My Camera is ALIVE!

I got my camera back! Got some great pics of the girls tonight at Gracie's pre-school Spooktacular and in the front yard! Hope to post them later when I am not so tired! Here is a couple cute ones...

Teamwork...Miscommunication...Mishap...

okay so my camera is still in the shop...and I feel awful b/c we have had visits from Grandma Great and Grandpa and Grandma Stroud in the past two weeks and I have no pictures to show for it! But I do have quite the story from today....

So we were running late for church, kind of typical for anytime we try to get us all out the door and to church by 8:45. I was trying to get Karys dressed but Rob was still ironing her dress, so I threw her shirt on her and he said he would finish the job...well we all made it to church and I dropped her off at the nursery and told them that she may need to go potty. When I picked her up they told me she said she never needed to go and that she was fine. We walked home, amazingly survived the wind, and settled in the the kitchen to get ready to bid Brent and Doreen goodbye when all of a sudden Rob looks down at Karys lying on the kitchen floor and says, "Erin, where is her undies?" I just looked at him and then all of us started laughing as the realization hit us. We sent our daughter to church nursery with no undies on. I had gotten them out and put them on the living room floor, well she was still gonna go potty so i never put them on. When Rob came out to finish and put her dress on her shirt was just long enough and then the dress covered her so he picked up the undies, thinking they were dirty and put them in the laundry room. I never saw them on the floor so neither of us questioned it.

Did I mention we sent our daughter to nursery with no undies!!!! I wonder what the workers were thinking! They had to notice! They just had to...I think I would have said something but that is just me....This entire thing was definitely enough to warrant the ugly cry face for a good 5 minutes! Brent and Doreen shared in the laughter as well...for some reason Rob wasn't laughing quite as much as we were, especially when I told him that when I picked her up she was playing on the slide!

Pumpkinland with Leah and Sarah

Sarah and Leah were so awesome today and drove over for the afternoon to go out to Pumkinland! Sarah wanted to get some pumpkins to carve and Leah just had a blast walking-yes she is walking!-all over the place and checking out all of the animals with the girls! We were hoping to get some good pictures but these were all we could get before the camera battery died on us! Leah feeding the goats-she has no fear! She just stuck her hand right in there and fed them...Sarah and I both thought she was going to get bit!

All three girls by the fence "talking" to the sheep
Leah loves being so independent and never lets you hold her for long. She is always on the go!

Sarah helping the girls feed the goats hayGracie was so excited Sarah offered to get a bunny out of the cage for her to hold.
She was ELATED! The only things that she wants for Christmas are a bunny and snow...I am not sure about either one to be honest!

Karys checking out the bunny..."me hold it!"There was no way Gracie was going to hand hers over...This is as long as Karys held the bunny for...me scared, he scratch me!

Karys playing peekaboo

Leah taking a quick glimpse for the camera before exploring more...

Karys wouldn't pose for a picture so Gracie grabbed her face and kissed her!Sarah and Leah by the pumkins! So cute together! Look at how big she is!one last silly face before the camera died!

Fall in Full Swing! (Yummy recipe)

So fall is pretty much oficially here! It has been a whirlwind of a season with all that we have had going on, but it is going so well! Gracie is officially adjusted to preschool and is really liking it! She doesn't shed any tears, and asks daily if today is a school day. In the process we have been able to teach the days of the week pretty well ;) The other day at school she came home with a loaf of bread that the kids baked themselves with the help of Chef Nancy! I do not remember ever getting to do anything like that in preschool...She is just growing up so fast. Just the little things even that she does. As I sit here and think about what it is I almost can't put my finger on it...the way she interacts with other kids older and her age, the way she looks forward to grown up things: folding clothes, painting the kitchen, baking things, the way she cares for/watches over/micromanages Karys, the way she picks out her own clothes and will only wear "cozy" pants--otherwise known as stretch pants, she will only wear pig tails.....and so I cling to the other little things, the way she crawls in my bed at night, loves to rock at Kindermusik, and wants me to rub her back, to hold on to the small glimpses of my little baby/toddler who is quickly growing into a young girl.

