Fall Festivus

A cute little story before the original post. Brody woke up last Wed and told us it was Mew's Birthday. Mew is his bunny, I know-weird name for a bunny. Brody loves Mew SO much. He tells me all the time how much he loves his bunny and wants to keep him forever. I thought it was so cute that he wanted Mew to have a special day, just like the rest of us. We sang to him and got him a carrot cake to celebrate his birthday. The funny part was Brody couldn't decide how old he was. First it was 2, then 5, then 26 and 15. Was he playing the lotto or having a Birthday? Brody is such a sweet boy and great friend to Mew!
OKAY-BACK TO FALL STUFF
Our weekend was full of Fall Fun! On Friday Whitney & I took the boys to a local Cider Mill. It's not too far, but out in the country. It was so fun to see all the colorful leaves as we drove. Once we got there we toured around a little and found the important stop, What Brody had waited the whole time for-Donuts. In addition to making their own Apple Cider, they also make apple cider donuts. Brody was so excited-daddy has taken him to krispy kreme many times- so he new this was a treat.
Trey and Brody- "time to make the donuts"

Enjoying our treats with Whitney and her boys- Trey & Parks
This was before the babies had a meltdown and everything you now see on the table ends up on the floor-SMILE!

After our snack we went outside to play. It was pretty chilly so we opted not to do the corn maze. Besides they boys were having lots of fun running around the pumpkins and hay. Brody would jump from hay bale to hay bale and Tate was just climbing all over. It was hard to keep up with them. I tried to get some good shots of them playing, but they were having too much fun to pause and look at me. Brody really wanted to take a pumpkin home, but there was NO WAY I was going to juggle these two busy boys and their pumpkins alone. I promised him we'd go get some with Daddy.
Brody jumping off a hay bale
Not all moments are picture perfect, but I really wanted one of us all together-they didn't!
Our little country bumpkin
On Saturday I was able to talk Greg into going to a Pumpkin Patch. We went to a local gardening center. They had gone all out. Usually they pop popcorn and let you drive around their property in golf carts, but for the Pumpkin Patch they added a hay ride, Old fashion Fire Truck or a vintage Army Car to drive out in. What do you think my boys picked? Yup- The fire truck. Once they heard the siren they both turned and were in awe! When we got out to the patch we saw like a gazillion pumpkins all over the place. There was a cute little house for the boys to play in and a HUGE tractor to look at. The best part was we were early enough to beat the crowds, they're were only two other families there. It was so fun and beautiful. To think- growing up I though a neat pumpkin patch was one on a 7-11 street corner!

Hey Nonnie Nonnie

I have to admit I'm a little vain and not ready to bump my 1/2 marathon post yet, but I know I'll have to sooner or later. Plus I do have to give credit to my Mom for all she did while she was here so here goes..... This past week my Mom, Debbie or Nonnie as she's known to her grand kids came for a visit. We packed a lot of fun in a few days. Our first hot spot was the T-Rex restaurant where Brody liked to dig and explore. We've still never eaten there, but we love to play. This is at the Legends shopping center and outside in the courtyard they had a race car on display. He was one of lightning's friends Brody told us. The next day was rainy and way too wet to play outdoors. We just shopped around that day and played games inside.
Thursday was beautiful again and a perfect day to introduce Nonnie to Deana Rose Farmstead. The boys enjoyed riding tractors, feeding goats and even milking a cow! It wasn't real, just in case you were worried. Friday was another gorgeous day perfect for a walk on my favorite running trail. Now you might see what I mean. The leaves are just starting to turn now. We had a picnic and played at the park.
That evening was a local Halloween Party. It was crazy crowded and with my race the next day, We decided not to stay too long. Brody & Tate pretended to drive a fire truck and bounced around a little. They were happy.

Saturday was the big race and Mom was a great supporter. I know it was hard for her to being cheering from the sidelines and not running with me. We ran a 10K together this summer and had so much fun. It didn't work out for the 1/2 marathon, but we're planning to do one next year. I know my love of exercise has come form her great example. I remember being a chubby little girl and going to work out with her early in the mornings. Although I didn't love it then it set a precedence for the rest of my life and now is a part of my day I look forward to. I also love that as much as she tries to be a food snob, she loves ice cream almost as much as I do. I introduced her to my FAVORITE treat here, FOOS frozen custard. Oh, It's worth the trip to come visit to get some foos. "I pity the foo who doesn't get foos"!- They have a sign at their store that says something like that. I wish I could take credit. Anyways, back to Mom. She really stepped up and helped me a ton while Greg was out of town. I am so glad that she came and even though I don't want to go to Utah for Thanksgiving- sorry Mom, It's just not going to happen- I love you and can't wait to play again soon.

Going the Distance

I DID IT! I DID IT! I can't believe I really did it! Yesterday while most of the world was still sleeping, as would be normal for a Saturday morning, Kirsten and I woke up at 5 am to go run a 1/2 MARATHON! The race started at 7:00 and we ran for about 2.5 hours! We didn't stop, not once, not till the finish line! It was amazing! All 13 miles we ran along enjoying the beauty of downtown KC, the Plaza and lots of parks. Don't get me wrong it was hilly & hard work, but I was determined to enjoy every moment! We actually started a few mins late (last min bathroom break with a super long line). So I don't know my time yet. We had chip timers on our shoes that activated once we crossed the start line and ended crossing the finish line, so I will know for sure how long it took. I don't even care, I am just so proud that we did it and we ran the whole time. One benefit of starting late was the main crowd was on it's way. We didn't have that "finding your pace" thing, as a result no one passed us! We passed lots of people, but we were never passed. I wouldn't be good if you're trying to win, but it was great for the self esteem. There were bands playing along the route and lots of supporters to cheer us on.


