- The morning started early with swim team this morning. I read a book and even planned some school while I was sitting there so I was super pleased. Actually, the book that I am reading is about raising grateful kids in an entitled world. And as soon as the kids finished swimming, I was asked for doughnuts and Sonic drinks. When I declined, I was told that Dad always buys them for us. I just moved my bookmark back to the very front of the book so I could start reading it again!
- Once at home, I did take Bentley on a walk-this time we stayed away from the big dogs so I didn't have to carry her home. Robby took her 2 walks today too so this dog is completely worn out. It is almost 11 right now and she still hasn't been able to snooze much tonight, so hopefully she will sleep in tomorrow.
- Not much out of the ordinary really happened today. The only thing that I can think of is that Whitman started a new spelling program. I am sure you remember me pulling me hair out last year with him and spelling. It is hard abandoning paid for books that worked for everyone else, but that must be done for him. So we started something new today...and it might just make all the difference in the world. (Fingers crossed)
- At 1, I took Campbell, Keaton and Whitman to Rock Creek-they had 4 huge, inflatable water slides set up in their parking lot. It was a lot of fun-and it was hot! So very hot. Like you couldn't stay too long or you would die hot. Like I thought about going down a slide fully clothed hot. Like we just stayed about 30 minutes before climbing in the hot car which was cooler than outside hot.
- The kids had a blast though, but they were also ready to get to the pool. Some of the buddies showed up at the pool, and we stayed for about 2 hours. I actually left with Whitman after our two swims, but Campbell and Keaton stayed a little bit longer.
- Robby and I took Reagan to a friend's house before I ran home to get a shower before the next activity. Tonight we went to a going away party for our missionary friends from church. Their 4th child became one of Campbell's (our 4th child) good friends. I am so disappointed that they are leaving, but I hope that the girls can keep in touch.
- The party was outside so the kids had a lot of fun running around-Anderson chose to stay home since he didn't really know the folks. Whitman and Graham chose to come-since there was going to be desserts!
- Once we came home, I was home for a little bit before leaving again to go and pick up Reagan. It was a long evening, but maybe tomorrow will be a bit quieter (nah!)
July 7, 2021
July 6, 2021
- There was lots of laundry happening today. Thankfully, most of it had already been washed today so that just left a lot of folding and putting away for today. Robby helped me reload the camper this afternoon and really, we are ready to go again (physically and emotionally).
- The kids slept pretty late today. I had already taken Bentley on a short walk this morning before everyone started waking up. Well, Campbell was just barely awake when I did leave. Our walk was very short-one neighbor dog in a fence scared the living daylights out of Bentley while a loose dog scared the living daylights out of me.
- Back at home, I worked steadily on my list until I got to the treadmill part. That sure wasn't for me! Ha! I sure need to get back on that thing, but what kind of fun is that? Actually, I have my Hallmark movies ready to go-maybe tomorrow.
- Campbell and I ran to Walmart during lunch with Robby to grab an odd assortment of items-baby bibs, basting pan, big tent, breakfast foods and well, some other things that don't start with the letter B. I was trying to go with a theme, but honestly most of our items didn't start with Bs.
- I did take Campbell, Keaton, Whitman and Reagan to the pool this afternoon for a little bit. They all enjoy it, but really the pool is a bit sad. It just needs a good cleaning, the water slide doesn't work and the metal chairs are all rusted and lopsided.
- When we came home, we eventually worked on supper-actually there wasn't much working. It was kind of a make your own supper night-most nights seem to be that around here. We just have so many leftovers. Shannon came over to visit with us so we pulled out the ice cream, Then the rest of her family came-the boys ended up playing outside and getting super sweaty before coming in.
- I probably let the kids stay up too late tonight, but everyone was quiet-so that is a good thing!
July 5, 2021-4th of July on the Road
Once again we slept super late. It was absolutely wonderful. As soon as Keaton realized that it was in fact daylight, she was ready and out the door in a flash. I kept trying to wake up Campbell by telling her that her friends were outside, but she took a little longer to wake up. That was probably because all of the kids were up until midnight or a bit after last night.
We had ourselves some sausage biscuits today for breakfast. They were certainly easy to do since we just had to microwave everything. Then we started putting things back up. The saddest part of camping is when you have to start packing everything back up.
Thankfully, this time we didn't have that much to put up. We never really set up too much stuff at our campsite. Though when you don't set all of your stuff up, then you are just juggling it from one spot to another as you grab the things that you need. It did make for an easier day this morning.
I worked inside while Robby did some work outside. The inside is just a lot of straightening-same routine that happens every morning, except things are neatly put away or thrown into the shower for us to wash at home.When we finished, we walked over to where the kids were having a huge baggo tournament.
I don't know much about who all played. I did hear that Whitman and Anderson were on a team together-they won one game and then last the other one. Whitman was a bit pouty when they returned. He told me that he was tired of people trying to make him feel better. I told him that probably people were trying to make him feel better because it was silly to be upset about losing a game. He then replied that hearing "You did a good, but we just did better" does not make a person feel better. I would have to agree with him.
Since Robby had dumped yesterday, we didn't have to get in the line to dump. At one point, I counted at least 5 campers in the line. We left with the Fergusons and Crafts. We stayed near the end of the line and had two extras with us. Robby and I didn't pay much attention what was happening in the back of the camper, because we were busy listening to our audio book.
We stopped to get gas and gracious me, it took forever to get to a pump. That was fine though because the kids made their lunches while we were stopped-that is just so much easier. I mean really, if we aren't stopped then making lunches feels like you are standing in an Indy 500 car which happens to be on two wheels while making the lunches.
When we did get home, the kids helped unload the camper and car. Soon things were back in the house and being put away. There has been lots of laundry happening this evening-that kind of makes me sad since that means there is lots of folding to be done tomorrow.
After supper tonight, Robby and I went back to the camper and cleaned that baby. It is still empty, but it is clean. We can load and leave in just a few hours now! Actually cleaning it doesn't take long at all. I dread it every time, but since it is so small there is little to do.
Reagan hasn't been home since last Friday, Campbell and Keaton haven't been home since Sunday, Whitman hasn't been home since Monday and Anderson and Graham haven't been home since Tuesday so all of my people were ready to take shower at home, be in their beds and chill at home today.
Tonight at almost bedtime, Whitman asked for a snack. He wanted popcorn, but I suggested a cookie or popsicle. He then asked for milk, but we don't have any. Then he found just what he wanted-whip cream. He wanted a cup full of whip cream. And since he is the 6th kid, we squirted him some whip cream for him to enjoy. Graham walked by and asked what he was eating, and Whitman proudly shouted, "pure whip cream."
July 4, 2021-4th of July on the Road
We all slept in until after 8 this morning, and we weren't even really stirring until 9. It was absolutely wonderful. For breakfast this morning, we had biscuits and gravy along with chocolate chip pancakes. We are pro at making pancakes-well, Campbell and Keaton are. And well, the gravy was from a can. We tried to make it the last time that we were out, and it was a flop so we need to work some more at home before we take the gravy show on the road again.
After breakfast, we took Bentley on a short walk and sat around chatting. It was nearly noon by the time that we all loaded up and headed to the pool. We were surprised at the crowds today-they were nothing compared to yesterday's crowds. I am sure that this place could even be fairly empty in the middle of the week.
The kids certainly enjoyed the pool. The slide is the main draw, and I would bet that Keaton and Whitman went down that slide at least 20 times today. At one point, Whitman said that this was the best day ever.
Anderson and Graham stayed at the pool area for a while, but then asked to go down to the lake. Robby took them down there and told them to be looking for him in an hour. They didn't have watches so were worried about when the hour was. However, he told them he would get their attention if they weren't back to shore. When he pulled up, they were both walking out of the water so it was perfect timing.
He took them back, and then Robby returned for the rest of our swimmers who were at the pool. It was 2 or maybe 3 when we went back to the camper for lunch. We pulled out hot pockets today along with sandwiches. Bentley had another walk, and there were even a few rounds of baggo being played.
Keaton and Anna worked so hard on a scavenger hunt for all of the little kids. It was so cute to see them all decked out in red, white and blue glow sticks running around tonight looking for their clues. Those girls put a lot of work into their scavenger hunt.
