Sunday Funny

Years ago, back when Sunshine first got glasses, we made pipe cleaner glasses for all her stuffed animals. Recently she made a set for one of the boys, which evolved into me making a pair for both boys. They thought the pipe cleaner glasses were great.

Weekly Mileage

River really wanted to be down with the big kids, but he wasn't allowed

Last week I said the late night workouts weren't working for me, then I turned around and rode my bike while doing laundry Monday night. Hah! We had dentist appointments in the AM and I didn't have time to exercise till after dinner, so I made it happen.

exploring the ruined rock house

the kids checking out the ford, view from the new suspension bridge

Wednesday we went hiking with our monthly homeschool hiking group. We were in charge this month, and we led them on the loop that we scouted out a couple weeks ago. We hit all our favorite finds: the old car, the ruins of a rock house, and the suspension bridge. After the hike we invited everyone back to our house for hot chocolate. The kids had fun playing while I unsuccessfully tried to heat the water over the fire pit. The wood was just too wet from all the rain we've gotten recently, despite it being several days since the last rain. I finally gave in and took it inside and had the water boiling within minutes. Best laid plans...

I thought about going on another hike Thursday, but I wasn't feeling well when I woke up, so we had a laid back morning before heading out for history club.

crunchy leaves to run in

Friday I ran on the treadmill for the first time in awhile, and while it's still not my favorite, it was a much-needed workout. I ran three miles with a short walking break in between each mile. It's the last long run I'll do before the Turkey Trot this week, and hopefully I won't run the race too slowly.

The boys and I went for a short walk while Sunshine was in class and I got some fun photos.

I thought about another bike ride Saturday, but since we were also planning on spending the day cleaning, I decided not to add a bike ride to the mix. A number of my siblings are coming for Thanksgiving, which has been the push I needed to finally do some deep cleaning. I've been avoiding it because I strongly dislike cleaning, and can always find something else I'd rather be doing. But the prospect of houseguests finally moved cleaning to the top of my to-do list. I definitely got a workout cleaning the upstairs bedrooms and bathrooms and finishing the basement (I did most of it earlier in the week). We need to finish up the main floor, but the worst is done at least.

I also finished up a couple small projects that have also been languishing on my to-do list. I'll try to share those later this week or next.

Weekly Mileage 
Mon- 8.0 miles on the bike
Wed- 2.43 miles hiked
Fri- 3.80 miles on the treadmill
   total mileage- 14.23 miles

46th hike towards #52hikechallenge
495.68 miles towards #365milechallenge (17.87 of that on the bike)

Sunday Funny

A few weeks ago when I finally fixed the trim on the chicken coop, Ocean decided to come over and help. That help came in the form of climbing the 6 foot ladder. Over and over. I'd pull him down, and he'd climb back up. Such a fearless little dude.

Because River looks so much like his daddy I always expected him to be fearlessly impulsive like his daddy was at this age. He did his share of climbing, but it was never at the same level of Ocean's climbing escapades. I was always more cautious, so (somewhat irrationally) I expected Ocean to be more cautious as well since he looks more like my side of the family. Note to self: just because a child looks like a parent, doesn't mean their personality will be similar to that parent's.

Weekly Mileage

giant leaves!

This past week was a bit calmer, which was very nice. I was still busy, but I didn't feel quite so much like I was running around all the time, like I have of late.

Monday morning I finally got back on my bike- a month after the last time I rode it. Part of me wanted to do 10 miles, but another part (my rear end) decided that wasn't such a great idea. I need to build up to longer distances :)

the tail end of the gorgeous fall colors this year (they were rather dull last year)

Wednesday my friend C and I went running again (woohoo! two weeks in a row!). We didn't go quite as far this time, because we ran a hilly route and it kicked my bum. C was in better shape because she's been going to regular spin classes for awhile now, unlike me who's just getting started on the bike. It was a hard workout, but it felt good.

Thursday we went on the hike we did last month when it was raining. We went a little further past the swimming hole, turning around at the 1.5 mile mark (this section of trail is about two miles long). It wasn't raining hard, but it was misty drizzling the whole time, and it was a lot colder than last time. We dressed properly though, and everyone stayed warm and dry, though River insisted on several occasions before we turned around that his legs were breaking (i.e., he was tired). In his defense, the trail is a slight uphill on the way out, which makes the return trip downhill and much nicer.  We'll have to try for a dry day next time we hike here.

I'd planned on hopping back on my bike Friday morning, but got sidetracked with some other things that came up. I did a lot of walking that night though as I hit six different stores looking for items to send in to Amazon. I didn't track my mileage, but I found a lot of good deals. Late night store runs after the kids are in bed are much more productive than store runs with fussy kiddos.

soft! Ocean loves touching the moss on the trees. 

we're working on doing it gently so as not to damage them.