Karys too has just changed so much. I don't know if she was just always the baby and it was hard to see her in another light, but over the course of the summer she too has really blossomed and grown. she strings together sentences, so cares for her babies and sings to them, she comforts and rubs gracies back, she has tantrums ;), she runs fast, she needs alone time, she likes to color, she loves to read books over and over....it is just so amazing to me how Gracie was once this age and we have transitioned into a whole new season...

The latest smile has come from the girls...Karys had to go to the bathroom so she walked back there and came back out. We asked her if she went already since her pants were still around her ankles. She just looked at us very seriously and said, "No, Jesus is in the bathroom." Oh really, well what is he doing? Gracie chimed in at this point and answered, "He is going to the bathroom." in a tone that was like Duh! It was hilarious!!!

But none the less I look forward to the rest of fall and all that the rest of this year holds. We are looking forward to more visits to Pumpkinland, visits from Grandma and Gradpa, big cross country meets, Church giving campaign, and a trip to California for thanksgiving! and that doesn't include December...so lots to do before the year ends out ;)

A bummer thing is that my camera is in the shop...stopped working at a cross country meet last weekend so hopefully I will have it back soon! And yes-I am going crazy!!! But I thought that since I really have no pics to share I would share an AMAZING recipe that I got last year from my sister-in-law Shay...I don't even like pumpkin things and this is so yummy to me! ENJOY!

Pumpkin Crisp

1 can pumpkin
1 C evaporated milk
1 C sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cinnamon

1pkg yellow cake mix
1 cup melted butter
1 cup chopped pecans

Mix 1st five ingredients together & sprinke cake mix over top. Sprinkle pecans over cake mix and drizzle the melted butter over the top. Bake 1 hour at 350.

Not sure...

Not sure why the october blogs aren't on here...but make sure and click on the Marathon link in the right hand column to read about it!

Twin Cities Medtronic Marathon #2

So I never know how long to make a blog, how many pictures to use, how many words to write with it, but today here is my disclaimer...this blog is long! I don't care though ;) You may choose to read every word, to just look at the pictures, or to skim the whole thing...but just know, this is so long b/c it has been recorded into my journey as a very big event!

We headed out of Orange City on Saturday morning Twin cities Bound! I was off to run my 2nd TC Medronics Marathon with moth of my sisters. The girls were so excited to go and stay in a hotel and to see of of the family! We met up with my family at the Mall of America parking lot and headed over to the expo to see the exhibits and get our packets picked up. Outside of the Expo with all of our confirmation booklets...after I had to drive back home and get mine after getting 15 miles down the road, I called them all to remind them to bring thiers!We also got to meet up with Auntie Heather, Uncle Seth, and thier friend Sara at the expo! So fun to have a family with so many ppl taking part in the race...Seth, Chad, Sarah, Megan and I all running the marathon and Shay running the 10-mile. I also had three friends all from cross country teams I have been on running the marathon as well!Too bad no one called us to remind us about our photo IDs! We all had to go to the help desk and get cleared b/c we left our IDs in the car ;) Wow!The official packet pickup...wow that picture isn't posed or anythingNot sure what this was...I think my mom had taken so many pictures our smiles were getting a little silly...loved getting all the free stuff to fill up our Saturn bags;)Walking from the hotel over to Bucca de Pepo for supper! Carb loading at its best and a celebration for Sally's 50th!The girls loved watching the spaghetti be made! At first they told us it would be an hour and a half wait. When we gave the ok to be split up they sat us down right away. We got lucky and booths right next to each other! Kind of tight, but we are a tight family!
Sarah and Jeremy looking good...Smiles from Megan and GracieCHEESE from mommy and KarysGracie not knowing where to start on her cheese pizza...MMM...we love our veggie pasta!

