INSANE Weekend of Fall Fun!

This week was Keira's first full week of school, and I am still trying to get my weekday routine down. We also had a HUGE weekend. We had pretty much everything we love about fall (except going to a football game) this weekend. I hate to brag, but it was pretty awesome. It was also amazing that we actually did everything on the schedule.

Monday started off busy. Keira had school, which goes by so fast. After Keira's school, we went to the Novi Sports Park to play for a bit. Keira and Soren always have a great time.





That evening, everyone went to the Novi Running Fit for a free Martha Stewart Fun Run. Apparently, it was happening all over. Cristina and Linda both came out for the run. They had wooden spoons and a choice of tee, apron, or towel. Since it was a fun run, it was a quick pace for me, but probably very leisurely for Cristina and Erin, who I ran with in the lead group of ladies.


On Tuesday, we had a low key day. Keira and Soren had fun playing with chalk outside, as well as going up to our playground. We got to see the pool being drained, which was rather intriguing to Keira and Soren. They pumped the water out and into the parking lot drain, which caused the water to build up in the parking lot. I was surprised at how fast it went. We only watched it for a few minutes, but we could see a noticeable difference in water level from when they started to when we left the playground.





On Wednesday, while Keira was at school, I really packed the morning. I went to the gym, and then I had my last physical therapy session. Yeah, I am done, but I still need to do exercises at home on an ongoing basis to keep up my ankle strength. After that, I took Soren to his first library storytime by himself. He really enjoyed it, as usual. He was very excited to check out the book "School Bus" again today, and brought it to storytime. School Buses were a theme for today, so Soren was enthralled by the stories. I just loved the look of anticipation on his face as he waited for the school bus to appear in one of the stories. It was all he could do to stay seated.
Twinkle Twinkle Little Star
I'm a little Teapot
The reading of the school bus books!

Keira, clowning around after school.

The TIA workouts are starting to wind down for the year. I made it out for a quick workout. We are sponsoring a 5K this weekend, so it was nice to hear more news about how it is coming together.

On Thursday, I went to the dentist for my jaw pain. I really don't know much more about the cause, but I did go ahead and get all set up for a night mouth guard to prevent me from clenching or grinding, so hopefully that will help. It was a bit of a dreary day, so we just did a few errands and stayed inside most of the day. I found some of our past Halloween stuff, and Keira has been very excited that I am letting her use last year's costume for dress up. She is putting it through its paces, so this years costume will have to wait until after Halloween for dress up, so that it lasts.



Friday was the start of our fun busy days. While Keira was at school, I swam and had a presidency meeting. It was "yellow" day at school today, so everyone was asked to wear yellow. We met up with Valerie, Katie, and Luke to play for a short time after school was out.





Here are a few of the things Keira has made since school has started. She hasn't made many large craft-like projects like last year, they are more like worksheets.





That evening, we went to Three Cedars Farm once Ryan got home from work. This is always a blast, and we need to go again when we have more time to play. Soren loved the train, as expected, and Keira was able to pedal a "tractor" by herself this year. We also let them play in the corn box. It wasn't as messy as we feared, although we did have some corn make it home with us.

After Keira and Soren were in bed, I ran out to Panera to pick up a baked good donation to take to the TIA race in the morning.

Saturday was the HUGE day. Ryan got up first, and headed out to the Celebration of Cycling for his final 100 mile ride of the year. It was a tough ride, due to the weather not cooperating. Ryan did complete the entire thing, despite having a large number of his group take the 50 mile route. We left a short time later to head over to the TIA/MPVA first annual 5K at the Bonefish Grill in the Novi Town Center. I had volunteered to work registration. It was a low tech race, but we had a pretty decent turn out for a new race, especially since it had a lot of competition with other events today. We were able to stick around until just after the start, and I was able to get some Marathon bar sampling done as well. It was a good change to be on the other side of racing and helping out. I heard the after party brunch at Bonefish was excellent too. Mary (in pink) won for the ladies, and is a fellow TIA athlete. We were raising funds for the Michigan's Paralyzed Veteran's Association.

We left the race to head over to Lleyton's 2nd birthday party at the Ypsilanti Firehouse Museum. It had a large collection of antique fire engines and gear, as well as a firehouse set up to tour. They sounded one of the antique truck's siren by cranking it. It terrified both Keira and Soren, but thankfully it didn't ruin their experiences. The children loved the enormous stuffed Dalmatian as well as the children's play area in the basement. Since the weather had been suspect (it rained on the drive over), we opted to move the outdoor portion of the party to Greg and Ellyn's house, where we enjoyed lunch, Parmenter's cider and donuts, and of course, birthday cupcakes. On a side note- It was really hard for me to figure out who's cider and donuts won as far as being a favorite, as I did a taste test once home, eating one from Three Cedars and one from Parmenters side by side. They are different from each other, but I don't know whose is better, to be honest. Perhaps by the end of fall, I will have made a decision.

After leaving Greg and Ellyn's, I had one final stop planned for Keira and Soren- MSU's Tollgate was having their Fall Festival open house. It was really fun last year, and this year did not disappoint. We didn't have a ton of time before it was scheduled to end, but it was enough for Keira and Soren to pick out pumpkins, do some crafts, and eat a ton of popcorn. They really liked the bug exhibit, and didn't want to leave that at the end. I was actually a little glad for the light rain (Ryan was done by this time) that came through right as it was ending, because it made it easier to pry Keira and Soren away from the farm, since we didn't get to do a hayride or see the animals up close.

As if we hadn't done enough today, I had also signed up for Spinning Madness, and event sponsored by another cycling/tri club, Team Mongo (who are all really fast and awesome). It was an all day spinning event outside of the Bd's Mongolian BBQ in Royal Oak, right on Main Street to raise money for the Boys and Girls Club of Oakland County. I had signed up for the last slot of the day, which actually was a TON of fun. I really struggle to log miles on the bike, and this was a fun way to do it. The people watching was great, as it had dried out and the temps were perfect for people to be hitting the town for the night. We had almost a constant flow of people walking by, and got many of them to donate into the bucket. It was a blast, and the hour few by. I got in over 30 miles in my hour, but that was with no wind, rain, hills, or much resistance. This is something I would totally do again, but try to bring everyone.


Sunday was a much needed day of rest. Things went fairly smoothly at the Primary Program practice. We got a few more bugs discovered and worked out, which is what we need to be doing. Keira even said her part TWICE when prompted by her teacher. She didn't want to practice it with me at all this week. I don't know what she will do next week when the chapel is full, but I am just happy that Ryan, who helped with the reverence meter in the back, got to hear her say it. Who knows how Soren will do next week with me on the stand and him not. We just had a relaxing afternoon at home.



I also hung some metal stars on the wall today. I felt like I got a great deal on them at Costco earlier in the week. It has been a while since we have made any non-seasonal decor improvements in our condo, and it was well worth the total of $10 I spent.


Up for next week, I am really not sure! I just know we won't be going to PT or the dentist this week (I hope).