the boys and the cure

For the second year, Carter and Allen ran in the Susan G. Comen 5k race for the cure. This year Allen recruited Jared to run with him, so he wouldn't have to try and keep up with Carter. I think he got a little embarrassed last year when Carter kept looking/running backwards saying "come on dad!" Carter ran with a friend from his CC team and they finished in 24 minutes. Jared surprised us and never stopped running even though according to Allen he had a few hard moments. He and Allen ran in 31 minutes. Claire and I went to cheer them on and to collect Carter when he finished. We saw many people there-Carter's whole CC team, the Sextons, the Kahs, Kacey Jackson, and Allen's best friend from high school whose wife is a breast cancer survivor. It was a fun morning. I was very proud of all my boys. Especially Allen who HATES running but endures it to do something with his sons. He is a good dad.

good hair day?

Carter came downstairs one day looking like this and saying that this was the look he liked for himself. First, the hair. Carter has a long history with his infatuation with hair...see pix at bottom of post. Second, the shirt, I have already mentioned my feelings about sleeveless shirts here. And last but not least is the necklace. What can I say, he got it at Mimi's garage sale and loves it. I know from past experience that it will lose it's charm soon, so I let it go. When I told him I wanted to take a picture of him, he didn't want to smile for the camera, but instead did the "cool" look, but I finally got a cute Carter smile. When Allen said that we should pole the girls at school to see if they think Carter looks the cutest this way, Carter turned red and ran back upstairs.

funny kids

Some funny things that my kids have said lately that need to be documented before I forget....

Jared can have some deep thoughts while driving in our car and looking out the window. Like, "I wish we had our own air...not the air outside... where people smoke". Hmm.

As our family walked into a sporting goods store, Claire grabbed my hand and said, "let's go find the girl things mom".

After setting up his wii-fit, Carter runs out of the bonus room declaring, "I need to gain 4 pounds!" More like 14 pounds, but whatever.

halloween blues

Jared has the Halloween blues. Not because he doesn't like the holiday, but because he likes it so much and I,his mom, doesn't like to decorate the house in the same fashion as he does. He did not appreciate my "fall decorations" of pewter pumpkins. In years past, he and Carter were satisfied with the ghosts I gave them for their rooms. But this year that wasn't enough for Jared. And so he took it upon himself to rummage up anything halloweeny he could find to decorate our front porch. He even made a little ghost and taped it onto the brick. It was so cute and so sad at the same time. These are the sad pictures at the beginning of the post. I was so proud of his initiative and realized how desperately he wanted this, that I gave in and let me pick out just a few decorations. And so Jared's blues are gone. Happy Halloween!

mango salsa minus the mango

Today Claire and I made some mango salsa. She is following in Jared's foot steps in enjoying being my helper in the kitchen. I have been studying a lot this week and this was such a nice break. I found this recipe this summer online ( I think on a blog). It is very yummy. Claire of course ate as we went, but how can I say no to eating fruit? The sad thing is she doesn't like the end result. I think it is the vinegar that gets her. Well, as I was chopping and chopping, I realized I forgot to buy the Mango for the MANGO salsa. I swear this NEVER happens to me. It's still good, but Claire and I will stop by the store on the way to pick up the boys and buy one mango. I just love to go to the store for just one thing.

Here is the recipe, try it out, Yummy!

1-2 c. cantaloupe diced

1 c. pineapple diced

1 mango diced

1 cucumber diced

1/3 c. green onions

1 garlic clove diced

10 springs of cilantro

1 tsp. lime juice

1/2 c. sugar

1/4 c. rice vinegar (It calls for 1/2 c., but 1/4 was plenty for me, also I used the white wine vinegar I had on hand and it works)