April 7, 2021-Quick Trip to Northwest Arkansas

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Robby and I slept splendidly at the hotel. Honestly, we sleep well every night! We stirred around 7 and then went right back to sleep until it was almost time the meet the Wilsons for breakfast. It didn't take us long to get ready and soon we were in the lobby.

Breakfast was fine-still covid-ish. They did have premade breakfast sandwiches but Robby and I grabbed the last two. Other than that, they didn't have many options. No ice, juice or cokes-they said their machines were out of order. (Don't really believe that! Personally, I think that covid is the new excuse for laziness.)

Our first stop this morning was Walmart. It started misting so Robby turned on the windshield wipes. Tony mentioned that his windshield wipers looked bad which reminded me to tell Robby and that windshield wipers were half off and wouldn't work at all in a downpour. I knew that because the last time it rained I had to work hard to see when I took Reagan to school. 

So the first purchase of the day was windshield wipers. Then we went to Euna Maes which is a little cooking store. The stuff was all pricey, but we enjoyed walking through it because we really enjoy the owner's story-she believes that if people are well fed, then they will feel well-loved.

The next stop was Sam's for us to look around some followed by a gas fill up. After that, we stopped for lunch at the Buttered Biscuit-I had eggs Benedict while Robby had biscuits and gravy. It was all delicious, and I think that it was the best meal that we had while we were on our little getaway.

Then we did stop at one most stop-The Freckled Hen. It was a little Hallmarky place that I had heard about. It was a cute little store, but by this time it was raining, and we were chilly. Shannon had heard about a nearby coffee place so that was the next place. I did get a hot chocolate which made me extremely happy.

We then headed on back home. We fought the rain for a good little bit at one point. We did stop one for a potty stop and once to look at campers. (We have one and sure don't need another.) Now, I did miss my kids, but I sure didn't want to get home until after church started. I just wanted to show up for pick up tonight and not to stay and work. 

Pops and Nonna had dropped the kids off so after we unloaded, we were able to pick everyone up. We had Bentley with us so everyone stayed and chatted in the parking lot until it was almost dark. Then we came home and heard all about the kids' day on the drive home.

I think that most of the kids slept later than they had intended to. Pops did have everyone doughnuts when they woke up. Bentley did wake up pretty early though-hopefully she won't tomorrow. The had spaghetti for supper. Graham and Keaton went on a run but that was cut short due to the rain. 

Once at home, we all had supper and then worked on our Wednesday chores of emptying the trash cans. We did let a few people have ice cream for a snack-well, everyone had the opportunity too, but we just had a few takers. Keaton didn't have ice cream, but Bentley saw her bowl-which she recognizes because that is what Robby lets her lick his leftover ice cream from. Bentley would not leave Keaton alone at all-she wanted a lick of her bowl.

It was a good day for us and a good day for the kids. I know that they enjoyed their time away (from us) and their extra grandparent time.

April 6, 2021-Quick Trip to Northwest Arkansas

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Robby and I were awake before the dog this morning-yep, I know that is surprising. We had a list of things to accomplish before leaving town for the day. I changed the sheets while he cleaned the shower. Then we moved on to laundry and dishes. 

The boys were all stirring and even started on their school work. Anderson and Graham were soon finished, and Whitman was chugging along too. Whitman doesn't give a lot of attention to Bentley-though she does love him.

Once this morning I walked by and she was trying to lick him to death. I shooed her away, but later walked by and she was curled up in his lap while he was working. It was the sweetest thing ever.

Soon, Robby and I left to pick up the Wilsons. We had given the kids every instruction that we could thing of. Pops arrived just a few minutes after we left. I don't know really what all happened during the day.

I know that Reagan did go to school-and scored a good grade on her quiz. She had been having a hard time with the quizzes, but today she figured it out. Campbell made strawberry acai lemonade, and I am sure that Keaton did as well.

I saw Anderson and Campbell on the camera outside with the dog at different times. And Keaton asked about supper instructions so I know that the manicotti was eaten for supper. Other than that, I didn't really get many reports on the days happenings at home.

