Surprise! Nothing to worry about after all.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Find the Munchkins
When it's quiet around here, I begin to worry. I thought I heard them playing with their Thanksgiving window clings, but they weren't there...Or were they?
Surprise! Nothing to worry about after all.
Surprise! Nothing to worry about after all.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Halloween
For some reason I can't come up with a witty introduction for this post. So I'm sorry, but we're just going to jump right into our Halloween festivities:
Jeremy and I went to an adult Halloween party a few days ago and it was a blast. However, since it was a costume party I didn't recognize everyone right away. About half way through I figured it out, so don't worry. We ate a lot of delicious food, visited and played a couple of hilarious games. We played the traditional donut-on-a-string game. And I think I got a little carried away with it. Our friend Joe was stationed next to me and after the game he was quoted as saying, "I think that was one of the scariest moments in my life. Watching the Cheshire cat lunging at me!" Well, I had a good time.
We also played a game where couples had to get a balloon off the floor and pop it between their chests without using their hands. Our balloon got stuck on my tutu and we ended up using our hips to pop ours. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time.
And a quick little picture of the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire cat before we headed out.
For the girls, waiting for trick-or-treating tonight seemed to take forever. So to keep them occupied we decided to finish all of the Halloween crafts/goodies/and traditions we haven't done yet. Brain anyone? While shopping for our costumes we found this sweet Jell-O brain mold and thought it was awesome. I think watching the girls poke at the thing was more disgusting that actually eating it.
We made headbands out of tulle and pipe cleaners. Cambrie designed hers and was so proud of it. She was rather disappointed it didn't match her costume and she couldn't wear it trick-or-treating, but she wore it the rest of the night. I designed McKenzie's and thought it turned out really cute, but she wouldn't wear it.
We carved our pumpkins. Both girls wanted nothing to do with the slimy insides of the pumpkins. If you have boys, you are probably just laughing that my girls thought it was gross.
Cambrie also wanted to transform her potato head pumpkin into a carved masterpiece. Jeremy found a Tinkerbell pattern online and it was love at first sight. Mine ended up being a simple silly face. And Jeremy tried something new this year and transformed a picture of me.
Then it was finally time to put their costumes back on for some trick-or-treating around our circle. Miraculously I was able to get a picture of them both smiling and at least facing towards the camera.
Cambrie posed with a little Queen of Hearts attitude.
But McKenzie was quickly off and running and didn't want any more time wasted taking pictures. She was so excited to get "mo cany."
We met up with Audrey the lady bug and conquered the 3/4 mile loop around our neighborhood. The big girls did great, and McKenzie held her own for about half the trip. She wiggled through the crowds to get to the front door and even said trick-or-treat. Okay, it actually sounded like "uhn, uhn, uhn." But the syllables and intonation was there.
I was so glad that it was a mild night. The girls didn't need their jackets and we could really just enjoy our walk. Some of the houses were decorated in very spooky fashions. McKenzie spent a lot of time staring at all the strangeness and even learned the word spooky.
When we got home the girls dumped their buckets to check out their loot. The first night I normally just let them go crazy and so they ate, and ate, and ate. McKenzie would open one candy, take a bite, then put it down so she could sample another one. The girls were in absolute heaven.
McKenzie was literally jumping for joy.
And she was busted stealing sister's candy!
But the night's fun didn't end there. The girls also loved passing out candy to the trick-or-treaters who came to our door. Jeremy and I just had to sit back and relax at that point.
Too soon it was time to go to bed. But I have to say that Halloween was a blast (and can I say again that I love where we live?). It was the perfect place to go trick-or-treating and to spend an awesome night. Happy Halloween everyone!
Jeremy and I went to an adult Halloween party a few days ago and it was a blast. However, since it was a costume party I didn't recognize everyone right away. About half way through I figured it out, so don't worry. We ate a lot of delicious food, visited and played a couple of hilarious games. We played the traditional donut-on-a-string game. And I think I got a little carried away with it. Our friend Joe was stationed next to me and after the game he was quoted as saying, "I think that was one of the scariest moments in my life. Watching the Cheshire cat lunging at me!" Well, I had a good time.
