Around Here Week 32 Part 2: 08/07-08/11

A glimpse into what it was like to live in our home just this (last part of a) week:

Intentional Outdoor Hours:  513+ hours (of 1000)
Up 52 hours in the last part of this week alone in huge part to camping- in which I racked up 16, 22, and 7 hour days over the weekend! The difference to my soul is palpable. I know this is broken record over here all the time, but honestly - what the whole world needs is to go outside and breathe some fresh air and see the birds all the way up in the sky, and watch the ants crawl in the grass, and listen to the winds rustle the leaves.

Reading Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick your Ass by Meg Medina. It is really good and I am loving Piddy's perspective through high school, so so interesting and relatable for young people I think. Greyson was very sweet (and trying to be sneaky) this week when he casually questioned me about our next Books & Brews book choice. I told him that it was You Think It, I'll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld and guess who surprised me with an early birthday present on Saturday after his Gigi helped him buy it at the book store? That Greyson Rudy, he knows his momma's heart.

Half Marathon Training this week: 9 miles
I did a lot of substituting of runs this week (bleh). I substituted our 1000 steps hike for my 3miler that day and then my mom & I brisk walked 4.5 miles at camp on Saturday evening in place of my 5miler. Yikes. After a full day on Sunday night, I bumped my 3mile to Monday. Good grief! I need to get back on track - the half marathon is scheduled for Oct 26!

Swinging by my classroom and discovering that everything I ordered at the end of the school year had arrived! Gah, totally geeked out over all the new language learning novels that arrived, my school supplies (post its, crayons, and index cards galore), and new posters and signs that will give students quick reference for using Spanish in class. So.Excited! B came down to help hang up some of my decorations that go on the ceiling #shortteacherprobs while Rustman got out every prop I own from my closet to try them on. Ja ja!

Hiking up 1000 steps to celebrate my mumma's birthday. She mentioned to my sisters and I that she wanted to try to do it earlier this summer and we were all available on her actual birthday to make the trek. The trail is in Huntingdon (a little over an hour away) and we chatted the whole way out in Sheila with my sisters, Mom, and Becky (one of mom's besties who shares the same birthday!) It was pretty humid, but Abba, Kitty, and I made it all the way to the top! My mom was such a rockstar - it's a really challenging trail, especially on her 59th birthday (!) and I am so proud of her for pushing for the next 100 steps the whole way until she made it to the top. Happiest birthday, mumma.

Organizing for the upcoming school year. I made lists of things to do around the house and things we need to do to be ready for school. I purchased this rolling cart on Amazon to turn into a mobile homework cart. I meal planned for the rest of the month, and the two biggest kids and the parents had our yearly eye appointments!

Stocking up on our camping supplies! We bought a new tent that can fit all of us (plus some!), a cast iron skillet for Dad's famous camp breakfasts, and a new canopy tent because ours busted this summer after baseball season.

Camping at the Quemahoming Dam from Friday to Sunday. The Que is less than 10 minutes from our house, and it is gorgeous - so it's the perfect getaway for our family. We can still run home in the morning and evening to tend to the dogs and chickens which makes it so convenient. I thought I had reserved our favorite spot, but it turned out I read the map wrong and reserved the spot right next (#35) to it (oops!) Even still, it actually ended up being pretty lovely and the people staying in our favorite spot (#34) let the kids use the rock that juts out in the lake to jump from for swimming. (They had the sweetest pup with them too named Kevin that our kids adored).

Not sleeping for more than 15 minutes at a clip on Friday night at camp because it was so cold and so uncomfortable. Brandon and I woke up and walked out to the fire on Saturday morning and looked at each other and both started cracking up because oh.my.gosh. He said, "We can't do that another night." and I said, "I think permanent damage has been done to my spine." and he said, "I slept with my hoodie up and tightened all the way so there was just a small hole open so I could breathe." and I said, "I slept on my stomach with my face in my elbow crook so my own breath would keep it warm." We upgraded on Saturday night with more blankets and the pads from our patio furniture and it was slightly better; tolerable.

Sorrynotsorry that I took 50 pictures of the moon over the lake while camping this weekend.

Thankful for the calmness that the outdoors brings to our kids' hearts, minds, and bodies. It feels like everyone has the wide open space to be their best selves when we spend massive amount of time outdoors. Especially, Grey, who completely turns into a different kid. His normal restlessness and persistent teasing of his siblings falls away and he becomes quietly inquisitive, creative, and slow moving. He took his kayak out and trolled in the lake, fiddled with a homemade bottle fish/crayfish trap, and fished off the bank for hours.

Resolving that even though I don't love camping, there are enough glorious, incredible, perfect moments throughout the camping trip that I can see how valuable it is to our family. As a big family with parents both in education, we don't have bank enough to take these kids on a proper vacation. But camping gives us all those memories and more (and at the Que, right in our neighborhood)! The kids l.o.v.e. camping with every little fiber in their bones. And so for them, just like most things, yeah - this momma can do it.

Visiting my great grandparents' home in Patton, PA with our family. The kids had so much fun playing with their distant Adams cousins while we meandered around the farm listening to stories from long ago from my Dad and our cousin David (who lives there today). Grey was so pumped to fish in the pond and yanked out bass, crappies, and sunnies while the other kids zoomed all over the yard on four wheelers.

Wandering through the Smithmyer's Sunflower Maze on Sunday evening with Chum, Abba, Kitty, Uch, and Kevin. They have hundreds (thousands?) of sunflowers in a field with a path mazed throughout. The kids tried to complete their scavenger hunt and we all marveled at how beautiful the flowers are and watched as the bumblebees buzzed by. We all went out to dinner together afterwards too (celebrating Abba's birthday) and it was the perfect ending to a fun and nature filled weekend!

Fall Sporting with one cheer practice this week where I taught the girls half of their halftime dance! They did so great and I am impressed with how quickly they caught on. Now, just to get them to learn the stunt (oh boy!) Brandon and Grey had three football practices and started tackling this week.

Frugal Living by ordering my Walmart pick up through the Ibotta app ($3 back each time!), meal planning for the rest of the month, and using mason jars that we already had to help keep our supplies organized on our new homework cart.

Making hot dogs, kielbasa, and sauerkraut in the crockpot and peanut butter protein bites for dessert. At camp we had mountain pies, lunchmeat sandwiches, walking tacos, and cinnamon rolls over the campfire!

Keto'ing and cheat-o'ing off and on between mini vacations. We have been eating tons of almonds (#obsession) and trying to make better choices even while cheat-o'ing. I am going back to strict keto after our mini vacation week and B is going to go more lazy keto since now he's lost more weight than he wanted (ugh. boys.) Despite no weight changes (still), I had a non-scale victory this week! I switched my Fitbit bracelet to the small size because it was too loose even on the tightest setting!