Way to go, Mark!

Congratulations to my FIL, Mark, for finishing the Chicago marathon with flying colors! In freezing weather, he toughed it out to impress and inspire us all. Here's the gang pre-race

He brought it home for Kansas...and the Greffet family!

We tried desperately to find him at 3 different check points during the race, but between 40,000 other runners and about 25% of them wearing a white shirt and blue hat, we had little luck...until the last mile! (Next year, we will use the GPS tracker, for sure...and we're getting Mark an outfit to help him stand out!)

So Jim "pirated" the race and hopped in to cheer his dad on! I think Jim's total miles ran for the day was roughly 0.05 (est.); Mark's total miles for the day: 26.2!

And here's the champ, post-race...

Can't wait for Chicago 2010!

As Joanie's poster read, "If it was easy, I would do it!"

I have much more to share, including plenty of random pictures (I think everyone finally understands why Jim gets so annoyed with my incessant picture-taking!) and some funny tandem-biking stories! :)

Ohhhh Chicago!

Jim and I are off to Chi-town this weekend to watch his dad run in the marathon!

Mr. Jack will spend a whole weekend with Nani, Papa, CC, Jason, and Poppy…and as much as I will miss him, I think he’s just going to go ballistic spending so much time with Nani! (No offense to anyone else, but Jack is just head over heels for her!)

On Friday night we’re heading up to Bolingbrook to check out the sites and visit with the locals GO TO IKEA! (Doing a happy dance!) I know, right!??! E-x-c-i-t-i-n-g! I already have lists planned out and ideas in my head, so I probably won’t even be able to sleep Friday night with so much excitement.

And then it will be off to the city I hate to love…hopefully finding a bar to relax and watch the Cards game! My funny, funny, SIL, Jennie has some hilarious idea that we will be biking along with the marathon…and seeing as I haven’t ridden a bike in +10 years, I should be back with some good stories to share and hopefully some fun pictures.

Ps: Go CARDS!

Gone Fishin'

The boys (Jim, Jack, and Papa) went fishing last weekend! I was worried about the cold weather, ticks, and the possibility of having to eat whatever they caught!

Luckily, the weather warmed up, but it was still too cold for ticks (yeah!), and I think the biggest catch of the day was lucky to be pushing 5 inches, so my dinner was safe! But they had a great time bonding and doing “boy stuff”! Here's Jack in a hat again...for like 5 more seconds! Apparently, it wasn't fishing attire :)

And here’s their catch of the day! Apparently, Jack loved the fish, as long as he didn’t have to touch it. lol.

This is from the picnic last weekend, not fishing, but I thought it was too cute not to add!

They also met up with Bill and Will, who is just a few weeks older than Jack. Here they are:

Like father like son! Here are a few better ones of them fishing:

And Jim managed to reel in the smallest catch of the day! But they had a fun "Boys-day!"

My pumpkins...

I love my Pumpkins...Jack and the orange ones!

I used the idea from Living with Lindsay to recreate the Pottery Barn-style pumpkins. I'm obsessed! I love my little Spider pumpkin (even though he isn't anatomically correct because he only has 6 legs!) Check out her tutorial and make your own pumpkins!

And the other option I made was the Pirate pumpkin...Arrrrrrgh!

But this will always be my favorite Pumpkin:

And these two make quite a pair...l-o-v-e!

Happy Halloween!

He wore a hat...

...for like 5 seconds! But still, I'm pumped because little man won't put a hat on for anything. Well, once wore a Cards hat when he was bribed with M&Ms, but this time no candy-pushing was involved...but again, it was for like 5 seconds!

and there it goes! It was adorable while it lasted!

Fall

Fall is here! (and don't let the exclamation point fool you...I am not excited about it! I'm still mourning the loss of summer!)

But we had an awesome time at the company picnic on Saturday (despite the wind whipping off the river). It was complete with a pumpkin hunt, petting zoo, playground, and tons of new friends for Jack to play with!

But he had the most fun with Nani ('cause she's like his BEST friend!)

Here's Jack showing off his loot from the pumpkin hunt!

and with his new buddy, Will...

Family time!

Happy Fall! (kinda...)

I took his hand and followed...

My dishes went unwashed today,

I didn't make the bed,

I took his hand and followed

Where his eager footsteps led.

Oh yes, we went adventuring,

My little son and I,

Exploring all the great outdoors

Beneath the summer sky.

We waded in a crystal stream,

We wandered through a wood;

My kitchen wasn't swept today

But life was gay and good.

We found a cool, sun-dappled glade

And now my small son knows

How Mother Bunny hides her nest,

Where jack-in-the-pulpit grows.

We watched a robin feed her young,

We climbed a sunlit hill,

Saw cloud-sheep scamper through the sky,

We plucked a daffodil.

That my house was neglected,

That I didn't brush the stairs,

In twenty years, no one on earth

Will know, or even care.

But that I've helped my little boy

To noble manhood grow,

In twenty years, the whole wide world

May look and see and know. (Unknown)