I worked in the yard...

...for 5 hours on our gorgeous Wednesday this week. And now I am tired and sore. My body feels old, which is a great disappointment to my brain which still believes that we are somewhere in, say, our thirties. Of course, this is the same brain that can't find files containing familiar people's names, or reasons I am standing in the garage, so I don't take its disappointment too seriously.

I just took it easy today, read my book, and gazed fondly on my carpet-like lawn as leaves tumbled across it...Probably the same leaves that tumbled across it last weekend when the wind was coming from the south. Today it is coming from the northeast. Nonetheless, I am enjoying seeing them again.

We had a couple of special activities over the weekend, the first of which was a baby shower for our newest great neice, Miss Bethany Clare. We got to hold this sweet little bundle and give her ruffly clothing of all colors, half of which were some shade of pink. Such fun! And of course, there were goodies, and we got to question, Becca, Miss Bethany's mom, about the wee one's habits, routines, and general cuteness...It was great!

Classic Aunt Cindy..."ohhhhhhh, sweet babyyyyyy"

Great Grandma Bev, who was not unhappy as this picture suggests. She was just looking down to make sure little Bethany was still comfortably snoozing...

Cait and Auntie Deb check out Little Miss Perfect.

Baby shoes!! We love 'em...

...and fancy pants! This momma's going to have some fun changing baby girl's clothes!

The rest of the greats were present, and played their shower games in the sandbox.

Later that evening, the menfolk joined us for dinner, and then Great Uncle Randy got his turn to hold the baby...

Oh, she is a punkin!! We are so happy for Brandon and Becca to have such a wonderful blessing...and they will be great parents for sweet Bethany Clare. It was a wonderful family day...We are blessed!

On Sunday, we had an entirely different activity as Caitlin engaged in the modern form of torture known as The Half Marathon.  She has been torturing herself training for many weeks, and though I admire her tenacity and determination, I can't help wondering why this is fun to her.  Of course, if you saw me run (which I would NEVER allow, though if you drive by when Olive is out it may happen) you would understand why I can not relate to her pleasure in this activity.

Anyway, Randy and I brought her to the race, and promptly lost track of her in the throngs that were massed in line for the bathroom...And we needed to get her sweatshirt from her before she began to run! Between the Bellingham Bay Marathon, Half Marathon, and 5K about 3000 people participated...and 2000 of them were trying to get to the porta-potties. I tried to park myself where Caitlin was sure to pass by, but to no avail. Fortunately, I finally found Randy, who had parked the car, and he, being taller, could see further, and eventually found her...This was about 3 minutes before the race was to start.This little drama was enough to get my heart rate up...We wished Cait well, and then tried to get where we could see her start -- and were fortunate to see her among the masses.

She's in the background, straight behind the little guy in the green jacket in the foreground. (White hat, white shirt, why didn't I go to Picnik and put an arrow on this pic?!)

We managed to catch her on the loooooonnnnnggggg hill...

...And her finish!

For Cait, it was just one of those running days where she never got her rhythm, and never felt good while running...kinda disappointing after all those weeks of training...

...but she finished, and respectably...and she was tired, but not incapacitated by any means...

...and she had done it!!! BIG smile...

...She got her medal!

While Cait suffered through her run, Randy and I enjoyed coffee and a scone, and the beautiful fall weather -- warm and breezy. We had a great time, and as we headed home, the rain began to fall.

Just in time for bowls of chili, football, and naps, an extra long one for Cait!...A great start to Fall!