Around 5:30 we headed to the lake so the kids could play one last time on the huge inflatable obstacle course. We thought that it closed at 7:30, but it closed at 8 so the kids had 30 more minutes to play. And they definitely used that-Campbell and Whitman were the last ones off and took their time swimming to shore.
We put up our tent and the breeze was pleasant out there tonight. It was a really nice evening, and we were in no hurry for it to end. Of course when our evening did end, we were then in a hurry-there was lots to do tonight and it was already late. We tried to reload some of the car, plus make Graham's apple dump cake and heat up supper before it was way too dark.
We ended up eating while there was still some light-it was probably 9ish. Tonight's supper was BBQ-I heated up way too much, but that is fine because we will eat it this next week. Graham's dump cake took a while to make-and unfortunately, I didn't really like it. Hmm, I have had this before and thought that I did like it. I guess that I just don't have a good recipe so I will not be on the recipe hunt for that. Making things in the dutch oven is kind of fun-especially since we line that baby with foil and there is no clean up.
After we had finished eating, the fireworks started. They started off small and Bentley was fine. However, when what sounded like tannerrite went off, she started to get very nervous. We pretty much had to hold her or sit by her for the rest of the evening. She still did pretty good, but man did she want to go in the camper. It was around 10 when Robby did go ahead and take her in the camper so she could relax.
I went to the Fergusons and played a round of baggo. I was on Traci's team, and we were great teammates-since we both weren't very good! We did lose, but had a great time doing it. I stayed out chatting with the moms until it was almost midnight. Then back in the camper, there were quite a few things left to do. Right now, I am the only one still awake-and the dog is in my spot in the bed.
July 3, 2021-4th of July on the Road
Bentley was the first to wake up this morning around 8:30. Well, I really don't know if she woke up first or if Robby woke her up. Either way, her usual 6:30 stirring time was pushed way back. I guess that the camping life agrees with her.
Soon Robby was putting cinnamon rolls in the oven. Then we heated up some sausage in the microwave and had precooked biscuits from Sams. We were definitely taking the easy way out today-and really, it was easy, but it was also delicious. We both thought that the biscuits were better than what we usually make, plus they were cheaper. I feel like we will be buying those boxes of biscuits again our next camping trip.
After eating breakfast, we waked around a little bit outside. Thankfully the water attractions don't open until 11 so we had some downtime this morning before it was time to go and play. Our group started at the pool. Anderson and Reagan stayed back at the camper for a good while and missed the pool side of things.
The pool is pretty big yet it only goes to 4 feet. However, they have a huge splash pad which Whitman loves along with two massive water slides. Unfortunately though, they don't have much shade at all. I guess that swimming at our pool definitely spoils you in the shade department.
After a good while of swimming there, we moved the party to the lake. I think that most of the kids really enjoy this more. A big draw is the kayaks that you are able to use-I think that our group were on the kayaks for a crazy amount of time. Actually, when most folks had gone home-Wes had to swim out to our girls who were in kayaks since he and Robby couldn't get their attention from the shore.
Robby brought his tent-we have definitely gotten our money out of this tent. It provided great shade today. The weather was warm, but in the shade it was definitely tolerable. Robby and I ran back to the camper to pick up Anderson and Reagan and lunch. We brought ourselves a table and made sandwiches for our crew.
So yesterday we didn't swim until 5ish, and today the crowd was much thicker. It was kind of wild the number of people. Thankfully the place is pretty big so the crowd is kind of spread out. Now, this afternoon Robby, Casey and Wes deemed that it was time to go since the crowd was getting a little louder and wilder.
By this time though most of our crew had gone back. Robby had even shuttled some of our kids back to the camper. I was at the pool with Campbell and Whitman. And let me tell you about those two-they pretty much spend the entire day together. Whitman can't get back onto the obstacle course when he falls off so Campbell was his buddy. Then at the pool, they were inseparable. They both had the best time-in fact they were having so much time that we just let them stay longer than planned.
