Around Here Week 31: 07/31-08/06

 A glimpse into what it is like to live our home just this moment. 

First home run of the day - photo cred: Becky Conn

tourney champs & last Little League game! photo cred: Becky Conn

photo cred: Heather

photo cred: Heather

photo cred: B

Gem's sneaker pulled from the depths of this mud puddle!

photo cred & fly tying credit: Grey

Intentional Outdoor Hours: 548+ hours (of 1000)
Sweating this week because holy hot as Hades. Our cheer camp in the middle of the day was brutally hot and humid, with one day the sky just opening up and pouring on us for a solid 5 minutes then getting blistering hot again right after. We still scored a bunch of hours this week, but not going to lie - we were grateful for the AC in the house!

Reading Glow Kids (How Screen Addiction is Hijacking our Kids and How to Break the Trance) by Nicholas Kardaras. It is startling and such an important read. Holy moley. 

Sending Grey off with the Rummells to Deep Creek for a few days. They went fishing, experienced a zip line course, swam to their hearts content, and made so many valuable cousins/besties memories. (Thank you so much for taking him and giving him a fun few days!!)

Working through some organization home projects this week; trying to get a jump start on the school year. I went through all the shoes and took anything that doesn't currently fit or no one wears up to the attic which was a major improvement. (now if I could only convince Rusty and Red to put their shoes away everyday so we could more than just one each time we leave the house!) I also cleaned up/cleared up the back porch and the upstairs hallway too. B and I tackled the dining room table which was an immediate boost! There are still plenty of problem areas that need attacked (garage, our closet, etc) but for now, I'm feeling pleased with the start!

Asking for help and being heard with love and patience (this is very difficult for me, so it was a big, scary deal). 

Studerbabies this week included a Tummy Time event for mommas and their babies. It was so wonderful to spend the morning chatting and oohing/awwing over the sweet darlings. Olive came down with me, but the rest of the crew stayed up at the house with B so I could be focused on the moms and babes. We played with natural loose parts (pinecones, stones, sticks), then took a mini "feely" hike, and then visited with the animals. On Thursday morning, the local newspaper ran an article about me and our free play events, thank you so much to everyone who shared it and commented kindly!! (from now on, I will only be answering to 'Davidsville woman' hahaha!) I also met with an entrepreneur mentor and my sister this week to talk about what could possibly be in the future for Studerbabies to become a real business. It was inspiring and has my wheels turning! 

Smiling for the big four who got their annual summer day of fun with their Uncle Juice. The cheers that came from the four of them when they saw him driving up the driveway! He picked them all up for lunch (at their favorite Chinese restaurant) followed by a movie (The Rise of Gru), and then a trip to the playground and a stop at the ice cream shop. Uncle Juice is really the best ever! 

Packing up fishing camp, well, B and the kids did while I stayed at home with the babies on Friday. Our family fishing camp trailer was flooded last year bad enough that the damage was too great to salvage the building. So B and our cousins loaded up what could be saved so that the trailer can be pulled out of there. Our big kids were so happy to spend the day at fishing camp and Grey fished the entire time while the other three ran and played (including a swim in a giant mud puddle). 

Celebrating Abba's birthday on Saturday with a visit and a hike. We had lunch and sang to her and then headed out on a hike to the "Big Rock" which was such a staple of my childhood. It was great to chat and catch up on the hike there and in true Abba's birthday fashion, our alternate route home turned into a hilarious, muddy, turned around in a circle mix-up. It was actually really fun and we were all laughing until our bellies hurt at the kids knee high in quicksand-style mud puddle searching for Gemma's stuck sneaker at the bottom. 

Grateful that Grey still has a lot of love for non-screen hobbies like baseball cards and tying fishing flies at 12 years old. He has recently been very dedicated to organizing his baseball card collection passed down to him from his Dad and Pappy. And for the past two weeks, he will disappear to his bedroom only to emerge an hour or two later with a hand full of expertly tied fishing flies to show us (and then photograph to send to his cousin). It's almost scouting/archery season too, so trail cams are going up in the woods and the camo will start making it's appearance all over the house.

Sporting with the close of Grey's Little League season. He had his last three games on Sunday at the Somerset tourney and they left as the champions (Grey had two homers so he finished with 10 homeruns in all). Eight years in the CT youth league baseball program and so many memories and friends who have become family. Gosh, Time, you are so beautiful and terrible. Gem had three days of mini cheer camp (2 hours each day with all six kids plus my nephew Wells!) and she learned her half time routine! Violet had two flag football practices. Brandon participated in a golf tournament on Saturday. 

Making pulled pork sammies & rigatoni (defrosted from a party earlier this summer!), kielbasa and haluski, hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill, tacos, spaghetti, and air fried veggies (green beans, potatoes, and zucchini). We also ordered in gas station pizza (seriously so yum from Martin's) and I made oreo cookie bars to celebrate at Abba's house on Saturday.