Fall & Halloween

Chicago Marathon!

No, I didn't run the marathon...my sister Laura did! :) (I'm not that crazy!) I went for support and it was awesome! First off, we took the Amtrak from Carbondale, IL to Chicago. The train ride up was a little sketchy because we were in coach. Ick. However, on the way back we were in business class and it was MUCH better!

There were four girls from Paducah that ran the marathon and there were four of us supporters that tagged along. This was my first time to Chicago and I loved it! I am ready to go back! We had perfect weather while we were there, which was nice because we had to walk everywhere we went. Our main focus was rooting on the girls for the marathon, but we did get to do some shopping on the Magnificent Mile...and it was magnificent!!!

I was so proud of the girls that ran the marathon! What a torturous thing to do to yourself! However, all of their training paid off and they all finished and had great times! It was truly inspiring to watch so many people push their bodies to the limit!

In coach, on our way to Chicago!

View from our hotel overlooking Lake Michigan.

At the expo. Me, Terri, Ashlea, and Lauren...the supporters!

Can you find Laura Grumley? They had all 45,000 names on a wall...wow!

The runners! Andrea, Molly, Laura, and Marra.

Race morning! Before they headed out we had to get a photo op of them!

The sign we had made for them!

And they're off! Amazing sight to see!

First point we saw them! Still in good spirits!

Second stop...they're in there somewhere!

This is the girls coming to meet us after the race. Take note of them in their socks. YUCK! Their feet were just a little sore. haha! :)

My sis and me. So proud of her!

We all wore pink so they could spot us easily along the route and it worked! We saw them four different points along the way. We logged over 16 miles ourselves just trying to meet up with them!

Celebrating at Gino's East Pizzeria!

Heaven on earth!

At Union Station. We were lucky enough to get carted around like royalty right to our business class train!

Coach Terri doing a plank on the train. She's crazy! :) What a great time!

September Vacation

This post is long overdue.... Michael and I took Bailey to Destin this past September for vacation. Our good friends, Chad, Ali, and Logan joined us for the week! We had a great time and the weather was perfect. I'm convinced mid-September is the perfect time to go to Florida! We stayed at Waterscape in Ft. Walton Beach. It was an amazing place to stay...especially for the kids. They have a lazy river, a lagoon style pool with water toys, a heated circular pool, and a whole kiddie pool area with all kinds of toys to play on. They also have a great workout room that overlooks the lagoon pool and a Fudpucker's poolside bar and grill. We had a great week and I'm so ready to go back! Below are just a few pics...out of about 500 that we took!