July 16, 2013: Big City of Branson

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Who doesn't love a hotel breakfast?  So many choices!

Keaton was the first one up this morning but she was up way too early.  We guess that she hit her head on the potty (one of the troubles of sleeping in the bathroom) or maybe she wet her diaper.  Either way, Campbell was the first one to hear her and we quickly moved her to my bed.  
That went smoothly until a few hours later when I woke up to Keaton crying and trying to hang onto the bed since she was falling off head first.  I was sleeping in the middle between Keaton and Campbell and was doing my best to keep both of them from rolling off the bed.  I call it a successful night since no one hit the floor.  Though I did briefly step on Whitman when I climbed out of bed this morning.  I didn't hurt him just startled him-probably startled him more than me.  Robby said yesterday that we will probably have to start booking hotel rooms that have suites since our room is wall to wall kids.
It was 8ish before we started moving around and we even made it to breakfast this morning.  The kids sat by themselves and were pretty perfect.  They ate and ate and ate until we put a stop to it but we did grab a few bowls of cereal for them to eat in the car.  Robby loaded up the van and we headed home.  
We didn't take too many stops on the way home though we did stop at a rest stop on the border and then we made our lunch stop at a Taco Bell and gas station.  Lunch was uneventful and then we started trips to the bathroom before loading up again.  When I took Anderson and Campbell into the gas station towards the bathroom, Anderson said "oh, a gift shop!"
As soon as we came back into Taco Bell, Robby was feeling all over his pants with a bit of a panicked look on his face.  He couldn't find his keys and had already checked the van.  They were not inside the van....so we started looking.  I headed to the trash that he had thrown one package of stuff away at.  Nothing like searching through a trash can at a gas station.  And Robby worked on the trash can inside of Taco Bell.  Fortunately my trash can was empty but Robby's was full enough that the worker man had just come to empty it and Robby had to ask for the trash bag back.  
The kids just stood watching Robby dig through that bag.  I was still outside looking through my bag.  Robby was just about to give up (not really though since giving up would not be a real option) when he finally found those blessed keys.  Guess who is ordering something to hide an extra key on the car tonight? 
After that we didn't leave the car until we were home in Little Rock.  Grannymom offered to keep the kids while we went home to unpack.  The kids were so happy to see us leave and we were pretty happy to unpack quietly at home.  Robby worked in the van while I worked putting stuff up inside.  I believe that I had the best job since he was wringing wet with sweat when he came in.  
We picked up the kids from Grannymom's house and Graham was telling us that they didn't get to go and have snow cones with Grannymom because she didn't have a coupon.  My poor kids think that you have to have a coupon for every purchase.  
When snow cone was mentioned, Robby thought that sounded like a good idea.  So we turned around and stopped for snow cones.  The poor worker people thought that they were in the money because the day care had stopped but it was just us.  We all had our snow cones and Keaton even had a pretty good spill.  Her lawnchair fell backwards and she banged her head hard-even got a big goose egg.  
Back at home, the kids worked on picking up their toy room and then we had sandwiches for supper.  We are going to try to work on eating through the fridge and freezer over the next few days-let's see how that works!  Next up was a bit of playtime-Reagan wanted to play upstairs with her stuffed animals.  She probably missed being at home more than the others and had animals all over their bedroom.  
The boys went outside and rode their bikes.  Anderson didn't ride his bike for long and when Robby put it up he found out why.  Anderson's tire was flat-at one time it wouldn't stay inflated but had been fine for a long time.  We stayed outside for a good while and then headed back in for showers.
After showers everyone went to bed except Whitman.  I think he relishes his time with us at night on couch.  He just grins and smiles at us and eats and eats!

July 15, 2013: Big City of Branson and 15th Anniversary

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A day of WET rides!