We also played a game where couples had to get a balloon off the floor and pop it between their chests without using their hands. Our balloon got stuck on my tutu and we ended up using our hips to pop ours. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time.
And a quick little picture of the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire cat before we headed out.
For the girls, waiting for trick-or-treating tonight seemed to take forever. So to keep them occupied we decided to finish all of the Halloween crafts/goodies/and traditions we haven't done yet. Brain anyone? While shopping for our costumes we found this sweet Jell-O brain mold and thought it was awesome. I think watching the girls poke at the thing was more disgusting that actually eating it.
We made headbands out of tulle and pipe cleaners. Cambrie designed hers and was so proud of it. She was rather disappointed it didn't match her costume and she couldn't wear it trick-or-treating, but she wore it the rest of the night. I designed McKenzie's and thought it turned out really cute, but she wouldn't wear it.
We carved our pumpkins. Both girls wanted nothing to do with the slimy insides of the pumpkins. If you have boys, you are probably just laughing that my girls thought it was gross.
Cambrie also wanted to transform her potato head pumpkin into a carved masterpiece. Jeremy found a Tinkerbell pattern online and it was love at first sight. Mine ended up being a simple silly face. And Jeremy tried something new this year and transformed a picture of me.
Then it was finally time to put their costumes back on for some trick-or-treating around our circle. Miraculously I was able to get a picture of them both smiling and at least facing towards the camera.
Cambrie posed with a little Queen of Hearts attitude.
But McKenzie was quickly off and running and didn't want any more time wasted taking pictures. She was so excited to get "mo cany."
We met up with Audrey the lady bug and conquered the 3/4 mile loop around our neighborhood. The big girls did great, and McKenzie held her own for about half the trip. She wiggled through the crowds to get to the front door and even said trick-or-treat. Okay, it actually sounded like "uhn, uhn, uhn." But the syllables and intonation was there.
I was so glad that it was a mild night. The girls didn't need their jackets and we could really just enjoy our walk. Some of the houses were decorated in very spooky fashions. McKenzie spent a lot of time staring at all the strangeness and even learned the word spooky.
When we got home the girls dumped their buckets to check out their loot. The first night I normally just let them go crazy and so they ate, and ate, and ate. McKenzie would open one candy, take a bite, then put it down so she could sample another one. The girls were in absolute heaven.
McKenzie was literally jumping for joy.
And she was busted stealing sister's candy!
But the night's fun didn't end there. The girls also loved passing out candy to the trick-or-treaters who came to our door. Jeremy and I just had to sit back and relax at that point.
Too soon it was time to go to bed. But I have to say that Halloween was a blast (and can I say again that I love where we live?). It was the perfect place to go trick-or-treating and to spend an awesome night. Happy Halloween everyone!
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Off with our heads!
Okay, not really. Our heads are still attached. But if you upset Cambrie tonight, I'm sure that's what she would have called out. Tonight was our ward trunk-or-treat and we went as wonders from Alice in Wonderland. Months ago Cambrie asked to be the Queen of Hearts for Halloween. Naturally that meant that McKenzie would be Alice, Jeremy would be the Mad Hatter, and I would be the Cheshire Cat. We had so much fun with our costumes this year! I have to admit that I was a little burned out of sewing after all of my curtains, and McKenzie's was finished just an hour before the party, but they are done and we look great. 
The party was pretty simple, soup for dinner, games inside the church, and trunk-or-treating outside. The girls were funny when it came time to take some pictures of them in their costumes. Cambrie would always do something goofy, and McKenzie was way too distracted by all of the people in costumes that she never looked at the camera. Alas, at least I still have Monday to get a good shot of them together.
We took some pictures with some friends: McKenzie and Addy (yes, that's really the best we could do)
Claire, Cambrie, and Peyton.
