I had some errands to run today and we passed by a place I have been wanting to check out for quite some time. I had Baby E and my mom with me. It is an old working mill. Unfortunately they are closed on Tuesdays, so we couldn’t see inside, but the park itself was open and we could walk around the old buildings. It was really interesting to watch the water pushing the wheel on the mill. Have I mentioned there’s a ton of things to do around here, because seriously, there are a ton of things to do around here!

I ran five miles this evening on the treadmill. At one point I looked down and realized that my sweat was brownish red, evidence that I spent my day at the shop sanding. I decided to wait for my shower until after my run, but I wasn’t expecting the streaks of colored sweat running down me.

I ran the five miles in 52 minutes. Not my best time, but I was proud that I accomplished it.

Over the past few weeks I have noticed a huge uptick in my endurance. When we were at the stream last night, C got something in her eye and she was having a hard time keeping up with us so I told her she could ride on my back on our way to the van. We went up hills and over uneven ground and even though I could feel my legs burning from the extra workout, I never got winded. What an amazing feeling!

I ran five miles this evening on the treadmill. At one point I looked down and realized that my sweat was brownish red, evidence that I spent my day at the shop sanding. I decided to wait for my shower until after my run, but I wasn’t expecting the streaks of colored sweat running down me.

I ran the five miles in 52 minutes. Not my best time, but I was proud that I accomplished it.

Over the past few weeks I have noticed a huge uptick in my endurance. When we were at the stream last night, C got something in her eye and she was having a hard time keeping up with us so I told her she could ride on my back on our way to the van. We went up hills and over uneven ground and even though I could feel my legs burning from the extra workout, I never got winded. What an amazing feeling!

This evening we needed an adventure. Tim had to run an errand and we decided that we wanted to show him our new found stream, so we hopped in the van with him to join him. By the time the errand was over we realized it was getting late and would probably be dark by the time we got near home, so we decided to stop along the way instead. We knew there was an area that had several small parks, that were near some streams. When we pulled into the one we had decided on we found a trail that took us along a shallow, but pretty wide stream. As we walked we found a shoreline that would make for easy access to the water and we told the kids we would all get in. You should have seen their eyes when we told them they could sit down in the water. They had a blast. They really enjoyed skipping rocks. They sat on their bottoms and let the current move them. They ran and splashed for nearly an hour. For a few moments Tim and I sat on a log looking out at the stream watching the kids play and I couldn’t help but smile. These are the memories I want for my children.

“Can you twist my head around?” Baby E asked me as I sat on the porch this evening.

“What?” I replied.

“Can you twist my head around? And my feet too?” He said as he turned his head to the side to demonstrate what he meant.

“You mean all the way around?”

“Yes,” he answered emphatically.

“Why?”

He looked down at the two tie strings hanging from his brand new swim trunks. “Because I want these to be my cape!!!” He grinned at me.

“No, I’m not twisting your head all the way around.”

“But I want a cape!!!!”

This morning we had a hiking playdate with a new friend from church and her kids. We met at a local nature sanctuary to hike some of their trails. The kids and I had never been there before. After meeting up with our friends, we all walked down to a pond and then we followed a trail that took us through a beautiful forest. The recent rains had done a number on the trail, and there were times we had to carry a few of the kids through some very tall grass, but it was a lovely hike. As we were nearing the end, Baby E was straggling behind when I heard him announce loudly and with enthusiasm, “I smell beer!!” Awesome.

Yesterday on our walk near the shop we had come across a brewery. As we were walking, Baby E asked what that horrible smell was and I explained to him that that place was making beer that was what he was smelling. He curled up his nose and emphatically informed me that he did not like the smell of beer.

Since that walk, whenever he smells something he doesn’t like he says, “I smell beer,” which as you can imagine goes over great in public. Leave it to Baby E to make me sound like a raging alcoholic. And it’s just my luck that when Baby E discovers a phrase, he commits to it, so I can only imagine the sideways glances I’m going to be getting! Ha!

I was helping at the shop this afternoon and we had a little time to kill before heading there, so we drove around and explored the town. We found a few more small parks. We pulled up to one that did not look impressive at all, but I noticed there was a trail next to it, so I bribed (I mean convinced) the kids to walk the trail and we ended up at a small creek. It was shallow enough and clear enough that I let the kids take their shoes off and wade in the water. They particularly enjoyed picking up the various stones, watching leaves float along with the current, and crossing the areas with the stronger current to see how it felt on their legs. Those kids were so happy to get their feet in the water and I’m excited we found such a perfect, peaceful, quiet little gem.

