Fall fun

Well, fall is in full swing around here!

 

Tete bought Ben matching skeleton pj's and Brooklyn's still fit from last year, so this made for some great pictures. These two...they make my heart melt.

My dad took Brooklyn to her school Harvest Festival last week. They had a wonderful time together. It was so sweet. Bounce houses, cookies, school friends and Papa, what more could she need?

 Then on Friday we had one of our favorite boys' birthday party- Brae, at playdate pdx, which is crazy fun for little kids. It's like an indoor pump it up, chuck e cheese and playground all in one. Brooklyn dressed as a cowgirl for the occassion. We always dress up for Brae's party since he was born ON halloween!

Kristin and her girls came over for dinner last weekend and I got this shot of B & Kal. I am obsessed with it. The only amiga missing is Remi. These girls have truly grown up together, and I just beam when I look at how much they love eachother, just like their mama's. We are also well aware how much trouble we are both in...they are going to be little heart breakers. 

 I snuck in to take sleeping pics the other night because I realized I used to do that all the time with Brookyn, and I don't think I have since Ben was a newborn. Look at those little lips. He's such and angel (when he's sleeping soundly).

 My baby girl is not a baby anymore. That's what bitter sweet is.

We are going to carve pumpkins, with hot cider and Charlie Brown's the great pumpkin tonight.

1,2,3,9,8

This afternoon was a rough one. We were supposed to meet up with some friends at the park and due to no one being able to get their act's together, we didn't make it. I was so frustrated, both kiddos were crying and whining and so although we didn't have time to make it across town to play at the park I decided to take us somewhere....anywhere. We loaded in the car and made a game time decision.

Brooklyn suggested we go to Oak Creek, the elementary school up the street. We got there while  after school care going on, so lot's of little first and second graders playing. There were two little boys (both in first grade) who took a major liking to Ben. They kept bringing him the ball and prompting him to play "catch" with them. Ben was so funny, fascinated and flattered, but still doing his own thing. He'd lose interest and wander away, then they would come back up to him and ask him some more questions. He was in the best mood, offering me kisses and holding my hand. It was pure sweetness. One of the boys said to the other "that baby is really cute. Babies love me...a lot". Haha

Brooklyn & I played house together, played on all the equipment, snuggled on the swings with her in my lap. She even looked up at me at one point while swinging and offered a simple quiet "I love you". It was pure gold, all of it. Honestly the best trip to the park in as long as I can remember. Mostly due to my complete focus on them, allowing them to guide me in their play and my willingness to participate, not just stand by and watch distractedly (which I do a lot).

As I listened to the conversations of the little kids there, I couldn't help but tear up a few times. A hot topic amongst my closest groups of friends lately has been how close we are to real school starting, and how truly soon these days of having my babies to myself 100% will be coming to an end. On exceptionally difficult days I long for those days to hurry up and get here, but in reality I am dreading it with all my heart. Gulp. They still LONG to have me right next to them, to be pushed on the swing, to have their hands held as they walk along the retaining wall, to lay down on the jungle gym pretending it's our bed to sleep in...with them. I keep hearing, from those ahead of me in life, that I'll long for these days back, and today I got a glimpse of the present, side by side with the all too near future. "The days are long but the years are short". They are.

Ben truly thinks this is how you count to ten. His favorite number is two. Everything is two. I know that I'm going to blink and he will be counting to 30 just like his sister, so today I'm going to cherish the 1,2,3,9,8 of this life.

26.2. Bam.

Holy #$%&!! I ran a marathon. I did it, like actually, really, truly did it.

As Matt and I have been sitting her talking I was reminiscing about how when he signed up I felt this pressure to do it, not for the joy of saying "I've ran a marathon" but so that I wouldn't be home and resentful to him for being out there running all those long runs on the weekends.

The truth is I have mourned more for him than rejoiced for myself. My husband is my hero. He is the strongest man I have ever known (along with my dad) and I could not respect him more if I tried. He didn't pout when the Dr told him the marathon was a pipe dream with his knee for this year, he mourned yes, but then with a smile on his face he pushed me out the door for each and every weekend long run I had and greeted me with encouragement, and a reminder to thank God for my healthy body...basically "don't you dare whine to me about shin splints" :)

So this morning was very bitter sweet. Kind of feels like my life's motto. With every blessing, I can also clearly see the sadness of what's been lost.

I woke up at 4:40, sipped my coffee, had my quiet time, ate my oatmeal and the kicked it into high gear! I was genuinely pumped. Bethany picked me up (Thank You Buff!) 5:30 and I was down on the waterfront by 6. I found my corral, wandered around, checked my stuff, hit the port-o-pots (25 min wait btw) and was ready to rock.

The first four miles were AMAZING!!! I passed my long, old dear friend Ang and her sweet family right about mile 4 while they were out to cheer me on. So good to see a familiar face!

Then at mile 8 I started to feel some tightness in my hip flexors. First opportunity to tap into the mind over matter. Kept going.

Mile 14 Christie, Jinger and Wendy were there to cheer me on! Seeing those bright smiles and hearing them scream "you're doing amazing, keep going!!!" quite literally kept me going. I sent Matt a text saying "half way there, gonna be a long second half" with this pic. Oh wait, I just looked at it for the first time and it's horrible, so no pic post :)

So, then the grit began. We ran down hwy 30 and once we hit the hill to go up to the st john's bridge my legs and feet felt like jello. I kept telling myself..."you've run much farther than this, just keep going".

At mile 17 I started counting down the miles, not up anymore.

Mile 18 I literally hit the wall. I wanted to stop more than anything. I no longer cared who was passing me or who I was passing. All goals were out the window. All I knew I HAD to do was finish strong and not walk.

Mile 22 I passed Christie, Wendy and Jinger again. It was like another shot to the system. It also helped that we were heading down the hill past the Adidas headquarters and hills are my friend. I just kept telling myself "you have 6 miles, you can do six miles" "you have 5 miles, you have done 5 mile runs a hundred times" and so on.

We crossed the Broadway bridge and I felt like it was me and 3 other runners. The pac had thinned and it was nice to have some breathing room.

Home stretch. I was over the bridge, it was just another 1.2 miles. YESSSSSSSS!!!! At this point all the thoughts of quitting and walking were long gone. All I could think was "just KEEP running". So I did, albeit quite a bit slower than the start :)

It's strange, the run up waterfront park felt strangely quiet. I kept thinking "where are all the supporters". I rounded the corner to 3rd and there was EVERYONE!!!!! On the left was Matt, the kids, Chuck, Lisa, Bethany, Jack, Lisa's sister Pam and her husband Frank and on the right Mom, Dad and Ashley. Amazing. Pure joy.

I ran as fast as my legs would take me. Literally, I sprinted until I crossed the finish and felt like I was going to puke.

Final time: 3:58:05
My goal was 4:10

Sooooo pleasantly surprised. I also crossed the finish not only to find a rose, medal, shirt and chocolate milk awaiting me, but dozens of text messages from all my amazing friends and family. Priceless.

Some of my favorite signs along the course were:

"I don't know you, but I'm proud of you"- held by 8 year old girls
"Don't poop (out)" haha
"Hurry, run faster, they're running out of beer"
"Chuck Norris never ran a marathon"
"You can't stop now, we're all watching"
"I love tight buns" this one just hit my funny bone right when I needed it.

Carbo loading Sat night with Christie and Jinger

Get this, pizza with spaghetti on top!

Ben woke up right before I left @ 5:30am!!

Tete and Brooklyn on the sidelines

FINISH LINE!!!!

One of my favorite signs!