"Other Stuff"

So since you guys mostly hear about our running/fitness lives here, I thought I would share with you some of the "other stuff" that goes on. Believe it or not, while running and working out are key ingredients of our lives, there are a ton of other ingredients that are key, too.
So starting with last weekend till today, here is a glimps into some of the "other stuff" that went on -
Saturday mornings 99.9% of the time involve going out in service. It is very rare that this does not happen, and when it doesn't happen for one reason or another, Emma lets us know that it is not ok to skip service. Even when we are out of town (this is usually the only reason we aren't out in service) like for the last marathon, it will occur to her at some random time that we didn't' go out, and we hear about it.
Service usually involves Bubba getting his cupcake, either carrot or red velvet, and treats all around.
Saturday we had planned on doing a hike after service, but remembered there was a work party at the Hall, and the kids LOVE work parties, so that is where we spent a few hours after service. Then, we used our last 5 free movie tickets taking the kids to see a movie that they really wanted to see. They loved it, we didn't. Saturday nights we usually have the kids in bed by 7 and then Brian and I study for Sundays meeting, which we have at 1 pm.
Monday Sophie had her first BIG project due. She did a pressed leaf collection. She collected, pressed, organized them into groups, designed the page layouts, wrote a summary of what she learned, and made a front and back cover. This took a few weeks, and a lot of help, but the final result was really special! Mondays are also my cleaning day, I tend to clean everyday, but Monday is my day to get the house put back together after the weekend. We also did Family study Monday night this week. We usually do it Thursday night, but we are behind a week, so we added a Monday night Family Study to this week. Afterwards, we roasted marshmallows in the fireplace. This was our first fire of the year. We don't' have many fires as wood is so expensive, $5 a bundle and a bundle is good for maybe 2 fires, so this was a big treat for the kids!
Tuesday was a lap at the res w/a friend, then studying for meeting. I love my Tuesdays, that is my normal study day. Nothing better than laying everything out on the table, sitting down with a cup of coffee, and just studying. I don't put a time limit on myself, sometimes its an hour, sometimes it's 3. Just depends. I usually try to start getting myself ready for meeting between 1 and 2 pm. This is because I pick the girls up at 2:45, then do home work with them until 4, then make dinner, then get them ready for meeting and we leave by 7.
Wednesdays I spend at school. I start in Emma's room from 8 - 9, then Sophie's room from 9 - 12:30. Bubba comes with me. This week the 3rd graders had a Sports A Thon, so I started off in Sophie's room, and then ran the track station for the 3rd graders. This involved doing stretches, jumping jacks, and then running laps with groups from all 3 3rd grade classes. Bubba mostly hung out with the soccer players from DVC who ran the obstacle course. The kids get out at 12:30 every Wednesday, so I try to make that our 1 nap day a week, and if I can get everyone down by 1, they will sleep until 4:30 when Brian gets home. But, this week Em had her first Oral Book Report due, so we spent all afternoon working on finding pictures and objects and writing a summary, ect...I wanted her to work on it as much as she could on Wed as that would be her largest chunk of time to spend working on it this week.
Thursday was the girls Big Buddy Party. The parents took great measures to make sure there was nothing Holidayish about the party, since both Em and Sophie's class were participating. The usual Thanksgiving party was morphed into a Big Buddy Feast. Each family brought their favorite food and the classes came and ate lunch. Em's class is Big Buddies to Sophie's class, so the girls get to do fun things together every other week. Thursday morning was spent making a large amount of Taquitos, and serving up spoonfuls of mashed potatoes, orange chicken, weenies in bbq sauce, and various pasta dishes to 60+ kids. The food was pretty repulsive at 11 in the morning to me, hard to smell it even, but the kids came back for seconds, so there ya go.
Today, Friday, Emma's report was due, her first book report, and first oral presentation. I don't remember doing anything like that in 3rd grade! It was also Disney Day, so there was some time spent getting the girls hair into Mickey Ears.
Aside from this stuff, there of course was copious amounts of laundry, dishes, 10 lunches made and packed, meals planned and executed, errands run, ect. I also raked the yard twice. Once was to make a pile for the kids to play in, and then again today to get all the leaves up before the rain hits this evening.
So, there you have it. One weeks worth of a glimps into the "other stuff" that goes on in our lives. If you ever wonder if we have a life outside of running and working out, I assure you we do. It is crazy, busy, exhausting, and very full....and I love every second of it and wouldn't trade it for anything!