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A glimpse into what it is like to live in our home just this minute. Intentional Outdoor Hours :  496 hrs (of 1000) Up ten hours this week thanks to some beautiful fall days.  We still don't have enough leaves in our yard though to build a proper jumping-in pile, much to the kids' and dogs' disappointment. The boys and I spent an evening at the football field as Grey and his flag football team were announced beforehand for youth night. Then, Rusty and I braved the cold morning to stand on the lines and cheer on Greyson and Brandon in the color run put on by the PTA (they did great!) The kids and I spent one evening at Greenhouse park on the playground and collecting acorns down by the river. It was a nice (much needed) energy release before tossing everyone in baths and jammies before they all passed out for bedtime.  outside for the win - as usual! Reading ....ugh. does Greyson's spelling words and my students' writing assignments count? Experiencing a new parentin

Eight years ago, we woke up today on what felt like the biggest day of our lives.  After spending a year of high school, six years long distance dating, and one year of living together - we were fi.na.lly. getting married.  I was putting on my white dress and you were pretending to be super cool and calm. Eight years ago felt like it was going to be the biggest, best day of our whole lives.  And it was big  and it was great.  but certainly not best. because after eight years of being your wife, its nearly impossible to choose the best day.... there was the next morning, waking up as husband and wife and confessing that although the wedding day had been incredible, it was much better to just be the two of us together.  then there was that evening watching the sun go down on the catamaran on our honeymoon in Jamaica.  there was the morning that I tapped you on the shoulder and let out a yelp of joy while holding a positive pregnancy test in front of your face.  there was the afternoon we

A glimpse into what it is like to live in our home just this minute. Intentional Outdoor Hours :  486 hrs (of 1000) Up thirteen hours this week, including a hefty nine of those hours coming from Beer Olympics last Saturday.  We also spent a nice chunk of Sunday outside at Grey's very last football game followed up by a concession stand duty.  Grey had another good game and felt pretty sad that it was the end of football season. The weather was rather inconsistent this week - we had glorious low seventy degree days and chilly, windy days in the forties, and even gloomy and rainy cold days. Reading basically nothing.  However, an email from two of my favorite internet friends Shelly and Ashley about reviving the Inspired Book Club brought some joy and motivation to my reader's heart.  Check out our facebook group page to start reading with us again - My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrick Backman is first up! Feeling incredibly grateful after another su

Our Va-vi is two.  It seems an impossibility both because it happened so fast but also, duh - hasn't she been two forever now?  Time and parenthood is never working like I think it should work. photo cred:  Adlive Collective Here's the not so secret, secret.  Ask anyone of us in the family about who the favorite kid is and we will all say, "there is no favorite" and then we all give a sideways grin and cough/whisper "Violet."  The thing is that she's just so Violet.  She's funny and squishy and sneaky and smart and weird and silly and will.not.give.you.a.smile.at.all unless you're willing to work for it.  And then when you get that smile, it's like a prize because you really did work for it and also she don't hand those things out for free, man. When you get attention from Va-vi, it's authentic which makes it feel special somehow.  At two, she still drinks a bubba when she's feeling tired or cranky and truth be told we've tota

A glimpse into what it is like to live in our home just this minute. Intentional Hours Outside :  473 hours (of 1000) Only up 11 hours this week, bleh.  We had Grey's football game and two outdoor evening parties on Saturday night to help my hours a little this week.  I logged some time on the tractor, some kid-directed outdoor time, and some Beer Olympics outdoor prep time.  Our dryer semi-passed away this week (waaah) so the girls and I tried to do some make-shift clothes hanging on all of our outdoor furniture before the fall evening chill set in.  Oh sheesh, always something, right? Reading Home Field by Hannah Gersen (still) and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone illustrated version with Grey.  Also reading our Halloween book collection on repeat daily, our current favorite is Little Blue Truck's Halloween and Five Little Monkeys Trick or Treat . Cheering our Booboo at his second to last football game last week at Meyersdale.  He had a rough start to the game (ev

Something about the cooler weather gets me in a much better mindset at meal planning.  I don't want to jinx myself but we've been in a little bit of a roll over here for meals and kids actually eating.  We haven't had any leftovers in days! And I'm still incorporating the lessons for myself that I learned in 21day fix about portions and eating to fuel my body in the best way possible.  I'm hoping to get back into a regular workout routine too, but I'm not quite there yet with our daily schedule.   Here's what we have on the docket for the month.  I have some fall-themed ideas for some breakfasts and desserts through out too.  We also have Brandon's birthday, our anniversary, and Halloween!  So much fun that can be celebrated through food and meal times.  Happy dining to you all! October meal plan: October 3-7: M: Chicken, Stuffing & veggies casserole T: (National Taco Day!) ground beef Tacos W: Birthday Beer Pairing dinner with Gigi & Pappy!! R:

A little glimpse into what it is like to live in our home just this minute. Intentional Hours Outdoors : 462 hrs (of 1000) Up 13+ hours this week, Saturday was a big win in outdoor time (a full eight hours!) and we did okay the rest of the week until the rain started.  I took a kid-directed walk with the girls (and Rust in the carrier) and it was such a nice afternoon.  I didn't worry about the distance or a set amount of time, or even the destination.  We strolled over to the neighbor's house, played on their playground, picked flowers, had a little snack, and followed butterflies.  I'm hoping it will be a weekly event. Reading , ugh, almost nothing.  It felt like a long school week and I came home each day and was pretty tired - enough that I did the basics (feeding, cleaning up, preparing for the next day, and some kid snuggles/reading Halloween books) and that was about it.  Grey and I read some Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone two nights this week, but its be