But then it was time to get down to business. The girls participated in the cake walk, and each won a cupcake.
Cambrie went fishing and ended up with a fun rubber ducky.
And then we went outside. Since this was McKenzie's first time trick-or-treating, we had to show her how it was done. She quickly caught on and after only two or three stops would instantly raise her bucket and wait for candy to magically fall into it. She got so carried away that she would raise her bucket to any adult standing around and expect them to give her candy. It was hilarious! Her bucket eventually got too heavy for her to carry so sometimes she dragged it, and soemtimes had to carry it with both hands to get it where she needed to go.
At the end of the activity I needed to clean up, and once I told her she could start eating all of that sugary goodness in her bucket she was just non-stop.
I should have taken a picture of Alice in Wonderland after the candy; her white apron was covered in multi-colored drool, and her little collar was stiff from the sugar dripping on it. What a mess! But my girls were still definitely the cutest little ones there :)
The party was pretty simple, soup for dinner, games inside the church, and trunk-or-treating outside. The girls were funny when it came time to take some pictures of them in their costumes. Cambrie would always do something goofy, and McKenzie was way too distracted by all of the people in costumes that she never looked at the camera. Alas, at least I still have Monday to get a good shot of them together.
We took some pictures with some friends: McKenzie and Addy (yes, that's really the best we could do)
Claire, Cambrie, and Peyton.
But then it was time to get down to business. The girls participated in the cake walk, and each won a cupcake.
Cambrie went fishing and ended up with a fun rubber ducky.
And then we went outside. Since this was McKenzie's first time trick-or-treating, we had to show her how it was done. She quickly caught on and after only two or three stops would instantly raise her bucket and wait for candy to magically fall into it. She got so carried away that she would raise her bucket to any adult standing around and expect them to give her candy. It was hilarious! Her bucket eventually got too heavy for her to carry so sometimes she dragged it, and soemtimes had to carry it with both hands to get it where she needed to go.
At the end of the activity I needed to clean up, and once I told her she could start eating all of that sugary goodness in her bucket she was just non-stop.
I should have taken a picture of Alice in Wonderland after the candy; her white apron was covered in multi-colored drool, and her little collar was stiff from the sugar dripping on it. What a mess! But my girls were still definitely the cutest little ones there :)
Friday, October 28, 2011
Playing hooky
On Wednesday, it snowed. Can you believe that? And it wasn't just a couple of small flurries, it was blizzard-ish and dropped nine inches in our yard! So Jeremy called into the office, realized there weren't enough patients to go around and asked the other doctor to help him out a bit so he could play in the snow. I'm so glad the other dentist said yes and let Jeremy play! Before breakfast we dug out all of our snow clothes, gloves, and boots and went outside to play. I mean, when this is what you're greeted with when you wake up with more coming down, can you really say no?
McKenzie wasn't quite sure what to make of it-well, what to make of her snow gear-but she sat outside diligently watching Jeremy and Cambrie play.
They had a special mission to knock all of the snow off the trees before the branches broke. We got lucky and our trees weren't damaged, but a lot of our neighbors have branches piled high in their front yards. I'm just glad that the sled Jeremy was throwing through the trees didn't get stuck in the trees. That would have made a great conversation piece for our neighbors.
Cambrie remembered how to make snow angels,
and McKenzie's pumpkin tipped his hat to her performance.
When it came time to shovel our walk, we realized that we don't own a snow shovel. Oops! I guess we need that now that we're homeowners huh? So Jeremy used his shoes and just kicked the snow off. Later that day he did run to the store to pick up a shovel and used it to get off all the new accumulation from that afternoon.
Jeremy and Cambrie, still before breakfast, went to the backyard to build a fort. They ended up constructing two slides. One that went simply straight down, and the other swirled underneath the first slide into a tunnel. Cambrie thought it was awesome and tried going down the top slide every way imaginable-on her bum, on a sled, on her belly, and backwards.
McKenzie couldn't be convinced to go through that thing without a hand from Mom or Dad.
