Building Memories 2018

Sunday morning Daddy and I woke up before 8 AM and had our coffee, I also had my Belvita breakfast biscuits and a small yogurt for breakfast (part of my diet that I've given myself to try to loose weight by the end of summer). The morning was cool and slightly cloudy but we had a camper to work on. We woke ECJ up around 9 and after he did his morning chores he helped us close the camper back up so that we could work on the roof some more. Daddy and I discussed some options and then left on a hardware store run to pick up some small self tapping screws and some foam board for the roof. After getting back Daddy laid out the foam boards while I woke the girls up (this was near 11 AM ... yup, we missed mass again this week). After the foam was laid out and duct-taped lightly together to stay in pattern we measured the roof and measured a length of roll roof for one side of the camper roof. Several cuts, liquid nails, and the top molding put back on on the one side we had about 1/3 of the roof ready for a seal coat (the seal coat we'll be doing next week or the week after, $55 a gallon!). We took what was left of our roll roof, not enough to finish another third of the camper let alone the whole roof, and set it down on the roof and then weighed it down with some boards. We made a spot in Monday's schedule to include running back to the hardware store and buying more roll roof. The campers helped us with everything and spent a lot of time outside. About 1:30 Daddy and I ate roast beef tortilla rolls with cheddar cheese and the campers each had a sandwich and some fruit, sandwiches varied by camper lol. Around 2 PM ECJ went fishing with a friend, Daddy and I took a quick trip a few miles away to do some light scrapping, and the girls had some fun times watching Goosebumps that they'd borrowed from the library. Daddy and I were back home by 2:30 and we instantly got a load of laundry going and Daddy laid down to relax and watch Blue Bloods on Netflix while I settled in to crochet on my niece's birthday gift (she's getting a blanket from me and knows it already). The girls played some Go Fish and other card games while Pokemon videos played in the background. Supper was at 5 PM (by which time ECJ was home) and consisted of chicken parmesan , garlic bread, and noodles with sauce. Desert was fresh melon, strawberries, and grapes. Since we wake up early in the mornings through the week the girls took either a bath or shower according to preferance, took their meds, had me read more Children Just Like Me, looked at a few picture books we'd borrowed from the library for International week in our reading club, and were in bed by 9:30. ECJ quickly followed and was in bed shortly after 10. Daddy and I were in bed and fast asleep by 11:30 PM. Whew! What a day it seems like it was after writing all of that down!!

On Monday Daddy and I woke up at 5 AM, I started the coffee pot, and opened one of my drinkable Activia yogurts to start my day out... three cups of coffee and a Belvita soft baked chocolate and oat breakfast bar and I was ready to face the day with a smile on my face! I did a bit of cardio with one of my exercise DVDs and then woke ECJ up to do his morning chores. The girls woke up on their own shortly thereafter. Daddy and I ran an errand around 9:30 and then came home to load the truck with what scrap we had (ECJ had taken it apart while we were gone) and ran it to the scrap yard. I stopped at the grocery store on the way home to grab a few things that we were missing for the next couple of night's suppers and also grabbed the campers some lunchables and us adults a fruit platter full of melon and berries. When we were done with the fruits we were able to give what was left to the kids for a nice, healthy snack. I've also taken a liking to these Sparkling Ice waters and settled down to drink one while I did some organizing for the rest of the month for homeschooling. We read some information about Africa, part of a book on tropical rain forests, watched a few YouTube videos on Africa, and then did some math to round the day out. This week we're not doing extra language arts but are simply journaling about what we're learning about Africa. By mid afternoon Daddy decided to take a quick nap (his back and knees hurt and the heat was bothering his lungs), the girls were watching videos about Littlest Pet Shops together, ECJ was playing his new favorite video game, and I decided to take a mental break and play a computer game. The campers all went outside to hang out with friends or play when their friends from public school got home for the day and stayed out until I called them in for supper. We ate chicken wraps and salads. The campers then went back outside to enjoy the weather while I sat next to Daddy watching Blue Bloods on Netflix and crocheting. The campers came in the house in time for meds (around 8:30), had an ice cream sandwich, brushed their teeth, did silent reading, I read aloud from the rain forest book some more, and then the girls went to bed. ECJ followed them pretty quickly and Daddy and I were asleep by 11 PM. ((NO laundry this day!!! YAY!!!)))

Tuesday Noni came over and we went to the beach... just the campers, myself, and Noni. It was a fabulous day! Weather in the mid 80's, nice breeze off of the lake for Noni and I, and very cold lake water for the campers to enjoy! Swimming in the great lakes really isn't warm enough for me until around mid to late August... and even then it's pretty chilly. I personally like inland lakes or pools now that I'm older and dipping my toes into freezing water makes me whimper. ECJ actually got a headache from submerging his head in such cold water repeatedly. Before the beach we'd stopped at Wendy's for lunch, I stayed on course by eating a baked potato and a fruit cup. After the beach we stopped at Wal-Mart for some things that I needed to pick up because it was right on our way home. Noni spoiled Daddy this day with 3 shirts (2 T's and a tank), a pair of jeans, some of his favorite beverage for summer time, and a gift card to Menard's. Daddy was in a great mood the whole day because of this. After Noni left Daddy and I did a bit of scrapping in the next town over and basically came home with nothing ... to many scrappers in a small area competing for too little scrap. We had homemade turkey meat nachos and I added a side of melon slices to my meal because of the small portion of nachos that I'd taken. We were all in bed no later than 11:30 PM and the only "school" that we did was our read aloud, Does it Always Rain in the Rain Forest? , which was part of last week's books that we didn't get to.

