I am quite exhausted so I am finishing the blog a wee bit early!

September 8, 2019-Back to Michigan!

(click here for today's pictures)



We must have all been tired this morning from our big day yesterday. It was very difficult to stir all of our people and get them moving. When we finally had Reagan out of bed, she noticed Whitman in another bed. She was quick to cuddle up with him. At one point, I was pulling Whitman towards me to put his clothes on while Reagan was pulling him back towards her under the covers.

Everyone grabbed a bite of breakfast, and then headed to the car. While listening to a book, we drove on down the road to our next stop. The kids then worked on some of their school work while Robby and I went through memory lane reading the blog about the first time that we were at Greenfield Village. 

On the drive, I told Robby that I completely marked off things that I wanted to do in Indiana after seeing the RV museum and eating at the bakery. I continued to tell him that I was going to add to my list an architectural boat tour in Chicago. He laughed and said that he was booking one right then. I didn’t believe him, but indeed he was. 

The kids pulled out their ipads only taking a break when we stopped at a rest stop. Robby sat the alarm so we would remember to turn the church service on. We listened to church, and then made our first real stop at Indiana Dunes National Park.

We have been here at least twice before when the Dunes were a National Lakeshore. Now, they have been classified at a National Park so of course we had to update our stamp and get some Jr. Ranger books to do at home. 

We stopped at a part of the park which was a farm. We were just a few days early because on the 22nd of September they were going to have an apple festival. I tried to convince Robby to come back up here, so we shall see (kidding!)

It was raining just a bit as we walked down the tree covered trail to the farm. It was such a neat little walk-the type of trail I would like to have in my backyard. Then it was on the see the dunes. The park ranger had suggested a trail for us, and he did pick a good one.

Though when I saw the 500+ stairs that we had to climb to go on top of a dune, I was doubting his suggestion. Before we even made it to those stairs, we had to walk about a quarter of a mile in sand. That was difficult! Then we hit the stairs. At the top, we stopped to catch our breath, before continuing on down the boardwalk area.

The boardwalks had plenty more stairs, but nothing as challenging as the first set. We could hear the waves of Lake Michigan crashing on the beach. The kids loved walking on the beach even though it was just a little walk down the beach to the end of the trail. 

We were a bit wet from the mist, sandy from the sand and out of breath from the steps, but it was a super fun walk. We definitely needed that before our drive into Chicago. We tried to shake out some of the sand and wash up a bit before getting in the car, but I am sure that the car has more sand than some beaches in it.

I made lunches as we drove the 45 minutes to Chicago. Just about as soon as I had everything passed out and cleaned up, we were hitting Chicago traffic. Robby said that the only reason he even thought about doing this was because it is Sunday. I am sure that the traffic is definitely lighter, but it is still crazy.

I am not sure when, but many, many years ago we bought some American Girl gift cards from someone. When we did this, we put them away. We thought that we had only used half of them and had some money to spare. I had tried to look up the amount that we had left on the computer but had no luck.

So since we had about 45 minutes to spare in Chicago, we ran to the American Girl store. The girls knew that we weren’t too sure if we had any money on the cards, but they were pretty excited...and guess how that turned out?

I had them check and alas there was no money on the cards. Keaton was just about in tears. Bless! We looked around for just a little bit, but then jumped back in the car with Robby. Now I have to figure out if we really have spent those silly gift cards. Not that it really matters too much, my girls love their American Girl doll stuff but that rarely play with them.

We then drove down the Magnificent Mile to where we were going to catch our architectural boat tour. Ours had free cookies and drinks, so can you imagine how excited the kids were? The lady who did our 90 minute tour was very good. She kept my attention the whole time, and the kids seemed interested as well.

The weather was a bit chilly, but it wasn’t too bad. Most of us had put on our pants before getting out of the car, so those combined with our jackets helped keep us warm enough. We saw so many buildings in Chicago. Like I said, that had been on my list for a very long time, so I was glad that we did it. 

We caught the boat at a perfect spot because right on the way to the car was a Target. We were able to go in there to use the restrooms before jumping in the car. I did have to go into two different Garrett Popcorn stores before finding one that didn’t have a huge line. I bought caramel popcorn for Robby and cheese for the kids. 

After leaving the Windy City, we headed to our hotel for the night. Robby did move our hotel an hour or two closer so we wouldn’t have so far to drive tonight. The drive went fairly quick with only a stop for gas.

Before we did check into the hotel, we did also stop for supper. Robby has been craving Fazolis and missing the one that we used to have in Little Rock. So we found us one on this trip. And you know what? The breadsticks were just as good as we remembered. 

We actually ended up with 5 little take home boxes. Normally, we don’t take our leftovers home on a trip, but since tomorrow is home day and because we have so much room in the ice chest we brought those babies home. 

From these, we just had about 4 minutes until we made it to the hotel. We are almost the only car in the parking lot-the parking lot is full though and covered with motorcycles. I hope that all don’t leave early in the morning tomorrow or they will wake us up.

It didn’t take long for everyone to find their spots. After changing into pjs, soon my crew were all sound asleep..well, possibly. They are at least quiet right this second!

September 7, 2019-Back to Michigan!

(click here for today's pictures)


So if we are ranking days, this would be one of the top 10 in my life. Well, I don't know if I can go that high since I am married and have 6 kids those days should all be in that top 10. Hmm, at least today is in the top 20. It was so, so much fun. 

This was also a good trial run for our upcoming Disney days. I walked over 20,000 steps and we were on the move from 9 until 9 at the Village and Museum. The kids all did great even without a real lunch (lunch time was super busy) and just lots of snacks. Whitman walked it all like a champ-we have been debating buying a super cheap stroller for Disney for him some but mostly for our bags. 

The morning started off with us all waking up on time and in good moods. Robby and I were the most excited about today so we were moving fairly early this morning. We ate our breakfast in the lobby. I had some of my granola with their yogurt, and it was delicious. Now, we did have to get ingenious since their toaster wasn't working. Graham, the rule follower, almost died when I put his bagel on the waffle maker. It was so perfectly toasted that Robby did the same thing with his.

The village opened at 9:30, and we had been told that several thousand people would be in line at 9. So we were in line a bit before 9 and ended up at the front of one of the gates. I am not too sure how many people were behind us since we hauled it to ride the Model Ts.

We had ridden twice yesterday, giving 4 kids a chance to be in the front. We knew that things would be busy today so we only expected to ride once today. We were some of the first riders this morning-mainly because we knew where we were going, and most everyone here this morning was over the age of 60. 

On our Model T ride around the village, we were able to see all of the cars. They said that there would be 800 cars today, and I believe it. There were signs telling what year, and then there would be a line of cars parked that were that year old. Every space imaginable was antique cars.

Our driver on my Model T ride told me that he hoped to have a car in the next year's show. He is looking at one on ebay for around 7 thousand. He said that right now you can kind of get them cheap, because the population that has them are older and are starting to die so their families are selling their cars very cheap. Anderson and Graham heard all of this, and they seemed interested in getting themselves a Model T some day too. 

The rest of the day was spent talking about what kind of Model T our family should get. And a bigger discussion was if I was going to make them wear period clothes if we had the car. I assured them that we would be dressed in 1920s attire if they had a Model T. Many of the car owners were dressed too match their cars. The firetruck had firemen, the fancy cars had people in flapper dresses, the trucks had people in overalls. Even little kids were dressed up. 

After our Model Ts ride, we walked around the Village for a little bit. We didn't have a whole lot of time until it was time for us to walk back to the Museum. So we walked through some of the cars on our way to the train. We rode the train around the park and could see the people flooding in. 

Then we booked it to the Museum. The Museum is at least a 1/4 mile long so we had to walk that distance plus that much or more trying to exit the Village. Of course, we were a bit behind schedule so we had to hurry. Poor Whitman and Keaton-for every step I took today, they took 2!

This Imax was 3D. It was okay, but not as spectacular as yesterdays. I only caught myself dozing off once during it. When it was over, we walked back to the car to put up our jackets. We were so fortunate to be there early so we had awesome parking. They had shuttles set up and all, but some people were having to park forever away. 

Back in the Village, we played some carnival games. Then at the green space, where we have seen them play baseball, they were having car races. Not really speed, but they were having to drive to a line and have a Chinese Firedrill, carry an egg on a spoon out the car window or drive around and pick up potatoes with a stick. 

Then a team from Canada assembled a Model T in 6 minutes. I know that is how long it took them because Graham was the official stopwatch man. He was thrilled with his job, but I was a nervous wreck worried that he would mess up their time!

There was some more walking around the Village. We tried to get some food at the main cafeteria, but it was crazy crowded. Robby did get to the front of a line to get some mac and cheese, but they couldn't use credit cards right then.

That was fine though because we found a shady spot and unzipped my backpack. We all had some cheese sticks and peanut butter crackers along with our refillable cup from the movie earlier, we were good to go.

We then went to the main party area and tried to win at the cake walk. Now, there were 32 squares and 8 Dennies, so you would think that we had a 25 percent chance. We weren't playing for a little cupcake, this was for a real cake. I really wanted that cake. It would have been perfect to dig into it under a tree somewhere while watching the streets lined with cars. Alas, after 4 rounds, it was just not meant to be. Whitman and I were probably the most disappointed about not winning. 

We were still able to watch the cars-there were all kinds of traffic jams in the Village. A few corners even had police dressed in old timey uniforms directing traffic. It was awesome. When we rode our Model T, we drove through the covered bridge, and it was spectacular. 

Since we were still drooling from seeing others win our cakes, we headed to the Museum where lines were shorter. Robby bought some mac and cheese and baked potato soup. We all gobbled that down before going to our last movie about Apollo 11. We did refill our popcorn bag then and settled in to watch the movie. The movie was really good. It wasn't 3D but was very interesting (I even stayed awake.)

Next up was a walk around the Museum. We saw some of the highlights-we were just here 3 months ago! We did manage to stay at the Museum until their closing time at 5. We were all quite interested in the people setting up at party. Turns out it was a wedding reception, which looked to be quite swanky. I saw thousands of dollars worth of flowers, plus there was going to be a coke float station along with a mashed potato bar. I was quite jealous that we couldn't stay.

We then went back to the car to grab our coats since it was going to get chilly again when the sun started going down. We also grabbed another snack and headed back to the Village. This time our mission was the go to the playground. We let the kids play there for a long while before they rode the carousel.

After the carousel, it was getting to be time for the gas light parade. We sat down and watched the cars go down the road. There were so many different kinds of cars and watching them with their lights on was really neat. We decided that we would walk some more and left our spot. 

Not 50 feet from where we were sitting, we ran into a firetruck driver who asked if we wanted a ride. We said sure and soon we were on a 1924 Model T firetruck. Whitman and Keaton did the horn and the siren so needless to say, everyone knew that we were coming. It was so fun-Campbell stood up in the back as we went down the streets and through the covered bridge.

After this, we went back to the once crowded cafeteria. By now it had calmed down, and we bought a bowl of tomato soup along with a plate with green beans, potatoes, and some type of old meatball like dish. It was all very good, and we enjoyed a break.

Then it was back towards the main festival area. We found a spot to land, and the kids took turns going exploring. Whitman and I returned to the games for him to play again, Keaton and Reagan watched the dancers dance along to the band. Graham checked on the Model T rides which were closed. And I explored the tent food area-I really wanted the 5 dollar peach cobbler along with a 10 dollar baked beans served in a tin cup. Instead I ate a granola bar from my bag!

After the dancing, the little firework show began. The weather couldn't have been better. Where we were sitting couldn't have been better. Yes, there was a tree in front of us, but that is how we like to watch our fireworks. It was just perfect. 

Once the fireworks were over, some folks started leaving. We sat for a little bit waiting on the band. Soon we heard them coming-the band and dancers led the parade of people dancing and clapping out of the village gates. It was so fun despite the huge crowd of people and trying to keep up with all of our people. Reagan said later that this parade was her favorite part. 

We then headed to our car, and surprisingly it was easy to get out of the parking lot and on the road. Robby did order everyone something to eat at the Wendy's next door to our hotel. We ate our suppers while the kids cycled through the showers. Tomorrow we head homeward, so we will have plenty of driving to do!



September 6, 2019-Back to Michigan!

(click here for today's pictures)


Last night when I went to use the bathroom, the potty got clogged up. (I didn’t even use much toilet paper so it wasn’t my fault at all. The water would eventually go down, but we were worried about someone waking up in the middle of the night and flushing twice which would have caused a major problem on the floor!