Rob with his SPICY sausage pasta...he kept telling us how his lips were tinglingWhat...so I like spaghetti...you got a problem with this face?
The happy couple...100years of life and 30 years of marriage bt the two of themOne side of our cozy boothHad to put this pic in! Gracie did such a GREAT job coloring in the lines...chose all the colors too!

So after we got back from dinner we all kind of settled in to our rooms. The girls all met up in our rooms to paint some tshirts for the little girls. We finally cam to the decision to write on the front..."My mommy runs...26.2" and then on the back it said..."and to do her sisters" It was going well til I got to Gracie's black shirt...the one which every little mistake shows up on. First I grabbed the back and put my hand all in the paint...then as Megan and I were hanging the shirts up I hit it with the hanger and it fell out of her hands and to the floor. I was devestated! "It's ok mommy...it looks good" I love my three year old..she showed me so much grace!

A picture of Gracie in her shirt...she loved it! You didn't get to see it much at the race b/c we needed so many layers...but she loved it none the less ;)
A picture of the back of Leah's shirt...Leah had pink, Gracie black and Karys white....

When it finally came time to go to bed, it was like 11pm. I was pretty worked up from my t-shirt fiasco and just natural nerves that were working thier way through my body. I had a hard time falling asleep on the pull-out couch. It wasn't that it was uncomfortable, just lots of ppl talking next door and making the most of the sheet I had. I woke up at 1:44 freezing! Pulled the comforter off the king bed Rob was in with the girls and headed back to bed. The party was still going strong next door, but I feel asleep rather easy...this time. I could not say this or the time I woke up at 3:15...this time the party was really loud and I just couldn't go back to sleep. Finally after lying there contemplating calling security, making the call, listening for them to come and finally falling back asleep it was well after 4:30. I made it then til 5:15 when I woke up and peed ;) and then got my best sleep from 5:15-6:30...yup needless to say I was a little rushed b/c I was supposed to be down the street to pick up my friend Kristi at 7am! AHHH! I had no time to get together the stuff I wanted Rob to have in the car and my sister put my chip and number on for me while I brushed my teeth. Finally we all made it down stairs!

Getting ready to head out the door after having our wonderful parents pray over us!!! I loved this even though my attitude at the time was so rushed and distracted!
Megan taking a bite of her cereal...one of the only ones she got! We jogged to Kristi's hotel and Megan ended up ditching the cereal along the way b/c the whole eat and run thing wasn't working!

Sarah was the calmest/quietest of all of us....just waiting for the rest of us to get our ducks in a row!
Trying to call Kristi and let her know we were running late...

We don't have any pictures from the start of the race or our race prep, but it was so fun getting to hang out with Kristi and her dad Todd before the race. We put our names on our shorts with hockey tape (which lasted 3 miles in the rain!), got a drink, used the port-a-pots, and headed off to the starting line!
While we were doing all of this and getting started, the gang was lining up on the streets to watch the start of the race! The girls are such GREAT cheerleaders! My dad said Karys sat up here for the longest time cheering for everyone who ran past!

Gracie was so excited before we even left for the race to bring the bell with!!! She rang this thing pretty faithfully for the runners as she took in all the ppl who ran by!My dad said he even had to plug his ears b/c she just sat up on his shoulders and rang the bell! We were so glad we packed lots of coats, gloves and the lima hats so the girls could be cozy while cheering for the race!Uncle Seth was the first one to run past for the family/friends group! He is the one in the yellow hat...he ran a GREAT race finishing in 2:54! Check out Heather and Seth's blog for the entire story of thier race/trip to the cities! Congrats Seth we are so proud of you!

Next came Uncle Chad, who also had a great day! Chad was back to the cities to for a second time and ended up improving his time by over 30 minutes! It is funny b/c on Seth's blog too Chad always had a fist in the air in all the pics of him! Great job chad! We are so proud of you and Shay both(Shay ran the 10-miler early that morning)! What a commitment to both train to run big races!