Wednesday Daddy and I ran several errands (including going to Menard's) and paid for an outside storage spot for the camper. We then spent the majority of the day outside, all of us, working on the camper getting the roof sealed and ready for camping. It still needs a good cleaning and a coat of sealant on the roof for extra protection ... but it is weather tight right now. Oh, and I still have to repair a few small spots in the canvas. A small tear by the dining table (fixing by sewing it back to the base as it only tore out the thread) and fashioning to extra bits of material for either side of the door because the canvas just doesn't quit reach the door at the moment... but might after a bit of stretching. After hauling the camper to the storage spot Daddy and I went for a trip around town to see if there was any scrap out... we got a few things. Then we came home and picked a friend up to show him the camper and go out to a store that we have here in Michigan (called Meijer's) to pick up some sandwich fixings for supper. We ate sandwiches and a noodle salad before Daddy and I headed back out to pick up some more scrap. Again, we were competing with too many scrappers for too little space and too little scrap... this gets harder every year. We also took a few minutes to look at a newer pop up than what we've been working on that needs a little repair, since we know so many people who want pop up's right now Daddy is thinking about buying it to repair and sell, if the price is right. We got home, passed out meds, did our read aloud, and then pretty much everyone went to bed. Again, we were all asleep by 11:30 PM.

On Thursday Daddy and I woke up at five to have coffee and I ate my breakfast of my Activia drinkable yogurt and my Belvita soft baked chocolate and oat breakfast bar. I then rested a bit and fell back asleep for about two hours while Daddy ran around town again looking for scrap that people had put out in the morning on their way to work. Two nights of scrapping came up with one of our smaller loads that we took back around noon. The campers had finished their chores, eaten breakfast, and done their math lessens all by noon ... as well as helped load the truck. When Daddy and I got back from the scrap yard we had lunch of sandwiches and a veggie tray while the campers made lunch out of tortilla chips with hummus and a veggie tray. Daddy took a quick nap, I updated this blog post and read some emails, and the campers all watched various YouTube tutorials on their subjects of interest (programming, gaming, video making and editing)... Around 3 Daddy and I left to go scrapping in another town, a friend of ours stopped at the house at 4:30 to stay with the campers until we got home, and we tried to finish the week out strong scrap wise.

And so we come to Friday. Nearly the end of the week, one day left and a new week begins, and it's going to be a lovely (if hot) weekend! Daddy and I woke up at 5 AM again, coffee and talking before the day began. I ate my breakfast, considered exercising before the campers got up, discarded that thought and caught another two hours of sleep. When I rolled out of bed everyone else was either up or soon following my example. Campers ate breakfast and did chores, Daddy unloaded and then reloaded (with mine and the campers help) the scrap in and out of the truck, and then Daddy and I left for the scrap yard. While we were gone the campers did their math assignments and then moved on to their favorite escape of play in the house .... ECJ to his new obsession of Skyrim and the girls played with Littlest Pet Shops together. When we got back, after stopping at the bank to deposit some money, Daddy took a nap ... he'd had a migraine brewing since last night and hoped some medicine and rest would set it straight. I decided not to run the vacuum but to play my computer game for a bit since that likely wouldn't bother Daddy's head. The campers went outside to enjoy the weather for awhile and came back in when Daddy and I went to go pick something up around 5 PM or so. Yup, Daddy had found a pop up for the right price for us to fix quickly and resell! No major issues with it and we knocked out the work on it before we even had supper... 

Camper that we sold...

Daddy helping Peanut
wash our camper!

Saturday and Sunday (Father's Day) we cleaned up the pop up we'd just picked up AND sold it within the same day! That was Saturday, the whole family helped to get it power washed, cleaned inside, and sold ... Daddy and I dropped it off to the new owners Saturday evening and pulled our pop up home where we popped it up in preparation for cleaning it Sunday. Daddy's choice, not mine, it's how he wanted to spend his Father's Day. So, after coffee and breakfast on Sunday morning we all went outside and began to put the braces around the camper, get the canvas stretched all the way out, power wash and scrub the entire camper, unzip windows to air it out, clean floors and counters, ... and so much more! With the weather being in the 90's it was a very hot day to be doing such a thing. For supper we had chili dogs, salad, and baked beans. And I'd like to wish a happy father's day to all of the dad's out there!!! We ended the day watching Maleficent since we'd found it while cleaning up the camper! Pop corn for those who wanted it and nice cold melons and strawberries for those of us who preferred that. 

There will be no update next week as we'll be camping with little to no reception. But, look for our update the following week!!

Linked up this week with Weekly Wrap Up and Homeschool Highlights.

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