Happy Halloween!

I must say, I cannot remember when I have had this much fun on Halloween! Last year Grace dressed up but she was too young to go door-to-door. This year was a different story and it was SOOOO much fun getting to see her learn the joys of being a kid at Halloween!

We were invited to trick-or-treat with the Galls in Indy. I thought it was just going to be a little dinner and then trick-or-treating but Jill and Ryan really outdid themselves! The house was all decorated for Halloween and we had all kinds of "spooky" treats with our dinner, including mummified hotdogs and Halloween shaped homemade tortilla chips. Yum! Perhaps the best part of the night though was seeing how well Grace and Noah play together. We couldn't even get Grace to eat dinner because she wouldn't stop playing!

Checking out Noah's new little brother, Connor

Miles and Marley joined us for trick-or-treating. How cute are these kids?!?!

It was HILARIOUS when we headed outside. The kids just wanted to chase each other. It took forever to get them to go to the first house but once they got the hang of it, they loved it! They definitely were exhausted by the time we got home though!

Grace running to catch up with Noah

This is the first house. Like I said, it took awhile to catch on to the concept of trick-or-treating!

Boo at the Zoo!

This past Friday Mark and Grace headed to Indy to go to the Boo at the Zoo with Nana and Papa (I had a meeting in Chicago so missed the trip). It sounds like they had a great time and had a fun dinner after the zoo with Aunt Amy, Uncle Greg, and Anna.

They ran into Pat and Connor Murphy at the zoo. Grace's costume was getting washed from school the day before so she just wore her Halloween t-shirt. Wasn't Connor adorable in his giraffe costume, though?

Harvest Party

On Thursday Grace's school had their "Harvest Party." Grace got to wear her Halloween costume to school and I was asked to bring a treat. Grace was out of school when they put up the sign up list so all that was left was "miscellaneous." I knew I wanted to do something healthy so I went online and found this fun idea for fruit filled jack-o-lanterns (a.k.a. carved oranges). They were a lot easier to do then it appears and it took me less than an hour and half to make 11 of them so I think this might be a Halloween tradition in our house!

The oranges after being carved

Filled with strawberries, blueberries, and grapes before school

So before getting dressed for school we tried to get Grace really excited about getting her costume on and it seemed to work as she was running around, pumping her fist. I was excited because I had made her little ladybug costume and couldn't wait to see it on her. Well no sooner did we get her shirt on, she had a COMPLETE meltdown! It was as if she was terrified she was really going to become a ladybug. Luckily, I had bought an extra plain red long sleeve shirt so we took off the costume top and put on the plain top and headed to school with the costume in a bag. On our way to school I explained the concept of Halloween to Grace again and told her everyone would be wearing costumes and it's just like playing dress up. I asked her if she wanted to try her costume on again when we got to school and she agreed. I gave her the option of putting it on in the classroom or hallway and she chose hallway. So I held my breath when we walked into school and asked her if she wanted to put her costume on since we were in the hallway. Much to my delight, she agreed and we got it on without a breakdown. Just then, her teacher walked into the hall. She got so excited to see Grace in her costume and said, "Grace is the only child wearing one right now! All the other parents had to bring the costumes because the kids cried when they tried to put them on." Can you believe it? It must be a 2 year old thing!

Grace and Miss Shauna

According to the teachers, the day was a big hit. The other kids all put their costumes on after seeing Grace in her's and they did a costume parade to all of the other classrooms. Mark picked Grace up that night and he said the teachers definitely looked exhausted after the big day!

Pumpkin Carving Party

Yesterday we were invited to a pumpkin carving party at the Andy and Abigail's. It was such a treat! Abigail is a great baker and had made all sorts of fun fall goodies (I ate WAY too many cookies!) and they had tons of pumpkins for everyone to carve. It was a perfect afternoon!

Working on cleaning out the pumpkin

John and his pumpkin

Yes, we were all sporting our Iowa paraphernalia

The group working on our pumpkins

Grace was fascinated by Lexi, John's daughter

John, Lisa, and Lexi

The host and hostess with the mostess!

