Withrow Spring, Arkansas: Spring Break

Friday, March 19th - Saturday, March 27th, 2010

So, I'm a little behind the eight ball here, but, well, it happens. You've heard the expression, "Better late than never," right? Well, I tend to sort of wallow in that mentality. My intentions are always there, I just tend to roll through life sort of turtle-like (as my family will attest). I see this as a positive attribute....others may not share that sentiment. Anyhow, these are the photos from our Spring Break, where we met up with Chandra's clan and Grandpa & Grandma, as well us Uncle Trent & cousin Conner.

We knew going in we may have some unfavorable weather. Well, the two inches they were calling for turned into 8"-9" or so. And then there was the rain. And more rain. And then a little more rain. And then Friday was gorgeous! (uhh yeah, as in the following Friday...the day before we pulled out.) But hey, that's okay, it was an enjoyable trip even with all that, one we will always remember. It was a bit more work but I genuinely enjoyed the majority of it. (Okay, yes, I had a couple of maddening moments where I seriously questioned my mental health. Brian couldn't make the trip, so I was there with 5 kids in very cold temps and lots of dripping, soaking wet clothes, shoes, hats, gloves, socks and jackets.)

(As usual, you will see the detail better if you click on the photos)

The Campground looked beautiful covered in the unexpected snowfall

"Spring Wonder"

Portable DVD players entertained the little ones

"I just want my mom..."

"Drying Out"

Only Bryson could actually sit a pair of boots

to dry directly under where the snow on the

camper would later run-off. The ten inches of

snow melting on top had to go somewhere.

"Pals"

The whole (under-aged) crew

My kids with Grandpa & Grandma

Morning sun peaking through our campsite

Grandpa helping Bryson up?

"Misty Mirror"

Small falls along the side of the road

I am unaware precisely which impersonation this would be.

Now it's Caden's turn to stand in the hollowed-out tree stump

Before we hiked the ledge along the rocky riverbank

"You're playing with the big boys now...."

The heading is actually a song my kids frequently sing. I don't know where it came from, whether they heard it somewhere, or made it up, or someone else made it up and they just sing it. It's only one line long, but they sing it. It's actually sort of catchy.... I've sang it, and I can't sing. Anyhow, this is Morgan dressed up the other morning, playing with the big boys. I would just like to say he did this completely on his own. Who else would put on cords in this heat? I saw him scampering out of this house just like this, the old stained up shirt that was worn by his three older brothers, with a big tortoise on the back, facing me as Morgan ran out the door as fast as his boots would take him.

The game was Nerf War....which Morgan missed....he saw guns and got dressed up and ready to go, ever so enthusiastically. Little peanut Morgan hasn't quite grown into 2T pants yet so they're hanging about mid-bum. Personally, I think the rain boots are a great touch.

(clicking on the photos will show you his expressions)

p.s. - Tristen informed me "You're playing with the big boys now..." is an excerpt from the movie "The Prince of Egypt." It was a thing between Trent, Tristen & Bryson.

Meet Hudson

Here is the ornery golden who showed up at our door. He's pretty good, he will now go in a crate but doesn't know how to walk on a leash and jumps around a lot.

"I spealed milk! I SPEALED MILK!"

Morgan spilled milk. This was yesterday. I yelled back for him to clean it up. He said, "It's a lot!" and I heard a drawer open. And I heard Caden enter the kitchen a minute later and tell him he was doing a good job. I never saw any mess of it later so I guess he did alright cleaning up after himself.

Life has kept us hopping. We've been on a couple of camping trips which were great fun. Brian, Tristen, Bryson and Caden met Grandpa Butch (or Gamma Butch as Morgan calls him) and Grandma Sue for another fishing trip in Oklahoma. They all had a great time, and Rookie Caden did awesome. He even outfished his older brothers.

The kids have Jiu Jitsu four times a week and they enjoy it a lot. We've got a tournament coming up at the end of the month which they are both excited and nervous for. And the kids have been doing really well on their homework. Halle has a tendency to lag...gotta keep a close eye on her. But she does keep the cleanest bedroom which does compensate in my mind. So, for the most part I keep pretty patient as I push her along. And she smirks her guilty little smirk at me as she pulls out a book and continues on.

Our garden is looking good. Planted some peppers and tomatoes last week because for some reason our seeds didn't come up this year. Cantaloupe looks great, so does the watermelon. Lettuce is up, so are the carrots. Murphy has ate ALL of my strawberries, and Hudson probably had a few too. And they tore up some of our cauliflower and smashed my zucchini. Okay, so aside from those little fiascos the garden looks pretty good.

Ah yes, Hudson. For those who don't know he is a Golden Retriever pup who showed up at our house a few weeks ago. I think it was around April 20th. He was very thin and I pulled over seventy, yes, 70 ticks off of him. No collar, no I.D., no lost ads that I could find, no response to my found ad. So we have ourselves a golden. He is very sweet and good natured. Lots of puppy energy, but good. He keeps Murphy company, and keeps him off his lazy butt. I try to keep him in the back yard because he's sprayed his urine a few times too many in the house. After we get him neutered he shouldn't feel the need to spread his scent here, there and everywhere. The Vet thinks he's been on his own a long time and thought we should let him adapt for a month or so before we neutered him. She figured it'd be good for him to learn the concept of home and family. Well, tick-tock the clock is ticking...time's just about up.

On another, similar note, I think Tristen has willed this lost dog into our lives. I've wanted a Newf for several years now, and we were planning on getting one this summer. Tristen's been asking for a Golden Retriever for quite some time, but I kept telling him no because I was getting my puppy. He wins. I'll wait on my Newf.

Anyways...my overall point of this post is that we keep busy. I try not to be too busy, I mean I homeschool and we're total homebodies, but I guess a family of seven plus two dogs just sort of has it's own kind of crazy chaos to it. That's alright. I try to enjoy the days, because it hasn't escaped my attention the speed at which it has all flown by. So I grin thru gritted teeth and try my best to bear the fact that there simply are not enough hours in a day to get done everything I should like to.

So cheers to everyone, all my friends and family. I think of you all more than you probably know, and hope that all is going well in your own busy lives.