A Fun Family Weekend

We got lucky and my parents and sister graced us with our presence over the weekend.  We took advantage of the gorgeous weekend and spent most of Saturday outside.  We kicked off our Saturday with the Veterans Memorial Bridge 5k.  It was a fantastic race!  Miriam and I were both speedy enough to win our age groups, which made things even more exciting.

It was the first time I've ever spent any portion of a race in front of Mickey.  He stayed ahead of me for the first mile, but then I kicked it in on the bridge and was able to pass him.  I didn't keep enough energy in the tank for the final push and he was able to pass me at the very end but I was less than 10 seconds behind him.  It felt good!   Pushing that stroller pays off....those boys may be riding til they're 10 haha!!  Cheers...

We spent most of the rest of our day hanging out at Stuart's first seafood fest.  The boys had fun checking out the rides in the kids zone...

....as well as the crafts...

...and we had a great time watching them and just spending quality time together...

The beer and food were pretty delicious too.

The bummer of the weekend was my mom getting sick on Saturday night.   That darn bug is really making the rounds these days.  It's bad enough to be sick at home, but to be sick on vacation is even more frustrating.

Miriam and I kicked of Sunday morning with a 10 mile run before scurrying off to church.  It was the perfect way to start our Sunday.  I wish I always had her around to keep me company on my long runs. I'm excited to run with her in January for her first half marathon.  She's gonna rock it!

The boys learned about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace...

...and have been talking about fire ever since.  LOL!

After a couple of errands, we spent the rest of the day around the house, relaxing with Aunt Miriam and Grandpa...

...and baking pumpkin muffins...

I even made my own puree this time.  YUM!! 

Today was a catch-up day after the weekend, the highlight of which was a trip to the car wash...

...the boys LOVED watching all the cars come through.  Fun times!  They also had fun playing with their friends and making some cute turkeys...

...you better believe they think the orange, red, and yellow on the turkeys is supposed to be fire...silly boys!  They'll never forget that story from Sunday School.  I love knowing that they paid attention.

Off To A Great Start

My thirties got off to a great start.  I had a fantastic sushi dinner last night with my family and came home to snuggle on the couch and watch a TERRIBLE movie.  We ended up calling it a night before it was over and I don't think we missed out by finishing the movie.  Have any of you seen "Bad Teacher?"  Maybe it's because I am a teacher, but I thought it was really terrible.  Oh well, at least my company was good!  The previews did give us some ideas of some new movies to add to the queue.  Let me know of any recent must sees I should add to our list?  We hope this one is good since it's coming next...

This morning we ditched our family run plans for another lazy morning spent together.  I made french toast out of some delicious cinnamon raisin bread.  It was so delicious that it didn't even need syrup.  Clearly the secret to good french toast is good bread since I don't have a secret recipe or anything.  We like big breakfast so I scrambled up some eggs on the side.  No twins in the eggs today...bummer!

While we ate breakfast, my car was being detailed by a mobile car-washer and detailer.  If you're local, give Kelvin a call.  His work is out of this world!  My boys will never be allowed to eat in my car again.  Haha!  Here's to hoping I can maintain his wonderful work.  Thanks to my husband for hooking me up!

I hope I never have to get my car washed any other way ever again.  It's really a bargain, especially when you consider the added entertainment for your children as they watch him work in your driveway.  He was great with the boys!

After chores this morning we ran to the park to meet some friends.  The boys had a great time on the swings and other equipment and it was SO helpful to have another set of eyes there with me to watch them.  I don't know what I'd do without my friends.   It really does take a village!  I love when I can tie my run into my errands.  My half marathon training plan called for 4 miles at race pace today so, being the overachiever that I am, I completed 4.5 at that pace but then coasted the rest of the time while I worked my way back home.  I ended up fitting in over 5 miles by running to the park, the library and the gym.

One of the chores I did this morning before the park was to prep lunch so it was ready to go when we got home.  I made roasted vegetable lasagnas using this recipe and they were DELICIOUS!  I highly recommend you try them.  Here' their photo that sold me on them...

Mine didn't look that good but the taste made up for it.  YUM!  I hope it cured Mickey's hankering for mexican food, especially since it's his birthday and I want his day to be extra special.  He definitely enjoying finding two six packs of Octoberfest on the counter this morning.  He looks pretty snazzy in his new Dolphins hat too.  The boys wanted to get in on the spirit of things so Mickey let them play with some of his other gear this morning...

Colton cheers!

Mason is ready for a tackle.

Don't mind their snotty noses.  We're fighting a yucky cold over here.  I'm glad it hasn't seemed to bother their spirits.

We've got happy hour with coworkers on the agenda for this evening in honor of Mickey's birthday.  I'm looking forward to helping him celebrate kid-free.  Thanks to our friends who agreed to babysit with such a late notice.  Again, I don't know how I'd survive without my friends.  I'm hoping I come home to more snuggles like these.  Their hugs never get old.  

I'm hoping to finish up reading Gone Girl tonight so I can move on to this month's book club book, The Happiness Project.  I'm really excited about this one!  Hope it lives up to the hype.  

Hope the rest of your day is great and that you too can enjoy a well-deserved rest day tomorrow.

I almost forgotMy husband brought home this little gem from the Hometown News this week.

It's definitely going in the smile file :-)