After all the fun the girls warmed up with some neighbor friends with a cup of hot cocoa using their new M & M hot cocoa mugs. Now, just a few days later the snow is melting and fall has returned. I sure hope we get more of these storms, because playing hooky is just too much fun.
McKenzie wasn't quite sure what to make of it-well, what to make of her snow gear-but she sat outside diligently watching Jeremy and Cambrie play.
They had a special mission to knock all of the snow off the trees before the branches broke. We got lucky and our trees weren't damaged, but a lot of our neighbors have branches piled high in their front yards. I'm just glad that the sled Jeremy was throwing through the trees didn't get stuck in the trees. That would have made a great conversation piece for our neighbors.
Cambrie remembered how to make snow angels,
and McKenzie's pumpkin tipped his hat to her performance.
When it came time to shovel our walk, we realized that we don't own a snow shovel. Oops! I guess we need that now that we're homeowners huh? So Jeremy used his shoes and just kicked the snow off. Later that day he did run to the store to pick up a shovel and used it to get off all the new accumulation from that afternoon.
Jeremy and Cambrie, still before breakfast, went to the backyard to build a fort. They ended up constructing two slides. One that went simply straight down, and the other swirled underneath the first slide into a tunnel. Cambrie thought it was awesome and tried going down the top slide every way imaginable-on her bum, on a sled, on her belly, and backwards.
McKenzie couldn't be convinced to go through that thing without a hand from Mom or Dad.
But I guess from the eyes of a one-and-a-half year old, it does look pretty intimidating!
After all the fun the girls warmed up with some neighbor friends with a cup of hot cocoa using their new M & M hot cocoa mugs. Now, just a few days later the snow is melting and fall has returned. I sure hope we get more of these storms, because playing hooky is just too much fun.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Potato Head Pumpkins
The girls have been begging to decorate their pumpkins ever since they picked them at the pumpkin patch last week. So tonight for FHE we decided to do just that. Cambrie was insistent on decorating her pumpkin with her potato head pieces, and since I'm recovering from a vacation, that sounded so much better than actually carving them tonight. We got out their pieces and let the girls go to work.
McKenzie knew just what to do.
And Cambrie's vision started coming to life.
We had to pre-poke some of the holes for the pieces to go in, but the girls let us know just where those holes were supposed to be then started putting them together. Once they finished I thought they looked fantastic.
They will definitely make a festive addition to our front porch.
Red Hot Philly Peppers
After having so much fun at our last Ragnar experience, Jamie and I decided we needed to do it again-this time with our girls from Philly. And so, the Red Hot Philly Peppers were formed! We all met down in Vegas for some serious reunion time. It's been years since we've seen each other-who would have thought that I would ever be old enough to enjoy having reunions, that's something my parents do! But it was a blast.
The first day there we took some time to explore the strip. We visited some galleries near the Aria, and I decided that I wish I could spend $7000 on a piece of artwork. Okay, maybe not really but the thought of having that much spending cash would be nice.
We walked through the Cosmopolitan and found their fancy chandelier, and I just couldn't resist playing in the sparkles a little bit.
We passed through the Bellagio and looked at their fun fall decor, complete with giant pumpkins and a talking tree.
We tried watching the fountains, but they were being worked on so we just stared at the pond instead.
Then we headed to lunch at Serendipity 3. I got a kick out of their huge menus and was so disappointed that I wasn't really hungry. But I couldn't pass up the chance to try the frozen hot chocolate.
Angela and I ended up splitting one, and I thought it tasted like frozenish-meltyish chocolate ice-cream. It was good, but I'm glad I split the bill on that one. I also tried a piece of Keith and Cathy's deep fried Oreo sundae. That was rich! But I have decided that I'm not a fan of deep fried Oreos. Good to know.
After lunch we headed to the Cheesecake Factory to pick up the rest of our crew. On top of our 12 woman team, we had three extra Philly women who couldn't run with us but wanted to party anyway, and it was great to have them around.
