So many costumes!

This was the first year that our kids didn't want new costumes for Halloween. The dress-up bin is overflowing with previous year's costumes, dresses, and hand-me-downs. Clark got Elmo and Spiderman outfits from neighbors, we wore our Incredibles costumes from last year, and Aurora was Glenda the Good Witch (a dress-up she got from Presley YEARS ago). We had a sleepover, did crafts, went to too many parties, and had the best trick-or-treating experience I can remember since I was a kid.

We weren't the only Incredibles at the party, and Clark wasn't the only Spiderman trick-or-treating. He sang the classic "Trick-or-treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat. If you don't, I don't care, I'll pull down your underwear!" at the first house we went to.

She may look like a princess, but make no mistake - she's a good witch. We trick-or-treated with friends in the Bluffs, an area of our neighborhood just a mile or two away from our house. For years we've had no trick-or-treating action on our street. It turns out EVERYBODY goes to the Bluffs. Having Halloween fall on a Monday may have made for the longest Halloween weekend EVER, and thank goodness it's training season because WOW we have a lot of candy (and obviously the kids need help eating it!). Happy Halloween, y'all!

Group Photos

I was pretty sure last weekend was the most exhausting ever, but this weekend proved to be just as busy and tiring. Let's start with a picture from last weekend. This group photo was taken at the LIVESTRONG Staff Alumni party. It was so good to spend time with these people.

Last weekend started with a fundraising dinner and included a 20-mile bike ride. This weekend started with a Parent's Night Out and included a mud run obstacle course with my workout crew from Travis County. I'm not sure which was harder, but I think I prefer riding my bike... 

The kids have had a busy week as well. Friday was Valley View's annual sock hop and Aurora really wanted me to go so I tagged along for the fun. This week was also the book fair and parent conferences, so Chuck & I both spent a little more time at school than usual. 

Clark's class had a field trip to a pumpkin patch and while we couldn't go, one of the parents sent a few pics. This was his first time in a big school bus! Can you see our sweet tiny boy? Hint: he's near the middle, wearing a baseball cap.

Naturally, we had to take a family trip to the pumpkin patch as well! This afternoon the kids and I headed out to a new pumpkin patch at Proof & Cooper (a local restaurant).

They got their faces painted and made caramel apples, we carved our pumpkins (Bones Jones and Silly Billy) and toasted the seeds with cinnamon and sugar. I'm loving all these group photos and I enjoy blogging and reflecting on everything we did this weekend, but that wasn't even all of it and I am seriously worn out! Ready or not, another busy week is ahead. See you next weekend!

Pink & Yellow

This week was all about supporting cancer fighters. On Thursday night we attended the wine walk at the Hill Country Galleria and it was a fundraiser for Komen. I have a friend going through breast cancer treatment right now and a past intern of mine volunteers for Komen, so I was happy to throw a little support their way during breast cancer awareness month.

We had such a nice evening walking, sipping, and eating ice cream with my parents. They'll be heading back to Florida next week and I knew we wouldn't get to spend much time together over the weekend as I would be busy celebrating cancer survivors and longtime supporters in yellow! It was our biggest weekend of the year with a fundraising appreciation dinner on Friday, packet pickup and a huge merchandise sale Saturday, a family-friendly staff alumni party Saturday night, and the LIVESTRONG Challenge bike ride on Sunday.

This was our 20th Annual LIVESTRONG Challenge and I've been participating for a decade - working, walking, running, and volunteering. This was my first year riding!

I decided that for my 10th Anniversary with the Foundation I'd buy a bike and register for the 20-mile ride. I love my adorable single-speed cruiser and had no problem getting through the hilly course, but it was a hard workout and I am feeling it!!! A huge shout out to everybody who supported my fundraising efforts, which help keep our programs going strong, year after year.

Dogs

Today was an unstructured day off, thanks to Columbus. We had several errands to run and as I was listing them, Clark said he also wanted to go to the pet store and get a dog. I suppose he's not much older than Aurora was when she started asking for a baby so I should be glad he's just asking for a pet, but honestly, two kids is enough! We did get to see some dogs this weekend. Mom and dad came over with Finley and the kids made him a fort! I think he liked it. And today I took Clark to dog storytime at the library.

Chula is a golden retriever who comes to the library to read with kids every week. The kids give her treats and pet her after every book. At one point, she reached over and started biting herself and Clark yelled "AAAAGH! SHE'S BITING HER BOOTY!!!" He was sitting pretty close to the action. I grew up with pets and my parents have had a lot of sweet dogs over the years. I was going to save this picture for later (Aurora and I are going to a production of Annie over Thanksgiving weekend!) but perhaps now would be a good time to post this pic my folks found of me with Honey Boo, back in the early 80's when I liked to dress up as Annie:

While we're flashing back, here's another cute one of me (about a decade later) with Hillary! I'm pretty sure she was named for Hillary Clinton, but we'd better leave politics out of it... regardless, Clark's class has a fish tank and a hermit crab at school and he really wants a pet at home, but for now I think he'll have to settle for a big sister.

Heroes

Have no fear, that post about home improvements was just a little something extra. We still had as full a weekend as ever, jam packed with all the usual fun. Saturday started out with a trip to Home Depot, which did include some shopping, but it also featured a kid's workshop where the littles got to build and paint wooden fire trucks, then meet some firefighters and learn how to escape a burning building. I hear Chuck had to go in and rescue Clark...

That afternoon we went to a superhero birthday party and in the interest of time, I took my little heroes to HEB afterwards. I must say, we got some interesting looks in the grocery store!

Sunday was the first race of the Distance Challenge; an 80s themed 8k. The weather could not have been nicer and I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to dress up! I realize that 80s attire isn't exactly the stuff of superheroes, but the runners doing the Distance Challenge are all my heroes. This was the first of 5 races in a series which includes 3 half marathons. 

I was asked to write up a race report for the Austin Runners Club blog from the perspective of an average newbie. Sounds like a super boring topic to me, but I had fun writing it!

Improvements

I'm interrupting your regularly scheduled weekend blog about the kiddos to post an update about the home improvements we've been doing for the past several months. Aurora doesn't like change so she was anxious going into these projects, but we are all happy with the results, which - while perhaps not dramatic in the photos - have been dramatic for our lives. First, we replaced three doors. My dad replaced the studio entry door (which was letting water in), Home Depot replaced our garage door, and I hired contractors to replace Chuck's studio balcony doors. It was a BIG job but they were water-logged, leaking, and infested with carpenter ants (yuck).

After replacing all the doors, we painted the whole house and studio. The colors are very similar but I think you can tell it's a little less orange & cream and a bit more brown & tan. The garage door was super old and rickety. The replacement is so quiet and has a keypad & phone app, so we have some convenient new options for opening and closing it. The lighting might not be as nice in the after picture, but trust me - this garage door is much nicer.

And now for the main front entrance. Again, not a dramatic difference but the update turned out great. Here's the before and after, which includes new light sconces (thanks dad!):

We had to strip layers of paint from the door and it is a new shade of red, but painting the side panels made all the difference. Of course, a house is not a home without family - so I'll post one cute pic of the fam wearing our new matching aprons!!! We still have a bit of work to do (mostly interior now) but it's so nice to have a majority of our projects done.