September

September was a busy and fun-filled month. The first weekend was the three-day Labor Day weekend, and we went to Biloxi to visit Barrett's family. His sister, Susanne, rented a pontoon boat for Saturday, so we all went out on that and had a great time. The boat crew included our family, Susanne, Elijah, Gracie Beth, Grandmamma and Granddaddy, and Uncle Tim and Virginia. We went all around the bay area, and then went to the Blow Fly Inn for lunch. They are located right on the water with a boat dock that you can use to access their restaurant. We had a relaxing day, and Caleb even got to fish a little. He caught the first fish, too (which he was extremely proud of!). Isabelle and Elijah and Gracie Beth took naps cuddled up with Grandmamma. Since we didn't get to use our own boat this year, it was fun to get out on the water at least once!
Caleb with Uncle Tim and his fish!:





Other than school activities being in full swing, the most memorable event in September was our trip to Ohio to visit the Drowns and run in the Air Force half marathon. Unfortunately, Barrett was injured and wasn't able to run in the race. He was a good cheerer, though! We took a couple days to drive up to Dayton and got to the Drown's house Thursday evening in time for dinner. We had all day on Friday to hang out and relax before the race on Saturday morning. We went to the big Air Force Musuem at Wright Patterson Air Base, which contained hundreds of planes and other neat artifacts from the past century. It was a fun outing for the kids, especially the older ones. Saturday was a perfect day for the race. It was cool, crisp, and no humidity (which was such a relief after training in the Florida summer heat!) I felt great, and everything went off without a hitch. Amy and I ran the entire race together, so that was so much fun and it made it go a lot faster to have someone to talk to the whole time. Right before the race started, there was a jet fly-over just over our heads at the starting line. That was pretty cool and it really felt like the Air Force marathon was beginning! It felt so great just to finish the race and accomplish something for which I had been training so long. Something else that was a lot of fun about being at the race was that we got to see some old friends who were there for the race. I even got to cheer on my good friend and neighbor, Andrea, as she finished the full marathon. The funny thing was that I found out I was pregnant the week before the race, so we joke that I should have won an award in the "pregnant lady" category!
We had a wonderful visit with the Drowns and the kids had a blast together. We miss them a lot, so it was nice to have that trip planned and know we would get to see them again.

Barrett and Bryanne with Amy and Daron Drown:

Drown kids with the Jones' kids:

Post Race:

Bryanne and Amy with their race medals: