New York, New York!

       Last spring, my little brother Marcus was invited to run the Dream Mile in New York City on June 9.  The Dream Mile really was a dream come true for him.  It is held at the Adidas Grand Prix, a professional race which featured some of the top track and field athletes gearing up for the Olympic trials.  They also do two showcase high school races; the 100 meter dash and the mile.  They invite the top high school runners in the nation and then try to see if they can get any to go under 4 minutes (a feat that has only been accomplished by four American high school runners ever).  

      After he got invited, Mike and I were discussing what an amazing opportunity this was for him.  Truly once in a lifetime experience.  We commented how cool it would be to be there and we kind of looked at each other and said, "Let's make this happen."  So with the help of our airline miles that had been adding up and some wonderful family and friends who helped watched our kiddos, we began to plan a whirlwind weekend trip to the Big Apple.  We hired my cousin Emily to watch the kids at our house from Friday to Sunday night and some wonderful friends and family filled in the rest (thank you Kari, Jim, Lee Ann, Jen, Camille and Angie!!)  

      My parents, Mike and Paula, Mal and Brandon (and baby Isaac) all came also.  My entire family, minus Mat who is half way across the world, together in New York City!  It was truly a once in a lifetime weekend.  We arrived in the city Thursday night at midnight.  We checked into our hotel which I had booked on Priceline.  It had claimed to be a three star, but the only part of the hotel that fit that description was the lobby.  The room was small, with a window that the drapes did not close (blaring sunlight coming into our room at 4:00 am Washington time was not exactly what I had planned on), a little smelly (we were in the smoking section with all the non smoking rooms full, something that had not been specified on priceline), it was under construction, and they vacuumed the hallway at 8:00 am.   The hotel was by far the most disappointing part of the trip, but luckily we spent very little time there.

      Friday morning we met in the lobby of Marcus's posh five star hotel (the meet hooked him and one chaperone up with transportation, fancy accommodations, money for food and a ton of free Adidas gear).  Marcus had to stay at the hotel that day to go with the other athletes to the stadium and to do some interviews (!), but the rest of us headed out to do some sightseeing.  

 The new memorial for 9/11.  They have two huge fountains in the foot prints of where the towers stood.  There is a deep hole in the middle representing the hole that can not be filled. Around the fountain is the name of all of the people who died that day.   It was a beautiful, peaceful memorial and a sobering reminder of the tragedy that occurred there.

 Stopping for lunch.  We were wandering the streets looking for somewhere to eat and we came upon this restaurant on the corner.  As we walked in, Mike and I realized it was the exact same place we ate when we came to New York five years ago and were wandering around looking for something to eat!
     After lunch, we headed down to Battery Park to go on the ferry that takes you to the island with the statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.  This was the one thing we hadn't done on our trip last time that I really wanted to, so I'm glad we were able to squeeze it in.

 The Statue of Liberty was being renovated and you couldn't go up it.  Since we couldn't go up and for the sake of time, we just looked at it as we passed by on the ferry and opted not to get off on the island.  We did get off at Ellis Island which I thought was really cool.  My dad's grandmother came through Ellis Island when she was thirteen years old with her family, so it was neat to be standing where she once stood and to try to imagine how she and the thousands of others who came through there must have felt.
   

         We then walked around the financial district before meeting up with Marcus for dinner.

 Do you know how hard it is to find a place for nine people to eat on a Friday night in Manhattan (especially when one of those people is about to run the meet of their lives and will only eat pasta).  Luckily, we had planned ahead and after spending over an hour on the computer on night, Mike and I were able to secure reservations for nine at a family style Italian Restaurant.  It was busy, crowded, and LOUD.  We were sitting directly behind a table a wedding party.  The waitress said they had been there for over four hours and it was obvious they had been enjoying not only the food, but the drinks as well. The groom kept getting up and making very loud, rambling toasts and there was a lot of cheering.  The rest of the tables were loud also.  We literally had to yell (I mean really yell like we were at a sporting event) across the table to talk to each other.  There was also a birthday party celebrating there.  All this toasting and the birthday party singing made me want to have something to cheer about.  When the waitress came to check on us, I told her why we were there.  She wished Marcus good luck, but no special song or cheer.  We then asked her to take our picture and when she had we all started clapping and cheering.  The wedding party had left by now, but another table joined in on the cheer and then another and pretty soon our whole floor of the restaurant was cheering, clapping, hooting and hollering.  I don't think anybody knew what we were all celebrating; a Friday night, the big city, or just life, but it was pretty funny.
        After dinner, my parents got Marcus safely back to his room so he could get his sleep, but the rest of us headed out to Time Square.

