Halloween 2013

Halloween day came and we were ready for it.  My legs had healed from the marathon and I was no longer limping.  It was time to hit the streets.  Our first stop was Myles preschool.  The kids dressed up and took the town of Montreat by storm.

That night, we descended upon Black Mountain.  Candy, friends and costumes...what could be better?

 

 

Myles class.  He is the little Zorro in the middle of the class.

 

 

Myles and his lovely princess, Anika.  Myles was channeling Antonio Banderas with his chest showing.  Honestly, we were running late and I couldn't find the string.  Pretty cute, though.

 

Little ladybug didn't last long

 

Nothing like 4 year olds in costume.

 

It was time for the real thing.  My men in black were ready (kind of).

 

Ready for battle....or for candy.  Aren't they devilishly handsome?  Thanks, Gramma, for the costumes!!!

 

Zorros took the town by storm.

 

Capes and swords were flying

 

 Zorros found Batman (Emmett).  What a terrible threesome.

Marine Corps Marathon

Thud, thud, thud.... my feet striking the pavement has been a familiar sound as of lately.  Mile after mile...oh, so many miles of training.  I have wanted to run a marathon for as long as I can remember.  This year, Kirsten and I decided that this was going to be the best time for us to do it.  We began training this summer and weekend after weekend we logged those miles.  I have to admit, although we were running 16, 18, 20 miles a weekend, I loved our uninterrupted conversations.  No kids, just two friends running. 

We chose the Marine Corps Marathon because it was in DC and we had a free place to stay (thanks, mom, dad and Will!). Plus, it is the third largest marathon in the country with 30,000 runners.  If I was going to do a marathon, it was going to be a BIG one. 

After we signed up, we found out that 4 other women from Black Mountain had signed up as well.  We had a gang to represent our small town. 

The big day finally arrived and we were trained and ready to run.  And run we did....all 26.2 miles.  That was my goal.  I wanted to say I "ran" a marathon, not "half walked" a marathon.  We kept a steady pace and only stopped to grab water or Gatorade.  The crowd was spectacular!!  People lined the streets cheering and holding signs.  What a show of support and it really helped us keep our spirits up. Kirsten and I stayed together the entire time.  I couldn't have done it without her!  We were a constant support to one another.  It was funny, we chatted up until mile 18 or so.  Then a silence set in....no more words, just our feet on the pavement.  Both of us were in the zone.  We both thought it was something like childbirth, where you have to go inside yourself to accomplish the goal.  Amazing what the human body can do.

Anyway, we did it!  My awesome brother was there at the finish line.  He took pictures, helped us up and carried our things.  Will, you are the best. 

When we got back home, everyone kept asking if I was going to do another one.  NO WAY!  The time it took to train was ridiculous.  I am a one and done kind of gal.  It was an amazing experiences none the less.  I can say I ran a marathon and check that off the bucket list.  I will stick with half marathons from here on out.

 

 

 

The Black Mountain women.  Six in the morning, before the race. 

 

Kirsten and I, trying to stay warm.

 

In the corral, waiting for the cannon to sound.  The red semi circles in the distance were the starting points.  Look at all of the runners!!  We were surrounded by groups of runners the entire 26 miles.

 

The Marines came in to start the race.

 

At the finish line.  Kirsten has a teal shirt and I am in grey next to her.

 

At the end of the race.  Medals and all.

 

We are still standing...barely

 

The ladies in the finishers area

 

Yes, I ate a plate of french fries and a coke for lunch.  Did I feel guilty....NO.  Not to mention I had a donut at mile 24....didn't feel guilty about that either.  How cool that the were handing out donuts and beer at mile 24?? What an amazing race.

Update on Little One

I haven't been giving many updates on our little one as nothing had really happened.  Social Services are not the fastest moving group.  We have had little E for 10 months now and she is 11 months old.  In someways, the time has flown by.  She is growing like crazy although she is still a tiny little peanut at only 17 pounds.  She has started scooting all over the place and doing cute tricks like waving and giving high fives.  She gets cuter every day with her big blue eyes and silly faces.  To say the least, we are totally in love with her.  So much for guarding my heart.

Her case has begun to move through the court system.....at a snail's pace.  She had a court date a few weeks ago where they changed her "plan" from reunification with her parents to guardianship with a relative.  What this mean is that we have to wait until random relatives come out of the woodwork and take guardianship of her.  If relatives do not show up by the next court date (Jan) we can apply for adoption.  Talk about nerve wracking.  I am torn between attempting to think positively (power of positive though and all) and not getting my hopes up.  She calls me "mama" for goodness sake.  So far, not a single relative has even called to check on her.  That's not to say they won't show up but they havent' been involved so far. 