When we left town with the Wilsons, our first stop was in Clarksville at Fat Dawgs-Robby and I ordered cheese dip, a bbq baked potato and a cinnamon roll. We ate a few bites of the cinnamon roll but saved most of it-the cinnamon roll was the size of a large to-go container. I am not sure how much it was, but we definitely got our money's worth.

The next stop was in Alma at A to Z-first we went into the outlet store. I left that store with plates for Whitman's birthday party, football napkins for sometime in the future, goggles for the pool, a 2 little things for Christmas stockings. Then there was A to Z hardware-I left that store with a dog leash, and a few things for the dog's Christmas stocking. And our last stop was the A to Z gifts where I bought two more little Christmas stocking things. These stores were like nothing I had ever seen-kind of like a Harbor Freight/At Home/Ollies-there were some good deals (like my goggles) and some not so good deals. 

And we rounded out our day of shopping with a stop at the Little Debbie outlet in Gentry. They didn't have a lot of good deals, but we did find a few-hope the kids like lemon doughnuts. I mean, I really hope the kids like lemon doughnuts because we have a few dozen! 

Then it was to the hotel for a few minutes before going to Foghorns which was right by the hotel. We stayed with our potato covered in bbq theme from lunch and had bbq fries. They were absolutely delicious-now we were not hungry at all, but they were really good.

After that, we moseyed on over to the baseball field to watch the Hogs win against UALR. The game was fun-we were out in the grassy section which was nice except the crazy wind continued to blow. It was just a wee bit chilly for me. I did spent quite a bit of time walking through the wind-less, warmer stands. It was a pretty great day, and we have more fun things planned for tomorrow.

April 5, 2021

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• It was a Monday morning around here for sure. Bentley acted crazy during our morning reading time. It was like she was on a mission to overwhelm me before the day started. Actually, she is a bit crazy usually first thing in the morning, but then she just snoozes for the rest of the school day which is pretty wonderful.
• The rest of the school day went fairly well. Whitman took his sweet time until he realized that his bit sisters were on the trampoline. Once he figured that out, he was done with school in just a little bit. Well, I did write down the answers to his math problems to help him out some. 
• Reagan spends most of her Mondays getting ready for her school on Tuesday. Today she did find time to do her math-some Fridays we have to check most pages of it because she has been wrapped up in her Comm Central work. Today, we were able to work on it-plus tomorrow's math looks easy!
• I was able to do pretty good on my list today-plus I am trying to work really hard with Bentley right now. She needs all the help that she can get! Ha! We are getting there, but I sure don't want for our puppy kindergarten classes to go to waste. And a plus of working hard with her-she gets super tired.
• The big boys had their D-group at church today. I sure don't mind taking folks to church any day or any time. While they were there, I ran to the library and then just sat in the quiet car and did my Bible study. Did you hear those words-quiet car? Yep, it was nice.
• I did manage to walk in the treadmill some this afternoon as well. I finished one movie and started another one-and yes, pretty much the only reason I am walking on the treadmill these days is to watch as many Hallmark movies as I can. Ha! I have super plans for this summer for my Hallmark movies! A girl can dream, can't she?
• Once we came home, I made two recipes for tomorrow's trip. Robby later made one so I figure we will have some food to snack on. We had frozen pizza for supper-Robby made quite a few, but I guess if food is out, then it will be eaten. Reagan was taking a shower while the rest of us had supper-we knew she was since she had just been on a run. We told everyone to save her some, but she just ended up with two pieces-I am sure that she will probably make a chicken pot pie later tonight! 
• Graham has big ballgame watching plans tonight. I am not too sure who we will root for, but I know that money is on the line for some folks in this house. Except I think that they all need the same team to win! Unfortunately, Robby and I are last place in our family brackets. Reagan and Whitman are first and second. Reagan did some research and Whitman used some pretty smart skills for an 8 year old to figure out the winners. 

April 4, 2021-Happy Easter!

