The Marathon Training Days are Over.....for now!

For the past six months or so, Jason has been training for The Portland Marathon with three of his best buddies. Initially, I really thought this would be a short lived hobby (as Jason tends to sample and dabble in all things), but Jason really got into it. So, the day finally arrived last Sunday and Jason proudly came in at 3 hours 45 minutes (I know he knows the exact time, but that my approximation). He trained really hard for it and I know he was proud of the accomplishment. I went down to see him cross the finish line, but sadly missed him...he was a bit earlier than I expected. It was however a fun day. Brooklyn went to her Aunt Debbie's and spent the day getting spoiled with one on one attention and Mr. Grady came with me, strapped to my front. He enjoyed the day outside and when all of the guys had finished, we all (the runners and families) went out to the Macaroni Grill - yum!

Now to my disbelief, he thinks he wants to do more in the future.....really, is this fun? I saw the people crossing the finish line and it looks like a bit of a high for the pure satisfaction of saying you did it, but it also looks extremely miserable! But I am one who really has never been a runner and doubt if I could run around the block once. But, my husband is a tank and seems to be able to do anything he sets his mind to. This time around his goal was to finish, but next time around he wants to better his time. Oh, and the latest call from the "besties" was...."hey let's get into biking"....great, another hobby : )

The Pumpkin Patch

I look forward to the pumpkin

patch outing every year! I love the beginning of fall when the weather is turning cooler, but it's still sunny sometimes and the rain hasn't set in permanently yet. My favorite pumpkin patch ever is Sauvie Island, northwest of Portland. It is the coolest farm with all the classic pumpkin patch fixins....the hayride to the patch, the corn maize, the market with fresh produce, yummy treats like candied apples, pulled pork sandwiches, and elephant ears, etc. Jason took the day off so we could go last weekend (even though I know he really wished he was with his buddies at the pre-marathon day festivities, he chose to spend the day with his fam - good choice, I think.) We had a good time, but the weather was a bit iffy. Luckily there was a break in the rain just long enough for us to get our pumpkins and have lunch. Grady enjoyed the day outdoors with the new scenery, just hanging out in the front pack and Brooklyn liked looking for the perfect pumpkin, which really wasn't hard for her to find - I had a much harder time. As for the pictures, little miss b is not very photogenic, unless the photograph is her idea of course.

full time...

So, just a quick update on my career status. I am working full time...the full time part is a one year contract, which is great cause I'm not completely sold on it yet. I feel like a bit of a whiner, but it's hard! I feel like I'm barely getting by in every area of my life, but not quite succeeded at any. The paycheck is nice, but.......??? I miss knowing what my babies' schedules are. By the time its the weekend, I feel like I don't even know how Grady goes down for a nap or at what time. It makes me sad, but I know that he is well taken care of by his "Faith" and by Daddy. Brooklyn is doing better at her "school", but its hard when she has to be there all day. She gets pretty worn out. The hardest part is keeping up with chores around the house and still finding time to be a mom during the hours I'm home. I feel like we're slowly getting into a routine. Even so, I'm happy to know that there are only 152 days of school left and then I can decide if I want to continue this crazy way of living or take it back to my preferred slower pace of life. We'll see....trying to keep my options open.