Around Here Week 31: 07/29-08/04

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

 

 

Intentional Outdoor Hours: 352+ hours (of 1000)
Up 20 more hours this week. I had a joyful hike at 1000 steps with my sis, Kayla while we trekked up the mountainside via rock steps and then hiked all along the top. Gosh, if I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times, Pennsylvania is so beautiful. Honestly, I gush like a heartsick teen over these rolling hills and valleys, every darn day. Not even in just spectacular views like at 1000 steps, but while driving the country roads by her house - like a total maniac, I lean out the open window and shout, "I love you Somerset County.' that's not a joke, I legit do that. I have not, however, been such a fan of this weather this summer with it's days long worth of raining followed by extreme mugginess. I make a motion to surrender to the new weather shift and change the summer months now to August-October. Let's all just agree that the new spring runs May-July because you know we'll be sweating all the way through football/cheer season. Fall is basically November and like the first half of December and then we have winter from Christmas to April (waaah, but also true). Let's just adjust the school year, yes?

Reading and finishing The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. It was a great book, I'm still digesting my feelings on it because as Hannah's way, there's no neat and tidy all is well that ends well when you close the book - it feels more like life in the way that things get kind of messed up but everything is bound together by love so somehow we can endure it all. I kind of love that because it feels heartbreakingly true to life, but also I don't mind a fictional happy ending too, ya know? The Great Alone was my 12th book of the year, which means I've checked off that task on my 100 small things list! And I finally returned our library books (12 of them!) two weeks past their due date - try to guess what those late fees added up to?!

Completing the garage floor! fi.na.lly. Good grief, this project took so long but was really worth it. We got the floor all epoxy'ed and now all that is left is to put it back together - but not before making some major decisions about what stays and what goes (garbage/donation).

Hosting our cousin Reid at our house for a few days. Grey was in heaven getting to spend time with Reid all week. They roamed around the woods, took a bike ride with my Dad to Staple Bend, made afternoon snacks for all of us, and sword fought on the trampoline (with wiffle ball bats, hah). We taught the kids how to play Spoons and it was hilarious.

Fall sporting it at minors football practice and flag cheerleading practice. Coach daddy has had the football boys conditioning and practicing through the rain and mud all week - all to their supreme delight (hah) Grey loves every second of football season. My sister and I (coach Uch & coach momma) started cheer practices this week with our little munchkins - and they are so sweet and hilarious. Uch choreo'ed a great little halftime routine for them and they've already impressed us with what they've learned. Thank goodness for the minors cheerleaders and coaches that have let us double up on cheer/chant practice; our little girls love learning alongside the older girls.

Finishing up co-ed summer volleyball league at Roxbury. We had a great season and we just love playing with that crew. Playing in the summer makes it tricky with getting a sitter for the kids on tuesdays and shuffling between practices and school board meetings - but every year B and I feel so grateful to get to play on a team together and to play with this team and these people. We really love it.

Collecting eggs. We are all fascinated about collecting our chicken eggs. We've been averaging between 2-5 a day - usually they are where they are supposed to be (in the nesting boxes) but we've been finding them in the chicken coop run, in the garage, and in the yard near where the chickens like to wander. It's like Easter over here! We are learning so much, all of us, it has been so much fun researching and finding answers to the kids questions. We've learned about shell-less eggs and how to prevent them, egg yolk colors and why our yolks are dark orange sometimes red, and about cleaning and to fridge or not to fridge eggs. Our chicken T'challa (named after Black Panther because of her black tail feathers) is the most bold and is always near the house and even hopped in Sheila the other day while I was buckling the kids up.

Watching our baby robins grow like crazy. The first picture was from Monday morning and the last picture was from Saturday. They are getting so big (and so fast!) that they can barely fit in that nest - where is the momma sleeping?! The kids love to sit all the way on the opposite side of the porch to watch the momma robin (and Daddy robin I think - because there are two robins feeding these babes) bring in bugs and worms for them. If we sit really still and quiet, she will fly right up to the nest so we can see and feed those screeching babies.

Celebrating my momma's birthday with dinner out and karaoke at Ohio Street Lounge. One of my mum's best friends shares her birthday which made it doubly special as we celebrated the both of them (hi, Becky!) We put on a hilarious rendition of Summer Loving with the boys who came out to celebrate and then later my sisters, Russell, and I sang Super Trouper like we were actually Donna and the Dynamos - so it was pretty amazing. My girls are so proud. #mammamiaobsessed still.

thankful for family who scoops our kids up when I need it most. Like mum and dad who took all five kids (including Reid) so we could play in volleyball playoffs, and Taush who grabbed my little ones at cheerleading/football practice to go to the community bbq at Greenhouse park, and my sister Kitty who is always up for wild, high energy adventures with the kids that make them smile. and our Gilmore cousins who had a sleepover with B and the big kids before Grey's one year later broken wrist check up (he's all good!) Gem adores her cousin Audra and loved those 12 hours to sleepover and play together!

Making tacos, hawaiian meatballs over rice, french dip sandwiches with au jus in the crockpot, shredded bbq chicken sandwiches, and kielbasa with corn on the cob and zucchini. B made eggs and gallo pinto for breakfast because he knows the song in my heart. The kids and I whipped up a batch of peanut butter cookies and Grey and Reid made us some puppy chow that was gone in literal minutes. Despite a (let's be honest, half) effort to do better with eating and tracking, I'm still up another pound or so this month - but at least I slowed the gain down, right? On to the next month and working towards turning that needle back downwards!