After our carbo loading session it was back to the hotel for our money party. Everyone owed everyone money for costumes, van decorations, hotel rooms, you name it. It was kind of exciting seeing so much money flying through the room and when I left my wallet wouldn't close because it had so many $1 bills in it.
The next morning our van was up bright and early to get to the start line. Kristen was our first runner and was excited to get going, but so nervous. The emcee at the start line did a good job of getting everyone pumped up at 7:00 AM and the picture of the sunrise totally brightened my day.
Once she was off we had a few minutes to get our van decorated. Angela made all of the vinyl decorations and did such a great job.
Our van looked so sharp!
And yes, Philly girls really are red hot!
Our Ragnar experience had now officially begun and the next 31 hours were spent leapfrogging our runners, cheering them on, laughing at the funny antics of the other runners, and creating some crazy memories in the van.
Such as: happy desert running.
More desert running with friends.
Desert exchange points....basically just lots and lots of desert.
But also funny things like Calli thinking she lost a toenail.
Sporting our sweet RHPP stickers.
And our red hot running chili pepper tattoos.
The passing of the Ragnar Relay snap bracelet.
Falling in love with the "One Mile To Go" signs.
Taking some emergency pitstops.
And racking up our kill tally. This is from the end of the race, but don't we look speedy?
After our first legs we met up with Van 2 for the first time near the shores of Lake Mead. They looked happy and refreshed, but we didn't envy their legs since they would be running in the Vegas heat.
In the meantime we headed to our next major exchange to wait for them to join us. We tried hanging out by the pool, only to be kicked out since we weren't guests at the hotel.
We tried sleeping on the grass, but got kicked off there and were herded to a pavilion set up near the back.
But as soon as I lay down to sleep, I had the horrible realization that I had locked the van keys in the van! Oh no! Without those we would be hosed. Kristen and I went back to the van to see if they were truly in the van, and when I peeked in the center consul from the window I could see a shiny reflection that meant the keys were in fact in the van. We started walking around the parking lot asking other runners if they knew how to pick a lock. Unfortunately no one did-how disappointing. We found a group of guys who were willing to help us out though. We had left the driver's side middle window cracked open. I couldn't get my arm up and through by myself, but they were able to pull on the glass just enough for me to get my elbow through. I tried reaching the lock and was only inches away. We then started walking around the parking lot again asking if anyone had some pliers. One man did, and he saved us. I was able to get my arm up through the window and used the pliers to unlock the door. It was a miracle! The guys were cheering, we were cheering, and then I climbed into the van to get the keys. They weren't there. I hadn't seen the keys after all, but instead a chocolate milk aluminum lid. I didn't tell the guys that though. According to them they had just saved a couple cute damsels in distress. About that time Angela showed up with a couple of sticks. When I asked her what they were for, she said that maybe they could help. We both started laughing when we realized how goofy that sounded.
Once the guys left, the real search for the keys began. Kristen found them under our blankets where we had been sleeping! I couldn't believe it. We could have saved ourselves so much stress, and some serious bruising on my arm, had we looked there to begin with. Oh well. It makes a great story.
Our van ended up with two night runs, so it was hard to take pictures without all of the reflective gear messing up the pictures. But we were able to get a few-weren't we cheerful in the twilight?
And Calli in her superstar pose. She was so glad to be done.
After our second legs we hooked up with some PB & J sandwiches on our way to Kristen's grandma's house for a few hours of sleep and so she could check on Daylen. Even though we only slept for two hours, at least it was solid sleep.
Our third legs were done in kind of a daze. We were all mostly asleep, and when we had to get out of the van we were all bundled up for the cold. I think that my third leg was my favorite. It was 3:00 in the morning through the desert mountains, and the second half was all downhill. I was going for my 11th kill of the leg when the guy I just passed wouldn't fall back. He hung in my shadow the last three miles and I was not going to let him pass me and take away my kill. The last 1/2 mile was a full out sprint to the finish. (Which was probably pretty dumb since it was a steep downhill in the dark), but I managed to stay in front. Yea! Then I was done and it was time to cheer on the rest of our girls. When the sun rose that second morning, it was another glorious moment.
