Playing With Her Boys

Please excuse the crummy iPhone pix with a pitiful photographer and just use your imagination.... 

See the little girl in the aqua blue shirt?  And though you can't really see her, I can assure you she is ADORABLE! 

 My sweet Mallory.

She's a feisty sweetheart born in the middle of a bunch of boys.  And while the boys love their sister, sometimes I worry that there isn't much common ground.  They play sports.  She reads and plays Barbies.  They burp and fart and laugh.  She rolls her pretty brown eyes and goes to look for her kitty.   

But lately I've noticed the boys going out of their way to include her.... and her being willing to play. 

She runs in to tell me how many touchdowns she scored and the "amazing interception". 

And when I looked out to see her playing Monkey In The Middle with Dad and the boys,  my heart just smiled all over. 

Our Texas Trip Part 2

Remember I said the boys were all about catching things and killing stuff at Nana's?  Here's what I'm talking about....

And I'm thinking this might be my new favorite picture of all time.  Somebody on FB commented that she loved this picture and everything it represents.  I get it.  Me too.  There is so much of God's goodness displayed in this one picture.

Did you see Lady underneath?  She's not to be left out of anything that goes on at her farm.  

That smile! 

This guy is a serious fisherman.  He fishes almost every day.  

BEAST!

Ever since hunting season opened Joshua's been coming home from football telling me about his friends that are hunting.  And OH!  how he wanted to go!!  

This was his chance.  He went hunting the first morning with Nana but they didn't get anything.  The next morning he went hunting with Grandpa and came home with  THIS...

So happy!!  Grandpa was the one who actually shot it but Joshua was excited to be part of the experience for the first time.  He also got to shoot one of Grandpa's big guns.  

He is still smiling. 

Isn't my dad's place pretty? 

And the camper was the icing on the cake. 

Last night was the first night that they didn't sleep in it since we got it.  And that's only because their dad said it was time to pack it up.  

Back at home the big kids were studying, cleaning, and watching movies at the other grandma's.  They still had no idea about the camper and the younger kids thought it was fun to know something they didn't.  

We came home to a big dinner in the works, a spotless house, and happy kids with a big new toy. 

Thank you to my family for such a great time! I can't wait until Christmas!!

Our Texas Trip Part 1

So y'all.

We have had a fantastic vacation week.  I can't even tell you.  But I will try.

First of all, we bought an AWESOME camper on Craigslist!!
Merry Christmas to us!!

We've had a dream of taking our kids camping again.  We used to camp quite a bit with our pop-up camper and little kids.  At first it was a blast.  

But then. 

God blessed our family with lots of babies at the same time.  Camping vacation turned into a ton of work trying to keep the babies from eating rocks and falling into the fire.  It was too hard and we decided it wasn't the right season for camping.  We sold the camper and raised our babies without campfire dangers.  

And now.  

Our babies are big.  And the season is right.  We found a camper in Texas that looked promising and it was an hour from my parents'.  Perfect!  And even though it was an early present, we wanted there to be an element of surprise.  So we secretly packed up the kids' stuff for a couple of days and covered it all with blankets in the back of the van.  

We told them we were going to do something fun but they couldn't ask questions.  

Our older kids were hugely helpful with this and even packed some good entertainment for the road. They weren't able to go because of school/work and we only told them we were visiting G'ma/G'pa.  They knew nothing of the camper.  

We hit the road early and gave them clever clues every 30 minutes.  They started to catch on when we crossed the TX border.  But when we pulled into a stranger's drive way, they knew there was more to the trip than a grandparents visit.  

The camper was just as it was described in the listing.  Just what we were looking for!  We paid the man, packed it up, and headed to see our family.  We told the kids everything and they were super excited.   

Texas is always a good time.  Mike and the boys slept in the camper at Grandpa's while Mallory and I stayed at Grandma's.  And because there is so much to show and tell, this post will focus on the visit at Grandma's....

Lots of western shows with PawPaw.

