Last week was incredibly crazy with two sick kids, visits to the doctor, calls to the school nurse, and an unbelievable amount of laundry. So when Friday rolled around I was more than happy to leave the house! The boys and I spent time at my parents house watching the Dowling vs. Valley high school football game via webcast.
After a night of staying up too late finishing laundry (I know, you're way jealous of my eventful life), I reluctantly pulled myself out of bed Saturday morning and we took the kids on an early morning hike at Jester Park. It was the perfect way to begin our day! We hiked the trail we discovered earlier in the summer. 3 miles of hills to climb and run down, ant hills, colorful leaves, bridges, and it's nice and shady. I was very proud of the boys for hiking all of it with no problem and no complaints of their legs being tired.
First sign of fall I've seen: red leaves! The kids and I were pumped about the changing leaves.
There should be a small stream running through here, but it is has dried up. Fun little tid bit: this was the trail we tried to walk 2 1/2 years ago with the boys, but it was too hard for them. Max and I were pretty excited and proud that they successfully made it through the entire 3 mile trail without a problem.
"Oh yeah! We did it!" exclaimed Max as we reached the end of the trail and started on our way back.
A good hike required a treat at the end: muffins from Perkins. So delicious!
After crashing for naps, Harrison woke up first and decided he needed to run errands with me. While we were out, we went to visit my Grandpa Brownie at the cemetery. The boys have been asking to go to his gravesite recently, but Max opted not to go. They don't quite understand where Grandpa Brownie went and why he isn't able to give them a dollar (back story: every time my Grandpa Brownie saw the boys, he would give them a crisp $1 bill from his pocket. This has stuck with them and is how they remember great Grandpa Brownie). My grandma Betty is buried next to him, so it's the perfect opportunity to tell them stories about her. She died before they were born, but I know she would have kissed their cheeks and told them they were sweet when they were being terrors.
We ended our cemetery visit by feeding the ducks. We didn't have any bread with us, so we pulled muffin crumbs and crackers from Elizabeth's car seat. We're resourceful like that.
The boys enjoyed an "all boys ice cream party" at Cherry Berry. I was so proud of my minis for the start of a great school year and felt they needed to be rewarded.
The boys topped off their day by watching a Scooby Doo movie and playing Legos, while Elizabeth went to bed at 6:00. We found out why the next morning: 3 new molars popping through! Wowza.
Sunday was another early rising for us all, but totally worth it when we beat the heat and went for an early morning walk on the High Trestle trail and across the bridge. It took their little legs a while to walk the 4 miles of trail we went on, but they did it!
We ended our morning at the much requested Pizza Ranch.
After crashing again for naps, we ended our day in the backyard with the little swimming pool.
I am so happy all of my minis seem to be feeling better. Last week was incredibly rough, but we're anticipating a MUCH better and happier week. I'm so happy for my typical Sunday night of cleaning the house and preparing for the week ahead.
