CURRY FARM PIT STOP

We don't need a Christmas tree (we have two fake ones at home, one for downstairs and one for upstairs, which is reserved for Jay's collector's ornaments), but we wanted to show Jean around the farm and let the kids play since the weather was so very nice. Buster needed more fresh air too (did I mention that he came along on this trip?; he was great in the car and hotel and everything). I mean, come on, waiting for me to run for 4 hours this morning couldn't have been nearly enough fresh air for any of them...

On the hayride:

That's free apple cider --- Yummy!

 Playing on the bounce pillow and hay bale tower and pedal carts and barrel train (even Buster took a ride!):

He repeatedly asked for a push when he got stuck, and Cora obliged him each and every time!

 This farm has the funniest signs everywhere...

 There was another one about unleashed pets being recruited as reindeer.

DUCK DYNASTY TOURISTS

We don't watch the show, but Jay's Aunt Cheryl does, and we thought it would be funny to stop by the warehouse/office (and retail shop...) location to take some photos for her. Cora thought it was awesome.

I asked her which beard she liked best...

Jean was pretending to go into the office. (You would not believe the line of people waiting to take their photo here. And in front of the various trucks and jeeps and RVs and even outhouses...)

I think she wants to upgrade from her baby foam chair to a recliner like PawPaw has. Except pink camo, of course.

I didn't even have to ask her to pose like the guys...

Waiting on Gramma to make her purchases.

James slept through the entire adventure. Chicken lunch in hand...

BIG DOG TRAIL RACE

We ended up heading over to Ruston yesterday afternoon so that we could sleep as late as possible before the race dawned this morning. We lucked out with warmer than expected temperatures, but we still bundled up a bit for our first 10-mile loop of the 20-mile course, leaving a drop bag at the halfway point where we could switch socks and shoes if needed (in case we fell in at one of the creek crossings) and drop extra layers and gloves. Jay dropped Sophie and I at the pavilion an hour before the start and we had more than enough time to get situated (I always like having extra time rather than risk cutting it close).

Sophie in the warm pavilion, where folks were grabbing their race packets before the start.

Hanging at the back of the crowd prior to the start. The 50K folks were over by the tent, facing the other direction so they could do a 1-mile out and back before jumping onto the course for their three 10-mile loops.

The crowd was large enough that we had lots of new running buddies for the first 3-4 miles.

Single track mountain bike trails are fun to run!

Heading down to the first creek crossing.

Nailed it!

The "ski jump". We walked down the stairs, then stood at the bottom eating our Gu (it was mile 5) and watching the runners go by. That dog did the 10-mile race, and we played leapfrog with him a few times.

Aid stations at ultra events have the strangest array of food and drink...

Pringles and Coke at mile 6.5 --- Yum!

 The mile 6.5 aid station was the best, and the guy running it was super friendly, so we stayed and chatted with him for 5-10 minutes both times we went through. He took our photo both times as well. We had awesome matching shirts before we got so hot we had to strip down.

Mileage milestone! That's mile 19 (right before the hardest mile of the course...)

We were the 2nd and 3rd female finishers for the 20-mile, with a time of 4 hours and 19 minutes. It took us about 20 minutes longer than we expected going into the race, but we really did spend a LOT of time at aid stations (talking and eating and drinking), at the halfway point when we stopped to stow our extra gear, and taking photos and texting our families at mile 19 to let them know we were on our way. Sophie's Garmin showed our "moving time" as being 40 minutes faster than our finish time, and while that sounds crazy, it's actually not that surprising considering how much we were stopped. No regrets though --- one of the things that sets trail races apart from road races is the camaraderie and laid-back attitude of the racers and volunteers. We teased a few times that when you pass someone in the woods, it's like they're your best friend. You stop to chat for a second and make sure they're doing ok, ask where they're from, how often do they run trails, etc. It's really a neat experience.) We walked the steep hills (which were all pretty short), but ran a LOT more of the course than I expected us to, even on the second loop. I'll readily admit though, that second loop was tough, especially the last 5 miles. I went into the race with sore joints (ankles, knees, and hips), pain in my shins, and tightness throughout my right IT band (especially behind my knee), and for some reason my feet hurt almost the entire race (probably because I hadn't run trails at all since August, and the footing on trails is much trickier than on roads, obviously). But you know what? I had fun regardless, and other than the pain behind my right knee, my legs actually feel better than they did following my half marathon earlier this month, when I pushed myself to my limit. I think doing that PR race, then an 18-miler the following weekend, just wasn't enough rest time for my legs to heal and I'm still paying for it. But that 20-miler is DONE! Just one more to go (and a couple of 14/16/18-milers) before we start tapering for the marathon. Only 6 weeks to go...