Robby was the one who started waking everyone up this morning-big day because there was breakfast downstairs in our hotel.  It really doesn't take too much to thrill my kids and that is a good thing.  Campbell and Graham, the easiest to wake up, headed off to breakfast with Robby.
While he was gone, I quickly stirred Reagan and Anderson.  Then I got Keaton ready and tried to straighten the room some before climbing in the shower.  I assumed that Robby had taken the key but I made sure that they knew to not open the door for any reason and even if it was Robby I was to open the door.  But that was a mute point because I was out of my shower before he returned.
When he came back, he brought Keaton back breakfast and Reagan, Anderson and I headed over to eat.  The breakfast area is really neat with the industrial type look.  Breakfast was fine but since I usually don't eat breakfast, anything is a treat for me.  And the juice is the highlight for the kids since we do not have juice at home.  The only time they have juice is juice boxes as our car bribe, at  Nonna or Grannymom's houses or the little ones have apple juice at church.  Robby and I even look forward to flying so we can have orange juice-come to think of it, a jug of OJ might be a bit cheaper than an airplane ticket. 
Silver Dollar City opened this morning at 9:30 and we were in the parking lot at 9:15.  That really isn't too bad since even the kids had been out until 11 last night.  We hoped on the tram and were walking through the gates in no time.  The workers here trying to take your picture are a bit aggressive.  Everyone kept asking us to take our picture and some places we let people take our pictures just to be nice even though we are not going to buy it and then have to act interested.  Anyway, today I just told the person that we had our picture made yesterday.  After the third time for me to tell someone this, Reagan whispered "no we didn't" to me.  I reminded her that yes, Daddy did take our picture yesterday.  Shoo, I was able to get out of that one safely.
The park was pretty crowded this morning and somehow we ended up in a different area of the park than usual.  Actually, I don't think we had ever been on this side of the park.  Somehow we can never efficiently see all of Silver Dollar City.  I don't know why that is since we can cover Disneyland in a long day.  The first thing the kids saw this morning was the last thing that we ever wanted them to see-the log ride!
I had planned on getting wet today and had on some quick drying shorts so I was ready to go!  Robby put Whitman in the carrier and him and Keaton climbed up to watch the boats come down.  I pushed Campbell to come with us but she got upset so we let her stay with Robby.  I ended up soaking wet after that log ride-the kids loved it and begged me to do it again.  We were able to convince Campbell to come with us and she did great even though she left claw marks on my legs from where she was holding on to me so tightly.  
The next stop was Fire in the Hole for the 4 big kids and Robby.  Keaton and I sat out and sang itsy bitsy spider which she loves.  We even walked around for a bit while waiting on the riders.  When they came out the next thing that we did was the Huck Fin ride.  Two facts about that ride-you get wetter than you do when you go swimming and people are vicious.  As we walked up to that ride, we saw that even Keaton could go with us so I turned around and grabbed her from Robby.  I may or may not have planned on using her as my tiny human shield.  
On this ride, you are on a little raft floating along and you have a water cannon in front of you and people on the shore have water cannons.  So those people and people on other boats take delight and joy shooting water on each other.  Seriously, people are ruthless.  It didn't matter that I was holding Keaton in front of me they just kept squirting.  I had to wring out the boys shirts when we got off that ride and even our underwear was soaking wet!  
Next up was the round river raft ride and I let Robby do that one.  We do not usually ride any wet rides because who wants to walk around wearing wet clothes and I am not the mom who brings bathing suits and water shoes to an amusement park.  Hauling 16 extra shoes with me is not my idea of fun!
Anyway, Whitman and Keaton can only be entertained so much.  And by this time Keaton knew that she was getting the short end of the rides today.  So I was pretty surprised when Robby came back with the kids and said that they wanted to take me on the river raft with them.  So they did that ride again and thankfully, I didn't get too much wetter.  But poor Campbell-it was bad enough that Robby asked if I had extra clothes (I only carry extra clothes now if you are 2 our under-maybe that should be re-thought)
Next up we headed to the side of the park that we are familiar with. I really like Silver Dollar City-things just don't seem as hurried there, the food all looks delicious and I kind of like the old timey stuff.  I do have two suggestions-more trains (the train line is always huge and I do not want to be packed on a train like sardines) and no smoking areas (2 reasons-it is nasty and I am afraid that my kids are going to look at someone smoking and say "you are going to die" which they may or may not have heard from me)
Our first stop at the other side of the park was the measuring station.  Well, today Reagan was 1/4 inch shorter so she could not ride any of the rides by herself.  We smiled and walked away.  I don't think that Reagan fully realized the difference but we sure did-this meant that to ride Dumbo  Anderson could ride by himself but I or Robby would have to ride 3 more times (once with Reagan, Graham and Campbell).  So we did that it probably took nearly an hour.  Aaargh!  That is one thing about Silver Dollar City since so many of the kiddie rides still need an adult and if you are out manned or have a baby to watch then it is pretty tough.  
We then rode the fast pirate ships.  We didn't really give Graham or Campbell the choice to ride this since they had said that wanted to ride the teacups.  Then I rode the teacups with all the kids (Keaton is too short for any of these rides) and then we headed to the little rides for Keaton.  Anderson so wanted to ride one of the big spinning rides and I had told him that we could today.  Of course that is when him AND Reagan would have been tall enough to ride it.  Thankfully, he is a patient and understanding boy and was fine with us riding it when we come back in the fall.  Now, to get Reagan to grow a 1/4 of an inch in a few months.  Though I can't complain too much since today's height was probably more accurate than yesterdays because an older lady measured them today instead of a teenage boy.
Anyway, Graham, Keaton, Campbell and I rode the frogs next.  And for a baby ride the frogs are a pretty good ride.  I am always pretty impressed with them and my Keaton loved them.   And our final ride was the flooded mine ride.  Poor Whitman was in my carrier but he was not too pleased on this ride.  But when we finished the ride and I started walking again, he calmed down.  Maybe I was squishing him or maybe he didn't like all of the sights and sounds of the ride.  
Our final stop was at bakery for a cupcake, eclair and cinnamon roll.  The kids wanted an eclair because of Cake Boss.  We devoured every bit of those huge bakery items and then rode the tram back to the car.  The van was parked pretty tightly into our parking spot and Robby was concerned about getting out but we had no problem at all-probably because two cars around us left at the same time as we did.
Back at the hotel, we ate McDonalds that we had picked up and watched a bit of tv.  When we turned on the tv, Anderson and Graham said "American Pickers!"  Apparently this show is watched often at Nonna's house.  All of the kids (well, except Touble and Trouble's Sidekick) watched the show.  I think they must have been having a marathon of that show because it was even on this evening when we turned on the tv for a few minutes.  Maybe that show is on Netflix since my kids seem to like reality tv.
So after a while, we suited up and headed to swim.  Whitman had a bottle and then fell asleep and Keaton tried to swim in the little kiddie pool.  But I think her not having anyone to play with or any toys wasn't too much fun for her.  She did get Anderson and Campbell to play with her some.  But she was happy just sitting with Robby or climbing in my chair.  The others swam and dove for a pair of broken goggles (3 of the kids broke their goggles yesterday while swimming-what in the world were they doing?)
After a good while, we came back to the room and on the way back, Robby put the clothes in the dryer. Our plan was to leave sooner than we did but it had started to rain and rained pretty good so we just waited.  Finally the rain slacked up and we loaded up.  The rain didn't slack up enough for us to walk around at the Landing though.  But it did allow us to eat at Culvers.  We even topped off of meal with custard (it is our anniversary you know) and then went back to the hotel.  Soon the kids were all sound asleep and I am about to follow.

