Great Catch-up Week - and new Ancestor Wall

Last week was SUCH a nice week. We were home all week long - the first full week all summer that we've been home w/o major events going on. No weddings. No reunions. No trips to Salt Lake. There's nothing like an action-packed summer to make you appreciate a quiet week at home!

Ashton and Isaac (and Jared for part of the week) were at Scout Camp all week, having the time of their lives. So it was just me and the three younger kids for the most part. And it was so great to focus on just three people for a while (after focusing on about 40 or so for most of the summer at reunions, Retreats, etc.).

I helped the kids get a bunch of their summer goals checked off and got them back into a good routine of doing their daily must-do's. I cleaned out my totally overflowing email inbox and my heaped up mail and random paper pile on my desk plus caught up on some backlogged Power of Moms work. We finally got our poor old van cleaned inside and out (after about 6 road trips this summer, it was definitely time for a serious cleaning). The kids helped get the house cleaner than it's been all summer and we cleaned out their cubbies and mine in the closet (so many expired coupons, left-over school papers, etc). We had a great time catching up with and hanging out with neighbors, going for runs (me) and rollerblade and scooter rides (Eliza and the twins) around the neighborhood, running errands, going out to lunch, etc. We also made it to the Farmers' Market downtown and a free movie at the amphitheater down the street for the first time this summer.

And as a special surprise for Jared, the kids and I worked on a new Ancestor wall. We've had this one (below) for years featuring a bunch of my family's ancestor photos.

But I've had a hard time tracking down photos of Jared's ancestors so I've had a blank wall saved for their photos for ages. Thanks to the family reunion we had up in Idaho weekend before last (post about that coming soon) and my realization that I could simply take digital photos of the photos people brought, I was able to get lots of great photos for this blank wall. Here's the result (and I'll keep adding photos on up the stairs):

Close ups of some of my favorite photos from this wall:

This is Jared's dad (who passed away a few years ago) as a teenager on his family's farm that he inherited and loved so much.

Here's Jared's dad with his dad after a fishing trip. Fishing was one of Grandpa's favorite things to do.

Here's a similar photo to the one of the man in the field on the ancestor wall along with an explanation - pretty cool that Jared's grandfather's forward-thinking farming techniques were nationally-recognized and that photo was displayed at the Department of Agriculture in Washington DC.

Here's Jared's mom (on the right) with her brothers and cousins:

I love that these great ancestors are right there in our front hallways to watch over us and be part of our lives.

I've still got a to-do list that is LONG but now it's categorized and listed by priority and everything feels much more doable when my inbox on my desk isn't overflowing with papers and my cubbies are cleaned out in the closet and my email inbox is slimmed down. I've been on a good running schedule but I've been eating too liberally this summer - especially late at night. So I'm getting back on track this week. I know what works for me but I've made so many exceptions this summer that there's nothing but exceptions going on lately! So I'll state this here to keep myself accountable. I'm not going to eat anything other than fruits and vegetables after 8pm and I'm going to drink a glass of water before I ever eat anything and be sure to each at least 5 fruits and veggies each day.