Daddy's back.

Ed's been out of town since we got back from Portland and we do not like it at all. Jack especially needs his nightly dose of wrestling!

We've got pumpkin!

And nobody was more excited than Jack!

He helped me bake all night and he was so funny I screwed up part of the recipe and I said, "Jack, you're so darn cute that I can't concentrate!" and he says, with a sigh, "I know" pause "maybe you shouldn't look at me so I don't distract you!"

Tasting the goods.

Frosted and ready to go!

This one's for daddy...

We miss you!

If you're looking for Jemma Jane...

you'll probably find her right here. It's her favorite cozy spot.

The marathon

Pre-race smiles.

Look how dark it is!! And I think most of you know how I feel about being up while it is still dark!

We tried to talk them out of it, but Paula and Joe insisted on coming and they brought these cute little cheerleaders with them.
Thank goodness they came--it is a long way to go without seeing any familiar faces!

This is either mile 5 or 11--and that's my running buddy Michele in the blue top. Michele has run several marathons and had wanted to break 4:30 and she did it! Yay Michele!

It's a very surreal experience to start a run in the dark and watch the miles tick by and the sun come up and the hours tick by and just keep on running. You (hopefully) get into a very weird groove and it is unreal to check your watch and realize you have been running for four hours and your body just keeps going because the faster you get there, the sooner you can stop. Our training program had a long run of 20 miles and then the theory goes that the adrenaline will get you through the last 6 miles but 6 miles is a long ways so I was really nervous that it wouldn't actually work--I seriously imagined that I would hit mile 20 and just stop and keel over. But I passed the mile 20 sign and I did a quick check and thought my legs still work, my brain still works and I feel pretty good (relatively speaking, of course) and then I thought hey I might actually make it! I even tried to actually enjoy mile 26 since I don't plan on running that far ever again and when I finally crossed the finish line and people are just so excited for you and handing you all kinds of food and drinks and roses and medals and it was really just a great experience.

There's Ed, in black and gray, going strong (and waving to the kids) at mile 11.

The whole time we were training we both kept saying we would never do this again together--it's one thing when one person is doing 3 hour training runs on Saturday mornings, it's a whole different thing when you both have to squeeze them in! But I have to say that I am so glad we did this together--who else would understand what crazy things we did (and sacrificed) over the last three months? Plus we spent the entire 6 hours coming home talking about each different point in the race and who and what we saw and although we didn't actually run it together, we both noticed (and thought) exactly the same things. And we got to see and high-five each other one time on an out and back part of the course. The only bummer was that I didn't get to see him cross the line but I was watching my clock and I knew when he should finish and I was so excited for him even though I was still out there trucking along!

He got an awesome time and I am so proud of him!

All tuckered out. That marathon watching is hard work.

So I'm pretty sure that I won't run another marathon (I'd say 90% or maybe like 85...80?)--I finished, I'm happy with my time (especially if you minus the 8 minutes--yes, I timed it--that I spent waiting in line at the port-a-potties midrace--talk about frustrating!), and I had a good experience so why do it all over?

However, I am already talking Ed into doing it again next year! I would love to spend the weekend in Portland shopping (without worrying about getting tired), eating yummy food (without worrying about its protein levels), drinking alcohol and staying up late (all things I like to do on vacation!) and then cheering for Ed now that I know the course because, frankly, spectating looks like a lot more fun than actually running!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to my mom!

Who drove all the way to Portland to watch us run and got up at the crack of dawn to spend her birthday chasing us around the course, handing out snacks, and then celebrated by eating at Red Robin (sadly not one of her top ten restaurants....not even top 20 I'm sure) and then driving 6 hours home. Which is exactly the kind of thing my mom (and dad!) have done my whole life. Which is why I am not going to post the picture of my mom wearing a balloon hat while the entire Red Robin staff sings to her.

(but I am going to save it just in case I need it some day!)

Happy Happy Birthday Mom!

************

And also, a very happy birthday to little Finn who arrived many days later than expected but I am sure was well worth the wait!

We made it.