Grace and Mark playing in the leaves--she loved it!

Everyone (minus Andy) with their completed pumpkins

Headless pumpkin carvers :-)

Excitement!

Grace got a card in the mail on Friday. She was so cute--she went to her rocking chair to open it and got so excited!

Pumpkin Patch

We have a tradition of getting our pumpkin at the Great Pumpkin Patch at the Methodist Church in Lafayette. All of the proceeds go to local charities so not only do we get a great pumpkin but we also help out the community in a small way. Thursday was a beautiful fall day so we took Grace to the patch after school.

Grace loved moving the smaller pumpkins around. I must say, I was very impressed at the size of the pumpkins she could lift up!

"This is the one, Dad!"

Obligatory family photo in the little hut :-)

Cheesehead

Iowa played Wisconsin in football today (we won't mention the outcome). Anytime Iowa plays Wisconsin in anything it sparks the rivalry between our family and our good friends, the Ouradas. Mark took these pictures of Grace sitting on the cheesehead yesterday as a means of trash talking :-)

"Happy Daddy!"

Monday was Mark's birthday. Grace and I tried to make the day extra special for him. I worked with her on saying "Happy Birthday Daddy!"--she tried but instead all day she just kept saying "Happy Daddy!" I think it's probably the best happy birthday wish Mark has ever received :-)

I took Mark out for a sushi lunch and (un)fortunately been asked to give a guest talk in a grad seminar on Monday night so we had to skip a big family dinner but before I left for my talk, Grace and I made Mark's favorite cupcakes for him...

Grace's apron was mine when I was her age :-)

and we also had him open his cards and present...

and of course we sang "Happy Birthday!" and had him blow out his candle!

When I got home Mark and I shared a great bottle of wine, fancy cheese, and crab legs. It was a low key birthday but I think it was just what he wanted! Happy 30-something Mark! We love you!

Marathon Weekend

Last weekend we made the trek to Detroit so Mark could run his 13th marathon! Despite me still being sick, we had a great trip. On our way to Detroit we stopped at the mall in Merrillville, Indiana for lunch and to get some energy out. We stopped there on our last trip up to MI and saw these huge scooter animals. I purposely suggested we stop at the mall for lunch so we could try out the scooters--I think I enjoyed the ride more than Grace :-)

Of course, Grace went right to the bus!

Playing with her balloon

We got to Detroit late in the afternoon and since I wasn't feeling 100%, we decided to walk down and grab Mark's race packet and then just relax in the room. We weren't sure how Grace would do sitting in a restaurant so we opted for room service. Probably a bad idea to introduce her to such a luxury but she loved it and it was much easier and relaxing for us!

Macaroni and cheese, please!

The next morning we woke up early for the race. Our friend Mark Iszak (an Alma alum who works at Purdue) had been training with Mark for the race and stayed with us so they were close to the start line. Grace and I had a bit of time to kill before the race started but I wasn't sure what restaurants would be open in downtown Detroit on a Sunday morning so we did room service again. It worked out perfectly as we went back to the room several times during the race and each time she ate more of her "cake" and fruit.

"And why are we out here when it's still dark out???"

Waiting for Daddy at mile 8--right after he ran through the tunnel back from Canada!

The Marks at mile 13--looking strong still!

The way the course was laid out we saw Mark and Mark at mile 13 but weren't able to see them again until the finish. We played in the room a bit and then headed back out. Perhaps it was the early morning, or the crisp air, or maybe the playing but this is how Grace was when Mark crossed the finish line. I had such high hopes of having a cheering Grace....maybe next time!

Mark Iszak finishing in just under 4 hours!

And Mark Williams wasn't too far behind crossing the line at 4 hours and 12 minutes--a personal best for him! I was so proud of him. His M-O has always been not to train for these marathons and this time he kept up a great training schedule and really saw the results!

Mark's already looking at locations for Marathon #14!