A lot to do in a short amount of time in England! Now Espana!

Sunday we went to the Mermaid on the Hastings sea front and had breakfast with friends. 

Friends Stuart and I worked with when we lived in England. 

We returned to the house and had lunch a bit later with Granny and Auntie Cheryl. They stayed for the afternoon. The kids played in the garden and then braved going into the wood. Everyone left around 6 pm, and then I sat on the patio in the cool evening air. Stuart and Barry returned after taking Granny back to Eastbourne. Grandpa played his guitar and I sang again. 

Monday morning we were up packing and cleaning the upstairs. The kids had breakfast and we celebrated Millie’s birthday. She opened gifts from Grandma, Grandpa, Granny, Auntie Cheryl and us. She was so excited. 

Unicorns were the theme of the birthday this year. 

We left Grandma and Grandpa’s to go to Granddad and Grandma’s. When we got there, we discovered their house was under construction. We got our things unloaded and Millie got a gift of a sequenced lunch bag with a unicorn and a rainbow on it. She loves her little bags. I asked her if she wanted to use that as her school lunch bag. She wouldn’t dream of getting it dirty, so the answer was clearly no. It would just go in amongst her other bags and she would carry it around with random things in it. Fine by me, I suppose. 

We went into the garden once we were settled. Grandma made bubble mixture and Granddad made a bubble contraption that would make these huge bubbles. Initially the bubbles were not great, but after adding here and there and letting it sit for a while, there were some massive bubbles that developed. 

The first few attempts at large bubbles were a bust. 

After a bit, it all started to work!

My sister in law, Anna, and her three girls came over in the afternoon. 

Lunch with the Atkinson girls. 

Millie’s birthday cupcake!

The cousins; Bella, Jack, Eliza (in Jack’s arms), Millie and Sophia. 

Eliza loved Jack and Millie. 

Purdy the dog!

We spent the afternoon in the garden. Bella, my niece, had to get back for her gym class. Once they had left the kids ate dinner and showered, then were off to bed. The adults then had lasagna and nattered the night away. 

We woke up Tuesday morning and headed to our adventure for the day. We went climbing on a ropes course. Stuart misread the instructions. He read that there had to be an adult with each child. Come to find out, that wasn’t true. However, the fee for me to participate had already been paid so I decided to do it any way. There were two courses. The first one was scary enough. My second trip on the first loop, I was just ahead of this boy who couldn’t have been older than 6. I got on the second platform and heard some whimpering behind me. I turned around and said, ‘You okay, buddy?’  He said, ‘I’m just really scared.’ I said, ‘Don’t worry, so am I!’  I helped coach him through the rest of the course. Stuart told me that was just a taste of what teaching Year 2 (1st grade) was going to be like. I suppose I can handle it. 

The second loop of the ropes course was not my friend as it moved too much and messed with my knee. So needless to say, I stayed on the ground after my last attempt. 

We decided to have a picnic at a local park by a lake. The rain came so our picnic was cut short. Our initial plan was to go to Barnes and Anna’s house around 4:30, once Anna returned from taking Bella to gym. The rain forced our hand to go a bit earlier. 

The girls had friends over so Jack felt a bit left out. He managed in the end, but was thrown off by our switching of plans. I’ve noticed more and more that when we change plans on him he has difficulty understanding and processing it. I need to read up on how to handle this, I suppose. 

We left their house and came back to Grandma and Grandad’s house for a couple of hours. The kids played outside and then they called Hope. We then went to a village pub for dinner. I had ham and eggs. I didn’t eat all of my food so Jack decided he would eat mine. When he did, he discovered a fly under one of the eggs. Poor Jack. It kind of made him sick. The pub ended up not charging us for that meal, which was great customer service in our opinion. 

Once we were home, the kids showered and were off to bed. We didn’t stay up terribly late as we had to get up early to leave for London Wednesday morning.

Wednesday morning we were out the door to London by 8:30 am. We got to Premier Inn at the Heathrow airport, but we were too early to check in. We jumped in an Uber and headed to the city for lunch and a show. Clare, Henry, May and three of their friends came with us. Lunch was long and leisurely. 