Visting with Grandma and Aunt Jodie

Snuggles with Great Grandma

At one point, we made a trip to Dollar General.  After looking through the sales, we headed to the toys. Grandmother and I pushed all the buttons of the noisy toys like we used to do when I was little.  I tell you, this lady will NOT act her age! ;)  She's a lot of fun to shop with.

But when she wanted to buy the dancing reindeer that sang about a cold beer, I had to put my foot down.

Meanwhile at Grandpa and Nana's, the boys were catching stuff and killing stuff and breaking in the camper.  Stay tuned for the details.....

On A Thursday

So I woke up this morning so full of hope because the temperature was supposed to be above 50 degrees outside.  And after a week of the super freeze, 50 sounded like weather that would be glorious.  Also, I did not have to take anybody to school or work until 10:00 so that also meant I could stay in my pajamas a little bit longer.  It's the little things. 

For the past 3 weeks my 5 younger kids have been studying for a spelling bee.  A real live spelling bee that has competition and a prize attached to it.  But it's not only spelling, but definitions too.  And now we are down to the last day.  The spelling bee is TOMORROW!  So I narrowed school down to math, Bible, and spelling.  And then more spelling.  And when you're done with all that, go quiz your brother on his spelling and then study your spelling words a couple more times.  I'm just a teeny bit nervous. 

After I took Lane to work and checked math and gave some spelling quizzes and pulled out a pot of soup that nobody likes and they refuse to eat, I took Joshua to our church's noonday service.  That sounds all fancy but it's not.  It's more like a middle of the week Bible study with friends and a big lunch.  It's something we look forward to all week and a privilege of being COW. 

After lunch, I dropped Joshua off at football and swung by Dana's garage sale only to find that she wasn't there.  So I helped myself to her green candlesticks and left her a text.  Meanwhile, back at home, my kids were working on their extra chore and hoping that someone would accidentally knock that pot of soup into the sink.  By accident of course. 

I got supper started (creamy chicken and rice) and folded 3 loads of laundry while chatting with my sister-in-law.  We covered all sorts of topics including Christmas presents, Dad's health, our son's cars, her sick puppy, and who I need to vote for in the upcoming election.  I was able to squeeze all that in before Josh came home from football and we had to make the trek into town for his ortho appt. 

And you know what?  He gets his braces off in TWO WEEKS!!! 
That is all kinds of exciting. 

Nate came with us because he wanted to do some Christmas shopping and he actually knew what he wanted to buy and had money in hand.  Bonus!   But first we pulled into Savers because Joshua needed football pants, and Nate and Z needed winter pants too.  11 pair for $36.  Plus the entire trip took 15 minutes included the time in the dressing room.  15 minutes.  Because boys are all about getting it done when it comes to shopping.  

We made it home before dark.  Dinner ready.  And all my people home except Lane who was (and still is) at work.  We ended the day with boys playing xbox football with their dad while I played and lost an exciting game of Clue to Mally and Zeke.  Then I read a chapter of their Thanksgiving book before bed.  And just when I thought they were not paying attention, Mally set the record straight by telling me they were not called Pilgrims.  They were actually 2 groups and they called themselves Strangers and Separatists. 

So I actually ended my day with a 2nd grade history lesson.

A Heavy Heart

I woke up this morning to read about the Jewish worshipers who were killed in the Jerusalem synagogue.

Oh Lord Jesus!  Please come quickly!!

The last thing on my mind on a Sunday morning is whether or not I will be gunned down in church.  I live in a country where I don't have to worry about such things.  I have unlimited freedom in almost every area of my life.

And yet, I take it for granted every. single. day.

I have ease and comfort on every side and more free time than any generation before me.  And I'm squandering it.   I spend my time being mad at stupid stuff, setting worthless junk before my eyes, serving myself, saying mean things, and not loving God's people like I should.

I am part of the over-fed, unconcerned, North American white church that is filling itself up with self love, tearing down our own pastors, and delighting in airing our opinions on Facebook instead of loving each other and seeking the face of God.  And while we fight over worship styles, carpet colors, and money, Muslims are taking over the world while we watch people race into hell.

My mind is full.  And sad.  And I'm looking for change.

