Gill Thanksgiving

 I love my silly family.  This year our Thanksgiving dinner was on Thursday night (right after Brent's family dinner - we were well fed that day!)  My mom and dad, sisters and their men, little bro Chase, and David's friend were all there.  While dinner cooked, Auti and I built a blanket-fort and deemed it our photobooth.  We put out a table of props and let people take photos throughout the night.  We have some fun photos as a result:

We covered our dining room table with paper tablecloths, and wrote what we were thankful for with crayons during our dinner

which turned into drawing lots and lots of pictures...

We had a great weekend with our families - so much to be thankful for!

Allred Thanksgiving

 As always, we had 2 Thanksgiving dinners.  The first one was early in the day on Thursday with Brent's family.

Here's some photos from our visit:

 

 

 They have 3 tiny kittens at their house - and Ry loved the "kickies" - not sure why he is giving one a stare down in this photo, but it's funny!

 

 sitting at the kids' table (joined by mom and dad)

 Brent and Stella

 Ry-Ry and momma

 Ry's favorite thing about grandma and grandpa's house is their big yard with lots of fun toys.  I think he would live there if I would let him.

 almost all the cousins (we missed you Sara and Garrett!)  

My Marathon Goal

So in addition to working, parenting, applying to grad schools, and taking 2 classes, I decided to also start training for a marathon.
I signed up to be a volunteer for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society with Team in Training (TNT).  TNT is an organization that trains runners for races all over the world - we meet a couple times a week for team runs and get personalized training plans, nutrition info, shoe fittings, etc.  In exchange for the amazing training I am receiving - I will be fundraising for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  In order to qualify for my marathon, I have to raise $1,500.
I am not really a runner - I've always ran a little... but never pushed myself.  And because I'm slightly crazy and definitely an overachiever, I signed up for the "high-intensity" team.  Needless to say I've been working my butt off.  In my first week of training, I've already ran further and longer than I EVER have.  I'm definitely going out of my comfort zone here!  And while I am training for the full marathon, I am contemplating signing up for the half since it is my first real race... We'll see how my body responds and that will help make my final decision!  
I signed up because I want do something good for me that doesn't involve school or work or even my precious little guy (and let's face it, these three things consume my life lately).  Team in Training is perfect because in addition to improving the quality my life, I'm raising money to find cures for Leukemia, Hodgkin's, Myeloma, and Lymphoma.  As an organization, they've raised over $1.2 billion for research!  I'm proud to wear my Team in Training jersey - and I am hopeful that I can raise the money to remain on this amazing team. 
I'm trying to pull together some projects for my etsy store (which has been sitting empty for awhile).  The proceeds from that will all go to LLS.  But until I finish my final papers for my class, I just don't have the time to get that up and running. 
If you'd like to make a donation to LLS by sponsoring me, I would greatly appreciate anything you can give!   I can promise you Team in Training is a legitimate, long-running, well-known, and fantastic organization.

If you are able and willing to donate anything to LLS (and by doing so sponsoring me on my quest to become a runner!) - you can visit my personal fundraising website here

I'll keep you all updated on my journey - and thanks for your support!

-Brandi

Cabaret 2011

"Barcodes" - a song Auti and Bailey wrote

 (the sound comes in at the 0:28 mark and i eventually figured out how to flip the camera at somepoint too) - the video really doesn't do it justice - they sounded so good!

Auti's 1920's flapper song - "You're Just Too Sweet for Words" - really cute!

My adorable little sister, Auti, had SIX acts in this year's high school cabaret show.  These were my two favorites.  The first video is an original song written by Auti and her friend Bailey.  These two girls are always writing music together.  I definitely teared up watching them perform, they are so so so talented.

Happy Halloween!

 

This cute little pup LOVED every minute of halloween.  We woke up and made jack-o-lantern pancakes, went to a toddler halloween carnival, took a nice looooong nap, and then went trick of treating at University Village.