The Zimmermans: Marathon Birthday Part 1

The weekend of the 18th, we were invited to stay at a home our friends have about two hours north of the city. They were having a birthday weekend for their four year old, so it's thanks to Darcy that we were on the invite list. Jesh's best friend Aly and her family were also there, as well as some friends who used to be in our ward that we haven't seen in a long time.

This is their home. The area was similar to where Jeff and Kathy lived when I was a kid. The homes were on big plots, but you could still see at least one neighbor.

The kids and I drove up Friday with the host family. This is the only picture I have of the first day because it ended up being stressful.

When were unloading the van, Sally wandered on to the slate front steps and burned blisters onto the bottom of her feet. Then I started feeling poorly. (I was getting sick and didn't know it.) After dinner Jesh burned a blister onto his hand by grabbing a s'more too soon, and then Darcy did a banana peel fall flat onto her back and got a Mt. Everest goose egg. I didn't get the kids to bed until 9:30pm (three hours late for Darcy), but they were all up by 6am because our room had lots of windows and no shades.

But things got a lot better after that. Saturday started with a kid's marathon.

The kids lined up at the start. Darcy almost missed the beginning because she was scavenging in the pantry. The Cheerios she ate at 6am (why?!?) weren't keeping her full anymore. Luckily she found a tube of Ritz crackers.

Before the race started, Jesh asked me if this was the kind of race where only the fastest person wins. He seemed discouraged that it was. His friend, Aly (1704) has always been faster than him and it drives him nuts.

And they are off!

Kristy, the hostess, posted this video about the marathon. This gives an overview, and then I'll tell you specifically about what our kids did. It's easier to find us in the crowd if you look for my yellow shirt, Yancy's blue t-shirt and khaki pants, Jesh's blue shirt, and Darcy's gray shirt and red skirt.

The Darcy story: She took a view of this race that I think many in our family would appreciate. After the starting whistle blew she finished her Ritz crackers and directly to the finish line, where she collected her award and her snack.

The Jesh story: He got off to a pretty good start...

...but took a siesta at the hydration station.

Just after he started jogging again, a little disoriented from his rest, he heard Aly and the front runner coming up behind him.

The race course was down the driveway and around the house twice. He didn't realize Aly and the other kid have already done a full loop around the house.