Instead, I should take full advantage of all this time and convenience and freedom to work out my own salvation with fear and trembling.  Living a holier life, studying, praying, and loving His people.

And while I certainly can't change the world, I can do better in my own house.  In my own life, in my kids' lives, and (Lord willing) in other kids' lives soon too.  I want to set an example and teach my children to guard their eyes, NOT celebrate evil, learn to forgive and love, and share our faith openly.

Today I've been praying for Israel, for America, and for my own little piece of the earth.   There is a day of judgement approaching.  This won't go on forever.  And I want to be found to be an approved workman that is not ashamed.  

Billy Graham says, "Where there is life, there is hope.  The Spirit of God is knocking faithfully at the door.  If we repent, mend our ways, throw off our sins, we can yet be used of God to bring healing and help to a dying civilization."

Snow flakes

It's freezing outside!  So I decided to pull out a Christmas craft I saw on Pinterest. 

We planned to do this while Nana was here but we ran out of time.  And today turned out to be perfect for hot chocolate, movies, and snow flake craft. 

  

 

Working so hard!

 

 Glue

 

 

 Glitter

 

 

Popsicle sticks and lots of sparkly

 

Ta Da!!

 

Our tree will be extra fancy this year!

6 Good Things

#1.  Seeing my bees warm makes me happy.  I am planning to go one bale higher on each side and squeeze one in the front.  At $5/bale this would not be affordable for a big apiary unless you did your own hay, but for me this year....I'm loving it.

#2.  We went shoebox shopping with Meg. Then some shopping around town.

We hit the big Savers sale but guess what I got?  Pretty much nothing.  And it's all because every single thing I picked up was vetoed by the girls...

No Mom, you can't wear that. 

Put that back Mom. 

That looks like something a witch would wear. 

That looks like banana pudding. 

Ummm No mom.  

Who invited them anyway!?  :-) 

But I saw these hilarious pictures.   My grandmother used to have these when I was little.  I guess they were popular back in the day.  But now....who would ever?!  

#3.  We had some marshmallows in the freezer left over from the summer.  I bought some rice crispies and made rice crispie treats.  My kids said I was their favorite mother.  

#4. Cold days = a little more xbox time.

#5.  Cheap shaving cream makes bath time perfect.  And makes for a nice smelling bathroom too! 

#6.  Nana came!!  And we had the best time shopping, eating, talking, watching movies, and just being together.  She let Josh drive her car and he is still smiling! 

Bee News

I just got home from our monthly bee club meeting and I WON!!!

2 TIMES EVEN!!!

There used to be a 50/50 split with money.  And that was fun.  But now it's changed to a free drawing and a few experienced bee keepers will donate prizes.  Tonight the prizes included candy blocks (for feeding) and inserts made from that peg board wood for closing off screened bottom boards.

I WON BOTH!!
And in case you couldn't tell, I'm just tickled to death.

In the interest of full disclosure I should mention that I only won one of those things.  But Mr. Hardin gave Zeke his ticket because he is awesome that way and Zekey won the second one.  Z was so excited that he was quite the show and everyone had fun watching him.

I've already installed my bottom board insert.  Like as soon as I got home in the dark.  Also, someone gave me their mouse guards that they didn't need.  Happy!

My bees are looking good.  This will be my 2nd winter and rumor has it that it will be a hard and cold winter.  Tonight we learned some good tips for winterizing hives.  I needed that.

Both hives appear to have plenty of honey for awhile.  But this winter I plan on checking them any day that the temp gets above 55.

I learned a lot of different things that I didn't need to know last year.  I split a hive and caught a swarm.  Both of those are pretty huge.  Mr. Hardin also taught us how to build frames.  But I also learned some preferences that are working for me. Last year, as a brand new bee keeper, I just muddled through the best I could and learned as much as possible.  This year I've figured out what is working better and the things my bees seem to like.

1. They do not like upper entrance queen excluders.  This prevented them from making as much honey.

2. Starting in early March they need to be checked a LOT for queen cells.

3.  Double brood chambers mean lots of bees.  Lots of bees mean I can afford more die off in the winter.

4.  Hive beetles are an issue that I need to figure out.  Keep the grass super short and make sure those hives are in the sun.

