watching and reading

*I have a short list of blogs I have consistently read for the past 6-7 years. I have no clue how I stumbled across them as I don't personally know any of them. :)

Hungry Runner Girl (my favorite)
Sweet Tooth Sweet Life
Carrots n' Cake
Mix n' Match Mama

*I have never been one to HAVE to finish a book or movie once I start. I actually got to page 370 out of 407 in my most recent book... and quit. I could tell where the ending was headed and it was too unrealistic for me. I was annoyed at having invested that much time :(

*The only time I tend to watch Youtube is whenever I ride our recumbent bike. My go-to channel is Jordan Page: FunCheapOrFree. She includes topics such as meal planning, budgeting, organization, or just life with her EIGHT kids (ha!).

*Chris and I are rewatching Parks and Recreation. This will be our third go around and it's just as funny as it was the first time. :) We often struggle in finding shows. Far too often we give up within 20 minutes because many of them are just so dirty. Ugh. We are semi-into Walking Dead, but we'll see...

*I'm a HUGE fan of podcasts. I recently added a couple to my favorites list:

-Guru: The Dark Side of Enlightenment: This is a documentary style telling of the story of James Arthur Ray. He was (and is) a self-help speaker whose methods were controversial and who was sued due to the death of three individuals at one of his conferences (during a sweat lodge). SO interesting!

-Fitness Simplified with Kim Schlag- I love that her audience consists of women over 40. I can relate a lot more to her fitness/diet advice vs. a 20-something expert.

grandparent vacation

While we didn't have any major trips planned this summer, we did have a couple little adventures we had wanted to do which are no longer possible because of Covid. Luckily we still were able to spend a few days with my in-laws, which is always like a mini-vacation. This time one of my nieces joined us, which kicked the "fun factor" up a notch for Cam and Kendall. :)

Right behind their house is a foothill called, Smith Mountain. We have always thought it would be neat to climb to the top. With a recent path cleared, Cameron and I decided to tackle it. We rode our bikes to the bottom, then hiked to the top. What beautiful views!

*Since I finished all the John Grisham books several weeks ago, I've been trying to find another series. I've probably started and stopped a dozen books. I typically read a few pages and it's either cheesy or just doesn't grab me. I finally found an author/book that I like (though not as much as Grisham). He's written a gazillion books, so hopefully I can stick with him. :)

*We started watching Hamilton last night on Disney+. Chris and Kendall like it. I kind of like it. Cameron does not like it. :) I will say that I have NO IDEA how anyone goes to the live production and follows the plot by simply listening to the songs (which are incredibly fast paced). I would have absolutely no clue what was going on were it not for turning on the subtitles.

the 4th

*We have thoroughly been enjoying having my sister and her family here. We took them on a hike last weekend. I wish their first one would have been a little cooler as they aren't quite used to the heat here, but it was still enjoyable to be together.

*Kendall has been greeted each morning by the bright sun streaming through her window. Foil has been our solution for a long time. We finally bought her some black out curtains and she has been enjoying the dark mornings. :)

*We hosted 4th of July at our house this year. I'm sure I'm not alone in commenting on how many fireworks we heard in our neighborhood. They were pretty nonstop and we were surprised at how many huge displays people were setting off from their own backyards!

*While I don't subscribe to some of Rachel Hollis' worldviews, I have really enjoyed the podcasts she has done with her husband. They're views on marital relationships were always very relatable and their advice was super practical. So while I know things aren't often as they seem when it comes to celebrities, I must admit that I was shocked and really saddened more than I would have thought when I heard they were getting divorced.

roller blades

*Took the quads to Oak Glen last week. I can't believe this is right in our backyard.

*Due to Cam's height increasing by the minute, we finally bought him a new bed. He loves having a bigger place to sleep. Being my neat and organized kid, I'm not surprised that every morning he makes that bed like it's going to be in a catalog. ;)

*Since Cam and I have cycling, I've wanted an activity to share with Kendall, so I bought myself a pair of roller blades recently. I've really enjoyed it, however I have had to press pause until I get a certain Amazon purchase in the mail: wrist guards. I'm horrible at stopping and a recent fall made me realize I could really do some damage if I'm not more careful. :)

*My sister's family arrived last week and we had our first outing a few days ago. We took them to Thermon Flats, which was so fun! We had the place to ourselves and they all loved it. Tomorrow we are introducing them to our hikes! Woohoo!

*I gave blood for the first time this past week. Our church hosted the American Red Cross and the whole process was super easy. The worst part, as weird as it sounds, was having to clench my fist over and over before being poked. I HATE having to do this. It grosses me out and always has whenever I've had to get my blood drawn. Ugh. 