July 14, 2013: Dennie Family Reunion Day 4 and the Big City of Branson

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Welcome to Branson!

Sometime during the middle of the night, Campbell crawled in bed with us.  The raccoons might have woken her up (apparently half of the house woke up the other night to see the raccoons trying to get into our trash)  Whatever woke her up, it didn't matter because she was sleeping soundly in our bed.  She must have been sleeping too soundly in the bed because I woke up and the bed was wet.  Of course, I had that short lived fear that I was the one who had soaked the sheets but it was not me.  I quickly had Campbell go to the bathroom and found her some new underwear.  Then I just covered that spot on the bed with a towel and climbed back in bed.  Robby went to put her clothes in the wash (doesn't everyone do laundry at 2 in the morning?) and then since he wasn't sleeping too well moved on up to the loft.
I am not sure who woke up first this morning but I did hear Anderson coming down the ladder and Campbell who was laying beside me said "Daddy is sleeping up there." (meaning the top bunk) and Anderson said "sweet."  The next thing I knew was the door hit the wall as it was swung open and lots of footsteps went down the stairs.  And when I looked around, Whitman was the only one still in his bed-well, I guess Robby was still in the loft but I couldn't see way up there. 
I had my shower and started loading up.  Soon Keaton and Whitman were dressed and went downstairs and the others came up to get dressed.  It sure is a lot of fun hauling stuff into the cabin to start the trip but it isn't that much fun hauling stuff out of the cabin.  The kids had breakfast-any leftovers that they could find.  Mostly their breakfasts consisted of toast though some had cake and coke along with their toast!  
Everyone left near the same time but a few minutes apart.  But we caught up with everyone else-they were stuck behind someone who couldn't get up the hill.  Once the driver behind her drove her car out and then went back down the hill to his van, we were on our way.  It is a pretty steep gravely hill-though we had no problems either time.  
Personally, I would love to live in those cabins permanently.  Of course, I would need the internet and maybe even satellite tv but it would be a great place to raise your kids.  Robby said that he would also like to live there but he could do without the dirt and gravel roads.  And probably the mountain lions and flies might be a problem.  
It took us around 2 hours to arrive in Branson and we went straight to the Coleman store.  We aren't campers though we like to pretend that we are.  We did buy a few little items and then walked down the strip to a Mexican place to eat.  It was pretty good-it is always hard to enjoy eating out....today I was feeding Whitman, trying to keep Keaton happy, cutting food, serving food and trying to eat but I got it done.  
And speaking of Keaton-we should have sent her home with someone.  I am not sure if that little toot has become spoiled or what but she has received her first few swats today.  I had to carry her out of the the lunch restaurant because she was screaming.  If she acts like this up on our big upcoming trip, we will just have to mail her home!
After lunch, we soon were on the tram to Silver Dollar City.  I really feel like today was one of the busiest days that we have seen here.  It was pretty packed but still very manageable.  And even though it is hot, there is still a pleasant breeze.  The tram ride itself it pretty exciting for the kids. 
But our first ride of the day is what the kids said was one of their favorites-the flooded mine train or something like that.  Everyone could ride on that so that was nice.  Then we moved on to the kiddie roller coaster.  Earlier in the day, Anderson was telling Campbell about the roller coaster and she said "I am scared" and he reassured her saying that he would find her one that didn't go upside down.  She had a blast on that ride and even put her hands in the air briefly.  
When we were walking back to where we had snuck away from Keaton and Robby, Reagan said "I wonder if Daddy has a drink.  He always buys a drink here."  He didn't that time but the next time he sure did.  Next up was a ride on the frogs, butterflies and ladybugs.  Graham and Campbell were the only ones to ride the ladybugs and Graham took care of his little sister on that ride.  First he stayed with her until she was buckled.  Then someone got in a car between them and he turned to tell her "Campbell, I am in car 4 and you are in car 2."  Such a sweet boy-sometimes!
Then we rode on the pirate ship.  A few years ago, Robby fell when getting off of the pirate ship-he just missed a step.  But he landed on his wrist and received a hairline fracture and that still bothers him today some.  So not surprisingly, he was more than willing to stay back with Keaton and Whitman while we went on the pirate ship.
The next stop was up the hill to Fire in the Hole.  The big 4 rode it with Robby and then they rode it again with me.  They continued telling me that it was "really slow" and that
you don't get wet."  I guess that didn't get the reaction they wanted out of me so they changed their story to "it does 108 flips" and "you will get soaking wet."  It is still a pretty good roller coaster-Campbell started whining with fear during it!
We then headed up the big, big hill out of the park.  We did quite a few things today but are coming back tomorrow.  We still though have a lot to do but since we plan to come back this fall, we should be able to cover it all at least by then.  This time it wasn't a tram that took us back to our car, it was a bus.  Robby held the stroller while I had the diaper bag, was wearing Whitman and held Keaton's hand.  We all made it and the boys were so excited about being on a bus-probably could have rode that and then turned around and come home.
Our hotel is right near Silver Dollar City and soon Keaton was taking a nap in her pack in play in the bathroom and Whitman was having a bottle.  Robby took Reagan, Anderson, Graham and Campbell out quietly to go swimming while the little ones rested.  They had a really good time swimming in the large pool.  Robby said that at one point he lost Reagan and even stood up to find her.  He didn't see her for a bit but then up she came happily swimming laps in the pool.  He said that we might even swim again tomorrow.
Now, all of this probably would have been enough excitement for the kids-remember just a few hours earlier we were the only people for miles and miles away, unable to get cell service and at a pretty desolate location and now we were living up the big city of Branson.  We ate pizza on the strip near the go-cart place and then we let each kid ride one thing.
Of course this was quite confusing about who wanted to ride what and Robby and I even told Reagan and Anderson that they could ride one set of go-carts but they weren't tell enough.  No worries though because they quickly changed what they wanted to ride and made good decisions.  
Graham chose the little go carts that he could drive by himself.  Campbell would have been tall enough to ride them but would have had to be 4.  Anyway, there were 3 rides and Robby and I had both briefed Graham on going fast and staying on the inside.  He grinned from ear to ear driving that thing.  And the other 7 of us stood along the fence yelling and cheering for him like he was driving in and winning the Indy 500!  Seriously, at one point I worried that we were causing a scene.  He was so proud of himself when he finished and even got a sticker!  
Next up was Campbell riding with Robby on the really fast, crazy hill go carts.  I was secretly hoping that she would pick me to ride but she picked Robby to ride with.  She seemed to enjoy her ride and then we found out that we had told Reagan and Anderson that they could ride something they couldn't.  So Reagan picked riding that same really fast, crazy hill go cart with me!  Whoop whoop!  I told her that we would go as fast as we could and I meant it.  When we shot out of the gate and started climbing up the hill she shouted "mama mia!"  I later heard that Robby slowed down some on the hills-humbug!  I never lifted my foot from the gas pedal and we flew down those hills even catching air each time.  
Next up was Anderson's ride.  He had decided on the bumper boats.  Of course about 6 boats just unloaded when we got there and he was the only one out in the water.  Well, what kind of fun is that.  We did tease him saying that he couldn't get us wet so he sprayed us with his water gun.  They had machines that you could spray the boats with and Robby sprinted back to the car to find 50 cents so we could spray Anderson.  He had a hard time steering the boat though when it was time to park it, he had finally gotten the hang of it and was able to park it successfully.  I think that Anderson was pretty delighted with his choice and now he really wants all of us to do the bumper boats sometime.  
Next up was Andy's Frozen Custard.  We just had a few more steps and we were there.  We all split an oreo custard and a mint custard.  We had taken the kids cups from supper so we could truly divvy out their dessert.  They all pretty much devoured it though Keaton was able to get more custard on her legs than in her mouth.  
By the time we made it back to the hotel, it was 11.  Seriously, I don't know what we were thinking keeping the kids out this late.  They begged us to let them sleep in pajamas and we certainly did.  They also begged us to have some water so we let them do that as well.  They even begged us to go to bed...hmm, asking for pajamas, water and bed-maybe we should stay out late more often.
Keaton and Campbell did have a bath to get the sticky ice cream off of them.  Graham is in bed with Robby, Campbell is in bed with me, Whitman is in his bouncy and Reagan and Anderson are in their sleeping bags.  Tomorrow the park opens at 9 so hopefully we will have a good nights rest! 