5.  Using wood chips in my smoker keeps my smoker going longer than pine needles.

I love my bees!

10 Things That Make Me Smile

1. Taking Mally to Dollar General just for fun.  And it was fun.  She talked through each aisle and exclaimed over every little thing that I would've never noticed. 

2.  The whole reason she wanted to go was to get Damon a birthday card.  We recently learned that she and Damon share a birthday.  Mally has the unique gift of picking out perfect little presents for people.  When she learned they shared a birthday then she pulled out some money to buy him a card.  Her thoughtfulness makes me smile. 

3.  Little boys that are having a blast playing with shaving cream that I bought them at Dollar General.  My bathtub will smell so good when they are done.  In the meantime, they are laughing it up and having the greatest time. 

4.  A new keyboard that LB's boss gave us when he cleaned out his garage.  Now we might not have to take ours back and forth to church every Sunday and Wednesday. 

5.  Jes's piano playing. 

6.  Josh giving him a sincere compliment on his piano playing at the last youth service. 

7.  2 surprise checks totally almost $30 that Josh received as "add on and premium" from showing chickens at the fair.  A fair lady texted and told me they'd be waiting at the court house.  Don't even ask me what that means or why he got them.  And just to show you how confusing the fair stuff is, when I texted my man to tell him about them he said "Did they say checks or chicks?"  And then I had to think about it and read it again because I had no idea what they were talking about.  I still don't.  But my boys is happy with his money and will be able to start helping financially with his chicken feed. 

8.  Also his chickens are laying enough that he can start selling a few eggs. 

9. Our van is fixed! And it wasn't nearly as bad as originally predicted. 

10.  It's Friday! 

Hope you have a great weekend!! 

Some Of This And Some Of That

Part of my sporadic blogging has been because school has been so busy.  We've added new things and it's been a good semester but GOODNESS with all the work already!   Yesterday was easier, not because the work load has decreased but because I tried some new organizational tricks.  What this means is that I have the time, and most importantly, the energy to do something besides nap in the afternoon.  Hello messy kitchen drawer....I'm looking at you.  And now I can even blog a little bit more too. 

I just set that up as if I had something very important to tell you that I've been waiting forever to finally put out there.  But you will see that's not the case.  I will just bore you with another post of phone pix......

 First of all.  I'm officially old.  The reading glasses says it all.
 

 

 The Tower Of Babel with math manipulatives.  Because it's more fun to do that than math.
 

My kitchen window sill.  On the left, pumpkin sprouts growing from the pumpkin. 
This was a Pinterest thing.  It's been fun to watch it grow but the pumpkin part is starting to rot so it'll be on its way to the horse pasture soon.  The middle one is my attempt to grow lettuce in a bowl of water.  And the right is a cactus that Lane bought for me that should bloom again sometime soon. 

My husband made some comment about me killing everything I try to grow.  But I feel that is entirely unfair considering I haven't killed a single one of his kids yet. 

Now I'll leave you with this text from Meg.  It still makes me laugh....
 

 

Have We Really Not Talked About Football All Season?

Where Have I Been???!!!

 

I woke up with a determination this morning to catch up on some blogging.  It's been way too long because.....

 

1.  Football

2.  School

3.  The rest of life that happens in between those things.

 

So let's discuss some football, shall we?  Last week was HUGE for jr.high/sr.high football. 

Our neighboring town, Booneville, is a 3A school this year which meant we got to play them for the first time in something like 17 years. 

 

Both Booneville and Charleston were undefeated in junior high AND senior high.  So yeah, it was a big deal.

 

The junior high game was in Booneville and my friend Mr. H came to sit with me and cheer on that good looking kicker of mine. 

 

 

I love this picture.  This is my favorite angle.

 

 

But I really LOVE this picture.  An extra point attempt out of the hold of Mason. 

