Pumpkin Run 2015 Race Recap

 Saturday was the 33rd annual Joplin Pumpkin Run. This race has been around longer than I have folks. It is a hilly 5 mile course around a park just outside of town. I have wanted to do this race since I was a newby runner and two years later it finally happened.

But I wasn't the only one running!  The girls hadn't ran a fun run since July so I signed them up too and boy were they excited.

The fun run started out with "the rise of the great pumpkin".

And a hay ride to the start line.

Marissa ended up being the 4th kid to cross the finish line (that's my girl). 

She is a natural with her effortless style of running. She just has a way of making it look so easy.

Emily wanted to know what place she was so I told her she was "place # super awesome"!
She was THRILLED with her final result ;). She loved running this race with Meme (my mama). 

Good job ladies!
Instead of medals the kids were given their own little pumpkin.
It REALLY is a pumpkin run :). 

With the kids run over we were ready to get our 5 miles on. 

Our goal was to finish. No pace or time agendas made.

It is so nice to go into a race and only be thinking about having a good time. 

And that we did!

This photo pretty much assures that we were the happiest bunch of runners out there that day.

(especially seeing we had just ran up that hill) 

When it came to the end of the race Lacey gave me a run for my money with a sprinting show down. I believe the exact words she said were "It's on Beth" as she kicked it into warp speed. I some how magically managed to beat here by hundredths of a second. 

It was  pretty much the coolest thing ever and for a few seconds afterwards I thought my heart might explode. 

At the end of the day this is where we fell we finished with 47:something times, exactly where I expected us to be.  So the Pumpkin run was a race worth waiting two years for.  Fun with friends, a fun run to remember and another race shirt for my wardrobe.

I think that wraps up races for a while.
Until next time, happy running!
Now it's your turn. Grab the button in my sidebar and link-up for this weeks Tuesday Talk! Beth - Our Pretty Little Girls ~ Michelle - Grammie Time Keri - Living In This Season  ~ Christina - Waltzing In Beauty
Lauren - Simply Free ~  Becky - BYBMG
Jess and Katie - Sweet Little Ones ~ Whitney - Polka Dotty Place
Laura - Life Is Beautiful ~ Elizabeth - All Kinds Of Things
Sarah - Abiding In Grace ~ Stephanie - Wife Mommy Me
Emily - Morning Motivated Mom

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Family Photos 2015

They are done!!!
Last Tuesday was picture day and today I am officially unveiling the new blog design and sharing our 2015 family photos with you guys. Maybe today won't be the typical Monday that I usually dread.
We are so lucky to have a great friend who also happens to take amazing pictures.
Here are some of my favorites from our recent photo session with Aaron Wilcox Photography. Local friends, if you need some family photos done please check this guy out! He has skills, is a super great guy and is affordable. You will not be disappointed.

Happy Monday Friends!

Friday Highlights 10.9.15

Hello Friday!
I have always been a huge fan of Friday but lately I am realizing that Fridays in the fall are the best. 
The end of our school week, a warm cup of coffee, the anticipation of 4:00 when daddy is home for the weekend and a lazy afternoon with my girls are all pretty great. But, if you throw in fall decorations, pumpkin something for breakfast, jacket weather and fall plans into the mix you have perfection. 
Now that I am feeling a bit dreamy about today let's check out this weeks Friday five!

{ONE}  Blog Highlights
This week on the blog I shared. Our first fall bucket list recap as I linked up with the 2015 Countdown To Halloween.

I recapped my September goals and set new ones for October.

I shared a glimpse into life lately via Instagram.

And had Liz guest post in my Girl Mom Series"

{TWO} Red October
Once again my beloved cardinals are still playing baseball in October.

Here is hoping we can make it to the World Series this year.
{THREE} Pumpkin Run
Tomorrow is the 33rd annual 5 mile Pumpkin Run and I am so excited to finally be doing this race.
This was the very first race that I wanted to run 2 years ago. At the time I wasn't even trained to run a 5K so I didn't think there was any possible way for me to run 5 miles. Last year I was very focused on running half marathon #2 so I skipped it again. This year, this year it is finally happening AND the girls are doing the fun run too!
I am going into this race with no goal other than finishing and I am running it with my two favorite running friends, Anna & Lacey. I haven't ran an official race since July (and that one was ran by myself) so I can't wait to share all the details and do a full race recap next week.
{FOUR} Shrink Art

I'm obsessed.