That made us the last ones to leave the water. This was fine since all I had to do for our supper was to open the container of sour cream. We had our group meal tonight-taco salad. I had just signed up for easy things-tortillas, chips, sour cream and salsa. As always it was delicious.
We also celebrated Eli and Ryan's birthday's tonight. Jennifer had cupcakes and ice cream so that made it quite the party. After the presents were opened, it was time to head back over to the fire works. It was the same show as last night, but Bentley did so much better tonight. I was still holding her, but she wasn't so skittish-well, the fireworks did start before we made it over to the bank, and she did just stop walking. I had to carry her the rest of the way-she is not light!
After the fireworks, the party pretty much shut down and everyone headed to their campers. We had been having a baggo tournament, but it eventually became too dark to finish that. Whitman and I were on a team, and let's just say that Whitman scored everyone of our points!
July 2, 2021-4th of July on the Road
Thankfully we didn't have to swim out of the campground this morning. The water did rise about 2 feet more towards the camper, but we were still in the dry. I am not too sure if I mentioned yesterday, but one man across from us was completely penned in by the water. Surely he saw it coming, yet he didn't move his lawnchairs, grill or trailer-they were all partially submerged.
We didn't stick around too long there this morning. We didn't really have much of a plan, but knew we didn't want to risk the lake rising anymore. So we pulled out around 10 or maybe even a bit before. Grannymom had mentioned The Gathering Place in Tulsa. We looked it up and after seeing that he had a big parking lot, we headed there.
We had no trouble finding it and the parking lot was indeed big. That was a sign for us so we were pulled in and spent the day there. As soon as we did pull in, Robby had to register for a campground in October. While he was doing that, I was locating the big kids.
Soon Robby and I had unhooked the car, and he was leaving to go and get Reagan, Anderson, Graham, Caroline and Alyssa. He was gone for maybe 30 minutes which gave me time to straighten for a few minutes. When they arrived, we had some cookies for a snack before heading to the park.
Robby stayed back since he was heading to the laundry mat with our one load of laundry. Candice had already taken the kids laundry with her to the laundry mat that she was at. I walked with the kids, and we walked and walked. We passed basketball courts, a bike track, a skateboard track, but still couldn't get to the park where we could play.
I finally had to ask a security guard. He was very gracious and even walked us there-we ended up walking at least a half mile before arriving. The Gathering Place is a 500 million dollar park in the middle of Tulsa. And I will say that it is amazing. We are really almost past the playground stage, however, this place was neat. So neat that I offered to bring Whitman back for his birthday.
The reason that he loved it so much was because he loved the water section. It was all kinds of water things that you could twist and turn and make the water go, splash and stop. The kids did really well and din't get soaked though they easily could have. We needed the water to cool us off after our walk. That was the warmest part of the day, because not too long after we made it to the park, the clouds came out which made the rest of the day very pleasant.
We left the water area and arrived at the main playground part. It was at least an acre maybe two. It was large enough that I felt like I needed to sit at one designated point so everyone could know where I was. This meant that I couldn't get many pictures. The place was also large enough that the buddy system was enforced-well, mandatory.
Anderson followed Whitman around for a long time, until he deemed it too exhausting. Then Graham claimed the Whitman job. Around this time the Fergusons showed up. The had parked by us in the huge parking lot, and Robby had chauffeured them to the nearest parking lot.
After another good while, Robby showed up with Sonic drinks for everyone along with bread, meat and cheeses for us to make sandwiches for the crew. That hit the spot for sure and everyone had energy to carry on.
The Heltz joined us while we were eating our lunch. After a bit more playing, we then walked across the park to the slide area. They had some neat slides there which we stayed out for a bit. By this time, it was nearing check in at our campsite so we walked back towards the car.
Robby took the Fergusons back to their camper while Whitman got in a few more minutes of play at the water area. Then we went back to our spot-on our way back, we did stop at Weber's Root Beer stand since we were right nearby.
They were out of root beer bottles, but Graham and I did have root beer floats. We enjoyed our drinks on the way back to the parking lot. There we hooked up the car, straightened the camper before getting gas and driving to our next spot.
We were the last of the buddies to arrive-just barely. Andrew helped Robby unhook the car and back in-we didn't set too much stuff up since the kids had their minds on swimming. Actually, we left the camper in a huge disarray, but the kids had a blasts.
