Branson, MO

Thursday- 6/26
So today we started our journey to Branson, MO for our family vacation. We fit 8 people in the suburban; packed but with plenty of room to spare. We didn't stop! (except to check the tire pressure). NO kids whined or fussed. It was a great ride, much better than I had anticipated.


We checked into our cabin. It's situated here in the deep valley, 4 bedrooms, 4 baths and a cozy living area with a lovely screened porch off the back. The place where we will stay for the next few nights seems wonderful.


Nancy and I sat down on the bed to call and order pizza around 6pm. The kids had eaten off and on during the car ride, but I was starving. It would take an hour to deliver. We scratched that idea and headed into town. Where we drove slowly down the strip. We ate at Charlie's steak house which had a woman serenading us all night and patrons could sing as well. David asked Jaci if she would sing and she said as loud as she could, "NO". It was hilarious.


On the way back to the cabin we are driving sharp turns. Jaci started to cry and then puked. She was seriously too full, her body got rid of it and then she was great. The kids piled in one bed and went to sleep around 10pm.


Friday 6/27
The kids woke up around 7am. We ate breakfast and they took off for the playground which is directly across the street. It's a nice with a creek to play in directly across from a beautiful green (Golf). Jacob even caught a crawfish while playing in the creek.


We went out shopping and the kids road go carts. Back to the cabin for lunch and then off to the newly developed pool. Adam and I went for a walk and then came back and took a nap. Off we were again, back in the traffic...to the Dixie Stampede. It was GREAT! The food was good, the kids all got to scream and stomp their feet. I LOVED the little piggies racing. It was a blast. Then we all went to Treasure island to play putt putt. When we pulled up the first thing I told the kids was, "now kids we will not ride the train, don't ask". HA HA on me...I was thinking of saving money. But to my surprise we had to take the train to get to the course, it was included. David laughed at me. Our family of 11 filled up the entire train. Adam & Crystal got hole in one(s) and that was fun to watch.


Saturday 6/28

I didn't sleep at all last night, major storms rolled through this valley. The creek that the kids could play in yesterday is now a large rapid(s) and has flooded the green behind the house. Jacob was crying the morning b/c he thinks that he will be unable to go to Silver Dollar City. Praying that the thunderstorms will stop soon. But it did not. So we were very adaptable. We headed off to the butterfly museum, but the power was out so then to plan C...we went to the titanic museum, which was very cool. I could've stayed for hours, but kids were zooming through it. Then off to playtime pizza. Still raining, we came back home and took a rest. The storms passed about 3pm and we went into Silver Dollar City (you can buy a ticket for after 3pm, and get the next day free). So we left silver dollar city close to closing and gave all 5 kids to Nano and Papaw Cycle.

Jeff, Crystal, Adam, & I went out. We ate at Ruby Tuesday and grocery shopping, etc. We bought a cake for Nancy's birthday and there was no one to write on the cake, and they let us write it for her, it was hilarious. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.

Sunday 06/29
We woke up early and got everything packed so we could head out to Silver Dollar city and then leave to go back home. We had so much fun this day because we stayed on mostly bigger rides. Jacob and Kobie road their first roller coaster. This thing went FAST (Powder Keg). We all had a blast and then dozed off during the car ride back home.

I think that all three families enjoyed each other and had a lot of good laughs, and if this is a preview of what is to come for later vacations I think we will do great!

**We were called the tie-dye kids from other people trying to keep up with their own kids...We got many looks and were asked a LOT where we were from...I'm guessing they thought San Fransico.

Congrats to Jacob

Jacob made the U11 classic soccer team- we are so proud of him.

06/18- Hectic

Crazy day today- I feel like I have a million things floating in the air, projects undone, too much to , and it's not quite over. We started at 6am, every one up and ate a good breakfast (hasbrowns and eggs and Fruit / yogurt). I dropped Dylan off with DoDo and Kobie off to the tutor, Adam took Jacob to work with him. I went to work while Kobie got picked up from Mrs. Becky's and Choo Choo took him to baseball. Then Adam brought me Jacob after noon and he stayed at my office and we even had some Purple Cow treats...then Mammy picked Jacob up and they went fishing while I finished at work, and Kobie and D went with Choo Choo to the pool. I got off work met Mammy @ the soccer fields for Jacob's last try out, then Adam came to take over after work. I went across the river picked up the younger two and took them to VBS...I'm home alone and still working...well....I'm taking a break now! :) For all of you who've had days like this...You deserve a tall glass of wine! THANK YOU TO ALL MY BABIES GRANDPARENTS WHO LOVE MY KIDS AS MUCH AS I DO>>>I couldn't do anything without you. I love you so much! It's a treasure to be able to share my boys with you all. I couldn't imagine not having the support of our extended family.

06/16

Jacob was invited to try out a year early for classic soccer so we are currently in the middle of the 4 tryout sessions...It's going well, I'm dreading the cost, but if he's good why not let your kid excel.

