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.

The day before Halloween...

How did you spend your Sunday afternoon? When I awoke this morning, I planned to read, take a walk, and do a little computer work after church. Oh, and I wanted to pull out the costumes that the kids had selected for Halloween. Do you remember the cool Ninja costumes that we bought after Halloween last year? I thought we had settled that the boys would wear those.

All I thought I had to do was make a set of Minnie Mouse ears. Yesterday, I purchased a black headband and some fabric - 7 inches to be exact to get the correct width. I wasn't sure what I would do with the rest of the length.

So, after church, I was about to dive into the costume box to fish out all of the Ninja pieces when Andrew announced that he wanted to be a pumpkin. And Scott decided to be Cat in the Hat (with a hat Aunt Stephanie made a few years ago.)

I was determined not to fight the crowds today. Everything had to be something we already have in the house. Luckily, I have a good craft supply (and that extra black fabric that I purchased yesterday...I used it in all three costumes.) Here are the results:

I have to sew the face on the pumpkin (recognize the orange fabric?) I think I'll also put a piece of elastic on the bottom and stuff Andrew with balloons. He's pretty excited about that.

So, we'll be wearing original costumes made from things we already had at home. Just needed a little sewing, glue gun action and some time. (And I may have to venture to the store in the morning...we don't keep colored hair spray at this house. I think Andrew needs orange hair. Or, I may just fashion a hat with a stem...any ideas?)

Disney World!

Guess where we spent Fall Break...



Disney World!! We had a wonderful trip. It truly is the Happiest Place on Earth. Magical. Fun. Special. I loved it and can't wait to return in a few years.

I've just sifted through 300 pictures and wanted to share some highlights here.

My parents joined us on the trip and we all stayed in a really cool place that had a little water park. The kids loved playing on it the first day we arrived. I thought it was a little cold, but joined in on the action a little.

We spent one full day at Magic Kingdom. Here we are as we arrived!! (The ears were just for the picture...they stayed in the car the rest of the day.)

One of the boy's favorite rides was Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin. You shoot the bad guys with these laser guns and get points. At the end of the ride, you can see who had the most points. Once Derrick won and the other time my Dad collected the most points. It was fun for all ages!!




The other favorite ride was Space Mountain, of course. The boys rode it four times. It was great fun!


Amanda's highlight was meeting the princesses. They were wonderful and spent so much time with each little girl. Cinderella won Amanda's heart with her kindness.


Belle taught Amanda how to twirl.


And Aurora wore pink...what more could you ask of her?



Amanda's other favorite ride was "riding the elephant." She loves elephants, so was thrilled to ride one.

The second day was a bit more hectic. We hopped between parks. The boys wore their Mater shirts and the cast members called them "Mater" all day.


We saw the stage show of Beauty and the Beast and that sealed it for Amanda that Belle is her favorite princess. She was entranced with the entire 30 minute performance.



Here are Andrew and I getting ready for Star Tours. It was the end of the day and certainly one of the best rides.


Each child picked out a souvenir to bring home.

Tallulah Gorge

Derrick has fall break this week. That means we get to hike in the mountains!! It has been a while since we've been and this time decided to make a short (2 hour) drive to Tallulah Gorge to see the falls. Even though the leaves were still green, it was a beautiful day for hiking.

As we left the car, Amanda insisted on taking Merry on our hike. I told Derrick that I've always wanted to have four children and Merry is my easiest baby yet! Amanda insisted on walking most of the time, so Merry rode in the backpack. We had several families pass us and look twice in the pack to see if the baby was real.



Here is Derrick with Amanda and Merry at the beginning of the hike.


I'm not sure if you would call what we did a "hike." I'd rather think it should be called "stair climbing." There are about 2,000 steps down and back up. My calves hurt for several days.


There was a brave little spider who spun a web on the suspension bridge that crosses the gorge.


I have to say that my trip to Montana spoiled me. These pictures turned out much better than the hike in real life. In Montana, the beauty was so vast that it was hard to capture in a single frame. Here, the beauty (while still beautiful) was on a much smaller scale and easier to photograph.


Taking a break...


I love my automatic timer. The blinking light actually holds the kids' attention. It is the only way I can take a family picture and have everyone looking at the camera.


Andrew - the funny thing about his outfit (besides the fact that it doesn't match), is that Scott wore the same outfit often in Kindergarten. All day I kept looking at Andrew (from behind, with his hood up) and think it was Scott and then worry because I couldn't find Andrew.


Both boys enjoyed hiking and climbing the rocks. We hiked (and climbed stairs) for almost three hours and there were almost no complaints from any of the kids. I was so proud of them (and excited for future hikes with them).





This is an above view of the suspension bridge that we crossed. It was not a hike for those who are scared of heights!