The Turkey Vulture Trot

On Thanksgiving morning we all got up fairly early so Jeff and the kids could do the Turkey Vulture Trot.  Our original plan was for Jeff and Alex to run the 5k and Clara and I walk it.  However, when it came time to register, Clara wanted to run and opted for the 1 mile fun run instead.  So, with that, I ended up as family photographer :-)

 First up was the 5k for the boys.

Alex sitting on our new bench on our new deck to tie his shoes...

The boys, ready to run!

Clara's race didn't start until about an hour after the 5k, so we hung around the house for a bit longer before walking over.

The girl ready for her run...

We got there in plenty of time to see the boys finish.

First was Jeff....

He ran with Alex most of the time, but then took off by himself near the end.

Then here came Alex...

It was a tough run for the boy!  Every 5k he's ever done before has been on flat ground, this one had lots of ups and downs!  But... he finished at his normal time!!  Great job by Alex!

Then, it was time for the 1 mile fun run.  I didn't get any photos of the start because Clara was in a clump of boys and she was determined to stick with them.  She can be just slightly competitive at times :-)

Here she is at the finish...

(Alex joined her near the end to cheer her on).

It was a tough run for Clara too...

The fun run started out going up a pretty steep incline and she was running a bit harder than she probably should have (trying to keep pace with the boys)... but she did great!

My family of Turkey Vulture Trot finishers!

the last of the birthday celebrations...

A couple of weekends ago, my parents came in to celebrate Clara's birthday.  Clara didn't have school that Friday, so we went shopping and to lunch at the American Girl store (6th year in a row... yikes!).  
My parents were staying out in the 'burbs, so we decided to explore out there on Saturday.  It was a warm, fall day, so we thought we would check out the Morton Arboretum. 

First off, we decided to check out the maze...

The view from the observation platform...

Oh look!  There's Alex!  Strange being on this side of the lens!  :-)

The previous weekend we had unearthed my first digital SLR camera and Alex had become intrigued.  We charged up the battery, found a compact flash card and a lens and sent him on his way.  He's really enjoying playing with the camera.  They're studying photography in his Sports for the Mind class and this was just a way to take it a step (or five) further.

Clara was my guide through the maze...

A few fall leaves were still hanging on...

We ended up back up on the observation platform to try to find Jeff.

My parents and the kids...

Then, as you can tell from this photo... the sky got dark and threatening as a storm rolled in....

We ended up trapped inside here....

... for a while.  We had a nice lunch and shopped the gift shop.

When the rain lessened, we went out to the car to go on the scenic drives through the arboretum...

It never really completely stopped raining while we were there, but we had a great time together anyway.  Things got a little silly at times as we drove through.

After the arboretum, we decided to check out the local shopping center.  They were getting set up for their tree lighting that night...

Mom, Clara and I shopped the clothing stores and the boys hit Bass Pro (and came out with a bag of bacon jerky!).

Finally, our last stop of the day, was mom and dad's hotel so the kids could swim.  They (Alex and Clara) made it a couple of hours before they had had too much together time and needed to go. 

It was a really nice visit!  We got to do a lot of cool stuff together and we're all anxious to check out the arboretum again on a better weather day!

fall fun weekend...

I've had these up to be edited for a while now!  I finally finished them today.

A couple of weekends ago we went to Michigan for a couple of days.  Clara's school was out, so she brought a friend (Alex had school, but we picked him up at lunch).  It was owners' weekend so there were lots of fun activities planned!

Friday night, we just went to the big "happy hour" gathering once we got in.  It was good to catch up with some people we had met over the summer... but the kids were itching to get back to the house.  They had a big dance off with the Just Dance for Kinect.

Saturday morning I fully figured that they would be off right away to do some of the activities at the resort.  But no... they had more low key fun planned instead.

They made a huge leaf pile (this was taken at about the halfway point)...

and then rode their scooters off into it... 

After that, we went to the ski swap to get their skis for this winter.  The girls then were off to the Crystal Coaster and Alex was off to play paintball.  Alex LOVED this round of paintball... 16 players!!  He came home happy, exhausted and slightly bruised :-)

The girls hung out at the fall festival... feeding animals at the petting zoo, playing bingo and carving pumpkins...

That evening they were all going to go trick or treating at the resort, but since Alex was worn out, just the girls went...

They decided that scooters were the best way to make their rounds....

They had a blast!

After dinner, we got on the shuttle over to the haunted forest!  It was so much fun!  Walking through the woods at night is creepy enough... but then add in zombies, a clown and a headless horseman riding through the trees... YIKES!!  So much fun!!

That night they were all pretty tired and went to be early.  It was too bad that we had to head back the next day... we were all having so much fun!

Happy Halloween!

