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| photo cred: Mama Roxby Photography |
Intentional Outdoor Hours: 335+ hours (of 1000)
Up 29 hours this week - still so so hot.
Reading Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson (only one more chapter to go!)
Fly Elimination mission update: I discovered this blog (laughed so hard from her writing and vlogs - she is so so funny and informative) and I'm combating my fly problem two fold. First, with a piece of shrimp in a mason jar with a paper cone. And secondly, I purchased my first batch of parasitic wasps. They should be here some time next week!
Celebrating big time on Sunday with a two'fer at church. Gemma made her first holy communion and Red was baptized! We had all of their godparents able to attend and several family members there to witness the big day. Gemma did a beautiful job on her reading and the service was special despite all the covid limitations (limited parishioners attending, masks required). Grey acted as an altar server and the organist and vocalists sounded perfect. Afterwards, we all spent the afternoon at my parents' house for a little celebration with food from Flair of Country and sheet cake. Such a special day for my special babes. Thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate!
Getting a day to work on chores with no big kids! B went to work and a dentist appointment on Monday while the four biggest kids spent the day with my parents and sisters at Laurel Hill State Park swimming and playing. (thank you!!) After so many weeks of covid-family time with these kids who I adore with every fiber in my body, it is such a relief to be able to clean up a little bit without one of them making another mess in another room (hah!)
Cherishing Red in this exact moment, gosh how I love the 3-5 month stage. He has been waking himself up at night by rolling over now and when I went in to get him reset, he reached out and held onto my fingers in the dark, like 'hold on momma, stay with me for a minute.'
Making a chore chart. The kids are pretty good at helping when they are asked, but I really wanted a place to point to and not have to figure it out on the spot everyday. Plus, some routine and structure is good to get back into, especially with school on the horizon again. All the kids have 1-2 chores each day (there is also an Everyday checklist that includes brush teeth, tidy room, make bed, and help mum&dad if they need it with anything else, Hah). Even Redland has chores - they include things like "Look cute" and "Slobber a lot" and "Make everyone smile." Truth be told, he's the best kid right now on completing his chore chart. (Although for real, Gemma loves her a task list, so she's kind of killing the chore chart everyday).
Back patio project working. Brandon and his dad pulled up the railroad ties and cleared out all the mess to prep for cement. Then B and my dad set up the forms for the cement pad, including building a brace for the cement 'wall' and we all crossed our fingers that it would hold up come pouring time. B, my dad, and Jon poured the cement on Friday with almost no issues (even though the wall brace was creaking something fierce) and it looks so beautiful. B and I moved the big picnic table to the side patio - so it's all clear and ready for the next step, the roof!
Introducing Red to baby food. He has been staring at the kids eating for the past few weeks and he is really struggling to stay asleep through the night (even though he was doing great before). He just seems so very hungry so that moment he hit the four month mark - I gave him a try and it was a huge success. He's obsessed; he wants all the food. So far, he's only had bananas and some oatmeal but he gives them a massive thumbs up.
Taking professional family photos at our house with the dear, sweet Mrs. Roxby (the kids' STEAM teacher). She spent Friday evening with us snapping photos and chatting. It was all so relaxed and comfortable, even Brandon had a good time with that (hah! Dads!) She sent me a sneak peek and it was perfect - I can't wait to see the rest. We love you, Mrs. Roxby!
Camping at the Que. Grey got to spend a night with his buddies while their family camped. He spent a lot of the time fishing (his favorite). Then we all headed out for Saturday night to camp to celebrate my mom's upcoming milestone birthday. My dad had reserved our favorite site, so we had a beautiful view and the kids' favorite swimming spot at our disposal. We ate good food over the fire, the kids did a ton of fishing, we sang Happy Birthday over some gobs, and the kids even got to put on a light show for us with sparklers. Brandon took our big tent to sleep with the kids (Red and I went home for the night), but Grey and everyone else (my parents and sisters) set up their hammocks for the night. I was at home in bed when I was started awake by heavy rain. I immediately texted B to see how it was going there and he said the hammock sleepers were awake and under the canopy. I found out the next morning that the tarp they had over their heads had collapsed from the weight of the collected rain and they all ended up making a run for it to sleep in their cars! Grey slept in his Aunt Kitty's car!
Summer sporting with the last week of baseball. Grey had three games this week to close out the shortened season (thanks covid).
Fall sporting as it kicked off this week with equipment handout. Brandon is coaching the majors football team while I take on the minors cheerleaders. We are just moving up with our 'kids' that we've been coaching for the last two years - so pretty easy peasy. To coach, we had to make sure all of our clearances were up to date and had to complete the yearly concussion online training. Grey and B had the official weigh in day on Saturday morning and practices will start next week. We still have a lot to figure out as the governor of PA and the PIAA is suggesting that there be no spectators for the games, but things change on the daily around here - so we will see what happens before the first game!
Making so many leftover meals from our catered food from the party (pork tacos, pork over mashed potatoes, leftover berry salad, baked sliders with leftover rolls). We grilled out turkey burgers and another night grilled country-style pork ribs.
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