End of the Summer/ School Starts

We've had a full schedule this summer, not giving me any time to blog about it all.

Here is a huge mix of things we've been up to since late July...

Lots of playtime for Affie and Annie!

Random non-planned cuteness.

Ayden took an art class from my friend, Lindsay, 

along with Dakota and Erik

Ian wanted to paint a rainbow for his Primary (church) teacher.

He LOVES her. 

When school was about to start he said, "I don't want to go to school. I just want to have church school."

Monkey see, monkey do. (Afton's rainbow)

 Josh had a work conference in New Orleans, so we spent the first day/night with him.

We went to the Children's Museum...

Ian loved the kid sized Winn Dixie

We made the Idaho cabin, Grammy and Paw-paw!

What? Isn't this what I'm supposed to do here?

On our way home (without Josh), I got trapped in the exit lane and was forced onto the 55 North-which leads to my hometown, Ponchatoula-so we had a fun detour. We visited "Old Hard Hide", ate burgers at Bootsy's and drove right next to a freighter train while it blared it's horn through town. 

The best wrong turn I've ever made!

We LOVE our surrounding neighbors. There are lots of kids to play with.

We have what most people think doesn't happen these days. Our kids play outside for hours on end, riding their bikes and scooters, and just exploring their world. Here they are playing in the summer rain.

And here's the first day of school picture.

I couldn't get the backpacks in full view, but Ayden's is LSU and Ian's is Cars (again)

 I made Ian a kinder-mat cover out of "Incredibles" flannel.

He loves it!

 Ayden turned SEVEN! We had a "Ben 10" themed sleepover.

There were four girls and four boys, not including our own.

It was so much fun watching the kids enjoy themselves.

We had Ayden's favorite food for dinner- NACHOS!

They watched the Ben 10 movie, played games, did the traditional birthday celebrations,

survived the night, had breakfast pizza,

and made slime!!!!!!!!!!!

 Now something important to document. It is time to get rid of our crib.

It is a sad time, but also very exciting to know that we have graduated from our baby-rearing days.

This crib has held all three of our babies in four different homes. It will be missed.  

Last, but certainly not least, Josh and I celebrated our 11th year of marriage.

FYI:  Ayden was born on our 4th anniversary, which makes celebrating our marriage a little tricky. 

We did manage to go out for a lovely dinner and shopped around the outlet mall to celebrate.

I love you, babe! We are starting on our second DECADE of marriage. Watch out world!

I'm In For It Now...

Remember how I mentioned that I might give a triathlon a thought? Well, after researching triathlons, I decided that I need to start smaller and that maybe I should just start out with a 5K or something. Well, I went with the "or something" part of that thought. A friend from book club invited me nonchalantly to join her and some other girls in a mud run coming up in September. It's called the Play Dirty Adventure Trail Run.  Here's a map of the course:

I imagine that it'll be a little something like this:

I am taking a leap into the unknown here. 

For example, what should I wear that won't weigh me down?

Which shoes should I choose to ruin, or should I get some boots, or just run barefoot?

Is my upper body strength good enough for all of this climbing?

Am I going to get overexcited and laugh through the whole thing like I usually do when involved in any sort of sport and overexert myself too early in the race? 

Will I pee my pants?

Who would notice anyway with all of the mud and muck? 

I think I need to take a trip to the nearest army surplus store and get some expert advice.

But that might all get cancelled out if our group decides to wear matching costumes. 

Can you tell I'm a little anxious? And by anxious, I mean a big helping of excited with a heaping side of nervousness. Wish me luck. Let the training commence! 

Oh, and Robin Mangum, if you read this before I have the chance to talk to you...

You are doing this with me!