Halloween

I love Halloween! I love it! I love dressing up! I love the weather! I love the parties! I love how excited all the kids are! I love that everyone that works at Kroger dresses up. I love making Halloween cookies and treat. I love carving pumpkins. You get the idea.

I knew this probably would be my last year of picking Brynlees costume so I had to make it a good one. We have a Papa, Mama and Baby and one blonde curly haired girl so the obvious choice was Goldilocks and the Three Bears!
Brynlee's dance class had a Halloween party. Isn't her teacher fun! Brynlee really likes Miss Mindy. Next up was the Ward party. It was a carnival type party and AnnMarie Grigg and I worked on this photo booth together. She is a great artist and drew this out. I just help paint.
Of course Brynlee found her Best Bud Evan aka Woody.

Hey you two, what are you doing under that hat!We had the Hadfield's over for some pumpkin carving fun. This is what we came up with. So from left to right we have Evan, Erin, Brandon, mine and Bryce's.On Halloween we went to the Grigg's house for Soup and "Snake Sandwich". Brynlee went as a cat because it was a little cold. She was a cat last year so it was pretty easy. She had a BLAST trick or treating! She was so cute running up to the doors. By they end of the night her bag was so heavy she was dragging it. I had so much fun watching her trick or treat. Logan was pretty good to hang out in the stroller and take in all the action.

Cincinnati Half Marathon

Its been a long time and a baby since I ran a half marathon but I thought it was time to lace up my sneakers and get running again so I rallied the girls and we started logging the miles. We decide that the Cincinnati Half Marathon would be a great race for us. It was on a Saturday, flat and a great course through Cincinnati and along the river. It really was a great course! I was pleasantly surprised at how the scenery really helped the miles fly by. We ran along the Ohio River, through downtown and past both the Reds and Bangles Stadiums.(Brynlee waiting in the cold for Mama)

But lets take a few steps backward and start at the beginning of that day. Erin, Julie and I stayed in the same hotel so we met up and headed out the race together to meet Mindy. Well, we were literally locked in the parking garage. The attendant was not there yet and the self pay machine was not working so after a little freaking out and some quick thinking, Erin lifted the arm and I drove on a curb and with an inch to spare, literally, we squeezed out of the garage. We drove to the start, as I ate a banana, and our preplanned parking area was no longer and option so we had to park and run to the start. After a quick pit stop at the bathroom we heard the announcer say. "Two minutes to the start." Perfect timing!I lost the girls right from the get go. It was a beautiful day! The weather was great, the city was quiet and I felt awesome. I was running a great pace. At mile seven I started to see the Elite runners coming back and I hit an hour of running. Both big boosts, still feeling great and chatting with a few runners around me. Coming up on Mile 11 I could feel my energy level starting to drop so at the water station I decided that a little Gatorade wouldn't hurt. Remember that banana I ate in the car, it made a reappearance before I got to mile 12. Yep I threw up several times before I hit mile 12 and a few more time before I finished and after the race. My great pace and PR were splattered all over the road just like my puke.

(Julie Hill, Mindy McQuivey, Erin Hadfield, me)

You might think that because I was throwing up for 2 miles, that I would have had a bag experience. Not the case! I loved this race! It was fun! I know, I am crazy.

Official Time: 1:54:22 not a PR by a minute

Ok so now onto the second half of our day.
We took the kids to the Cincinnati Zoo for trick or treating. We went with Erin, Evan and Ashton. (Brandon was at a funeral and yes, Erin managed amazingly without him.) Brynlee was a pumpkin because her real Halloween costume wasn't done yet. We didn't take many picture but Brynlee had a great time. Through out the zoo were treat stops where the kids could trick or treat. They also had a few other special things set up like the Little Beauty Shop of Horrors. Here you could get a tattoo, a braided extension and your nails painted. Obviously a winner in Brynlee's book.A special thanks to my A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. husband! He is so supportive of me and my crazy adventures and the hours and hours of training that take me away from my chores and family at home. I could not do these races without you babe. THANKS!

7 months going on 2 years

Our little handsome boy is 7 months going on 2 years. It is so fun to see him learning new things and his personality coming out. He is really so sweet and happy! While we love to watch him grow, he is growing up way to fast!

Logan seriously thinks that he is two just like his sister. When she laughs, he laughs. When she goes in the kitchen, so does he. He is always watching her and trying to figure out what she is doing. He loves his big sis and most of the time she really enjoys having a side kick. I hope they will always be little buddies!
Logan is learning some new tricks too. He is scooting all around on this tummy and getting into trouble. This boy is fast and determined; not a good combo. Standing up was next on his list and he has mastered that. He pulls up on everything he can. When he does stand up he gets the biggest smile and looks around the room for me. I could watch him do that all day long.

Brynlee's Love for Books

Our little Brynlee loves books! She loves to be read to and "read" to herself and us. It is so fun and I really think that part of the reason she knows so many words is that she has heard so many from books.Some of Brynlee's favorite books are the Llama Llama books. They are about a cuddly little llama and his adventure with his Mama. A few weeks ago the library was having a llama llama reading day and invited some very special guests.Brynlee was in heaven! She was so cute. She waited in line so patiently to meet the llama and her mama (who were actually Alpacas, because they are smaller and have a better temperment). It was interesting that they brought the Alpacas into the library, but they were well behaved. They were very soft and Brynlee loved petting them. She kept saying she wanted a llama! One of the llamas kept trying to bite the bow off of her head and it was cracking Brynlee up! When it was time to go she gave them each a hug and told them "See ya next time." She is still a little disappointed every time we go the library that the llamas aren't there. By the way, Logan was in the stroller and was fascinated with the animals. He was squealing and laughing and kicking his little legs. Maybe we should get a llama to entertain the kids!

Red River Rally

Bryce belongs to a cycling group, here in Lexington, called the Bluegrass Cycling Club. The first weekend of October the club hosted a weekend of riding, the Red River Rally, in and near the Red River George. Bryce decided that he would ride the 40 mile bike ride on Saturday and talked his Friend Scott Hill into riding it with him. It was a freezing day, but we packed up the kids and all of the coats and headed out. It took a little over and hour to get to the starting point.
Once we got there, Bryce realized that he had left his helmet on the couch in our living room. Not good! He went asking around and found a child size helmet that would have to do.
Brynlee is such a Daddies girl and she didn't want her daddy to rid off and leave her. She was also freezing! It really was very cold. I think it was in the low 40's.Luckily the club had registration set up in the Stanton Seniors Center so I took the kids in there and we eat lunch and played around until Bryce was due back on his bike.After the ride, the club provided a great lunch. We didn't hang around long because we had cold tired kids but it was a really fun experience and it was nice to get support Bryce.

Evan's Orchard with Evan

Every Fall we head on over to our favorite Orchard for some apple picking and playground. There is no better way to enjoy our beautiful fall weather. We invited the Hadfields to meet us there. Brynlee and Evan are best friends so we knew we were all in for a really fun day. When those two get together there is always fun!Logan had fun sitting in the corn box! It is so much more fun than any sand box ever was.We also took the kids through the small corn maze at the Orchard. The kids were so excited and only ran off and got lost in the corn once, which we are calling a success. I think both kids came out with an ear of corn as a trophy.

First Day of Preschool and Dance

This summer some of my friends asked me if Brynlee and I would like to be part of a Mommy Co-op Preschool. I knew Brynlee would LOVE it and so we jumped on the chance. This is Brynlee on her very first day of Preschool at the Bylunds house.
She was so excited! I mean bouncing off the walls excited! I'm sure Angela had her hands full that day!

I also signed Brynlee up for dance this year. I wasn't sure I really wanted to sign up her up because she is only 2 and we normally have a very full week but she LOVES to dance almost as much as she loves Preschool. Maybe they are a tie.