"Bye mom," Lincoln and Lana called to their mother as they walked towards the front door.

"Have a wonderful time at the movies," Rita called out. It was one pm and Rita was helping Luna, Lynn Jr. and Lola fold newly washed sheets and clothing in the living room while Leni was sitting at her sewing machine finishing a new blouse she started after breakfast. Lily was sitting in a corner of the living room playing with her block set. Lucy was somewhere writing poetry or reading. Luan was in her bedroom checking her messages on her Funny Business phone line for any invitations to perform at birthday parties from clients but there weren't any.

Luan walked over to her bed then sighed before laying her head on her pillow.

"I wonder how much longer is this punishment going to last," Luan thought.

Suddenly her thoughts turned to some close friends of hers.

"I wonder what Giggles and Benny are doing?" she mused.

It was exactly 4:30 p.m. when Lincoln and Lana returned home from the movies. Rita was working on her novel in the master bedroom while the other siblings were sitting around the dining table eating fish and chips Rita had ordered on the telephone from Penny's.

"How was the movie?" Luan asked her brother and sister with curiosity.

"It was very entertaining," Lana admitted.

Despite eating snacks at the movies, Lincoln and Lana were becoming hungry and headed into the kitchen to take their share of the food. Around six pm Lincoln had taken Charles for a walk after spending some time watching TV on his laptop

On Sunday when their workout session ended, the family refreshed themselves and changed into their regular clothes. Lori and Luna washed the breakfast dishes while Lynn Jr. cleaned the kitchen counters. Lincoln and Lana decided to give Vanzilla a thorough cleaning job while Lynn Sr. kept himself occupied by reading the Sunday newspaper in the living room. The other girls tidied their bedrooms before getting some board games to play. Later on, the four oldest girls assisted their father with making dinner while Lincoln was holed up in his room playing a Muscle Fish video game and Lynn Jr., Lily and Lisa were taking naps.

At the moment Rita was walking Charles around the neighborhood with Lana, Lola and Lucy accompanying her. They didn't notice Teresa Hart peeking from her living room window as they passed the one story house. Her children Jeffrey and Susanna were currently away spending the remainder of the summer with their father which was an escape from all the restrictions their mother Teresa placed on them.

###################################################################

"Luna could you tell everyone to come for dinner," Lynn Sr asked his daughter.

The Loud family were having roast chicken, scalloped potatoes made by Lori and a tomato and cucumber salad. Lincoln had actually dozed off in the middle of playing his video game and was jolted awake when Luna shouted from downstairs, "Dinners ready.

Lori was placing the roast chicken Lynn Sr. prepared in the center of the table when Lincoln and the other girls walked into the dining room.

Ten minutes later dinner ended and the parents were heading out to buy groceries and left Lori in charge.

Monday was just an average day for the entire Loud family. Lincoln departed for Gus Games and Grub at 11:50 a.m. to spend a few hours with Stella, Liam, Zach, and Darren.

It was 4:15 when Lincoln glanced at his watch and told his friends, "See you Friday"

First he headed straight to the dollar store to purchase a birthday card for Lynn Jr. Even though Lynn Jr. bullied him occasionally he felt it was an obligation to buy his teenage sister a card.

That afternoon before assisting Luna with dinner, Rita wondered if her daughter's punishment should come to an end soon. During the dinner preparations, Rita was seasoning some tilapia while Luna peeled some potatoes

"I'll be right back," Rita told her daughter.

Tuesday morning

Lynn Jr. was jolted awake by the ringing of the alarm clock in her room. She yawned while stretching her arms above her head then glanced over at Lucy's bed with the dark sheets and noticed the occupant wasn't there.

"Lucy's up," she thought matter of factly, then she came to the realization that today was her fourteenth birthday.

"I hope dad changed his mind about making me a birthday breakfast," she mused. Suddenly Lynn became startled when Lucy entered their shared bedroom with her parents followed by Lincoln and the other sisters.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY LYNN," they cheered boisterously.

"Wow thanks everyone," Lynn replied with happiness

"Too bad you're not getting a birth…," Lola began but was quickly nudged by Lucy's right elbow before she could finish her sentence.

"Come down for breakfast," Rita told her.

Even though Lynn didn't receive a special breakfast but scrambled eggs and sausages like everybody else she received lots of birthday cards from her family.

That evening the children settled down after dinner for some rest and relaxation. Luna and Luan were just done washing up in the kitchen. Lana, Lola and Lily were coloring while the other children were catching up on their reading. Lynn enjoyed the TV to herself as a special treat just this once from Rita.

Wednesday afternoon Rita and the girls attending day camp narrowly escaped getting caught in a thunderstorm that started minutes after they reached home. Lori informed her boss Stephanie that she was taking a personal day on Thursday. Lynn Sr. explained to his employees that he was leaving early tomorrow because of an important person he was meeting at four p.m. then asked Kotaro to ask his daughter Michelle if she was available to work tomorrow. He was able to secure two ladies to wait tables from the employment agency to come in tomorrow morning for a quick training session.

Thursday 9: 45 a.m.

Lincoln walked downstairs still wearing his orange pajamas and Lori was standing at the stove making some French toast for herself when he entered the kitchen.

"Good morning Lori," Lincoln chirped then walked over to a cupboard and grabbed a box of Rice Krispies.

"Morning Lincoln," Lori replied nonchalantly.

Suddenly surprised at Lori's presence in the house Lincoln asked, "Hey I thought you were supposed to be at work."

"Since I haven't used any of my personal days I told Stephanie I'm taking today off," Lori explained.

As Lincoln poured some of the toasted rice into his cereal bowl, Lori then asked, "Could you assist me tidying up the house before you leave today?"

"Okay Lori but after I feed Lana's pets," Lincoln replied.

"Okay, could you vacuum both upstairs and downstairs, but not the bedrooms, then afterwards collect the trash, I'm cleaning the bathroom and putting up clean towels for everyone," Lori said.

Lincoln nodded in agreement before walking over to the refrigerator to take out the milk carton.

As the two siblings sat at the dining table enjoying their breakfast Lincoln asked his oldest sister, "Anything else I should help you with after I take out the garbage?"

"No Lincoln," Lori told him.

When Lincoln finished eating he washed the bowl and spoon then fed Lana's pets afterwards he dragged the vacuum cleaner with the intention of vacuuming the upstairs hallway first. Immediately after breakfast Lori began the task of cleaning the bathroom.

Meanwhile Lincoln was finished vacuuming the downstairs carpet. Stowing the vacuum away in the basement Lincoln then rushed around collecting the garbage as Lori dusted the furniture. With their tasks finally completed, Lori found a vase used for special occasions and placed it on the coffee table.

"Why the vase," Lincoln questioned.

"I just decided to change up things a little," Lori explained.

"Everything's done," she remarked then breathed a sigh of relief.

Some minutes later Lori was parked on the couch watching a soap opera as Lincoln read a comic book, suddenly his reading became interrupted by Liam's mom car horn beeping. Lincoln leapt to his feet while throwing the comic on the bed, glanced quickly out the window, grabbed his bag then rushed downstairs.

"Lincoln enjoy yourself," Lori reminded him.

"Don't worry I will," Lincoln replied back.

At 3:05 that sunny afternoon Rita entered the waiting area of the Royal Woods Community center carrying Lily where the seven girls sat quietly. Lisa was absorbed reading a book while the others looked absolutely bored. The sisters looked up expectantly upon hearing their mother's voice.

"Girls let's go," Rita called out.

Lori was sitting on the couch filing her nails when Rita and the girls arrived home.

"Hello Lori, is Leni home?" Rita greeted.

"Yes she's upstairs taking a shower, oh dinners here," Lori responded.

The other sisters dropped their bags carelessly on the floor then made a beeline towards the kitchen and grabbed covered ham and cheese sandwiches left on the kitchen counter that Lori prepared before their arrival while Rita poured lemonade into eight glasses for her daughters as they began eating at the table.

It was two forty when Liam's mother arrived at the Loud residence.

"Bye Liam, Bye Mrs. Lafayette," Lincoln said before stepping out of the vehicle. Once inside, Lincoln washed his hands and warmed up his share of the dinner and after eating, Lincoln just relaxed for a while playing a video game.

Friday evening

Currently Rita and her children were gathered around the dining table for spaghetti and meatballs Rita bought at Penny's Diner that afternoon. The sounds of forks clanging against plates and the chewing of food were the only noises made for a number of minutes. Only Lori wasn't present because she was at the restaurant.

"Girls," Rita announced finally breaking the silence, "Your father and I had a discussion regarding your punishments a few nights ago and I came to the conclusion you've been punished long enough, so I called your father during his break today about removing all restrictions so you can enjoy the rest of your summer and he agreed, so at this moment your groundings over."

This surprise announcement emitted a round of excited chatter from the sisters still under punishment.

"Hooray I can watch some concerts on my laptop," Luna said happily.

"Woohoo, sports channel, here I come," Lynn Jr. announced.

"What about my princess bed mommy, can you assemble it tonight?" Lola begged.

"Sorry Lola, you'll have to wait until tomorrow for your father and I to reassemble your bed, after dinner I'll retrieve your phones and you can get your belongings from the attic," Rita replied.

Once dessert was served, the girls still under punishment happily rushed off towards the attic.