I hope you all had a great one!  We had a really good one all things considered!  Clara came home from school sick on Monday (we think a touch of food poisoning) and is having a hard time getting back to normal.  Although she's no longer "sick", she's having a hard time eating :-(

Anyway, because of this, our plans were a little up in the air on Wednesday.  Clara ended up going to school and hanging in there.  She came home from school and rested so she could go out that night for a little while.  She was so excited about her costume that she just had to wear it!

So, here we have Miss Holly Golightly and Cat, ready for a night out trick or treating...

I just had to try one in black and white...

But here's the color version as well...

She was having so much fun posing in character...

And look!  Holly found Waldo!

Alex and BMO...

Waldo...

I had more things to do to complete his costume, but with Clara sick, I ran out of time :-(  Oh well... everyone still knew who he was!

The girls and BMO...

Looking for trick or treaters to give candy to...

Waldo... deep in thought....

I was just testing camera settings here, but the resulting photo amused me...

The gang...

The older boys made it up and down one block before they were done.  They went back to hang out by the fire pit (our neighbors had moved theirs to their front yard), roast hotdogs and pass out candy.  The younger three made it up and down one more block.

This is Clara's haul from just going up and down two blocks!!!

Clara's friend from dance picked her up for a quick trip to a "haunted backyard".  After that she was D.O.N.E..  She tried to eat some dinner, but that didn't go well at all, so she went straight to bed.  She's home again today, but she did manage to successfully have some lunch (all bland stuff though)... so maybe we're headed in the right direction!

Happy Birthday Clara!

11 years old... sigh....

chinatown...

With our freer weekends this year, we have decided to use some of this free time to explore the city as a family.  Saturday was our first outing.  We had originally planned on hitting a museum, but given the busy week we had had and that it was a nice, rainy, sleep in kind of day... we opted for a low key trip to Chinatown for lunch instead.

When there was a break in the clouds, I made the kids pose with their zodiac signs.

Clara was born in the year of the snake...

 

Alex was born in the year of the dragon...

 (he's pointing out something about the dragon being the "most awesome", but is covering up the rest of it, so I'm not sure what it goes on to say)

Thought the dragon looked cool against the fall leaves...

I took very few photos since it was really raining most of the time.  Clara loved all of the little shops.  I thought we were never going to get her out of one of them!!

One shop everyone enjoyed was the candy shop...

... the Sakura Matcha Kit Kats were amazing!

It was a really nice outing!  We had a good time as a family that afternoon before the kids headed out that night with friends to a haunted house.  Love that we have more family time together!

columbus day...

I don't think I've mentioned it here yet, but Clara has changed to a new school this year.  She's been at her new school for about 4 weeks now and just loves it.  I'm loving it too.  It's funny, this new school is a private school, but seems so much more of a neighborhood school than her old neighborhood school.  Many of her friends live within walking distance of the school and she's been walking to school with them in the morning and playing at the park with them after school.  Only two other people in her grade at the "neighborhood school" actually lived in the neighborhood.  Anyway, friends and their proximity to school wasn't our reason for making the switch, but it's sure been a big bonus.  The parents at her new school have been extremely welcoming and are a very active group.  On Monday, Clara's school was out for Columbus Day.  I guess every year, families from the school make the trek to Michigan for a day of fall fun.  This year they invited us along! 

First up was the pumpkin patch...

We spent several hours here!  I have very few photos from the day because, to be quite honest, I hardly ever saw my child.  She was off with a pack of kids in the corn mazes, bounce houses or the haunted house.  She brought her little camera along... I'm curious to see what photos she has from the day... maybe I'll see if I can post those next.

Oh... here's my child!

She slowed down just long enough so that she and her friend could be on Instagram on my phone! :-)

The pumpkins Clara picked out for us...

Clara and I became obsessed with the various types of white pumpkins...

After the pumpkin patch, they typically go apple picking, but since there aren't any apples to pick this year, we went to the dunes instead...

I had a tough time getting a decent shot... the first one was into the sun and the second one, I missed focus on and caught the trees.

But Clara is about halfway up in each photo in the pink coat.

After the dunes... one last stop... Redamak's for burgers before heading back to Chicago!  The kids had a blast, but I felt a little sorry for the other diners as about 50-60 moms with kids descended upon the restaurant all at once!  They were all pretty well behaved, but we did take the noise level up just a bit!  :-)

Clara had an absolute blast with her friends from school and I had a great time meeting and chatting with the other moms!

big trouble...

... in little china...

tribute...

The poor boy woke up on the second day of shows (the one I recorded and have been posting songs from) congested and with a sore throat.  He still went up there and gave it his all though!

it always amuses me...

... that the boy who will not sing in front of anyone, will get up on stage and do this...