 

 

Our boys played a hard game but just couldn't pull off a win against the Bearcats.   And this picture is precious.  Praying after the game with coaches and team mates.  I tell you Charleston has the BEST coaching staff and I'm thrilled that 3 of my boys will benefit from that next year. 

 

 

The next morning the kids all got a text from their coach telling them that God gave them a new day , that he (Coach S.) loved them, and he would see them at school.  Have I mentioned how awesome these coaches are? 

 

And here's a picture of one of my favorite ball boys.  He and Jes had a lot of fun doing this for their brother's team. 

 

 

And then it was Friday night. 

You gotta love a town that postpones trick-or-treating festivities for a high school football game.

 

Both teams undefeated.  Big pep rally.  Super excited town. 

 

And after last season, I never thought I'd miss a Tiger game.   But I'm ashamed to say I didn't make one single game at all.  NOT ONE.  And I blame it all on little league football because it's CRAZY!! 

It has killed most of our family time this whole football season and so we soak up our Friday nights at home. 

 

And we actually thought about missing this one too except somebody asked my man to go special to take pictures, Christian said he COULD NOT miss this, and Mr. Storey let our kids in for free. 

 

So we made a last minute decision (meaning 3:00) and I called my teenagers to hurry to the field to tape down our blankets on the seats to reserve our spot.  The stands were full of blankets that were put down days before.  Even Booneville's fans drove up to reserve their seats in advance.  And of course my favorite spot that's half way up on the 50 was long gone.  The best they could do was the first row on the 50 which was plenty good enough at times like this. 

 

I also had Lane drive up an hour and a half early to wait on our seats because OF COURSE!!  And even then she had to park at the library because everything was full. 

By kick-off time the entire stadium was surrounded.  There was not even standing room!  And our 50/50 split had an all-time high of over $1000 that was won by a Booneville fan.  Meaning it was not me. 

Now I've kinda wondered all season if I would really enjoy the game the same way since I didn't have a son on the field.  And ....well, it wasn't the same.  But it was still the most fun I've had in a long time.  Love me some Tiger football!!

Well I'm happy to say that our big boys did awesome and are STILL undefeated.  Looks like another state championship in the future and I don't plan to miss it!

 

 

 

Just A Few Pics From My Phone

 

Taking out the chicken plate and this one met her on the way.  She got first picks.
 

 

Two of my favorite people. 

 

 

Isn't this an incredible picture!  He stole some pumpkin when Josh was making this.....
 

A jack-o-lantern with boogers coming out his nose.  You mommas of little girls will NOT understand this. 
 

LB helping Nate with his science.

I've had a hard time coming up with anything to say this week so I thought I'd just check in and show you the week in pictures!  Have a fun day...


 

A Thirty Pound Catch

It was a good afternoon.

School was over, the big kids had been picked up, and the little boys were fishing.  That's when Zeke came running up to the house at full speed with his mouth wailing out words at the same pitch as a siren.  DISASTER!!

Our dog Korrie had gotten a big fish hook stuck in the back of her tongue while she tried to steal some catfish bait.  There was no getting it out.

Now I woke up this morning with two significant things on my mind.  It was a busy day and promised to be a late night.  Number one, I had a friend coming over that I haven't seen in a long time.  Number two, there was a ladies' thing at church and I had invited my neighbor and she said yes.

But by 9am both things were cancelled for various reasons and my busy day was now a regular day WITH NOWHERE TO GO.  And I think you know how big that is to me.

It totally dictates my wardrobe for the day.  No standing in my closet making decisions, no holding anything up to see if I can get away with not ironing it.

And that's why the disaster found me at 3:30 still in my pjs....which happens to be shorts and a t-shirt that don't even come close to matching.

So while Jes carried Korrie back up the house, I found some jeans and a different t-shirt (FANCY) and gave instructions to the kids staying home.   My nowhere to go turned into an emergency trip to the vet.

I started fighting back tears about half way into town.  I wasn't worried about Korrie...the fish hook didn't even seem to bother her much.  But just thinking about the last time I went to the vet.  My sweet JoeJoe was very sick and wouldn't get well.

