Halloween 2013

When we asked James early this fall what we wanted to be for Halloween this year he immediately said, "A drum major!"  Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that we were at the Gopher football game and saw the marching band perform that same day, but when we had made up his mind there wasn't any way Mom or Dad were going to talk him out of it - and it just so happened that it hit a soft spot in both of their hearts.  With James as a drum major, Henry was deemed to become a member of the band - perfect!  Of course we didn't stray away from the U of MN marching band uniform design and colors - as that's what we know and could model the costumes after. 

Mom got to work on the costumes in late September and with some felt fabric and crafty cutting skills, puffy paint and stitch-witchery - no sewing was required!  Mom and Dad were pretty excited to see these costumes come together and they were a pretty cute duo everywhere they went.  Mom bought matching band hats and James carried a whistle and a mace (c/o of Auntie Aimee and her baton) and Henry had a little play trumpet to complete his ensemble.  Hopefully this isn't a future prediction to his instrument choice :)  James loved his costume and Henry eventually learned to keep his on and not let it bother him.

We got the chance to attend Como's Zoo Boo this year once again and Henry enjoyed giving all the characters high-fives and hugs.  The boys also had a little party at school on Halloween and of course they ventured out in the neighborhood to trick-or-treat as well.  James was thrilled with his loot and I believe he's still finishing some of it up - just in time for Santa to bring something more! :)

Last but not least, carving pumpkins this year was fun too!  James was a great assistant cleaning out all the "goop!"  He was probably most excited though about eating up the seeds we roasted after finishing up our carvings for the night.  They turned out great and we managed to keep the squirrels away from them this year with the assistance of some bleach spray.

 

 

 

 

Boys and Trains - Chicago Marathon Trip

Earlier this year when Papa got notification that he got a lottery spot in the 2013 Chicago Marathon we thought this would be a great opportunity for a fun family trip with the boys and in the process  visit some family down in the area. 

We definitely met those objectives in early October when we road tripped across MN, WI and IL - visited family along the way, Matt ran his heart out in a city he was born in and loves so much, and the boys loved every minute of it!

Leaving on Thursday afternoon we first stopped in Wisconsin Rapids for a short visit with Great Grandma Clark.  She was happy to see the boys and they loved exploring her home and all of the toys she has in her toy closest! 

We hit the road on early Friday morning w/ downtown Chicago as our afternoon destination to pick up Matt's race packet.  We arrived outside of Rockford just before lunch time and hopped aboard a Metra commuter train traveling inbound to the city.  Boys enjoyed lunch on the train and loved watching the scenery pass us by on the way into the city and Henry eventually fell asleep.

 

When we arrived at Union Station we hopped aboard a CTA Elevated train to take us to a spot where we could catch a shuttle bus to McCormick Center to pick up Matt's race packet and tour the marathon expo.  Boys got quite a kick out of all the trains and we're fascinated by all the sounds of the city.  James finally fell asleep from all the excitement too.

We spent some time at Millenium Park after we picked up the race packet.  Boys got to see more trains and James loved seeing the bean!  We had some great Italian food to carb up Papa for his race on Sunday and we then headed back out of the city via the Metra to spend the evening at cousin Kim and Jason's house in Roscoe.

Saturday was spent with cousins and Aunt Debbie at the apple orchard and what started as a fun morning on a gloomy day resulted in us taking shelter in a little house waiting for the rain to "pass" - which is never did, so we made a run for it!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Church service followed by wonderful Chicago style pizza dinner before going to asleep early - in order to get to the city in time for the start of Matt's race the next morning.

 

Sunday was raceday!  An early departure from Aunt Debbie's house in Elgin to get Matt downtown with time to spare proved to be easier than we thought it would be with the kiddos.  They were surprisingly cooperative - though didn't fall asleep in the van again as we hoped they would :)  Our adventures to finding our parking spot in downtown Chicago was met with laughter and shooing Matt out of the van to get to the starting line.  Thankful for map aps on our iPhone - we eventually found the spot after some racing through alleyways :)

Racetime!  We tried to find Matt at the 1 mile marker, but he ended up running with a different pacing group than he told us he would, so we missed him, but regardless the boys enjoyed cheering on all the runners and seeing all the people.  Most exciting?  Getting high fives from runners who couldn't resist their cheers!

 

We made it to the 1/2 marathon mile marker (13.1 miles) and Momma saw Matt at this point, but it was brief and Matt didn't see us.  Over 45,000 people run this race - and the crowd support was phenomenal - so it was hard to get to the road to pick people out but with the assistance of a blue bandana tied around his head from Aunt Debbie he somewhat stood out in the crowd!  James at this time needed a potty break - this is when you somewhat wished your child was still in diapers.  Trying to find a place with a potty on a Sunday morning in downtown Chicago with marathon traffic to cross proved difficult, but we safely made it to McDonald's a few blocks away and all was well!

We lastly bustled ourselves to the end of the marathon route near mile 25 and again saw Matt and cheered him on before he looped back into the park for the Finish Line.  He achieved his goal of running in in 4.5 hours and loved the course and the city sights!

We connected with him afterwards and the boys gave Papa lots of hugs and kisses for his accomplishment!

 

 

We drove back to Elgin, packed up the van and said our goodbyes to Aunt Debbie as the boys slept in the van before driving to Rockford for the night.  We had a nice family dinner with the boys and spent Sunday evening playing in the pool (and jumping on the beds!) at the hotel with the cousins who came to hang out! 

Monday morning - after breakfast and another swim in the pool, we hit the road to come home.  A fun weekend in a great city!  We hope to get the boys to Chicago again and spend more time in the city checking things out.  Nonetheless they loved what they did see and still continue to talk about the trains!