Thanksgiving Preparations

These top two pictures are of how we have recently found the kids sleeping.  Noah and James have been asking to have a "sleepover" recently where one of them gets to sleep in Trey's bed (a trundel bed under the bunk beds).  Despite our best negotiating efforts they decided to both sleep in Trey's bed with the understanding that either of them could get back in their beds at any time.  Well this is how we found them and how they stayed all night... I think that it is safe to assume that they will not mind sharing a room for some time to come:)  Ben has been getting out of bed a lot at night and turning on his light to play or "read".  This is how we found him the other night and at several nap times with the light burning bright:)  

One of the biggest perks to moving to the area, for us, has been the UMF gym.  They offer free child care M-F from 9-10! The kids all LOVE to play and I am in better shape than I have been in a long time.  It is also a nice mental break for all of us to be able to get out of the house. As a result I signed Gabe and I up to run in their Turkey Trot 5K back in September, mainly because I was afraid if I didn't pay at the beginning then I *may not* follow through with the training.  The weather was certainly cold and windy, but bright and sunny!  So, back to why we love the gym (besides the obvious health benefits), they offered free childcare during the race AND before the race they held a kids one mile fun run.  I signed both Noah and James up thinking that James probably wouldn't do it, especially since Gabe and I were drawing straws as to who would run the extra mile before our race because we weren't sure he could do it alone.  To our surprise, the UMF men's basketball team ran with the kids.  It was so cool for Noah and James to have a "big kid" run with them encouraging them the whole way! Noah finished 2nd in his age group in just under 10 minutes and both boys were SO proud of themselves:)  Seriously, kudos to the UMF Fitness Center- providing the environment to foster the love and importance of fitness at all ages is fantastic, and as a parent the peace of mind to know that the kids are having fun while we are "having fun" running in the race is a huge bonus for us!