July 13, 2013: Dennie Family Reunion Day 3

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I believe that Campbell was the first one stirring this morning.  She was

Ultimate Frisbee Match

ready to talk this morning so after a bit of early morning talking, we headed down for breakfast.  The breakfast casserole was cooking so everyone sat around for a few minutes before eating.  Most of my kids really liked the sausage and egg casserole so I may have to cook it at home.  Soon everyone was stirring around and heading out the door.

Everyone but my crew and Grandpa went floating.  We opted for Mountain View and the Ozark Folk Center.  Yesterday, Dana tried to get out of this place that we are staying and was not able to.  Her car kept sliding backwards on the rocks and steep hill.  Robby wasn’t too concerned since if all of these church vans and buses can make it up the hill, then so could our van with our V10 and towing package. 

By the time we left this morning, the church groups that had filled this place yesterday were on their way out.  And I guess the hill is really a problem because they had folks with walkie talkies as each end giving cars the go ahead before they headed up.  So we had to wait a few minutes for all of the vans to get up the hill before us (they probably just thought we were part of the same group!)  Thankfully, we didn’t have a bit of problem going up the hill.

The GPS took us one way to Mountain View even though the signs pointed another way.  I am sure that both ways were equally scenic but our way was pretty curvy.  It still took us less than 45 minutes to get there so that was really good. 

Our first stop was the folk center and it was a pretty good stop.  We have been to better reenactment places (including the Historic Arkansas Museum at home).  This one seemed a bit dated but they are doing construction on it so maybe that will change.

They had various little buildings to enter to learn about different crafts and we pretty much hit them all.  There was the gun maker who gave us a great spiel about how they shot a gun and even made it flash.  After writing that about the gun, I realize that I don’t even know what kind of gun it was or really do I know what he made it do-there was smoke and a flash.  My kiddos stood perfectly still including Keaton while listening to this man talk.

They had a one room school house, a leather making place and a candle maker.  At the artist place, some of the kids colored on a piece of paper.  The blacksmith tied a knot in a piece of metal which was cool-he also said that he had made his own prosthesis leg which was pretty cool.  The soap making lady showed the kids how to tie up soap in a washcloth so it looks like a bunny.  And my favorite was the doll maker.  She demonstrated how to make a doll out of corn husk (someone same some corn husk for me).  It was a little flat doll that could be used for a bookmark.  And since school is starting soon, Robby asked Reagan if she wanted one.  She didn’t at first but then changed her mind and picked one out. 

