Slower Days

I left off last week on Friday, which was Daddy's birthday, and our plans for that day were very relaxed. We didn't do much of anything at all except for pizza for supper and banana cream pie for desert. We relaxed and hung out with each other while simply taking in the richness of our lives together.

Saturday we again spent the day relaxing. The wind was too strong to be messing with roofing materials as they would simply not cooperate by staying in place while working with them. Everyone slept in a bit and then woke up relatively relaxed. We all went down to the water front to see the art fair that was going on in town, lots of lovely things ... but way too many people for Peanut and Daddy to be comfortable with. The shot I'm sharing of Peanut is my favorite from this day when she saw the "big boat" coming by and wanted a picture with it. After our quick trip to the art fair we took the campers home and sent them in the house for lunch while we went up to the Little League park in town to see Daddy's boss selling some of her stuff and to help her take down her stand and get it back to the office for storage until the next day when she'd be going down to the art fair as well. Once Daddy and I got back the campers all went outside to play again, Daddy took an afternoon nap, and I devoured book three of The House of Night series (link from Amazon, no I am not an affiliate). Before starting supper I started the fourth book in the series. I had begun reading these out of order when gifted some by a friend from Learning Life with 3 Sons and became hooked. YCJ grabbed the first book in the series from the library a few weeks ago and after she read it I read it and now ECJ is reading it. I even made a special trip to the library last week just to pick up books 2 - 5 in the series. As soon as I finish those I'll go get the rest of the series and then I'll be writing a review of the whole series! These books are in the teen section of the library and it depends on the level of maturity of your teen on if you'd allow them to read them or not as starting mainly in book three there's some sexual content that gets just a little graphic (there's some in the first two books as well but not as much). YCJ has decided that the series is not for her and she's just 12.

Ok, completely went on a book tangent rabbit hole right there. LOL sorry about that. I made pork chops, rice, gravy, and corn for supper Saturday night. After everyone had eaten supper the campers ate several emoji "poop" shaped ice cycles that we'd bought the molds for at Walmart while we were with Noni last Tuesday. There were lots of giggles and outright laughter while eating them. All in good fun of course! Then it was medicine time and being that it was the weekend the campers all got out their electronics and played Animal Jam together through the WiFi. They were up until ten pm playing and then it was time for half an hour of quiet reading time and then bed. Daddy and I took our medicine around 11 PM as usual and then headed to bed ourselves. It was a wonderful relaxing day had by all.

Sunday we spent the morning at mass and then Daddy went to work for a few hours to do some things that needed done, let me be clear that Daddy gets a salary ... therefore it doesn't matter if he works 24 hours (what he's contracted to work) or 30+ hours, he still only gets paid for 24. This actually works really well for us. Daddy has a pretty good work ethic and therefore if he can't get a job done during his regular scheduled working hours he works over the weekend to help get the project finished on time. It also means that some weeks that he isn't busy at work he still gets paid for those 24 hours. After he came home and the campers had had lunch, Daddy, the girls, and I all went scrapping together. ECJ opted to stay home. After we got back from scrapping Daddy BBQ'ed hot dogs and we ate chili dogs for supper.

On Monday Daddy, ECJ, and I got up early and unloaded the scrap off of the truck. Then Daddy went to work, I sorted through the various metals, and ECJ began taking apart the scrap. Both girls woke up a bit after the rest of us and seemed so tired still that I called a day off of lessons (I'd scheduled for Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday this week) ... we'll get around to those lessons three days this week. Thankfully the weather is supposed to warm back up as it was only in the mid sixties at around noon. After Daddy got home from work we reloaded the truck with the scrap and then went to the scrap yard. We left the campers at home and went scrapping again down by Grandma and Papa's neighborhood with a quick stop at McDonald's for supper for everyone.

Tuesday Daddy again went into work early, but came home after about an hour to unload a few things from the truck for ECJ to take apart. YCJ woke up and watched some YouTube videos while waiting for Peanut to wake up ... she slept in really late this morning and wasn't feeling very well so lessons were called off for Tuesday as well. We'll see if we do school the rest of the week considering that she's not feeling well and it's summer so we can take several weeks off if we want to. Normally this week would be an off week anyway per our schedule but family is coming in from out of town next week and so we'll be taking that week off for sure. After Daddy was done with work, we reloaded the truck and he and I went to the scrap yard. It was a quick trip and then we went and bought a new to us used vehicle for longer trips where we don't need the truck. Like our trip to Indiana later this year and possibly Texas. A quick trip to a local pizza place with our gift certificate that Daddy got for his birthday last week took care of supper for the evening and then we relaxed. I even crocheted instead of read (I haven't crocheted much for two weeks I've been too busy reading!).