I have tried to prepare for the fact that she could leave.  I cry every time I think about her little, chubby hand waving goodbye.  She could walk out of our lives and we would never see her again.  Would she think we abandoned her?  Would she been crying for us, confused?  I can't imagine not being there for her when she needed me.  I don't know how I could lose a child.  So if you are reading this please say a prayer, give a positive thought or send us good vibes.  Whatever you do, will work for me.  We need everything we can get. 

Because I can't send photos of her adorable face...

Here she is relaxing with the girls at the after school program.  She sits in her backpack while I teach and joins in social hour when I am finished.  She has quite the following.

Dinner time. *added 1/2019

A Great Day for a Hike

A few weekends ago, we journeyed to Mt. Mitchell State Park.  Oh, what a beautiful place when it is not covered in a dense fog.  Mt. Mitchell is the highest peak east of the Mississippi and notorious for wicked weather.  We picked a perfect day, sunny and in the low 60s.

We chose to hike the Balsam Nature Trail.  In my mind, this is the most magical trail in the park.  It is full of moss, blown down trees and little hidey holes.  I swear there are fairies if you look close enough.  Well, if they existed, they would live there.

 

 

The boys insisted on wearing camouflage or in Myles case, brown and green.  It proved for hours of entertainment.

 

Baby girl was in her usual position on Josh's back.  Contently watching the world go by.

 

Can you spot the boys?

 

First attempt at a photo on a slippery path....

 

Take two.

 

Mt. Mitchell is home to a variety of salamanders.  The boys were determine to find every one.  They put forth a great effort and found a ton of these slimy little guys.

 

Now you see him, now you don't.

Greenway

I forgot to post these pics this summer.  In the beginning of the summer, Myles learned how to ride his bike without training wheels.  I have to say, this was not an easy process.  There were several times that I wanted to toss his bike in the bushes.  Myles is VERY stubborn and does not like to do anything he isn't good at doing.  He would be riding down the trail perfectly but screaming, "I can't do this".  Every time he crashed he yelled at me and blamed me for him falling.  Usually, I wasn't even close to him yet it was always my fault.  Finally, after much screaming, he got it.  In actuality, it only took a few times to the greenway but it seemed like a lot more.

 

 

He is still very cautious.

 

His brother is quite the opposite.

 

Grady makes me nervous.  He is a great bike rider, doing jumps, wheelies and stands on his seat.  He wants to start racing bikes.  We are going to look into some races.

Aquarium and Cherokee

The aquarium is a must when we come to Gatlinburg.  The boys are very science minded and love the hands-on exhibits at the aquarium.  They are also interested in sea creatures so they really enjoy checking out all of the amazing fish.  Little one tagged along in the backpack and watched in wonder as brightly colored fish swam overhead.  What a great little aquarium.

 

 

 

The boys in one of the exhibits.

Shark Alley

 

Myles has always loved penguins and couldn't wait to see these little birds.

 

In the penguin cave

 

On the way home, we stopped by Cherokee, NC.  We went to the Cherokee Cultural Village and Museum.  The boys were able to see how the Cherokee people use to live.  I wasn't sure how they would like this but they really enjoyed learning about the people. 

 

Of course, Grady was fascinated by their weapons.  They let him hold one of their homemade knives.

 

My boys have no fear.  They volunteered to take part in a traditional dance.  There they are holding hands with perfect strangers.

 

Laughing all the way. 

 

I was really glad we stopped here.  The boys learned a lot about native Americans and no longer think they roam the streets in full headdresses and war paint.  We had a busy weekend but that's how we like it.

Gatlinburg

 

Boy, I behind on the blog.  Every time I am on the computer, I am doing school work.  Not much time for all these photos I have been taking.  Back in September we went to Gatlinburg, TN for a long weekend.  We rented a cabin and visited the usual attractions.  If you  have not been to Gatlinburg, you should check it out just for the people watching.  It has got to be the tackiest place on earth.  A place where air brushed t-shirts and rat tails are still in abundance.  It's pretty amazing.

 

 

This is our little cabin outside of Gatlinburg.

 

The inside

 

The boys were super excited when they saw the jacuzzi tub.  Josh had a brilliant idea to put shampoo in the tub and crank up the jets.  Look what happened.....

 

 

Needless to say, the boys had a blast.

 

 

The bubbles kept coming.  Look at Josh trying to scoop them up with a trash can.

 

The first night there, we went to our favorite donut shop.  This place is awesome and I am a bit of a donut conisour.  Donuts are my weakness.

 

 

The boys chose powered sugar donuts.

 

The next morning we went to Dollywood.  This year, Grady was tall enough to ride all of the rides, even the big roller coasters. Here he is in front of the first big one he went on.  He loved it and I watched on from the ground as I saw his little white head flying all over the place.  I was much more nervous than he was.

 

Cruzin

 

Little one went on her first ride.  She held on as Josh cruised with his best girl.

 

Myles liked the water rides

 

Getting lunch at Reds

 

I snapped this pic of the boys on the white water ride.  They rode this one twice.

Stay tuned for the rest of our vacation......