Then our van was done and we decided to hang out at Calli's parents' house until van 2 finished and we were to meet them at the finish line. At her parents' we went swimming, sat in the hot tub, were served lunch and cool drinks, and even got to shower. I felt just a little guilty that the other van didn't get to celebrate quite like we had. But just a little :)
The finish line was a little outside Vegas and while we were waiting we ended up providing entertainment for some of the vendors there. Our van ended up clogging for granola bars. Yes, that is true. Then we participated in another dance contest for a box of granola bars. I think that since we were running on only two hours of sleep in 48 hours may have clouded our judgement, but we had a good time.
Jordan was our team's final runner and when she came around the bend we all ran with her triumphantly under the deflated arch. A guy was literally holding it up for us with his head. We took a few more pictures with our medals celebrating this happy feeling-like Jamie and I getting our Deuces Wild medals for running two Ragnars this year.
But after we had received our medals we decided we needed a much more exhilarating finish line photo and this is what we got: Love it!
We indulged in some free finish line grub and then headed to Angie's house to hang out, recover, and clean our vans.
It was so sad taking all the vinyl off, it was the end of a party. But we decided that the Red Hot Philly Peppers should definitely live again in the future. So much fun.
The first day there we took some time to explore the strip. We visited some galleries near the Aria, and I decided that I wish I could spend $7000 on a piece of artwork. Okay, maybe not really but the thought of having that much spending cash would be nice.
We walked through the Cosmopolitan and found their fancy chandelier, and I just couldn't resist playing in the sparkles a little bit.
We passed through the Bellagio and looked at their fun fall decor, complete with giant pumpkins and a talking tree.
We tried watching the fountains, but they were being worked on so we just stared at the pond instead.
Then we headed to lunch at Serendipity 3. I got a kick out of their huge menus and was so disappointed that I wasn't really hungry. But I couldn't pass up the chance to try the frozen hot chocolate.
Angela and I ended up splitting one, and I thought it tasted like frozenish-meltyish chocolate ice-cream. It was good, but I'm glad I split the bill on that one. I also tried a piece of Keith and Cathy's deep fried Oreo sundae. That was rich! But I have decided that I'm not a fan of deep fried Oreos. Good to know.
After lunch we headed to the Cheesecake Factory to pick up the rest of our crew. On top of our 12 woman team, we had three extra Philly women who couldn't run with us but wanted to party anyway, and it was great to have them around.
After our carbo loading session it was back to the hotel for our money party. Everyone owed everyone money for costumes, van decorations, hotel rooms, you name it. It was kind of exciting seeing so much money flying through the room and when I left my wallet wouldn't close because it had so many $1 bills in it.
The next morning our van was up bright and early to get to the start line. Kristen was our first runner and was excited to get going, but so nervous. The emcee at the start line did a good job of getting everyone pumped up at 7:00 AM and the picture of the sunrise totally brightened my day.
Once she was off we had a few minutes to get our van decorated. Angela made all of the vinyl decorations and did such a great job.
Our van looked so sharp!
And yes, Philly girls really are red hot!
Our Ragnar experience had now officially begun and the next 31 hours were spent leapfrogging our runners, cheering them on, laughing at the funny antics of the other runners, and creating some crazy memories in the van.
Such as: happy desert running.
More desert running with friends.
Desert exchange points....basically just lots and lots of desert.
But also funny things like Calli thinking she lost a toenail.
Sporting our sweet RHPP stickers.
And our red hot running chili pepper tattoos.
The passing of the Ragnar Relay snap bracelet.
Falling in love with the "One Mile To Go" signs.
Taking some emergency pitstops.
And racking up our kill tally. This is from the end of the race, but don't we look speedy?
After our first legs we met up with Van 2 for the first time near the shores of Lake Mead. They looked happy and refreshed, but we didn't envy their legs since they would be running in the Vegas heat.
