411 The Walters Bunch

Kids enjoying a fishing day with PaPa After deciding to take our month long trip in the fall, we have been very busy planning the logistics of a trip this large. Not only do we have to prepare the route and stops, but also the meal plans and accompanying grocery list (It makes it way easier on us when everything is thought of ahead and we just stick to the list.) Some days I am already tired of all the driving and we haven't even left yet! I know we will have some not so fun moments (we always do), but I think overall we will have a wonderful trip and make great life long memories.  T finished school this week. L and A finish up in a couple of weeks. We are all ready for a break from school. Unfortunately for them (and myself), in order to make up for our month long trip in the fall, they have to start school back in July. I am sure they will grumble when that time gets here, but I will remind them (frequently, I have no doubt) that it will all be worth it when we are on our ...

This guy is special. Who needs to turn around? My new mantra this past two weeks has been "I hate spring".  I have been absolutely miserable regardless of how much allergy medicine I take. But since misery loves company both D and A have decided to join me in my allergy misery.  I assume allergies are so bad this year because of our very mild winter. Hopefully, we are almost through the really bad part. Other than going through a billion Kleenex, we went on our Spring Family Camp Out with our Scout Family.  It was on this trip we decided that regardless how much my husband loved his truck, it didn't work with our family. Our crazy dog had to ride loose because her kennel couldn't fit inside the cab. We had enough of being stepped on and DVD wires being ripped out so as soon as we could (literally the next day) we traded it in for a Ford Expedition. Unlike the Navigator, it has cloth seats so no more burning ourselves getting in the car in the summer months and M...

Wow. Have we been busy the past three weeks. First things first, we celebrated L's bday with family. She wanted a baby themed party and to go swimming. We took all the kids and their cousins to our gym to swim and play for a couple of hours and then came back for pizza and cake. L loves to cook and always makes her own cakes. This year she made an Oreo cake and dyed the layers blue and pink, in keeping with the baby theme. We played diaper the baby blind folded, which was actually quite funny, and try to figure out what baby food we were eating, most of that was just gross. We had a good time and best of all L was very happy with her party. T had his pine car derby for boy scouts. This was our first experience with turning a hunk of wood into an actual race car. He got the turtle award, which means his car was the slowest of all the cars to complete all four runs. Yes, we actually had to EARN the slowest car.  A few kids were disqualified, bless their little hearts. However, we ...

My 22 yr old cat sleeping....old age makes you weird. Lately, we have kept busy by taking advantage of the great weather to get some things done around the house. We are thinking about selling next year in order to move out to the country so we are tackling a list of honey do's that has accumulated over the last decade and a half. You never realize what you collect over the years until you think about whether it is really worth packing up and unpacking again.   My hubby worked very hard the past 4 days making me a new dining table. It turned out great and he his turning into quite the wood worker. He has thought about doing this after his retirement in 12 years, but I plan on traveling with him for at least 3 years after he retires so that will have to wait! There is something to say about making something by hand. It feels good to be able to do it yourself. He will get a break from manual labor next weekend while we celebrate our youngest daughter's birthday then hopefully...

Ok, if you are reading this anywhere other than the mid southern states, you are probably wondering what is so fabulous about this winter. While the majority of the U.S. has had very cold bitter weather with tons of snow, about 5 mid southern states have enjoyed spring like weather pretty much all winter. I feel bad for everyone, but the weather is so great out that I really don't think too much about it.      We went to the Dallas Zoo last week and not only was the weather great, but the zoo was not very crowded. The Dallas Zoo is our favorite. We use to favor the Ft Worth Zoo, but Dallas has worked hard over the years to make their habitats more natural and interactive. They have done a great job and now it is our favorite. We had as great time watching the keeper talks and looking at all the animals who were out and about enjoying this wonderful weather.     We have also been able to get a lot of yard work done. Every year the kids play "the pokey game". ...

Okay. It has been really hard for us to get use to regular school days after such a great Christmas break.  The kids have started a homeschool PE class, which the two youngest really love, but that A has decided she doesn't really care for, though I can't really blame her.....if I kept getting pegged in the face during dodge ball I probably wouldn't like it either. However, if she doesn't participate in the class she gets to go jogging with me and apparently dodge ball is the lesser of two evils.             I received a fit bit for Christmas and I have to say it is way harder to get my 10000 steps than I thought. We walk the dog almost a mile and a half everyday and unless it happens to be my jogging days I am still doing laps around my house trying to get that stupid thing to buzz that I have reached that elusive number for that day. The dog has decided I am crazy and no longer follows me through my random laps through the house.  It annoys me ...

We took the camper over to my in laws for a couple of nights so we could celebrate Christmas and also my nephew's birthday. It is nice because they have a large slab with hook ups for both our camper and their fifth wheel. It is also covered which really helps in inclement weather.  The dog is still learning her manners while we camp, but maybe one day when she's older she will behave better. You never know what you get with shelter dogs, but for the most part she is really good.....at least with us and with no other animals around. We finally got her DNA results back. Wow, we were all WAY off on guessing her lineage. We had thought pit bull, grey hound, Rhodesian ridgeback, with maybe a little maltese thrown in, given her love of freaking out over little white fluffy dogs.Oh, no! She is from a pure breed cattle dog line on one side and the other side has a wonderfully long lineage of mutt, mostly chow. I'm thinking the gate was left open and ooops. This may explain her fix...