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• My alarm went off a few minutes before Bentley woke up. I still laid in bed real still when I heard her whining, so Robby did get up and get her. However, in just a little bit it was time for me to start moving. 
• I had my shower before starting on the rolls. I again made my grandma's rolls. I was a bit worried because the only other times that I have made them, they weren't really necessary for a meal. However, today rolls are an integral part of Easter lunch. 
• I then woke up the kids. Even though they had Easter baskets, some of them weren't too keen on waking up and getting ready for church. Most folks had socks and underwear in their baskets-now some Dennie kids didn't need either so their basket was a little bit lighter.
• Along with those unmentionables, there was a chocolate bunny, skittles, chocolate bars, and lots of breakfast items-grape juice, orange juice, honey bun, cinnamon roll, a donut stick and a few other things.
• Whitman almost had a melt down this morning. He doesn't like leaving the house really ever, but church is his least favorite place to go. I showed him his clothes, and he went to work on them. However, his top button on his shirt was buttoned so he ended up trapped in his shirt. Bless it, I just walked in the closet as he was about to start balling. After a hug and some help unbuttoning he was better.
• Soon we were off to church-it was a good day at church. Then we were back home again. I had a few things for the kids to do, but my main goal was the rolls again. I was fairly relieved that they were rising and seemed to look good-especially since I didn't have a plan B to fall back on.
• This Easter was not like last year-our church was full and our house was full. Grannymom, Grandpa, Jason, Nonna, Pops, Lilly and Cash were all there to enjoy our big lunch. Nonna and Grannymom brought most things so we only had a few appetizers, cookies and the rolls to offer.
• After everyone ate, it was finally time for the kids to have their big egg hunt. You would think that they would get a bit too old for this-but no, they loved this part of Easter.
• I had quite a few eggs-I think that most people found about 60 eggs so that would mean that I stuffed around 500 eggs. That wasn't too bad. I believe that Campbell found the most, Whitman found the least and Graham found the golden egg with a few bucks in it.
• After finding the eggs, the kids unstuffed them and made their stores. Lots of trading happened afterwards. Graham managed to trade away all of us candy and ended up with some money. 
• I managed to take a little bit of a nap this afternoon. The Wilson's did come over tonight for a few minutes-while they were here, Bentley acted like a baffoon-she was as wild as ever. She played and played, but by the time that they left, she was sound asleep and laid in the floor until Robby picked her up and put her in his lap!

April 3, 2021

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• I was at Walmart this morning before most people woke up in this house. Well, Bentley and Whitman were the only folks that had stirred so far when I left. I had bought Anderson a shirt yesterday, but it was too small. So I stood in the store debating forever if I should buy the next size up plus the next size up just to be safe. I finally decided that I would probably have to return to Walmart anyway so I just took a gamble and bought just one.
• I also found the sandals that Keaton wanted yesterday, and they didn't have the right size. She was pretty pleased when I made it home with her sandals in tow. 
• Then I went to town on the dishes and laundry. And let me tell you, I have worked on laundry all day long today. We have washed and put away at least 5 loads of laundry-I am not sure where everything has come from. Bentley did get a bath plus we all worked outside so that did add to the laundry.
• We soon were heading out with everyone to Raymar for the church's Eggstravaganza. They did it up well-the kids all got bags of eggs filled with candy when we arrived. Reagan didn't get hers at first, but came up later asking where she could get some. 
• Then there were booths around the field where the kids could play a game and earn a candy filled egg. Whitman found his favorite booth and did it over and over again. And towards the end, Keaton and her friend found the shortest line and did the same thing. Everyone had a great time walking around in the beautiful weather. 
• Bentley even came-and man, did she love all of the attention that she got out there. She was petted by at least 100 people. When we came home, she continued receiving attention at home-after eating our Chick-Fil-A lunch, we started working in the yard.
• Robby put Bentley's leash in the middle of the yard, so as the kids were "working" there was always one person sitting by Bentley. Now, much of the time she were comforting her because with the leaf blower and lawn mower happening (no where near her) she was a bit skittish occasionally. 
• We worked and worked in the yard-Robby had hoped that we could have done more, but we really did a lot. We ran out of steam! After everyone came in, some folks started on their showers, but the girls helped me ice some Easter egg cookies. Whitman did help us for a few cookies as well.
• After Robby and I had a nap, we did all eat more leftovers for supper. Then everyone went to town cleaning the house. Poor Bentley-the broom makes her a bit skittish, so vacuums (3 different ones) plus the steam mop was a lot for her. And when Graham moved the chairs so Robby could mop, she didn't know what to do. 
• We ended the evening with a clean house, a nice looking yard and a bowl of ice cream! What could be better!

