Monster Dash

On Saturday, Oct. 23, Jack and I participated in the Harker Heights Monster Dash 5k. This was our first ever run for a cause. The cause: Polio. Who knew Polio was still a concern? We sure didn’t. Anyway, since this was our first 5k event, Jack and I were a little nervous and didn’t really know what to do or what to expect. But, once we were situated with our numbers, goodies bags and T-shirts, the only thing left to do was run and we weren’t so nervous about that.

We met up with some friends, Tony and Nessa, before and after the race. Tony ran the 5k, but unfortunately an injury sidelined Nessa for the event. So, she let Madi hang out with her while Jack and I ran. I know she was very disappointed that she couldn’t run, but Madi was happy to get some time with Ms. Nessa!

Nessa was also kind enough to take pictures of Jack and I during the run...

just before the 5k.  Well, just before some rain, thunder and lighting caused a 30 minute delay. 

~right as we came into the park area for the last half mile or so.  Jack and I are both smiling as Nessa and Madi cheer us on!

~crossing the finish line!   I love that we're in total sync!

~we did it, together!

Our final time was 30:56. We were okay with that, but hope to do much better next time. My goal was to get under 32 minutes and I did that, but I had really (kind of unrealistically) hoped to get a 27/28 minute time. Jack could’ve left me behind and gotten a much better time, but he stayed with me to the end. He’s sweet like that. Thanks baby!

Anyway, we never even saw Tony. He was way out ahead of us and finished looong before us! Way to go Tony! I know Nessa was super proud of her honey!

Jack came in 4th in his age group (30-34) for men and I came in 6th in my age group (30-34) for women. So, we did alright I guess. Now, I just need to work on maintaining the same pace (working on 9 min. miles) throughout the run. Not sure if I can do it, but I'm really putting in some major effort!

All in all Jack, Madi and I had a great time during the Monster Dash!  And in the process we helped raise money and “Scare away Polio”!  So, we did good! :)

Halloween Happenings

We hope everyone had a spooktacular Halloween! There wasn’t much spook to our Halloween, but it was a happy one. Err, well, other than Jack breaking a few toes, his Fighting Irish losing and him leaving for business travel on Halloween day, it was a happy one.

I’ll start with the first broken toe and later I’ll get the other (possible) broken toes. Yes, you read that right, there’s more to come. Anyway, the first incident happened on Friday evening after Jack got home from work and just before we went to grab dinner. I don’t know exactly what he was doing at the time, but somehow he slammed his foot right into the leg of one of our bar stools. It bent three of his toes back, but thankfully only one broke. Unfortunately, those that didn't break wouldn’t be safe for long.  It was pretty obvious that the one that did break was a pretty bad break; swelling and turning purple almost immediately.

After that unfortunate incident we went to grab dinner then came home to relax, get Jack off his feet and wait on our nephew, Jason, to be dropped off.  We were lucky enough to have him stay with us for the whole weekend. This is always a treat! My sister and our soon-to-be brother-in-law, Andy, came out to drop him off and stayed for a short visit.   

On Saturday morning, Jack and Jason went to the computer repair shop (we continue to have issues with two of our computers– it’s getting pretty frustrating!) while Madi and I went to pick up some last minute supplies for our Halloween cookies.

By the time Jack and Jason got back home, Madi and I had started the cookies and the Notre Dame game had started.  Because he cannot watch the game without a beer, of course, Jack went out into to garage to grab one and that's when it happened!  On his way back in he slammed the same foot, with the already broken toe, into a big 22 pound dry dog food storage container.  Oh. My. Goodness.  He was SO mad! He yelled out in pain and anger and threw the container down. I was thinking (and he admitted later that he was too) “Seriously? Twice to the same foot in less than 24 hours!???”  But, in his defense, he was distracted when Madi met him at the door to tell him his phone had been ringing. He looked down to grab the phone and BAM!  Poor guy!  Because the three toes were already bruised and swollen, it was hard to tell if he finished them off/broke them or not, but he said it felt like a second one was for sure broken and maybe a third. Yikes!