We then walked up the road a bit to see Wicked. The kids were so excited. We got the tickets for Millie for her birthday. The show did not disappoint. There was some explaining to do at the end, especially for Jack. If you know nothing of the musical, read up in it via Wikipedia and you will see that there would be some things to explain to a 9 year old. 

After the show we went to St James’ park so the kids could run around. We grabbed sandwiches on the way and had a picnic of sorts. The girls ran around and the boys wrestled. We parted just before 6:30 pm and were back at the hotel just before 8 pm. Both kids showered and then watched television in bed. I showered just after 9 and also hit the bed. 

On the way back to the underground, we stopped for a quick selfie in front of Buckingham Palace, as you do. 

Stuart was up and on his way to Birmingham Thursday morning just before 7 am. He was going to pick up Hope. Jack, Millie and I caught an Uber into London to see Mandy’s new pad. She has a view of the Tower Bridge. It was a lovely spot. The only thing not lovely was that it was raining all day on Thursday. We took the tube to the Natural History Museum. There was a queue about a mile long waiting to get into the free museum. I suppose everyone was looking for something to do indoors. We walked back toward Kensington station and found a pub. We ducked in and had a bite of lunch. Stuart and Hope met us at a pub just before 1 pm. We decided we didn’t care that the kitchen was exceptionally slow that day. The rain was not what we had expected or wanted. 

Our Uber took us across the Tower Bridge. 

The view from Mandy’s new home. 

Our pub lunch with Mandy. 

After a lovely lunch we headed back to the tube to go to Covent Garden. We walked around for a bit and the kids got sweeties. We then went back to the underground and tried to tell Mandy what she needed to do to get back to her place. She seemed nervous but prepared. 

The kids posing at Covent Garden, and, yes, we did buy umbrellas we will never use again. 

We headed back to the hotel for the kids to chill out. We had to be up and out of the hotel by 3:00 am. I got a message from Mandy around 4 pm. She had arrived home safely. So her first outing on the tube, alone, was a success. 

We chilled out in the hotel for a couple of hours and then went to dinner in the hotel restaurant. Jack said he wasn’t hungry, but I suspected he was feeling a bit left out by the girls. When Millie and Hope went to the bathroom I asked him if he was feeling a bit left out. He said he was. So I told him that any time in these next two weeks, if he was feeling that way, he could just quietly come to me, let me know, and I would spend a bit more time with him. He seemed happy with that. 

Once dinner was over, we were back in the room and attempted to get everyone to sleep, which was challenging. Everyone was finally asleep around 10 pm. Millie slept between Stuart and myself, so you can only guess what kind of sleep I had. 

The alarm had not even gone off and Stuart was up. It was only 2:30 am. We were at the airport by 3:30 am, only to find out the baggage drop didn’t open until 4:30 am. Oops. Could have slept another hour. Oh well. We got a coffee. The kids played Snakes and Ladders, while another group of kids ran around the area with no manners at all. I spoke to the older girl, who proceeded to basically tell me she hadn’t been running through the kids’ game. I asked her where her mother was. She said, ‘She’s right over there.’ As you would guess, I walked over to her and asked her if she would ask her kids to stay out of the game. I told her they were welcome to play if they liked. I had to put some kind of nicety in there. She yelled at her boys, which was good enough. I didn’t have the energy to tell her that her daughter was rude and disrespectful. Generally, the teens that are rude come by it honestly. What a way to start my day!

Airport Snakes and Ladders? Why not!

We had a bite to eat before getting on the flight. We were the first ones on the flight and we were seated in the bulk head seats, which was nice. We took off at 6:20 am and landed 9:40 am, Madrid time. We’ve done a bit of changing time zones this summer for sure. 

When we landed, we headed to the rental car. Thank goodness Stuart hired a 7 seater car. I can’t imagine what the journey to Oria would have been like in a 5 seater with the three kids. Plus, when we decide to go anywhere in the two weeks, we will be able to all go together. 

Everyone was initially very eager for the journey. 

Then reality set in. Poor children were up a bit early Friday morning. 

