LeRoy and Holly

I think it was when we were in the car on our way to Anaheim when I went to take a picture and realized I'd left the camera card at home. Extra batteries: check. Camera: check. Camera case: check. Card: dangit. Luckily we had Jayme and her camera to capture a few moments (like when Havi wouldn't let go of Winnie the Pooh and kept running back to give Tigger one more hug, and Teah's beautifully painted face).

I'll just hit the main points. Car trip: long, but not bad. We took my mom's car, and had me, my mom, Jayme and the girls and their car seats. Disneyland: SO FUN!! Sometime during the day, Teah said to no one in particular, "This is the best day of my life." I believe it, she had so much fun. We started out with the Buzz Lightyear ride, did Pirates of the Carribean, the Carousel, Winnie the Pooh (Havi could go on these, and she was so scared) and Splash Mountain. Teah discovered there's more to Disneyland than just princesses when you're 40 inches tall. She was tall enough to go on Splash Mountain, the Soaring over California ride, and a couple others we went on. They always wanted to measure her, and I'd get a little nervous each time, but she marched right up to the measuring post and stood there with so much pride while they checked her height, then when she passed she just beamed. My mom, Jayme and Havi went back to the hotel after lunch for a little r&r, but Teah wanted to stay at Disneyland, so she and I hung back. She listened to princess stories, got her face painted, rode a couple rides in Toontown, saw Mickey Mouse, danced with Mary Poppins, and rode in the Haunted House (she was so scared). At the end of the day we got on the bus to go back to the hotel. When my mom asked Teah if she wanted to sit on her lap and fall asleep, Teah didn't hesitate. I looked back about 2 minutes later, and Teah was sound asleep. We all slept really good that night.

The marathon was next- what an event! Checking in on Saturday was actually really cool. It was at the San Diego convention center. There was tons of traffic, and inside was a huge expo. That night we ate at Pat and Oscar's, delicious, of course, and we sat at a table next to Pat and Oscar and their family. The next morning my mom took Jayme and me to the starting line early (we had to leave the hotel at 4:30am). At 6:30, the guns went off and Jayme, me and 20,998 other runners, including several Elvises, took off. There were so many people, the run was crowded the whole way. It took me about the first 10 miles to weave in and out of people before I could get into a steady pace. We ran around downtown, along the 163, by Fashion Valley, around Mission Bay, then the wonderful, glorious finish line was at the Marine Corp. I finished at 4:26:00 averaging a 10 minute mile. I had hoped for better, but I'm just happy I finished. There will be another one for me. Jayme kept going and going and finished around 5:45. I'm so proud of her! Thanks for letting me talk you into doing this with me, Jayme! There were bands playing every couple miles, and people cheering almost the whole way. It was a very energized race, and while it did get hot at the end, it was a an experience I'm glad to have had. After we both finished and met up with my mom and the girls (who were so wonderfully patient, thanks mom) we went back to the hotel, swam, ate at Islands, got dessert from Claim Jumper (mmmmm) then went back to the hotel and crashed. I've never slept better.

Monday we went to the beach. I love the beach. The girls played- Havi wasn't too sure about the water, but loved collecting rocks. Teah played in the water, dug for sand crabs, squealed when they tickled her hands, looked for seashells, and just played. All too soon we had to say good bye to the beach and hello to the car seats. Jayme stayed at a friend's for the night then went with them to their annual beach camp in San Clemente (so fun). My mom, the girls, and I drove to Mesquite then to North Ogden the next day. And back we are. We got home at 5pm, had Joy School graduation at 7, then came home and slept.

After training for this marathon since December, these last couple days at home have been... unusual. It seems that when I'm not trying to do it all, it's hard to get anything done. At least I still have the girls, LeRoy, reffing, oh yeah, and the house we're building to keep things busy. For now, I can look at my "run a marathon" goal and smile with satisfaction.