Mommy Did It!

I ran in the Ruben Studdard Half Marathon here in Birmingham, and was pretty proud of myself for finishing!  I finished in 2 hours and 2 minutes, which is only a minute slower than my other half marathon time.  I think I could have beaten my time if it had not been for those hills at the end of the race.  I placed 16th for my age group, but after the race was over I noticed the times for the 5K and I would have actually won that one PLUS I wouldn't have gotten the world's largest blister on my foot.  I't was a fun time though, and the weather was great!  We really lucked out on that part, since it was late November.  Mark played with Marin the whole time I ran, and I'm pretty sure he was more worn out than I was.  They met me at mile 7, which was the railroad park.  It was the CUTEST thing ever... she was clapping and smiling for all the runners.  She looked so tiny and pink on the side of the road watching everyone.  Mark tried to take a picture there of me running by and high fiving her, but he forgot to take the lens off the camera!  It looks like they had a lot of fun together though.  I can't wait until my next race!

 At the start

 She's wondering if it's OK that Daddy's in charge.

 I love these two!  I'm so glad they were there to cheer me on!

 Playing at the fountain

 Playing at Railroad Park and hopefully not eating those berries

 I'm so excited it's almost over!

 A congratulations hug

Halloween

Marin LOVED everything about Halloween.  She loved the weeks leading to up it when we'd go for a walk and she'd get all excited over Halloween decorations.  Robb and Megean hosted a family Halloween party a few nights early and she enjoyed playing with her cousins.  My mom came down a couple days later.  We took her to the train park and played outside.  She drove Marin around at night to see all the decorations.  On Halloween night Marin had so much running around seeing all the neighbors dressed up.  We stayed out past her bedtime and she didn't complain for a second. She was sure to say "moo" to everyone too.  It was just fun having everyone out visiting in the neighborhood.  At the end of the night, we stopped by Sabrina and Joe's house to let her visit with Asher.  He was very into his suckers and I think she liked seeing him dressed up!  I'm sure next year will be even more fun!

She liked Spiderman!

Boo at the Zoo

Marin loved Boo at the Zoo this year (as you can tell by the picture).  No, really she did love it!  There were too many fun things to do and see to sit on a  hay bale for a photo shoot.  There were colorful lights, fun music, a petting zoo, pumpkins everywhere (her favorite) and even a big talking pumpkin!  We will definitely go back next year.

Tailgating With a Toddler

We had so much fun at the Auburn/Florida game this year, although it was a very different kind of fun from Florida games of the past.  Our good friends, Rob and Jenny, moved to Auburn recently so we had a nice place to stay for the weekend.  Maggie was such a great playmate for Marin and we all enjoyed spending time together.  The boys, of course, spent most of their time on the golf course.  I can't blame them since the weather was perfect.  Friday night we went to a party at the club where we almost won tickets to the game.  I still think that was rigged!  We went to campus and spent the day outside tailgating.  We didn't go into the game, obviously, but it was fun watching it from the tailgate outside the stadium.  An Auburn victory made the night even better.  We finished the weekend with Sunday lunch at Niffer's.

I think she loves Auburn as much as her mom and dad.

Sharing lunch together.... This is her first Amsterdam's Turkey Wrap.  This will be her first of many
since this is one of my requirements with every trip to Auburn.