Fall Fun + How to Play Predators vs Prey

Hiii! How are you guys doing? I hope your weekend was a nice combination of fun and relaxing!

Our weekend kicked off with a fall festival on Friday night. I took Rhett and Ryder to the festival while Ryan took Chase to his soccer game so it was a divide and conquer kind of evening. (The festival is geared toward younger kids, so Chase said he preferred to go to his soccer game — his best friend is on the same team!) I had to laugh when I came out into the garage after filling water bottles and grabbing a few last minute things only to find Rhett and Ryder buckled into the front seats of my car pretending to be me.

To be honest, I think they nailed it… coffee cup and all.

Saturday

On Saturday morning, Ryan and I were up around 6 a.m. (neither of us seem to have the ability to sleep in) and kicked off the day with a workout. My “cool down” of sorts was taking myself through my physical therapy exercises and stretches but man oh man those things take forever! They’re not difficult (though they definitely can burn!) but the whole list of exercises can take 30+ minutes which feels like the length of another workout to me. Someone on Instagram gave me the idea to incorporate them into the rest breaks of my workouts and I love this idea and hope this might help them feel less time consuming. I did manage to watch the first episode of the second season of Nobody Wants This on Netflix while doing the exercises though so that felt like a little treat!

After our workouts, we ate breakfast with the boys, showered and headed out for Chase’s second soccer game in two days. Chase doesn’t usually have a game on Saturdays but this one was a make up from a canceled game earlier in the season so we bundled up and made our way to the fields.

(Sweatshirt: aerie / Pants: Ruti — code PBFINGERS15 saves 15% / Vest: Amazon / Sneakers: Adidas / Bag: Clare V.) 

Fall has officially arrived in North Carolina and this means it will be quite chilly in the mornings (hats, jackets, etc.) but we’ll be down to sweatshirts and maybe even tees in the mid-afternoon.

(I got the above blanket on clearance at Target to leave in my trunk and it’s been great so far. One side is a water resistant material nothing sticks to so it’s great for laying down on grass/turf and the opposite side is a cozy plaid material.) 

Since Chase’s game ended around lunchtime, I packed lunches for our crew and we ate at the fields before making our way to some trails for our next adventure. We headed out on a short hike — almost 3 miles — and Rhett walked the whole thing!

It felt so wonderful to be outside enjoying the crisp fall air! We took our time on the hike and the highlight for everyone was the multiple rounds of predators vs prey we played along the trail.

Ryan learned this game in forestry camp as a kid and taught it two our crew. It’s an absolute blast and a great way to make a hike a little more exciting for kids.

How to Play Predators vs Prey

Here’s a little rundown on how to play Predators vs Prey:

• One person is the predator and choses a code word. Everyone else is the prey. The predator tells the group their code word (it can be something silly or something tricky they try to sneakily weave into conversation).
• The predator says the code word at any time they choose (the unexpected part of this makes it really fun)! Once they say the code word, the predator closes their eyes and everyone else (the “prey”), has 10 seconds to run off and hide in the forest.
• The predator then opens their eyes and tries to spot the prey from where they are standing. (This part is SO fun because when you’re the predator it’s wild to open your eyes and feel like you’re alone in super-quiet forest.) The predator may turn around in a circle but they cannot leave their specific spot to try to spot the prey. If they think they see someone they must say what they see (i.e. “I see the top of Ryder’s orange hoodie behind a large tree”) and then the person they identified must come out from their spot. (The predator may know where people are based on the noises they heard while counting but unless they can SEE part of the prey, that person is safe!)
• If the predator doesn’t see anyone or once they’ve spotted the only people they can see, they close their eyes again and count to 10 again. The remaining prey must come 5 steps closer to the predator. (This usually looks like the prey running from one large tree to the next or hiding behind the next closest large fallen log, etc. Ryan once quickly buried himself in a large pile of leaves, too!)
• The game then repeats itself as the predator opens their eyes and tries to spot the prey.
• The game continues until one person remains OR until the first “prey” person is close enough to the predator to walk 5 steps and touch the predator while they’re counting from the prey’s super close hiding spot. This person then becomes the next predator.

Our family hike ended on a bit of a dramatic note when Ryan lost his keys but thankfully he had a solid idea of where they fell out of his sweatshirt during our second round of predators vs prey. The boys and I waited at the car while he jogged 1/2 mile back to the spot and fortunately found his keys on top of some leaves behind a log.

We made our way home after a quick stop at Publix for some food and then hung out in the backyard and on the dock until it was time for baths/showers/jammies.

We rounded out our Saturday with family movie night. We have been super into streaming old episodes of American’s Funniest Videos to watch together. A classic!

Sunday

Sunday morning everyone was up before the sun and I spent the beginning of the day working while Ryan did a workout and the boys played together. Eventually we all came together for breakfast.

I whipped up a batch of German pancakes which is forever a family favorite in our house. Once our bellies were full, we got dressed and made our way to church for the morning service.

(Sweater: American Eagle / Jeans: Target / Booties: Margaux / Bag: Clare V.) 

After church, we drove to some local trails for some bike riding for the big kids, dirt bike riding for Rhett and a walk for me and Ryan.

Ryan and I walked behind the boys and chatted the whole way (the boys know to stop periodically to wait for us to catch up) and we agreed this is one little perk of the boys getting older. For so long decent conversation when the boys were awake felt like a pipe dream (and it still definitely does quite often!) but we have little moments like this slowly popping up more and more. I just wanted to share this little bit of encouragement to anyone out there with young kids who might feel like a decent conversation with your partner (or any adult) is impossible when the kids are awake. It returns again faster than you think it will, I promise you.

After our outside time, we made our way back home for lunch and set up the Skylight calendar I recently ordered for our family. I’ve been a paper calendar girl through and through for years but it’s getting increasingly challenging to be paper only when we have so many people in our family and so many schedules to consider. It’s my hope this calendar will serve as a family hub for all of our family’s appointments and commitments and also function as a place to keep the boys’ daily cores/tasks visible for them to check off as they work through them every day. (Also, I’m hoping this can eliminate the texts that fly back and forth from me and Ryan checking in on schedule stuff all the time.)

I watched a YouTube video all about the calendar before pulling the trigger and Chase happened to walk into the room when I was watching it last week. He ended up watching the whole video with me and was really into the kids’ tasks section of the calendar. (He’s super motivated by checklists and that kind of thing.) Chase was actually the one who was most excited to set up our new calendar and got to work on it while I made lunches.

Set up was easy and I already love the color-coded calendar, the task lists and the simplicity of everything. I’ll report back after we’ve actually had a chance to really put this thing to use but I am hopeful it will be a valuable resource for our family.

After lunch and calendar set up, it was time for the boys to put on their Halloween costumes for Rhett’s preschool’s annual Trunk or Treat event!

We absolutely adore our preschool and I cannot tell you how sad I will be when we’re officially done with the preschool years at this school next year. This wonderful place has been a staple in our lives for 9+ years! Ryan and I said we may have to return and decorate our own trunk for the next generation of preschoolers every year because we won’t be ready to leave.

The boys had a blast collecting candy, bouncing the bounce houses and playing with friends and it was such a great way to round out the weekend.

Lots of candy sorting and trading occurred when we got back home and after a pizza dinner and the usual bedtime routine, we were all more than ready for sleep!

Plans for the week ahead are all over the place and include a combination of the usual obligations plus some fun Halloween-y things. I hope you all have a fantastic week and really appreciate you making my blog a part of your day today. Have a great Monday!!