We made it to the other side of the campground around 5 today. They have a pool and slides over there, but the main attraction is the huge blow up playground that is on the lake. You have to life jacket up and swim out there so it takes a while...and a lot of energy.
As soon as we arrived the kids started swimming out there. You could use canoes and paddleboards too for no charge. Basically, the kids played on all of this until it closed at 7:30. Robby and I set up a tent and were perfectly pleasant. We were in the shade and had drinks and snacks so what more could we want. I have a feeling that we will be sitting there a lot tomorrow as well.
When everyone finished, we all shuttled back to the campers. We started on getting this place back in order before starting on supper. Everyone else was having burgers so that is what we had as well-though we probably should have saved that for the 4th.
As we were eating, Candice found out that across the lake they were having a fireworks show. So we cleaned up and headed over. It was just a short walk from our camper-Robby put the chairs in the wagon. I did think to bring Bentley some snacks since she had never seen or heard fireworks before.
We didn't have to wait too long for the fireworks to start. When they did, Bentley was a wee bit hysterical at first. I had to get Robby to hold her. He put her in a bear hug and soon she calmed down. I helped probably a lot that I was feeding her hot dog pieces as fast as I could. By the end, she tolerated all of the fireworks-though it did seem that she hid her head a few times in Robby's legs.
We then went back to the camper and stayed by ours chatting until 11. So it is now midnight, and my kids are just about ready to put up their devices. Bentley is giving me the stink eye since I just did ear drops in one ear. She just gets them in one ear a night because that is all I can do without waking her up too much.
July 1, 2021-4th of July on the Road
I forgot to mention this last night: while we were driving around scoping out the park, we saw a crazy amount of deer. They were everywhere-lots of little babies. It reminded us very vividly of the time that we were at Mt. Rushmore. When the evening program concluded that ranger stood in front of the monument and urged everyone to be safe driving home and watch out for the deer. She talked about how many they were, and we were pretty spooked by the time that we got to our car to start off on our 2 hour drive to the hotel. We drove slowly while Robby and I diligently searched for deer-and never saw a one. However, tonight there were tons everywhere!
We slept wonderfully well. Keaton was awake right at 7. She said that she had been waking up at 7 the last few mornings so that is why she was an early riser today. That was fine since we had lots of things planned for the day.
We had our breakfast-poptarts, granola bars and cereal. We took a little walk-though the sprinkling rain and occasional lightening did speed up our walk some. Then we went to the Visitor's Center to walk around. Next was another drive around-we had intended to stop at the playground, but the sprinkles were a bit heavier by this time.
Soon we were loaded back up and pulling out. We hooked the car up at the parking lot. Robby had on his rain coat, but I was too lazy to get mine. A rain coat was going to protect me from the crazy lightening that I kept seeing. We were hooked up quickly and then headed towards Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park.
Robby and I are listening to the best audio book ever on our drive so no part of the drive seemed to take long at all today. Actually, I wish that we were a bit further away from our destination so we could finish the book tomorrow. Maybe we can listen some tonight.
Prairie Grove was a neat stopover. We went through the visitor's center. They had a neat spot where you could identify old items and win a prize. Of course my people were all about that-a butter mold, hat pins, glove stretcher, candle snuffer-we didn't miss a one. Campbell, Keaton and Whitman were super excited to earn their free postcards...and yes, we had bought postcards earlier in the day!
Despite the misting rain, we headed off on a one mile walking tour around the park. We saw lots of things but mostly just enjoyed the walk and the views. We had just started on the walk, when Campbell remembered that we should bring Bentley. She had been in her kennel since she couldn't go in the visitor's center. Robby ran back to the car and got her, so she also enjoyed the walk.
Bentley has been funny lately-in the camper she pretty much always lays on the couch on her blanket. Today her blanket was on the floor, and she grabbed it and brought it to the couch and tried to put it on the couch herself. Today while we were driving she stayed in that spot mostly and would sometimes go to her spot between Robby and I on the floor. Her new spot today though was in my lap. I gladly appreciate the warmth-possibly she has heard me say that my lap is never too small for my babies. I was talking about the kids though.
