Soccer Star

It's Fall...you know what that means...all across America, kids are kicking soccer balls and parents are freezing their tails off watching!  Thankfully, the Saturdays this October have had their fair share of sunshine and we've only got one kid cruisin' the field!

 

Don't adjust your monitor...that's the actual color of the Timbers' jerseys.  I think part of their strategy is to blind the other team with sun glare! 

Seriously, these jerseys make it easy to spot the team on the field!  The matching socks push it right over the top.  I think the strategy is working...they've only lost 1 or 2 games.

Ty absolutely loves playing.  He's so sweaty when the game is over!  His favorite "sports move" is pouring water over his head.  Of course, when Mom fills your water bottle with Gatorade, it makes the situation a bit sticky!

I'm still hoping that I can grab a few extra of these jersey after the season...for family vacations...should make it easier to keep an eye on my kids!

Purple and Blue Challenge Run - 10/2/11

I've officially gone a little crazy in the running department!  A friend of mine suckered me into a Challenge Run.  It was a local 5k based on the Tough Mudder and Warrior Dash races.  I'm not really sure what convinced me.  Maybe it was the cause.  But I ran my first Challenge Run on October 2, 2011.

I got there a little bit earlier than Krystyn, so I went ahead and picked up my packet.  On my way in, I noticed a map.  That was when I started to panic.

Let's take a closer look, shall we?

 

I started to wonder what I'd gotten into.  Especially when the starting line looks like this...

I realize it was advertised as a "5k run with 12 obstacles", but I kinda thought we'd RUN before we saw some of those challenges.  Nope!  Straight into the woods and over downed trees.

First up: 3 HUGE tires.  HUGE! (No that's not me.)

Then some mud...some water...some more mud...an army crawl...some more water...(you get the picture)...

At one point, we carried car tires 1/4 mile.  That's right...a CAR TIRE!  How do you carry a tire and run?  I started the way this guy is, but after about 10 yards, it was digging into my shoulder with every bounce so I opted to wear it like a hoola-hoop.  Worked great to run...but boy did my arms hurt on Monday!

We crossed the brook around 8 times.  It was anywhere from a trickle of water to an actual swim under a bridge.  Ever try to swim through freezing water with sneakers on?  Quite a wake-up call.

Right before the finish line there was one last army crawl through mud.  We were quite the sight by the time we crossed the mat!

Here's Krystyn finishing strong:

We all had water-proof GPS anklets.  I sorta felt like I was on house arrest.  Maybe that's what helped me run through the woods.  I gotta tell you though, I'd be a horrible fugitive.  I would just give up.  I could never outrun anyone.

The goal of my race was to finish...finish and have fun! Mission Accomplished!  I've never had more fun running...ever!

So out of 140+ runners, I finished #44 overall.  I was pretty happy with a 41:48 finish and love the fact that I was in the top 10 women finishers!  I definitely see more challenge runs in my future!

Apple Picking 2011

What better way to start the blog back up than with some fun Apple Picking pictures...

I think we're officially back to an annual tradition of picking apples. I didn't think we'd ever be able to bring 5 kids to the orchard on our own. And honestly...we still haven't. A group of people from church all went together to a smaller size orchard (Overlook Farm) only 45 minutes away in Newburgh.  We had a blast:

 

The place was gorgeous and the weather was beautiful.

TONS of apples were eaten.

Eli really thought EVERY apple needed to be picked!

Cole ran off with two young ladies from church.  They had a great time...yes...that's him in the red...far far far away from Mom and Dad.

 

I'm sure he talked their ear off!

 

Ty looked for the highest apples he could find.

 

Any excuse to climb!

 

This picture just cracked me up!  We were teaching the kids to blow those wishing thingies (yes, that's the technical term).

And yes, Zoe was there...but like Cole...was too cool to hang with Mom and Dad...

 

And because you say I never post pictures of myself...

 

(Eating the world's LARGEST Golden Delicious apple ever!)