The big 3 went to a little kid place and made a pinch pot out of clay.  They had fun doing this while Whitman had some milk and Keaton and Campbell watched the fish.  Then we climbed the hill and listened to some live folk music.  It was pretty nice and all until Keaton fell.  I was wearing Whitman so wasn’t much help.  I quickly moved her to Robby so he could take her soon to be screams away from the music.  As he turned the corner with her, I saw the blood gushing out of her mouth and grabbed the wipes and followed him.  The poor thing had busted her lip pretty good but after a bit of ice she was fine.  Though all day long, she has been touching it and licking her little lips.  It must have hurt pretty badly.

But on our way out of the folk center, Robby bought the kids all a peppermint stick so that made Keaton forget about her fall.  And the next stop really made her forget about her fall-ice cream at the town square.  Reagan, Anderson and Graham all had mint chocolate chip, Campbell had chocolate, Keaton had cake batter and Grandpa had strawberry.  Campbell had on a white shirt and I tried my hardest to keep that shirt clean-she had napkins tucked in her shirt, sitting in our lap, napkins on the table and napkins in her hands and still she was a mess when she was finished-I guess that is a sign of good ice cream.

Afterwards we headed back to the cabin.  The canoe-ing crew beat us by a few minutes but they were still sitting down eating lunch when we arrived.  After lunch, the kids took a walk-Donna took Lilly, Cash and Zach, Grannymom took Keaton, Campbell, Graham, Reagan and Anderson, Dana walked to find the others and never did and Shelley set off for a hike on her own.  She made it a bit down the trail and then decided she didn’t like being all alone in the woods (very good decision) and turned back. 

Everyone being gone for a few minutes, allowed Robby and I to catch up on some laundry and to start a bit on supper.  Tonight was our night to cook.  And we had to start a bit early because the meat was frozen-somehow one of the fridges got bumped and was turned to cold cold and everything froze.  When the crew, returned it was already nearing 4 and we tried to put Keaton down for a nap.

She must have heard the others putting on their bathing suits because she was ready to “wake up” and she let most of the house know about it.  So we got her up and headed down to the creek for a bit more swimming and water gun fights this time.  The kids enjoyed the water guns but they were just as happy looking for fish and skipping rocks.  It was a bit cloudy by this time and Dana took one for the team getting in the water to entertain the kiddos. 

Soon, everyone was migrating back inside and getting ready for supper.  We had bbq, baked beans and French fries.  We would have had potato salad had it not been frozen.  And then for dessert we had coca cola cake.  The cake was pretty much finished off by the time that we started shoving dished in the dishwasher. 

I knew the group was outside playing something but worked in a the kitchen for a bit.  Then I went outside and sat with Keaton taking pictures of all of the action.  Soon I was playing in the ultimate Frisbee game that was going on.  I believe that we are going to have to have a Dennie family rematch because the teams just weren’t too fair.  The losing team was Dana, Josh, Anderson, Cash and me (only at the end).  Even though we had the most grownups we still were put to shame.  Shelley and Jenna are pretty ferocious! 

After the game, we were all hot and sweaty.  Some had watermelon and others grabbed something to drink.  When we arrived at the cabin, we were the last ones here and had to make room to put all of our drinks in the fridge.  Seriously, we all had the fridge completely stocked with drinks but we are not down to the bare minimum as far as beverages are concerned.  No need to worry though, we kept some back up in the car.

The kids played for a bit-some inside and some outside.  Graham showed out tonight and was put to bed early.   Campbell was not too far behind him.  She kept saying “but I made good choices” which she did but she was tired and needed to come to bed.  Anderson and Reagan stayed up the longest and eventually went to bed after Whitman finally went to sleep.  I am probably the only one up in the house right now and am debating going to check on and fold my laundry or just going to sleep and doing the laundry in the morning.  Hmm, decisions, decisions.  

July 12, 2013: Dennie Family Reunion Day 2

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The morning started off early with Whitman needing

Group Photo Night!

a bottle in the middle of the night.  I tried to tell him sternly that he was finished with his middle of the night bottles but he did not take kindly to this.  So I offered up 6 ounces of milk for him to guzzle.  And when he was finished with that, he was happy and ready to play.  So I put him back in his bouncy and laid back down.  Apparently he wasn’t finished drinking and had 4 more ounces of milk.  This time though I had to go downstairs to fetch that and I was secretly hoping that some of the early risers around here would be up but alas they were not yet.

Though my kids sleeping out of our room last night were early risers and early yellers.  I heard Anderson screaming during what sounded like a game of chase and this woke up Keaton.  Soon Graham and Campbell were awake and I climbed up to help get them down.  The ladder to the top of the loft really hurts my feet so I thought ahead and placed my shoes beside the ladder so I could slip them on before I climbed 15 feet at the crack of dawn.

It knew it actually wasn’t that early because I could smell breakfast-waffles and sausage.  Everyone kind of ate in shifts before getting ready for the day.   Today’s big activity was horse back riding and it wasn’t until 9 so we had a bit of time before leaving.  This gave the kids time to play inside and outside and back in and back out and then again back in…well, you get the idea.  They are in and out all the time here. Of course to the kids that is really different because at home, we are in or we are out.  I bet before we left this morning for the horses the front door had been opened a hundred times.

The first horseback riders were Jenna and Graham, Reagan and Grannymom, Dana and Cash, and Lilly.  If you were under 9 then you had to ride with an adult and they could only do 3 double riders at a time.  Graham had the biggest grin on his face as his horse started backing up and getting ready for the ride.  And Grannymom told us that Reagan said “I don’t think I want to do this” as they were waiting to get on.  Those horses are pretty big and a bit overwhelming.  But she had a great time and was all smiles when they came back.  Lilly and Cash may go to a horse camp next summer-wonder if my Reagan would like that?