We almost missed the fam at the mile mark, so they didn't get a picture of the three of us running together...good thing they had on those bright yellow Goeman Auction pullovers b/c we could at least wave to them from across the street! This was Meg and I though running in to the 12ish mile point where we met up with them for a third time! It was such an answer to prayer b/c we were ready for the GOO!We were both feeling good still at this point but I could definitely tell a difference in my joints and couldn't even stop here for long. the doctor had warned me about this due to the relaxin that my body started making for the pregnancy...so we didn't stay long and were back on our way!Sarah was just a little ways behind us! She had such a positive attitude through this whole thing...Jeremy even ran out here to jog and walk with her a little!Jeremy and Leah watching thier AWESOME mommy run up to them!

I would say that for the most part the race went really well...I didn't think I would be able to run it all and then God answered a major prayer and allowed me to feel really good the whole 1st 3/4 of the race! It was really hard to lose Sarah...Megan and I were pacicng a little faster, but we would always catch up to her at the water stops; however, there came a point where whe didn't come when we stopped to pee (Mostly me...last year I think 2x this year like 5! Pregnancy I guess!) We said many prayers for her and mentioned her name often...Megan hit her rough patch from about 12.5 - 18. I took the lead here b/c I was feeling good. We strategized our walking and made sure to stay hydrated. We didn't talk much at all...but it was nice to know that there was someone running next to you so you couldn't just stop. My rough part came somewhere after 20. I remeber passing 'the wall' on the course and stopping for Megan to use the bathroom. I was stretching out and just couldn't get my right IT band to loosen. Not good...was all I could think in my head. Around 23 it got so bad I was forced to a walk multiple times, and 24 to the finish was just flat out rough...I think the tears tried to start coming around 24.5...we were SO close!

Megan was AMAZING during this time! She spoke so many words of encouragement, blessed me and affirmed me...but more than that she carried me across the finish! I have never felt such intense pain while running before. But after we went through the tunnel I was committed to running across the finish line...and although I don't remember much about coming down the hill, I heard my name being called as I finished and I heard Megan's words right beside me...it was AMAZING! and we did it!

Megan and I bringing it in to the finish! My little sis would have ran her 1st marathon in sub 5 hours if she hadn't have stuck with me...she did an awesome job training and God did a miracle on her this day!!! SHE DIDN'T EVEN FEEL ANKLE PAIN! She sprained it the Wed before pretty bad and she felt noting! PRAISE HIM!Sarah crossing the finish line with a smile! What an AMAZING woman! She trained with a husband, baby and full time job...she is such an amazing woman!An intense/emotional family embrace after the meetSmiles from a tear-stained mommy to a very joyful daughter!Hugs and affirmation from one proud papa bear!

YAY! We are done! We survived! and God is good and faithful!Oh...yeah...so I am missing from these pics b/c while we had finished and were waiting for Sarah to cross the line I just got REALLY cold and could not get warmed up. I took off my wet socks and tried to get cozy with my space blanket and it worked for a little while. But when Sarah was done, we rejoiced lots, and took our pic...as we were headed to find the fam I just got really cold and dizzy...so it was off to the Medical tent for me. It really was minor, they didn't even have to draw my blood like they thought...just lots of warm blankets, warm broth, and dry clothes. I was out and on my way in no time. Just don't remember things for a little while in between all of that...Megan carrying my stuff and walking with me from the Medical tent...Karys giving me five when I saw her for the fifrst time after the race! What a joyful smile she had for me!Kisses from a LOVING, SUPPORTIVE, AMAZING husband!

Family pic...Gracie was a little raced out ;)Thanks for all the support guys! So fun to have so many family and friends there in the cheering section!A quick pose in front of the capital...We did it! We are all champions, we crossed the line and we recieved the prize!No words...ok...so this is how most of our feet looked when we were done! only mine had two huge blisters, one on each foot in the creases of the soles of my feet! Owie!

Back at the hotel I finally got that picture with the ladies! They had thier shirts on, I had my medal....it was great!