My Superheros

The boys have been so excited for Halloween this year. I remember the day after Halloween last year Camden was asking when we could do it again! Well, the time has finally come! Of course we had to gear up by wearing our Halloween shirts this week.

Skeletons

Pumpkins!

At the beginning of September, Camden was already picking out what he wanted to be for Halloween. He had been thinking about it for awhile, and after he kept saying he wanted to be Captain America for several weeks in a row, I went ahead and ordered his costume. After showing Casen several different costumes, he chose Batman.

Checking themselves out

Several weeks ago, Shane decided he would join in on the fun and ordered a Superman costume to surprise the boys with. Camden was really excited his daddy dressed up!

Our neighborhood was definitely safe with my Superheros!

Cupcake Fun

After the boys nap today, I decided we would have some fun in the kitchen. Camden has seen those camouflage cake mixes in the store and thought they were so neat, so I thought it would be fun to make some Halloween cupcakes using one of those mixes.

My little bakers are excited and ready!

Team work!

We each had our own color to add .

Ready to put in the oven

Fun decorating the cupcakes

Casen takes decorating very serious

He did a lot of licking of his fingers - hence
the icing on his face!

Ready to eat his creation

Yummy and pretty!

We had fun and the cupcakes were good! Making memories can be so fun!

My First 10K

My sister, Melissa, has been running for several years now and earlier this year ran her first half marathon - what an accomplishment!

At the end of September I asked her if she was running the half marathon in February again and she told me she needed to look at what races she would be running. She sent me an email with a list of races she had registered to run between then and the end of the year and told me I needed to sign up to run one with her. Of her list of four races, two were half marathons, one was a ten miler and then the other was a 10K. Knowing good and well I would not be ready for any of the longer races, I decided I would attempt the 10K with her. I honestly am not sure what I was thinking since I had less than a month to get ready for the race. Up until that time I was only running maybe a few times a week and at the most 2 or so miles. So I looked up on the internet how to train for a 10K in a month and honestly didn't find too much. So I decided I would run 2 or 3 miles three times during the week and then on Saturday run a longer run, attempting to add a mile each Saturday. Well, that did not work out so well, and it ended up that the longest I ran prior to the race today was a little over 4 miles generally at an average pace between 10:15/mile to 10:30/mile. I had no idea if I could make it 6.2 miles or not, but Melissa kept telling me that race day was different - and she was right!

Melissa and I both use 'Nike + Running App' and even though it is based off of GPS, ours each said different things. I think hers is a bit more accurate since at the end of the race mine said we ran 6.55 miles. That being said, we ran our first mile around 9:30, our second mile was even faster and according to the final race stats, our average was 10:24/mile. We finished in 1:04:29. I am certain I held Melissa back as I know she has a faster pace, but she stayed with me the whole time which I appreciate. I much prefer running with someone than running solo. She was a great encourager and I much enjoyed watching her pose for her pictures along the race route. (I just tried to have a smile on my face so I didn't look like I was dying as she was all smiles with double thumbs up.)

Thumbs up!

This picture makes me laugh hysterically!
So apparently I forgot to smile  - frankly
I look like I am dying!

We both have smiles - it is the end of the race

*I am sure I should not be posting these proofs, however the company is very proud of their pictures and charge a nice $25 dollars a picture, which I am not paying, so we will look at them with the word 'Proof' posted on them.

As for females, we finished 257th and 258th out of 835 and 31st and 32nd out of 118 in our age group which was age 40-44.

The after party was full of food and drinks! We had a celebratory cup of beer, juice, kolaches, fruit, power bars, and my favorite, Menchies frozen yogurt! It was a good time and honestly I felt a sense of accomplishment. Now to decide if I will run the half marathon with her in February . . . . at least I would have more time to prepare for that!

Celebratory drink!

Yummy frozen yogurt!

Fun Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

This afternoon we made our annual trip to the pumpkin patch. I must say it is amazing what a difference one year can make. Last year I struggled getting pictures with Casen NOT crying in them. This year was far different as he was 'cheesing' everywhere! He and Camden gladly posed where ever I asked them to.

Superheros were at the pumpkin patch

Posing with the Frozen crew

Even the Minions were there!

Camden Performs at the Health Expo

After Camden's soccer game today, we headed to the Berry Center so Camden could perform at the Health Expo there. He, along with some of his other classmates, have been working at school learning the different songs to perform today and I must say they did a great job.

After his performance, he ran into some awesome superheros! He was so excited to see them, unlike Casen who only wanted to look at them from afar.

Shane Turns the Big 4-0

Finally, I am no longer the only one in the "Big 4-0 Club" in our household. Today Shane celebrated his 40th and now it is just down hill from here for him too! : )  Just kidding - these are the best years of our life, right???? All joking aside, 40 does not seem to phase him in the least, or so he says. I wish I could handle birthdays as gracefully as he does! Anyway, I asked Shane over a week ago what kind of birthday cake he would like. Knowing he really is not a 'foody' he asked Camden what type of cake he thought we should have. Camden thought a minute and then was very precise in his description that it should be a white coconut cake with strawberries on top. And so I made a four layer coconut cake with strawberries on top - just as ordered!

Camden and Casen picked out the candles

Camden enjoying his cake

Casen thought it was tasty too

Of course the only things on Shane wish list were Alabama clothing, so that is what he received - along with hair gel. (The kind he likes he can no longer find in the store, so I ordered it on line). Of course the boys opened his gifts for him and loved helping him celebrate.

Everyone helped Daddy open presents

Happy Birthday Daddy!