I almost didn't post these, let's be honest I'm not the most graceful runner, but I'm so happy I even did it that I don't even care! Here's me almost to the finish line. I really wasn't in this to be competitive, but I saw another girl out of the corner of my eye who would just barely beat me. I couldn't let that happen, especially after Kirsten got me by 15 secs. I sprinted for the finish and I did cross before her, silly.

It was such an adrenaline rush. I still can't believe it's over. I put it right up there with getting married and having my boys. I've always wanted to run a half marathon, but didn't know if I ever would. Now I can't wait to do my next one, we're thinking spring. I have an even greater respect for full marathon runners. I don't know if I'll ever get there. It still seems so out of reach. I'm feeling it today, I can't imagine doubling the distance, WOW! Maybe with a few more 1/2s under my belt I might get crazy enough. Remember, I'm not really a runner....well, I guess I am now!

Mom & us ( Tate was playing at a friends, he wouldn't have done well waiting) Brody liked it because the finish line was right at Union Station. He got to see lots of trains.
We survived!!! We think we did about an 11 minuet mile and we are happy with that!
Whitney came to cheer us on. She was about a quarter mile from the finish line with a sign yelling for us. I saw this cute girl waving at me, but I was so in the zone it took me a minuet to realize it was her and she was cheering for us! It made me realize how close we were and I almost started to cry.

The best surprise of the whole thing was Greg. He was scheduled to be out of town on a business trip. I was SO BUMMED when I found out he wouldn't be back in time for my race. He tried to change his flight, but couldn't. He left for Florida on Wed as planned. It just so happened that my Mom was in town. I'm so grateful for her help, otherwise I don't know how I still could have done it. Anyway, he called late Friday night to wish me luck and to say he was sorry he would miss it. About an hour later... almost midnight, ( I tried to go to bed early, I couldn't sleep. All I could think about was the race and how I needed sleep. I'm sure you all have had nights like that."If I fall asleep NOW I'll still get 5 hours, now 4...") So now it's almost midnight, I'm stressing about not being asleep yet and I hear a scary sound outside our window. We're on the second story and we have a balcony outside. I'm afraid to look out and see some maniac standing there. I flip on the light, but it still sounds like someone is trying to break in. I run to the guest room to get my Mom and we both go downstairs to the living room. I throw on those lights and cautiously look out. Yup, I was right, a maniac. It's GREG, throwing acorns at our window! He surprised me and left early. He knew who much it meant to me to have him there. As if that weren't enough he'd gotten he flowers too. Ahh!
I didn't get much sleep at all. After that excitement I could hardly calm down. And poor Greg was so worn out he just crashed, I was jealous. That made sleeping for me even more difficult. I didn't care though. When I got tired during the race I pictured the crazy guy outside my window and it just made me laugh!

It was seriuosly so fun and I'm so excited to do it again!

BITTEN

Here is Melessa Heath, Kirsten Hobbs, Me & Whitney Anderson getting everything ready before the party
This was SO much fun. Back in August I started the twilight series by Stephanie Meyer. I loved the books so much and would tell my friends about them, they thought I was exaggerating how great they were. Finally Kirsten read them and she was on board with my infatuation. We decided to start a book club and have these books be our first meeting. We sent out official invites titled "Bitten" . Last night we had our meeting at Kirsten's house. It was so great. We had candles everywhere, Christmas lights (just like Alice used) and lots of yummy treats. I can't describe the detail, but needless to say we went a little overboard.
back-Holly, Angela,Me, Whitney,Melessa Front-Mandy, Mari, Jessica & Susan

Everyone was so exctied and showed up on time, that's rare. We started our conversing around 9 and didn't finish till almost MIDNIGHT! And even then we could have kept going! It was so great to sit around, kid-less and visit about something we loved... And everyone did love it! We shared different ideas on what will happen next. Dose anyone know for sure how many books are left in the series?
Melessa & I with our masterpiece

I even decided to make CDs as party favors. I started with the playlists Stephanie Meyer has on her website, but I didn't like all the songs (sorry). I spent WAY to much time on these things over the past two months, but I am so excited at how well they turned out! I was able to acquire to assistance of the "official party planner", Melessa Heath (refer to cowgirl birthday post) to make the labels & covers to the CDs. As you can see she did an AMAZING job! They turned out beautifully! Here are playlists for the CDs.

INTOXICATED

A CLEAN BREAK
**This is missing How Long is too Long by The Get up KIds (after To make you feel my love)

I AM SWITERLAND
**This is missing If it were up to me by Rooney (after Belief)
& I think I love you by Less than Jake (after The Boy who blocked his own shot)**

I don't know if we'll get this crazy over any of our other books. I can't imagine we will. This was just perfect one to be over-the-top with. I'm sad to see it end. Dose this mean I have to move on now? No more dreaming of Edward? Oh well, I guess it's for the best. Our next meeting will be in December where we'll be discussing, The Count of monte Cristo. I can't wait!