Around Here 23: 06/02 - 06/08

 A glimpse into what it is like to be in our family just this moment. 

photo cred: Jackie F

photo cred: Jackie F

Reddy's first sports photo!

photo cred: B

photo cred: B

photo cred: Heather

Intentional Outdoor Hours: 191+ hours (of 1000)
It's officially no bedtime summer! yay!! Long nights on the blacktop playing basketball while turning on the flood lights in the backyard! Coffee on the front porch in the silence as all my kids are still sleeping in. Meals outside, swims that count as showers, a (very small) decrease in laundry since everyone is wearing swimsuits most days instead of clothes. Sweet, sweet summertime; bring it on. 

Reading and finishing I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys, The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride, and Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir.  This is the second historical novel by Ruta Sepetys that I've read (thank you to my student Ruby who introduced her to me!) and I really enjoy her writing and appreciate the time she takes to do research on historical events that aren't usually widely known. I Must Betray You is about Romania during the revolution of 1989. So timely to read this - some quotes that really stayed with me 

as the loss of our Gigi still feels so raw in sudden moments; pg 167 "The puzzling weight of absence. When one potato is removed from a basket, the weight is lighter, easier to carry. But the absence of [a person] created the opposite effect. The atmosphere in the apartment hung heavier, more crowded." 

as Gaza weighs on my mind and heart; p244  "What did the outside world think? Did they know of our decades of struggle?...Why was Romania such a dark corner of the map? Was it the distance? Was there a point when a country became too remote to care about?" 

Listening as I'm doing chores to The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by VE Schwab

Celebrating our 8year old Rusty James! We had double chocolate muffins for breakfast and then measured his height on our doorway. He took donuts to his soccer game that night and we are in the planning stages of a Fortnite pool party later this summer. Rust is eight and great and it's a little hard to believe.

Just awaiting the arrival of the bubonic plague over here. No/very little water from Sunday night to Thursday evening (!!) and then we also have a mouse problem!! We had a pipe break in our community on Sunday night and since we have the longest line on the mountainside from the water tank (that includes several dips and hills) there were many air pockets that kept our water pressure under 10% for four days. Thankfully it's the summer so my attitude was mostly like whatever. We cleaned ourselves in pools and friend's/family's showers (thank you!!), my mom and cousin Heather each did more than one load of laundry for us (thank you!! seriously!!), I adjusted my meal plans to include limited need for water. We had enough coming out of the hose to keep animal water buckets full (even if it took an excessively long time to fill them), Chum and Pap both spent significant amount of time trying at our house trying to troubleshoot for us (thank you!), and truthfully our water company guy was so invested in getting us back up and running (thank you Travis!) It was not my favorite start to a summer vacation ever - but we figured it out with a little help from our friends and family. We finally got our water pressure back up to normal after four and a half days. And now for the mouse problem...a kitty next week! 

Grateful for the girls who tackled their own clothes and room reorganization by themselves. I'm telling you parents of young kids - hang in there! They started early in the morning and I just left them alone while they blasted music and laughed and took up garbage bags and moved furniture (and pounded nails into the walls!) But by the afternoon, they had their room totally cleaned out, summer clothes neatly in their drawers and feeling proud (and sweaty) of their hard work. Mommas of tiny littles, hang in there - it gets less physically demanding! (more emotionally, but ya know). 

Planting a raised mini garden. The kids all helped; we drilled holes into the bottom of our metal tub, added in all sorts of layers like rocks, dead tree limbs, yard compost, and soil (thanks Pinterest!) and then we planted zucchini, sugar snap peas, lettuce, and one tomato plant. Fingers crossed for yummy fresh veggies!

Swim playdate at the Fiores! The kids and I loaded up on Wednesday morning to head out to spend the afternoon with Kate and the kids. It was perfect as always to spend time catching up, laughing, and watching all the kids swim and play together. 

Well checks for Reddy and Grey at the pediatrician and securing PIAA physicals for both Grey and Gem for the upcoming school year. Red was due for vaccinations so he was bummed and stressed (until he got to tell everyone in our family that he got pokes and proudly showed off his band-aids - hah). At the appointment they also confirmed my suspicion of an ear infection. 

Sending the fishing kids off with B to the Que for an evening. Brandon took four of our kids (Grey, Vi, Rust, and Reddy) along with Grey's twin best buds (Bryce and Reed). These kids and their love of fishing - Grey most of all! I am very thankful that they have that screen free, outdoor, peaceful activity that brings them joy. Always thankful for B who has the patience to untangle lines and re-tie hooks for hours to encourage that passion. (xxox)

Kitty & Bryan PCT Update: back into the Sierra Mountains for these two brave hikers despite the snow and the cold and the battered & bruised leggies. They wake up early enough (ie. DARK and COLD) so they can hike as far as possible while the snow is still solid. Once the sun starts melting the snow and making it all drippy and wet (ugh), it becomes much more difficult to hike but at least your warm...oh geez - please just send lots of love and strength their way when you think of them out there! The Sierras have been rough on them and they are digging deep into focus and grit to get through it. They even had to say goodbye to a fellow hiker this week who was bailing out due to injuries!  They've made it it past 830 miles and then spent the night in Bishop, CA for the weekend (just in time for Kitty's birthday - love you, miss you, wish we were celebrating together! Cheers from the east coast Kitty!) 

Sporting with loads of sports. Soccer: Rusty, Violet, and asst coach Mom had our last 10U soccer game (good season Magic Cheese!), and Gemma and her 12U team had their three games this week. Violet finished the last day of the Alliance Cup soccer tournament with Sparks in Lancaster (thanks again to the Gilmore cousins for hosting my fellas and coming to watch some games!) Gemma and Violet both played in the AYSO soccer tournament on Saturday at Richland all day (perfect weather!) Basketball: Gemma had one summer league basketball games and Grey had three summer league basketball games and he got his two pizza pies for each charge he took last weekend at the Chaos tournament (hah). Baseball: Grey had three pony league JR&S baseball games this week! Volleyball: B and I played in our Roxbury co-ed league with a double header (so exhausted by the end of it and didn't get home until 11p but also so fun!) Football: Grey had two days of 'testing' which included lifting and conditioning. Gemma attended two lifting 'testing' sessions too and B hosted the Varsity football coaches for a meeting to discuss all things pre-season and golf outing.

Making lots of food now that we are on summer vacation. I put together a summer meal outline that I'm hoping will help keep me semi-organized and our kitchen stocked with things we need without food for the summer being overwhelming. This week for lunches (our 'big meal') we had crockpot stuffing pork chops, spaghetti (Rusty's birthday request), sheet pan chicken fajitas, grilled church picnic chicken, BBQ ribs, chicken, and mac&cheese at Pappy's house, and subs at the Fiore's house for our swim (thank you!). I made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and a charcuterie board for the soccer tournament on Saturday.