Hiking and camping and soccer

Got some Harry Potter wands and glasses from Grandma, so of course I had to take some photos. 

 Last spring when it was raining all the time I felt a little trapped inside and this fall I'm determined to not feel that way, so I've spent the summer acquiring raincoats and other random gear so we can get out and do fun things whether it is raining or not. Spencer really wants to finish his Bear in Cub Scouts and so he needed to go on a campout and also a hike, so we decided this weekend would be a great time to do it. We had Friday off and it was going to be great. Except it was raining and raining and raining. But guess what? We did it anyway! Spencer was super persistant and I didn't want to let him down. Turns once I got over not wanting to do the work to be able to go, we had a grand time. One of my besties here and her kids spent the night with us in our backyard because I was up for camping but not on top of it enough to pack everything in my van to go somewhere.

 We made s'mores over the stove. Used the thin reeses cups. So good ya'll. You must try it. Then I made pancakes and waffles in my house in the morning. It didn't hiurt my feelings even slightly to not have to plan out and carry food up to a campsite. Haha! And the kids had a fabulous time.

 Not wanting to only camp, despite the rain and wind, we headed up to Rattlesnake Lake a few hours later and attempted for I think the third or fourth time to hike to Rattlesnake Ledge. We had a lovely time but still didn't make it! Chloe's pants got all wet and she turned into a popsicle, but we got half or two-thirds up and we have plans to go back with just the older kids to finally summit the dange peak! Two moms, eight kids, it was fun. We had two face plants, one rolled ankle, but we all survived and seemingly everyone wants to try again, so I call that a success.

 The rain hadn't stopped Saturday but soccer doesn't stop for rain. Or mud. Or wind. There wasn't any lightning so we were out there playing away. Spencer played goalie in his game. Their field was in pretty good shape, so aside from some rain and cold, it was a good game. He really loves to be goalie, which makes my momma heart freak out a bit, but I'm glad he's out there week after week plugging away. His team hasn't won this season and that could be cause to have a bad attitude and want to quit, but those boys get out there week after week and try their hardest. They'll figure out how to get Ws someday, but the lessons they're learning while losing are so worth it.

 Genevieve's field was in bad shape. It didn't stop those girls though! They are so fun to watch. I had no idea I would like soccer so much. I never played it as a kid. It's really fun. Genevieve was a total mess afterward. It was awesome. Mud everywhere, frozen fingers, wet clothes.  Good times. I wisely did not bring my whole crew to her game and all were happier for it. But I had a great time cheering her on. She wasn't so sure about soccer at the start of the season when it was just practices. She would say she was tired or bored or didn't want to go to practice. But after her first game she has never looked back. She loves it and I love all the good things playing a sport does for my kids. I love the lessons about winning and losing and going back again and again when you're tired and frustrated. They're learning to deal with getting jostled around on the field and what it's like to compete. All good things. It's worth all my time and money for them to learn this stuff.

Only two more weeks of soccer and then we'll have a bit of a break before we hop into basketball for Spencer and maybe some gymnastics for Genevieve. I've wanted to be a sports mom since I was doing rec management in college. It's so fun to finally be here.

October

I got hooked up somehow with a random Chinese company on Amazon doing reviews and they keep sending me amusing items I might never buy in order to review them. I think it started with a pair of earrings I did pick, but now I've reviewed a selfie light setup, a couple gallon-sized waterbottles, and some other random stuff. It's pretty fun. The kids particularly love the selfie light. It has a bluetooth remote and I have a huge amount of funny pictures on my phone now. 

Bill and I couldn't be left out of the fun. But geez, Bill has a good smolder and I've got nothing. Hahahahah. I think I was post hat hair and just look tired. Oh well.

I discovered last week that we'd never spent our Costco dividend checks from February, so I happily went on a Costco clothes shopping spree and got something for all of us. Chloe adores these new PJs.

We've had several knock down punching fights over empty boxes this week, but I snagged this shot of my kids actually loving each other just for a moment. 

This was exciting to discover Friday night when I came home from picking the kids up from school. Thankfully this branch only took out a couple fence slats instead of our swing or our trampoline or the corner of our house.

Two trash bins full of debris later all that is left is to cut up the branch and let it dry out and we'll use it for firewood down the road sometime.

Fall is here

Fall hit us like a ton of bricks the last week or two.  It was 42 degrees at the bus stop this morning. Like three weeks ago lows were 20 degrees higher. Kind of crazy how fast it switched. I do love pulling out my sweaters and boots though. 

I hardly took any pictures this week. But, at long last we did finally get a bedframe for our bed.  I sold all the beds I had made like six months and and bought bunkbeds for the kids, a dresser for one of their rooms, and a huge dresser for my room. But I ran out of money to replace our bedframe and so we slept with the mattress on the floor since then. But finally this week I bought this beauty and I'm really happy with it.  It matches so well what I already have and I'm just a big fan. 