I mean seriously, how cute are those?!

I posted this photo on Instagram and so many of you were thrown back into your childhood days and I was left feeling like I must have been deprived. Marissa has became obsessed with making enough ornaments to decorate her and Emily's Christmas trees and I am totally okay with that. In fact I kinda want to join the fun. I definitely see us tracking down more kits or ordering some shrink art sheets in the very near future. 

{FIVE} Archie
For once I think I am on the cutting edge of something new, introducing Archie.
Archie works like this, say you want to grow your Instagram or Twitter account. You can set up an account with Archie where you would input hashtags that would represent you. Think common hashtags that lots of users use. For me a great one is #homeschoollife. Archie then works on your behalf to find tweets or photos with the hashtags you input and like them for you with hopes that they will come check out your account see that they can relate to you and follow your page. Pretty cool right? You can easily turn Archie off or on with a simple click and you can change your hashtags at any time. It even gives you reports so you can see what hash tags are working the best. Archie does come at a cost but offers a free trial with no sign-up required.
Check out Archie for yourself. 

Friday Linkup Parties

To see where I am linking up check out my link-up tab.
Have a great weekend!

We will see you back here soon.

Girl Mom Series: Liz, Sundays With Sophie

Hi!  I'm Liz and I blog over at sundays with sophie.  I started this blog because I wanted to chronicle my pregnancy, but it became so much more in 2015 when I started talking about my life, marriage, and being a mom.

When I found out I was pregnant with Sophie, I knew I would have a boy, I mean it was in the genetics right?  Kyle's mother had three boys, and the eldest son had two boys, so it was clear I would have a boy.  The thing about genetics, you can't always predict it.  Even though everyone was convinced I was having a boy, I knew in my heart that I was actually having a girl.  And I had to come to grips with being a girl mom.  Something that I hadn't prepared for and wasn't ready to be.  Well here I am nearly 2 years later and loving being a girl mom.

Being a girl mom is something I never thought I would be good at, and some days, I still don't think I am.  But I love being a girl mom.  It's amazing and it's a blessing.  Motherhood has been a challenge for me, but rewarding at the same time.  I've hit struggles along the way, but each of them is just a learning lesson for me.  Motherhood is all about learning and going with the flow.  Here are some of the things I've learned about being a mother.

I use to say "that Sophie will never wear pink and glitter," but she rocks her crocs all the time.  Her feet pitter-pattering through the house giggling excited to wear her new shoes.  She loves taking her shoes on and off, she learned that about a month ago.

Accepting the fact that my child is 1000% obsessed with finding things to place random house items in it, whether it's a cup or a trashcan. Here she's stolen the trashcan and placed random house items she found throughout the house in it.   I've given up on anything being mine anymore.

Having a clean house isn't worth it.  Coming around and picking up after a child a million times is just exhausting.  I'll clean and she comes right back around throwing everything on the floor.  She is in love with pulling out the mail and ripping it open.

Sophie likes to do laundry, as in pull out all of the clean clothes to mix with the dirty clothes.  It's a really fun process.  We usually have to do the smell test to make sure which ones are clean and which ones are dirty.  Most days I feel like I'm doing the same thing over and over, day after day.

At the end of the day, being a girl mother, a mother, is something that I've learned to go with the flow, even if that means letting my daughter running around with a broomstick....

