Grandma and Grandpa visit to celebrate Soren's birthday

This week was, as usual, busy.  My training is winding down, as I prepare for the Detroit Half Marathon.  We also got ready for Grandma and Grandpa to come and visit and celebrate Soren's birthday.

On Monday, I Keira off to school and then had a long swim at the gym.

After the gym, we went to do a bit of shopping.  I wanted to get some more pumpkin yard stakes, similar to what we had last year.  Since our home is much larger, I wanted a few more pairs to line our steps. 

We also hit our favorite toy store, where I got him a yellow school bus.  I had planned to get him one for his birthday, but didn't get a chance to come back and pick one up.

Keira had ballet in the afternoon, so it was a full day.

That evening, once the kids were in bed, I decided to color my hair myself.  It went pretty well, and has a bit of red to it.  I did it today so that I could have the most time between swims.

On Tuesday, we got Keira off to school, and then got ready at home, waiting for some work to be done on a couple windows.  This was warranty work that was found during our home inspection, but it just took a little while to get the windows made and then scheduled.  We skipped the gym, but went to storytime and then opted for a run around the neighborhood instead.

Once Keira got home, we had Gracie over to play for a bit.  Soren enjoys having her over as much as Keira. 

On Wednesday, we skipped the gym again in favor of running outside.  I didn't feel like swimming yet with my fresh hair color, and with me being on a taper for the race, it wasn't important that I swam anyway.

We played outside a bit when Keira got home from school.  Soren loves riding his bike, but Keira isn't liking it as much now that she has pedals.  She played catch in the backyard instead.

I also started working on my pumpkin oreo truffles for an event at Keira's school on Friday.

On Thursday, after getting Keira ready for school, Soren and I headed to the gym.  I opted to do my long run indoors this week.  I was hoping my new shoes would come, since my feet have been bothering me, and was debating on running outside with the stroller again, but it was a good call to just run inside.  I switched up my mileage today, cutting out 2 miles and then planned to add 2 to Saturday's run.  Hopefully this was an OK plan.

I finished up my truffles by dipping them and painting their faces.  Keira helped a little bit, but the dipping is pretty tricky to get smooth.  Soren had fallen asleep on the couch while we worked on this.  As it turns out, he was coming down with something.

On Friday, I went to the gym again, after getting Keira ready for school.  She is so tired by the time Friday rolls around!  I dropped off my treats over at Keira's school for the "Pumpkinfest". 

We got some good mail today too.  I got my Boston acceptance card in the mail.

Once Ryan got home, we had a quick dinner, since we weren't really sure what to expect from Pumpkinfest.  Aside from their being a bake sale, we didn't really know what sort of food would be there.  There wasn't really much else other than ice cream.  We should have eaten more before going.  We picked up our cornstalks and pumpkins that we ordered, and the kids did some crafts and games.

 We were really happy with the corn stalks and pumpkins from the event. They look great in front of our house.  They were a fundraiser for the school.

On Saturday, while waiting for my parents to arrive, I went for a run.  Everyone was very excited to have Grandma and Grandpa come over.  They brought us some beautiful rocking chairs for our front porch.  We love them. 

Ryan went for a ride, and the kids played while I got some things ready for the party.  Soren really wanted to have it at a particular park, Wendell Moore Park.  It was a bit busy when we got there, but we were able to claim this little gazebo which worked out perfectly.  Shannon and Gracie came, so it was a nice small low key event. 

After the party, we took my parents, as well as Keira and Ryan, to see the "Flying Dutchess" in La Grange.  Only Soren and I had seen it previously.  We did not see another train go by, though.

Our final stop of the day was to the Foxhollow Farm Fall Festival.  It was pretty fun, but we didn't stay very long.  It was pretty crowded, and everyone was thirsty and tired from a long day.  They had animals, a tractor, and a hay castle.  The hay castle was fun, but a bit sketchy.  There were a lot of kids in there, and some of them weren't being as careful as they probably should be with all the smaller kids around.  We were a bit worried that some one was going to fall down.  The kids did not want to go on a hay ride, but we picked up some cider from an orchard in Georgetown.  They sell it there at their store, so we should be able to just back this fall and buy more if we want.

Once home, we did presents here, and then it was time for the kids to go to bed.  Soren had already fallen asleep on our bed watching a movie, and was really not feeling well.  I moved him to his room and got Keira ready for bed.  There were lots of sports events going on this evening.  We had all sorts of sports on two TVs and the computer.  My parents watched the OSU game in the basement, Ryan watched UM in the living room, switching to the Tigers and then BYU, and I watched IM Kona on the computer. 

On Sunday, Soren woke up early, screaming for cider.  He did not feel well, and would need to stay home from church today.  I was able to find a sub, and we had a relaxing morning before my parents left and Ryan and Keira went to church.  Ryan was teaching today, so that is why I opted to stay home.

Up for next week, I have my final few workouts before the Detroit half and traveling back to MI. With Soren not feeling well, we will play everything by ear, as far as if I do my workouts at home or at the gym.