Martin's Cove

On our road trip this summer we did lots of fun stuff, which I will eventually get all posted :) Here's another installment.

After Mr M finished his drill duties, we headed home. We usually end up just driving straight through on our road trips, as quickly as possible, but on this trip we made time for a couple detours.

The plan was to drive north-eastish up to Mt Rushmore, but as we were traveling the endless roads of Wyoming, we saw a sign for Martin's Cove. Neither of us had realized it was right on our way, but knowing we wouldn't be back that way for quite awhile, we pulled over to see what there was to see.

We took the tour through the Visitor's Center, which was quite interesting. We have an ancestor who traveled with the Willie Handcart Company on his way home from a mission in England. He'd made the trip before and counseled them against leaving so late in the season, but accompanied them when they insisted on going anyway. There were several quotes of his in the narrative pieces on the walls.  That was pretty cool to see. I grew up hearing the story, but wasn't really aware of how well known it was. A pretty interesting movie about some of the experiences he had was made a few years ago.

LMS outside the visitor's center

They had a corral with carts of various sizes that you could try out.

LMS found one her size.

Groups of youth from various wards and stakes come out every summer and make the trek, using handcarts. Right about when I graduated from high school was when going on "pioneer treks" for youth conference started gaining popularity, and I never got to do one, which is unfortunate. I think it's a great opportunity though, and hopefully our kiddos will get the chance to participate in one. 

This is the trail that leads to the cove, which is actually about a mile and a half away. The location of the visitor's center was a small fort (I think, the details are getting a little fuzzy now), but there was no space or food for the handcart companies, so they went a mile and half further to a sheltered area. We didn't make the trek out there because we didn't have time (the schedule just wouldn't allow that long of an unscheduled stop), and my hips weren't up to it (sitting in the truck all day doesn't make pregnant hips feel great). We'd love to go back sometime though, and make the trek out there and back.

Once we got on the road again, we passed Independence Rock a bit further up the road. Apparently it was so called because if you reached it by Independence Day, you could make it to Salt Lake without any problems (winter weather and such).

It was definitely worth our time to stop and explore a little- if you're ever in the area, I definitely recommend it. On the other hand, since we'd just driven from the Salt Lake area, we definitely had a greater appreciation of the distance traveled by the rescuers, as well as how far the pioneers still had to go. It was further than I'd thought, and they made the trip without the benefit of paved roads. We're definitely blessed!

Have you been to Martin's Cove?

Second Grade

some friends recently hosted a "store party" where the kids bought and sold items using leaves (idea found here). LMS had a blast and is already planning what she'll make to bring next year

We started second grade the day after we got home from our road trip. With the little guy on his way sometime in September we didn't have time to lose. I want to make sure we have as much down time as we need, so that meant no dawdling around when it came time to start the school year. I love the flexibility of our year-round schedule!

As I've mentioned before, we're using the curriculum suggestions from A Well-Trained Mind. There's not a lot of changes from first to second grade, so we're pretty much covering the same subjects as last year:

Reading, writing, spelling, grammar, math, science, history/geography, music, art, Japanese, and religion.

Extra-curricular activities include weekly park outings, violin lessons (though they've been on hold for the summer because LMS' teacher moved out of state and I'm looking for another one), soccer in the fall and spring, the Irish sampler class she did last year, and two new ones: Irish dance and a weekly nature class in the fall.

LMS may or may not do ice skating and/or skiing this winter- it really depends on how we all settle in with the baby. She might do a nature class in the spring as well, but the spring location isn't as convenient as the fall location, so we'll have to wait and see on that one.

The local schools start this week. When do/did your kids start school?

Sunday Funny

Nanny is "steering" while LMS takes care of the pedals

LMS: "I'm too old for quiet time."

Me (tired of dealing with a cranky little girl): "Not when you act like this."

LMS: "You think I'm not, but I am."

Grand Teton National Park

After we went to Yellowstone, we stopped by Grand Teton National Park. I went to college in eastern Idaho for a couple years and could see the Tetons off in the distance, but I never made it out to the park.

LMS really liked the moose statue outside one of the visitor's centers

She had to stop and make sure its hoof was ok

Little Junior Rangers, waiting for the Ranger's presentation to start. 

This was at the site of the first ferry over the river.

There's a bike path running along the highway from Jackson, WY to about halfway up the park. 

If we'd had time, it would have been a great bike ride!

This apparently is the most photographed barn in the valley- people like to get shots of it with the mountains behind. We were there in the late afternoon so the sun was not in the right spot for good photos, but these turned out ok.

LMS was able to add another pin to her Junior Ranger vest, and we had fun exploring and learning about the history of the Grand Teton area. I will say, though, our camp site was terrible. The roads were  very narrow and twisty, and the site itself was tiny- we have an 18' trailer (aka tiny) and it barely fit in the site. We had to unhook the truck and squeeze it in (with barely enough space to open doors on one side) next to the trailer because it was mostly definitely NOT a pull-through site. It was just a terrible set up. Don't think we'll stay there again- guess I should see if I can find the name of the campground so we can avoid it :)

Have you been to Grand Teton National Park?