While we waited on all of them to finish their 20 minute ride, a lady at the barn brought our brushes for us to brush the donkeys and horses and food to feed them.  The kids enjoyed doing this and Campbell even warmed up enough to do this some.  Keaton wasn’t too nuts about being near the horses but I figured that we might as well try to have her ride a horse.

So we crossed our fingers as it was our turn to start riding.  With our group, we had Zach, Josh, Les and Anderson, Robby and Campbell and Keaton and me.  Keaton wasn’t planning on getting on and whined like you wouldn’t believe but when Jenna handed her to me, she was quiet and soon was hollering to Grannymom.

On the ride, Keaton would whimper some but then she would also pat the horse (our horse was named Dillon) and say something that sounded like “good boy.”  I thought the ride was really nice-it was all rocks and straight up some trails and straight down some too.  Surprisingly, I never was too worried about letting Keaton fall off.  Campbell also had a great time.  I could occasionally hear her telling her horse to go and stop eating the leaves.

When we returned from the horses, we caught up with the other group at the animal arcade.  They had lemurs, a kangaroo, a deer, goats and some other animals as well.  I am not sure how much petting actually went on since the kids had all seen Lilly get pinched by a donkey after riding the horse but everyone enjoyed watching the animals.  The weather was fairly pleasant in the shade and this afternoon it was hot but not crazy hot.  Pretty much all day someone was sitting in the shade on the front deck.

We also stopped at the playground on the way back.  Well, my crew explored the playground while some explored the nearby conference center.  They are having some type of camp here and one worker said that it was prettier than the usual camp and also said that we hit the weather just right.  Soon though we headed back to the cabin before lunch.

The grownups pulled out the lunch selections-fruit, pimento cheese, meat, peanut butter, corn salsa, corn dip, cheese dip and chips.  Not too bad of a selection if you ask me.  I actually had to pull out most of the food for my crew since it had already been put back up by the time that I made them eat.  Sometimes it is nice to just sit and eat without having everyone ask for 20 different things.  So when I finished, I had the others eat their lunch.

And as soon as lunch we over, it was time to pull on those bathing suits.  The kids were pretty excited today since they knew what to expect about the creek.  Once down there, we played for a few minutes and then decided to walk up the hill a bit and then float back down.  We started off trying to float in our tubes upstream and could have done that better if it wasn’t so shallow-not much floating.  Then we made it to the top and the others crossed a rock area to get to the other side. 

I was nearby Robby, Les and Campbell (Keaton stayed back with Grannymom and the other kids were ahead of us with Shelley).  Just as I was crossing I heard “there’s a snake” and man, I was like Pamela Anderson on Baywatch running out of that water (or something like that).  We stood there long enough watching that rocky area that we saw at least 3 snakes.   One of those was at least 3 feet. 

Now I am really not much for swimming in the creek and I am even less for snakes but I still got back in the water to float down the river.  But soon someone wanted my tube and Campbell wanted out of the water (the only kid of mine with sense) so we just walked beside the creek.  When we made it back, I decided that I should hike back up the hill to check on Whitman who had stayed with Donna and Keaton who had headed back to the room with Grannymom. 

Whitman was snoozing and Keaton was playing when I returned.  I quickly put Keaton down for a nap and had my shower.  My goal was to have a shower before the others returned but I even had time to sit and enjoy some lemonade.  Soon they came back and everyone was showered and back playing outside. 

The kids did come inside to continually grab something to eat and to use Reagan’s hair chalk.  Pretty much all of the kids chalked their hair red, yellow or blue and some of my less intelligent children (the boys) chalked their faces! (which they were promptly told to go and wash off)

The afternoon was long enough for me to have a bit of a nap before supper.  Then it was time for supper-lasagna, salad and bread.  Everyone ate and then we headed out for our evening walk and group picture.  I put Whitman in the carrier and we all headed off over the bridge. 

The first photo spot was the grandkids on a wagon and then we moved to the steps for a group picture.  Then the kids headed towards an old firetruck.  They immediately started climbing on and playing inside of that truck.  They were screaming “I smell smoke” and pretending to pull a hose.  We thought it was kind of funny when one turned on the windshield wipers.  But when the siren went off and 9 kids dove off of that truck and started running, it was hysterical.  I have never seen them move so fast and of course no one thought to turn that blasted siren off.  I did what any good mom would do and started trying to walk away acting like I was not with that group.

The kids had a few more playground minutes until I discovered that Keaton had a dirty diaper.  Robby was up in the conference center so I hauled myself Keaton and Whitman, who I was wearing, up and over the bridge and down the hill to our cabin to change her diaper.  After a change, we then started back up the hill.  She wanted me to carry her and since I couldn’t do that, we pressed on.

Back with the others, they were playing volleyball and then a bit of Frisbee golf, soccer, dodgeball, basketball and the last stop was playing with the roaming pony again.  This time Graham had his turn on the horse and just for grins we thought we would put Keaton up on the horse.  Ha!  That didn’t go so well-as in she caused more of a disturbance that the fire engine siren. 

Popsicles were passed out when we made it back to the cabin and then the kids played for a bit longer before baths.  Campbell showed out a bit so she was quickly ushered to the bathtub and to bed.  Keaton was next and then the others.  Reagan slept in Lilly’s room and Cash slept in the loft with Anderson and Graham.  Whitman stayed up later than the others and finally fell asleep watching today’s pictures on Robby’s computer. 

It was another perfect day and everyone is exhausted.  The others are going floating tomorrow but we are not since it would be more work than fun with our crew.  Don’t worry, we will take them floating sometime in the future and no worries either because we will find something fun to do!

July 11, 2013: Dennie Family Reunion Day 1

(click here for today's pictures)

Taming a "wild" pony!