There are a few things that I relate to Nathan's babyhood.  We bought our washer and dryer, my parents got divorced, HL died, and we got a new puppy.  That new puppy would turn out to be such a sweet good dog that would bless our family for 10 years.

And we sure miss him.

Korrie had to be left for an hour or so while they sedated her and pulled out the hook.   Meanwhile Honey and I took Jes to Sams for pizza.

By the time we picked up Korrie, she was bouncing around like nothing ever happened.  They even saved the hook for us.

Hopefully next time the boys will use it to catch a catfish instead of a puppy.

Recent Randomness

~First of all, chocolate cake.  I wanted chocolate cake all week but there was no reason/time to make it.  I asked Honey if he thought there would be chocolate cake in Heaven.  He said it wouldn't be much of heaven without it.  I like his thinking.

But finally on Friday I realized something amazing.  WE HAD NOWHERE TO GO!!  And if that's not a reason to break out some chocolate cake nothing is.  I made this recipe from Pinterest and Oh My Word!!  I don't know if it really was incredible or if I just wanted it so much that I imagined the incredibleness....but wow.

~Next up.  2 different friends gave me a jar of their homemade jelly and it has made lunches all the sweeter around here.  My friends are talented.

~Yesterday there were several garage sales in my neighborhood.  Honey, Mally, and I walked the street and hit them all.  We came home with lots of baby gear for our fosters.  A stroller, swing, exersaucer, bumbo, and baby bath.  They are soooo cute and Mally's baby doll has been testing them out ever since.

Tomorrow is our first foster care meeting.  Classes don't start until January but this is the first step and will include our background checks and all.

Also, there has been some great news about Maggie House.  This week the board voted and approved all the money for construction to begin.  So if all goes well, we should have our new children's home next year.

I saw a lot of this all weekend as my man prepared for worship.  I will never get tired of it.  

Baby Girl and I were going to make some candles but we didn't have the right scent to add and it won't be here until Wednesday so we did something different.  We took an old candle that wouldn't light anymore and melted it down in a jar like this.

Then we made 2 new candles out of it.  I was a little concerned that the scent wouldn't be as strong but it seems to be exactly the same.  I'm pretty happy with how they turned out.  

~I also made toothpaste.  Don't even ask me why.  I guess because I had most of the stuff and I was in a Ma Ingalls mood.  That's the only explanation.  It was a very easy recipe but I didn't have the calcium powder it called for.  I made my own by throwing some calcium tablets into my spice grinder and it worked fine.  The end result was kinda gross though.  I can't say that I'll never make it again because you never know when a snow storm will come up and make it impossible to get to the Dollar General just at the time when you are really hurting for toothpaste.  But until then I'm sticking with the real stuff.  

~Saturday was also pumpkin day.  The kids painted little pumpkins that I don't have pictures of, the bigger boys carved a goofy face into a big pumpkin, and we filled a pie pumpkin with potting soil.  

If the pie pumpkin does what it's supposed to do, then the seeds will sprout and it will have lots of pretty green coming from the top.  

~I am in the middle of the clothes exchange.  It's going slow.  And I'm not enjoying it.  Last week we opened a tub of Jes' clothes to find stuff that I'm sure I have never seen before.  I have no idea who gave those to us but I'm so thankful for them.  Then today a friend at church gave me 2 bags of her daughter's clothes for LB.  I love the generosity of our friends!  

~As I look out my window, I see 5 dogs running, playing, barking, and having the best time.  My next door neighbor's dogs, my two, and Blue are all enjoying the day while my neighbor hits golf balls in my other neighbor's yard.  Blue broke his leg several weeks ago and had surgery.  We haven't seen him in awhile and today his leg looks terrible.  Blue's family has had a rough go at life lately.  Their little boy has a brain tumor and is undergoing chemo.  Please pray for 3 year old Eli.  

And now it's Sunday afternoon and that means only one thing. NAP TIME!  

Just Some Stuff I Want To Do Just Because....

Ten Things.....

Plant flowers...which is unfortunate since I'm not very good at growing things.  But maybe things are changing!


