Happy Halloween!

Oh yes. He's an engineer (or "train driver" if you ask him.) Did we expect anything else from this train-loving boy?


We aren't exactly in a good trick-or-treat sort of neighborhood out here, so we borrowed the Lee family's 'hood for the night. The kids had fun until their buckets got too heavy to carry and we had to call it a night. 

Can you believe in that big pile of candy, there was not one Swedish Fish? Good thing my sister bought the good stuff and I could fill my pockets before heading home. 
Head over to Flickr for a few more photos including cousins in costumes. 

The new family photographer

Walter wanted to carve the pumpkin. Nate was nowhere to be found. This exciting event just HAD to be photographed, obviously. But what to do? Hand the sharp knife over to Walter so I could take photos? Of course not. I found our old point and shoot camera and put Walter to work. I snapped a few before my hands got messy, but Walter gets the credit for telling the photographic story of our 2011 pumpkin carving.





And I had to include us taking photos of us taking photos. :)

Weekend away

My sister and I had both been needing a little break, so we broke away to Denver for a long, kid-free, work-free weekend. It was the perfect destination. Great weather, great scenery, great food, and our cousin Sara - a great tour guide! We shopped and ate and visited with old friends. We carried our knitting along to keep us busy on the flights. I even managed to stick with my training and fit in a 13 mile run. I didn't want to lug my big camera along, so I just have a few iPhone photos to share.

Airplane knitting.

We got attacked by zombies! The annual Zombie Crawl took place during our visit. Luckily we got out with our brains intact.

Sara and Kristin in the Stanley Hotel. We were trying to capture a ghost on camera. No such luck.

The beautiful view from the Stanley.
This was exactly the getaway we needed. In fact, we think we might need to go back on a regular basis.

Happenings

Oh goodness. It's been a long time, hasn't it? There's been so much going on. 
- I'm back to running! The achilles tendinitis is gone, but I'm still trying to take things a little easy. One body part or another seems to need ice on a daily basis. But I'm getting my strength back. Marathon, here I come!
- It's squash season! Are these not the cutest little pie pumpkins you've ever seen? Also, if you're looking for an acorn squash recipe, I highly recommend this one.

- I've been doing some sewing. Just a tiny bit. New pillows for the bench seating in the kitchen.

- Walter has become the most inquisitive kid EVER. And his questions just keep getting harder. "Where does water go when it goes down the drain?" "How do you make walls?" "How does an owie heal?" I'm running out of answers. I think we need more trips to the library. Although, he came home with a new book today and decided it would work better as a hat.


- This cool fall weather has gotten me back into the knitting mood. Mama's getting a new skirt.

- Walter has been practicing his writing by making his Christmas wish list. He's getting pretty good. I can't tell you how many times I've heard, "How do you spell train?" 
So, that's a little of what's been keeping us busy. What's happening with you?

The pumpkin patch

We had a long day of driving, watching Nate run the Prairie State Half Marathon, and driving some more. So we were super excited to come home to an invite to the pumpkin patch with the Lee family. Walter needed some time to run around outside after that long car ride. And his cousins wore him out! 







(Nate finished the half in 1:48! Click here for race results and photos. I had to sit this one out, but my ankles are feeling a LOT better and I hope to be back at it soon.)

Outdoor lovelies

A few sights from a fall evening. We're getting out and enjoying the warm weather while it lasts!

It's not ALL in your head...

My ankle pain turned into BIG ankle pain and a visit to the doctor confirmed that I have achilles tendinitis. Yee-ouch! So I have some resting to do. That's not exactly on the marathon training schedule. I'm not sure how this is going to affect the race yet. We'll just have to wait and see how things heal. Luckily, I have Walter offering to kiss my owies.