*I'll be flying solo today at Costco. With the Covid numbers as high as they are, there really isn't a good reason to have more people than need to go. And for the kids, without samples, reading the books and perusing the tech stuff (I don't let them because of all the touching involved), it just isn't as enjoyable for them. "Not enjoyable" and "Costco" should never be in the same sentence... :(

going to a real restaurant

*We had a cousin sleepover this past week. It included lots of video games, movie watching, making movies, and enjoying hanging out together.

*Chris took Kendall to get her stitches out on Friday. She was quite brave. ;)

*We went out to dinner last night!! We had to make reservations and there were obviously some tweaks to the experience (using your phone for the menu, masks worn except when seated at your table, etc.), but it was such a fun night and made us feel quite normal.

*My reading has sadly really slowed down since I started working again. I have been able to squeeze in, Full Circle. I'm not really an avid Full House fan, but for some reason I read a few things about the book and thought it sounded interesting. She talks a lot about her battle with depression/anxiety, which I find very interesting. She writes in a way that helps you truly understand what people go through when battling the illness. She also talks about how therapeutic running has been in her healing. While I don't run, I have been doing a ton of walking during this quarantine and feel like I can relate to magic that is being outside, walking or running.

*Another book/study I just finished was one of my old Beth Moore studies. I went through this years ago but it was just as good a second time. I've done a few of her studies and have loved each one. Some of my favorite times during the quarantine have been in the morning, when I'm the only one up and I sit on the back patio reading.

*Before dinner last night, we stopped at Costco. On our list:

-Greek Yogurt

-Kirkland Protein Bars-all four of us are ADDICTED to these.

-Swimsuit for Kendall

-Almond Butter-Cameron goes through more nut butter than anyone I know

-Butter

-Sandwich bread/Hawaiian rolls

-Work out shirts for Cameron

-Bananas

-Watermelon-they are so cheap and good here

*Today's agenda includes church, a Walmart grocery pick-up, and a bike ride with my dad and Cameron. I then have one more week of work and I'm officially done till August. And MOST exciting for the week is the arrival of my sister's family on Friday! While they have to quarantine for two weeks once here, we are all still super happy to have them for an entire year. :)

feeling normal

*Kendall's official birthday celebration came in the form of a slumber with our quarantine "family", the quads. The boys came over for  pizza  and the girls remained and stayed the night in a fort downstairs.

*So far, we've been pretty strict with the quarantine and not getting together with others. The last few weeks we've loosened a little. This included a get together with Chris' brother and his family. The kids had a blast.

*After a lot of thought, we also decided to head up for a visit with Chris' parents. It was SOO nice and great to feel normal again. We all had a super relaxing and fun weekend. 

*Debbie had bought Kendall a Diamond Dot kit, which occupied her for hours. She loved it!

*In addition to Hallmark movies (I think Kendall and I watched five!), golf for Chris, and outside time for the kids, we also ate extremely well, as always. Here are the kids making homemade lemonade.

*A couple of days ago, we got together with some friends at a park. As Kendall was roller skating by a leashed dog, he lunged forward and bit her hard in the back of her thigh. Luckily my friend, Jessica, had her first aid kit already out and she helped me clean Kendall up. Poor thing was in a lot of pain and just in shock at what had happened (as we all were!). She is doing much better, thanks to two visits to the doctor (three stiches at one and a tetnus shot at the other). I'm so thankful Jessica was there to guide me in getting the woman's information. I don't think in the chaos of the moment I would have remembered. 

*My work has picked up tenfold so I'm going to sign off simply because I need a break from staring at a screen. Plus Cam and I are off to a training session with his running coach. His school cross country coach has a side company which provides individual coaching for runners. So far Cam has LOVED the daily workouts and reporting in on his progress. :)

*Kendall and I were so excited to see the latest season of Good Witch come to Netflix. We love watching it and I love even more that it is one of the most squeaky clean shows out there!!

*I have never been interested in DIY home projects, crafts, etc. However our barstools had started peeling and looked horrible. After my mom told me how to recover them, I was quite proud of the final product! Much easier than I had anticipated!

*I'm still really enjoying my daily podcast walks. Lately I've been loving all the beautiful roses everywhere. Chris calls me an old lady for noticing and talking about the roses, but I don't care. :)

*Another activity I've learned to love is reading outside. My favorite time to do this is in the morning with a cup of coffee, but as long as I can find shade, I enjoy doing it anytime of day. :

*Last weekend we hiked part of the the Vivian trail to San Gorgonio. This was another strenuous hike for Kendall and she not only loved it, but wants to now tackle the summit. Yikes! I've done it once with Cam and while it was a tad long for my liking, I will obviously do it again so I can be there to celebrate such a huge accomplishment for her. :)

*Speaking of my girl...she turned 11 yesterday! In an effort to make her birthday more special during this quarantine time, I reached out to some school/church friends and family and asked them to send me pictures of themselves with, "Happy Birthday" signs. Everyone came through (including her principal!) and she loved it. :)