Runnin' On

September has been the busiest month this year for us, I think!  Wow, and we have cruised on into October, which is just nuts to me.  I really have just settled into September!  But, here we are and the weather has adjusted to fall without waiting for me.  It really has been lovely.  In fact, I bought a Fall candle from Bath and Body works called Creamy Pumpkin, and I LOVE it.  It s the perfect blend of fall to me; not too sweet, not too outdoors-y, not too floral.  Mmmmm.

But, moving on!  I'm still training for my 5k on Thanksgiving.  It's been really great for me.  I work best with a goal in mind, and it's been nice to get back into running again.  Kristoffer suggested I run at the park around their walk/bike track, and two laps is about 3 miles; so I've been doing that, and it's been a great training tool.  The park trail has some hills and valleys, and it's quite a bit different than the treadmill, for sure!  I've been doing pretty well, just trying to keep my pace, and running on the hills certainly makes running on a flat surface a LOT easier!  I'll run about twice a week and do the three-ish miles each time in about 40 minutes (which is not great, but I'm going for stamina here!).  So I'm making progress, and progress is good.

If I haven't already mentioned, our family will be headed to NY this month!  We are super excited!!  The kids and I fly out together and will be there for about 2 weeks, and Kristoffer will fly out the day after and be there for a week.  I am so so SO happy that my hubby will be coming with us...well, not WITH us on the flight (*sigh*), but I'll take what I can get.  I haven't mentioned anything about this, but this year has been tough for my parents as my dad has been facing some rather challenging health issues.  It's moments like this when it's really tough to be far away from my parents and family.  I am so grateful to be able to go home for little while.  To just be there.  My sister will be there the week before and I will *just* miss her, so my parents have a few weeks full of fun and busy, busy kids!!  Hopefully they will up for it!  We have all sorts of fun things to do, visiting my grandma and family, going to pick pumpkins, carve the pumpkins, maybe go to a cider mill/donut shop, take my dad to the Bass Pro Shops, take my mom for lunch in Skaneatlas, go trick-or-treating, plan an anniversary dinner for my parents (36 years....I think?), visit my two old ward families in Greene and Cortland.  I am super excited!!

My children are sweet and wonderful and growing.  I cannot believe how much they are growing.  Marin is loving pre-school and is learning so much.  She sounds out her words to figure out what letter they start with.  She continues with the most intriguing questions and will come home with cute little ditties that she has learned in school like "Poi-SON, NO NO NO!".  She is also deceptive and has discovered lying.  You can imagine how thrilled I am about this.  She tests my patience every day, and requires a LOT of mental energy and focus.  I tend to bite my cheeks when I get frustrated, and last week, I almost bite right through them, they were pretty swollen, ha!  BUT, through all of that, I love my sweet daughter and know that she was chosen to be my girl, and I was chosen to be her mama.  I need to remember that we both have something to learn from each other!

Owen is blossoming in the language department.  He is able to mimic so many words and it is the CUTEST thing. Some his new words are 'cheese', 'banana', 'monkey', 'done', 'more', 'pumpkin', 'truck', 'car', 'froggy', 'friends', and more!  He really likes big sister's pink sparkly shoes she wore for our family photo shoot, and likes to pull them out and wear them around the house.  I think he has been going through a growth spurt since he has been eating double and taking three hour naps!  He takes so much physical energy during the day, phew!

And my Kristoffer is just wonderful.  I still love my great hubby after over 6 years of marriage.  He makes me smile and wants the wold for me.  He supports me in my goals and still thinks I'm the most beautiful woman in the world.  He works so hard for our little family and sacrifices a lot to do the right thing.  He loves our children and plays with them and is the incredible dad that every kid needs.  I still consider myself one lucky gal to have this guy for more than life, I get to keep him for FOREVER!