We stopped on the journey to go to the bathroom. We were going to stop at a restaurant to eat, but in the end we decided to just grab junk food and travel on. The journey wasn’t horrible. The kids slept for part of it. They got a bit antsy towards the end, which drove Stuart and myself a bit mad. We stopped about an hour away from Oria for another bathroom break. That’s when they silliness started. 

We finally arrived at Grandma and Grandpa’s just before 5 pm. We hardly set foot in the door before the kids were in the pool. I think it was a bit chillier than they thought it would be because they didn’t stay in the pool long. 

Too cold for me!

This is the view I always prefer. 

The kids came inside just after 6 pm and started playing games. Grandma started fixing dinner. Stuart and Grandpa took the rubbish to the big skip. I decided to go out on the patio and enjoy the view. Our Spain holiday is truly my happy place. I don’t worry about anything at all. The wind was blowing and it was a cool 77 degrees (25 Celsius). It was glorious! 

We ate on the patio. Millie actually ate lasagna and was then able to get her presents from Hope. She was so very thoughtful and brought all of us gifts. It was so very sweet. The kids were especially excited. 

The kids all went to bed around 9 pm. We followed shortly. It was a bit warm when we went to bed, but I dropped straight off. All children slept well. 

Millie wasn’t awake until nearly 9 am. I didn’t even get up until 8 am. Once everyone was up and had eaten, all but Grandpa went to Abox to the shops. We bought groceries and headed back to the house. 

The kids swam while Grandpa, Stuart and I washed the deck of the pool. I helped pull the pool cover off the deck as Stuart was scared of the potential spiders that might be in the cover. 

Hope rode the unicorn that Daddy had blown up for her. 

Millie tipped off the unicorn daddy had blown up for her. Ha!

Once the kids were out of the pool, they started writing in their journals. Grandma had bought each of them one earlier in the day. In this time the kids wrote, played music on their phones, and Jack started picking his wart. Thrilling! He’s had this wart that won’t go away for over a month. We are not really sure what to do. I’ve used medication, but it’s still there. I remember as a kid I dug mine out as well. I suppose that will work! 

The kids showered while Stuart fixed dinner on the bbq. We had dinner and then the kids went inside for a bit to watch their iPads or play. Stuart and Grandpa cleaned the pool while Grandma and I sat on the porch. Around 9:30 pm, I read a book to Jack and Millie, while Hope continued to write in her journal and watch something on Netflix. Jack and Millie then went to bed and Hope followed shortly. Grandma and Grandpa went up to bed and Stuart and I sat on the porch for a while. I seem to be sitting on porches a lot this summer. I suppose I should enjoy it while it lasts. It’s only two more weeks before I have to go back to work and I am going to savor every moment. 

The end of the states and the beginning of England!

Sunday morning it was raining. We got up and went to church. The kids decided to go into the main church with us. After the service there was ice cream for everyone, which Millie totally appreciated. 

When we got home we had leftovers. Going out to eat with more than 6 people is a pain, so it was just easier to have something at the house. Cathy and Craig arrived around 11:30 and brought Pitt State shirts for the kids. Then Russ and Julie got to the house a little after noon. It rained most of the day so it was a good excuse to just drink coffee and sit on the porch for the afternoon. 

Cathy and Craig headed back to Leavenworth around 4 pm. Then Donavan left about a half hour after them. We ended up having dinner at a place down on Branson Landing. We did a bit of shopping and then returned to the house for our usual dominoes match. 

We were up Monday morning with a tentative plan to go to Silver Dollar City. 

Our last SDC day. 

A child umbrella. 

A cookie bigger than her head. 

He enjoyed each bite. 

Unfortunately, it started raining. I decided this would be a good time to go and have coffee with my dad. We do this each year. It’s our ‘check-in’ time together. We headed down towards Dick’s 5 and Dime, knowing that the rest of the crew would follow shortly after. We all needed one last trip to Dick’s 5 and Dime. We bought a Mexican Train set to take back with us to the UAE. 