After Prairie Grove, we stopped at Walmart to find Campbell some water shoes. We had bought her some that were too small. We then tried to go up a size, but those were too large. We finally settled on the larger pair, but did walk to the men's section. Thankfully, they had a size that did fit her perfectly. They are decent looking water shoes, now hopefully everyone is set with some shoes for this weekend.
Our next stop was at Torchy's Tacos for lunch. It is like a Tacos for Life but it has a bar. The food was good-I really enjoyed the cheese dip and the fried cookie dough that we ended our meal with. However, I am not sure that the stress of finding an adequate parking spot is worth it for me. Robby doesn't seem to mind this additional stress but everyone turn I worry about us getting stuck (now, we wouldn't ever really get stuck-we might just have to unhook the car in the middle of the street which probably cause a lot of unnecessary stress.)
And after Torchy's we just drove on into Oklahoma. We had a bit of a drive, but our destination was for more food. This time it was Crumbl Cookie. Reagan had first mentioned this place-I told her to find one and we would go. The closest one to home is NW Arkansas. However, she ended up going this week on her Denver mission trip. Reagan actually said that she was too full to get her own, but she did bites of her friends cookies.
We knew we were at the right place when we saw the line. I think that we waited about 40 minutes in the line. We bought plenty of cookies-when we walked out of the store, Whitman looked at Robby and asked "how much money did you waste on cookies?" That boy is my child. We probably didn't need two dozen cookies-they are so large that Campbell, Keaton or Whitman could not even finish their cookie today.
They all had a chocolate chip cookie. Robby and I split an oreo sandwich cookie along with a cornbread cookie. And yes, we read that right-a cornbread cookie. So far it was our favorite cookie (I plan on having one as a snack tonight though so my favorite flavor may change). We also have a nutella, sugar, key lime, and one more that escapes me at this moment.
We were still full from our cookies when we made it to our campsite. When Robby checked in, the lady told him-your site is a bit flooded and we have have to move you. Robby asked if they could just move us now to which she replied that she didn't have anything to move us to. Ok, that was new to hear and a bit unexpected.
We drive on to our site-I see first that our loop road is no longer a loop. It was under water. We stop in the middle of the road and find out spot. Of course, this being the 4th of July weekend, there were at least 20 people watching us. They offered to help, they chatted, and they stared. Oh, gracious!
We have to have the car straight to unhook it, so Robby was able to head towards our site and unhook the car. Then he unhooked the car dolly and moved it to the back of our site. He was able to easily back in-listen, those 20 people were still watching us so backing in without much drama was needed!
The dolly is now hooked back up and pretty much we are ready to pull out if the water rises. We aren't worried about it rising to our camper-we are about a foot higher. However, the issue is our electrical box-it is nearest the water.
After setting up, we took a walk. Two things were noticed-we are pretty thankful that our site was completely under the water and the second thing is that Bentley likes to eat goose poop. Back at our site, we had a bit of supper-just leftovers or sandwiches. Actually, Whitman did say that I made him the best grilled cheese ever tonight so that was a win-he says that often though.
A bit ago, there was a knock on the door. A ranger man-our electrical box was getting to close to the water so they asked Robby to hook up to a nearby one. Thankfully, he had enough extension cords to do that...if they knock again it will probably be asking us to move.
I follow some rv folks, and the mom talked about how she didn't sleep the night that they were on the beach because the water was lapping at their rug, and she was afraid that it was going to get higher. Now this water may get higher, but we are in no real danger. There is one camper that really has no way out of his spot right now since there is water surrounding him-we decided that we would have left before that happened.
I guess we are living on the edge tonight-maybe Robby should sleep in his shorts just in case he has to answer the door at some point. Oh days like this are times when I am thankful that I have a blog-we will be able to go back and read about today and laugh. There won't be much laughing if we have to pull out in the middle of the night though! (And we just read on a facebook that where we are going is experiencing flooding too-our campsite is high, however the inflatable thing on the water that the kids have looked so forward to may not be happening! We have already promised our people that we will get them back here if they miss out on that!)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)