Around Here thirty-nine: 09/23-09/29

A little glimpse into what it is like to live in our home just this minute.

Intentional Hours Outdoors: 462 hrs (of 1000)
Up 13+ hours this week, Saturday was a big win in outdoor time (a full eight hours!) and we did okay the rest of the week until the rain started.  I took a kid-directed walk with the girls (and Rust in the carrier) and it was such a nice afternoon.  I didn't worry about the distance or a set amount of time, or even the destination.  We strolled over to the neighbor's house, played on their playground, picked flowers, had a little snack, and followed butterflies.  I'm hoping it will be a weekly event.

Reading, ugh, almost nothing.  It felt like a long school week and I came home each day and was pretty tired - enough that I did the basics (feeding, cleaning up, preparing for the next day, and some kid snuggles/reading Halloween books) and that was about it.  Grey and I read some Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone two nights this week, but its been an odd week in terms of brain power.

Visiting with our cousin Rebecca who was home for a few days from the Navy.  We hadn't seen her in so long and we were so happy to get together with her and our family to celebrate a birthday cluster and get some catching up in before she headed back down to FL until Christmastime.

Running in the Que Classic 5K with my baby sis on Saturday morning.  It was a nice, chilly day for a morning run and the course was a smooth flat one.  It felt good to get the run in and got me more excited about my half marathon in May.  Not yet officially training, but starting to think about it :)

Cheering Grey on at his home football game last week with family, including Caleb which made Grey so happy to see him there.  Grey played a great game and even had an 11-yard touchdown pass!  He also scored a touchdown and had two more pass completions in the game.  They are 4-1 and he's down to only two more games left in the season (which makes him feel sad).

Organizing an alumni intramural event with some fellow alumni friends - a cornhole tourney at a cool local downtown bar (the Freight Station).  It was a fun, lowkey evening that helped bring CV alumni together in honor of homecoming as well as raise a little funds to go towards our gym reno project.  Planning is my jam.

Soaking up all the silly toddler ways of our bonafide two year old Va-vi.  She makes us all laugh and feel so loved with her squishy hugs and goofy dance moves.

Making the kids fav Chicken & gravy over mashed potatoes and some easy enchiladas when we had Uch and Kevin over for dinner on Thursday night.  Brandon and I were obsessed with these crispy shrimp & alfredo which happens every time we make it - so easy and so good.  And Hawaiian meatballs in the crockpot over rice, another big family hit.  The girls and I made Pumpkin Roll and we ate the whole thing in less than 24 hours....from now on, I'll have to make a double batch!  (Cookin' with Gemma:  Pumpkin Roll is also her first youtube debut.  Lawd, help us all.)