we're so proud...

Happy Halloween!

Here is our baby on her second Halloween! She went dressed as Eebee, her favorite doll. We went to Night Eyes at the zoo on Saturday evening and couldn't have asked for better weather! Sloane was a peach and was so good about taking only one piece of candy and putting it into her bag!

family.fun!

This past weekend was quite possibly the best weekend I've had in a long time!

Saturday started off with a bang when the best husband in the world (John) let me sleep in until 9:30! After Sloane's nap we loaded up the car and headed down to Howell's Pumpkin Patch in Cumming.




If you have not been to Howell's I'd high recommend it! They have a wonderful selection of pumpkins, gourds, mums and Halloween/Fall decor and many, MANY things to keep kids entertained for hours--even young ones like Sloane.

The first thing that caught her eye was of course the baby pony. With no hesitation Sloane walked right up to it and "patted" it. Note- this pony was much smaller then Midas.



I think Sloane could have spent the whole day
feeding goats. I watched in fear waiting for one to bite a finger off but John assured me that that wouldn't happen. Knock on wood

I think the highlight of the trip (for me at least) was petting the Charlotte, the calf. I love cows and if there is one thing I miss about Winterset it would be driving to Des Moines and seeing all the cows on the way. I was so excited (as was Sloane) when we saw a single black calf just outside the grounds on a "leash". I didn't see anyone around her so I figured it was ok to take a closer look.


If we had room for her in the back of the Vue I would have taken her! She was so sweet and would have made a PERFECT friend for Midas.

After realizing that only two of the three hay bails we bought would fit in the car we headed home just in time to make some chili, put Sloane to bed and watch the Iowa game. (Well John watched the Iowa game...I went to the mall for an hour of alone time-- heaven!)



Sunday was just as great as Saturday. I feel like we're always saying, "Sometime when we have a free weekend we'll have to......(fill in the blank with a list of 100 things we should do)." With nothing on the planner today we had plenty of time to relax, clean, cook and play! Again, the best husband in the world started my day with a fountain pop and Sunday paper from Casey's! Love him!

We cleaned out both of our closets and stored Summer stuff and sorted Fall/Winter clothes! I love changing seasons-- bringing out sweaters and coats you haven't worn for months-- it's like shopping for free!

We finally hung Sloane's growth chart in her room, along with a few other pictures and last but not least we began our training with Midas! I know he's six years-old but he's developed a few bad habits over the past few years that we really need to break. We ordered "The Dogfather" training DVD's and so far, so good!

We even had time to go to the PapaJohn Sculpture Park in Downtown Des Moines. I'd love to have known what was going on in Sloane's mind when she saw some of these works of art!
Below are a few other pictures from the weekend!

Sloane Brees- the next Piscasso!

I purchased the "beginner crayons" from Target last week and yes, she tried to eat them. And yes, I drew the smiley face as a demonstration.

I didn't think she did too bad for her first run! I'm working on finding a frame for my baby's first work of art!

Brees Family Reunion

Last weekend John, Sloane and myself traveled "down south" for the Bress Family Reunion in Trenton, Missouri. Just like most family reunions there were a lot of people who I didn't know but it was fun all the same. :)

It's held every third Sunday in September at a cabin in Trenton complete with a small pond and a ton of land! Thanks to a heavy rain that morning there were spiders, bugs and frogs galore which of course fasinated Sloane. Once again, she proves she's braver than her mother-- she definitely got her love from all things nature from her father's side!


If you know John, you've probably heard him brag about the "Brees lifespan". And while John will boast about anything he can, he does have a point. I have yet to meet a Brees man who is not fit, active and healthy regardless of age!

This picture is of Sloane (the youngest at the reunion) and Ernie's uncle, Koran (the oldest at the reunion-age 89!). I think it's important to note that he did just finish a game of washers before this photo.



After all the food and running around John's aunt Terree was kind enough to share a drink of her water with Sloane. Actually, I think Sloane just finished it off for her and then used it as a sand shovel :)

All in all, we had a wonderful weekend! We even had a chance to spend the night and Grandma and Grandpa's in Corydon the night before. Sloane loved the elementary schools playground, meeting Jack (again) and of course spending time with G'ma and G'pa!

annie's.triathlon

Last weekend John and I traveled to Minneapolis so I could compete in my first triathlon!

I opted for a short distance than John's triathlon, as running is not my forte! I swam 500 meters, biked 15 miles and ran 3.1 miles. I knew starting the race that I could do all three of these as separate events, but was concerned that I wouldn't be able to do them back to back.

I got off to a rocky start in the swim. I tried to keep up with the "big dogs" and got gassed early.
Thankfully, I was able to make up some time on the bike and finished the run sloooowly, but I did not stop, and did not walk!

John and I figured if I did well in all three legs, I could finish around 2 hours. I finished in 2:01:23! I was pretty happy. I had a great experience. My good friends in Minnesota, Christine and Neil came to cheer me on, and of course John was there encouraging me too.

And...I have to throw this in too....after the race we grabbed some lunch and spent another 6 hours SHOPPING! It's amazing what fatigue and soreness I will work through just to go shopping :). John was a good sport about it!

Sadly, I think the triathlon season is about over for the mid-west but John is going to get one more race in this season in Waterloo on September 26! I think we're hooked!

John's Triathlon

On Sunday John completed his first Triathlon!

1500 meter swim, 26.8 mile bike and 6.2 mile run-- all under 3.5 hours!

The first Omaha Triathlon kicked off at 6:03 am with the swim and while the water was warm and the weather was perfect John said the bike and run were tougher than expected (both full of hills and uneven trails).

And as expected, despite his extreme exhaustion following the race, John was already looking for his next race to compete in that evening!

He is somewhere in there...

Out of the water, headed for the bike

Off on the bike!

Just starting the run! Even stop to pose at the finish line- what a trooper!