July 14, 2017

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• VBS day 5 (actually this is the 20th day of VBS this summer-everyone went to the one at our church, everyone went to the little church down the road, the big boys went to Rock Creeks and Keaton and Whitman finished up Immanuel's VBS.) 
• I didn't have to wake Whitman up this morning. He was awake before 7 and Graham brought him to our room this morning at 6:50 and said, "I can't get him to go back to bed." It was close enough to 7 so they headed off to make their breakfasts.
• I had to wake Keaton up which also woke Campbell up. Soon Keaton was putting on her clothes and I tried my best to give Whitman his medicine which ended up on the floor. Robby is the medicine giver pro so I have taken over the job of the ear drop dropper.
• Robby took them to VBS while I stayed at home and tried to accomplish a few things. The kids did have chores today since they have been missing their chores during Family Farm. I have been folding their laundry and piling it into piles in my room each day so their laundry pile was huge until they put it out. Also everyone cleaned off their desks because a bit of school starts on Monday.
• Before I knew it, I was in the car heading to pick up Keaton and Whitman. They had pizza today as their snack so everyone was happy. Keaton said she wished that VBS was 6 days and Whitman said that he wanted for it to be 10 days. While I was gone, I let the kids stay at the house and Campbell even made a pan of brownies. (I had told her that she could and was almost home by the time to take them out so I knew that nothing could burn.)
• Around 1:30 or even a bit after, we loaded up to head to Shannon's house to work on our corn. We had 3 bags of corn to put up (2 of mine and 1 of Shannon's) The kids helped shuck the corn when we opened each bag. It took a while and the kids played during their shucking time. 
• At the end of the day, the menfolk arrived and we had Mexican casserole and the fixings for supper. The kids continued playing card games and the grownups continued eating. Whitman had coughed pretty good this afternoon and did eventually fall asleep around 5 so he had a late nap. (I am not sure if he had fever this afternoon, possibly but not anything like yesterday. He is still coughing at times like crazy but I do think he feels much better.)
• It was after 10 when we did make it home and I think that the kids were as tired as we were. They all headed to bed without us having to plead and beg. I have been falling asleep each night on the couch and after almost falling asleep on the Wilson's couch, I don't think that tonight will be any different.

July 13, 2017

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• Family Farm Day 4: We just had to get the boys and Cash up this morning and they stirred fairly quickly but gracious me, I am tired. My bedmate for the week slept fairly well but did cough a good deal. 
• I did have to wake coughy up because he rode with Robby to pick up everyone else. The girls spent the night at Dana's house so they loaded up along with the Heltz and Penningtons. Then they headed off to catch the bus for one last time.
• Shannon and I went down the road to a moving sale. I didn't buy anything but did help Shannon spend some money. I made it home just before Robby, Keaton and Whitman did. We were home for a bit and then I took them to VBS.
• I came home for a bit and was able to do a few chores before it was time to run to the library and to pick up the littles. I needed some help at the library because I checked out enough books that I wished I had a rolling cart to get to the car.
• Whitman and Keaton had another good day at VBS. They told them all about tonight and Whitman practiced his songs as we walked down the hall to pick up Keaton. Once at home, we had lunch and then I worked on distributing all of those library books. 
• Grannymom and Grandpa came over to work on clean up/repair from the plumber fix yesterday. They hadn't been here too long when it was time for us to leave. Keaton could not wait to leave because she knew we were going to Family Farm.
• The drive was short to Family Farm and after climbing out of the car we were surprised at how hot it was! We walked passed kids fishing, stopped in the petting area, saw some kids on boats and even ziplining. I finally spotted Reagan and we headed to see her. She was playing in the creek with her group and then we saw Campbell on the zipline. It took awhile before I found the boys who were doing archery or something.
• The campers did their skits which were short but it all seemed long to me this afternoon-that might possibly have to do with Whitman. The poor little guy was burning up with fever (I should have given him tylenol but he didn't have fever when we left) and he was coughing pitifully. After the program was over, I checked everyone out and we flew home.
• Whitman knew all about Family Night tonight at VBS and after some Tylenol, he perked right up and was ready to go. After the kids changed clothes, they were back in the car headed to Immanuel. They had hamburgers and hot dogs there for supper and then they had a little program. 
• Keaton's group sang a song and so did Whitman's group. Robby said they both did great. I was just down the road at Rock Creek. They had a women's thing tonight and we painted a picture of a church. I learned that I am no artist and now I have a painting for my closet. 
• The kids showered when they came home and soon I was home as well. Graham had already gone to bed when I got back. After a bit of down time the kids headed to bed and this is the first night this week that Whitman is in his bed (at least right now). 
• Lots of corn was delivered today-1 bag to Shannon, 2 to Candice, 1 to Toni and 2 for us. That means that tomorrow will be corn shucking and putting up day!

July 12, 2017

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• Family Farm Day 3-I know that I am definitely waking up slower each morning which possibly is due to the little guy who has taken over Robby's spot. He slept worse last night than the night before. He would cough and cough and toss and turn and grab his ear. Finally, he did get to sleep and I was able to sleep some as well.
• The kids woke up fairly slow this morning and again my girls were the last ones ready. Reagan was just finishing heating up her bagel when we started spraying people down with bugspray and sunscreen and loading up the car.
• Robby took the crew again this morning and today the excitement was running into the Kroger to buy Cash a lunch since he forget his at home. They were in the store for about 4 minutes and came running back out so they wouldn't miss the bus.
• I had to wake up Keaton and Whitman and the excitement here was putting ear drops in his ears. He did fine for me but needed washcloths to put on each ear until he was sure that the drops had dried. I asked him if he felt like going to VBS and before I could even finish my sentence, he was taking off his pjs to put on his clothes.
• Keaton was in such a hurry to get to her class today that she left me and I had to go behind her to make sure she found her way. After dropping them off, I ran to Walmart and decided that I really loved getting up early and getting things done, and then I drove to the library which wasn't open for 30 more minutes. I didn't wait and headed on home.
• Robby picked up our VBSers and took them to Grannymom's house for a bit while he ran to the dentist. He was also able to pick up Whitman's second med so as soon as he walked in the door, we gave him a dose.
• I then laid with Whitman until he coughed and coughed and wore himself out and took a good long nap. Keaton and I worked on her reading book and then she helped me load the car for this evening-we had Cash's bag, my girls' 3 bags, the ice chest for this afternoon, my water, Jodee's food, 2 bathing suits for my boys, April's ice chest, the bag of goggles and the swim towel bag. Now, there is one thing that I did forget...
• We were about half way there when I started looking for my wallet. I couldn't find it but did have my sunglasses which stay with my wallet so I assumed that it was in the car somewhere. When we arrived at the pick up stop, I searched and searched and picked up my phone to text Robby to look at it. 
• As soon as I grabbed my phone, my phone rang. It was Robby calling. My first words were, "did you find my wallet?" He said that he did not but an angel did. A big biker man drove up and returned my wallet. Yep, putting stuff on the front of my car caught up with me. My wallet fell off on Sparks road and our good Samaritan found and returned it. 
• The plumber was at the house so Whitman stayed and finished up his nap while I picked up and delivered the campers. I dropped off the Penningtons and Heltz and then dropped off all of my people at the pool. I was there for a bit while the kids changed their clothes in the car and then I helped Dana pass out supper. She had brought chick fil a for everyone and they went to town.
• Robby eventually woke Whitman up and headed to the pool. I had left to go and eat and take Jodee a frozen meal. The kids played until after 8 at the pool. Everyone had fun and weren't really ready to leave when Robby and Dana packed up.
• Dana took home Lilly and all of my girls and Robby just had the boys and Cash. They were able to play here at home a bit before Robby threw them all in bed. Cash is sleeping in Whitman's bed which means that I have one more night of sleeping with Whitman. Hopefully, he will sleep better tonight! 

June 11, 2017

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• Family Farm day 2-I tiptoed out of bed when my alarm clock went off early this morning. I heard Robby coming down the stairs and as he took a shower, I stirred all of the sleepers. Yes, Robby was sleeping in the bonus room not because we had had a tiff but because sickly Whitman took over our bed before we even went to bed last night. 
• His fever was high last night and we gave him meds. Robby laid down with him and he was asleep within seconds. This morning when he did wake up (after everyone else had left), he was going strong and acting like he felt great. I even put up all of the meds that I had been giving him.
• Back to my campers, they were tired this morning but they did stir in time to have breakfast. My boys take no time to get ready and were able to have their breakfast while playing on their ipads. This morning we weren't the last ones there and that was good since we had two extras with us this morning (Alyssa Kate and Caroline.)
• Robby hauled the crew to Benton while I readied my crew for VBS. We were about to climb into the car when I looked at my phone and saw that Robby was going to run home for our car swap. We had planned to meet but traffic made him take the back way right by the house. Not only did he switch cars, he also picked up Keaton and Whitman and took them to VBS.
• That left me at home for a bit of extra time so I did my treadmill and then jumped in the car to run a few errands. I bought paint for a project in the girls' room and then looked and looked for one more thing but couldn't find it. 
• When I picked up Keaton and Whitman, I noticed that one of his ears was a bit yucky looking. I have been asking him if his ear hurts and he has continually told me that they do not. As I was questioning him, he did tell me that yucky slime came out of one ear last night. Um, great.
• We headed on to Grannymom's house to change our clothes and I then I took Keaton and Whitman to the pool. My Keaton could have stayed there forever-he friend Isaac was there, she found some more friends and even the Crafts showed up. We ate lunch during the first adult swim and during the kid swim, I called and got Whitman a doctor's appointment.
• There wasn't a whole lot of appointment times to choose from so I was fortunate to get the one I did. It worked our perfectly because we were able to swim some and then Keaton's used her money to buy her and Whitman both some candy when we left.
• We then headed back to Grannymom's house to change back into dry clothes. Then it was on to the doctor's office. Whitman was in rare form. As the nurse was taking his blood pressure, he told her that there would be no shots today. And even though he had 102 fever, he spent his time rolling around on the doctor's stool and crashing into the wall.
• He talked and talked to Martin. She had to listen to his chest forever because he would not stop talking. He talked about no shots, he talked about the gooey slime, he talked about the bug in his throat. Not only was my boy a chatterbox but he was also pretty sick. His lungs were a bit yucky along with two ear infections and two burst eardrums and add that to what we already knew, a continuous cough, swollen and red eyes and high fever. But some coke in the car made everything better for my little guy. 
• As he was chatting Dr. Martin's ear off, Keaton would just look at me and grin. Then she would roll her eyes at her brother's antics. She is so Reagan!
• We were able to go home for a bit before picking up the others. I unloaded the car, changed the boys sheets, and did about one more thing before it was time to leave again. We made it to the bus stop before the buses again. That was fine because Keaton and Whitman were able to climb around the car some. 
• The buses arrived and everyone then climbed into my van. I passed out drinks and we were on the road back to town. The kids were a bit quieter today in the van than they were yesterday. I think they are getting tired. Graham was super proud of his award today and Campbell was camper of the day today.
• After dropping everyone off, we came home. Reagan jokingly asked if we were going to pick up pine needles tonight. The kids vegged for a bit while I sprayed weeks and Robby sprayed for ants. Then showers were started and supper was heated up.
• The kids watched a grilling tv show before it was bedtime. Graham got up in the middle of it and asked if he could go to bed. He was sound asleep when we tucked him in. We worked on Whitman last-ear drops were the only medicine that we could get today. So after some tylenol, we worked on the ear drops. He was pretty brave but gracious he does not like them-the next 13 times will probably not go as smoothly as tonight. It looks like he will be sleeping in my bed for one more night!

July 10, 2017

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• Family Farm Day 1-we had to wake everyone up this morning but as soon as I walked in and started opening up the blinds, they all started stirring. Before I could make it down the stairs, people were brushing their teeth and putting on their clothes.
• The kids found their breakfasts and I started French braiding the girls hair. Before too long, we were grabbing lunches and sunscreening everyone. Robby took the crew to the gas station to pick up Lilly, Cash, Jacob, Ethan, Hayley, Caroline and Alyssa Kate. Yes, this is why we have a big van!
• Robby hauled that crew to the other side of Benton to catch the Family Farm bus and off they went for a fun filled day. Back at home, I had a few minutes before I jumped in the car to pick up my Keaton and Whitman, who had spent the night at Grannymom's house.
• Grannymom had to wake them up around 8 after sleeping 11 hours. Poor Whitman's eyes were a bit swollen and gunky. He acted fine so I took him on to VBS with Keaton at Immanuel. Check in was a bit overwhelming but neither of them hesitated when I showed them where their class was.
• I left there and headed to Walmart and then was home for about an hour before I had to turn around and leave again to pick up the littles. They had both had a good time there and told me all about it on the way home. Keaton got to play with water balloons and goldfish were Whitman's snack. They both enjoyed the juice box on the way home that I brought and when I asked if they wanted to go back, they unanimously agreed that they did.
• By the time we made it home though, Whitman was beginning to act a bit puny. He didn't eat much lunch and despite watching movies some of the afternoon and riding with me in the car, he never took a nap which would have been good for him. 
• Keaton is always a bit lost without her sisters here. She tried to play with Whitman but he was in a foul mood. She did follow the termite man around and made a craft project. Before we knew it though, it was time to load up and pick up the campers. 
• We made good time there and even had to wait on the buses to arrive. Once they did, our kiddos started getting off. I saw everyone but little Hayley but then realized that Campbell wasn't off either. I breathed a sigh of relief knowing that Campbell was probably being motherly and was with Hayley. Sure enough they climbed off of the bus together. They are actually in a group together and Lilly is their Jr. Counselor.
• I passed out drinks on the way home and soon we were dropping everyone off. Caroline and Alyssa Kate stayed over at our house tonight. After being home for a few minutes, we hauled everyone outside to pick up sticks. The kids were rewarded with popsicles for their "hard" work. 
• Then they headed in for showers and soon supper was ready. Supper was a winner tonight-Pioneer Woman's stuffed shells. After supper, the kids played a few rounds of spoons before I called them down to pack their lunches.
• About this time, Whitman found a blanket and laid down in the floor. Robby and I bribed him to drink some tylenol and he was put to bed. Now, so far I haven't heard him coughing but since he is currently sleeping in my bed, if he does cough I guess I will hear it tonight.
• Everyone else watched a Bates and Ginormous Food before we herded them on to bed. I am sure they were tired whether they thought so or not.