Mike and Paula

The boys (minus baby Isaac) with this character (a storm trooper?  I should probably know what it is) made entirely out of legos.

The girls with a Lego Hulk.

Mike with the biggest Rice Krispies treat I had ever seen.

   Saturday we woke up and walked around Central Park, through the lobby of the Plaza, and through the Apple Store.  We then found a pizza place and headed over to the meet (Marcus was already there with Michael who had accompanied him).  The meet was held on a little island off the big island.  To get there we had to take a subway to Harlem where we then got on a bus that took us over a bridge to the stadium.  The subway was a breeze, getting on the bus was it's own little adventure.  We got to the bus stop and found that there was quite a crowd waiting.  We thought the bus would be coming in a few minutes, but the minutes continued to tick by and the people continued to show up.  It was obvious that all of these people were not going to be able to fit on one bus.  The sun was beating down on us, people were getting anxious, baby Isaac was screaming, and the aroma was not exactly pleasant.  There was man standing near us who kept assuring my dad that we were standing right where the doors of the bus opened.  Eventually the bus did arrive and there were a pair of doors right in front of us, but there were also doors farther down.  The doors opened and people flooded into them, pushing, and trying to climb on.  Our family got separated from each other with Paula and I at the tail end.  We grabbed hands and began to squeeze our way onto the bus.  The bus driver was just waving people on not even accepting payments.  Luckily we were all able to get on.  Paula and I were standing in the middle holding onto those bars at the top of the bus.  I had certainly never been on a bus ride like this, but Paula told me that's how all the buses were in Columbia (which is where she grew up until she was sixteen).  Eventually, we got to the stadium.

Marcus running.

We arrived at the meet a couple of hours before Marcus's race and were able to watch many of the professional races, which was fun.  Michael met up with us and told us that after watching a few races earlier in the day, Marcus said he felt more nervous than he had ever been and they found a place for him to rest in the shade where he began to feel a little bit better.  At last it was time for the race.  It was different to see Marcus dressed in an all black Adidas outfit rather than his high school colors.  He ran an amazing race staying near the front of the pack the entire time.  As they went into the last 200 meters, he went for it and for a second, I thought he might win.  Out of no where a boy speed past the group and ended up winning it and Marcus came in fifth.  Second to fifth place were right there next to each other and Marcus got his best time with a 4:03!!  It was a great experience for him to run in a big race like that and what a way to end an incredible high school running career.  He even threw up after the race, a sure sign that he had pushed himself to the limit (or that he had just indeed been more nervous than ever before in his life) The winner of the race clocked a 4:01, so nobody broke the 4:00 barrier, but it was a very, very fast race.  

After the meet, we headed back to the city.  My dad went with Marcus to the athletes dinners and awards (they were only allowed to bring one person with them) and Mallory, Brandon, and Isaac caught their bus back to Washington DC (where they live).  Michael, Paula, my mom, Mike and I found a place to eat and then met up with my dad and Marcus.  

These mini cupcakes we found from a little bakery.  They were delicious! 

Sunday morning Mike and I went around Central Park again (our hotel was two minutes away) and then had to head back home.  Mike, Paula, my parents and Marcus were staying for a few days to see the city, but we needed to get back to our little ones.   I was not feeling good that day and it was a long ways home.  We got home and the big kids were waiting up for us and I was so happy to see them and to be home. Mason was sleeping, but after we got the big kids to bed we may have picked him up out of his crib just to hold him for a while.  We laid him between us in bed and he just looked back and forth from Mike and I with a happy sleepy grin on his face.  It was good to be home.

When we picked up our car it said we had been gone for three days and six hours.  Three days and six hours to go all the way across the country and back.  It was crazy, exhausting, and completely worth it. It was so fun to spend time with my family especially my sister, Brandon, and my nephew who we never get to see.

And I am so proud of my baby brother and all that he's accomplished.

2012 New York...who knows where he will get to run in the future...it's time to set the dream even higher.  We love you Marcus!