Yellowstone

One of the stops on our road trip last month was Yellowstone National Park. We only had a day, so we only got to do part of the lower loop through the park, but we still managed to see a good number of hot springs and geysers. The Little Miss also completed the Junior Ranger requirements for her patch. (Yellowstone only does patches, a lot of other parks do both or just pins)

Mr M and I both went to Yellowstone with our families when we were kids, and we've been once since getting married. That was a quick trip to Yellowstone for a family reunion a couple years before LMS was born, but we were really limited on time because of Mr M's military training schedule. So, no extra exploring on that trip. Since we haven't been back, this was LMS' first visit to Yellowstone. She liked it, but was apprehensive about the large volcano under a large portion of the park, despite our reassurances.

checking out the "touch table" at a visitor's center

I love the deep blue present in many of the hot springs

I wouldn't want to go swimming in there...

The range of colors is amazing

The milky blue in this one was also pretty

In front of one of the hot springs- can't remember the name at this point though :)

And of course we had to stop in and catch Old Faithful erupting. It really is quite spectacular!

Have you been to Yellowstone?

Irish Music School Day Camp

As I mentioned last week, LMS attended a day camp offered by the Irish music school she attends. She went to the camp last year and had lots of fun, so it wasn't a hard decision to sign her up this year.

LMS did crafts, baking (they even did some gluten free baking for the kids who can't have gluten!), dance, singing, and drama. Last year she did tin whistle, but she opted out of it this year. I'm hoping she'll have progressed enough with her violin by next summer that she can do some fiddle. At this point she hasn't learned quite enough notes yet.

The last day of the camp the kids give a performance for the parents, showing all the things they worked on that week. In the picture below, LMS is getting ready to sing a song in Irish about ten mice. The girls are wearing the tie dye shirts that was one of their projects- orange, green, and white being the colors of the Irish flag.

The finale is a song that gets faster and faster and faster, with some of the kids doing a clapping/cup thing. LMS was one of the kids that got to do the cup, but was sitting behind another girl, so I didn't get a good shot of her.

LMS had lots of fun. I will admit I'm glad it was only a week- I'm just not used to the pressure of getting up every morning and having to be out of the house by a certain time so I can drive her to school or whatever. Really makes me appreciate how flexible our homeschool schedule is :) Especially with the added fatigue of being pregnant and continually pushing the limits of my energy. Since I over-did it several times last week, getting up and going was not easy.

In a couple more weeks regular classes will start again and LMS will be doing the sampler class she did last year as well as a beginner dance class.

I sure wish we'd had something like this when I was younger...

Sunday Funny

LMS out cold in the middle of the afternoon- worn out from too much fun and too little sleep

This one is from our road trip in July.

LMS was tired and I had woken her up early so we could get on the road.
She was getting dressed, but going very slowly.

Me (with the intent of helping her get dressed faster): "Come here."
LMS: "Are we going to talk? Because if we're going to talk, I want to talk about sleeping."

Re-Upholstered Chair

Earlier in the summer my friend A asked me to help her with a re-upholstery project. Her mom had found a chair at a thrift store and some fabric and given them to A, but A had never re-upholstered a chair before.

This week things were a lot more calmer than usual- Mr M was doing National Guard stuff, LMS had Irish day camp, and I actually had free time during the day. So A and I spent Monday and Tuesday working on the chair. We didn't quite get it finished Tuesday, but were able to finish up Wednesday afternoon.

not too bad at first glance...

till you look closer and see the marker scribbles and the embedded dirt

Monday we pulled off all the old upholstery, then cut the new pieces and started attaching them to the chair. After I left to pick up the Little Miss, A cut bias strips and sewed the welting so it would be ready for Tuesday.

a naked chair

partially re-upholstered

On Tuesday I finished cutting the pieces we needed and handed them off to A, who sewed welting to them, sewed the back cushion, and hemmed the skirt. She handed the pieces back to me and I stapled them to the chair.

missing the seat cushion

blurry photo of the back- last piece that needed to be stapled on

Wednesday I brought the tack strips that I forgot to bring Tuesday and used them to put the back on the chair. Then I finished attaching the skirt, which had to wait till the back was on. While I did that, A finished the seat cushion cover.

back off

back on

and it's all finished and looking so much better!

A's happy with the results :)

Working together really sped up the whole process. We both worked on dismantling the chair, but split the tasks after that- A sewed and I re-assembled. It saved time, kept us both busy, and we finished much quicker than if just one of us had been working on it. Yay for teamwork!