The other two will have to do other special things to make up for this. I don't know if any of ya'll do this, but we keep the total amount of money spent on each kid in a year the exact same. It's fair...Life outside of this home can't be fair, but I hope to keep it as equal as possible inside the home, same amount of chores too.

Kobie started his tutoring sessions with Adam's Aunt...and he LOVES it. School work during the summer by himself sounded bad, until he started it. He is actually reading the billboards which is a HUGE improvement. Anything to get him up to third grade level is great! And I think he's proud of himself which boosts his self image.

We went to the Aerospace center (IMAX) this Friday for family night. What a deal..$27.50 for an educational movie on Australia (Animals and land) and had coke and popcorn. $5.50 a person is a steal. It's really hard to entertain a family of 5. But you have to get away from the normal routine of your life to teach your kids, how to act outside of the home. I would recommend you do this with your family you will hear everyone kids talking during the movie, which makes you feel less self-conscious about your children chatting. They were excited about all the animals they had never seen before.

I learned something too...Did you know that a kangaroo mom is an incredible animal. During a rainy season she can have a toddler and an infant and a embryo inside of her. She will produce two different types of milk for each of her young. And she can hold her embryo (sustain growing and birth)...CRAZY until conditions are right for her to give birth. This is freakin' insane...Adam said I'm falling down on my duties. I don't know about that...but I think the Kangaroo is an amazing animal.

Saturday was CARTI bike race. Our fab 5 family and Crystal and Mrs. Becky and Nano manned the last rest stop for the bikers. We handed out bananas, apples, pickles, granola bars, and drinks. It was neat to see all the bikers and the boys actually were a BIG help to us. It's nice to see your kids being self-less. PICTURE Above

Sunday was father's day. Happy Daddy's day to all of you out there whom I didn't see. I cleaned Adam's shed for his present...How cheap was that? Then we had over all of our dads. My one and Adams 3...Considering he lived with his Papaw most of his life and he acts just like him. It's great to see a driven man with good old values. I love that.

Today we went to the Old Statehouse Museum (FREE) and the boys liked the music exhibit. The boys ogled over Dolly Parton's boobs and skinny waist in her green gown on display. Jacob asked me how her boobs could be that big and her waist so skinny. I then told him that her boobs were fake. He just looked at me with crazy awe...Dylan liked seeing his name with Bob Dylan and other great stars. They also liked the First Lady's Dress exhibit...well not so much the dresses, but the SHOES...Lord, they love shoes, but honestly they were giggling b/c some of these ladies had BIG feet I'm a size 9 and they were much larger than my shoes...All with the exception of the current Ginger Beebe wearing tiny athletic shoes with her ball gown...Apparently she had a broken foot during the ball. They thought the dishes with pictures of buildings on them were cool, and asked if we could get some of those. I explained they were china and no we couldn't' have any, but if they wanted to go be the president / Governor they sure could have some then. They enjoyed the train station where they got to play dress up and sit on the back of a makeshift train and pretend they were Mr. presidents...They found a sign they wanted me to take a PICTURE OF...Because they weren't allowed to say that word and there it was in a museum. :) Then we went next door to the Peabody (FREE) to watch the ducks come out for the day.

06/10

I'm back...Friday was going to be a great day, and turned for the worse. I called Adam when I arrived at the Dentist office and he had a wreck in his car...well he wasn't even in the car and neither was the other cars driver...Parking brake failed (2nd time) and the car rolled away and hit another vehicle. So I sat down in the dentist office after hearing this news and was upset, tears rolling, and the Dr. asked if I wanted to reschedule. Now most of you know I don't cry (in public) but I couldn't stop the tears. I told the Dr. to just get it over with, the boys were loud and annoying at this point, I handed them their treats and we got to work on the tooth.
Needless to say the treats only worked for 1 child. My tooth was in dire need of repair...and hurt like a "_____" you fill in the blank. They were drilling away tears falling down my face when I stopped the Dr...b/c I overheard the boys having a great idea to play "SPIN THE BOTTLE" now my tears turned into hysteric laughter. God's comedic relief is needed always. Kobie even asked me if I had funny gas (which I hadn't). Their sharing had turned into an idea of spin the bottle of water and who it landed on would then determine who gets the next drink. It was so funny.

Adam & I were supposed to have a date, but could only make it to the new movie theatre, which was nice, and SMALL, the only positive things were the seats. The Air went out 1/2 way through the movie, the women's restrooms were flooded and out of order and one sink only worked in the bathroom. I do warn all of you about Zohan, to NOT take a small child in this movie. It should really be rated R. I had a 7 year old boy next to me that was up till midnight...and I was shocked. It's very funny, but if you don't want to explain adult relationships to your child yet, DON"T let them watch this.

Then Saturday morning when we got up, we had no kids, but still went and picked up a friends child, so they didn't have to sit through swim meets. We took a trip to the Farmers Market and I bought 2 weeks worth of produce for $17. I'm still excited.

This weekend was a lazy one...We were able to make some big decisions about our family together in the slow time. Which felt very good.

