outside time Archives

2023 Recap: 1000 Hours Outside Challenge

January 19, 2024 by Rachel

Alright, late on the recap but I wanted to write down a quick synopsis on how our outside time looked in 2023. We totalled 642 hours outside. There were 56 days where we didn’t go outside at all. I’m trying to view these numbers with as little judgment on myself as possible, and allowing the excuses of: a rough year of weather, constant pregnancy illness, a literal province wide order to not spend time outside etc, to account for the lack of hours I felt we got. Hopefully this means we can EASILY beat those numbers this year. Our worst month was January with just under 16 hours (yikes but also that looks to be about all we’ll get this year too haha) and our best was August with 98 hours. So close to 100! I think a sub goal this year will be to have two months with plus 100 hours.

An Afternoon Trip to Point Pleasant Park

January 18, 2024November 16, 2023 by Rachel

We had a great afternoon this past Saturday with our friends at Point Pleasant Park in Halifax. After a bit of a cold got the boys of the household down for a few days and what I thought was (going to develop into) mastitis knocked me out for 24 hours, we were desperate to get out of the house and refresh ourselves with a social visit and some outside time with a few of our favourite people.

Adults and children entering Point Pleasant Park in Halifax, NS

Fall Farm Visits

February 15, 2024October 30, 2023 by Rachel

Who doesn’t love a few trips to the local farms this time of year? Despite being 40 weeks pregnant, I managed to attend ONE of the classic fall activities – pumpkin picking – despite my reluctance to move from my bed. After birth, we loaded up the mini van and managed another short visit to a different farm with all three kiddos for some outdoor time. Here’s what we got up to for some fall activities in the Annapolis Valley.

kid in pumpkin patch at spurr brother farms

… and then there were three.

January 18, 2024October 26, 2023 by Rachel

Baby Girl is 3 weeks old! We have been adjusting to our new routine, although things are about to get mixed up again as my mom heads back to Ontario this weekend. She has been staying with us this past 6 weeks to help out and really been a lifesaver. She arrived about two weeks before baby girl was born – of course we anticipated the baby’s arrival much earlier, but as you know, she tricked us all by being my longest pregnancy by about 6 days.

I discovered a few days ago that she loves our wrap. Now that I’m able to walk more, it’s been nice to be able to wear her and push BB2 in the single stroller. Our double stroller isn’t my favourite and if BG eventually becomes content with stroller rides I’d like to possibly upgrade. But for now, I am happy to keep her close and cozy. We have had a few random days of nice-ish weather so I am taking every opportunity to be outside. I must admit our 1000 hours has taken a downward dive this month but that’s fine. I am excited to try again next and hopefully beat this years total.

Turning Two and Starting School

March 26, 2024September 9, 2023 by Rachel

Already a week into September, and got through some of our major milestones! I can’t believe we are in (what is most likely) New Baby Month. I haven’t even had a chance to truly process birthing for a third time, as I have been mentally preparing for having a two year old and a child in school! Now that the first week of September is behind us, I can begin to slow down, and hopefully go full nesting mode in prep for B3. Before we get too far ahead, I wanted to recap our August outdoor time! We had our best month yet, at 99 hours outside.

a screenshot of the month of august in the 1000 hours outside app

We have already hit out 500 hours this first week into September. I had no real goals, except to see how close we could make it to 1k. I plan on continuing to track into next year, so at least I will have a year of data to compare. I’m grateful that BB1’s school schedule allows them 2 hours of outside time a day, regardless of weather, so its easy for us to rack up another hour at home, especially since it takes us a good 10 minutes to walk to the bus stop. (It’s very close, I am just very slow). Speaking OF –

Tackling Outside Time with Toddlers: 1000 Hours Outside Challenge

November 24, 2023August 14, 2023 by Rachel

As if my daily life of raising two toddlers 3 & under while pregnant with a third isn’t challenging enough, I also decided to take it upon myself to attain a nearly impossible goal of spending as much time outside as possible – specifically: spend 1000 hours outside in a single calendar year. This was prompted by the 1000 Hours Outside Instagram page, which I learned about from my sister-in-law. The idea is that you balance screen time with outdoor time. According to the 1000 Hours Outside website, the average American child spends 1,200 hours in front of a screen. That’s over 3 hours a day. Comparitvely, kids spend only 4-7 minutes playing outside a day. Now, we aren’t a screen free family, but I will admit that I fear that some of the wonder of childhood can get lost between all the screens we have access to. This topic is probably almost as dividing as sleep training, and not an issue I wish to debate with other parents. I think we all do what works for us and try to do what’s best for our child(ren). But I personally love the outdoors, and find my children are better behaved outside (and I worry less about messes, things breaking, etc) and want to raise the boys with the same love for camping, hiking, and general exploring that my partner and I have. So, I took upon this rather challenging goal.