Halloween Happenings 2013

We had another fun Halloween around here.  We started out the month by enjoying our Halloween shirts.  Each kid had two and wore them out throughout the month.

We carved our first pumpkin.  Tim was in charge of this job.  I thought the kids would love the gooey stuff, but both were a little hesitant to stick their hands inside the pumpkin.  Maybe....

Not so sure about this....

Good, all clean now!

Hannah requested a smiley pumpkin and dad definitely delivered.  He looked awesome!  We set up to take a couple of pictures.  These are their "scary" faces with their newly carved jack-o-lantern.

We also did downtown O'Fallon Trick-or-Treating the Saturday before Halloween.  We met our friends for pizza first, then watched the children's costume parade, and stopped at the local businesses for some candy.

On the Wednesday before Halloween, Hannah got to wear her Doc McStuffin's costume to school for a party and Trick-or-Treating at the local assisted living home.  Nonnie picked her and Jackson up at school to transport them to the home.

Then, on Halloween, Nonnie and Poppy brought both kids to my school for my Halloween parade and party with my class.  We have done this every year and it's always a fun day.  I love to watch my own two kids interact with my 6th grade "kids."  I think both sets have a great time!

Later that night, my mom and dad picked up a couple of pumpkin pizzas from Papa Murphy's for dinner before our community trick-or-treating.  They were super yummy!

Finally, Spiderman and Doc McStuffins were off!  It was a cool and rainy evening which was a bummer.  However, we only got sprinkled on a little before finishing our end of the culdesac and heading home.  There were still a few friends outside and both the kids loved passing out candy as well.

It was a fun month that ended in a great night!  Happy Halloween!

Preschool Days

This is Hannah's second year at Zion Lutheran Preschool here in Mascoutah and we LOVE it!  I saw her learn so much over the last year, and I can already see her learning so much more this year.  Here is Miss Hannah before heading off for 4 year-old picture day.

Both years, the classes have tackled a letter a week.  The teachers are so good at planning fun days and activities.  This year, they have added the "little letters" to the curriculum.  I love talking to Hannah on our way home from the babysitters each preschool day hearing about what they did during the day.

This month, they made glasses when studying G...

and they had a hat day during "Hh" week.

I can't wait for more fun preschool days throughout the school year!

We Just Keep Running

We have learned to love running over here.  Tim and I have done several races of various lengths over the past five years or so.  I still can't believe I can type that!  I never liked running and even the very short amount we had to run for high school cheerleading was torture.  But, once I started a few years back, I have grown to love it and really enjoy my 2-3 runs I can get in each week.

In the past, I needed a "big" run to be on the calendar to keep me motivated, but this fall I've done really well with keeping up with a weekly routine.  Something that helped me tremendously was having one of my best gals running "alongside me" -- meaning at the same time and day but at our own houses.  Emily started running when school started and she also isn't looking back.  We capped off her first several weeks of running with her very first 5K.  It was so fun to run with her during the race.  I am so proud of her and love that we can encourage each other as we run.

The next weekend, Tim and I took a mini vacation to the Chicago area to cheer on one of our dearest friends, Sarah, run the Chicago Marathon.  Yes, a MARATHON!  She decided this winter/spring that she was going to check this off her bucket list and raise money for childhood cancer research at the same time.  Tim and I headed up Friday for dinner with Sarah and her awesome family, then went to spend the night/next day with the Gorsch's.  Sunday morning, we took off for a day in the city to hang out with Luke and watch Sarah.  We had an awesome time!  We explored a ton of the city while getting to support her throughout the race.  What an accomplishment for her.  We are so proud to call her our friend!  

We finished our race month by doing the St. Louis Rock n Roll Half Marathon Relay with our friends, the Stamps.  Each leg is about 6.5 miles. The girls were on one team, and the guys on the other.  This made it really fun because the couples were able to run together.  I know Tim could have run much faster than me, but I was so glad to be running with him.  Here we are, bright and early, before heading to our separate starting spots.  I'm so thankful for my local running friends!

 At the start line.  Nothing like watching the sun rise behind the Arch.  I love St. Louis!

 Jodie and Ian completed the second leg and totally rocked it!  I'm so glad we did this race with our friends!

This is definitely not the last race we will complete.  Tim has his heart set and mind made up to do a full marathon next summer.  And away we go!

The Perfect Pumpkin

Every year, Hannah's preschool takes a field trip to a local, family owned farm for a tour of the farm and pumpkin.  I took a day off last year and had so much fun, I decided to do it again this year.  I met my friend Melissa and her son Jackson and we were off to farm!

We started at the hay bales to get some information from the farmer before heading out to the pumpkin patch.  This is Hannah with her friend Bailey.  They both go to Ms. Amy's and they have a lot of fun together.

These are some of Hannah's other friends, Harper, Jackson and Wyatt.

Next, we headed out to pick out the Perfect Pumpkin!  This is the one Hannah chose and she loved it!

Back on the tractor with her best bud Jackson.  I love that these two are friends because his momma and I are the dearest of friends as well.

We got a tour of the animals before we went to the play area.  Hannah loved this little cow to "ride" on.    Her and Jackson had a great time playing before we left.

Then we took the kids to Chick-fil-a for lunch  before heading home for nap time.  It was a great day and I'm so glad I was able to spend it with my ever-increasing big girl!

Eight Exceptional Years!

Today, Tim and I celebrated our 8th anniversary!  We even were able to get away for the evening thanks to both sets of our parents.  My parents bought us season tickets to the Fox Theater as part of our Christmas.  The first show was during this week, so we switched our tickets to tonight.  Another bonus was that Tim's mom and dad were in town and this gave them the perfect opportunity to spend the afternoon/evening with the kids.  Before the Fox, we stopped at on of our favorite eating establishments, Pappy's, for dinner.  It was so nice to get away for the evening by ourselves.  The last eight years have had many ups and downs, but I wouldn't want to be living life with anyone else.  God has truly blessed me with a man who compliments me in so many ways.  Can't wait to see what the next year holds for us!  Love you, Tim!