Around here thirty-eight: 09/16-09/22

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

Intentional Hours Outside:  445 hours (of 1000)
Up only eleven hours this week, as we I felt slightly trapped inside taking care of sore throats and fevers while trying to get chores down too.  It was a weird week that felt really rushed for time, even more so as the first day of fall (Thursday) marked the official move into less daylight hours now.  uh oh.  hah.   I got in a nice jog on Sunday to try to prep (or at least make sure I could do it - HAH!) for my 5K this weekend on a beautiful local trail.

Reading (still!) Home Field by Hannah Gersen.  I'm moving so slowly through as I'm not being very good at carving out reading time.  I listened to a big chunk of Tell the Wolves I'm Home on audible while I took my jog on Sunday afternoon.  Also reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Illustrated edition to Greyson before bed.

Celebrating our Violet's second birthday, a little early, last Friday night with an animal birthday party.  So thankful to everyone who came out to our house to enjoy the evening with us and honor our two year old Va-vi.  We had a peanut-eating elephant, animal cracker cupcakes, and these animal masks.  It was pretty lowkey and just perfect for our Miss Vi; our resident wacky, adorable, meatball, silly two year old!

Hiding out under the bleachers at Greyson's flag football game on Saturday as it poured down rain.  It was Grey's first rain football game and he didn't hate it (hah).  They won, making their team 3-1 and he still is having a great time playing in the games and practice.  I'm loving the fact that I always have "you have to go to school if you want to play football" in my back pocket when Grey wakes up particularly cranky for school...mwhahha.

Planning all sorts of upcoming stuff like an alumni cornhole tournament this weekend, Beer Olympics (only two weeks away!) and new ideas for The Hunting Daddies.  I have a list of three other mini-trips that I need to figure out in terms of planning (and financing!)  Usually planning makes me feel energized, but lately between the sick kids and the part-time job, I've been feeling waves of pressure.  One little step at a time though...

Pulling out the Halloween decor this week because it was a beautiful fall day and I knew it would have the kids smiling.  We have so many Halloween books that get the kids excited about the holiday.  I must have read Max's Halloween and Ten Timid Ghosts twenty times already this week!  We don't overdue it on the decorations, but it's just enough to get our spirits in the mood.

Enjoying this beautiful weather.  It's been high seventies here all week and bright blue skies with the most perfect fall breezes coming through.  We've had the windows open with the curtains billowing up and it makes me feel so happy deep down in my bones.

Watching this TED talk about the museum of four in the morning and loving it so much.  Maybe my new favorite because of romance and the universe conspiring for the sake of beauty and all the tingling feelings.

Making these three ingredient chocolate/pumpkin muffins (my absolute fav because of both ease and taste) for breakfast on the first day of fall, and then baked potato soup in the crockpot for dinner that same day.  We also had taco pasta (easy and yum) and veggie pizza for Violet's party (thank you Heather for chopping all the veggies!)

Profesh photos- Adliv Collective.

my little momma heart is gushing over our profesh pics from the incredibly talented Tabitha James over at Adliv Collective.  We signed up for one of her Labor Day mini-sessions and spent the morning running around the house like a maniac to get everyone ready for our first legit family photos since our Rusty has arrived.  (One of my 'secrets' is to not put on anyone's shirts until we are walking out the door!).  And then we finally arrived with one kid with a bellyache (Gem), one overly tired and cranky kid (Rust), a hungry kid (Grey), and a pretending-to-be-shy Violet.

Tab was awesome though and had everyone cooperating in no time.  And honestly, the proof is in the pudding when she magically managed to pull off these beautiful pictures of my favorite humans when getting all six of us to even look in the same direction at any given time is a miracle in and of itself.  

I got the email from Adliv giving me access to the photos while Brandon and I were lying in bed (was it late at night or early in the morning?  I seriously cannot remember but,) we snuggled up and scrolled through the pictures of these kids' faces that we love so much, whispering as they all slept, "look how beautiful," and "omigosh, that face!"  Totally relishing in the fact that we had made those people with the little darling faces we love and the personalities that both fill us with pride and frustration at any given moment (sometimes simultaneously). 

We looked at our photo together and smiled because how long has it been since just the two of us were in a photo together?  How many years of history and life and fights and making up and laughing and early mornings and late nights and cleaning up throw ups of the kid and the dog variety, and how many memories float in the background of a picture of just the two of us.  All seventeen years of us are layered within that image; invisible to everyone but us.  And who are those people even in that photo - they are so much older than "high school Brandon and Tab?"  Not like old-old, but distinctly oldER..  It's funny how we can still feel like "high school Brandon and Tab" inside of our guts, but then we look like real life adults; we look like someone's parents....four someone's parents. Time is such a odd thing.  

I'm so excited to get these beauties printed and hanging on the wall.  This is our team, in just this time, our little crew in this one beautiful, messy, chaotic season of our life.  Thank you so much Tab!

small town county fair Americana

tis my favorite season of the year.  The rustling of the fallen leaves in that cool autumn breeze while the sun shines down with the fading summer warmth.  One of my favorite fall traditions is to visit our local county fair with my parents and sister (and Kev) for the yummy eats, amusements, and all the small town Americana goodness.  

The giant slide was the biggest hit of the night, especially with our Va-vi who wanted to ride it several times in a row by grabbing each of our hands and pulling us towards the entrance gate as soon as she reached the bottom of slide. 

Greyson tried the rock wall this year and after a few minutes of hesitation, it took only the challenge of getting to the top like the older boy in the next harness for him to perk up and scale that wall like it was easy.  He was so proud!

We had dinner, played some games, and of course hit all the rides the kids requested.  Violet was tall enough to ride the little roller coaster this year, and just like her older bro and sis when they were two before her - cried the entire time.  Three for three! Rusty got to take a ride on the carousel and then spent the most of the night in the carrier taking in all the sights and sounds. 

And the animal barns!  Another of our favorites, talking to all the 4H kids that are eager to share the names and information about their animals with our excited kids who practically skip through the barns peeking in and sweetly greeting each animal.

happy fall ya'll.
hehhhe.
xxoxo