On Wednesday Daddy again had to go to work early but the rest of us slept in a bit. After breakfast and chores we began to walk to the library but Daddy showed up and offered us a ride there while he was on his break. It literally only took a few minutes at the library then we grabbed waters from the gas station next door and began to walk back. Only Daddy showed up again and gave us a ride home because he was done with work for the day. He and I took the new car up to the Secretary of State and got the title transferred and a plate put on it. We then came home and grabbed the truck for a quick look around town to see if there was any scrap, which we then ran to the scrap yard really quickly. After that it was back home to take the girls for a ride in the car (they were really looking forward to it) and get some ice cream. We finished up the evening by scrapping a bit but really didn't find much.

Thursday Daddy still had to work but didn't have to go in early, so I woke up to Daddy sipping coffee next to me in bed. He'd let me sleep in so that I was the last person in the house to wake up. After I'd drank my first cup of coffee he was off to work. I folded a load of laundry that had been sitting in the dryer for a couple of days (have I ever mentioned that I HATE folding laundry), started another load of laundry in the washer, and planned out at least two more loads of laundry to be done today. I took a few minutes while the washer was running to start a pot boiling on the stove for some pasta to make into a salad for supper and caught up on this post. Chicken was defrosted for the Sunbeam rotisery (can't ever spell that right and spell check isn't working today) so we'll be having roasted chicken and bacon/ranch pasta salad for supper. When Daddy got home from work I had a load of laundry in the dryer and in the washer and we relaxed until the dryer was done and I'd folded the contents before taking off in the truck to go to my appointment at 4 PM and then scrapping down by Grandma and Papa's house. We had a bit of money that we had to make up due to how much it cost to put plates on the new car on Wednesday. We eat late in the summer anyways and so when we didn't get home until late in the evening it was no sweat to put the chicken in the Sunbeam with some seasoning and wait about an hour for it to be done. I did some more laundry, the campers read the new books from the library, and Daddy relaxed. I capped the night off by reading a bit while Daddy took a friend to work around 10:30 PM. We didn't all get to sleep again until around midnight but that was fine. 

This week has been, by turns, chilly and rainy, so the campers didn't get as much time outside that they usually do. But, they didn't seem to mind because that meant more electronic time since we took the week off of lessons. Normally I cap electronic time each day but when the weather is icky and we don't have much more planned, as long as they get their reading in each day, I'm good with however they choose to spend their free time. So, for this week we only got 12.5 hours in outside but we managed to bring our year to date total for the 1000 Hours Outside Challenge to *drum roll* 748 hours! We have until the beginning of September to get to that 1000 hours bench mark and I just KNOW that we'll make it this year ... just 252 hours left to go!

So, this is where I'm leaving you this week. I have no idea what we're doing tomorrow (Friday) or over the weekend. I know that we have next week off of lessons because we have family coming in from Texas to visit and we'll be spending some time with them, especially for the fire works on the fourth of July (which also just happens to be my nephew's birthday which is awesome). So, until next week (I'll be back to blogging more than one post a week come August, but until then it's likely to just be once a week) ... have a great time and enjoy life!

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We Continue to be Busy

You can barely
see my head poking
up over the far
side of the roof here.

Friday we didn't have that busy of a day. We ran to the scrap yard after Daddy got done with work and then worked on the shed a bit more to add some more roof support and materials to the roof to prepare it for either roll roof or shingles. We currently have roll roof so we'll likely use that instead of shingles.

Saturday we all got up relatively early and did chores and breakfast, then we were off to Grandma and Papa's house.Daddy spent most of the day up on the roof putting row after row of new shingles on their roof. ECJ spent most of the day either weeding the front garden or helping Daddy on the roof. The girls organized and cleaned two of Grandma's rooms while I helped with laundry and cleaning windows ... putting away the dishes from the dishwasher. All the little things that need to be done as well as remaking three of the four beds in the house. We ate supper of chicken, potato salad, and noodle salad. And then we came home where I did another load of laundry here and all of the campers took showers or baths before bed.

The campers with Papa

Sunday, Father's Day, we woke up with a call from Papa ... his dog had killed a skunk in the backyard and in the process had gotten sprayed full on in the face and mouth. Daddy and I went to Tractor Supply Co. and picked up stinky dog shampoo (guaranteed to get rid of skunk smell in one wash), a masonry bit, and finishing nails. The campers ate breakfast and did their chores while we were gone and we again missed mass this week (really we had too much on our plate as there's a timeline for getting the work at Grandma and Papa's completed). When we got to their house we had to wash the dog, which meant Daddy had to carry the 75 pound Australian Shepard down the basement stairs and put him in the laundry tub for his bath, which poor Max didn't like at all. Even though the shampoo came with a guarantee to wash out the skunk in one bath we washed him twice and cleaned up the mess made. All towels used and the spare shirt Daddy had worn for the occasion got put into the laundry right away so the smell wouldn't sink into the material. We then locked the dog in the basement to dry a bit and went up to the park at the end of the street, they'd just put in a new playground last month, and the kids played for about twenty minutes while Daddy and I breathed in the clean air. Daddy fixed Papa's porch railing by putting a new footing on the one post (this is what the masonry bit was for since he had to drill screw holes into the concrete porch). ECJ used the power hedge trimmers to go all the way under the deck and get rid of all the weeds and vines that were growing under there to help make sure no more skunks would make the under side of the deck their home again this year. The girls played while I helped Grandma putts around with some little stuff inside the house. After Daddy fixed the moulding by the door wall we had a fabulous Father's Day dinner BBQ of ribs, corn on the cob, and fried potatoes. When we left their house it was around 7:30 and we still went out scrapping, collecting mostly aluminum in the process and not getting home until very late. We'd even stopped at another park while scrapping. The campers were so tired that they all crashed just about the minute that we got home, Daddy and I weren't far behind them.

So, we finally finish the weekend and come to Monday. Daddy had to go to work early so he and I, along with ECJ were up early unloading the scrap out of the truck because Daddy needed the bed of the truck at work. ECJ did his chores, ate his breakfast, and then went outside to break down what little scrap actually needed breaking down. I let the girls sleep in while I caught up to my writing for this post but when they woke up it was chores and breakfast as well. While the girls and I did lessons for the day (after I folded the laundry from Saturday night) ECJ tried to mow our lawn and two lawns across the street since he was behind on his job because we really hadn't been home since at least Wednesday of last week, but our lawnmower stalled out and wouldn't restart. So, instead he rode his bike to Daddy's work and helped Daddy finish up the wood chip job by adding another two inches to each island in the parking lot of wood chips. We did not go to the scrap yard this day because we needed to run down to Grandma and Papa's house to finish up all the little things like vacuuming, sweeping, and dusting so that when the inspector comes Tuesday it'd all be clean. We ate leftovers for supper with them and then went out scrapping again. OH, and for those of you wondering, I only scheduled two days worth of lessons this week because we'll be so busy so ECJ will just do both days as he gets a chance to do them instead of doing them with us this week. We're busy little bees over here lately!

Thankfully we found an awesome lawnmower that works really well that a guy was just getting rid of because he had had it for 22 years and his wife wanted him to buy a new one. So, we have an excellent self propelled lawnmower that we got for free while scrapping!! Sometimes things happen that way. God is good!


Tuesday Noni came to get the campers and I. Daddy had to go to Grandma and Papa's to walk around with the inspection guy while Papa took the dog for a drive because he didn't want the dog in the guy's way. We went to lunch with Noni and then went shopping for some essentials because the Cracker Jacks' are growing again and the clothing just bought for them doesn't fit again!! Essentials meaning undergarments, we'll do another trip next week (just Daddy, the campers, and I) to pick up new jeans for YCJ and new shirts for ECJ. The shorts and other things we bought all still fit and ECJ has a few of the right size shirts but only a couple of them. After our shopping trip we stopped at a local park that had added a new playground and played there for a about an hour before heading home. Noni and I had a cup of coffee while the campers spread out to color, watch YouTube, and take apart scrap. Daddy called and he was babysitting our youngest niece (that's in state) while his sister did a bunch of errands. Then Noni left and Daddy stayed where he was to scrap for the night. It was a pizza bite kind of night for supper and the kids thought that that was awesome because we very rarely do that anymore. The rest of the night was very relaxing and spent at home while it rained off and on.