So, Jack was pretty much done for already and when Notre Dame gave up a win later that afternoon, I thought he would seriously lose it. I think throwing his hat around and yelling at the TV for several minutes helped him get his anger about the toes and the game out. Then, it was time for him to pack for his six day business trip to Virginia. So, honestly, I don’t think his weekend was all that happy after all! :(

The trick-or-treat Confusion: Belton and our surrounding cities; Temple, Harker Heights and Killeen, were not on the same page when it came to trick-or-treating.  Some had it on Saturday and some had it on Sunday. We thought (mostly because Madi told us and because we didn’t check the cities web-site. Hello!) that trick-or-treating was on Saturday night for Belton. Jack’s Mom knew that Harker Heights was having it on Saturday and that Killeen was having it on Sunday evening. So, our plan was to hand out candy at our house on Saturday and then hand out candy at the Johnston’s on Sunday. The kids were super excited about this plan! They love to hand out candy and are really good at it, especially Jason. He chats with the trick-or-treader's and always tells the little ones how great they look in their costumes.

So, at five o’clock on Saturday, the kids are ready. They were setting in their lawn chairs with a big bucket of candy, ready. Bella was also ready. I dressed her up as a sort of fairy, it was a cute little get-up!  You'll see.  Anyway, Bella hated it!  She was so embarrassed and she still hasn’t forgiven me; you should see the way she looks at me! AND she’s been rebelling ever since by pulling trash out of the bath room trash cans and slinging it all over the place! She’s trying to get back at me, I know.

So anyway, the kids and Bella were ready! Here they are… 

 Their pretty happy (the sun was in their eyes, so they don't look happy, but they were!)  
 Fifteen minutes later, there were still no trick-or-treader's.  Jason and Madi weren't so happy anymore!  Madi texted her friend, Maggie, and found out that Belton was doing trick-or-treating on SUNDAY!  Ugh, boy did we look silly out there!  I joked with the kids that it was just a practice run.  I don't think that made them feel any better. 

Madi, Jason and I finished up the cookies late Saturday night.  They turned out pretty good.  We forgot to use our sanding sugars during the outlining process, as we had planned, but they turned out pretty good without it.  

The kids are so creative and I’m always surprised by their ideas.  Good job Jason and Madi!  I had so much fun making cookies with you both! :) 

On Sunday (Halloween day), Jason, Madi and I reluctantly drove Jack to the airport. After a quick drop off and sappy goodbye, I drove the kids out to my Mom and Dad’s for a visit. I wanted to check out their newly remodeled kitchen and the four room additions which are just about completed. Their house is really looking great and after three (or maybe it’s been four) long months of construction, I know they are happy it’s just about over! Our visit was short but it was nice.

Then it was time for the Trick-or-treader's. For real this time! So we headed to the Johnston’s for some Halloween candy givin' good times.  Because my cut off age for Madison to actually go out and trick-or-treat was ten, she has been handing out candy for the last few years. I just don’t agree with big kids trick-or-treating and if they come knocking on my door, I tell ‘um.  Jack isn’t so cold hearted and so he’d rather I leave the candy giving to him and the kids.  But, I love to see the little ones in their costumes, so I have to get involved! So anyway, usually we try to find Madi a costume for her to have while handing out candy, but this year she just didn't seem interested in it. I asked her several times and even asked her one final time on Saturday while we were out if she wanted to look for one and she said no.  I should have known better!  Just hours before it was time to for the trick-or-treating to begin, she decided that she needed to have a costume. You know, because Jason andBella had costumes.  So, she improvised – she tucked her shirt into her pants, put on a pair of three D glasses without the lenses and with purple tape on the nose piece and put on a bow tie.  She claimed she was being herself; just bring out her nerdy side.  Haha!


