We may not have it all together, but together we have it all.

For spring break we wanted to get out of the house and enjoy nature. Rylan, unfortunately, got sick, so Scott, Maddy and Ian started the vacation without us then Rylan and I  joined up with them two days later. Scott took the kids and Bo on a hike called Dog Slaughter Falls. Then we rented a trailer house at Brimstone ATV Park in Tennessee. It was raining and the kids got soaked.  The cabin he rented was . . .rustic. It was like a hotel room, two queen beds, a couch, and a small kitchenette and bathroom. It was owned by the ATV company and one of the trails went right past it so there were ATVs, UTVs and dirt bikes buzzing by. We had a deck with a porch swing and a river running behind us. We waited for the rain to stop and Scott took Rylan and I out while the kids stayed back at the cabin. When Scott originally told me about this idea of renting UTV’s I envisioned us going on a dirt/gravel trail, but we were going on a mud pit with obstacles, inclines and rocks and crossing s...

(Spring 2021) M’Lynn and Payton and baby Jay were driving through Kentucky on their way to work pest control in Florida. They stayed with us for a couple of days. They were on track to arrive during our church activities on Wednesday night, so Maddy, Rylan, and I were kind of in a hurry to get home. We left the door unlocked, so they could walk right in, Scott and Ian got home from activity days about 20 minutes after they arrived. They drove 18 hrs on Tuesday and 8 on Wednesday! Such good travelers! I finally got to hold baby Jay! What a sweet baby.     Scott ironically was working from home but he couldn't log on to his computer, but it worked out perfectly so he could spend time with our company.  The kids had school but periodically came down to chat. We took Payton and M’Lynn to one of our favorite BBQ places Dee’s Butts for dinner.  Payton loved to play video games with Ian and Maddy Somehow my kids opened up to him really quick, he is really good about ...

(Jan 11th, 2021) Ian’s 10th birthday!  Also it was Maddy’s first day of in-person school, in a new middle school. She wanted to wake up extra early so she would have time to get ready and have me do her hair. We got her ready and Scott drove her over and he said that he played “We’re Playing With the Big Boys Now” from the Prince of Egypt. She was supposed to be a little early to get an orientation of the school before it started, and in pure Major Hoogland fashion she was the first person there she said.  Ian requested waffles for breakfast and then started on his school work. The 4th grade wasn’t doing any google meets because of the return of students today and he thought that was a birthday miracle. He did have assignments he had to finish on his own though.  He kept wanting to open his presents, I let him open two after lunch and two after dinner. He opened a cool RC car after lunch and when he was done with his school work he went outside to play with it. I watched ...

 In the efforts to find things to do we decided to start a new tradition of taste testing on New Years. We did a root beer taste test and interesting sodas to go along with our fondue. It was a hit! We found a new favorite Root Beer! For our 19th wedding anniversary, I told the kids of an idea for us to dress up and have them serve us dinner. We ordered take out from Olive Garden, Scott and Ian went to pick it up and Maddy and I set up the table and I put my military ball gown on and did my hair and make-up .  The kids served us our salad and breadsticks first, then chicken parmigiana and grape juice. They were so silly, Ian put on stick-on mustaches and tried to talk in Italian and they named themselves Louie and Stouie. We finished our dinner and I made Scott slow dance with me  Christmas:  On Christmas Eve, eve we had our annual slumber party in the basement. We chose to watch the Lord of the Rings series. At about 2:00 pm on Christmas Eve we started the cinnamon ...