tough mudder

Last Saturday, Matt and his friends from home ran a Tough Mudder.  I did not run because I am neither tough nor strong.  I took pictures.  

This thing is 11 miles long with 22 obstacles scattered throughout the course.  Their course in Poplar Bluff, MO, was built on a four wheeling site, so they conquered hills and streams along with the man-made obstacles that forced them to swim, crawl, jump over things, and occasionally be electrocuted.  (I may not be tough but I am also no fool.  No thank you.)

Pre-Run, clean and numbered, in front of the very last obstacle.  Some of those long yellow wires are charged.  

The 6,000+ runners were split into many starting heats.  The guys started in the second heat of the day, which was great because they didn't have to get psyched out watching people go through the obstacles (that was my reasoning).  And also the line to the showers got longer later in the afternoon (again, my reasons, not theirs. They're tough, remember.)  Before the race even started they had to hop a wall to get into the holding pen.

And they're off!

And I was off trying to follow my map and catching them at as many obstacles as possible.  

This picture does not do justice to what they all agreed was the worst part of the whole thing: jumping into a dumpster filled with ice water, diving under a barrier, and crawling out the other side.

Ahh, a Saturday afternoon crawling under barbed wire.  My favorite past-time.

I liked that this wasn't really a 'race'- nothing was timed and it was structured to foster teamwork, not just amongst people who signed up together but amongst everyone in the race.  It was nice to see.  It also meant they could stop for a group photo right in the middle of the whole thing.

Log jumping . . .

Wall climbing . . .

Fingertip-dangling . . .

And of course, electrocution.

And lots of mud.  

And many happy faces at the finish line.

oldies

These pics are really old - sometime in August or September - but I found them on my camera when I pulled the pics off from the pumpkin patch.  And they made me smile, so I thought I'd share them.  I got the bright idea that Bo would like to finger paint and whipped up some food safe paint from a recipe on Pinterest (I can't remember which one but I think I searched toddler finger paint).  

The consensus was that it's fun but also really messy... as in it's been 2 months since I've attempted it again.  Also Bo was not loving the messy hands.  I bought some foam brushes so if we do it again, he doesn't have to get "yucky" hands as he calls it.  And while the website said it was washable, it was dried really crusty and hints of our fun day are still on the chairs outside.  BUT nontoxic is good (I think it was just flour and water and maybe cornstarch + food coloring) because when I put the bowl of blue on the ground, Moose started licking it up . . . pretty gross mouth full of blue on our dog.  

pumpkin season

I will join the ten thousand people out there who are crowing about pumpkin spice lattes and boot weather - I do love Autumn!  I like how my friend Kelly put it - that Fall is to the Southerner what Spring is to the New Englander . . . a change from a relentlessly long season of hot or cold.  So while I will miss the enormous, fiery trees that crowd out the road in Long Island and drop their leaves into swirling piles below, I think I will enjoy these hillsides around us just as much as they change colors.  It all beats growing up in a desert where the months were "hot" and "hotter" and the teachers were left trying to explain seasons with colorful illustrations of a tree in four phases of leaf-growing and losing.  

So, we kicked off the official start of Fall this weekend with a visit to Gentry Farm down the road from our house.  It was opening weekend and there were tons of pumpkins to choose from - perhaps the first time I've picked a pumpkin from its vine?  Fun, is what it is.  

Bo and his sweet cousins.

Never mind how Bo's white head disappears into the sky . . .

The boys had a blast chasing chickens, going down slides, and playing in long troughs of corn and wheat.  Of course the whole things makes me want to have a farm . . . and then I feel like being responsible for large animals might be a bit much for me.  But a quick search on 'how to raise chickens' seemed kind of encouraging.   A cheaper solution to those free-range eggs I keep buying.  And I also found plans for this chicken coop: 

(source)

Umm, a coop with a window box and operable shutters?  Sign me up. 

How we got from pumpkins to raising chickens is not important.  Happy Fall! 

bugga boo

My friend asked me yesterday if I was ever going to blog again.

I can take a hint.    

I am just a little busier here than I was before because I am the office manager/CFO/scribe/scheduler for our little business so my 'free time' (Bo's nap time) is spent on the phone.  It's also spent keeping the house and its members clean, fed, and laundered.  So not a lot of time for sitting and letting the words flow.  Not a lot of time for creativity in general, although I've self-imposed an hour of 'enrichment' every day before watching TV.  That can be reading, sewing, blogging, etc.  It should be spent learning about current events because I've heard there's a big election about to go down but have not spent much effort getting informed.  I've finally plugged NPR into the car radio's presets . . . but at my first listen I assumed they were talking play dough instead of the more accurate Plato.  

But when all is said and done, I like being busy and I like being involved in this.  It's good all around (except when I'm stressed and then it's bad, but really still good).

And 97% of my time revolves around this guy:

My baby bird. 

With September bringing some beautiful days, we've spent a ton of time at parks and doing some porch sits outside our house.  I'm a big fan of family walks because this is my view: 

We've even had some days where the temps dipped low enough for Fall Clothes, which are a fun change from the old shorts and t's.

But perfect for baseball tees.  

 

In the past month Bo has become even more fun because he is understanding so much about his world.  He is loving trucks (gucks) and trains (choo choo) and cars (beep beep) and fire engines (woo woo) and anything that motors.  He will stop in his tracks to watch an airplane fly overhead and wave until it's out of sight.

Goin' muddin' at a play place in town.

Watching the garbage truck on Tuesday mornings. 

This Little People train set was a hit with both the boys.  Moose is hilarious watching the train go round. 

Speaking of Moose . . .
He's still a good sport.



But I think sometimes he gets tired of the attention.

He's pretty good at letting us know when that is. 

Bo still loves animals and is big enough now to enjoy a trip to the zoo so we got a membership.  Any future guests better like the zoo because I'm pretty sure we'll be going.  

Bo has become more independent lately and can do the whole little playground by himself at the school next door.  We got a slide for our backyard but I think he enjoys the thrill of the big slides a bit more. 

He has started communicating a lot more with us.  He can say quite a few words and lets us know when we misunderstand him!  We've also started a more involved bedtime and naptime routine.  Instead of plopping him in his crib and taking off, now we tuck him in.  It looks like this pretty much every time:

And we're still using paci at naps and bedtime and in the car.  Bo thinks it's hilarious to give his animals a try at his pacifier.  

I was two months late for our 15 month appointment but I'm happy with our new pediatrician.

 We had a good visit (minus the shots) and found out that at over 27lbs, Bo is in the 90th percentile for weight.  It's hard to imagine that at one point he was off the charts in the other direction!

It's not all rainbows with a toddler but we do think our guy is pretty super!  

labor day

We spent Labor Day weekend with four of matt's closest friends from college.

And their families.

10 adults, 3 big kids (3&4 years old), 4 1-yr-olds, and 1 baby guy.  It was wild (read - loud) but really fun!  Although the guys decided the next time they get together, kids are not invited.  But I think it went really well.  

We stayed in a house right on Lake Guntersville, AL.  The house had an awesome screened porch and a beautiful view, which is comforting at 6am if your toddler won't sleep any longer.

(why is it that kids sleep their worst on vacation?)

That dock is the location of my first - and second - fish caught!  

That is our first catch of the day, and then I had some assistance reeling in a big ol' catfish.  

We boated, swam, ate like kings (or true southerners), and spent many hours entertaining the littles.  

Bo's mastery of the slip-n-slide:

He could not get enough of that thing. Or water in general.

Matt's pal Nick shared his nice pictures with us - so anything that looks shiny and bright and not altered by Instagram is credited to him.