We did still sleep well even though I was trying to listen carefully for any potty goers in the middle of the night. Anderson did make his throat clearing noise a bit right when we went to bed. I poked him and then tried to make him get off of Reagan’s side of the bed, but to no avail. I figured that Reagan would take care of him herself if she felt crowded.

This morning we were running a bit behind since we waited for the plunger. Graham, Campbell and Keaton did get ready fairly quick so they could go down to breakfast and to use the restroom.The rest of us were not too far behind them.

I took my granola that we bought in Shipshewana down to breakfast. It made my yogurt this morning delicious. Soon we were loading up the car without a cart. We managed to carry everything except our two ice chests down two flights of stairs. Robby and Anderson went up to retrieve the ice chests while I moved the car closer for them. 

We were then back on the road to Dearborn. Our first stop (and only) was the River Raisin National Battlefield. We have passed this a few times but have never been able to stop-well, today was the day. Not only did we stop, but we watched the movie, completed the Jr. Ranger books and possibly even learned a bit too much about the War of 1812.

We usually do not do the Jr. Ranger books while we are at the parks, but since we had a bit of time this morning we did today. We watched the video and then went right to work on the books. They were not too difficult. The park ranger did a good job going over a few of the questions but not every single one. Robby thought that he was going to talk about every single page and answer at first, but he did not. If he had done this, we would still be there listening.

The kids are always good sports about doing the books and taking the Jr. Ranger pledge. Now it is just a joke between Reagan and Robby while she is suffering through the pledge. They will thank us one day...possibly. Ha! 

We then jumped in the car to retunr our Redbox from yesterday. While we were returning it, we did spy that they had drinks at the Circle K so Robby let everyone had a drink-3 icees and 3Freal milkshakes. 

Then it was time to head to one of my favorite places: The Henry Ford and Greenfield Village. We just had about 20 minutes to drive plus it was lunch time. I slapped some meat on the bread and threw sandwiches to the back rows. We were still finishing as we drove through the gates.

Robby dropped me off to check on tickets for their Imax movies which are free to members. I asked for tickets for a 1:05 movie and a 5:10 movie. We had about 15 minutes until the first one which gave us time to park and use the restrooms.

The weather was iffy when we went into the massive theater. I guess that our children have not been to an imax theater before because they were pretty shocked at the huge screen. There weren’t too many people watching the movie with us-maybe 4 other folks so it was kind of like we had the theater to ourselves.

The imax was about Saturn and something or another. Sorry, I found it very difficult to keep my eyes open despite the massive screen and sound system. It was a good little nap for me and maybe educational for the kids...except for the whole big bang part. 

After the imax, we headed to the building the model T part of the museum. This was the part that Whitman was most excited about. Everyone had pretty difficult things to do when they helped build the car this afternoon. There were tiny pins and bolts that they were working with.

Then we walked on to the Village. The last time we were here, the crowds were pretty thick as they are going to be tomorrow. However, today, there was practically no one around. It was perfect and the weather was divine.

We headed straight to ride the Model Ts. We asked for the scoop or tomorrow and found out enough to be prepared for the crowds. Then we walked around the craftworks area-saw glass being made and ladies painting pottery. I did find me another Christmas ornament-yes, we have not bought 4 on this trip! 

The kids rode on the carousel along with a few minutes on the playground. We ended up riding the Model Ts one more time before we walked back to the car. We had a snack and drink in the car before heading in to watch our next movie.

We were a little bit late for the start of the last movie-just seconds-but it was still difficult to find our seats in the dark theater.  The movie was Super Hero Dogs or something like that. It was a pretty cool 3D movie. Whitman said that it was the best movie that he has ever seen. It was really neat, and we were sitting in the perfect spot of the theater.

It was only a short drive to tonight’s hotel. We lugged in all of our stuff since we are here for two nights. The kids started on showers while Robby began laundry. He then ran to get gas and a 2 liter for supper. Then tonight’s supper was heated up on the panini maker-the kids had chicken roll ups, Whitman did have a hamburger, Robby had sausage hot dog thing and I had chicken nachos.

Soon supper was over, laundry was folded and after some tv watching we passed out cinnamon bread from the Amish store the other day. We did all agree that even though the bread was pretty it needed some more cinnamon or some icing. We still ate just about every bit of it though. 

Tomorrow will be full of movie at the Henry Ford (2 more movies to see tomorrow) plus a packed Greenfield Village full of old timey cars.