Where the Wind Blows - Random Friday

1.  This is the old Aermotor windmill at my inlaws' house in Nebraska.  Classic, isn't it?

2.  Pierce had a summer reading program through the school where he had to read 20 books to earn a water party.  The parents could even read the books to the kids.  And they didn't have to be long books.  Would you believe that out of 17 students, only one other kid in his class completed the program?  This is so depressing to me.  Why aren't parents encouraging their kids to read?  At any rate, the first and second grade classes were combined for the water party (and hopefully some of the other classes had better participation) and Pierce had a fabulous time.

3.  I made monkey bread for an after school snack the first day of school.  Pierce came home and said he didn't like monkey bread.  I was like, "Sure you do."  He was adamant, "I don't want any."  Then I realized....I think he thought it really had monkey in it.  Once I explained it was just cinnamon bread, he was happy to eat some.

4.  Cort is obsessed with pirates.  We put away most of their birthday money, but I did allow him to purchase a small Captain Hook doll that he wanted.  He carried it all over the grocery store, and when people said, "Oh what a nice Captain Hook doll!" He responded, "He's NOT NICE!  He's a bad guy!"

5.  I planted some fall seeds, and I'm hoping we will be successful with them.  It was such a nice treat last December to still be able to run out to the garden and harvest fresh salad. 

This post linked with Random Friday at A Rural Journal. 

The Pool at Natural Bridge State Park, Kentucky

One of the big attractions for the boys at Natural Bridge was the pool.  This is the view of it from the Lodge.

 Shaped like a river, the pool sits right next to an actual river. 

 

 It is a walk in pool which is perfect for little kids (and does offer a separate wading pool as well).

 

 The boys loved the spray fountains scattered through the pool.

 The other side was deeper, but the boys stuck mostly to the shallow end.

Believe me, when it was time to leave, our boys didn't want to go.

Readers, do you love to swim?

The Skylift at Natural Bridge State Park in Kentucky

After a full morning of hiking, we decided to treat the boys to a ride down the mountain by skylift. 

Pierce was initially a little nervous.  Cort, on the other hand, was very eager to go.  He was talking about it all morning.  Paul took Pierce with him, and I took the twins with me.

 

It was steep enough to make my fingers tingle as we got started.

Below the skylift, is the land of lost flip flops.  I was glad that we all had our tennis shoes on this morning, since we had been hiking.

By the time we got to the bottom, the boys were all excited they had been able to go.  I jogged the mile to our car, picked them all up, and then we were ready to head to the pool.

Readers, have you ever ridden a skylift?

Natural Bridge State Park, Kentucky

When I found Natural Bridge State Park online, it looked so fun that I built in a free day there during our trip.  The first thing we did there was hike up to the Natural Bridge.

 The hike was quite pleasant, and not very long.  The boys handled it well. 

 

We saw a little baby snake, skinnier than a pencil, and about 6 inches long.

 

 Along the way, there were interesting rock formations and shelters to explore.

 Some of the rock formations made us feel like we were somewhere more exotic than Kentucky.

 

We made it to Natural Bridge, and it did not disappoint.

 Looming over us, we decided to hike up the stairs to the top. 

 The stairs were more narrow than we expected, but we had no trouble squeezing through.

 Sometimes tight rocky passages are kind of fun.

 

 On the top of Natural Bridge, we found a gorgeous view and a fun shelter - people must get married up there from time to time.

From there, we continued to hike to an interesting overlook. 

 Where there were some carved rocks for climbing.

And finally we hiked on to Lover's Leap. 

Mornings just don't get any better than this.

Running Recap for July and August 2013

I never got around to posting a running recap for July, so I'll just squeeze July and August together.  I've had two really great months of running.  I love this time of year because I can wake up early and run before Paul leaves for work.  Of course, now we're losing daylight, so I won't be able to do this much longer unless I want to opt for the treadmill.  During the past two months I have backed off on the crosstraining, as I just wanted to use my time for running.  I'll pick up more crosstraining when the days grow shorter. 

July -
weights x 5
hiking x 2
running x 121 miles

August -
yoga x 1
tennis x 2
hiking x 1
weights x 4
running x 134 miles

I tried going off the glucosamine (it makes my blood pressure rise slightly, so I don't like to stay on it for long) but my joint pain came back, so I am back on it for now.  I also went to a health fair at the Vitamin Shoppe, and they recommended this stuff called Cissus, which was on sale.  I am trying it, tentatively, but it seems to be giving me headaches.  So it might not be the best option for me. 

I still don't have any races planned.  It seems I am staying motivated just fine with my running, even without the races. This is interesting to me, as in over 10 years of running, I have never not raced.  I even raced when I was pregnant!  I miss it sometimes, but mostly, I feel fairly happy just to be running day in and day out.  There is a definitely a temptation to jump into a marathon this fall (with my current fitness level, I'm only 4 long runs away from a taper!), but it's probably not a great idea.  Hopefully I will continue to stay injury-free. 

Readers, did you ever rely on something that you thought you needed....only to find out that you were just fine in the end without it? 

Side by Side - Random Friday

1.  It didn't matter where we were.  Every time I took a picture of the twins, they were side by side, playing.  They really put their bucket of pirates to good use on our trip.  I am fascinated by how much their bond has deepened this summer.

2.  During our trip I passed through the territory of so many blogging friends.  I was disappointed that I didn't have time for any meet ups.  It's hard when you are covering so much distance in such a short amount of time.

3.  These pictures were taken at our campsite at Natural Bridge in Kentucky.  While it rained both of the nights we were there, our tent held strong and did not leak.  And -- even better -- the weather was nice during the day!  We really lucked out.

4.  While we were gone, my garden was completely overtaken by weeds.  Deluges of rain wiped out parts of it.  I came back and my rows of onions and potatoes had both completely disappeared.  My broccoli, cabbage, and brussel sprouts were demolished by bugs.  Aside from tomatoes, kale, beets, and carrots, my garden was pretty much a lost cause. 

5.  I had planned to start a new spot for some fall crops, but our tiller, which was in the shop for over a month, wasn't fixed in time.  I did manage to plant some kale, lettuce, and spinach.  I hope 2014 turns out to be a better gardening year for me.

Readers, do you have any fall garden plans? 

Linked with Nancy's Random Friday at A Rural Journal. 

Butternut Squash Chickpea Soup - A Healthy Crockpot Recipe

I like soup year-round, but with the cooler temps that come with fall I start craving it.  I've been making this soup for almost a year now, and it's quickly become one of my favorite healthier soup options.  I clipped it from the newspaper, and made a few modifications.  I especially love that it is crockpot friendly (although I have made it on the stovetop before too). 

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 - 2 1/2 lbs. butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
1 16 oz. can chickpeas, rinsed
1/2 tsp. coarse salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
5 cups water
2 chicken boullion cubes
2 tbsp. butter

In a slow cooker, combine onions, garlic, squash, tomatoes, chickpeas, salt, and pepper.  Add boullion and water.  Cover and cook on high 4 hours OR on low 8 hours until squash is very soft and falling apart.  Use a potato masher to further mush up chunks and get a thick soup consistency.  Add butter, serve hot.  Makes about 6 servings, for 175 calories per serving.

This soup goes wonderfully with a crusty loaf of bread and a fresh side salad.  Enjoy it!

Readers, what is your favorite soup?