A Peanuts Halloween 2016

 Here are two more master creations by Dave!  This year we went with a Peanuts theme . . from our costumes to pumpkins too.

The kids were already super wired up since there was no school today . . .  so starting the block party early was a given.  Although it was a bit strange with so many new faces, everyone had a blast!

Neighborhood kids

Linus, Charlie Brown, and Lucy

As the party started to wind down, the kids were getting antsy to go trick-or-treating.  As usual we went in one big group all of the way to Katie's grandma's house and back.

There was this one super scary display we found on the way . . complete with a smoke blowing demon.

Ahh, finally we made it to Mrs. DeRollo's house for homemade hot chocolate and treats.  The kids made themselves right at home around her kitchen table with their popcorn and hot chocolate.

I think we could have made it hours longer, but Dave and I made the kids head back home because they have school tomorrow.  What a super fun Halloween!  Now to manage not eating the entire candy bowl . . .

Welcome Hensley & Hadley Prewette

After months of praying and waiting, these precious baby girls finally arrived Friday afternoon!!  I was thrilled to be able to visit with Leslie & Justin today . . and of course to get to hold Baby Hensley.  We're still praying for sweet Hadley who is in the NICU, but will be home soon.  Pure sweetness!!

Game Night, A Hero Race, & Carowinds . . .

With a long weekend ahead, we did our best to cram as much as we could in . .  and even though we stayed in Charlotte, it was a blast!

We kicked off the fun Friday night when we had the Bryant family over for dinner.  After we ate, it was on for GAME NIGHT!!  The kids played a few of their own games while the parents played a couple of hands of spades.  As the night drew to a close, everyone played a big game of Uno.  It was soooo much fun.

Saturday morning came super quick and started with Savannah's 5k Hero race.  Dave was the chosen one to run with her and they did great!  She is still improving her endurance and ran the entire 5k without stopping.  Their time was 35:57.  

They received cool medals too!

I'm just so proud of Savannah and all that she has accomplished with running so far!

Saturday afternoon we decided to head to Carowinds for one last time this season.  How excited were we to find out that they also had a pumpkin patch!!  Bam!  Two fall treats in one. :)  The kids enjoyed selecting their mini pumpkins and, after several rides with our fast passes, we were more than ready to head home and have dinner!

Today after church it was finally time to carve the pumpkin.  Dave, as usual, showed some mad skills in pumpkin carving and did an amazing job with our TWO pumpkins to match the family themed costumes.

Front porch pumpkin carving

 It was a beautiful Fall weekend and we certainly enjoyed a lot of family time.  The kids are looking forward to trick or treating tomorrow . .  and a day out of school too!

20th WAHS High School Reunion

Where has time gone?  I mean seriously, did I really graduate TWENTY years ago?!?  I was so thankful to be able to attend my high school reunion on Saturday night.  It was wonderful to see the friends that I've known forever and catch up with so many that I literally haven't seen since we graduated.  For the most part everyone looked *similar* and still acted the same. :)  It's odd in a way being around the group that was my core for so long . . . as life has changed and taken us all down different paths now.  Many memories were shared, cherished times with my sweet mama and all of the sleepovers we had at our house, trips to the beach in the summer, and many more fun adventures we had throughout high school  I laughed so much that my temples were literally throbbing by the end of the night.

I left refreshed and thankful.  Thankful that God has been gracious to me in that I haven't endured so many hard things that others have.  From divorce to cancer to loneliness, it was all there.  I'm grateful for the path He led me down and for the family He's given me for sure.  As I reflected on the long (super late) car drive home I'm also very thankful for this group of friends and for our high school class.  We all were part of a certain group of core friends, but it wasn't that clicky like things are in schools today.  Although we had a small intimate group of friends, we were ALL still friendly to each other and knew each other well.  It was a fabulous night with dear friends for sure!

Trying out the adjustable bed at FLS on the way to the reunion

While we were partying it up, our kids were having a blast at Aunt Cherry's.  We had to stop by the furniture store to pick out Savannah's new big girl room furniture.  After selecting the perfect mattresses for us all, we headed out and the kids headed to dinner with Aunt Cherry.  They had a BLAST!  Pizza dinner, Celebration Station for games and prizes, and then Toys R Us to pick out a new game to play.

It was a super long day, but we all had a fabulous time and made tons of new memories!

