Running from Responsibility

When I turned 30 earlier this year, I made a list of 30 things I want to do/accomplish while I am 30. One of them is to "Do something crazy." I didn't know what it would be, but I just wanted to be ready to do something fun/spontaneous when the opportunity presented itself. Well, here goes: two of my sisters-in-law, Mal and Chelsea, were running in the Washington DC Ragnar race last weekend. They had a runner drop out of their team and called me to see if I wanted to come out and run with them. I immediately told them I couldn't do it, but I started thinking more about it and decided this was my big chance to do something crazy! I'm not getting any younger and it seems like life is only going to get busier, so I booked a flight and went for it! It was more fun than I could describe and I am so glad I did it. Obviously, it never would have happened without Greg's support and mucho babysitting help from family members. I don't think I will ever be able to adequately thank everybody, but I am so grateful. 

Oh yeah, the race was on Greg's birthday...I'm such a good wife. We celebrated early, but I still felt terrible about being gone on his big day. One of the teams in the Ragnar was named "Running from Responsibility" and they had a picture on their van of a mom running away from her husband and kids. Everybody joked that it was me and it was definitely how I felt. 

I wanted to have at least one surprise for him on his actual birthday, so I made a poster with the kids and  left it under our bed. The plan was to tell him to look under the bed for a fun surprise, but I'm sure you can guess where this is going. We had barely hidden the poster when Greg walked in the door and Garrett said, "Dad! We made you a poster for your birthday and it's hiding under your bed. It's a surprise for you."

They dropped me off at the airport and I flew into White Plains, New York. Chelsea picked me up and we spent the day touring Connecticut, eating Pepe's Pizza (LOVED it!), and hanging with my baby brother. I only wish we could have stayed there longer, but Chelsea and I had to leave for Washington DC that night. We were so excited to see Mal!

When I ran the Wasatch Back, I was the youngest person on our team and our conversations consisted mostly of topics like childbirth and potty-training. I don't think we ever turned on the radio and half of our runners didn't even own iPods. This time, I was the oldest person in our van and the only one who has kids. Chelsea is obviously married, but the rest were single and so much fun! We blasted music, watched YouTube videos, and laughed until we cried.

We loved our burnt orange minivan and affectionately dubbed it, "The Raggin' Wagon."

This cute little guy, Adam, is from Ohio and just graduated from BYU and moved to DC the weekend before the race. He was hilarious and such a good sport. Random, but somehow I figured out that my college roommate and best pal had dated his brother. Small world, huh? We also figured out that another girl on our team's mom is from my hometown and her Grandpa (Norval Jones) was my Grandpa's best friend and is still a beloved family friend. Mal's good friend from Virginia, Kim, was also on our team and we realized that her parents had been our sister-in-law Gini's mission presidents in Fresno. So crazy!

Ready, ready, ready, ready to run...all I wanna do is have some fun! (Name that song, anyone?)

Team #253--"Oh Runner, Where Art Thou?"

The race ended in the National Harbor. It is kind of like The Gateway or City Creek in SLC, but it is on the water and so beautiful. Brett had a mild (or intense) obsession with Peeps when he was a kid, so I made Chelsea pose for a picture for him.

We were so sad to say good-bye to Chelsea on Sunday. I wished she could have stayed forever. :( I flew out early Tuesday morning, so Mal and I had Monday to play in the city and enjoy just being together. I spent a week in DC in high school and had seen most of the historical sites, so I was more interested in just having fun with her than having a busy day of sightseeing. She took me into the Georgetown area and it was perfect! We ate and shopped...a nice Ragnar Recovery Day!

Can you say Salmon Pizza? WOW!

Whoever has my name for Christmas this year, I want this sparkly pink Kitchen-Aid. I'm pretty sure it would fit perfectly in the budget.

I was feeling kind of guilty about going to DC and not seeing any historical sights, so I snapped a few quick car pictures on the way home. Quick pictures will never do them justice, but they are so majestic in person. After just driving by, I was really wishing I had one more day to spend in the National Mall, but we left for the airport at 5 AM and I was homeward bound!

Greg couldn't miss work that morning, so my parents and Abby picked me up at the airport. (Garrett was at preschool.) As soon as she saw me, my sweet (or sassy) little Abby came running at me with her arms open wide yelling, "Mommy!" Melt my heart.

We met my brother Brian for lunch and he did a fantastic job drawing sharks for Abby while we ate. It's good to be home and I'm happy to be with my husband and kids, but I am really missing Mal and Brett/Chelsea. (And while we're at it, I really miss Matt, Mike/Irina and the Brian/Cathy Family, too!)

Only 84 days, 23 hours, 16 minutes, and 3 seconds until Christmas and we are all together again!