Since I didn't do it Friday, I wanted to do some biking Saturday, but by the time I got everything else done on my to-do list I was too tired. I used to walk on the treadmill at night while doing laundry, but these days I just don't have the energy to exercise after the kids are in bed. Exercising in the morning before I get distracted by the day's tasks is much more effective (and likely to happen). Running with C in the afternoon works, but only because of the extra accountability that comes from running with a friend.

sitting on a handy rock at the trailhead

Saturday Mr M took down a dead tree that's on our property line. The neighbor's house is close enough to the property line and the dead tree that the tree could have fallen on their house. We've been meaning to take care of it for some time, and it's a good thing we finally did. See the splintered section sticking up on the right of the photo? That's the only part of the tree that wasn't completely rotten. Mr M roped it up to make sure it fell where he wanted it to, and it only took a couple cuts for the tree to fall/crumble to the ground.

Weekly Mileage
Mon- 6.0 miles on the bike
Wed- 3.30 miles run outside
Thurs- 2.95 miles hiked
      total mileage- 12.25 miles

45th hike towards #52hikechallenge
481.45 miles towards #365milechallenge (includes 9.87 bike miles)

Sunday Funny

Recently we stopped in at wally world on the way home from Sunshine's fiddle lesson to pick up a couple boxes so I could send stuff to Amazon. Since we were there I stopped by the toy aisles to do some scanning (looking for items I could buy low and sell for a lot more on Amazon). We ran into a friend and while she and I were talking, I realized that Ocean had stopped complaining and whining and was quiet.

I looked down and realized just why he was being calm and quiet: he'd dug his way into a package of cream cheese and was systematically scooping out chunks and eating them. I had to laugh. Not really what I would have preferred he do, but it was a small price to pay for an end to the whining. Apparently he was just hungry.

Look at that face!

October Mileage

River loves yelling as he's runs down this hill and up the curve. Every time we do this hike :)

October was a low mileage month, as I’ve struggled to fit exercising in with fourth quarter Amazon busy-ness. I only managed to run on the treadmill and ride my bike once each, but at least we got all our hikes in for the month (and caught up on the one we were short). As long as we do one hike a week from now to the end of the year, we'll reach our goal of 52 hikes in 2017. 

October's mileage:

 1 treadmill workout + 5 hikes + 0 outside runs + 1 race + 1 bike workout = 20.41 miles

52 hike challenge: 43 hikes

365 mile challenge: 462.59 miles

September's mileage:

7 treadmill workouts + 4 hikes + 2 outside walk/run + 1 race = 40.42 miles

52 hike challenge: 38 hikes

365 mile challenge: 442.18 miles

August's mileage:

5 treadmill workouts + 6 hikes +1 outside walk + 1 race = 36.66 miles

52 hike challenge: 34 hikes

365 mile challenge: 401.76 miles

July's mileage: 

3 treadmill workouts + 1 hike + 0 outside runs + 1 race = 13.65 miles
52 hike challenge: 28 hikes
365 mile challenge: 365.1 miles

June's mileage:

0 treadmill workouts + 10 hikes + 3 outside runs + 3 races (1, 2, half) + 2 walks = 81.25 miles

52 hike challenge: 27 hikes

365 mile challenge: 351.45 miles

40 by 40 goal: 50 races

May's mileage:

11 treadmill workouts + 3 hikes + 1 outside run + 2 races (1, 2) + 1 field trip = 94.37 miles

52 hike challenge: 17 hikes

365 mile challenge: 270.2 miles

40 by 40 goal: 47 races

April's mileage:

15 treadmill workouts + 4 hikes + 0 outside runs + 1 race = 73.58 miles

52 hike challenge: 14 hikes

365 mile challenge: 175.83 miles

40 by 40 goal: 45 races

March's mileage:

3 treadmill workouts + 3 hikes + 2 outside runs + 1 race = 25.45 miles

52 hike challenge: 10 hikes

365 mile challenge: 102.25 miles

40 by 40 goal: 44 races

February's mileage:

12 treadmill workouts + 3 hikes + 3 outside runs + 0 races = 54.70 miles

52 hike challenge: 7 hikes

365 mile challenge: 76.80 miles

January's mileage:

4 treadmill workouts + 6 hikes + 1 outside run + 0 races = 22.10 miles total
52 hike challenge: 4 hikes
365 mile challenge: 22.10 miles

Weekly Mileage

Last week was a bit less crazy than the previous two weeks were, but another cold had me under the weather over the weekend and into the first part of the week, which derailed my Monday exercise plans.

