The Saturday 7

1. Justin made it home safely from Wyoming. They had a great trip. The weather was decent, it was a good group, and they all stayed safe. He truly loves that kind of thing . . . and I can't think of a single redeeming quality to it. Absolutely nothing about it appeals to me! Sure, the views are pretty, but are they really worth the physical exertion, eating freeze dried meals, pooping in the woods, and being eaten alive by insects/possibly bears? Hard pass. Glad he enjoyed it, but my philosophy runs more along these lines . . .

Here are some of the pictures from the trip. I'll admit they're beautiful. But I can enjoy them from my couch. 😁😂

We were all happy to have him home finally!

Looking at pictures of the trip.

2. We had our second to last CSFD (Cousins' Summer Fun Day) this week: the long-awaited Lewis Farms. We all bought tickets in May when they were running a special, but we've been waiting for the weather to cool down enough to be bearable. It finally worked out this week. Temps were in the 60s in the morning and only climbed to about 80 in the afternoon. Still hot after 5 hours of walking around outside, but much easier to handle than typical summer weather. Alas, Lucy still wouldn't come. She despises being hot and she doesn't really like animals. She enjoyed 6 hours of peace and quiet at home while the rest of us explored the farm. Prepare yourself for picture palooza . . .

We must've been one of the first ones to feed the birds that day because they were out of control. They swarmed us so much and polished off those feed sticks in seconds.

Thea thought the deer were hilarious

An extremely unflattering/hilarious pic of Levi, Nash, and Lena

Blue eyed babes

Infamous group pic fail

Lena's reaction to the donkey . . .

Levi's reaction. The donkey was quite the poser.

Levi is terrified of his bike with training wheels at home, but he was obsessed with this bike. He came back to this exhibit over and over again.

Miss Photogenic

Not so photogenic me, uncooperative Casper, Side-Eye Thea

3. I complained last week about my back pain, and I was worried about being on my feet for a long period of time at Lewis, so I wore my expensive Nike Cloud Foam shoes, didn't carry a heavy backpack, sat down every chance I could, and was still in agony by the end of the day. Actually I've been in agony since then. The only thing that could possibly have triggered this flare-up is walking on the treadmill. So apparently my core isn't strong enough to handle that yet. I'm trying to help you, stupid core!! I just started following a new post-partum core repair lady on Instagram (thanks for the recommendation, Missy!). I think I'm going to have to start with her exercises to repair the damage three pregnancies have done before I can even start thinking about exercising for weight loss. 🤦 I'm getting very nervous about functioning at work in two weeks, though, so I think I'm going to rest as much as I can between now and then. Hopefully that will help the awful pain I've been having, and then I can ease into the core exercises after a couple weeks of work.

Today, I took the girls school shopping and I was literally hunched over the cart at Walmart gritting my teeth because my back hurt so bad. I've noticed if I push myself too far the pain spreads up into my ribs and around into my stomach/hips/pelvic girdle. Am I 36 or 86? Between the back pain and the bunions I'm not sure . . .

Also, I know I should go to the chiropractor, but I can't afford it right now, so I'll just suffer through the pain like the martyr I am.

My theme song.

4. We're going camping next weekend (in a cabin, with a heated pool) and Lena has been obsessed with making money to spend in the candy store. She asks me every day for chores to do, which has worked out really well with this back pain issue. Having kids is finally paying off. Although I wouldn't be bed-ridden with said back pain without them, so . . . Kidding! Kidding! They are delightful creations who bring me joy wrapped in diastasis recti.

5. The only book I read this week was The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. I'm on the hunt for a good read aloud for my library classes when I get back to school. Ivan was a sweet story, but a little on the graphic side. (Take this quote for instance, "We were clinging to my mother, my sister and I, when the humans killed her. They shot my father next. Then they chopped off their hands, their feet, their heads.") 😳 I think I'll pass on it for the read-aloud. I'm also not sure, yet, which grades I'll have, which will factor into my decisions. I'm hoping to find out soon and start making plans!

6. That's all I've got for today. Enjoy these last few pics and memes: