Running Tradition

Traditions...its what Thanksgiving is all about. After all, there is no other day that I even allow green bean casserole on my dinner table, but I wouldn't do without it on the fourth Thursday of November.

So a big tradition in our family is running on Thanksgiving morning. I first ran the Thanksgiving Half marathon when I was in high school and have either run it or volunteered at the start line almost every year since.

Things change and traditions change...This year we decided to pass the torch to the next generation. (Yes, I know I'm a bit young to pass torches, but I did it anyway. I ran with Farley in my parent's neighborhood, so I also earned my turkey even if I did not earn a shirt.)

We shared with our little runners all of the traditions of race morning (except the 4AM wake up call).

Here they are patiently waiting for the race to start, as we arrived way too early.

A little warm up jog...


And stretching, of course...


Andrew even managed a smile as he stretched.


And, of course, lying down in the middle of the road as we waited for the race.


Andrew and Amanda ran the "Gravy Gallop," a 50 yard dash. They ran it by age groups. Here is Andrew's start.


You can barely see little Amanda in the center of the picture, just to the left of the lady in the blue sweatshirt. She galloped at full speed. She was so fast that my camera didn't have time to recover before she sped past me.

Scott ran the "Mashed Potato Mile."

The best part of any race is the post-race snack.


And the post race water.


You can see that everyone received a medal because they ran with smiles on their faces. :)

leaves

The kids and I had a great time raking leaves yesterday afternoon. The huge oaks in our neighbor's yard started dropping their leaves last week and our driveway was full. I raked the piles to the center of the driveway and the boys took turns zooming the leaves down with the snow shovel and a push broom. Andrew pretended he was riding a roller coaster.

Of course the most fun was playing the the huge pile when we were finished.











Even Farley joined in on the fun. He kept burying his ball in the pile and then digging to find it again.

Looking up at the remaining leaves on the trees, I'd say we have at least one more big raking day for the driveway in a few weeks. Derrick will cover the rest with his lawnmower.

Home for the Holidays

I'm quite sure this isn't as exciting as a child coming home from college, but we have some creatures who are home for the holidays...our roaches. Yes the kids were quite excited when Derrick brought them home last week.


The biggest question is where to store them...I mean, where to let them live.

I don't want them in the kitchen...or the dining room...or my bedroom...or really anywhere in the house. They are currently in the living room, but a little too low for my comfort. I just know a child or dog could easily lift the lid and let them go. Yuck.


And, Derrick brought home a heating pad. We read somewhere that they only mate when it is over 80 degrees. He wants little roach babies (since they have a limited life and he wants to keep them for a while), so he plans to warm their cage a bit. Ewwwww.

Best buddies

This was the scene at lunch today. Amanda insisted on having a picnic. Farley posted himself nearby in hopes of catching a crumb or two. He was successful in his efforts with at least one carrot and a few crackers.