Haunted Halloween...

Halloween was on a Monday this year.  Which actually means the celebrating started on Friday and went through the weekend until the actual holiday.  We were in costumes three out of the four nights, and receiving candy at all events.  Talk about a sugar rush.  Friday was the city wide downtown trick or treat event.  All of the downtown business' pass candy out to eager kids.  It is crazy crowded.  And the kids don't ever want to skip it.  I know because I tried to convince them it wasn't worth the effort.  I was fighting a losing battle.
This was the first year Presley actually understood that if you smile big enough, and say trick or treat loud enough, you get a candy reward.  She couldn't get to the next place fast enough.  She tired out (or I was tired of chasing her down) and strapped her in a stroller after an hour.

For this particular event she was a bunny rabbit.  She changed costumes every time she put one on.  She was also a bumblebee, frog, spider, and I'm sure she was something else at some point.  Dressing up and getting candy?!  Presley's idea of the perfect holiday. 
Kennedy dressed up as a doctor this year.  For this event anyway.  The next night her and her best friend went as a two headed person.  They figured with the crowds downtown navigating would be easier if they weren't connected.  She makes one cute little doc.

Jacks obsession for all things Harry Potter transferred to his costume as a death eater.  He had a mask, but it made him too uncomfortable.  His excitement for life often shows in pictures.  I love it!

And Landon.  This is my favorite costume he's worn.  Not because of the costume, but because of the personality that arrived with the wearing of the costume.  Landon became Mario.  He kept saying, "It's a me, a Mario" in his little fake Italian accent.  A-dor-a-ble.  And the mustache Kennedy drew on him made him that much more authentic.  And cute.

Ethan didn't dress up this year, but he still wanted the candy.  I thought he was too old to beg for goods, but he insisted.  He put on pajamas and called himself pajama boy.  Goofy kid.  He isn't pictured solo, but I promise he was present.  Next year I might pull the mean card.  But this year he collected loot.
These next two pictures are my favorite.

Why?  Because they depict the reality of what my life truly is.  Kids.  On both sides of me.  Following behind me.  Walking in front of me.  Talking to me.  Surrounding me continuously.  And I wouldn't have it any other way.  (unless a fight breaks out)
Presley was worn out at the end.  Don't let the yawn fool you.  All of her candy was consumed before she even considered sleep. 

Run the Burg....

I wasn't intending to run a half marathon this fall.  I enjoyed triathlons so much that I never even considered it.  Because my runner girls were all training for the St. Louis rock and roll half, I started running long runs on Saturday with them just for fun.  And I was actually having fun.  It was crazy.  Because I wasn't training for anything there was no pressure.  Pure enjoyment.  On the Saturday that we ran 12 miles I decided that since I was ready maybe I should actually run a half.  So.  I signed up for Run the Burg.  Due to it being in Warrensburg, I knew the course was a nasty one.  Every hill in this town was on the course.  But.  I felt the need to run it anyway.  My girls all raced the weekend before, so I would be running this one solo.  Until Christine decided she'd do this one with me just for fun. 

We started together at the start line.  It was a really small group running, as you can tell by the picture.

Mile two I started talking to Nathan from Lenexa who happened to be running my same pace. 

At mile four Christine found her groove to be faster than mine and left me in the dust.  I was happily plugging along to my own music and conversation with Nathan.  We talked about so many different things that I wasn't paying attention to the grueling hills we were climbing.  It was nice to have the distraction.  I finished with my fastest time yet.  And I had the most fun I've had during a half marathon.  I truly think it was because there was zero pressure put on myself.  By myself.  If only I could always train without the intent of training.  That would be perfectly amazing.

Ocean Waves.....

Waaaay back this summer, after our days spent at Disneyland, we took the kids to the beach.  They had never seen the ocean before.  So sad.  We drove an hour and found the perfect spot to dip our feet in the water.  Originally, remembering from experience how cold the ocean water was, we were just going to take the kids down to the beach in their clothes.  But.  When we started walking down the cement sidewalk I felt strongly that we should have them put on their swimsuits.  Luckily I had placed them strategically in our overloaded vehicle that we had easy access.  Best.  Decision.  Ever.  Who wants to go to the beach and not get a chance to experience the waves? 
The four older kids jumped right in.

Small hesitation at first.  But then nothing but joy.