On Wednesday Daddy had to go into work early as he had much to get done before the big bosses came in after noon. ECJ spent the majority of the day outside, taking apart scrap and mowing lawns now that we have a lawnmower that actually works. The girls took baths and showers after breakfast and chores and then we did quick lessons in Language Arts and Math. I folded a load of laundry while they were cleaning themselves up and started another load as soon as they were finished. When Daddy got home we loaded up the back of the truck with scrap and took it to the scrap yard ... we had more than the two loads that we got in this day but there's only so much time in a given day to get things done and the scrap yard closes around 5 PM. After that Daddy and I ran to Grandma and Papa's house to take out the trash and then go scrapping in their neighborhood. The campers stayed home and made their own supper, Daddy and I grabbed something quick from the store that was pre-made so that we didn't have to think about it too hard. When we got home it was time for everyone's medicine and bed. It was a productive and busy day.

Our new to us homeschool cabinet.
It literally fits everything we need
and is the perfect size to fit between
my desk and the window in the
living room!

Thursday Daddy went to work again and ECJ was again outside taking apart scrap. The girls and I putted around the house doing laundry, cleaning rooms, taking care of our critters, and generally just filling the day. When Daddy got home from work we filled the truck up with scrap and went to the scrap yard. We managed to fit two loads of metal into the truck in one go! Over 600 pounds of shred metal (regular old metal that your magnet sticks to) and over 300 pounds of aluminum! The trip to the scrap yard was an adventure because of the wind but since it was just Daddy and I we took it nice and slow and got there without losing a single piece of scrap. We finished around 4PM and then came home to have ECJ run the lawnmower over our grass and two of our neighbors. He owes us a bit of money right now but after he pays that back he's saving for a micro SD card and the second portion of his drivers education. He'll be taking the second portion sometime later this summer or in the fall ... it mostly depends on when the class will be big enough to actually be held. While ECJ cut the neighbors grass we grabbed the girls and headed to the grocery store a few towns over for supper ... Kroger isn't in our town and the grocery store here is a little high on their prices for our tastes, though I'll go there in a pinch. After we got home, ECJ was finished with the lawns, I put all of the groceries away and the campers played outside while Daddy took a quick nap. Our evening was a quiet one and we basically just hung around the house. The campers came in right before it started to rain and ate their supper.

The last load of scrap this week
and ECJ up there helping to tie it
all down.

Friday morning is here and so is Daddy's birthday! He's off at work again, he has to paint an apartment by next Tuesday so he's getting a good start on it today. It's almost 11 AM and everyone is up except of YCJ ... I'm getting ready to wake her up as soon as I'm finished with this blog post. It's still raining outside and so we really have no plans other than to relax around the house most of the day. I, of course, have a load of laundry going in the washing machine since nearly every day is a laundry day here. Not much else is planned for the day other than a trip to the Secretary of State for the new sticker for the truck and possibly a visit from Grandma and Papa as they may stop in sometime this afternoon to visit with Daddy for his birthday.

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Going Through the Week

Last week I told you some plans about what we might do on Friday. Well, they didn't all happen. Daddy and I did go to the scrap yard first thing in the morning. After that Daddy went to work and the campers went outside to play for awhile until Daddy came home and he and I left again. We went to a quick lunch with just the two of us (a small date that we sometimes need and enjoy) and then went to a garage sale and grocery shopping. We picked up several large binders for a dollar each at the garage sales and I was able to pick up a three hole punch while at the grocery store. That means that I got my entire planner for next year all laid out and ready to use. I printed off some worksheets that I found online for some curriculum we'll be using next year for the girls (we'll be using the Prairie Primer) and I just looked for worksheets for the first book in the series. A little planning now will save me a lot of time next fall. I also printed off a few science things from The Good and The Beautiful curriculum page for use this summer so that we do some science during the summer other than just nature studies ...which really is enough to study, but I like more and more things sometimes. We had Taco Bell for supper as it just opened two days ago here in our town and I didn't really feel like cooking supper this night. The campers played outside until about eight when they came in to take their medicines and have quiet time reading before bed. We've recently reinstated quiet reading from 8:30 in the evening until bedtime, which has really been making a difference in how quickly that the campers fall asleep. Bedtime was at 9 this night as Daddy and I both wanted to be in bed by midnight and often times it takes the campers upwards of an hour and a half to fall asleep ... unless they've been outside or working for the majority of the day and then they fall asleep in what seems like five minutes!


