The Feast

Jackson had his Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast this last week.  Prior to the feast, I was able to go into the classroom to help the kids bake some of the treats for our feast.  The day I was there we made pumpkin corn bread muffins, but they had also prepared carrot cake to eat as well.  Jackson was very excited that both Mom and Dad were able to come to the feast and watch.  The three morning kindergarten classes sang songs for their families and then enjoyed eating the yummy treats the kids had prepared.

The Pilgrims ready to sing

Our handsome Pilgrim

Ready for the Feast

Jackson's Kindergarten class (he is in the front on the right)

 

 He's obviously very comfortable up there!  His hat kept falling down over his eyes, which was driving him crazy.

  

I think this second video is so sweet!  The little girl next to Jackson was crying and he was trying his best to console her but still do his job of singing.  You can see him ask her "what's wrong?", and then he follows her into the audience when she finally went to sit by her parents.

Hot Chocolate

Jeff and I recently ran in the Hot Chocolate Run in downtown Chicago.  I was ready to challenge myself beyond a 5k, and decided to register myself and Jeff for the 15k.  I had heard great things about the Hot Chocolate in the past and was really excited to run it with my hubby.  It was definitely a fun morning with Jeff!  We got to spend five hours together, just the two of us, BUT we enjoyed the morning with 40,000 of our closest friends! :)  There were so many people it was hard to even move.  The race itself was poorly organized from beginning to end. :(  We were on our feet standing in a large mass of people for over an hour before we even started running.  Once we crossed the starting line, there were so many walkers we were dodging people left and right.  To top it off, it was the most.boring.route.ever!  I guess in the past the route has been totally in the city, but this year we ran south of Soldier Field along Lake Shore Drive, which you would think would be picturesque...it wasn't.  We saw a lot of empty parking lots and ran in dark tunnels underneath McCormick Place.  I told Jeff after we crossed the finish line, "I will NEVER do that again!"  But of course now that I've had time to think about it, I kind of want a "do-over."  I ended up with a crummy time, way slower than all my training, and I want to finish feeling good.  So we will see!  All in all, I'm glad I did it, I'm happy I finished, and it was fun to spend the morning with Jeff.

After the Race.  Feels good to be done!

Jeff with his Finisher's Mug.

The best part of the race, the chocolate at the end!

Happy Halloween

My boys desperately wanted to be Transformers this year for Halloween.  Of course two of the three wanted to be Transformers that aren't typical costumes you can buy at the local Party City.  Dad to the rescue!  Jeff told the boys he would make their costumes this year, and I think he did a great job!  I have to admit I was skeptical but he proved me wrong. :)  With a little help from Costco (boxes) and some spray paint we were good to go.

Grant (Lugnut), Jackson (Optimus Prime), Cooper (Heatwave)

Jackson at his kindergarten parade
 
The little boys had a parade at their preschool too, but of course I forgot my camera. Cooper loved it, Grant cried and clung to Daddy through the entire parade!

We trick or treated with friends, the G family and E family this year. It was chilly but the boys were all bundled up and didn't seem to mind once they started filling their buckets with candy.

All six of the the boys
 

The parade of parents
 

The cutest Woody ever!


Time for pizza after trick or treating


Our family Halloween 2012
 

Marathon

Two weeks ago, Jeffrey ran his first marathon!  I've always thought people who run marathons are
1.  amazing
2.  committed
3.  crazy

The last five months proved those three things to be true!  The training involved was huge, and took a major commitment on both Jeff's part and the rest of our family.  It was so worth it though.  We had so much fun cheering Jeffrey on, even on his long Sunday runs leading up to the actual marathon.  He would loop around the house to get his water, and the boys and I would come outside and cheer him on.  Our neighbors probably didn't appreciate the loud cheers at 7AM on Sunday mornings though. :)

Jeff ran the Des Moines Marathon, so our parents could come and cheer for him too.  The family saw him at mile 15.5 and the finish, but I was lucky and got to see him at the START, 3.5 mile, 8 mile, 15.5 mile, 20 mile and the FINISH.  We also had long time friends that were able to come down to the race too.  Jason even ran with Jeff for a few hundred yards at the grueling 25th mile!  Every time we saw Jeff he had a smile on his face and looked like he was having a great time!  He even finished with a smile on his face! (The amazing and crazy part!)

The "before" picture

The crowd at the Starting line

Team Summy

Jackson being "a big brother" to Cameron.

Uncle Tim (Jeff's brother), Grant, and Cooper waiting for Jeff at the 15.5 mile marker

Cheering!

The support team

Here he comes!

Telling the boys a knock knock joke, seriously he had too much fun :)

At the finish line!

He Did It!!

Officially a marathoner and proud finisher.

I am SO proud of you Jeff!  You are amazing, committed, and a little bit crazy. :)

Shedd Aquarium

We were invited to join some friends at the Shedd Aquarium a couple of weeks ago.   It was our first trip to the aquarium as a family.  Jackson had been there once before with Grandma Lori and Papa Vince but this was the first trip for the twins.  We picked a great day to go because no one was there!  There were no crowds and the boys could get right up to the glass to see the fish.  They had so much fun exploring and most of all being with their friends!

Jackson and his very good buddy Isaiah walking into the aquarium. Isaiah's mommy said he picked out his red hat to wear so Jackson could find him. They are such sweet friends!
The five big kids checking out the fish
 
 One big fish coming right up to the glass...Grant and Cooper were loving it!
The highlight of the trip...the big submarine!
Going canoeing!

Chicago!
 

Apple Picking

We went apple picking this fall with some friends.  Of course we've had all this beautiful mild weather and we went on the one day that it was chilly and rainy.  BUT, we had fun anyway!  The kids didn't care one bit, and we picked lots of yummy apples.  We will definitely go back again next year!

My attempt at getting a picture of 5 silly boys...

Great Grandma Norma's birthday

We went home to Iowa to celebrate Great Grandma Norma's 80th birthday. The boys were so excited to see Gaga, Papa, Grandma Norma and of course Uncle Tim. I don't have many good pictures from the day, but we had a great time!

Our family with Great Grandma and Gaga Lori
The John Deere Tractor cake, amazing!
This sweet moment was captured during the party...LOVE!

Grandpa's Right Hand Man

Jackson LOVES his Grandpa!!  He talks about it him all the time, talks about how he misses Papa, and is always thinking about what their next project will be.  Jackson has told Papa many times that he is his right hand man.  So of course, during my parents' last visit Jackson had to have a project to do with Papa.  First of all the big boys (Grandpa, Jeff, and Jackson) went to Home Depot to the Kids Workshop where Jackson got his very own apron.  He made and painted a football goal post which is now proudly displayed in Jack's bedroom.

The big boys then got started on the big project.  They are going to replace/enlarge our fence that holds our garbage cans.  So they had to take out some old posts and put new ones in, and Jackson was right there helping out.

Don't you just love how he has his hard hat and safety goggles on?? He has to wear them every time they "work!" I love my boy!