Tuesday the boys went trunk or treating at Mr M's work. Sunshine was at class, so he took her out later after the boys were in bed.

Ocean was more interested in his candy than in posing for pictures

I wasn’t feeling 100% on Wednesday, but I was looking forward to running outside, so I didn’t cancel on my friend C, and we finally went running together again. I don’t think we’ve been since the beginning of June, just before we left on our road trip, and it was nice to hit the road together again. Neither of us has done much running lately, but we did a good 3 mile run with some cool down time afterwards.

it was an overcast day, but that didn't dull the bright fall colors we're enjoying

Thursday the kids and I hiked in our local trails park and scouted out a route for our homeschool group hike that will occur in a couple weeks. It's our turn to head it up and there are certain things we wanted to make sure we could see with the group, but I couldn’t remember exactly where one of them was and I wasn’t sure of the total mileage. After Thursday's hike, though, we’re ready.

we found this great tree root on our hike

I’d planned on going for a run Saturday, but it rained and while I was waiting for it to move on I got distracted doing other things and lost my running mojo for the day. It happens sometimes.

Weekly Mileage

Wed- 4.20 miles outside

Thurs- 2.41 mile hike

            Total miles- 6.61 miles

44^th hike towards #52hikechallenge

469.2 miles towards #365milechallenge

Sunday Funny

Sunshine loves making things from boxes, and a while ago she made a car and trailer for the boys. Ocean fit better than River, but they both had lots of fun with it. Note the details: the trailer, working doors, steering wheel, and windshield. There was also a seat with cargo space behind it, but we had to remove it because it didn't leave enough room for the boys to sit.

River doesn't quite fit in the trailer :)

Gettysburg NMP

Soldier's National Monument in the cemetery

Last year after visiting the Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania NMP battlefields, I decided we needed to visit Gettysburg NMP in the near future. The battles around Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania were at the beginning of May, 1863 and some of the troops who fought there then headed north to fight at Gettysburg, which occurred over three days at the beginning of July, 1863.

headstones in the National Cemetery

We decided to go in the fall, but weren't able to go until just this past week. We'd originally planned to go the week before, but I'd gotten mixed up on the date of the Montpelier field trip, and we had to switch it.

Each Union state that had soldiers who fought and died at Gettysburg has a section in the cemetery. The headstones are arranged in a semi-circle around the Soldier's National Monument that you can see at the top of this post. Not all who died here are buried here, just a representative number.

Going off season was great, but when we return (and we will since we didn't get to see it all) it won't be so late in the season. I think if we'd gone when we'd originally planned, we'd have been fine, but the last week of October in Pennsylvania was cold and windy.

The park itself is free to enter, but several of the tours cost money, as do the cds for the audio auto tour. We only made it part way through the auto tour, so when we go back we'll finish it.

some of the cannons had rifled bores (left) for increased distance and accuracy, others did not (right)

We also did the Junior Ranger program, but didn't have time to do any of the other tours. I didn't have time to do a lot of prep work before the trip, so I hadn't realized that the Eisenhower National Historic Site is next to Gettysburg NMP and can only be accessed through a paid tour and shuttle bus. One more thing to do when we return.

We stayed at Gettysburg Farm RV park, which is about 20 or so minutes from Gettysburg. Not the closest RV park, but we didn't have to pay to stay there, so we weren't being too picky.

we prefer the old fashioned squished penny machine to the boring one that spits out your pre-pressed penny. though I think this was the most we've paid for a squished penny- usually there 50 cents.

When we bought our RV, a year's membership in Thousand Trails was included, which allows us to stay at certain RV campgrounds for free. We're limited in how long and how often we can stay in those certain campgrounds, but you can upgrade your membership to remove those restrictions. We have several trips planned for the spring and summer to try to take full advantage of the membership benefits, but we won't extend it once the year is up. The membership is a bit pricey for where we are right now, i.e., not traveling full time and tied down by obligations at home. If we had more flexibility to our schedule, I could see it being a valuable option, but we're not there yet.

one of the larger monuments that can be seen along the first part of the auto tour

Like a lot of campgrounds, the spots aren't large, though we've stayed in campgrounds that were more cramped. They had farm animals, a mini golf set-up, a couple playgrounds, and more. The kids were able to do a little exploring, but not nearly as much as they wanted. They're looking forward to returning as well.

sunset from a viewing tower along the first part of the auto tour

the most successful pic of the kiddos, which isn't saying much

Ocean lost interest in the picture and explored the carved stars on the sign instead

Ocean refused to sit on the bench, but these two pics didn't turn out too badly