The morning started off with Robby and I waking up early to get ready and soon Graham was in our bathroom and closet talking to us.  Not too far behind was Campbell and we could hear Reagan and Anderson playing in the toy room.  There must be some certain age where you no longer care about seeing your mom and dad first thing in the morning and are immediately ready to play.

Soon everyone was stirring-the kids ate breakfast while I frantically threw things in boxes and picked up the house.  Then I loaded up the kids with Robby’s help and we headed to see Beebee before our trip.  She was in the shower so we had to wait a few minutes but the kids were all happy to see her and she was happier to see us. 

As always, Beebee passed out candy to the kids.  Anderson asked how many they could have and she said “as many as you want.”  Yep, 8:45 and my kids are chowing down on chocolate bars-we should have just skipped breakfast. 

Graham was so excited to give her his birthday invitation.  She told him that she couldn’t come but she would send a present.  She asked what he wanted and his first thought was a 100 dollar lego set and then followed that with a remote control car.  I encouraged him to wait on the car so he could get a nice one.  Then he decided money would be a good gift so he could get his kindle sooner.  The kids don’t know that the kindles are sitting in the closet waiting to be passed out.  (We used some of our extra cash from skipping Com Central this year as kindle money)

Back at home, I had the kids grab a few more things and pick up for a few minutes and then it was time to watch our baking show.  Last night was the finale so this was must see tv.   Since our drive today was only 2 hours, we were in not too much of a hurry and had time to watch the show.  I wanted the heavy set Southern lady to win.  Reagan’s pick was another middle age lady but the winner was a guy.  The boys were thrilled but Robby and I left disappointed.

Our disappointment soon vanished when we finally climbed in the car to head out on our trip.  This is the Dennie annual get together at Shepherd of the Ozarks in Harriet, Arkansas.  Last night, I mentioned that I had plenty of food and after loading up 5 ice chests and 4 rubbermaid containers into the car, I am certain that I could not only feed our cabin but the neighboring cabin as well.  You can never be too prepared-have you seen the show The Dome?  If you have, you will know what I mean.

We just had a 2 hour drive on the way.  I spend most of the morning feeding Whitman so he would be content on our drive and indeed he was.  He slept most of the way and when he was awake, he would just stare at Keaton.  Keaton would diligently tell me every minute that  “Whit, Whit wake.”

We bought lunch at McDonalds and there was lots of confusion ordering.  Reagan, who always wants nuggets, changed her mind at the last minute and decided on a hamburger.  Robby even apologized for all of our confusion and then he added that he had never been to a McDonalds before.  Well, he didn’t say that last part but that sure would have been funny.

Everyone devoured their food and I was quickly passing out drinks and cookies.  The kids passed their time watching a Disney dvd commercial.  Seriously, they are so spoiled since most of them remembered most everything that was shown on the movie.   Even though we said before we had kids that we were not going to bring our kids to Disney, they have been to both parks quite a few times.  But as Robby and I were looking at pictures tonight, we talked about how Disney is fun but today was full of memories for the kids-those memories that you talk about for the rest of your life. 

And speaking of memories, the kids watched our wedding video after the Disney dvd.  We couldn’t see the movie except when I strained backwards to see it.  I would try to tell them what was happening next.  Someone would shout “I see Momma and Pops.”  And I would look back to see and would have to tell them “no, that is a bridesmaid and groomsmen.”  We made them watch it all and Robby and I belted out the songs as the kids shouted for us to stop singing.

This weekend (15th) will be our 13th anniversary but the reason that the wedding movie was out was because the kids have been asking about our wedding cake.  The Cake Boss tv show has made them very interested in cakes.  Maybe tomorrow as we are driving around they can see our cakes during the reception part of the video. 

After a bit over 2 hours, we were pulling into the gates of this place and then we went down, down, down a dirt road.  I kept asking Robby if buses came here and he kept reassuring me that we were indeed going the right way.  Soon we saw the next sign and could tell we were indeed on the right path-and that is really what it was at some points-a gravel path.  Everyone but Shelly, Josh and Donna were already at the cabin when we pulled up.

This cabin is completely themed in cabin-ish décor which I love (for a cabin, not for my house).  I believe that this place sleeps approximately 250.  Seems like that many but now quiet.  There are 5 bedrooms which most sleep 7 and ours is the largest.  Our room has a king bed, 2 sets of triple bunk beds and a double bed in a loft.  The loft is one story up (there are lofts in 3 of the bedrooms and 2 bedrooms have caves with beds in them).  And next to our room is a tiny room with 3 bunk beds.  This is really a kids hide and seek dream!

After prowling around the cabin, we unloaded our stuff and soon were outside.  It is gorgeous here as you can tell by the pictures (so gorgeous that there is no cell service at least for us-some have it and Robby had to hold Les’ phone tonight to get his screen time fix)  Eventually, we donned our bathing suits and headed to the creek.  The water is perfectly clear and fairly shallow.  The kids were a bit skittish at first but soon the boys were laying on the tubes floating around. 

Since the rocks are slippery, Campbell and Keaton kept close to us.  Campbell did get a bit braver towards the end of our swim time-and then we saw the snake.  Yep, that was probably my last swimming session.  Just gives me chills thinking about it.  Anyway, Keaton loved throwing rocks and Reagan did her best to keep up with Lilly and Zach. 

