Tag: Air quality

Somewhat clear skies

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We’re still under an air quality alert (because of the wildfire smoke), but today the atmosphere was much better than last Wednesday afternoon.

And the temps were a little cooler with a nice breeze.

We’ve been able to get out and enjoy the park again.

I just love visiting parks tucked away in neighborhoods near our house. The neighborhood parks feature a playground with paved walking paths good for walking and riding bikes or even skating.

One of my favorite features is how the walking paths go around the playground making it easier for us to keep an eye on the kids while we walk.

It feels good to see people out jogging, walking, riding bikes, and playing at the playground again.

Last week’s thick smoke made everything look like a ghost town because no one was out walking in the neighborhood or at the parks. Traffic was even lighter than usual.

I know the kids are thrilled to be back at the playground.

They’ve had the best time going to the park three days in a row. They asked me if we can go everyday. Lol 😅

Travis and I enjoy walking together while the kids play at the playground, so I think we just might make evening walks part of our nightly routine! ☺️

💜 XO

Happy Friday

Three things to reflect on in honor of September 11th.

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Air quality

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It felt eerie seeing the swings empty at the park today. Usually, this park is bustling with families playing at the splash pad and playground, but not today.

With the wildfires happening in Minnesota and Canada, our state’s air quality is unfortunately considered unhealthy right now.

We spent all day inside the house. I only went outside for about 15 minutes to water a few plants in the garden.

We still went to Thursday evening Mass, and we made sure to wear face masks when we were outside.

(After Mass, we stopped by the park real quick so I could snap a few photos of the smoky skies.)

My older daughter Mj was very kind and stopped by after she got off work to bring us these face masks.

Zaya and I decorated ours with fun stickers. 😊

Even the traffic in the evening wasn’t as busy as it usually is on the weekdays. It was almost like a ghost town.

Zaya (5) asked me if tomorrow we’ll be able to go back to the pool. I explained to her, unfortunately, we won’t be able to play outside just yet, but we’ll do our best and find something fun to do indoors.

Praying for everyone directly affected by the wildfires. 🙏🏽

💜 XO

Happy Friday!

Four fun things for Friday, including a new art exhibit I’m excited to see.

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Pool day ☀️

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It was another hot day, so the kids and I spent some time at the pool today. The temps reached 94°F, but i think the weather app said it felt like 102°F! 🥵

I’ll be honest—for most of the summer, I kept putting off going to the pool because I don’t particularly like wearing a bathing suit. 🫤

But once we got in the pool and started swimming around, I really started to enjoy myself! 😄🏊‍♀️

It made me realize I need to just relax and take a break sometimes, stop being so hard on myself.

I mean, it is summer after all. Lol ☀️😊

Mj (24), my oldest daughter stopped by to hangout with us at the pool after she got off from work.

She has her own apartment in our neighborhood—just three minutes walking distance from our house.

It’s nice having my daughter live in the same neighborhood as me. I really enjoy having her live so close by to us.

I’m so glad we went to the pool around 1 p.m. and hung out for a couple of hours because the weather unexpectedly got bad later in the day.

All of a sudden, around 6 p.m. the air quality became hazy and unhealthy because of the wildfires in Canada. 😲 (We live about 40 minutes from the Canadian border.)

The atmosphere became very smoky outside as if the entire neighborhood had finished shooting off fireworks. You could even smell the burning wood!

I’m keeping Canada and all U.S. states affected by these wildfires in my prayers! 🙏🏽

💜 XO