weekend...

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I am looking forward to a lovely weekend at home.  It's finally fall, and though a bit warmer here, the mornings are cool and the days are bright.

Tomorrow at 8am, we are running in a 5k race at a church nearby.  Running that color me rad race really got us pumped up, and we just want to keep up our momentum.  Finn especially loves our runs, as he gets to be outside in the woods.  He loves the dogs, birds, and squirrels we see.  The other day we saw a snake and tried to get him to get excited, but he really wasn't interested.

In the afternoon, we're checking out a fall festival at the same church as the race.  Hopefully there will be apple cider and/or pumpkin flavored goodies.

We are driving downtown to pick up some tickets for a Jim Gaffigan show in November that we are going to with my sister and her husband.  We might have time to check out Mass Avenue, which is a really neat artsy neighborhood in Indy and has a lot of great restaurants and shops.

Sundays are always my favorite.  We aren't on worship team at church this weekend, so we can sleep in, get there a few hours later than normal, and just enjoy the community and the message.  We usually take a nap or rest, then grocery shop and maybe go to our favorite local coffee house.

We loved the butternut squash risotto we had last week, so I'm making it again...perfect for a fall weekend.

(Our weekends are far from perfect, though.  There will be plenty of laundry, cleaning, changing icky diapers, calming a fussy baby, and dishes.  But, such is life, and we are living in it every day.)

color me rad...

On Saturday, Landon and I were able to run in the Color Me Rad 5k that was here in town.  My parents came to watch and take care of Finn while we ran.  What a fun race!  First off, it wasn't timed, so no pressure there, secondly...color thrown at you while you run!  :)  There were thousands of people out running and walking, and it was probably the most fun race we've ever done.

If you ever get a chance to do this kind of race, do it!  It's a blast, light-hearted, and just fun to participate in.  There were so many different people running or walking, whole families came out together.  Loved it!  Also, I've got the itch now to run, so we're signing up for another 5k soon.

Thanks to my Dad for taking all of the photos, and thanks to my Mom for strolling Finn around!

our weekend...

On Saturday, we decided to take advantage of the beautiful morning and Finn's early-for-a-weekend waketime, and head to the local farmers market.  It's in a small town called Carmel, right near us.  (Coincidentally, I just read here, that Carmel is rated the best place to live!!)

We parked right on the Monon, and ran up to the market.  It has been slow getting back into running, but we have been working hard at it these past few weeks.  I will say that it is 100% more fun to run in cool weather as opposed to the high 90s we were having. :)  Finn loves riding in his jogging stroller and watching all the cyclists, dogs, and other people on the trail.  I love jogging the trail because it's so beautiful, and I love hearing all the snippets of random conversation from passerby.  (We heard that some older man passed away, and left $30 million to some church, and another man was having a great evening with his wife, when suddenly she started crying.)  We also saw a dad riding his bike with his adorable son sitting behind him.  They were French, and the dad was speaking something beautiful to his son, who had the longest curls I've ever seen.

After making it to the market, we walked around checking out all the stalls.  The produce was so much cheaper than I expected, and we bought some nice peppers.  I told Landon that next time we go grocery shopping, I'll need to remember to wait on the produce until after we've been to the market.

Some friends had recommended the crepes that one vendor sold, so we bought two of them with butter, sugar, cinnamon, and lemon zest.  The Carmel fire department had all it's stations out doing a breakfast casserole taste test competition, so we were able to sample about 8 amazing different recipes.  Finn loved trying everything with us, and even tried a crabmeat casserole.

Lastly, we bought a chai tea from a sweet couple that had a variety of tea samples out.  They gave Finn a sample of a non-caff, unsweetened tea with orange, cinnamon, and some other herbs.  He always makes a face when trying something new, but then gobbles it up.  So the couple gave him a second sample, and were so happy that he loved their product.

After an even better run back to our car, we relaxed the rest of the day, then Landon and I had a really great date that night.

I told Landon that this was probably the most perfect Saturday I've ever had (except our wedding, of course) and I was so happy to share it with my two boys.

Life is just so wonderful, and even on the days it's challenging, all I need to do is step back and remember these sweet moments with those I hold dear.

running...

So Landon and I are going to get back into running soon.  We're signing up for a few small races to give us some incentive, and I am so excited!  Landon was a bigger runner in high school and college, and I got serious about it during and after college.  My dad is a huge runner and competes in all kinds of races, and I admire him so much.

So to give me even more motivation, I found this awesome story of K.V. Switzer.  You may have heard of her, but I hadn't before today.  She is the first woman to run the Boston marathon as a numbered entry in 1967.  That was 5 years before women were allowed to enter officially.  She was a 20 year old college student who was gutsy enough to enter a race that she was told women were incapable of running.  After running four miles, the race official attempted to stop her, but her boyfriend shoved him out of the way.  Awesome story!  Read more about her here.

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Anyway, while we may not be running in the Boston marathon, we are aiming for a few 5k races to start out with and work up from there.  I can't wait to spend time running with Landon and pushing Finn in his stroller!

Three reasons...

Three reasons why today is great.

1. I don't have to work today!  After a long week last week and a long day yesterday, my boss has given me the day off.  There are so many things I want to get done today and probably won't, but it's nice to have some time to myself.  Maybe I'll catch up on some reading...

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2. We are enjoying some cooler weather today.  I drove home last night with the windows down instead of the AC for a change and today should be the same!  No humidity thank you.
Maybe I'll go for a run on the Monon later...

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3. I'm getting my eyes checked...which doesn't seem too great, but it's been long put off and I finally have time to get it done.  Maybe I'll swap my frames for some sweet vintage ones...

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I hope you all enjoy your Tuesday as I will today.

Love,
Leah