Sunday the boys went to church and were asked to repeat their memory verse and they did word for word...but it wasn't the churches, so they weren't allowed to receive a treat. That was bunk - they were very disappointed, but we gave them a treat. So Adam and I decided we need the kids to learn the churches memory verse, so they can be rewarded in front of their peers. And the weeks that I don't think that verse will help our household they will have to learn at least two.

I got a new organizing client, which most of you know I do in my spare time, but I haven't done this in over 6 months. I forgot how truly passionate I am about helping people in this way...Too bad once it's fixed, there are no return visits...which makes for a dry spell for the pockets. I'll stick to bookkeeping, but when I don't have kids I'd love to go back to organizing...Or be a Park Ranger - Oh yes, this subject I'll save for another date.

Adam played soccer for the 1st time since he broke his ankle two years ago. It was fun to watch, entertaining, and I love seeing him all energetic and having a blast.

We did our deed for the week saving a man's blackberry that was left on the fields before the rain started. The soccer games were cancelled due to the heavy rain.

This week is a busy one...Hope all of you can manage.

I'm going to try and exercise ALONE this afternoon...

TGIF

So It's FRIDAY!!! We've been to the pool and to the park...but nothing too exciting.



Wednesday night I went to a much needed girls night, which was a BLAST.



Last night the kids went to a birthday party and Adam and I went to the grocery store...It wasn't a date, but was fun running around in "Gucci wal-mart" (Maumelle). Wood floors and great spacial planning was used in this wally world. The lights in the freezer are motion censored, they turn on when you walk by, it was kinda neat. Adam said he would want to run by quickly in the morning down the isles and watch it all light up.



Today my plan is to get this house back in some sort of order, it goes chaotic so often with three boys leaving stuff everywhere...I think we've gotten the shoes in check, but the rest of it still needs some fine tuning. Seriously, could you see 5 years into the future when I'm tripping over size 12+ boats in the floor...you know we would all laugh after I busted my rear over some shoes.



We have to go to the dentist today all 4 of us...while I get a filling - my 1st in 10+ years...it's crazy, but it has to be done, so I had a plan to bribe the kids with a special "NEW" treat...I found cliff bars for kids. This will be interesting, the only time they have had cliff bars is when we went snow skiing, b/c they were burning so many calories and needed food every run just to keep going, so they would take bites of them on the ski lifts. Hopefully this works...



I'm looking forward to tonight, Date night! We are going out with the Kremer's to a new Brazilian restaurant then the new PV Promenade movie theatre to watch Adam Sandler as the Zohan.


Well I tried to elude the chores, but they Need to be done now. Off to the real world.



:) Have a great weekend!

06/03

I figured it would be good for me mentally to get out everything that goes on (the good, the bad, and the oh so ugly) out so I wouldn't have to keep repeating it to all (not that I don't mind) but writing helps me get rid of A LOT of feelings.

This weeks memory verse for the boys is my favorite "Philippians 2:14 - Do everything without complaining or arguing". Wouldn't the world be a great place if we all could just learn to shut our mouths and look towards the positive in everything.

Saturday we completed our long overdue project of ripping up the laundry room floor and replacing with a new floor and got ourselves a non-fire hazard dryer vent. The lovely worker men were Jeff and David Holsted on demolition day. Ted Clouser, Jeff Killingsworth, Mike Goodwin and Mammy on Repair and install day. It was a wild weekend.

Sunday Kobie was baptized and our church had their 24th birthday party which was a blast.

Monday Wrapped up the end of a trying school year for all of us. Dylan finished his first year of school...and Jacob struggled with 3rd grade organization and homework loads. We checked the boys out at noon and all 5 of us had fun at wild river country then had two soccer games that evening (1 - win, 1- tie).

Well TODAY is officially the 1st day of summer for the boys and already we are off to a wild and crazy start.

Today I got up at 5am and started a pot of coffee and a load of laundry and went to work until I woke up Adam made breakfast for everyone and sent him off. I sat back down at the computer to finish the 30 minutes left of work and sent the boys off to complete their chores for the morning. Jacob fed the dogs, Kobie's watering the veggie garden, and Dylan taking the dirty sheets off the beds.

Kobie went out into the yard when he was done with his chore and started screaming at me...It was loud...not a hurt scream...so I got up and went outside and there stood Kobie with his fingers holding the tail of this rodent...GROSS! I told him to put it in a box and go wash his hands. So he did and came back out and threw the box off the deck across the yard like a Frisbee...I went to retrieve the box and on my way there I found another rodent. I used two sticks to pick up the nasty thing and put the two in the box side by side. They are related...but they were not field mice like we usually get after LPOA cuts the grass at the lake. They were

MOLES...dark grey, little bitty things with big buck teeth. CHECK out Picture, the boys made the two DEAD animals a HOME??? I'm letting them do their thing.

So if this is anything to hint at what the summer will be like...I should hold onto my seat and keep my eye lids peeled. It will be an adventure with these boys. One I will not want to miss.