Saturday started as every other day does around here. The campers woke up, did their chores, and then ate breakfast. Then it was time for Daddy and I to go and pick up just a few things we were missing in order to build our shed ... like screws (those are really important for putting things together). Then everyone was outside when we got back. The girls literally played with their friends from the neighborhood all day long while ECJ helped Daddy and I build the walls to the shed. We were outside from 11 am until 8 pm ... yup, nine whole hours in one day. We didn't use blueprints for building the shed, simply worked off plans that were in Daddy's head. We used entirely recycled and repurposed materials for the shed. As you can see it's made out of old deck wood (from a friend's deck that they took down) and old metal siding (that Daddy and I found while scrapping). It's about 6 foot by 8 foot and is definitely big enough to handle all of our outside storage needs, including three bikes and three scooters for the campers. I think we did a really awesome job and I'm just in love with my new shed. We also managed to pick up some "oops" paint and stain from our local hardware store (about $300 worth that we only paid $25 for total) and among the colors of paint there's one that will compliment the stain color so I'll be painting the metal and staining the wood after it's all built. I can't wait to begin using it so we put all of our supplies to finish it off inside the shed to store them.

On Sunday we were bad and skipped mass. We woke up later than planned and just didn't make it on time. So, Daddy and I went to the next town over to get roofing supplies for the shed and some more dirt for his work. But, instead of working on the shed we decided to let Daddy think and plan for the roof a bit more and spent our afternoon as a family doing fun stuff instead. The fun stuff included going to a cider mill about sixty miles from the house, taking a short walk (it was in the 90's y'all), and then going scrapping. We stopped halfway through for some play time at the park and some frozen drinks. Then we finished filling up all at one house where some kind gentlemen were getting rid of a TON of items. So many items in fact that we had to go back the next day to pick up the rest of them! We were done scrapping earlier than normal and got home in time for the campers to have a game of catch with the neighbor kids, well Peanut played Littlest Pet Shops with her friend from next door instead of playing catch. Then they came in and took showers and baths. Supper was a quick fix for them of spaghetti o's and a desert of vanilla ice cream, Daddy and I were too hot to be hungry.

Monday we got started early in the day to try to beat the heat. Daddy went off to work to spread dirt and grass seed. I transplanted the last two tomato plants (the ones we grew from seeds, since the store bought ones were already planted), got meatballs browned and put in gravy in the crock pot for summer, and caught up on this blog. The girls picked some fresh greens for Sugar Baby, their rabbit, and then Peanut picked our first ripe strawberry and ate it. Pronouncing it "super good!" The girls then continued to play outside and ECJ worked on taking apart the scrap that we'd collected from the night before. I washed dishes and folded a load of laundry. We try to keep as much as we can get done before noon on hot summer days as we do not have central air. Two window air conditioners are all that we use along with fans all summer long to keep cool and when the temperatures are in the 90's as they're supposed to be all week ... you simply don't want to move too much in the hottest part of the day. When Daddy got home from work he helped ECJ finish taking apart the scrap and then he and I went to the scrap yard. The campers ate lunch and played some video games while we were gone since it was close to the hottest point of the day when we left. After which Daddy and I went to pick up scrap from two houses (which filled our truck again) that we had scheduled for pick up this day ... one from yesterday and one from last week. After it began cooling off a bit outside the campers went back outside to play with the neighbor kids, everyone being very excited that Thursday is the last official day for public schools around here and that means lots of fun summer time fun with their friends all day long every day.

On Tuesday we all got up and did our regular morning routines. ECJ went out to break down scrap after his breakfast and chores were done, the girls and I did their Language Arts and Math lessons, and Daddy went off to work. The girls and I were finished inside of an hour which they were really happy about because the public school kids only have half days for the rest of this week! So they changed out of their pajamas and went out to play with their friends. ECJ promised to do his school work while Daddy and I went to the scrap yard so he got some fun time in too. After Daddy got home from work he and I loaded up the truck again, with the help of ECJ, and went to the scrap yard to return the metal that we'd found. After which we went to the store and bought a deep freeze for the house to replace the one that we sold two years ago. Yes, we've reached the point of needing a deep freeze again. Then it was home to bring in the deep freeze, quickly telling the campers what we needed them to do while we were gone (reminding ECJ of his school work still needing to be completed) and then we were off scrapping again. It took a little while to fill up the truck with a light load and then we picked up dinner and headed home. Pizza was a big hit as usual (we really are planning on eating more meals cooked at home again soon, we just keep being so very busy lately it seems like pizza is happening a lot). After supper it was bath time/shower time, medication time, reading time, and bedtime. Whew!