Sammy was a super cute pumpkin for Halloween. He didn't act like it bothered him in the least.  He wasn't embarrassed and was just as wild and crazy as ever!

See?

 The pumpkin chasing the fairy.

Bella thinks that if she shakes hard enough, she might get rid of her silly costume! 

I thought Bella looked adorable in her costume.  So did the trick-or-treader's!  I loved the colors and I took way too many pictures of her in it! It's serioulsy like having a toddler!

And we can't forget Max!  He didn't really want to be outside with us though, he wanted to watch the Rangers with Johnny.  I don't blame him!

The trick-or-treader's were few and fair between.  Camille and I figure it was due to all the confusion of when certain cities were doing trick-or-treating because they live on the very edge of Killeen bordering Harker Heights.  But, we all (including the dogs) had a good time and enjoyed spending time together.  We just wish Jack would've been there with us.  He makes everything so much fun!  

So, that's our Halloween weekend.  Jack should be home from Virginia on Saturday morning, but he leaves again on Sunday morning and will be gone for a few more days.  So, he'll be traveling and away from home for the next 8 days.  Please keep him in your prayers for safe travels and for his poor little toes! :)  Thank you!

Round Rock Unclassified and Red vs. White

Olivia and I have been having several issues with our computers over the past few weeks and this has caused a real backlog of pictures, blog posts and general updates. We haven't quite gotten all the computer stuff fixed but, wanted to get some updates on Madison's recent swim meets out as soon as the pictures could be loaded.

Round Rock Unclassified - Sept. 25th

Madison participated in her first outdoor swim meet, in Round Rock, Texas. It was a hot and sunny day and most of the parents were wishing they could jump in with the swimmers to cool off!

Madi debuted her new "competition" goggles and new suit for the meet.

Stylin dude!

Madi also participated in a new event (for her), the 200 IM which was very exciting to watch and pretty tiring to swim according to her.

Checkin' out the competition.

She started out strong with her new favorite stroke, the fly!

Things looked good as she moved through her old favorite, the backstroke.

The breaststroke is probably her second favorite stroke but at this point, she wasn't enjoying it so much!

Finally, she finishes strong with her freestyle!

Waiting on a few swimmers to finish.  Gives her a little time to rest before before climbing out to get ready for her next event.

Madi plows through the pool in her 50 breaststroke heat.

Looks like she is just moving into second as they touch the wall (I think the girl in first is on her way back in this pic)

It is tough to tell from the angle but, it looks like she's hanging on to second!

To the wall and...

She placed second in her heat with a new best time!

Madi also swam in a 200 relay with three other girls who were all very new to competition swim meets. It is crazy to think that she is the "experienced swimmer" in some of these things already.

Madison's next meet was held one week later, here in Belton and was an intra-sqad meet for her middle school team. They swam against their team members from Lake Belton Middlle School (LBMS). It was a really fun meet for the kids to work on the things they had been practicing and compete against their teammates. This meet also featured swimmers from Belton High School competing against each other and it was good for Madi and her friends to get to see how the big kids swim too.

Red vs. White Meet - October 2nd
It was a little confusing for the onlookers as the team all wore their Belton swim caps and they don't have official team suits but, they'd be wearing the same ones if they did!

Madison competed in a total of four events including relays, freestyle, butterfly and breaststroke, I think.

All of the distances were short and none of the events was more than 100 meters.

All the kids got to swim in four events and they seemed to enjoy themselves.

Madi said it was probably her most fun meet to date because she had a great time with her teammates and enjoyed cheering on so many friends from school.

I was a timekeeper for the meet and it was interesting to get to time the kids in their events. I didn't mess things up too badly and made it over to take pictures with the family

Madi's fan club turned out for the meet as usual, minus Aunt Gennie (who is usually at every meet but, had to work that Saturday morning) and Olivia who took the picture, as always.

Olivia was able to convince a nice man to let her get in this shot!