Trail Running

the pretty trail I ran on yesterday morning

Yesterday I took advantage of being in town after dropping LMS off at Irish music day camp, and hit one of the trails that run through town. I haven't done any significant mileage in quite awhile, and I'm registered for a four mile race in 3 1/2 weeks. I'll be 36 weeks pregnant, and while I hope to be able to jog the first half mile or so (it's a slight decline, so easier to handle), I plan on walking the rest.

there was a short section at the halfway point that was a dirt trail- quite nice, except for the poison ivy I was dodging along the way

So yesterday I walked and jogged 4 miles, just to see if I could do it. Other than having to pee most of the time, it went pretty well. No pain while running, though since then my hips haven't been happy. But they've been a bit sore for the last week or so- probably because I haven't been using my foam roller as much as I should, and I've been doing a lot of sitting, standing, and squatting, which is hard on my hips.

snake that crossed my path. it waited for me to move along before it disappeared into the underbrush

Despite this, I think the race will go fine. I'm expecting sore hips, some Braxton-Hicks contractions (I've had them for the last month or so and exercise does bring them on), and a slow time because of walking the race, but it should be doable.

This does raise the question though: why am I so determined to keep running?

Several reasons.
* I've made significant progress with my running in the last year or so. The New Year's Day 5k I ran was the fastest I've run since high school, and I'm running without the chronic pain and injuries I used to. I totally credit my physical therapist with the progress.
* I remember how bad things were when I was pregnant with LMS. I can't afford to be sedentary- I have a 7-year-old to keep up with.
* The longer I'm able to keep active, the easier it will be to get started again once I've recovered from childbirth. Not that I'll be rushing into things, but I don't want to lose the progress I've made.

Running is fun again and I want it to stay that way :)

Rocky Ridge Farm

While we were on our road trip, we made sure to do some sightseeing. Our first stop was in Mansfield, MO, at Rocky Ridge Farm. This is where Laura Ingalls Wilder lived the later part of her life and where she wrote the Little House books. Since we read the books and listened to them several times this year, it was an easy stop to add to our itinerary. We visited the museum, then toured the farmhouse and the rock house. It was quite interesting to see original photos and objects from Laura's life.

LMS in front of the sign, holding a picture she drew to give to the people at the museum.

The house that Laura and Almanzo built- one room at a time.

The house that Rose, their daughter, built for them, just down the road from Rocky Ridge Farm.

LMS and the bonnet she picked out at the gift shop. She wore it most of our vacation :)

Have you been to Rocky Ridge?

32 Week Pregnancy Photos

My last pictures can be found here.

I'm about 32 weeks along now, so here's some updated photos. These were taken by the Little Miss, so they're a smidge blurry, but better than nothing.

An interesting thing about pregnancy clothing: I don't feel nearly as big in an outfit like this as I do in a tent. A few days ago I wore a loose dress and felt absolutely huge. Mr M even commented that I was looking more pregnant than usual. Anyone else feel the same way?

This past week I've definitely been feeling like I've got the pregnancy waddle kicking in. I'm hoping it's because my hips have been bothering me a bit more lately (I haven't been wearing my support belt as diligently as I should be), but we'll have to see.

Running During the Third Trimester

trailing behind LMS as she leaves me in the dust on the bike path

Unlike our trip two summers ago, this summer I managed to do some walking/running while we were on vacation. The first two weeks I didn't do specific walking and running, but I did some short hikes and swimming, so at least I was still staying active. The second two weeks were mostly spent in one place (Mr M had drill, so LMS and I had a more relaxed schedule during the day- hanging out in the trailer at the campground and visiting friends and family). Our campground was right next to a trail head for a bike path so LMS rode her bike while I walked and ran (ok, jogged).

We were able to do this twice each week, for a total of four times. It's not a lot, my mileage is definitely way lower than it used to be, and I'm a lot slower, but hey,

I'm in my third trimester and I'm still able to run! 

I am super thrilled about this because that is NOT something I EVER thought would be possible.

How have I managed it?

* I just keep going. Back in the first trimester when my energy was really low and I felt so crappy, I still made sure I got on the treadmill at least twice a week (three times if I was feeling up to it), even if it was only for half an hour. As I got further along and felt better, I was able to increase my mileage a tad, though I was doing more walking and less running. The trip caused my mileage to decrease again, but I was able to run slowly even in the higher altitudes, which I didn't think would happen.

* Paying attention to how I'm feeling- energy levels, ligament pain, etc- has cut short several workouts but has also kept me from injury. I do have to be careful to not overdo it the times I do have more energy, since that results in drastically reduced energy levels for the next day or so.

* I still use my foam roller (and brought my shorter one on our trip) and stretch carefully to help with sore muscles.

* I wear my maternity support belt. It really makes a big difference in how my hips feel after exercise. I made the mistake of not using it one time last week and my hips let me know they weren't happy.

I have had some issues with keeping my growing tummy properly covered (even my longer workout shirts have gotten too short) and I'm too cheap to buy a maternity running shirt (have you seen the prices on those things?!). However, we stopped in at a WalMart for a few items while we were on vacation, and I was able to find a couple Danskin brand workout tops (non-cotton) that are super long. WalMart isn't my favorite place to buy clothes because I think the quality isn't the best, but I was willing to make an exception for shirts that would more than cover my tummy and were a fraction of the price of the maternity workout shirts I'd found online. So at least I can be properly covered and not have to keep tugging my shirt down.

Have you been able to keep running throughout your pregnancies?