 Spencer is getting his cooking on of late. Last week he made mint brownies. This is him enjoying his first bite.

And here's him mid process. 

 And Genevieve is endlessly creative and she made this little unicorn out of legos one day. Fun times.

The time my body went wacko

You guys, I have had a nutso week. I woke up on Wednesday and my ears were itching. It seemed weird but whatever. Thursday I looked at my face and I had hives all over my cheekbones. And then it started itching more and I was like oh gosh, I think I'm having an allergic reaction. Better take some benadryl. I tried mulberries this week in a bunch of salads I made with some friends and I quickly figured that must be what was bothering me since I've never eaten them before. So I stopped eating the salads, took some benadryl, and figured I was good. Nope. Woke up Friday and the hives had spread and my face was swelling. I got into my doctor and am now trying to figure out what the heck is going on. Got on some prednisone and that's helping, but it's Monday now and they haven't fully gone away. I'm on a super restrictive diet for ten days to make sure nothing I'm eating can cause an allergic reaction, plus did a bunch of bloodwork. Still waiting on results. It's pretty crazy stuff. I still don't know for sure yet it's the mulberries. Might be just one contributing factor, but let me tell you, puffy hives all over my face is not really that pleasant to look at. Here's hoping things settle down. I have had so many weird health issues the last three years. I'm really ready to move on from this phase. 

In better news, we had a fun, soccer-filled Saturday plus a work service project. It felt really nutso at the time rushing all over the place, but the kids had good games. Aaron and Genevieve won theirs. Spencer's team plays some hard opponents and it's kind of stressful sometimes to watch them trying so hard and not winning, but I feel like it's really good for them. They're getting better every game and it's good to do hard things. But man, it turns out watching your kid play can be just as exhilerating as back when I was playing sports. 

And here's a cute picture of Chloe, just because. She's my little tagalong on my errands these days and it's fun to have just her at home.

Back to school, back to school!

School started this last week and five of six of us our delighted. Chloe is highly offended that she doesn't get to go as well. She's not appeased when I tell her she's only three. Sorry sweet girl, you have to wait a year to go to preschool. 

So far school is off to a great start. The kids love their teachers. Routines are mostly working. We're heavy into soccer as well this fall so practices almost every night and three games every Saturday.  I imagine by November when they end we'll be tired out, but for now it's super fun.

Last weekend of summer

I'm on the fence as to whether I like school starting after Labor Day or not. Today is the last day of summer for us. Spencer and Genevieve start back tomorrow and Aaron, who is starting kindergarten, starts on Friday. It's a little weird to be on a two or three-week later schedule than all my friends as they post first and last day of school pictures. But that being said, we've had a great summer and are looking forward to the new school year.

We had a good week. Swim lessons were fun.

 Genevieve turned seven this week. It feels like we've been waiting forever for her birthday. It's eight weeks after Aaron's, so it just feels like forever, but we had a great time celebrating her. She's in love with pandas at the moment so it was all panda themed. Panda stuffies, costume, string art. Panda cake. We even made little white and black cupcakes day of for her to blow out candles. We had a swim party for her again, just like Aaron's birthday. It was so fun the first time we had to just do it again. I didn't get a single picture there though. We were having way too much fun.

We got new soccer socks for the kids and they've been mixing and matching wearing them all weekend.

Here's hoping for a great first week of school and the kids do well and like their classes. 

Feeling good

I got my stitches out this morning and I'm so happy about it. They were getting really itchy and uncomfortable, and now I have a lot more movement in some directions without any pain. You guys, it has been two years. And I had carpal tunnel during my last two pregancies too that went away post-pregnancy. So this hand pain in some form or another has been going on for over five years. I am SO pleased to have so much improvement. My right hand isn't asleep when I wake up anymore. I feel like it has so much more blood flow. I thought my left hand felt much better than my right, but post-surgery it just feels mushy and not very touch sensitive. My right hand has a lot more range of motion and it's going to take some time to get all the feeling back in my fingertips, but I think it will come, or at least improve. It's been just 11 days since surgery and it's so improved. I'm already planning when this fall I can schedule my left hand. My deductible is met. Time to do all the things! lololol.

This is our last week of summer. I remember being a tiny bit jealous of folks that didn't start school until after Labor Day when I was a kid, but as a parent I'm ready to get back in the school swing of things. I've seen approximately a million first day of school pictures. We are starting things up this week. We're doing one last round of swim lessons. Going to ice cream with a former teacher and class. We haveback to school night this week. Should be a nice week to get in the swing of thinking about school starting.