Soon we all headed back to the cabin and Robby and I helped get things ready for supper.  This was hot dog night with chili and cheese dip.  Supper didn’t take too long to get ready and we all sat down to eat.  The table is huge-probably seats 20 and along with the 6 at the bar there was plenty of room.  We ate and then moved outside.  The kids played soccer and Frisbee while the grownups tried  to get rid of the pesky flies.  The flies are plentiful and they bite.  Eventually, they did seem to go away-maybe it was the time of day, maybe it was the fan or maybe it was the pennies now hanging in a water filled bag by the door. 

Before too long, the kids saw a pony in the distance and all ran off to see it.  Keaton and Campbell were in the back of the pack but they eventually made it.  The pony was tame and allowed most everyone to ride it.  Reagan was the least skittish of my crew until the thing started walking.  Anderson almost hyperventilated screaming “Momma! Momma!” as the pony started walking quickly away when he was on it.  By the time the animal was getting a bit perturbed and Graham didn’t want to ride it.  Keaton and Campbell were pretty terrified once the kids started getting on it and just stood there whining.

After the pony walked away, we had cupcakes to celebrate Lilly and Graham’s July birthdays.  The kids all sang Happy Birthday and devoured half a box of cupcakes making a mess of the kitchen again.  Robby and Les had to break into the maid’s closet to find a broom earlier in the day and goodness we needed it after the cupcakes.

More playing outside and then a walk around was next on the agenda.  Some of the crew even found Shelley and Josh and gained a ride back to the cabin.  They were later because Josh had been at camp and Shelley was probably greatly relieved to see familiar faces after the what seemed like forever but really just 2 mild gravel road.  We walked over a huge bridge and then went back to the cabin.

The kids played games, tag, hide and seek and kept fairly entertained until bedtime.  Even though our room is huge, we only have half the crew sleeping with us.  Campbell and Graham are on the loft (so high up that Robby moved a piece of furniture in front of the ladder so they wouldn’t try to get down.  Reagan and Lilly are sleeping in Donna’s room and Anderson is sleeping with Cash in Dana’s room.  Keaton is next to us in the bunk room.  That baby was so ready to go to sleep tonight that when I asked her about her pajamas she just laid down in the floor ready to be changed.  And Whitman is right next to our bed snoozing away. 

It has been a pretty busy day and horseback riding is in the morning along with a pretty big breakfast.  I have written the blog out so I won’t forget and we will post it when we have service but writing it just in word showed me that it is 3 typed pages long. That is pretty wordy of me-if you read it all, let me know and I will give you a prize.  

July 10, 2013

(click here for today's pictures)

Reagan goes bowling (again)...

• Robby and I were up early (for us) and before 7, I glanced at my phone and saw that I had a missed call.  My grandmother called and left a message saying that her roommate had died (actually, she almost did but not quite) and for us not to come because she was going to take a nap.
• So Robby and I replanned our day-when he was going to work, who was taking Reagan and  errands.  This did allow me to stay at home and do some work instead of dropping off Reagan.  Though when Robby dropped my baby off he text back and said "5 buses, 70 kids."  
• I wrote back asking for more details.  Reagan has never been on a group outing like this before.  Buses? No car seats? Carrying her own money? Public place?  Oh, my!  Growing up too fast.  
• And speaking of Reagan, I will go ahead and tell you all about her day.  She rode on the big bus beside Kate and then Kennedy.  The person that drove the bus was "an orange haired teenager" or at least that is what she said.  Ms. Paige showed them how to put their names on the screen and they played 1 game and started a second.  
• The big drama was figuring out how to order food "since it was not from a machine."  Yes, Reagan was sent with 5 extra dollars.  She said that her and 3 other girls went together to figure out how to order.  Reagan bought an icee and a "huge hershey bar."  She even gave a dollar to a friend who had lost theirs.  
• It was good that we practiced bowling last week because she was first place in her lane with 101 points.  And after bowling, she went home with Kennedy after a stop at Larry's pizza.  Reagan came home with an eraser and tiny toy.  That girl had a big day and when she finally made it home, she did NOT stop talking all evening long.
• Back to this morning and the rest of the kids....our first activity was-well, I don't really remember what our first activity was.  But one thing we did this morning was work on the boys pirate ships.  Seriously, I do not think we will ever get those things finished!  I so regret putting them on the boys' Christmas list!  Actually, we just need one or two more days and of work and they will be done.  We are to tying the sails on the ship-my goal is to have them finished by the time we start school....the week after next (though that may be delayed a week)
• We also worked on the goodie bags for Graham's birthday party.  Anderson, Graham and Campbell each added a color (brown, green or black) to made them look camouflaged-well, kind of camouflaged.  They had fun doing it and that is all that matters.
• Next up, I finished the main part of my packing.  Not complaining about packing but man is it a lot of work.  But I am so darn good at it-we should just travel more often!  Then I ended up in the toy room helping with legos.
• We had lunch late and soon we were playing volleyball in the living room.  Then the kids watched a few movies while I did some work.  After a while, I was moving stuff out of the attic and heard Keaton waking up from her nap yelling "hi, momma, hi!"  She saw me through their bedroom window and was screaming her little heart out for me to come and get her out of bed. 
• Robby came home and soon I headed out with Campbell to pick up Reagan.  We had a few stops-library books, exchange some shoes and buy some more.  While I was out, the kids played outside.  Whitman got to enjoy outside while buckled up in a car seat that was in the garage-he was able to sit up and see everything and Robby didn't have to worry about him falling out!  
• Jason stopped by to see everyone during supper and soon we were tucking the kids in.  Tomorrow is a big day-start of vacation.  Graham thinks we are going to Disney tomorrow and Campbell is pretty convinced that we are going to the beach.  I am sure that the cabin will meet up to their expectations-if not, all of the food that I am bringing sure will.  Just with the food that I have packed alone, we could feed the whole family for at least a week.