A fireman and a little jedi

I know, I know, the interwebs are oozing with cute kids in their Halloween costumes, and you are cringing that I'm adding yet one more... but hey, sometimes the cuteness overload is too much to keep to yourself, so I have to share. We are going all sorts of crazy this Halloween. One party and event after another, and this mama will do anything to keep her crazy bears occupied (although, I could really handle a lot less sugar in my little ones). One unexpected surprise though is that it was super warm here this weekend. I have a great costume for baby c, but he would have melted in it this weekend, so I turned him into a little jedi instead (I'm starting to realize this is my go-to costume - guess Big R is wearing off on me). Little r wants to save his costume for Halloween and opted to go as a fireman this weekend.

Introducing, my sweet fireman...

And the cutest little jedi you ever saw...

Halloween is not until next week, but this weekend was Fright on Franklin, which is insane! I've never seen anything like it (hey, maybe I'm a bit sheltered, but holy cow!). Franklin is a main street in downtown Clarksville, and they have this annual event where businesses rent tents ultimately to market themselves, but more to go super creative with costumes and hand out candy to little ones. The kids go crazy over it, and the decorations were too much fun. There must have been 200 tents EASY, and there were so many kids and families that there was a line to go from booth to booth. Little r thought it was all pretty cool, but he was shy as a mouse, and grew tired of waiting. On the way out, though, we stopped in to visit the haunted house, and he was so proud of himself for not getting scared. I'm pretty sure he ran through the entire thing pretending not to be afraid. The look on his face at the end was priceless.  Fright on Franklin, pretty darn freaking cool.

This scene went on forever! It was super impressive...

Our next soiree was a church event that the neighbors invited us to. The boys had such a great time. Pumpkin decorating, hot dog eating, costume competing, and (little r's favorite) hay riding - all things guaranteed to keep the wild ones happily occupied. Sometimes it's the simple things like great friends and good chili to put a huge smile on your face.

The hay ride was "so wild and crazy" according to little r. HA!

 I don't know, it's looking pretty chill to me...

While his brother was off riding on hay bales, my jedi was sensing the force...

...and chasing ice princesses... yes, that plural is intentional. There were several (can we say, Frozen implosion?), and he was chasing all of them...

Hope you didn't mind me adding more cuteness to the Halloween costume overload. These memories are too cute not to capture.

xoxoxoxo

Sometimes you just need to take a hike...

Good grief, has it really been a month since my last post?! I suppose it goes without saying that life has been a tad bit busy lately. The boys definitely absorb most of what I have every day, and what I might have left I very happily give to Big R when he gets home from work. Work in some school for me, an amazing amount of activities for little r, and chasing baby c from every corner of the house, and you have some pretty incredibly full lives.

Despite the awesomeness of where we are now, because I really do love our new house and neighborhood, little r's school, fast and reliable internet, being in the same time zone with my family and friends... I've been struggling just a little bit trying to find myself lately. We've been back in the states for how long now? We are well settled, life is very good, and Tennessee is being good to us in so many ways. So, why am I lost? Each time we move, which feels like it's far too often, it takes some time to adjust, and I feel like I'm still finding my way. Mostly though, I think I'm a bit home sick for Germany and our life there. Yes, yes, the travel was awesome, but I truly loved our day-to-day lives in Bavaria.

Two things I might actually miss the most about our day-to-day lives in Germany was our walks to and from school and my regular runs out on the trails. These are things I might never get to experience again. It wasn't just the walk, it was the people I walked with, the towns we lived in, and the folks we said "hello" to. I loved stopping at the local bakery along the way or grabbing an ice cream with little r on the way home on a sunny afternoon. The runs were incredible, and I felt fortunate every time I hit the trails. I stepped foot out my front door and within minutes I was on the trail often running with my closest friends. These are things I will hold onto forever, and I am surprised how big of a void I have without them.

To help adjust to our new life, I work hard to set up a routine. That always makes things easier for everyone, right? The "Y" here is my home away from home, primarily because it gives baby c a chance to play with some other kiddos and me some time to get exercise for my body AND a break for my mind. We had to change things up some today because baby c is fighting a nasty cold, so I didn't want him to be around other kids. Despite the congestion, he was fever free and feisty as ever, so an outing was a must. Fall is in full swing here and we are absorbing it like crazy. The weather is incredible, and Tennessee has some beautiful country. Lando is probably the most thrilled with the change in the seasons, and he's been antsy wanting to get out more.

So, I took my sweet old pup and my snuffly little boy off for a hike this morning. Little r had fun sharing his seat in the car with Lando on the way to school, and I very quickly reminded myself how close we live to the trails after all. It's not a few steps out my front door anymore, but the drive is easy (particularly since we are in the car anyhow). Being home with baby c means trail running is something I'll have to put aside for now, but a great hike is an amazing substitute especially on a beautiful morning like we had today.

Such a gorgeous morning for a hike

My snuggler loved it so much he fell asleep!

He's so beautiful, I could pinch myself sometimes...

Perhaps I have just stumbled on an important new addition to our routine at least until it gets too cold out. Everyone is always talking about how badly we need to discover Nashville. It's a great city with awesome night life. I have no doubt that the nightlife is great, and there is definitely something to be said about that. But what I think we might just being doing with our weekends from here on out is discovering Tennessee's back country.

I hope you all are enjoying the fall season and everything that comes with it! 

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo