State Take 4

     The first weekend of November and the last weekend of May the last few years have meant state time.  For the past four years (with the exception of Nov. 09 where we got updates on the phone) we have packed up the kids and went to watch my brother or brothers run in the high school state championships.  

     This year was a little bittersweet, because it was the last big hurrah for cross country.  Marcus's senior year marks the last time we will be packing up the van and making the trip over the mountains (the track state meet is held on our side of the state).

      We left our house at about 2:00 and arrived at the hotel a little before six.  A quick phone call to my mom found my parents and Mike and Paula an hour behind us which meant we had time to go test out the hotel swimming pool before dinner.  Although my kids dearly love their uncle, if the truth be told, the thing they were most excited this weekend was staying in a hotel and swimming.  The big kids loved the pool, but Mason was too tired (why didn't he take a monster nap in the car like I had planned?  you'd have to talk to him about that) to have much fun.
       After a quick swim, my grandma and I headed over to Red Robin to get our names on a list for dinner.  Marcus was eating dinner with his team (hamburgers and fries are not exactly an ideal pre race meal) but my parents, grandparents, Mike and Paula and our little family all enjoyed endless fries and various meals as our pre-spectator race meal.

         When we got back to the hotel, we immediately laid Mason down.  He was beyond exhausted.  When I put him in the porta crib, he feebly tried to stand up and investigate why he was somewhere other than his room, but after I laid him down again and said it was time to go to sleep, I got no protest.  He slept like a rock all night.
          Little Man and Kiwi, on the other hand, were in that tired/hyper state where voices get louder and louder and everything gets funnier and funnier. Fueling their past bedtime, vacation, post Red Robin silliness buzz was the fact that they were sleeping on a hide-a-bed.  This was a first for them.  Kiwi told my brother, "We're sleeping inside of a couch!"  It took quite a while to get them calmed down, but eventually they went to sleep.  Kiwi did wake up three times during the night to tell us Little Man was stealing her blanket (they couldn't figure out how to share a queen sized comforter) but overall it was a successful hotel experience.
     The next morning we hit up the continental breakfast and then what else?  Swimming again.  This time even Mason enjoyed his time in the pool except for when big brother's ginormous cannonball splashes reached him.  After swimming he headed over to the mall across the street from our hotel, got some lunch, and let the kids play on the indoor play structure they had and then headed over to the meet.

 Mason was not happy to be on Day 2 of no real afternoon nap. Luckily Marcus is a runner and not a concert pianist or something where we would have needed quiet to watch his big show.  We did get him to take a little nap right before the race, but of course the commotion shortly woke him up.
       But what a race to wake up for.  Marcus ran his heart out, going all out and by the middle of the race was one of three boys who had broken away from the pack and was going for the win.  He ended up in third with a personal best of 15:36 (15:36!  For 3.1 miles up and down hills! We have the same genes, how did his mutate into some sort of super fast super star athlete ones?)  .  I didn't get any shots of him running, I was too busy yelling, but below is a shot of him up on the podium.  He is the boy in maureen and gold with stocking hat on right or just look for the most adorable one on the stand and that would be him.

 My mom had the idea to get all of the family shirts with Marcus's school mascot (a hornet) on the front and the name of the school on the back.  Here is my family in our matchy matchy shirts.  The kids looked especially cute in theirs (notice Kiwi and Mason's faces in the picture?  they were done, but Little Man could have watched hours more of the racing)

Although I am a little sad that there is no next year and that they next time I would go to the state cross country meet would be if one of my kids decides they love to run and excels at it, it was sure a great last race.  Way to go baby brother!  We sure are proud of you.