We ended up having lunch at Qdoba, the Mexican Grill. We went home for a bit and did some packing. We decided to head to Silver Dollar City in the late afternoon. Mom, Dad and Mitch opted out. So the die hards carried on. They did join us later. Sadly, the rain didn’t allow us to ride many rides. We decided to go to Danna’s BBQ for dinner. It rained while we ate. It was back to the house and everyone decided to turn in early. 

I was up before 7 am. I had my regular coffee on the porch, and then went to TJ Maxx to shop a bit with my mom and Mitch. Of course we had to get another carry-on bag for our trip. I know Stuart just loves me for my shopping obsession. He has also done his fair bit of shopping this trip. 

We went back to the house for a bite of lunch and then off to play miniature golf. Jack had difficulty with it because he is so competitive. The fortunate thing is he is able to express his frustration and most of the time we can talk through it with him. Russ was able to give him some sound advice as well. He wants to be perfect in everything he does. Bless him!

Russ, Julie and Morgan left around 5:30 pm to go back to Arkansas. We had such a great time with them. After they left, the kids had a water balloon fight in the front yard, then they were off for their last bath in Grammie and Pop’s big bath tub. 

For dinner we had brats, hot dogs and grilled cheese sandwiches. There was a bit more porch time, and then it was time for our last dominoes evening. This time, Millie played with us. She was hilarious! She didn’t stop talking the entire two games she and Jack played. We were all cracking up at her. 

I took a shower after our many rounds of Mexican Train, and then decided to try to catch up on the Bachelorette. Of course I fell asleep midway through episode 7. I have to get this finished before that other trashy show starts the first week of August. 

The morning came way too early. We were up sorting out the rest of our luggage, cleaning bathrooms and stripping beds. We were off to the airport around 9 am. Mom, Dad and Mitch followed us there to help us with the luggage. After we checked in to our 50 seater plane, we said our goodbyes, with some tears, and headed through security. 

The flight to Dallas was really just up and down. It was short and sweet and I slept for most of it. Once in Dallas we got some lunch at an Irish pub. Our layover in Dallas was a little over 4 hours. We walked around a bit, but there was a maze in front of our departure gate where the kids could get a bit of energy out. So we just stayed around there so the kids could play. It was great. 

When we boarded the plane, we were pulled aside and they took our passports. When they brought them back, we had been upgraded to premium economy. Once we were on the plane, we headed to our seats, only to discover we were sitting at the bulk head. These were the best seats ever and Jack was especially excited. The flight was a bit bumpy from time to time. But all in all it was a wonderful flight. 

We landed just before 9 am. We were through customs, collected our bags, had purchased our EU SIM cards, and got the rental car by 10 am. Of course we had difficulty getting our bags in the car. But the car was amazing!

We got to Grandma and Grandpa’s just after noon. We unpacked and started reorganizing for our trip to Spain. The plan was to not take all of our bags. We only wanted to take two carry-ons and one checked bag. We would also have Hope’s bag. Hope’s mum had told Stuart we could leave our extra bags at their place while we were in Spain. 

Once we were a bit settled, the kids played in the garden and we sat on the patio. We then decided to play a game of Charades. The kids wanted to take a bath, but that produced conflict as it often does and resulted in me going upstairs to sort them out. We had dinner on the patio and then I put Millie to bed around 7 pm. I laid down with her and awoke to Stuart telling me it was 7 o’clock. I thought he meant 7 am. I was a little confused, but snapped out of it quickly. Traveling can be dreadful on the body. Jack watched a movie and fell asleep just before 9 pm. We were hopeful they would both sleep through the night. We went to bed just after 10 pm. Millie woke a few times in the night, but it wasn’t as bad as when we had first arrived in the states. Jack didn’t wake up at all, or so I thought. I discovered Friday morning that he had had a nose bleed in the night. He handled it on his own, but there was blood on the sink and a couple of towels, as well as his bed. Oh well, it wasn’t anything that couldn’t be washed out. 

Millie slept the latest on Friday morning, waking just after 9 am. I relaxed and had my coffee while Stuart headed to Eastbourne to collect Granny. The kids watched a movie and all was quiet and peaceful. 

