October is officially here

Hellooooo.  
We are officially getting into the sick season here.  My house smells like vomit.  This is the part I DON'T like about the weather changing.  I have to say, we've made it into the latter part of October, which is nice, but I'm not looking forward to the keeping the windows closed and having to keep tissues all over the place--all the extra washing of bed sheets, and so on, and so forth--Nope.  Not even a little bit.  On the other hand, Halloween is near!  And so is Thanksgiving, and my birthday, and Christmas...this makes getting over the upcoming sicknesses, a little easier.  I'm not sure what I'm going to be for Halloween, just yet.  The kids are all over their costumes.  Anyway, I'm assuming they are--I've certainly made enough trips to the store for whatever they "need".  
I told you all about the "Night of the Running Dead" race.  And it was fun.  Muff and I went up early, I didn't want to have to pick up our race packages on a different day, and I was dressing up, so I thought we'd go up early to just enjoy the vendors and entertainment before the actual race part. Jeff was planning on bringing the kids up to watch me run.  I had visions of Riley and Cole chanting my name, telling me how impressed they were with my physical abilities.  Both of them being super proud of the hard work that I've been doing, trying to train for this.  

However, a day or two before the race Cole went to Jeff and me, at different times, and told us that he didn't want to go, and just couldn't go up with us.  Also, that he was feeling sick, and maybe could he just stay home?  I was taken back to when he was three.  And his biggest fear and the thing that grossed him out most were "greasy zombies".  In fact, things with slobber or slime STILL gross him out more than anything...so I decided that Jeff should just enjoy Saturday with the kids.  He was really upset about it, for sure. 
Muff and I had fun, and I'm really glad she could go with me.  Sometimes I forget what it's like to be a sister...rather than a mom and wife, first.  It was a much-needed change of pace.  I woke up early, and picked Muff up...and we were on our way.

Chris said I was beyond ugly with my missing tooth--that he couldn't even look at me without feeling like puking.  It cut me deep.  However, between my black tooth and double chin?  I was a scary force, indeed.  (And Leah, I had to try really, REALLY hard not to be sexy...but I think I succeeded).
I wish I would have taken pictures of it, but when we were there, we saw zombie pole dancers.  Muff and I started making fun of the "pretty" zombies in black spandex leotards, only to see one of them jump up and start doing a pole dance for all the onlookers.  This is my thing about pole dancing:  Unless you are an anorexic stick, it's not a pretty thing.  Sure, strip clubs and such SAY it's all the rage, but I was seeing a lot of cellulite, and these girls were in no way fat.  It's just the act of wrapping your semi-naked self around something and sliding over it.  Ew.  Just that description kinda grosses me out.  Anyway, I was just thinking that I am SO glad I'm not a guy...because I just wasn't appreciating their talent.  I was only seeing their flaws.  Perhaps that's the woman in me?  I don't know.  Needless to say I won't be using their half-off coupon they were passing to the onlookers.  And for those of you that are saying to themselves, "phew"....you're welcome.  

I had to take this picture, because this guy would have made Cole have nightmares for a month.  The puppet-type thing that he had in front of him blinked and would watch people and follow them. It was one of the creepiest things I've seen in a long time.  

This lady was confusing to me.  Her football jersey/severed head/aristocrat wig was a lot of stuff jumbled together.  But, it was impressive, nonetheless.  Just a bunch to take in, all at once.  

And then this blue hearse was one of my favorite things.  The zombies inside are kind of hard to see, but they were massively creepy.  Right before this picture Muff and I took pictures of a family, and they had to drag their little girl over to sit in front of it.  She was way scared of the things inside.  It was a little more sad than it was funny.  
Kelli showed up with a few of the Coplens right before the race.  I was a little nervous, but ready to get it over with, because I'd had way too much time to worry about how I'd probably freeze up right in the middle of the race.  Or die, maybe.  (Even though I'd been running at least twice that, but the nervousness gets me every time). 
And this is where I tell the dirty truth.  Now, every race I've ever been to, and it's not like I've been to that many, but all the others have people that kind of guide you along the way.  Because most people aren't familiar with the route that needs to be run.  Either that, or they have the way clearly marked...like arrows, a yellow line, whatever.  
We had all agreed to run the mile, even though technically, it was listed as a walk.  We got as close to the front of the line as we could, and then when we were okay'd to start, we jogged past the walkers in front of us, and joined up with the others jogging...which were mainly eight year old boys, and probably 12 year old girls.  I just followed the people (children) in front of me.  And I'm assuming that Muff and Kelli and Jessica and Jeremy were on the same wavelength because they did the same.  We went up a corner, and around a building, and I was happy with myself for not dying yet...and then?  Then we were at the finish line.  
I was completely confused.  We'd probably ran for about three to five minutes, and it was over.  The kids, then us...and a few people behind us.
Later on we found out there was an entire other stretch that we completely cut out.  So we probably ran less than half of the distance we were supposed to.  If I hadn't have been super sweaty, and my eyes stinging from running makeup, I would have been really embarrassed.  If anyone were to have been recording the event it would have been a bunch of kids followed by three adults that won.  Because we freaking CHEATED.  And the worst part?  When we went through the finish line, they handed us hot waters.  Had I have actually run the entire way?  I would have been pissed.  But you know, I didn't.  So I was just mildly annoyed.  
All in all, it was fun.  I'm already thinking that I might just do it next year, as well.  (Muffy?  Kelli?) Only the 5k.  Because we totally kicked butt in the mile. ;)  
That's all for now, Dudes.  Until next time.