July 9, 2017

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• Whitman was pretty coughy when we laid him down beside our bed last night and it just continued. Robby and I went to sleep briefly before his coughing woke us both up. We tried water, we tried Anderson's breather and we even tried to roll him over but none of that worked.
• As soon as I had gone back to sleep, his coughing woke him up and I heard him saying "Mom?" and then climbing into our bed. As soon as he climbed in, Robby climbed out and headed upstairs to Keaton's empty bed. He had the choice of 6 beds up there but probably picked the wrong one-he said Keaton's bed is too close to the wall and squeaky, her pillow was flat and he felt like her mattress was slanted. 
• Thankfully, we all did get a bit of sleep last night-just not as much as we had planned. Keaton, Campbell, Reagan and Lilly slept in the bonus room and they were awake before my alarm rang after 7. After I had taken my shower, I went to the bottom of the steps and told the girls to put on their clothes and they were quick to let me know that they were already dressed.
• Even though they were dressed already, we were still scrambling when it was time to leave. The girls were barely able to eat their breakfast before I threw them in the car. We saw all of the grands and then headed to our Sunday school classes. 
• After class, we headed on to Grannymom's house a bit early skipping big church. The boys were already there and the kids had a chance to play before we ate. Grannymom had sandwiches and all of the fixings along with a whole meal of leftovers. After we ate, the kids played some more and then everyone changed into their swimsuits.
• We are working hard on increasing our pool number. This was our 18th visit and the goal is 30 so we are well on our way. Lilly and Cash were there with us and Grannymom even showed up so the kids were completely happy. 
• We stayed for about 3 hours and then said our goodbyes to Keaton and Whitman. They are beginning their week of fun by spending the night at Grannymom's house. My crew came home and unloaded the car before quick showers and a bunch of straightening.
• Soon the neighbors were out so out my crew went. I was busy cooking a few meals and Robby was working in his office. Once I had finished, I had one more project-cleaning out our vacuum cleaner closet. This made me want to switch a set of drawers out but I couldn't do it by myself so Robby came to help. This little project involved measuring every set of drawers in our house. In the end we moved the drawers out of the closet, moved drawers in that closet from my bedroom and then moved them back, then moved a shelf from the boys room to the garage and finally moving the drawers from the closet to the boys room. We were as hot and sweaty as the kids were when they came back inside tonight.
• They had their showers and then it was bedtime-tomorrow is Family Farm so everyone needs lots of rest!

July 8, 2017

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• The plan this morning was to wake up early and go to climb Pinnacle. The rain, however, messed up our plans. Graham is still limping from his fall yesterday so he probably wouldn't have been the best at climbing the mountain. Whitman was still at Nonna's house and then was heading to Grannymom's house so instead of the mountain, we went shopping instead.
• Car 1 had their tires rotated while we shopped and then Robby dropped us off at the pool. Then Robby picked Whitman up from Grannymom's and Cash up from his house and went to pick up Car 1 and drop off Car 2 to have it's tires rotated.  Then, they all arrived at the pool.
• After Robby stayed for a while, he left to pick up lunch and was soon back. We all swam for a pretty long time. Dana and Lilly showed up and we let Dana watch the kiddos while we ran to pick up Car 2 and take both cars to get gas.
• Robby went back to the pool and he said that the kids were not yet ready to go. The Crafts showed up at the pool and reinvigorated them all. It was a pool record for the Dennies-5 and a half hours. 
• After getting gas in my car, I headed to the grocery store-all by myself. I just had the best time despite my soaking wet bathing suit that was making me freeze! I even bought myself a mango.
• The kids still weren't ready to leave the pool when Robby said that it was time to go. Graham and Anderson ended up going home with Cash and we brought Lilly home with us. The girls went right upstairs and stayed up there forever. 
• At one point, they came down and asked to make something and they followed the directions and made a chocolate chip cake. It was pretty good and they ate it during their movie this evening. 
• After the cake had finished baking, they were ready for supper so Robby told them to make that too. They opted for nachos and were soon eating their supper. Robby had all of the girls that he could stand and ran to drop off clothes for the boys and picked up supper for himself and for me.
• When he came home, I had my Chinese and hung out with Whitman while Robby worked on his treadmill. He broke the treadmill last week and fixed it tonight after ordering a bolt. We have already ordered a new treadmill since this one is probably on its last leg. And now we have seriously no excuse for not exercising since we can even do it together. 
• The girls started a movie around 9 and I was going to read a few books to Whitman and put him to bed but he was soon upstairs with all of the girls.