In the meantime we headed to our next major exchange to wait for them to join us. We tried hanging out by the pool, only to be kicked out since we weren't guests at the hotel.
We tried sleeping on the grass, but got kicked off there and were herded to a pavilion set up near the back.
But as soon as I lay down to sleep, I had the horrible realization that I had locked the van keys in the van! Oh no! Without those we would be hosed. Kristen and I went back to the van to see if they were truly in the van, and when I peeked in the center consul from the window I could see a shiny reflection that meant the keys were in fact in the van. We started walking around the parking lot asking other runners if they knew how to pick a lock. Unfortunately no one did-how disappointing. We found a group of guys who were willing to help us out though. We had left the driver's side middle window cracked open. I couldn't get my arm up and through by myself, but they were able to pull on the glass just enough for me to get my elbow through. I tried reaching the lock and was only inches away. We then started walking around the parking lot again asking if anyone had some pliers. One man did, and he saved us. I was able to get my arm up through the window and used the pliers to unlock the door. It was a miracle! The guys were cheering, we were cheering, and then I climbed into the van to get the keys. They weren't there. I hadn't seen the keys after all, but instead a chocolate milk aluminum lid. I didn't tell the guys that though. According to them they had just saved a couple cute damsels in distress. About that time Angela showed up with a couple of sticks. When I asked her what they were for, she said that maybe they could help. We both started laughing when we realized how goofy that sounded.
Once the guys left, the real search for the keys began. Kristen found them under our blankets where we had been sleeping! I couldn't believe it. We could have saved ourselves so much stress, and some serious bruising on my arm, had we looked there to begin with. Oh well. It makes a great story.
Our van ended up with two night runs, so it was hard to take pictures without all of the reflective gear messing up the pictures. But we were able to get a few-weren't we cheerful in the twilight?
And Calli in her superstar pose. She was so glad to be done.
After our second legs we hooked up with some PB & J sandwiches on our way to Kristen's grandma's house for a few hours of sleep and so she could check on Daylen. Even though we only slept for two hours, at least it was solid sleep.
Our third legs were done in kind of a daze. We were all mostly asleep, and when we had to get out of the van we were all bundled up for the cold. I think that my third leg was my favorite. It was 3:00 in the morning through the desert mountains, and the second half was all downhill. I was going for my 11th kill of the leg when the guy I just passed wouldn't fall back. He hung in my shadow the last three miles and I was not going to let him pass me and take away my kill. The last 1/2 mile was a full out sprint to the finish. (Which was probably pretty dumb since it was a steep downhill in the dark), but I managed to stay in front. Yea! Then I was done and it was time to cheer on the rest of our girls. When the sun rose that second morning, it was another glorious moment.
Then our van was done and we decided to hang out at Calli's parents' house until van 2 finished and we were to meet them at the finish line. At her parents' we went swimming, sat in the hot tub, were served lunch and cool drinks, and even got to shower. I felt just a little guilty that the other van didn't get to celebrate quite like we had. But just a little :)
The finish line was a little outside Vegas and while we were waiting we ended up providing entertainment for some of the vendors there. Our van ended up clogging for granola bars. Yes, that is true. Then we participated in another dance contest for a box of granola bars. I think that since we were running on only two hours of sleep in 48 hours may have clouded our judgement, but we had a good time.
Jordan was our team's final runner and when she came around the bend we all ran with her triumphantly under the deflated arch. A guy was literally holding it up for us with his head. We took a few more pictures with our medals celebrating this happy feeling-like Jamie and I getting our Deuces Wild medals for running two Ragnars this year.
But after we had received our medals we decided we needed a much more exhilarating finish line photo and this is what we got: Love it!
We indulged in some free finish line grub and then headed to Angie's house to hang out, recover, and clean our vans.
It was so sad taking all the vinyl off, it was the end of a party. But we decided that the Red Hot Philly Peppers should definitely live again in the future. So much fun.
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