Wednesday morning we all got up very early. Daddy unloaded the truck because he needed it for work, there was only a little bit of scrap to be taken apart so ECJ did that really quickly. While the girls did chores and ate breakfast ECJ helped me carry an old dresser out to the curb ... we'd been using it for homeschool storage in the kitchen/dining area and that's where our new deep freeze is going to be living. After that ECJ ate a quick breakfast and then we worked on cleaning the house. We were going to do lessons this day but Daddy and I decided that instead of rushing to do every little thing that needed done we'd take the rest of this week off of lessons and just pick up again next week. The brilliance of homeschooling is that we can do just that, and the fact that we work through the summer means that I don't have to feel guilty when we do. The campers did each write a letter to their penpals which we counted as Language Arts today. I tried to get as much of the house back organized before Daddy came home as I could. When Daddy got home we loaded the truck back up and the campers and off we went to the scrap yard. After that Daddy, ECJ, and I started putting the roof on the shed ... we need some more materials so it's not finished yet. Then Daddy, the girls, and I went out scrapping for a long long time. We stopped for chili dogs and ice cream for dinner while we were out and stopped at a local park for the girls to play for a little while. ECJ cooked himself some soup and a sandwich for supper. When we were finished scrapping we came home late. After such a long and busy day the campers were quick to go to sleep once we got home and they had their medicine.

So, we come to Thursday and I'm typing this in the morning because we won't be home until late again today. Our plans for today include some baths/showers for the campers this morning since they were playing out in the dirt yesterday afternoon. We'll be returning some movies to the library later on today and also going to the scrap yard. After that Daddy and I will be picking up the campers to go to Grandma and Papa's house to help them clean up the house and yard, have some supper, and possibly go scrapping while we're down there (we might not scrap tonight, just depends on how Daddy is feeling). Daddy's at work right now and the campers are all eating breakfast and watching a Pokemon DVD while I type this. We have no set plans for the weekend other than helping Grandma and Papa each day until everything is spotless. Major spring cleaning y'all!

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First Week of Summer Schedule

So, this is the first week of our summer schedule. Where we do three days worth of lessons in just Language Arts, Math, Reading, and Bible each week with every fourth week off of lessons throughout the summer. Sometimes we throw in a unit about safety, science, or history ... but mainly we keep to the subjects that I listed above.

Over the weekend we did a lot of outdoor time and spending time as a family. Friday the campers mostly played outside after finishing their chores for the day and we walked up to the library. Saturday we went to Daddy's work and helped him spread wood chips around the islands in the parking lot. This took about five hours of solid work and the campers didn't once complain. If we hadn't helped him out it would have taken more like nine hours for him to do it himself. After we finished working with Daddy for the day we came home to relax. The campers had some neighborhood friends come over for BBQ supper and ate outside on the patio with them. It was just getting dark by the time that they came in for the day. On Sunday we went to mass and then went scrapping down by Grandma and Papa's house, stopping in to visit them for about an hour and a half when we were finished. During the scrap trip we did our weekly routine of picking up Slushy drinks and stopping at a neighborhood park to play ... Daddy even went down the big slide.

The campers got really into their work!

Monday Daddy and I had a lot of running to do. So we didn't do lessons as scheduled. Instead the campers stayed home and hung out together while Daddy and I did our errand running and then went scrapping. We didn't get home until evening and the campers had gotten all of their chores done and had eaten without having to be told. It was a great moment for us as parents.

On Tuesday I had an appointment in the morning which Daddy took me to while ECJ broke down the scrap that we'd left for him to take apart while we were gone. After getting back Daddy went to work and I folded a load of laundry while the girls ate a snack and ECJ finished taking apart the scrap. Then we did the lessons that we'd had scheduled to do on Monday. Lessons literally took only about an hour to do so the campers were quickly free to either play Minecraft, read, or do chores. The weather was chilly and was threatening to rain so the campers stayed in until their friends came home from public school and then went outside to play for about an hour until Daddy and I left to go scrapping again. We'd decided not to go to the scrap yard with our smaller load this day and opted for a larger load or even two loads taken back on Wednesday instead. 

