Life as a Yowler

My mom flew in for a few days to help with the little angels. It has been very nice having the extra set of hands. I’ve been able to workout every morning since she’s been here. It greatly improves my mood, if I get some exercise every day. The last two mornings, our campsite has been on a corner lot(meaning there’s no neighbors around us). I have been able to go outside and exercise while the older kids run wild. Mom watches the baby.  I don’t have to worry about good intended, yet highly annoying/nosy people watching how ridiculous I look. I will be the first to admit, I am probably the worst neighborly person you’ve ever met. I do not enjoy other people watching me or the kids running crazy. I love privacy! I love our secluded woods at home. They give us the freedom to just run around and do our thing. They also give me the freedom to yell at the kids at the top of my lungs if it comes to that.

We have done several things the last few days while grandma has been with us. We went to the Martin Luther King Jr. historic site between Brandon’s store training and my mom’s plane landing at the Atlanta airport.

We got to tour his childhood home.

We toured the church where he was baptized. Later he became ordained as a minister, and was co-pastor with his dad.

We went to a place called Dickey Farms. We restocked on some fresh produce.

We got to watch them package peaches into boxes, all while eating peach ice cream. It was very entertaining to watch.

We went to Ruby Falls, which is an indoor waterfall. We had been there once before. Thanks to my Facebook memories, I know that we went there exactly 2 years and 2 days apart from each other.

We went to Helen Keller’s birth home. It was very interactive, and very worth the trip. We have read through a book about her story. Joah complained the whole time about how boring it was. After leaving this place he said, “mom I might be interested in reading that book again.”

The kids were allowed to touch the Braille books in the museum.

They were also allowed to touch the water pump where Helen learned the first word that clicked in her mind, “water.”

There was a huge property to explore, along with touring the house.

We have done lots of swimming, most evenings at our campgrounds.

Our last campground had a big lake to swim in.

This morning while Brandon trained, my mom and I took the kids swimming in the lake. The oldest three kids made their own homemade rafts out of logs and “rowed across the sea” for around 2 hours. It was just enough time to exhaust themselves for the trip ahead today. We travel to Memphis today.