 Thanks for being my captive audience for over 4 hours this morning Sophie!

BLACK FRIDAY BREW

Here's to hoping Jay starts a new tradition of brewing a black beer annually on Black Friday!

This one is the Yak and Yeti Chai Milk Stout (with Jay's personal modifications).

Initial taste test was great and I can't wait for it to be complete, cold, and carbonated!

(P.S. Jay is now the proud owner of a couple of picnic kegs, which means we get to drink the beer faster, share it easier, and have a lot less work to do since we'll be doing far less bottling!)

I'm not surprised it's good though. His brews always are. I even call him my personal award winning brewmaster since he placed 2nd (Oktoberfest) and 3rd (Tripel) in BrewHaHa's Monster Mash last month.

GOBBLE GOBBLE

Cora made a Thankful Tree for school and James contributed some handprints:

(She is thankful for singing, her school, Jude, her home, getting on her costumes, Maxine and the white kitty, watching a movie, hugs and kisses, and her mama and her daddy and her brother.)

For Turkey Day this year, we kept things low-key. We all slept in, I went for an easy 5K run around the neighborhood (after taking 3 days off in a row, the first time I've done that since Jay's surgery week in August, due to some serious joint and shin pain I've been experiencing lately --- verdict is that 3 days rest was not enough), we had a big chocolate chip pancake and bacon breakfast (complete with mimosas and homemade Bailey's in our coffee, and pretend mimosas for the kids --- OJ and Sprite), James watched lots of movies (his choice of activity!) and Cora did lots of dress-up (and helped us in the kitchen, mostly by washing dishes --- seriously though, what 3-year-old likes doing dishes?!), we Skyped with Grambot and PawPaw, and eventually we got the turkey in the oven and got down to business with making the sides. We had pre-made all but one of the desserts the day before, but since we got started so late with the turkey, our usual late lunch Thanksgiving meal turned into dinner, which would have been fine had we eaten more for lunch than a sampling of the deviled eggs... No worries though, we overfilled our bellies at dinner and had to wait a couple hours to eat those desserts. It's a tough life...

Loved their new jammies! (They both immediately informed us that they are for spinning on the hardwood floor...) Hated posing for a photo (and they fought over who got to stand in the corner --- obviously the happy Cora won...)

Dancing on the ceiling...

Gobble Gobble decor. Ready for the much delayed feast!

The kids made everyone place settings this year - so cute!

No more pictures mommy, let's eat!

Three desserts = awesome. Spiced pumpkin pudding cheesecake, upside-down apple pie, and pumpkin dump cake. And another round of mimosas with dinner, with some Evin William's Apple Orchard after dinner.

Ooohing and ahhhing over his desserts. After his first bite, he literally closed his eyes and shook his head from side to side saying "mmmmm", it was so funny!

Building forts (and cannons...) with mommy after dinner.

Corasaurous destroyed our fort...

 We had a good day. It was nice to not feel rushed and pretty much do whatever we each wanted to all day long, nice to spend the day in jammies and (clean) running clothes and not have to get dressed up or go anywhere, and nice to get to cuddle the kids a whole heaping ton and talk with Jean and Jay about anything and everything. I'm so thankful for my family, and friends, and friends that are like family, and pets that are most definitely family. Thankful and grateful, for all of you, and hoping you all had a lovely day as well. Much love guys!