My Acorn Gatherer

The acorns this year have not only been more plentiful than normal, but they have also been about double the normal size!  It's actually quite scary how noisy they are when they fall . . .I mean it sounds like the windows are going to break!  It's so loud that when walking to the bus stop last week a neighbor asked if the squirrels were throwing them at our house!  It has also been dangerous just trying to walk up the driveway.  Anyway, Preston has been thrilled to put his blower skills to good use with keeping the driveway cleared off.  The only problem is that even after an afternoon of blowing/sweeping/boxing up acorns the next day the driveway is covered again.

Is he cute or what?!

A Couple of Awesome Dates

Once the race was over today, Savannah and I hit the mall (yes, it wasn't my first choice of post-race activities, but I had promised her we could go) to get her some new shoes.  She has had this daddy-daughter date night planned for weeks and was excited to go to Chima Brazilian Steakhouse to support Make A Wish.  It's a fancy affair so she and Dave dressed up and headed out for their date.

Since they were out, Preston and I took full advantage of our time and went to his restaurant of (second to Chuck E Cheese) choice, Chili's.  As soon as we were seated he saw his buddy Maks and they immediately hugged and started joking around.  There is just something sweet about friendship in little kids. :)

We had great service, delicious food and even a yummy dessert.  Afterwards we attempted to feed the ducks at the pond, but it was just too dark for them to see.  So, we opted to save our cereal for another time in the daylight.

This has been one busy, but fabulous day!  I'm so thankful for this precious time to spend with our kiddos after they have endured so much for me to be able to complete my race series and training runs.  Hopefully things will be back to "normal" now.

Another Half in the Books!!

Post Race!

For weeks now I have been training for my second half marathon . . .make that months of training.  I'm not sure why, but for some reason I was SO nervous and anxious all week.  There were just so many variables with not knowing what the weather would be like, having to drive uptown and run by myself, missing Preston's soccer game, etc.  BUT I once I woke up and got all ready I had an incredible peace! I had so many precious friends praying for me and I know that is what carried me through.

Way back in February I signed up for a 6 pack race series (a good deal of course) and was committed for the long haul.  Even though Melissa bailed after only one race and I trained completely by myself, the end result of medals was totally worth it!

So I can now say that I have run two half marathons, both under 2 hours.  This one felt much harder, with mile 12 being all uphill, but interestingly enough one of Dave's college buddies say me running and gave me the encouragement I needed to finish the final mile.  There were lots of "Lord just help me finish", many "I am not quitting!" and lots more self pep talks on those 13.1 miles, but I made it!  After a shower and hour or so of rest, I can say that I'm SO glad I did this. . . for me.  But next year, I think Dave gets a turn to run a half while I have soccer duty. :)

Always Exciting Aunt Cherry

Today was a half day of school and the kids were super excited  to know that when they got home Aunt Cherry would be here.  They have been counting the days until Aunt Cherry came to visit.  She always comes with some fun token of love and makes it a point to do a craft project with the kids too.  Today was no exception, as she arrived with glowing flashlights and plans to make pine cone bird feeders with them.

  

We try to work in grown up things too . . .like discussing bathroom remodels and redoing Savannah's room, but for today the kids were lucky because they got most of Aunt Cherry's time.

It was such a blessing to have a second to breathe as they all went out back to start their craft.  I just let them enjoy the adventure of making the bird feeders . . . usually they get to have a lot more fun with just Aunt Cherry supervising (no mommy to enforce strict rules) and honestly just gathering the supplies around town was an adventure. :)  Of course they had to try the Wal-Mart brand peanut butter before putting in on the cones, or maybe while putting it on the cone, who knows?!

They were so proud of their feeders and proudly hung them around the yard.

After that, Aunt Cherry insisted on making us a gourmet dinner.  Ahhh, another heavenly gift!! Her cooking is amazing . . even with the few ingredients I keep on hand she can whip up something wonderful.  As I worked on the computer, folded laundry, and listened to the kids have a blast, I couldn't help but get a bit emotional.  It makes me miss my mom so much as I know these are the kinds of things she would have loved to do with them.  My kids don't have the luxury of grandparents that visit often . . . or of any family members that come to their games, school events, or awards ceremonies, so to have Aunt Cherry come and love on just them for an afternoon is such a royal treat.  It reminds me that we're not alone in this journey.  That we're doing just fine and more than anything that we are loved, all of us!

Y Guides Boys Longhouse at Camp Cheerio

Due to the crazy Hurricane Matthew, Dave and Preston opted to leave bright and early Saturday morning instead of Friday night for their Fall longhouse.  They didn't want to drive up the super curvy roads in the dark and pouring rain . .  and there was a little Clemson game Friday night so we all agreed it was better to just leave early Saturday.