Days at the shop can be long and boring for the kids. I remember they often were for me growing up. I let the kids play on iPads and we try to do some school stuff. If there is downtime, I like to take them on a walk. But I think it should be more than a walk… it should be an adventure. So we walk out the door and I let the kids point in the direction they want to go and we start to explore. The shop is in a relatively industrial area, there are no houses around, only businesses. We weave our way around different buildings and look for areas we have never seen before. We walk until we are too tired to walk any further and we make our way back to the shop. This afternoon we walked about a mile and a half. We found the bike trail that would actually take us home if we followed it long enough. We came across a brewery (note, it was the only place my kids complained about the smell), we found a doggy daycare (where Big E narrowly escaped stepping in a large pile of yuck) and we found a path through some trees where C got close to a squirrel and Baby E discovered more feathers.

I’m trying to break up the days that we are at the shop with something interesting. This morning I took them to the park near the shop. It’s Baby E’s favorite park because it has the motorcycle. This evening we dropped by the splash pad on the way home.

We spent most of the day at the shop today. When we are there the kids tend to get more screen time than if we were home, so this afternoon during a break in the weather my sister and I took them for a long walk. I think the only one of the kids who really appreciated it was Big E. Big E always collects things on our walks. He usually comes back with pine cones and sticks. Today we found a tree with a bunch of acorns on the ground. We collected some ‘thumb hats’ aka the tops of acorns and brought them back. Then we drew faces on our thumbs and added the hats. If nothing else, it amused us for a little while!

Baby E has a favorite toy and that toy is a broom. He calls his broom ‘Dirts’ and he wants to take it everywhere with him. He begged to take it to a playdate this morning, but I talked him out of it. After all, it isn’t not good form to bring a used broom into someone else’s house.

Most of the time the broom is Dirts, but sometimes it is Moana and other times it is Joanna. (Yes, he names his broom after me.) This afternoon he was on the couch with Dirts. I don’t typically condone Dirts being anywhere but the floor so I asked him what he was doing and he said that he was Tim and that Dirts was Joanna and they were cuddling. A little while later I found him asleep there, still cuddling Joanna Dirts.

While we were sitting on the front porch this evening I asked the kids a few questions. Here are their responses…

1. If you could open a store, what would you sell?
   1. Big E- Toys!
   2. C- Candy!
   3. Baby E- Swiss Cake Rolls!
2. What character makes you laugh the most?
   1. Big E- Tow Mater
   2. Baby E- Tow Mater
   3. C-Hei Hei
3. What animal would make a great driver?
   1. Big E- A squirrel because it has hands and feet.
   2. C- I think maybe a dog because I usually see dogs up front in the windows.
   3. Baby E- A dog because it has four legs or a mouse because it has two legs.
4. What would be the funniest animal to see driving?
   1. C- A male moose because the men moose have the horns and they’d be sticking up out of the car.
   2. Big E- A wasp because they are so tiny!
5. What sounds do you like?
   1. C- The sounds of people laughing and the sound of people making friends.
   2. Big E- Peace and quiet because I can calm down when I’m really wild.
6. What was your worst dream?
   1. Big E- I had a dream we were at the bank and a tiger was following us. We ran up to our pirate ship. It was a land pirate ship. It had wheels and an engine. But before I even got on the boat the tiger bit off my leg!! Oh and I had one where we were waiting at the bus stop and there was this man running towards us and he took Baby E forever.
   2. C- One night we were going downstairs. Someone had broken into our house and as we were going downstairs they killed you and daddy and we were left living all alone. (That one made me so sad!!!)
7. What are you thankful for?
   1. C- When you give me something that we don’t deserve.
   2. Big E- That I have a mom.
8. How do you show people that you care?
   1. Big E- Hugging them.
   2. C- I make sure they are ok if they get hurt.
9. What makes you feel brave?
   1. C- When you and daddy are with me when I’m scared in the dark.
   2. Big E- Brave? Nothing.
10. What does it feel like when I hug you?
    1. I feel like I already know you really love me, bu it makes me in my mind picture myself happy crying.
    2. Big E- I feel happy.

I hovered by the windows today, waiting for a UPS man I was beginning to believe might never come. By this evening I was almost convinced my waiting was in vain, but around 6:30 he finally pulled in.

About a week after my last day at work, Tim and I took the leap to buy a new computer, one that I could use for freelance editing, writing, and homeschooling. It was a large investment for us, but it puts me in a good position to start taking on clients and I am very excited about that!

When it finally arrived this evening I couldn’t wait to open the box, and just as I had hoped, it was beautiful. I plugged it in and turned it on. I couldn’t be happier! Tomorrow I will set it up with all the software I need and I will be in business!