Sunken Gardens

Every year I love to vist the Sunken Gardens when it is in full bloom to snap some pics of the kids. We barely made it this year (notice we are wearing winter clothes!) before the first frost hit. Here are my favorites:

Happy Halloween!

15K!

On October 17th, I ran my first 15K! (9.3 miles - woohoo!) I had wonderful company, running with Julie and Shawna again. My biggest fans were there to cheer me on! I had 2 personal goals for this race - to finish in 1 hour 45 minutes or less and to run 11 minute miles or quicker. I was thrilled to meet both goals! I finished in 1 hour 44 minutes and eleven seconds at an 11 minute 10 second pace! Not to bad. Next time I would train more thoroughly and try to train for speed as my endurance improves. I really slacked off the month before the race, thinking that I was pregnant. I found out the weekend before that I was not, so I dusted off my running shoes and signed up! And I'm glad I did. I can definitely see a half marathon in my future...

a BIG train

Greg, Garrett, and Avery were lucky enough to see the biggest working steam engine in the world, The Challenger. It passed thru Herkimer, KS, home of Greg's Grandma Melba. The train was making it's way back from St. Louis, MO to Cheyenne, WY, where it is housed. It stopped overnight in Marysville, KS, so the kids, Greg, and Great-Grandma got a chance to see it up close. The next morning, it flew thru Herkimer at 60 mph as they watched by the tracks. We have some amazing video footage of it coming, puffing up huge clouds of steam in the distance as it gets closer to town. I had to stick around Lincoln for a late meeting at work, so I didn't get to witness this "awesome" train. (Just ignore the strange lady's backside in the first picture. We can thank Greg's photography for that!)

Pumpkin Patch!

We decided to check out a new pumpkin patch this year, ironically it's the one closest to our house! We went to Roca Berry Farm, where we pick strawberries in the springtime. We went on Garrett's birthday, the morning and early afternoon before his party, so it was a busy day for all of us! The kids had a blast in the haunted barns, the corn maze, riding the ponies, and riding the hayrack out to pick pumpkins. Avery rode the biggest pony, Stinky Pete, and Garrett rode Tanner. They both got a kick out of Stinky Pete's name.

Easton

I'm a little behind with everything! Here is a picture of (not so new) cousin Easton, Johnathan & Shelby's little boy. I can't remember exactly how old he was in this picture, but it was the first weekend that Avery & I met him. Garrett & Greg made a trip down when he was born to meet him in the hospital.

Garrett's Birthday Pics

Wow, has it really been 6 weeks since I've blogged? Life has been busy around here. Garrett had a wonderful birthday party. The weather was great, so we played games outside, chowed on some pizza and cake, and opened presents. Garrett, Avery, and his friends Andrew, Nathan, Jacob, Salora, and Abbey had a great time.