Once Granny was in the house, we had a coffee on the patio. We then went to my favorite pub in all of England, The Queen’s Head, in Sedlescomb. We had a light lunch in the garden of the pub. It got a bit toasty, but we were shaded most of the time. After our lunch, we stopped at the garden center to look around. This is another stop I like to make while in England. 

We came back to the house and the kids played in the garden, watched some Netflix, and then went into the wood around 5 pm. 

Dinner was in the oven while they were gone. They returned and had a shower. Then it was time for dinner. We had fish pie, which Millie would not eat. Jack, on the other hand, ate 4 servings and was still able to eat the jello Grandma had made. I think we are in the ‘summer beef up’ stage with him. 

Stuart took his grandma back to Eastbourne while Barry and I cleaned up from dinner. We then sat in the lounge and I sang while Grandpa played his guitar. We attempted to sing ‘By the time I get to Phoenix’. I love to sing when Grandpa plays his guitar. 

The evening of sleep was especially hot. We couldn’t hardly sleep. I tossed and turned most of the night, only to discover Saturday morning that Millie had a fan in her room. So guess who placed the fan in my room as soon  as this fact was discovered? 

Saturday morning we set out for Eastbourne. Stuart and Grandma were going to paint the bench that sits in the garden where Granddad Tom is buried. The kids and I had a walk around the shopping center on the harbour. We tried to find Jack his school shoes, but we had no luck on the harbour. 

Once the bench was painted, Stuart and Grandma picked us up and we headed to Granny’s house. Stuart ended up dropping Jack and me at the shopping center in town so we could go to the Clark store to get his school shoes. I didn’t really want to spend that much money on his shoes, but they are quality so I shouldn’t complain. We also bought an iPad cover for his iPad, but when we got home it was the wrong size. The chances of us going back to replace it is very slim. Jack was very disappointed. 

We got back to the house just before 5 pm and tried to sort ourselves out for the rest of our time in England as well as Spain. Stuart and I may or may not have had a bit of a row (rhymes with cow) over the bag situation. Same crap, different year!

We spoke with Hope on Skype and then the kids got showered and were ready for bed. Then we had dinner and sat outside in the coolness of the evening. It was a normal evening and a wonderful week for sure. 

Branson is not disappointing any of us!

All 15 of us were up Sunday morning and out of the house by 9:30 am. Everyone went to church except Stuart, Mitch and I. We headed to Monett for the surprise birthday party for the twins, my dad and my Uncle Gabe. They turned 80 earlier in the summer so we were headed to the park for their celebration. We first went to Wal Mart to get some supplies, then we drove to Monett and picked up the cakes. We got to the park center and started setting up. Most of the guests arrived by about 1 pm. Then the guests of honor showed up at about 1:30. They came in and were really surprised. My dad had a lot of former basketball players from Aurora, Missouri, and Pittsburg, Kansas, who showed up. It was a wonderful party. My brother Mitch really did a great job of planning. My dad said it was the first birthday party he and his brother had ever had. Of course, we have celebrated over the years, but just with our family. I believe they were both touched by the efforts made by everyone involved. 

After the party, we came back through Springfield to rent a car. We decided if Mitch needed to go back to Chicago, we wouldn’t have the ability to leave the house with everyone. It just made things a bit easier on everyone. Once we were back at the house, we had leftovers from the party and sat on the porch for most of the evening. We ended the evening with Mexican Train (dominoes). It was a wonderful day!

Monday morning the Pennells (Russ’s family) left the cabin in the woods and headed back to Arkansas. We decided to go see the Titanic exhibition in town. 

We came back to the house for some lunch. Then in the afternoon we went to Silver Dollar City. I’ve been amazed at how small the lines have been. We had to wait 30 minutes for one of the roller coasters and Jack was totally put out. Obviously, he hasn’t been to an amusement park very much. I told him to chill as the lines are usually a much longer wait than 30 minutes. 

Mya’s first ride on a roller coaster. 