We ran it. We finished. And we feel surprisingly good.

More pictures eventually but here we are having our favorite post-race lunch at (where else?) Red Robin!

We're off!

This is a picture of Jack from this time last year when we took him to Portland for a work trip. Ava stayed home for school and he's talking to her on the phone. And sweet Jemma Jane was still in my (8 months pregnant) tummy. Now a year later, we're headed to the same city to run a marathon and this time Ava gets to come cheer us on while the other two stay here. What a year!

Bed head

which means her hair is finally growing! Yay!

I'm a soccer mom

and I like it.

Jack giving Ava some love during a break.

Ava played against her buddy Madeline's team--they sat together anyway!

Don't panic...

but there is a national shortage of canned pumpkin filling. I found this out after spending an hour pouring over my fall recipes, gearing up for a big day of baking, and then hauling my kids to every grocery store in town in the hunt for canned pumpkin, only to finally figure out something must be up and then coming home to google it and sure enough...canned pumpkin shortage!

(Seriously, what did we do before google?)

Anyway, Jack was very distraught on my behalf but we settled for some gingerbread biscotti and called it a day.

Baking with my Jack is quite a bit different than with Ava. She can do all kinds of helpful stuff--read the recipe, crack the eggs, stir stuff. He, on the other hand, just asks the same 4 questions over and over: "what's that? what's it do? what's it make? is it good?" With "can I taste it?" thrown in every once in awhile!

We love Fall!

We love Fall at this house!

We love watching football on Sundays (and Saturdays and Monday nights!). We love hot cider and pumpkin muffins and fall movies like "You've Got Mail, Baby Boom, and Sweetheart's Dance" We love chilly nights and sunny days, harvest, apple trees, and collecting fall stuff (leaves, acorns, rocks for Jack, etc) in paper bags. This has been a really hot September and we've been so busy doing un-fallish stuff that when the temp finally dropped yesterday, we got super excited because it finally feels, and smells, like Fall!

The combination of pretty much constant event planning and the never-ending marathon training has made the last three months a bit nutty so I am so looking forward to next week, when my life will go back to my kind of normal and I am just itching to clean out closets and organize stuff, and move some furniture, and just be home!

Yay for Fall!

Keeping busy...

While Ed's been busy doing this:

(And I mean busy...our feezer is stuffed with steelhead and the smoker has been puffing away all day, smoking the ones that didn't fit!)

I've been busy doing this:
And this:

And our kids have been especially busy doing all kinds of cute things that are now undocumented because my camera got left behind on the fishing boat for days and days. But rest assured, it is now back with its rightful owner and there will be many kid pictures coming your way soon!

Sweet Jem

For a late boomer, she's catching up fast! She's crawling like crazy, pulling up on everything, and trying to cruise. And I swear she says "Mama". It's true.
Jemma is a lot of fun these days, she still sleeps a ton like a baby but when she's up she's fun like a toddler. She giggles all the time, she's loving exploring and chowing on Cheerios (or anything she can get her hands on!), and she thinks the other two are hilarious (which they of course enjoy immensely). She loves waving and playing "I'm gonna get you"--a favorite game of both Jack and her daddy. My other two babies were both content and cautious--she is neither. She is a go, go girl and not afraid of anything. When she is up she wants to be in the middle of the action and she loves nothing more than watching Jack run his trucks as loud and as fast as possible around the house. Thanks to her big brother, she likes tractors and ball-throwing and when you say his name, she smiles big and shrieks really loud. And when she sees Ava, she claps her hands and grins.
She is a joy in our house!

The Fair!

We made more than our fair share of trips to the fair this year!

We started Thursday night so the kids could hit the rides before the crowds and we ended up running into all kinds of friends and cousins. We headed back on Friday with the first grade class to see the animals and watch the pig showings (an annual favorite!) and then back again that night to hear the music and hit the food booths. And then the kids made one last trip on Saturday with their grandparents (while we were at a football game) for more rides!

As Ava said, "aren't you glad we live so close to the fair!"

Jack's first ride on the Ferris Wheel!

Roller coaster joy!