Being a mother is such a blessing, and such an incredible journey.  I can't fully explain how much my life changed after becoming a mother, nor do I think I'd ever try.  Any woman can give birth, but not every woman can be a mother.  I used to believe I couldn't be a mother, it just wasn't in me, I was selfish, and self-centered, but it changed when I became a mother.  It's something I wouldn't change for the world even if meant I "gave up" everything.

~~~

Thank you Beth for letting me join her wonderful series!

Thank you so much for sharing your story with us Liz.

Motherhood is such an amazing and challenging journey. Sometimes we fight so hard to make it look a certain way and squeeze it into this perfect package that we expected it to be. But real motherhood is messy, unexpected and fun. I love seeing that you have learned to embrace it all. Sophie is one very lucky lady.

To learn more about Liz and her adventures check out Sundays With Sophie
You can also connect with Liz on these other social media platforms:
Instagram // Pinterest

Insta-Life Lately {October 2015}

Okay I'll confess...

Ever since I learned how to embed IG photos into a blog post directly I have been just waiting to jump at the first chance I got to do an Instagram post. Which is exactly why I am doing this post today.
So I bought this cup the cup at Walmart last week.... I haven't stopped using it since then. It is perfect in every way and I finally have a big cup that I can claim as mine and only mine. Most of the coffee cups in our house belong to Russ. I should really change that.   

I achieved "official #blogger" status today when I snagged up "the #mug" at #Walmart. And it was the very last one they had! #happyfall #PSL #pumpkinspice #coffeetime #bloggerlife #winner

A photo posted by Beth Newman (@ourprettylittlegirls) on Oct 2, 2015 at 2:30pm PDT

Sticking with the pumpkin spice theme I drew up this chalk board a couple weeks ago.

I almost forgot to share this weeks #chalkboardart! #pumpkinspice #happyfallyall #pumpkineverything #chalkboard #fallart

A photo posted by Beth Newman (@ourprettylittlegirls) on Sep 24, 2015 at 11:32am PDT

Anyone else get suckered into half price cone day at Sonic ALL the time? I am pretty sure they have it at least once a month declaring it's national ice cream day. I kinda want to argue and say that, that day only comes once a year. But you know, any reason to celebrate ;). 

Nothing says it's the #firstdayoffall like #halfprice #icecream, tanktops, 83 degree weather and a crazy car #selfie. #happyfall #Sonic #humpday #homeschoollife #fallyall

A photo posted by Beth Newman (@ourprettylittlegirls) on Sep 23, 2015 at 12:34pm PDT

I love a good sunset. This one was magical to watch.

Well that was a good one. #sunset #nofilter #beautiful #missouri

A photo posted by Beth Newman (@ourprettylittlegirls) on Sep 19, 2015 at 5:49pm PDT

I found the Pioneer Woman collection at Walmart and it seems I am not the only one swooning over it. The color palette matches our home perfectly. Pretty sure I need a few accent pieces to liven my kitchen up a bit.

Oh I think I'm in love. I'll take one of everything. This stuff was made for my #kitchen. #pioneerwoman #walmart #ineedthis

A photo posted by Beth Newman (@ourprettylittlegirls) on Sep 19, 2015 at 1:58pm PDT

These girls.
Best friends and worst enemies... sometimes just minutes apart.

Perfect #fall evening. S'mores, little girls screaming as daddy chases them around the yard, star watching and these sweet #sisters. #makingmemories #smores #bonfire

A photo posted by Beth Newman (@ourprettylittlegirls) on Oct 2, 2015 at 5:49pm PDT

My new riding boots arrived the other day and they are everything I wanted. So I am now only partly sad that my old pair met their doom. Okay, I'm not really sad at all.

Well hello there #beautiful. My new #ridingboots have finally arrived. Tall enough to go just past this 5'10" girls knee cap. #Boots #ithinkiminlove #bringonfall #happymailday #whatimwearing #perfection #overstock #nofilter

A photo posted by Beth Newman (@ourprettylittlegirls) on Sep 29, 2015 at 9:42am PDT

One of my most recent chalk boards. The hand lettering on this one was spot on, I hardly erased and it looked amazing. I almost didn't want to erase this one but I wanted to make a new one so I did.
 I really wish I had hung up a chalkboard a couple years ago.

Every week it gets just a little bit easier than the last. #chalkboard #chalkboardart #chalk #handlettering #nofilter #fall #itsfallyall #crafty

A photo posted by Beth Newman (@ourprettylittlegirls) on Oct 1, 2015 at 12:58pm PDT

And that's a little bit of life lately via Instagram.