April 2, 2021-Happy 8th Birthday Whitman!

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• The girls were awake much earlier than Robby and I were. Campbell and Keaton had blown up a dozen balloons yesterday so they would be ready. Campbell took them in to throw on the floor by Whitman's bed. Later Keaton and Campbell checked on to see if Whitman saw them-he hadn't yet seen them because he was snoozing still in Graham's bed.
• When everyone was stirring this morning, Campbell made pancakes and waffles for the whole family. Of course we took that opportunity to stick a candle in his pancakes and sing him happy birthday.
• After that, I went to work on my list for the day. I will tell you that Fridays are much harder days than any other day of the week. I worked in the camper, I did laundry and dishes, I made cookies, I boiled eggs, and the huge task that I finished today was changing over the boys clothes. 
• Graham asked to go to Nonna and Pops' house today. He told me that we had not seen them in a while, so of course we went for a little visit. I think that Graham just wanted some cookies! 
• After we left there, we did some speed shopping at Walmart-a full buggy! I pretty much wouldn't deviate from the list very much-much to Campbell's disappointment. We did manage to come home with 6 boxes of the 50 cent pies/cakes from Walmart. They are in the bakery area and are the kids' new obsession. 
• Robby came home with some supper options-all that we had to heat in the oven. After eating, we sang Happy Birthday again to Whitman with some Starbucks cake pops. We followed that up with baking Easter egg shaped sugar cookies and dyeing Easter eggs.
• We celebrated one last time with some super big bowls of ice cream-Whitman loves Friday nights because everyone gets to stay up late and play on their devices-so this has been the best birthday ever for him!

April 1, 2021

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• Today was the last day of school for the week which is always my favorite day. I have always loved Thursdays, but now I do love them even most. Everyone did well on their school, but Whitman and Graham were my slow pokes. I was finishing working with Graham after I took Reagan to her class at 12:30 today.
• Reagan had her class and while she was gone, I kicked it into high gear here. I had a few chores that I wanted to accomplish so I went to town working on them. They weren't too big-first the little 3 had to do their Bible study. Then I worked on my reloading of the camper-today I restocked the paper products. Then we went through all of the shoes in the bins and the ones on the shelves.
• I realized just the other day that I haven't switched the girls' clothes or the big boys' clothes. Really this only effects Keaton who has lots of clothes in the attic that she can wear-the others don't have that many clothes. However, it is always nice to go through and straighten your drawers and closets-we might work on some of that tomorrow (or maybe not).
• I did gather a few Easter clothes-I have clothes for 2 of 6  I guess that is pretty good. I am no longer a "you have to have new clothes on Easter" kind of gal, but I would like for folks to have some type of summer clothes to their name. I need to do a little more searching tomorrow-hopefully I can finish up the big boys Easter tomorrow.
• This afternoon the Fergusons all came over to play for a little bit. That was lots of fun-Jennifer even brought cookies. Whitman played really well with the boys, and I enjoyed holding the baby. They left a bit before we all left for soccer practice.
• We only have 3 soccer players this year-Campbell, Keaton and Whitman. There practices are all on the same night plus they are at the same time so it all works out great. We even took Bentley tonight and she enjoyed running around with Reagan, Graham and Anderson.
• After practice we picked up supper and came home to eat. Everyone needed showers so that took up the rest of the evening. Once I finish this blog, I plan on finishing a Hallmark movie before bed!