We returned to the house for some leftovers, again. The kids had showered before we ate, and went to bed shortly after they ate.  Before Jack went to bed, we had a talk with him. He has been asking for the last several months if there is a Santa, Tooth Fairy, and Easter Bunny. I have avoided a direct answer for the longest time. In the car, on the way home from Silver Dollar, we were talking about Millie getting an IPad from Santa for Christmas. He asked the dreaded question again. I told him that Stuart and I would speak with him in private later that evening. So when we sat him down to tell him about how St Nicholas was a real man, and what he had done for people many years ago, I started to cry when the reality hit me that some of his innocence was lost in these very moments. When I finished reading him my bit about St Nicholas, he said to me ‘So, Santa is not real?’ Stuart took over because I was crying. In the end, he discovered that we put the presents under the tree. He also discovered that he must help be ‘Santa’ with us from now on so that the magic stays alive for Millie. He was also told that Santa would still bring him presents in order to keep the magic alive for Millie. Then he said, ‘Okay, so for Christmas this year, I’m going to ask Santa for a segway’. Smarty pants! 

Tuesday morning, I decided since I had been eating everything but the kitchen sink, I would get up and walk the following morning. I’ve determined one thing about the Ozarks. I hate hills. After my walk, my cousin, Jeff, brought his son Nathan to the house around 10 am. We’d invited him to come and spend the night with Jack. Jeff has a house in Branson, so we knew Nathan had a season pass to Silver Dollar City. Jack was excited because he has been a bit of a middle man this trip. He’s not young enough to love what the little girls and Nolan are up to, and not old enough to hang with Morgan and Emily. So he was in heaven when Nate hit the scene. 

We headed to Silver Dollar City just after we had some lunch. Pop and I took the boys to ride some roller coasters while the girls went to face painting. Mitch wasn’t able to go with us, as he had some work to do in Aurora. We spent most of the day there, and when the little ones were ready to leave, Stuart and I stayed with the bigger boys for another hour. It was great because they went on the rides together and we waited for them. 

Our little unicorns!


We got home and the littles were bathed and getting ready to eat. Mom started making fajitas, while I helped sort out the littles with their food. Once they were finished they went downstairs to watch a movie and the older boys and adults ate fajitas. Yum! The boys stayed up and quietly played on the PS4 that Nate brought, while the little girls and Nolan were fast asleep. We turned in at 10:30 and I told Jack he and Nate could stay up until 11:30 pm, but he would need to come in to let me know they were going to bed. And he did just that. The independence of this boy is so wonderful to see, but scary at the same time. 

Wednesday morning we lounged around the house. The kids played downstairs and watched a movie. Around 12:30 pm Stuart drove me, Jack and Nathan to the Rec pool. It was free swim day. We thought it would be crowded, but it wasn’t bad. Stuart went and had some time on his own. He bought some lawn games for all of us to play. We had thought about it earlier, but only acted on it when it was mentioned by my dad. My dad doesn’t talk about things he’s not interested in. So when we heard he would want horse shoes or the game of corn hole, we decided that was a great gift we could buy for their Branson house. 

Stuart picked us up from the pool and we headed back to the house. My cousin Jeff actually met us at the pool and had Nathan ride with him back to the house. Nathan is a great baseball player and Jeff had to tell him that he was the only player selected for this special team for next season. It meant that none of his buddies would be playing with him. Nate seemed okay with it, but I’m sure he was disappointed. 

The others returned from Branson Landing and Mom started in on preparing for dinner. Dad got the grill out of the garage and sat it on the driveway for burgers and dogs. We ate around 5 pm. It was great to spend some time with Jeff. Nate and Jeff left around 6:30 pm, so we decided to take the kids to the carnival on the main drag of Branson. When we arrived at the carnival, the billboard flashed ‘closed’. There was someone in the ticket window so I got out of the car and asked when they would be open again. The guy said, ‘Never. We are permanently closed.’ Shame! It looked like a place the kids would really love. Well, on to Plan B, mini golf. What a hoot that was with a 2 year old. Millie, Mya, Mitch, Stuart and I played on one team, while G, P, Rony, Nolan and Jack played on another team. We were definitely the slow players of the course, but we had a great time Mitch scored the best out of all of us. Chances are he should have been a golfer. Who knows. 