I had to pull them out after watching them for a few minutes because they didn't understand the ocean.  Every time the water would roll out, they'd walk out further to greet it, only to get smashed by bigger and bigger waves.  I didn't stop their enjoyment, just wanted to educate them a bit.  Teach them how to respect the glorious body of water.  Presley, however, wasn't too big of a fan of the waves. 

She watched for a bit.  Then found some other family's shovel to dig with.   Landon joined her for a few minutes before he went back to the water.

Being the social butterfly that she is, Presley met a few new families.  And conned food and drink off of them both.  Silly girl.  But she knows with her little smile she can pretty much get what she wants if she says please.

The father of one of the families was super nice and offered to take a family picture for us to document the event.

While I was keeping Presley from eating all of the strangers food, Shawn was taking pictures of the other kids exploring.

I dragged Presley over to distract her from the free food she was collecting.

We all loved the visit to the ocean so much.  In the midst of this afternoon I decided we should have skipped Disneyland and spent the week playing in the ocean waves.  It was soothing and invigorating to be in such a beautiful place.  Peaceful.  Even with Presley.  I hope that in the future one of our family vacations involves waves to play in surrounded by sand and sunshine.  These last two pictures sum up how our entire family felt about the afternoon.

After we played in the water, which wasn't planned well, we had no towels to dry off.  We stripped the kids by the outdoor spigot and used a discarded cup found to rinse off best we could.  Then they just ran around naked to dry off.  Ethan and Kennedy wanted none of our ideas and opted to dress and rinse in one of the bathroom stalls.  Party poopers. What an amazing day!

Miss Presley.....

Presley turned 3 last month.  I have to say that 2 gets a bad rep.  It's 3 that I've never enjoyed.  However.  Because Presley is my last baby, and we currently spend 9 hours a day of "just us", it's not that bad.  I kind of enjoy her.  We have our moments.  But it's fun to have a toddler (can I still call her that?) without toting a new baby along for our adventures.
For her birthday, I bought her some boots.  She loves shoes, boots, and anything sparkly that can cover her feet.  She wears them with everything.  And wears them all the time.  I manage to get them off her feet before she gets into bed.  Sometimes.

At age 3 Presley also loves Dora the Explorer.  We've been on many adventures with Dora.  Because I forgot to make her a birthday cake (she's the fifth child. don't judge me) I found the perfect little Dora cake Presley size just for her.  And she loved it.  So much that she didn't share with us.

Presley's hair is constantly growing so it appears that she has bangs, even though I've never cut them.  Those little wisps are constantly getting in her way so she swipes them out of her eyes a lot.  Causing this food on the forehead phenomenon. 

After bathing the beauty to rid her of the purple glow, she discovered the presents.  And she had no hesitation in opening them. 

Barbies and princesses.  What more could a girl ask for.  We dress and undress barbie countless times in a day.  She does prefer them to be nude.  She likes to line all of her barbies up in a straight line.  Can you say OCD?  Also at this current age she loves dresses.  Twirly ones.  Pink ones.  Sparkly ones.  She always says "Mom, I want to wear my pretty dress".  Sometimes she lets me choose.  Sometimes she chooses herself.  When she's dressed she likes to twirl in front of the oven where she can see her reflection and say "I'm so cute!"  What we lack in talent we make up for in confidence.  Oh.  And she wears the boots.  Can't forget the boots.

She is also a dancer.  Loves anything music.  When Ethan practices his xylophone she can be found nearby dancing to the song.

She's also gotten very creative lately.  Making toys into something she prefers.  Like the marble works.  Never used a marble once.  But this week the pieces are parts of a flute, tuba, or trombone.  And she walks around the house "playing" her instruments.

Her favorite TV show in all the world is The Fresh Beat Band.  Probably contributing to her love of anything music.  She says hilarious things constantly.  Like last week when she didn't want Shawn to buckle her into her car seat she yelled, "Leave me alone!  This is my life!"  Hilarious coming from such a small person.  She is very friendly and wants to "go talk to her".  Meaning, that girl over there wherever that girl might be located.  Last week we took Jackson lunch and she "wanted to go talk to her" across the table.  The girl with the sparkly earrings and shiny shirt.  She has an eye for fashion and figured the girl would want to talk with her also.  We all adore this Presley girl.  And she knows it.  And we are all okay with that.