Hi all! Popping in with some things I’m loving lately today. As usual, it’s a very random mix. 🙂 Enjoy – and feel free to play along in the comments!
Things I’m Loving Lately
1) Hiking the Billy Goat Trail with Riese + friends
The Billy Goat Trail in Great Falls Park (the Maryland side) is one of my absolute favorite local trails. It’s fun and engaging with lots of rock scrambling and epic views of the Potomac River down below.
Matt and I have hiked the trail together many times (here’s a fun throwback to when we hiked it in 2010!), and my friend Jen and I did the trail together last year and talked about how much our big kids would love it and how we should bring them along for the adventure next time. (Jen’s son Hudson is only a couple weeks older than Riese, and we’ve been hanging out since they were babies.)
After lots of calendar logistics, a few weeks ago we finally made it happen!
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It was so much fun. Jen and I were a little nervous beforehand with all the rock scrambling and cliff situations but the kids had absolutely no problem tackling all of it and both had a blast out there! If anything, Jen and I were the weak/slow links, not the kids – ha!
We packed picnic lunches and choose a boulder to eat on that had nice views but was not right next to a cliff. 😉 Riese and I had tuna salad sandwiches, plus some carrots, cucumber, string beans, clementines, and grapes.
This part with a crazy steep, big climb was their favorite part, of course. 🙂
Their least favorite part was the walk on the canal to and from the trail. The end of the trail (we just did Billy Goat section A) spits you out farther along the canal, and then you have to walk quite aways back to the parking area. Jen and I both ended up giving piggyback rides for a lot of it which was quite a workout!
Such a fun day. In a few years we’ll get Wes out there with us, too. 😉
2) Goodbye, crib – Wes has a big boy bed!
Speaking of Wes, it’s the end of an era – we are officially done with cribs! Wes slept in a regular bed for the first time in June when we traveled to Pittsburgh and he didn’t want to be in the pack ‘n’ play anymore. When we got home, I asked if he wanted a big boy bed at home, too, but he said he still liked his crib.
During our August trip to Pittsburgh, he was again in a regular bed and this time he said he wanted a big boy bed at home, too!
It’s been a rocky couple weeks getting used to the new set up – I definitely had some “omg we are never sleeping again, everything is ruined” spiral moments – but I *think* we are on the upswing now thanks to getting a Hatch light and establishing more consistent boundaries.
I think we thought it would be easier than it was because in Pittsburgh he just hung out in his bed waiting for us until we came to get him. But yeah, totally different story at home, both with the evenings and the mornings! It reminded us of all the things we’d forgotten about this transition with Riese, which was VERY challenging. Oof.
3) The Libby App
Fellow readers – have you discovered the Libby phone app for borrowing ebooks and audiobooks from your local library? It’s awesome and super easy to use – just a few clicks and the book you’re borrowing will appear on your Kindle or other digital device!
There are often long wait times for popular books, but I’ve just been getting on the waitlist for like 20 books at a time and whichever one comes up first, I read! And in the meantime I use my Kindle Unlimited (Amazon affiliate link) to read other books while I’m waiting, and sometimes buy new releases I’m super excited for. I love reading so this is a nice way to not break the bank with the volume of books I’m consuming!
(Related: if you want some book recs, here’s my most recent book round up post: 10+ Best Books I’ve Read Lately. I’ll write a new one sometime this fall!)
4) Ramona Quimby Books
Speaking of books, Riese and I have been having a blast reading my old Ramona Quimby books (Amazon affiliate link) together. I used to LOVE these books as a kid – they are the first books I remember reading by myself, and I still had a bunch of the original books in my bookcase at home.
It’s been really fun to read them to Riese. Major trip down memory lane! Anyone else remember these books?
5) Early fall produce
I’m not quite on the pumpkin train yet (if you are, here is the post for you: Healthy Pumpkin Recipes for Fall), but apple season is here and I’m all about that! In case you missed it, be sure to check out this blog post from last week for some apple season ideas: 8 Best Healthy Apple Recipes to Make this Fall.
And if you haven’t tried my Cinnamon Apple Crumble Muffins yet, I highly recommend them. They are super soft, moist, and delicious, but also nutrient dense and lower in sugar!
The last thing I’m lovely lately is that my birthday is this coming weekend! I have a fun run date planned with my friend Kathleen who I haven’t seen in wayyyy too long, and Matt and I are going out to see a show on Sunday evening I’m really excited for, too. I’ll share some recaps next week.
Have a great week, friends! Until next time. 🙂
