Ten Things

1. Riley as “Scooby Riding Hood” (his title), in the car before school one morning, and playing in his fort that Nopsi created for him.

2. I picked up a butternut squash a couple of weeks ago so I could try out a recipe in the slow cooker. It was SO delicious; I’ll definitely make it again!

3. The little one posing in the kitchen wearing his new shirt (stripes, of course!), with his beloved Tiger, and all wrapped up like a Scooby burrito.

 

4. A couple more from Crescent Park. I loved the fuzzy grasses lining the walkway, and just one of many butterflies we saw flying around.

5. Riley is now a tree climber; he was so proud of himself for getting up this high.

Then Rory wanted to climb, too, so Nopsi helped him.

With two boys, I suppose this kind of activity is inevitable.

 

Riley practiced his new climbing skills a few days later at our house. Again, so proud of himself; he even asked me to take his picture!

6. PJ cousins again!

7. Riley and Nopsi being silly after a Sunday dinner.

8. Kenny getting in some snuggles before the boys’ bedtime and Mama doing the same another morning.

 

9. Thanksgiving week playdate at Alcee’s house!

10. Remember how I alluded to Riley doing something special the afternoon of the Carmel Challenge Cup? Well, Kenny and I finally decided to let him watch Star Wars. He was SO excited.

He was pretty riveted to the tv much of the movie, although he did get a little restless in the second half. Episode 4 is a bit slow, but he watched the whole thing and said when it was over that he really loved it. And he’s already asked to watch it again.

I wonder if we’ll make it through the release of Episode 7 without him whining to go see it. Here’s hoping!

The 33rd Annual Carmel Challenge Cup

Since Riley did such a great job at the Bubble Run, I decided to see if he wanted to run another race with me. My high school alma mater puts on the Carmel Challenge Cup every fall, and I hadn’t run it for many, many years. However, Dana and Claire did it last year (Claire even placed first in her age group), so I thought Riley would be interested in running the CCC this year. He said he was, so I signed us up for the one mile fun run.

After a bit of wonk potatoes’ whining the morning of the race, the whole family headed out to the race location in City Park. Riley and I checked in, got our race numbers, and waited for Dana and Claire to show up. Once they arrived, the kids played until it was time for us to line up. The starting horn blared, and we were off!

Riley and Claire ran hard for the first stretch but then they slowed way down. Riley kept saying over and over again, “This is impossible. This is impossible. This is IMPOSSIBLE!” So funny. The two of them stayed fairly close to each other; Riley even stopped to wait for Claire a few times. They ran in fits and starts the whole way, which was just fine with Dana and me. The two of them were also trash talking their mamas, calling us slowpokes and the like. Too funny.

As we got closer to the end, they got really tired and we had to push them to keep going. However, they both crossed the finish line with a time of just under 14 minutes. Impossible? No way!

We all got some water, and the kids each enjoyed a celebratory cookie. I introduced Riley to Sister Camille Anne, my principal throughout my time at MCA, and she helped him pick out yet another cookie. Then the kids played on a tree until the awards were announced.

And lo and behold, Riley and Claire were the first male and female in their age group to finish, so they both got a medal. They were SO proud, as were their families. Geaux Riley and Claire!!!

After the race, we decided to head down to Crescent Park so Rory and I could show Kenny and Riley how cool it is. Another train passed by when we were out there; both boys loved waving to the conductor.

We got lunch from a food truck and then headed home. It was a really fun family morning. Rory took a nap, but we let Riley stay up. In fact, we let him do something pretty special that afternoon.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!