Christmas Preparations...

As the Man with the Yellow Hat says, sometimes the Christmas preparations and the anticipation are just as good as Christmas itself. Family, friends and traditions are what make Christmas preparations extra special. This year included a trip to Chicago with Namma and Baba to meet Santa and have lunch in the Walnut Room, our annual visit to see the lights at Tilles Park (with special guest, Uncle JDanny-the-person), Breakfast with Santa and Ursuline with our cousins, just to name a few :-) I think it's safe to say the kids enjoyed all of our Christmas preparations!

Happy Halloween!

To go along with my last post, there's also something a little wrong about trick or treating while sweating. Parents try to come up with costumes that will keep their kiddos warm when they're trick-or-treating in the cold evening weather. This year, however, it seemed people were trying to make last minute changes to costumes that would keep their kiddos cool. As if we don't have enough to worry about :-P

Lill wanted to be Curious George. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't really proud my 3 yo daughter didn't insist on being a princess. We ensured she wouldn't change her mind as the holiday neared by coming up with the idea that Corey would bet the Man with the Yellow Hat. Lill was thrilled!

Ray didn't really have an opinion, or at least couldn't communicate it to us. And he's at that weird age where wearing an actual costume with uncomfortable fabrics, head pieces, etc. does not go over well. So when my mom said at one point, "he looks like Dennis the Menace", his Halloween costume was determined. He didn't even realize he was dressed up but his costume was hilarious and all too perfect. If you know him, you understand! Let's just say he's lucky he's cute!

Oh, and one of my high school ballet costumes came in handy at the last minute

Lill in her preschool parade!

Summer part 2

I love fall. And I always look forward to it's arrival. This year, however, it seemed that summer just wouldn't die. While I can't really complain about the warmer temps, there's just something wrong about apple picking or riding a hayride in shorts while sweating...

Our visitors from the desert!

The weekend of the half marathon, our dear friends, the Stones, came in town from Arizona. They arrived Wednesday night and we spent 4 straight days soaking in as much fun as possible. They have an adorable sweet 4 year old, Nicolas, and then Will who is a couple of months younger than Ray that we had yet to meet! The kids played, the adults ate and drank really well, and we even fit in the pumpkin patch! We hope to visit them in AZ soon but also look forward to their next visit to the Lou.

Run, Mom, Run!

In July, I couldn't run to the corner without needing to catch my breath. But, a night out with friends and a few cocktails later, I had the great idea to agree to run a half marathon with friends. The morning after Corey looked at me, "you're not really going to do that are you?" But, I gave my word. And I wasn't going to just give up without even trying. I figured I'd start the training, see how it goes and then decide if I'd actually officially sign up. So, I googled "couch to half marathon training plan" and the rest is history. It's amazing how a day-by-day schedule can keep you motivated. I can't say I've kept up with the running after the fact but I know that I can do it if I put in the time and effort and I hope to keep up running (shorter distances, of course!) in the future! By the way, I have an enormous amount of respect for those that run full marathons. They're also slightly crazy ;-)

A few weeks before, I took the kids to run our town's 5K. Lill was so proud to participate in her own race!

Our third runner found out she was pregnant shortly after we signed up for the race.
She made a game-time decision to run the 10K and cheered us on at mile 11!
(Hence why she's not pictured here with us at the finish line)

My happy place

All the mess, stress and hair pulling aside, these two are just the BEST.

Tour de Lafayette

Each Labor Day weekend, our dear friends invite us to their house to watch the Tour de Lafayette bike races which go right by their front yard. They have the most adorable neighborhood, right in the city, with some very fun and welcoming neighbors. It's always one of my favorite events (in addition to their wine tasting event and pig roast :-) ).

This was the first year the kids got into it and I have a feeling it'll be a favorite event of theirs in the future as well.