We headed for shakes at Sonic. Jack didn’t like his, which isn’t terribly shocking since he is not a fan of ice cream. I tried to get him to order a slushie, but he didn’t want that either. When he remembered he didn’t like ice cream, he decided he wanted something else. Uh, nope, not how it works. Then he was upset and started badgering me about it. It kind of ruins the fun when that happens. When we finally did leave he wanted to ride in the car where I was. I told him to go in the car he came in and I would see him when we got home. Once we were home, he apologized for badgering me, which I thought was very mature of him. Showers and bed were an immediate need. We ended up taking Jack’s phone and iPad and putting them in our room. He was a bit upset, but understood that we wanted him to get a good night’s sleep.  

When I got up on Thursday morning at 7:30 am, someone had turned on the coffee. I assumed it was my mom, as my dad is not an early riser. Everyone else was still in bed. I fixed a cup of coffee and went out to the porch. 

We hung around the house most of the morning. Pop took Jack to buy him a pocket knife for his 10th birthday. Jack was so pleased with his new knife. 

He was whittling away most of the morning. 

We went to the fish hatchery around noon. It looked as if it was going to rain, but in the end it didn’t. I would really like to experience a good rain shower while we are in Missouri. We shall see if that happens. We stopped at the Amish Country store on our way home. It was a new experience for sure. 

The porch of the Amish Store. 

My friends, Cathy and Craig, showed up around 3:30. It was so good to see them. I nearly cried when I hugged Cathy. The last I really spoke to her was almost a year ago when her mother passed away. Getting older seems to be more difficult than I thought it would be. We did come catching up on the porch. We then played some games with the kids and then headed to Flat Creek for dinner. We came back to the house to play Mexican Train. 

Friday we got up and went to Target. Cathy and Craig met us there and then Cathy, Craig and I headed to Dick’s 5 and 10. After lunch we went to the World’s Largest Toy Museum, which might as well have been called World’s Largest Flea Market. It was full of old toys and creepy dolls. We were so glad we didn’t pay much for the tickets. 

We got home and started playing Chinese checkers while Stuart, Mitch and Grammie went to Wal Mart to get food for dinner. Morgan and Donavan showed up around 4 pm. We grilled out and then started the Mexican Train again. I didn’t realize our family liked games so much. I’m so glad we enjoy each other enough to be together like this. 

On Saturday we got up and went to breakfast at Billy Gail’s, a local cafe. Jack and Millie rode in Morgan’s convertible. 

Jack had the ultimate breakfast and I shared it with him, thank goodness. It was colossal. 

We met Cathy and Craig at Silver Dollar City around 10 am. There were a ton of people there. Jack finally saw what a typical day at an amusement park was like. Because it was so crowded we decided to take a tour of Marvel Cave. 

The lines were more than we cared for, but we waited for several roller coasters. Around 2 pm we decided to go back to the house for a break. We stopped at Wal Mart and got steaks for dinner. Mom and Dad had returned from taking Rony and the kids to Tulsa. They were exhausted from their trip. So after dinner, when we all decided to go back to Silver Dollar City, but Grammie and Pop stayed home. 

Before dinner, I went downstairs and saw Jack speaking to Pop. I could tell it was serious. I knew it had something to do with Jack’s new pocket knife. About 20 minutes later Jack came up and sat out on the porch with me. He began his story by saying he had been ‘foolish’ the previous day. Yep, he used his knife on a leather chair in the basement. He claims he was curious how sharp his knife was. Once he told me the whole story, I asked him what he thought we should do. He went into the house and brought me his knife. Then he started crying. He went inside the house and I followed him. I spoke to Pop and he told me about his conversation with Jack. He let Jack know that he wasn’t going to tell me about the incident. So Jack told me on his own accord, which we all thought was very mature. However, the fact remained that he cut a leather chair. Grammie and Pop were fine with it all. I’ve come to realize that my children can really do no wrong. Well, maybe it’s just handled differently than if it were me. 

We left for Silver Follar City just after 7 pm. We only got to ride Time Traveller, but we saw the fireworks, which were epic. Jack got his Time Traveller t-shirt and then we returned to the house for, you guessed it, Mexican Train. It was the best way to end the week!