A few Sundays ago the lesson in Primary (kid’s class) was about talents.

Justin and I were asked to share a few of Sophie’s and Truman’s talents that their teachers could share in class.

It brought sheepish grins to the kids’ faces when we asked them what they talked about in Primary that particular day.

I think we all enjoy hearing about our talents, but can sometimes forget what they are exactly.

So that the kids can remember how they are special, here are a few of their talents at this time.

Sophie:
Uses Good Judgement and Discernment
Is a Good Listener
Is Athletic and Coordinated
Is Sensitive to the Needs of Others
Can Play Piano

Truman:
Is Friendly and Outgoing
Can Make Friends Easily
Forgives Others Easily
Is Good at Solving Puzzles
Is Athletic and Coordinated

We’re so glad these kids are in our family! =)

For the past couple years I always admired, from afar, the people I knew who ran the Ragnar Relay.  It looked like an unbelievably challenging race as well as a fun weekend trip with girlfriends.

For those of you who don’t know about the Ragnar Relay, here are the details:

nearly 200 miles over 2 days

12 team members run 3 legs of the race (36 legs total)

each person runs between 13-22 miles total (on little to no sleep)

At the end of July, a friend of mine asked me to join her team because one of the other runners was moving unexpectedly, leaving a hole in their team. I checked the dates with Justin and quickly said YES! I was terrified of what I just committed to, but totally excited too.

As the race got closer, I got more nervous about my longer run. I was Runner 5, assigned to run 4.1 miles, 7.3 miles, and 3.7 miles. I trained the best I could, but the Virginia heat was not my friend!

Fast forward to race time, with cool Fall weather and lots of adrenaline pulsing through my veins, and things went great!

I didn’t set a pace goal for myself; my goal was to just stay running for all my legs and I did it! (minus a few minutes of walking on my first leg with a steep hill – but I tried to make up for it on my downhill =)

What surprised me the most was my ability to run the 7.3 miles without any pause. It felt great!

I’m so proud of all the women I ran with and look forward to doing it again next year!

Way to go, Fried Green ToMAMAS!

 

“Clean-up, clean-up
Everybody, everywhere.
Clean-up, clean-up
Everybody do their share.”

That’s been our mantra this Fall. The yard work never ends!

Justin started cleaning up the trees and landscaping in September and I don’t think it will end until snow hits the ground.

Luckily the kids don’t mind getting their hands dirty too.

Even Archer contributes by keeping the older kids on task.

School started two weeks ago and I’m loving the calmness of our new schedule. Being home with just Archie during the day is a nice change of pace from the chaos of summer. After a hectic summer, I welcomed the beginning of the school year this year!

Sophie didn’t feel quite the same way. The night before school started she was up until 11pm unable to sleep, worrying about all the unknown details that a new school would bring in the morning. Her biggest concern: “I don’t even know how to get to my classroom.” In the morning her alarm went off, but I still had to drag her out of bed. She was feeling a bit unmotivated to say the least.

On the other hand, Truman was out like a light by 8:30pm. His summer schedule of staying up late and waking up early to play XBOX had certainly worn him out. In the morning, he was the first to wake up and get ready on his own for school. When I asked him if he felt nervous at all he said, “No. I’m excited!”

Archer was enthusiastic about the first day of school too. He wore his own backpack down to the bus stop, just like the big kids. Sadly, he collapsed in disappointment when he realized he was not allowed to get on the bus with Sophie and Truman.

We were happy that Dad went in late to work that morning so he could be around to send the kids off on their first day of school. Having Justin around certainly lightened the mood and helped to keep any of the kid’s nervous feelings at bay.

“Bye guys! Have a great first day!”

Sophie and Truman both came home happy and had a lot to report back about their first day. Within his first week Truman told me he met his “new best friend”. Sophie is still looking for that special buddy to hang out with though.

It was tempting to just stay in our backyard and swim everyday. But since I like to get out every now and then, we also found other fun activities and places to go to keep us busy this summer.

Most of the time we found things that cost us little to no money, which is a huge plus in my book.

Here are some of our stops this summer (minus our out of town excursions).

Free Slurpees on 7/11.

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A Visit to the Park. We love this particular park, since people leave their old ride-on toys for everyone to play with. We call it the “toy graveyard”.

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Shaving Cream. Just a dollar per can and it was a huge hit!

This could have been an outdoor summer activity too, but it seemed more efficient to just do it in the shower. =)

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$1 Summer Movies. Even though the popcorn wasn’t a deal I felt justified to splurge; It’s all part of the movie experience!

   

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Cup Stacking. We already had some on hand and then I ended up buying some more to add to their creations.

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Burke Lake Park. This is one of the exceptions that did cost us a a little bit of money. We had a busy morning riding the train and carousel, playing on the playground, eating lunch, and splurging on ice cream. We decided to forgo the putt-putt, since we were encroaching on Archer’s nap time.

   

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Frog and Toad Catching. This was by far one of Truman’s favorite summer activities. This particular toad was his pride and joy, since it was so large. He found it hiding under the recycling bin.

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Fairfax Fountains.  This was a fun change of pace from our normal swimming in the pool. The kids loved running around trying to anticipate when the water would spray. And I loved that it was free!

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We also did our fair share of just goofing around.

There’s no doubt that some days are hard. But when I have an opportunity like this to reflect on the time I get to spend with my children, it makes me so grateful to be a stay-at-home mom.

There is no other place or thing I’d rather be doing at this time in my life. Here’s to another great summer!