Wednesday Daddy and I had a quick couple of errands to run before he went to work so we did that while the campers ate breakfast and did their morning chores. When we got home Daddy headed off to work and the campers and I did lessons. Again this only took about an hour out of our day because of the abbreviated amount of lessons that we do during the summer. Then there was lunch and the girls watched videos on YouTube while ECJ worked on his final book report for the year ... the one he's been drawing out for two months now and Daddy and I finally put our feet down and said that either it was in by Thursday morning or he'd simply fail Language Arts for ninth grade and have to repeat it all over again. After about half an hour of free time the girls headed outside to play for awhile by themselves. Daddy came home from work in the early afternoon and we all loaded up in the truck for a trip to scrap in Grandma and Papa's neighborhood and a quick visit with them. We grabbed frozen drinks again since we were down there. 



So, it's Thursday and our morning was rather busy! All three of the campers had their six month visit with the dentist for check ups and to get their teeth cleaned. We ended up with Peanut not having any cavities, YCJ having two, and ECJ having four cavities and getting a referral to the orthodontist. We made our next six month visit appointment and another appointment to have some of the cavities taken care of. When we got back Daddy unloaded about half of the scrap from the truck for ECJ to take apart and then he and I ran to the hardware store to pick up dirt for his work. When we got back the girls and I did lessons, Daddy went to work, and ECJ began working on taking apart all of the scrap. After lessons the girls did an art project of painting sun catchers to hang in their bedroom window once dry. We chose an American theme to go with for this year ... we tend to paint sun catchers about once a year and use them to decorate the windows in bedrooms. When Daddy got home he helped ECJ finish taking apart the scrap and then loaded the truck for morning. The campers spent hours outside playing until we had a late supper of pork chops, rice, and gravy. One of our favorite meals but we're slipping into our summer cooking and eating schedule which means supper is now more often around seven or eight pm because earlier than that we tend to be busy outside or it's too hot and we're not hungry. Summer time also means later bedtimes for everyone in the family because of the required amount of coolness for sleeping, we often don't turn on our window air conditioners unless the temperatures are over 90* and rely on fans for air circulation.

I'm posting this Thursday night but our plans for Friday include going to the scrap yard, Daddy going to work, a walk to the library for some more DVDs (we're still working on our books), and ECJ doing his sun catcher unless he does it late Thursday night. We'll be spending the majority of the day outside playing and enjoying the nice weather! With one or two home improvements probably going to happen over the weekend but I won't list what they are in case we don't get them done.

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Linking up this week for Weekly Wrap Ups and Homeschool Highlights.

This is a picture of my baby sister who graduated from
high school on Saturday June 3, 2017!
So proud of her!

Memorial Day Week

Friday was the very last day of our regular lessons. The campers and I got them done and out of the way quickly in the morning after chores and breakfast. Daddy was at work while we did our lessons. The rest of the day was a mix of playing inside and outside in the mainly good weather. Allergies finally under control again for now, the campers took every moment that they could to be outside playing with the weather finally cooperating again.

Saturday was YCJ's 12th birthday! We woke up slowly that morning, ate breakfast, and each of us took some time to wish her a good birthday. Then Daddy and I went to an appointment he had and then picked up her birthday gifts. A new game for her Nintendo 3DS and a brand new mountain bike! We sort of played a trick on her when we got back by just giving her the game and a balloon and saying happy birthday again. Then Daddy asked for her help getting groceries out of the truck and when she climbed up on the tailgate she saw her new purple bike! She was shocked and thrilled! The campers spent the rest of the afternoon riding bikes up and down the street. Supper was homemade nachos (YCJ's supper choice this year) and cheesecake for desert! YUMMY!

Container garden with tomatoes and strawberries.

Mr. Funky Chicken

So, we come to Sunday. To be honest we slept in. The campers woke up well before us and did their morning chores and ate breakfast before Daddy and I even began to wake up. We didn't go to church. Instead we stayed home and then decided that the afternoon was best spent outside cleaning up the yard, putting out decorations, hanging the American flag, and burning what was left of the old deck wood. We were all literally outside for seven hours straight! The yard looks so much better now, you can actually tell that I have a patio. We also put down poison to kill the giant amount of ants that we had in the yard. They're crazy this year, y'all! We BBQed bratwurst and sausages and threw that together with some ranch and bacon pasta salad for supper. We ate the last of the cheesecake for desert. And then it began to rain again. The girls cleaned up their room and the living room (after having spent the majority of their day on their bikes with their friend who lives next door) and ECJ helped them (after having helped his father and I all day in the yard). Daddy relaxed after a quick shower to get the sawdust off of him because he was choosing to go into work the next day (supposed to be his day off but they have an inspection on Tuesday and he wants to make sure that everything is done). I crocheted and typed up a couple of the days on this post while they were fresh in my mind.

Monday, Memorial Day, a day to honor all those who served our country and didn't get to return home. We didn't technically have lessons this day except that both Daddy and I at different times during the day sat the campers down and had discussions about how important this day is. Daddy also ended up going into work for just a few hours to make sure that everything was tip top for the inspection the next day. After Daddy got home the girls and I hopped in the truck with him to go scrapping down by Grandma and Papa's house (even though they were at a BBQ this week) and ECJ stayed home for some valuable alone time. We weren't gone for very long and were able to load up the truck relatively quickly, even with our weekly stop at the park for some play time in the middle of scrapping. When we got home Daddy BBQed ribs while I walked up to the store with ECJ (some valuable mom and son time). Supper was super easy and super yummy, I just added some green beans and the leftover pasta salad from Sunday. I finished my large cotton tote bag that I had been making for trips to the library and the beach while the campers watched Netflix and played with their rabbit. All in all it was a wonderful and relaxing day.

On Tuesday morning Daddy and the campers woke up bright and early around 8 am. I was in and out of sleep from about 6 am and didn't pull myself out of bed until around 9:30 when Daddy was heading off to work. Noni text me right after Daddy left to say that she'd be here around 11 so I got dressed and decided it was time to catch up on my emails, blog comments, and this post. Then for a little time on Facebook while the campers played in their rooms. Noni showed up around 11 am and we quickly set off for the day with her. Lunch at McDonald's and then several stores shopping for summer items for the campers to wear. Each of the campers got several pairs of shorts and some tops for the hotter weather about to come our way. I even grabbed a few more pairs of shorts myself. Afterwards Noni left pretty quickly because Daddy had sprained his wrist and I had to go to the scrap yard to help him unload the truck. After which Daddy and I went on a quick scrap run (not a good night for scrapping, usually a Monday night load and we don't normally scrap on Mondays). Pizza was what was for supper and then we relaxed before bed after a very full day.

Wednesday Daddy and I were up pretty early because Daddy had to go to work early. I got in a morning shower, which hardly ever happens, I usually shower in the evenings. I did some blog work and then crocheted ... all with the campers still sleeping. After they woke up they went outside to play for awhile after completing chores and eating breakfast. In the afternoon, when Daddy got home, he and I ran to the scrap yard and then came home for a bit for him to rest and the campers to again play outside. The girls chose to go scrapping with us in the early evening, ECJ opted to stay home, so during our scrapping adventures we took a few minutes out and got some soft serve twist ice cream cones as a treat. Once we filled the truck we headed home where the campers once again went outside to play and I made supper. The night was spent relaxing and enjoying ourselves on various activities individually.

So, now it's Thursday ... and I'm realizing that I haven't snapped a lot of pictures this week because we've been busy doing other things and I simply let it slip my mind. Daddy and ECJ unloaded the truck in the yard to take the scrap apart ... which ECJ started on while Daddy ran to work for about an hour and a half. The girls took advantage of the cooler weather to ride their scooters up and down the street together (they're finding it odd to be outside and playing while other kids are in school this week but they sure are enjoying it). I popped in the house to finish typing up this blog and downloading the photos, such as they are, from my camera. This afternoon we're planning on a trip to the scrap yard and more scrapping ... followed by leftover potato soup for supper. I'll get some crochet in today, I've been challenged to make myself a scrap cotton skirt and that's what I'm working on. No idea how it'll turn out but it'll sure be interesting. 

Our plans for the weekend include relaxing and time outside, maybe a trip to the library on Saturday. We'll see and I'll be sure to blog about it for next week. The weekend might just be a blur you never know what kind of project Daddy might decide to do over the weekend and we have many of them sitting around our house at the moment.

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You may have missed this post this week:
Our Summer Plans

And we're linking up for the Weekly Wrap Up and Homeschool Highlights this week.