If your not already following us along, we'd love to have you!

Happy Hump Day friends!

Monthly Goals {October 2015}

A new month means new goals.

September is over and that leaves me sitting here singing some Green Day. I always get this song in my head come early October. If that doesn't put a a 30 something age stamp on me I don't know what will . 

September was a great month and that flew by fast! I have a feeling October may pass by just as quickly with all of the fall fun so I better get busy on my goals. But first let's take a look at how I did last month.

Blog-

*Continue blogging 4-5 days a week. *Re-do images for a few of my fall posts *Participate in a new link-up
Done! I kept my posts on track, created new images for my pallet pumpkin post and joined up with a new linkups, Hour By Hour. This link-up was a lot of fun and kept me clicking photos all weekend long. 

Family-

*Family donut date

*Family trip to the Frisco Trails

*Attend a festival

*Attend a car show or cruise night

We didn't do so great here this month. I was so sure we would make it to at least one car show, but we didn't! The Frisco trail never happened either.

We did make it to the balloon festival though and we picked up donuts one Saturday and had a feast!

Fitness- *Exercise at least 5 days a week *Begin and complete Stage 4 of the new rules program  *Keep a written food journal *Do a 5 mile run once a week
Done, done, done, FAIL!

I can not for the life of me keep a steady food journal. I did great for about two weeks and then just stopped. I guess I will try this again? Or just let it go. 

Spiritual-  *Continue reading Women of the Word *Resume Bible study meetings with Sarah *Be real about where I am, pray more
I read a couple chapters and met with Sarah a coupe times to talk about them. We seem to be back on track. I also posted a couple of pretty honest posts this month about some things that God has been working on in my life. One about our church hunt the other about my exercise journey.

Home School- *Stay on track with lesson plans *Plan one field trip
As of right now we are actually one math lesson ahead of our lesson plans, shwoo! I am trying to stay caught up or even get ahead during the first semester. The second semester is always so much longer and harder

No field trips planned yet. Hey Anna, wanna take a field trip?!

Random- *Girls night out *Decorate for fall making one new piece *Get some canning done *Create and share a fall bucket list *Implement a new meal planning system
It wasn't a night out but I did get in some shopping time with Sarah, I made a new simple fall decoration, canned my heart out, shared our fall bucket list and created a menu binder (it is lovely). Someday I may do a blog post about that one. 

Blog-

*Continue blogging 4-5 days a week. *Participate in the Count Down To Halloween Link-up weekly *Launch a new blog design by the end of the month * Participate in a new link-up

Family-

*Family Bonfire

*Family trip to the Frisco Trails

*Attend a fall festival

*Attend a car show or cruise night

*Almost complete our fall bucket list

Fitness- *Exercise at least 5 days a week *Begin and complete Stage 5 of the new rules program  *Try again to keep a written food journal *Complete The Pumpkin Run
Spiritual-  *Continue reading Women of the Word *Try to make connections at a church we have decided to attend weekly *Keep up weekly meetings with Sarah
Home School- *Stay on track with lesson plans *Plan one field trip *Plan a fun picnic lunch
Random- *Fun photo shoot with Anna *Decorate for Halloween *Make Halloween costumes *Stay on top of keeping the budget done, weekly!
October is packed full of fun with something planned almost every single weekend.... and it's already almost 1/4 of the way over!

I am so excited for all of the fall fun and family time over the next few weeks. October through December are my favorite months where I am constantly reminded over and over again through the littlest things that I am abundantly blessed.
What do you have planned for October?
Now it's your turn.
Grab the button frommy sidebar and link up for this weeks Tuesday Talk!

Meet the hosts!

Becky from BYBMG, Beth from Our Pretty Little Girls, Whitney from Polka-Dotty Place, Elizabeth from All Kinds of Things, Tara from Mrs.Coach Sims, Keri from Living In This Season, Sarah from Abiding In Grace, Lauren from Simply Free , Emily from Morning Motivated Mom, and Jessica & Katie from Sweet Little Ones, Christina from Waltzing In Beauty, Stephanie from Wife Mommy Me, Laura from Life is Beautiful & Michelle from Grammie Time

An InLinkz Link-up