 Apparently the weather at camp wasn't the greatest, so the boys spent a lot of time indoors.  Never-the-less, they still had a super fun time!

Here you can see just how wet and nasty the weather was!

 It was also super cold, but I think they packed enough warm clothes to make do.  All in all they had a great weekend, but were glad to be back home to the warm house and sunshine today!

While the boys were away, Savannah and I enjoyed showering Leslie with gifts and love on Saturday.  That little mama has two precious girls about to pop out and we were thrilled to spend the morning with her.  After the shower we ran lots of errands in the pouring rain and picked up Ruthie, Savannah's bestie, on the way home.  When we arrived home we quickly discovered that we had no power. ;(  It was out for over 5 hours before finally coming back on!  Thankfully, I had plenty to do and used the time to get caught up on many things while the girls played.  I will say that it's amazing how much we depend on electricity for though!

Savannah's Last Fall Challenge Run

Mr. Grabon's class getting ready to run

Savannah also requested that I run with her instead of counting laps this challenge run.  I agreed and was so thankful we were able to run together.  She has truly built some incredible stamina throughout the past year.  I remember last year it was *painful* for her to run for just 10 minutes.  She was panting and in some serious agony.  This year we ran further, faster, and no panting at all!  She completed 9.5 laps in 12 minutes.  Way to go girl!!

Class Picture

So many things were running through my head while we ran.  I watched two other fifth grade girls (one over weight and one skinny as a rail) walk the entire time and have to sit down at the end because they felt light headed.  I'm thankful our kids are learning young how valuable and necessary exercise is for your body.  Also, so grateful for the best possible nutrition to fuel their every growing bodies.

Me and my girl!  #shebelievedandsheran

Preston's Fall Challenge Run

After missing last year's Spring Challenge Run with a broken wrist, Preston was super excited for today's race! He asked if I could run with him and so I agreed to run instead of counting laps. Only I forgot how FAST this kid is!  He took off and I couldn't keep up with him, running as fast as my legs would take me.  Finally after about 3 laps we were at a steady fast pace and finished together.  It was definitely a challenge for this mama!

Safran Class Picture post race

 He did awesome running 7.5 laps in 8 minutes!  That's over a mile in under 8 minutes . .

I'm so proud of this little guy and am thrilled that I was able to run with him.  Let's see if he can hit 8 laps for spring!!

A Jam Packed Long Weekend

The kids had today off from school (Jewish holiday) and most kids got to go out of town for the long weekend.  Our poor kids didn't have that luxury since I had a race on Sunday and Dave had to work Monday.  Anyway, we made the best of our stay-in-town weekend and filled it full of fun!

Team "In It to Win It!"

The fun started bright and early Saturday morning with the Susan Komen Race for the Cure.  I had not planned to do this race, but when my precious friend Amanda organized a team to run with her, in celebration of her defeating breast cancer, I couldn't say no.  Plus, I didn't want to miss celebrating such a special milestone with her!  It was a super fun morning and truly a new experience NOT racing a race.  I didn't even sign up for the timed race because I needed to save my legs for my 15k on Sunday.

Right after the race, I left uptown and headed to Preston's soccer game.  I was sad to find out that I missed his first score of the season, but it was still exciting to watch him play the rest of the game! His team won again and had some pretty sweet goals throughout the game.  Their teamwork has drastically improved and they have learned a ton already!

Informal group picture this week since so many kids will be missing next week on actual picture day.

After running a few errands we headed home for lunch and then promised the kids we could go play mini golf in the afternoon. These two are so silly!

Sunday morning came bright and early again as I drove up to my race in Cornelius.  It was a long drive, but peaceful and the perfect way to start the morning.  Although the course was quite hilly, I finished hitting my goal of averaging under 9 minute miles.  My official time was 1:22:32.  I guess the training is working because I truly wasn't even sore after the race.  We decided to continue the exercise by taking the kids to Scarowinds Sunday night.

Although it was way scarier that I remember I finally got to experience riding the WindSeeker at night.  We were there only a short time before heading out for Baskin Robbins ice-cream treats and then finally home to collapse in bed!

Today I took advantage of no school and had scheduled a few doctor appointments for the kids.  They got flu shots (and complained all day about getting them and being sore) and Preston had an ENT appointment.  We were thrilled to hear that he doesn't need to get his adenoids removed!  Daddy worked late, but the day still flew by!!  The kids were in bed early, ready for their big week at school including the Challenge Runs!!