Learn to weed eat...because nobody wants to do it in the bee yard and I hate it to be overgrown.


Switch my honey supers to shallows..... light weight and allows me to harvest solo.


Re-paint my whole house....It's time.


Paint the entryway table coral....bold and pretty.


Finish a big stack of books that I wanna read.....but I have to actually have them first!


Spend more time hanging out with my kids in their rooms.....I love them.


Have more picnics and bake more cookies.....life is short.


Learn to load my own music on my own phone.....because its ridiculous that I don't know how yet.


Be less afraid....of disappointing people, of trying something different, of failing, of whatever.  Except mice.  There is still a place for that.

How To Have A Get Away Without Actually Going Anywhere

---

Here's what happened.

We needed a little break.  Just me and Honey.  And we thought and planned about what it might look like and when would be the best time to go and how the kids would manage.  So finally we decided that this Thursday and Friday would be the days.

I made reservations at Bull Shoals because that's just about the greatest camping place we know of and we were planning a camping trip.  I got this awesome spot (so the lady said) very close to the best bathrooms.  Then I got to work making a camping menu plan and a stay-at-home menu for the kids.

But then.

Well as the time got closer I started thinking about all the things that probably wouldn't work.  For one...I'm terrible at being gone.  Especially at night.  I went to LR with friends a few months back and once it hit bedtime I was super close to melting into a puddle of tears and panic.  It's not like a clinical anxiety type of thing as much as I just miss my kids and I want be to home when it's bedtime.  Number two...I am in the car several times a day taking kids to various places.  My teenagers are gone all day and aren't able to help with the chauffeuring.  That leaves a lot to my mother-in-law.  Number three...kids would be at home alone for 3 nights.  Four...we would miss Joshua's football game.  Five...the tent.  

So I chickened out and cancelled the reservations and lost our deposit money and cried because I felt so horrible about it.

But my man....well I do believe he saw it coming because he wasn't the least bit surprised and tried not to sound disappointed.  Really y'all, he's awesome.

At first he said we'd wait until after football season.  Life would be slower, easier, we wouldn't miss as much, and I would have more time to warm up to the idea.  But then he changed his mind and came up with a different idea.

Thursday we took LB to school and loaded up the littles for a day of Grandma fun.  Then we headed out for breakfast.  And it was so quiet in the car!  No music, no noise from the backseat, just the background of road noise as we had uninterrupted conversation.  We ate at a new place and just enjoyed doing something different than working on a Thursday morning.  We spent the whole day in town shopping and eating and talking.

We got home in time for the football game, except a huge storm came up and it was cancelled.  Strong winds, big lightening, and NO POWER.  This tends to happen at this house.  And I must say that I would've totally freaked out if we were camping 4 hours away while the kids had no electricity.  Later my friend Sharon reminded me that the kids might've been better off since they would've been at Grandma's house and they don't lose power like we do.  But nevermind.

And then today was lots of fun.  After taking LB to school and leaving good instructions for the others, we headed to Alma to Cracker Barrel.  Such good food!  Then we walked across the way to the RV place to look at campers.  And that was really good because it gave us a better idea of what might be a good fit.  Pop ups sleep more people but the Toy Hauler can take more stuff and sleep people.  And since most of our kiddos are good with tents, that might be the way to go.  SOMEDAY!!  Until then, we keep looking on Craigslist and saving some money.

After that we headed to the lake and walked the pretty trail and took pictures.  The weather was perfect!  We turned around at the pretty waterfall and headed back.  A quick stop for drinks and snacks and we were headed home to get back in time for football practice.

This is homecoming week and that means PARADE!!  They are such fun around here.  The police stop traffic, the kids line the street, lots of smiles and waves and honks as the trailers and fancy cars drive by and the band marches.  Jes rode on the Young Tigers trailer with his football team.  And this was Honey's first parade to get to watch around here because he's always been at work.  FUN!!

This was the perfect way to spend time together without actually being gone too long and too far.  And maybe sometime I'll actually grow up to the point of being able to leave my kids for a night.  In the meantime,  I think we'll be hitting Alma Lake a little more often!