Trick or Treat?

 The girls begged him to join them for just 1 more year, so he dressed as the main character of his favorite book series, The Gunslinger by Stephen King.

My older son's girlfriend asked him to join her and some of their teammates for the evening, so he had to find a costume at the last minute!  We gathered up some cowboy duds.  He commented that he was actually quite comfortable stomping around in boots while wearing a big hat & belt buckle!  I guess I did raise him right... 

A beautiful mix of natural and man-made wonders!

Running across the border!

Photo Bomb

My friend was joking about how she was going to eat her huge burger, so I snapped a picture, just as this guy jumped into the background.  It was hilarious!

I didn't lose it all...

I spent a wicked fun evening playing Blackjack, but quit when this was all that I had left.  And kept it for a souvenir!

I ran my first half-marathon today!

Wow.  I never could have imagined that I would actually do this.  I ran the Niagara Falls International Half-marathon!! It was so hard, but what an amazing feeling of accomplishment now that I have successfully completed the course. It is a beautiful course that follows the Niagara River on its 'twisty, turny' way to the falls. The best part was sharing the experience with these great friends!  We had so much fun during our weekend here and took so many photos that I'll be sharing them all week...

Maid of the Mist

I was a little girl when I first learned about the boat that carries passengers right up to those incredible waterfalls.  Ever since then I have wanted to go on that boat.  Today my wish came true!  And, it was every bit as thrilling as I knew it would be.  There is nothing else in the World quite as powerful as Niagara Falls.

Niagara Falls Road Trip

Somehow these ladies managed to get me into that little yellow glass elevator and up to the rotating dining room at the top.  Considering the fact that I am afraid of heights and claustrophobic, this is pretty close to a miracle.  Ahhhh...but the view from up there was quite incredible!

Happy Birthday!

I know he doesn't like to celebrate his birthday, (it's just another day!) but that doesn't mean we can't celebrate HIM today, right?!

Good Old Fashioned Yankee Ingenuity

A homemade gift for his girlfriend...

2nd Annual West Paris Pumpkin Run 5k

Our little town sure knows how to put on wicked fun events!  The Annual Pumpkin Run is no exception! 

This was our 2nd year running the race and it was just as much fun as it was last year, except that this year my oldest WON it!  We are all so excited and proud of him for working so hard and reaching his goal.  He was quite determined after coming in 2nd last year that this was HIS year.  He ran his race, which was not easy thanks to the bitterly cold strong wind, and earned it!

His brother also had a great race and really pushed himself so that he could place in the top 10 this year.  His speedy sisters were right behind him, placing 11th & 25th overall.  I didn't beat my goal time of 30 minutes, but am extremely happy with my time of 30:58, which put me 2nd in my age group!  

This is definitely one of our favorite races of the season and we can't wait to come back next year!  As much as we love running races, we especially love running and visiting with our friends and neighbors!

KVAC Championships

Me & my boyz at today's KVAC Cross-Country Championships.

Great-Grampa's Sleigh (Pung)

Trying out the oxen yoke!

Nell's Bridle

An afternoon at home!

Tall Boy Demo Ride

He won it!

The West Paris Ladies Auxillary hosted this race and requested that my oldest run in it. Well, he did them (and us!) proud.  

3 miles in 16:41 (it's not quite a 5k, which is 3.1 miles)

1st Annual Tour de O'Hills Nordic Bike Race

Tuckerman's Ravine 1950

He's in the paper again!

Some people have brave tastebuds!

Wicker Bassinet

One of their favorite places to play...

Oops! We stopped here so that the kiddos could play on the obstacle course while we waited for our friends to finish the marathon.  I guess we should have read the sign!!

Good luck to everyone running today!

Festival of Champions

The biggest race of the year, and my boys are ready!

They love hosting parties!

Muddy Bloody